This book examines the effects of a study abroad experience on students' culture and identity and the impact of these effects on their read-justment to their home culture. It explores issues of culture and identity from the perspective of French students studying in Australia. Issues of perceived cultural proximity between France and Australia, a relative lack of prior knowledge of the host country before the period of study and the impact of distance all influence aspects of these students' experiences. Employing long-term and cross-sectional studies focusing on culture shock, reverse culture shock and cultural identity issues, the author investigates the cyclical journey of French academic sojourners and examines the impact of the acculturation and repatriation processes and the language experiences on their perceptions of cultural identity. Once the students had traversed the difficult stages of culture shock and reached the stage of full recovery (adjustment), they no longer wished to go home. What impact has this process had on the returnees who faced the insularity of their home society once they returned home? Is the French community beginning to acknowledge the start of a brain-drain of the educated French overseas? What are the implications for borderless higher education? What value should be placed on pre-departure preparation from participating institutions and the individuals themselves, both on a linguistic and a psychological level? This book poses questions relating to these issues.

The world is peopled by victims; everyone has a story. However, victimhood is just the beginning of the story. This book is about the endings of at least some of those stories, the stories of victims who strive to overcome and even triumph in the end. This book is a collection of research perspectives and personal stories exploring the various pathways for overcoming victimhood. It is hoped that they might offer an inspiration for others and encourage others to stay on the path to find a positive ending. Victim Victorious is an examination of the ways in which victims come to rise above the challenges that they face. Victims may be innocent bystanders, and in no way responsible for their victimhood. Nonetheless, they can -- and indeed we argue need to -- take responsibility for finding a personal solution. To assist in this task, this book chronicles the pathway of prejudice and how the pain and the damage experienced by individual victims may be overcome by effort, by and on their own behalf. The first half of the book features outsider views of victimhood. A range of professionals, philosophers, psychologists, criminologists and critical theorists offer their thoughts on how people might overcome victimhood. The second half of the book features insider views of victimhood; in this section, the victims speak for themselves about their experience and how they have endeavoured to break through their victimhood. This book is less about identifying and proscribing the behaviours of perpetrators and more about the efforts that victims can undertake to heal themselves as they journey towards resilience and victory.

The world is peopled by victims; everyone has a story. However, victimhood is just the beginning of the story. This book is about the endings of at least some of those stories, the stories of victims who strive to overcome and even triumph in the end. This book is a collection of research perspectives and personal stories exploring the various pathways for overcoming victimhood. It is hoped that they might offer an inspiration for others and encourage others to stay on the path to find a positive ending. Victim Victorious is an examination of the ways in which victims come to rise above the challenges that they face. Victims may be innocent bystanders, and in no way responsible for their victimhood. Nonetheless, they can -- and indeed we argue need to -- take responsibility for finding a personal solution. To assist in this task, this book chronicles the pathway of prejudice and how the pain and the damage experienced by individual victims may be overcome by effort, by and on their own behalf. The first half of the book features outsider views of victimhood. A range of professionals, philosophers, psychologists, criminologists and critical theorists offer their thoughts on how people might overcome victimhood. The second half of the book features insider views of victimhood; in this section, the victims speak for themselves about their experience and how they have endeavoured to break through their victimhood. This book is less about identifying and proscribing the behaviours of perpetrators and more about the efforts that victims can undertake to heal themselves as they journey towards resilience and victory.