Este trabalho analisa as tentativas do governo federal brasileiro em redefinir a função da escola pública, como instituição social, após as transformações ocorridas (internacional e nacionalmente) nos meios produtivo, político e cultural, na fase da globalização econômica e da ideologia neoliberal. Esta investigação focaliza o contexto internacional existente entre as décadas de 70 e 90 do século XX, o contexto nacional da atual Reforma Curricular Brasileira, o processo de elaboração dos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais e os fundamentos nos quais eles se baseiam, para verificar como as transformações sociais influenciam a redefinição do papel da escola pública, que interesses estão envolvidos nessa tarefa e como esses interesses se manifestam nos novos referenciais curriculares. Dessa busca, foi constatado que redefinir a função da educação escolar não pode ser incumbência de um círculo restritivo de pessoas e que a exeqüibilidade de uma proposta curricular passa por diversos e significativos condicionantes, que não apenas a boa-vontade dos trabalhadores da educação para com a apreensão das novas diretrizes curriculares, como quer fazer acreditar o discurso contido nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais. Assim, uma reforma curricular não pode ser dada como realizada apenas pelo fato de se ter tido nas instâncias governamentais a intenção, real ou retórica, de realizá-la. / This work analyses the Brazilian federal government attempts to redefine the Public Educational System purposes, as a social institution, after the changes happened (international and national levels) in the productive, cultural and political sites, as a result of the economic globalization and the ideology of liberalism which are presented as a concrete reality in the contemporary scenery. This investigation focused the international context of the seventy and ninety decades of the twentieth century; the national environment related to the Brazilian educational curriculum reform; the process of the elaboration of the National curriculum parameters and the backgrounds in which the parameters are based. This research aimed to verify how the social changes influenced the redefinition of the goals of the public educational system. Besides this, it was examined which were the leading concerns linked to this redefinition and how these concerns defined the curriculum references. Through this research it was proved that the redefinition of the public educational system cannot be conveyed through a very restrict group of professional leaders. The community which gives academic and economic support to the public educational system must be involved in order to discuss the process of the redefinition. It was also verified that the accomplishment of the new curriculum proposal is linked to several significant issues that cannot be fulfilled only through the good will of the professionals who were in charge of the execution of the new parameters in the classrooms. The National Curriculum Parameters discourses are easily optimistic, assuming that the implementation of the new proposal will be an easy task for these professionals. Opposed to this optimistic and naïve view, this analyses assumes that a curriculum reform cannot be implemented as a simple result of the good governmental intention, which can be real or rhetorical.

Presented thesis focuses on civil society within the context of ongoing processes of globalization. The core of disputed issues lies in creation of relationships between the actors of civil society (with stress on alter-globalization movement) and institutions of international governance (with accent on multilateral economic institutions -- WB, IMF, WTO). The thesis analyzes concepts of (global) civil society and functions which civil society fulfills in relations to centres of political power -- traditionally towards the state, currently also towards international governance institutions. It deals also with preconditions of creation and existence of global civil society (post-material middle-class, cosmopolitism and the role of the internet). Theoretical chapters are supported by empirical datas which are analysed especially regarding alter-globalist discourse, self-definition of the actors and current state of relationships between civil society and WB, IMF and WTO. Applied research shows that these institutions open themselves to the control of public and civil society (although with different pace) in levels of transparency, accountability and access, and thus civil society contributes to their democratization.

No / Fusing two key concerns of contemporary sociology: globalization and its discontents, and the 'complexity turn' in social theory, authors Chesters and Welsh utilize complexity theory to analyze the shifting constellation of social movement networks that constitute opposition to neo-liberal globalization. They explore how seemingly chaotic and highly differentiated social actors interacting globally through computer mediated communications, face-to-face gatherings and protests constitute a 'multitude' not easily grasped through established models of social and political change. Drawing upon extensive empirical research and utilizing concepts drawn from the natural and social sciences this book suggests a framework for understanding mobilization, identity formation and information flows in global social movements operating within complex societies. It suggests that this 'movement of movements' exhibits an emergent order on the edge of chaos, a turbulence that is recasting political agency in the twenty-first century.

This thesis analyses the relationship between the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the alter-globalization movement through the theoretical framework of Robert W. Cox. A Coxian perspective highlights that the WTO is a central international organization of the current nebuleuse, and one integral to enforcing, promoting and defending transnational corporate hegemony. The emergence of the protest movement inaccurately labelled the ‘anti-globalization movement’ can be described as a Coxian counter-hegemonic structure. From the plethora of protesters making up this ‘anti-globalization movement’ who dispute the legitimacy of the WTO, a distinct alter-globalization movement can be identified. It prescribes the alternative principles of public accountability, the rights of people and the protection of the environment as guides to reforming the WTO towards a Coxian ‘new multilateralism’. This thesis asks: to what extent has this alter-globalisation movement succeeded in altering the policies and processes of the WTO in accordance with these principles? In Coxian terms the questions of how far the campaign for ‘new multilateralism’ has successfully altered the hegemony of the current world order and avoided trasformismo are asserted. After illustrating corporate structural power within the WTO’s policies and procedures, the alter-globalisation movement is defined as an entity of overlapping social movements and Non-Governmental Organizations (Alter-NGOs). The thesis identifies and evaluates three strategies employed by the alter-globalisation movement to place its values at the heart of the WTO: demonstrations on the street; assisting developing states during negotiations; and submitting amicus briefs to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). The obstacles presented by the WTO’s policy of trasformismo are then detailed, namely: political elites coopting the alter-globalization movement’s principles into their own rhetoric; the cooption of NGOs by political elites from the developing world, and the cooption of NGOs and the fierce rejection of any NGO influence within the WTO. In its conclusions the thesis details the manner in which trasformismo is a significant tool in the armoury of corporate hegemony for resisting reform, and thereby informs existing literature on the problems faced by all social movements and NGOs engaging with reforming the world order.

Master of Public Health / Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology / Justin J. Kastner / Globalization has resulted in closer integration of economies and societies. It has contributed to the emergence of a new world order which involves a vast nexus of global and regional institutions, surrounded by transnational corporations, and non-governmental agencies seeking to influence the agenda and direction of international public policy. Health is a center point of geopolitics, security, trade, and foreign policy. Expansion in the territory of health and an increase in the number of health actors have profound implications for global health governance. Accordingly, the focus of the thesis is on endorsing the three core elements of governance proposed by Ackleson and Lapid, which comprises a system of (formal and informal) political coordination—across multiple levels from the local to the global—among public agencies and private corporations seeking to accomplish common goals and resolve problems through collective action. This shift in global governance has been prominent in the health sector with the formation of numerous public-private partnerships, coalitions, networks, and informal collaborations. In an effort to cope with the proliferation of players in the health sector, the World Health Organization has undergone gradual transformation in its governance framework. It is important to examine the evolution of the governance architecture of the WHO, as well as its effective application in the current global environment maintaining the organization’s legitimacy. This study tries to offer a comprehensive account of the WHO’s history, its successes and failures, as well as challenges and opportunities confronting the organization. Embracing public-private partnerships and formal-informal interactions does not simply fill governance gaps opened by globalization, but helps cluster in narrower areas of cooperation, where the strategic interests of multilateral organizations (e.g., the WHO), states, and transnational actors intersect. Global health problems require global solutions, and neither public nor private organizations can solve these issues on their own. The forms of governance based on the Acklesonian-Lapidian definition assist in accomplishing public health goals through shared decision-making and risk taking.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Andrew P. Barkley / The primary purpose of this research was to identify and quantify the determinants of the number of minority farms in the Southern region of the United States during the time period, 1969-1997. A second objective was to determine the impact of globalization and international trade agreements on the number of African-American farmers in the Southern region of the United States. Regression results indicate that minority farm labor was responsive to the returns to agriculture labor relative to nonfarm labor returns, as well as to cotton and rice prices. Increase in the cotton price increased minority farmer income, slowing the rate of agricultural migration from the Southern region of the United States. To the extent that globalization results in lower cotton prices, international agricultural trade agreements are likely to result in further movement of minority farmers out of agriculture in the Southern region of the United States.

Drawing from a cultural studies perspective, this dissertation examines digital, visual, and idiomatic expressions and platforms that both create and inform youth culture in Chile. In what ways have globalized media trends influenced cultural production, class-consciousness, and identity formation in Chilean youth culture, and how do these expressions mirror a global neoliberal agenda and shed light on a history of economic, political, and religious globalization in Chile? In order to answer these questions, this dissertation provides an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate changing media trends in Latin American youth culture. I argue that cultural influence of the United States and the rise of global neoliberalism have informed the production, reception, dissemination, and identity formation of this segment of Chilean society. This dissertation is organized into four chapters. Chapter 1 provides a historical contextualization of political and economic changes in Chile as well as the literature review and theoretical foundation for my analysis. Chapter 2 contends that the class-consciousness spectrum in Chilean television and film works as a reflection of consumption behavior and identity formation in youth that has been informed by a U.S. neoliberal agenda. Chapter 3 studies one particular young Chilean, Germán Garmendia, and his popular YouTube channel, "Hola Soy German," to argue that the spreadable and invisible factors that inform his global success as a grassroots, "latino" vlogger can be traced to U.S. digital commercialism. And lastly, Chapter 4 highlights digital texts of the student organization, "Chile Siempre," and their stylized performance of moral values through mediatized and digitalized spaces in order to reveal U.S. religious and cultural interventionism through evangelical missionaries in Chile. The triangulation and interdisciplinary approach of these texts expose a consistent history of political, economic, and religious transculturation and calls into question U.S. cultural influence in Chile that continues, while not overtly, to manifest in new media forms.

This research addresses two puzzles: Why do similar regions within countries pursue different commitment strategies towards growing their bioscience industries? Why do some change in response to a global financial shock and others do not? I argue that the presence and strength of a knowledge-oriented strategy team (KOST) helps to explain different levels of and changes in bioscience commitment strategies. The study weaves in additional explanations including natural resources, rival industries, national institutions and path dependence. The most significant finding of this research is that those Canadian provinces that established a strong KOST prior to the 2008 global financial crisis "puzzled and powered through" to maintain high level commitments to their bioscience industries afterwards. Their KOSTs engaged in disruptive social learning and coordinative bargaining processes.

The first of the two essays was presented at the conference 'Ethnicity in an Age of Globalisation', held at Uganda Martyrs University, Kampala, Uganda, from 3-6 September 2001. / Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / Babel or Piraeus? : globalisation, culture and tradition -- Between freedom and culture : Alain Finkielkraut's critique of multiculturalism. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The conception of globalisation as a "programme" or "project" driven by a group of people or companies with a set agenda underlies much of the antagonistic discussion of globalisation. Protagonists of globalisation, in turn, often describe the process as inevitable progress. This paper analyses the process of globalisation and argues that it should not be understood as such a singular process. Rather, the concept "complex connectivity" - where the local and the global come' into closer contact and influence, or interpenetrate, one another more directly - facilitates a more nuanced analysis of globalisation -.This understanding of globalisation will be tested against the phenomenon of culture by posing two questions: Does globalisation lead to the destruction of local culture( s) by an encroaching singular global culture (i.e. is globalisation cultural imperialism)? Or alternatively: Does globalisation represent an opening .up and exchange between previously isolated cultures and societies? This paper argues in favour of the second position by employing John Tomlinson's existential definition of culture and his understanding of the dialectic that exists between the local and the global in complex connectivity. Instead of global culture, we can more properly speak of . "globalized" culture, which looks different in every local situation. This is a more optimistic answer to the cultural' effects of globalisation, and although some concerns remain, it seems clear that to understand globalisation as complex connectivity rules out many of the charges of cultural imperialism lodged against globalisation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Baie van die hedendaagse antagonistiese diskussie oor globalisasie gaan uit van die veronderstelling dat globalisasie 'n 'program' of 'n 'projek' is wat deur 'n groep individue of maatskappye gedryf word. Voorstanders van globalisasie, daarenteen, beskou die proses dikwels as 'onafwendbare vooruitgang.' Hierdie opstel analiseer die proses van globalisasie en argumenteer dat globalisasie nie as so 'n eenduidige process verstaan moet word nie. Die konsep "complex connectivity" word ingespan om 'n meer genuanseerde analise van globalisasie te bied aangesien dit dui op die komplekse interaksie, of selfs interpenetrasie, tussen plaaslike en globale prosesse. Hierdie opvatting oor globalisasie word getoets aan die hand van kultuur deur twee teenstellende vrae te stel: Is globalisasie 'n enkelvoudige globale kultuur wat dreig om plaaslike kulture oor te neem en uiteindelik te vernietig (ook genoem kultuurimperialisme)? Of eerder: Is globalisasie 'n geleentheid tot groter openheid en interaksie tussen kulture en gemeenskappe wat voorheen van mekaar geïsoleer was? Die opstel argumenteer ten gunste van die tweede posisie deur gebruik te maak van John Tomlinson se eksistensiële definisie van kultuur en sy opvatting oor die interaksie tussen die plaaslike en die globale. Instede van globale kultuur kan ons eerder praat van 'geglobaliseerde' kultuur, wat telkens anders lyk in elke plaaslike opset. Hierdie posisie bied 'n versigtige, maar meer optimistiese antwoord op die kulturele impak van globalisasie deurdat veel van die aanklagte van kultuurimperialsime teen globalisasie afgewys word.

published_or_final_version / Business / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy