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<p>This thesis attempts to investigate if national culture still is a factor to consider for large multinational organizations when choosing a supplier, or if the global business environment due to globalization has become so standardized and homogenous that the influence of national culture differences has diminished. Existing academic literature is divided regarding this matter; some studies indicate that the influence of national culture on business relations is subtle while other argues that national culture differences may be a source for potential barriers and problems and therefore still an important factor to consider. The issue of globalization has also divided researchers, some argue that globalization has made it possible for a homogenous business culture to emerge while other argue that globalization is a myth and ‘global companies’ are in reality regional. Empirical information was collected through interviews at head offices from four large Swedish multinational companies and questions were asked to determine the importance of national culture when choosing a supplier, the influence national culture has on organizational culture and to what extent a homogenous business culture has emerged. The study’s findings identified little evidence to support the idea that cultural difference is a significant factor to consider when conducting business relations. None or very little consideration to national cultural differences was paid when choosing a supplier. However, consideration was sometimes taken to organizational culture, which findings indicate is partly influenced by national culture. The interviewed organizations were of the opinion that at high management level a ‘global culture’ has emerged, and therefore the ‘way of doing business’ has become more uniform. The conclusion, which turned into more of a tendency indication, made from this thesis were that although national cultural differences still exist and probably will do so for some time, the influence it has on ‘business-to-business’ relations between multinational organizations at high management levels has diminished due to the emergence of a more homogenous global business culture.</p>

This thesis attempts to investigate if national culture still is a factor to consider for large multinational organizations when choosing a supplier, or if the global business environment due to globalization has become so standardized and homogenous that the influence of national culture differences has diminished. Existing academic literature is divided regarding this matter; some studies indicate that the influence of national culture on business relations is subtle while other argues that national culture differences may be a source for potential barriers and problems and therefore still an important factor to consider. The issue of globalization has also divided researchers, some argue that globalization has made it possible for a homogenous business culture to emerge while other argue that globalization is a myth and ‘global companies’ are in reality regional. Empirical information was collected through interviews at head offices from four large Swedish multinational companies and questions were asked to determine the importance of national culture when choosing a supplier, the influence national culture has on organizational culture and to what extent a homogenous business culture has emerged. The study’s findings identified little evidence to support the idea that cultural difference is a significant factor to consider when conducting business relations. None or very little consideration to national cultural differences was paid when choosing a supplier. However, consideration was sometimes taken to organizational culture, which findings indicate is partly influenced by national culture. The interviewed organizations were of the opinion that at high management level a ‘global culture’ has emerged, and therefore the ‘way of doing business’ has become more uniform. The conclusion, which turned into more of a tendency indication, made from this thesis were that although national cultural differences still exist and probably will do so for some time, the influence it has on ‘business-to-business’ relations between multinational organizations at high management levels has diminished due to the emergence of a more homogenous global business culture.

This dissertation investigates the case of world music in Turkey as an illustration of the discursive mechanisms involved in the production of a global cultural form from what the globality has defined as the &lsquo / local&rsquo / . The study attempts to show the complicated nature of the process by examining how the musical forms and themes supposedly belonging to the &lsquo / local&rsquo / are incorporated into and appropriated in the discourses associated with world music and into the corresponding strategies of the actors. The discursive compilations, articulations and dislocations taking place in the subspecies of the commercial category of world music in a particular locality are investigated by mapping the discursive topographies on the imaginary continuum from the global to the local. This study views locality as a space where a repertoire of discourses are contested and articulated in the production and consumption of global cultural commodities. In line with this understanding, this dissertation also investigates what is the local as it is produced through the particular brand of world music in Turkey. The study also aims to contribute to the theoretical discussions in the literature on the interaction between the global and the local by looking at the production of a global cultural form in a particular locality.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how international development organizations are working to communicate campaigns and photographs from one cultural context to another. Additionally, will challenges in making campaigns which are both ethical appropriate and engaging be highlighted and discussed in relation to today’s impatient media landscape where globalization and development are dominated by economic interests. This research follows the international development cooperation We Effect and explore their whole media production process while making external communication from the work in Kenya to the target group in Sweden. The researcher has done interviews with decision makers at the head office in Stockholm, regional communicators in Nairobi, independent photographers and farmers in the fields of Kenya, visible in We Effect’s campaigns in Sweden. Additionally, ethnographical observations and diary notes contribute to answer the question how international organizations are planning, creating and distributing ethical and engaging media about development organizations long-term development work. In theoretical discussions, anchored in concepts about global culture, cosmopolitanism and how to mediate distant others, together with previous literature by Lilie Chouliaraki, Roger Silverstone and Stuart Hall, will this research state that there are several challenges in communicating messages from one cultural context to another. The distance, both geographical and mental, makes it challenging for the media producers and spectators to understand the same message; this research states that both the media producers and spectators’ interpretations of photographs and messages are dependent on their cultural background.

This thesis expands upon the concept of the global culture wars in sub-Saharan Africa from a Canadian perspective, focusing on the growing division within Canada between conservative, religious values and liberal, progressive ones (Caplan, 2012). This division led to a political and cultural realignment alongside the increased visibility and leadership of religious and faith communities in Canadian public and political life. Amidst this polarization, Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper was elected Prime Minister in February 2006. Under his leadership, a conservative, pro-family agenda was established. This agenda, which advocates a traditional understanding of family life and structure, in particular refers to a legally married, heterosexual couple with children. It was supported by the evangelical Christian population in Canada, which grew from a united religious community in Canada into a significant constituency of the Conservative Party. Harper’s tenure, coupled with the increased visibility and leadership of faith and religious communities significantly affected domestic and international policies during his tenure as Prime Minister, from 2006 to 2015. This thesis examines the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Child, and Newborn Health (Muskoka-MNCH) and shows how this initiative, which fostered anti-abortion rhetoric abroad, was utilized to appease the evangelical community’s anti-abortion position in Canada.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:17:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Aglae Cecilia Toledo Porto Alves.pdf: 2330664 bytes, checksum: 12b60889f8e7950ad177e663aba147ea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-30 / The aim of this thesis is to find out whether it is possible to undertake an innovative pedagogical project in the state public schools of São Paulo by putting the local culture in the global limelight by means of the educational portal ¨Educarede¨, particularly, in the virtual community called The benefits for and from my land¨. By adopting a new perspective, four categories can be defined that comprise the focal point of this study: the State, local and global culture, the school community and the group environments. The contemporary state is pervaded with a degree of complexity and fragility that has allowed anew kind of organisation to emerge. This is reflected in the public/private partnerships which currently influence the spheres that have traditionally been regarded as lying within the sole competence of the public sectors, or rather the State. The local and global cultures have merged into a new hybrid form in response to the economic, social and political model through which its influence is felt. This has given rise to the birth of a wide range of existing forms which are closely interlinked with each other, as well as with other forms, apparent realities and the technological apparatus produced by humans themselves, (which has ushered in cyber culture). This study examines the benefits derived by the school community from being responsible for planning, carrying out and evaluating its own projects. This means that it is the school itself that must be shaped to become the place where ¨extraordinary¨ events can take place, as well as a privileged space which is able to arouse a process of reflection and broaden one s awareness of the world. The possibility of forming virtual group environments is referred to as a way of allowing the spread, production and reproduction of cultural expression to occur in the most diverse languages. This increases the strength of the will to exist and brings about a sense of belonging and having group responsibilities in shared space. Finally, the envisaged project allows others to have the chance to experience the growing fascination of finding cracks in the ¨ordinary¨ while sensing the emergence of the ¨extraordinary¨ and thus enable one to enter a new world: from its constitution to an exceptional state / A presente tese tem por objetivo verificar se, ao se propiciar visibilidade global à cultura local, ao que é considerado genuíno nos inúmeros municípios do estado de São Paulo, por meio do portal educativo EducaRede, particularmente na comunidade virtual As coisas boas da/para a minha terra , desencadeia-se um fazer pedagógico inovador nas escolas públicas estaduais paulistas. A partir de um olhar diferenciado, definem-se quatro categorias que serão o foco deste estudo: o Estado, a cultura local e global, a comunidade escolar e os ambientes colaborativos. O Estado contemporâneo se imbuiu de um nível de complexidade e fragilidade que propiciou o surgimento de uma nova organização que se reflete nas parcerias público-privadas que influenciam, na atualidade, esferas tradicionalmente consideradas de competência exclusiva do setor público, ou seja, do Estado. As culturas local e global se hibridizaram de forma peculiar, em atendimento ao modelo econômico, social e político que se impôs, fomentando o nascedouro da diversidade de formas de existir, de se relacionar consigo, com o outro, com as supostas realidades e com o aparato tecnológico criado pelo próprio humano, inaugurando a cibercultura. O trabalho discute os benefícios obtidos pela comunidade escolar ao se responsabilizar pela elaboração, execução e avaliação de seus próprios projetos, passando a escola a se configurar como local de manifestação do extraordinário, como um espaço privilegiado capaz de desencadear processos reflexivos e de ampliação da percepção do mundo. Aponta para a possibilidade de os ambientes colaborativos virtuais potencializarem a divulgação, a produção e a reprodução das manifestações culturais nas mais diversas linguagens, aumentando a potência da vontade de existir, a gerar um sentimento de pertencimento e de corresponsabilidade pelo espaço partilhado. Enfim, o projeto visa propiciar ao outro a oportunidade de vivenciar o deslumbramento advindo de fraturas no ordinário, suscitar o surgimento do extraordinário e instigar o ingresso a um novo mundo: à composição ao exorbitante