Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-189). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Globalization has, within academic, political and business circles alike, become a prominent buzzword of the past decade, conjuring a diversity of associations, connotations and attendant mythologies. The literature devoted to the issue of globalization is both vast in scope and diverse in nature, becoming increasingly prominent not only in academics and politics, but in the popular press, as well. The goal of this dissertation is to provide the reader with a map of themes, narratives, and characterizations related to globalization circulating in the United States in order to demonstrate the potential ways that individual thought on the issue is shaped by public discourse. A secondary goal is to critically examine specific texts to identify areas where their arguments overlap, conflict, or may be misconstrued due to weak or inaccurate evidence. By better understanding the map of rhetorical formations in widely-read texts regarding globalization, it may be possible for people to be better able to understand the concerns and intentions of those voicing various and often competing viewpoints.

Since the turn of the millennium the national Open Universities in China and India have been integrating online learning as an additional means of course delivery. Over this period both countries have witnessed exponential growth in Internet access and a commensurate need, mandated by government, to increase enrolments in higher education with one focus placed on using networked technologies. Prevailing arguments suggest there is a growing convergence towards a universal model of higher education based on a western world culture. The question of whether online learning may support, or accelerate, such a convergence by hastening the displacement of national ideas and values is the central question addressed in this investigation. Aspects of online learning in the Open University of China (OUC) and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) are compared: policy, curriculum and students’ experiences and perceptions A comparative case study methodology has been used, incorporating a mixed methods design. Data collection techniques include document analysis, interviews and surveys. The analysis of policy documents, covering the period from 1997 to 2011, and data from interviews with institutional policymakers point to differences in the experience of developing online learning in the two national institutions. The OUC has taken a top down linear approach backed by government oversight, whereas IGNOU has tended to devise policy based on the emerging experiences of instructors and students learning online. A consideration of the content of four courses in each institution, combined with data from interviews with course developers, offers a glimpse of curriculum design for online learning within the larger Open Universities. A rubric is used to quantify the extent of national and foreign content in some of the courses. The findings point to varying degrees of a national representation of knowledge in the presentation of content. The third data set presents findings of a student survey. Results point to general satisfaction with online learning at each Open University, including a positive outlook for future employment as an outcome of learning online. Additional findings indicate that students believe the representation of national knowledge in content may be compromised as the use of online learning grows. Tying these results together, this investigation aims to bring a deeper awareness of the impact of online learning within each Open University. As each institution enrolls approximately three million students, with growth expected, it is valuable for policymakers and curriculum designers to reflect on how national knowledge may be balanced with global learning content in this new and widely used medium. Finally, the fact that the two institutions are similar in infrastructure, enrolments and openness to online learning, results in insights into how each system may learn from the other as it goes forward.

Globalization is increasingly considered an important influence on the determinants of health. Globalization, for the purposes of this study, was defined as a process of greater integration within the world economy through movements of goods and services, capital, technology and (to a lesser extent) labour, which lead increasingly to economic decisions being influenced by global conditions.(1) Although there have been many conceptual and theoretical explorations of the globalization and health relationship, only a limited number of empirical studies have sought to link the processes of globalization to health effects in a specific context and/or for a particular population such as children. The objectives of this thesis were two-fold: to investigate primarily the economic pathways and related political pathways by which globalization influences the determinants of health and health outcomes in low-income children ages zero to five in a mid-sized Canadian city (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan); to identify and analyze the policy responses at various levels (national, provincial, and municipal) that address the effects of globalization on determinants of health such as household income and distribution, employment and education for parents, housing, and social programs.<p> This study was a case study that used mixed methods. The case in this research was Saskatoon, a mid-size city located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The analytical framework used to guide this study was developed by Labonte and Torgerson.(2) Methods included: a demographic profile for the City of Saskatoon; an environmental scan of federal, provincial, and municipal policy that has direct relevance for child health; process tracing; semi-structured interviews with low-income parents of young children (n=26); and trend analysis of child health outcomes among children ages zero to five.<p> The current phase of globalization in Canada and Saskatchewan is inextricably linked with the implementation of neoliberal policies such as tax restructuring, trade liberalization, privatization, deregulation, and greater integration in the global economy. This phase of globalization contributed to changes in the determinants of health that affect children and their families in Saskatoon. For instance, globalization has involved retrenchment of the welfare state in Canada and Saskatchewan. As the welfare state diminished in size and responsibility, poverty tended to deepen among those that were already poor. The retrenchment of the welfare state also led to diminished program access. In addition, globalization has emphasized the restructuring of the labour market to be more competitive and flexible. A restructured labour market and reduced access to services and programs contributed to greater inequalities in income in Canada, Saskatchewan, and Saskatoon. Finally, globalization contributed to declining housing affordability in Canadas cities such as Saskatoon.<p> Trend analysis at the neighbourhood-level to determine the linkages between changes in the determinants of child health and changes in child health outcomes was inconclusive. Further research is required to determine if the disparities in the determinants of child health that have been exacerbated by the economic and political processes of globalization have contributed to increasing disparities in child health outcomes.<p> This study indicated that the economic and political processes of globalization influenced the determinants of health among young low-income children and their families in Saskatoon through a number of pathways, but this is not to suggest that globalization was the only phenomenon at work. Although it was very difficult to draw any conclusions regarding the globalization and health relationship with certainty, this study offered a logical and a multi-prong approach to examining the effects of globalization on childrens health and health determining conditions. Studies of this nature are important for contributing to our understanding of the complex structures that influence health and for building up the linkages between globalization and health on a case-by-case basis.

Since the turn of the millennium the national Open Universities in China and India have been integrating online learning as an additional means of course delivery. Over this period both countries have witnessed exponential growth in Internet access and a commensurate need, mandated by government, to increase enrolments in higher education with one focus placed on using networked technologies. Prevailing arguments suggest there is a growing convergence towards a universal model of higher education based on a western world culture. The question of whether online learning may support, or accelerate, such a convergence by hastening the displacement of national ideas and values is the central question addressed in this investigation. Aspects of online learning in the Open University of China (OUC) and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) are compared: policy, curriculum and students’ experiences and perceptions A comparative case study methodology has been used, incorporating a mixed methods design. Data collection techniques include document analysis, interviews and surveys. The analysis of policy documents, covering the period from 1997 to 2011, and data from interviews with institutional policymakers point to differences in the experience of developing online learning in the two national institutions. The OUC has taken a top down linear approach backed by government oversight, whereas IGNOU has tended to devise policy based on the emerging experiences of instructors and students learning online. A consideration of the content of four courses in each institution, combined with data from interviews with course developers, offers a glimpse of curriculum design for online learning within the larger Open Universities. A rubric is used to quantify the extent of national and foreign content in some of the courses. The findings point to varying degrees of a national representation of knowledge in the presentation of content. The third data set presents findings of a student survey. Results point to general satisfaction with online learning at each Open University, including a positive outlook for future employment as an outcome of learning online. Additional findings indicate that students believe the representation of national knowledge in content may be compromised as the use of online learning grows. Tying these results together, this investigation aims to bring a deeper awareness of the impact of online learning within each Open University. As each institution enrolls approximately three million students, with growth expected, it is valuable for policymakers and curriculum designers to reflect on how national knowledge may be balanced with global learning content in this new and widely used medium. Finally, the fact that the two institutions are similar in infrastructure, enrolments and openness to online learning, results in insights into how each system may learn from the other as it goes forward.

La station radiophonique de Radio-Canada à Sudbury (CBON) nous accorde la permission de publier cette entrevue dirigée par Normand Renaud

Globalization is increasingly considered an important influence on the determinants of health. Globalization, for the purposes of this study, was defined as a process of greater integration within the world economy through movements of goods and services, capital, technology and (to a lesser extent) labour, which lead increasingly to economic decisions being influenced by global conditions.(1) Although there have been many conceptual and theoretical explorations of the globalization and health relationship, only a limited number of empirical studies have sought to link the processes of globalization to health effects in a specific context and/or for a particular population such as children. The objectives of this thesis were two-fold: to investigate primarily the economic pathways and related political pathways by which globalization influences the determinants of health and health outcomes in low-income children ages zero to five in a mid-sized Canadian city (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan); to identify and analyze the policy responses at various levels (national, provincial, and municipal) that address the effects of globalization on determinants of health such as household income and distribution, employment and education for parents, housing, and social programs.<p> This study was a case study that used mixed methods. The case in this research was Saskatoon, a mid-size city located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The analytical framework used to guide this study was developed by Labonte and Torgerson.(2) Methods included: a demographic profile for the City of Saskatoon; an environmental scan of federal, provincial, and municipal policy that has direct relevance for child health; process tracing; semi-structured interviews with low-income parents of young children (n=26); and trend analysis of child health outcomes among children ages zero to five.<p> The current phase of globalization in Canada and Saskatchewan is inextricably linked with the implementation of neoliberal policies such as tax restructuring, trade liberalization, privatization, deregulation, and greater integration in the global economy. This phase of globalization contributed to changes in the determinants of health that affect children and their families in Saskatoon. For instance, globalization has involved retrenchment of the welfare state in Canada and Saskatchewan. As the welfare state diminished in size and responsibility, poverty tended to deepen among those that were already poor. The retrenchment of the welfare state also led to diminished program access. In addition, globalization has emphasized the restructuring of the labour market to be more competitive and flexible. A restructured labour market and reduced access to services and programs contributed to greater inequalities in income in Canada, Saskatchewan, and Saskatoon. Finally, globalization contributed to declining housing affordability in Canadas cities such as Saskatoon.<p> Trend analysis at the neighbourhood-level to determine the linkages between changes in the determinants of child health and changes in child health outcomes was inconclusive. Further research is required to determine if the disparities in the determinants of child health that have been exacerbated by the economic and political processes of globalization have contributed to increasing disparities in child health outcomes.<p> This study indicated that the economic and political processes of globalization influenced the determinants of health among young low-income children and their families in Saskatoon through a number of pathways, but this is not to suggest that globalization was the only phenomenon at work. Although it was very difficult to draw any conclusions regarding the globalization and health relationship with certainty, this study offered a logical and a multi-prong approach to examining the effects of globalization on childrens health and health determining conditions. Studies of this nature are important for contributing to our understanding of the complex structures that influence health and for building up the linkages between globalization and health on a case-by-case basis.

As the last few decades have seen a proliferation of debate concerning today’s international system referred to as “globalization,” education has seen an exponential rise in curriculum (such as that promoted by global education, international education, and the International Baccalaureate Organization) that instills students with “international understanding” and “global perspectives.” Through a two-site, interpretive study, this dissertation explored the nature of 15 students’ international understanding and their grasp of globalization. Qualitative techniques for data collection involved open-ended questionnaires and interviews, and emergent category designation was employed for qualitative data analysis. International Baccalaureate students from Estado de México and Texas revealed complex, yet well-developed, perceptions of globalization that spoke of a system which privileges the powerful and leaves the developing world behind. Both U.S. and Mexican students were skeptical of the United States’ position as the dominant player in world politics, economics, and global culture, and students from both sides of the border lamented local culture loss in globalization.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 249-266).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.