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Introduction
The convergence of globalization, the emergence of the knowledge society and accelerating change contribute to what might be best termed a new paradigm of knowledge production in higher education. The new paradigm reflects the emerging shifts in thought, beliefs, priorities and practice in regard to education in society. While the three component trends in the new paradigm are not unknown to readers of On the Horizon , discussion of the trends as elements of a larger system is absent from most literature. These new patterns of thought and belief are forming to harness and manage the chaos, indeterminacy, and complex relationships of the postmodern. This article provides a macro-level perspective of these three phenomena as they impact higher education. Such perspectives provide insight to higher education leaders throughout the world on how tertiary institutions relate to the new paradigm of knowledge production.
Trend I: globalization
Following the termination of the Cold War, scholars and policy makers began to reassess the global landscape and came to ambiguous conclusions regarding its state. [36] Huntington (1993, p. 22), however, intrepidly announced, "world politics is entering a new phase, and intellectuals have not hesitated to proliferate visions of what it will be -the end of history". In his treatise, he states the era of state-dominated relations has concluded and future international conflict will be driven by dichotomous "clashes" of culture.
The "global village"
[47] McLuhan (2002, p. 31) writes, "the new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village". Instant communication through radio and other media have connected people and cultures that were previously divided. In McLuhan's view, the medium of electronic technology is "the massage," and, "is reshaping and restructuring patterns of social interdependence and every aspect of our personal life. It is forcing us to reconsider and reevaluate practically every thought, every action and every institution formerly taken for granted" ([48] McLuhan and Fiore, 1967, pp. 6-10).
Twentieth century technology and media enabled people to view their world as an interconnected whole and as a world among others. [49] McLuhan and Powers (1992, p. 4) write:
After the Apollo astronauts had revolved around the moon's surface in December of 1968, they assembled a television camera and focused it on the earth....