SELECTED THESES ON THE CIRCUMPOLAR ARCTIC

Academic study of communication in Canadian Inuit communities has focused on the introduction of successive waves of communication media such as print, radio and television. One of the reasons for this scholarly interest may be that issues of culture, language and self-determination are more readily apparent in a context that is isolated from the rest of the country and yet in constant contact with the dominant culture.
As Inuit prepare for the creation of their new Canadian territory of Nunavut in April, 1999, they must address the desired role of information technology and the development of a more modern communication infrastructure. Computer-mediated communication is expected to play an important part in compensating for remoteness and isolation. While there has not yet been extensive academic study of computers in the north, there has been much discussion and enthusiastic conjecture about their utility.
This thesis proposes that an appraisal of the potential of information technology in Nunavut requires an analysis of the computer as a material commodity and as a tool for the furtherance of goals of community development, cultural perpetuation and identity formation. Integrating theory and application in a policy research approach, it elaborates on issues that are already being debated by Nunavumiut. It seeks to deflate widely propagated expectations of technology and to frame new challenges in light of Inuit political and communication achievements. Finally, it recommends a regional policy shift in order to incorporate a contextual, cultural understanding as part of computer training. This adaptive policy would be supported by the familiar mechanisms of community activism and pan-Nunavut leadership.'