Journal of Applied Sciences1812-56541812-5662Asian Network for Scientific Information10.3923/jas.2009.1215.1226TolunayA. AkyolA. InceY. 7200997This study investigates the effects of globalization
on rural communities and was conducted in two villages, one upland and
the other lowland, located in Turkey`s Western Mediterranean region. These
are namely the villages of Serpil and Akbelenli, both located in Eğirdir
District of Isparta Province. The Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) technique
was utilized throughout the study and included such tools as interviews,
observations and secondary data analysis. The results emerging from the
study indicate that globalization has had varying effects on upland and
lowland villages. In the village of Serpil, a low basin, (1) resources
are sufficient for the rural community to live on; (2) there is no issue
of migration either to or from the village due to rural poverty; (3) modern
communication tools are widely used in the village; (4) villagers are
in close contact with the outside world through the use of the internet;
(5) villagers take fairly good advantage of the beneficial consequences
of globalization. On the other hand, in the village of Akbelenli, a high
basin, (1) resources are not adequate to provide subsistence to the uplands
villagers; (2) the younger generation is relocating to cities and rural
areas become gradually abandoned; (3) modern mass media and computer tools
are not utilized due to rural poverty; (4) opportunities that globalization
provides for gathering information are not taken advantage of; (5) at
its present state, the rural community is unable to attain a basic grip
on the information age. The primary reason why these two villages are
different from each other has to do with the fact that their geographic
locations and the amount of resources available to the villagers are so
distinct. Therefore, in Turkey, actions aimed at rural development should
be taken in consideration of this distinction between upland and lowland
villages.]]>Adams, F.G.,2002pp: 328pp: 328Akca, H., M. Sayili and K. Esengun,200724404413Aktan, C.C. and H. Sen,19991st Edn.,Bauer, P.T.,1981pp: 145pp: 145Beebe, J.,19871987pp: 4768Chambers, R.,1983pp: 256pp: 256Chen, K.Y.E.,1994Vol. 18,pp: 486pp: 486Conway, G.,19851985pp: 228254Cooke, P.,20077117139Cooke, P.,20076579106Dixon, C.J.,1990Galli, R.,19811981pp: 213-217pp: 213-217Grandstaff, T.B.,1984Heiduk, G., C.E. Barfield and J.J. Paul-Welfens,20031st Edn.,pp: 388pp: 388Hutchison, E.D.,20032nd Edn.,Kant, I.,18741874Mishra, P. and P. Topalova,2007815Nichols, P.,19911991Oakley, P. and C. Garforth,19851st Edn.,Pratt, B. and P. Loizos,1992Preston, P.,1996Ouattara, D.A.,1997Raghbendra, J.,1994pp: 322pp: 322Richardson, D.,1997pp: 79pp: 79Schmidt, A.,200684128143Sing, K.,19992nd Edn.,Singer, V.,19891989pp: 67-84pp: 67-84Steger, M.B.,2003Strauss, T.,20012135157Timmer, C.P.,19981998pp: 113-135pp: 113-135The State Planning Organization,20072007The State Planning Organization,20072007Tolunay, A., A. Akyol and M. Ozcan,20082008pp: 356366Turkish Statistical Institute,20072007