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As engineering work becomes more globalized, it is important to prepare students to succeed in a global engineering workforce. Prior research has explored different factors important to the design of global programs generally, but less is known about the experiences and learning outcomes of engineering students while abroad. Because this population has historically been underrepresented in global programs, few research-based practices have been identified to support the intentional design of global experiences for engineering students. This dissertation seeks to provide such insights through three studies that address the following components of global engineering program design: 1) the assessment of Global Engineering Competency (GEC) through use of a series of scenarios based in the Chinese context; 2) the relationship between program destination and students’ experiences and reported learning outcomes; and 3) the experiences that engineering students identify as most significant during their time abroad. I used a combination of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methods to explore students’ learning and experiences in global engineering programs. The results of these studies revealed that engineering students have a wide variety of learning outcomes and experiences as a result of global programs, that great care should be exercised in choosing and interpreting assessment methods for global programs, and that the design of global engineering programs should be informed by characteristics of both the student participants and the program destination. Overall, the results of this dissertation highlight the importance of intentionality when designing global engineering programs to better prepare students for success in a global work environment. Doctor of Philosophy As engineering work becomes more globalized, it is important to prepare students to succeed in a global engineering workforce. Prior research has explored different factors important to the design of global programs generally, but less is known about the experiences and learning outcomes of engineering students while abroad. Because this population has historically been underrepresented in global programs, few research-based practices have been identified to support the intentional design of global experiences for engineering students. This dissertation seeks to provide such insights through three studies that address the following components of global engineering program design: 1) the assessment of Global Engineering Competency (GEC) through use of a series of scenarios based in the Chinese context; 2) the relationship between program destination and students’ experiences and reported learning outcomes; and 3) the experiences that engineering students identify as most significant during their time abroad. I used a combination of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methods to explore students’ learning and experiences in global engineering programs. The results of these studies revealed that engineering students have a wide variety of learning outcomes and experiences as a result of global programs, that great care should be exercised in choosing and interpreting assessment methods for global programs, and that the design of global engineering programs should be informed by characteristics of both the student participants and the program destination. Overall, the results of this dissertation highlight the importance of intentionality when designing global engineering programs to better prepare students for success in a global work environment.

This project documents my efforts to publish STS- and gender theory-informed articles in engineering education journals. It analyzes the processes of writing and revising three articles submitted to three different journals, aiming to shed light on the field of engineering education, gender research therein, and contribute to feminist science studies literature on the challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary work across women's studies and STEM fields. Building upon Wenger's concept of brokering, I analyze how I brought previously underexplored STS and feminist theory literature into engineering education journals. In producing this dissertation, I aim to illuminate some of the efforts and challenges of bringing STS and Women's Studies (WS) topics into engineering education journals – thus producing an account of brokering practices and an example of scalable scholarship. The first chapter introduces engineering education research (EER) as a field of inquiry, situates my project with respect to current feminist science studies, summarizes the framework of brokering that informs my analyses, and describes my methodology. The second chapter describes my initial attempts at brokering by identifying and bridging differences and the preliminary brokering practices that emerged through writing and revising the first of my three articles. It discusses an article published in Journal of Engineering Education that analyzes the uses of feminist theory in EER and argues that further engagement with a broader range of feminist theories could benefit EER. The third chapter describes how some of these practices were reinforced, but also supplemented, while writing and revising the second article. It discusses an article published in International Journal of Engineering Education that analyzes problematizations of underrepresentation in EER and argues that further reflection upon and formal discussion of how underrepresentation is framed could benefit EER. The forth chapter describes how the established brokering practices guided writing the third article, making the process easier as I had become more comfortable with the requirements and challenges of brokering. It discusses an article submitted to European Journal of Engineering Education that analyzes feminist research methodologies in the context of EER, using data from interviews with feminist engineering educators. The fifth chapter concludes by summarizing the brokering practices and discussing their respective challenges, discussing the implications of this project for STS and WS, and, finally, by discussing other implications for peer review engineering education. The Appendix contains aims, scope, author guidelines, and review criteria for the three journals. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 each begin with a narrative recounting of the practices of brokering that went into producing and revising each article. The narratives describe processes of writing and preparing to submit the articles, reviews received, and subsequent revision processes. The published or submitted articles appear after the brokering narrative. Ph. D.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the organization that provides the technical support for the Internet. ICANN is a nonprofit organization based in California and is under contract to the United States Department of Commerce. It has come under attack from many sides because it is contracted through the U.S. government and it is a private entity. One of the main components of the controversy surrounding ICANN is whether it can represent a global society as a private entity and whether that private entity can represent Internet users. I focus my study on ICANN's Board of Directors. I evaluated the Board on the dimensions of descriptive, substantive, and formal representation (Pitkin 1967). Evaluation of ICANN's descriptive representation focused on the Board members' sex, educational backgrounds, and nationalities and compared the geographic representation on the Board to the global distribution of Internet users. The assessment of substantive representation looked at the Board members' votes to determine if patterns could be viewed based on members' descriptive characteristics. Finally, the evaluation of ICANN's formal representation examined its Bylaws, its 2006 contract with the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporations Code. The analysis found that the descriptive representativeness was low. The ICANN Board does not mirror Internet users: few women have served on the Board, those with technical educational backgrounds dominated, and the regions were not represented proportionate to their use of the Internet. Analysis of substantive representativeness was inconclusive and further investigation is needed. The formal representation analysis suggests that the ICANN Board has been formally representative. Master of Arts