About 25 leading scholars on industries from textiles to trucking and from automobiles to software will meet in Yountville, Calif., Oct. 22 and 23 to discuss the latest research on globalization. And one of the hottest topics -- expected to raise more questions than it provides answers -- will be the Internet and what it means for globalization. "Industrial supply and distribution chains may cross four or five borders," says Martin Kenney, a UC Davis professor who is chairing the "Conference on Globalization of Industry." "What will happen as the Internet makes it increasingly seamless? What does it portend?" Kenney, who teaches an undergraduate course in e-commerce and is an associated researcher of the University of California E-conomy Project, will participate in the Saturday morning Internet session with researchers from Stanford University, UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan. The invitation-only conference is sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Affairs at UC Davis and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, from which most of the participating scholars have received research funding. Held at the Napa Valley Inn, it will begin at 8:30 a.m. both days. On Oct. 24 and 25, about 15 younger researchers will examine the globalization of industries and its effects on employment.