Interreligious dialogue: Ecumenical engagement in interfaith action

This chapter is an exploration of some background, initial impetus and rationales whereby the Christian Church is engaged in interreligious dialogue. There is emphasis on the central agencies of the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. Particular attention is also given to the various models of dialogue that have emerged. The author proposes that in and through this comparative study the contours of an ecumenical Christian stance towards – and an engagement in – interreligious dialogue should emerge. He concludes that people of different religions, in pursuit of dialogical relationship one with another, nowadays have the possibility of transcending past histories of combative clash in favour of a future marked increasingly by co-operative engagement: faith can make things better

Competitiveness, Local Production Systems and Global Commodity Chains in the Music Industry: Entering the US Market

Power D. and Hallencreutz D. (2007) Competitiveness, local production systems and global commodity chains in the music industry: entering the US market, Regional Studies 41, -. This paper traces the principal channels and barriers that determine the conditions of access for musical products entering the US music market. It is shown that music distribution channels and retail environments exist in a networked commodity chain dominated by a limited set of oligopolistic global firms. The journey of a foreign musical product to market in the USA is a difficult one through a set of globally interlinked but highly fractured and localized commodity pools and channels. It is suggested that to understand success or failure in music sales and better develop regional production milieus, one must first understand those who control the distribution channels and retail environments through which sales are made. Power D. et Hallencreutz D. (2007) La competitivite, les systemes de production locaux et les chaines d'approvisionnement mondiales dans l'industrie de la musique: prendre pied sur le marche americain, Regional Studies 41, -. Cet article cherche a localiser les principaux circuits et barrieres qui determinent les conditions prealables a l'entree des produits de musique sur le marche de la musique americain. On demontre que les circuits de distribution de la musique et les surfaces de vente existent sous forme d'une chaine d'approvisionnement en reseau dominee par un nombre limite d'oligopoles mondiaux. Pour un produit de musique etranger, prendre pied sur le marche americain s'avere difficile, en passant par un nombre de bassins et de chaines d'approvisionnement relies sur le plan mondial mais a la fois hautement fissures et localises. L'article laisse supposer que, dans un premier temps, il faut comprendre ceux qui controlent les circuits de distribution et les surfaces de vente par lesquels les produits se vendent pour comprendre la reussite ou l'echec des ventes de musique et mieux developper l'espace de production regional. Industrie de la musique Geographie economique Marche de la musique americain Chaine d'approvisionnement Competitivite Systemes de production locaux Power D. und Hallencreutz D. (2007) Konkurrenzfahigkeit, lokale Produktionssysteme und globale Warenketten in der Musikindustrie: der Zugang zum Markt der USA, Regional Studies 41, -. In diesem Artikel werden die wichtigsten Kanale und Hindernisse beschrieben, die die Bedingungen festlegen, unter denen Musikprodukte auf den US-amerikanischen Musikmarkt gelangen. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Vertriebskanale und die Einzelhandelsumgebungen fur Musik in einer vernetzten Warenkette angesiedelt sind, die von einer kleinen Gruppe oligopolistischer globaler Konzerne beherrscht wird. Der Weg eines auslandischen Musikprodukts auf den Markt der USA steckt voller Schwierigkeiten und verlauft uber eine Reihe global verknupfter, aber hochgradig frakturierter und lokalisierter Warenpools und Kanale. Der Artikel legt den Schluss nahe, dass wir zunachst verstehen mussen, wer die Vertriebskanale und Einzelhandelsumgebungen kontrolliert, uber die der Absatz erzielt wird, wenn wir den Erfolg oder das Scheitern des Musikabsatzes verstehen und bessere lokale Produktionsmilieus entwickeln mochten. Musikindustrie Wirtschaftsgeografie Musikmarkt der USA Warenkette Konkurrenzfahigkeit Lokale Produktionssysteme Power D. y Hallencreutz D. (2007) Competitividad, sistemas de produccion local y cadenas globales de mercancias en la industria discografica: como entrar en el mercado estadounidense, Regional Studies 41, -. En este ensayo exploramos los principales canales y obstaculos que determinan cuales son las condiciones necesarias para que los productos musicales puedan llegar al mercado musical en los Estados Unidos. Demostramos que los canales de distribucion de las discograficas y los minoristas funcionan como una cadena de mercancias conectada y dominada por una serie limitada de empresas internacionales oligopolicas. El viaje que hace un producto musical extranjero hasta llegar al mercado estadounidense es un proceso dificil que tiene que pasar por una serie de consorcios y canales globalmente interconectados pero altamente fracturados y localizados. En este articulo sugerimos que para entender el exito o el fracaso de las ventas musicales y desarrollar mejor los medios de produccion regionales primero debemos conocer mejor quienes son los que controlan los canales de distribucion y los minoristas donde se hacen las ventas. Industria discografica Geografia economica Mercado discografico en Estados Unidos Cadena de mercancias Competitividad Sistemas locales de produccionMusic industry, Economic geography, US music market, Commodity chain, Competitiveness, Local production systems,

Doctoral dissertations in human geography from Swedish universities 1884–2015: demographics, formats and productivity

The doctoral dissertation is a key component of postgraduate education that plays an important role for knowledge production and hence the development of a discipline. Swedish human geography currently lacks an overview of dissertations. This article fills this knowledge gap by reporting findings from a unique database covering all doctoral dissertations between 1884 and 2015. The paper focuses on the demographics of the authors (age, gender), the format of the dissertation and explores productivity variations for authors of compilation dissertations. The findings show a notable increase in the number of doctoral dissertations since the late 1960s but a decreasing share of doctoral dissertations in the social sciences since the 1970s. In terms of demographics, we show that while the age of the authors remains relatively stable, the gender-balance has improved considerably. In terms of format, the monograph has rapidly given way to compilation dissertations, which now account for half the number of dissertations. More than 70% of all dissertations are now published in English. Statistical results suggest that the likelihood of completing a compilation dissertation is greater if the doctoral candidate is young and if attending Umeå University. But individual author productivity for compilation dissertations is mainly influenced by unobservables

Variety of Regional Innovation Systems and Their Institutional Characteristics

Regional Innovation Systems (RISs) come in many shapes. Current RIS typologies, however, pay insufficient attention to institutional factors and as a consequence they fall short of capturing an essential source of variety of RISs in a systematic way. This chapter contributes to a further conceptual development of the RIS approach by capturing regional variety not only in terms of actors and networks but also in terms of institutions. It is shown that an institutional perspective can enrich existing RIS typologies by providing insights into the distinctive institutional frameworks of different RIS types and their particular institutional bottlenecks. Three main causes of institutional bottlenecks are identified, that is, lack of or poorly developed institutions, inappropriate institutions, and contradicting/poorly aligned institutions. As shown in this chapter the institutional perspective advocated here holds a strong potential to contribute to a further conceptual development of the RIS approach. © Springer International Publishing AG 2018. All rights reserved