On knowledge bases and maps of knowledge : some guiddities on getting to know in contemporary higher education

The article briefly introduces a normative and epistemological backdrop to our institutional mapping of knowledge. The assignment given to higher education may be said, in very general terms, to contribute to our knowledge of how to cope with life locally and globally in acceptable and possibly innovative and better ways. Our knowledge bases put to use through institutional maps of knowledge are challenged as our coping is questioned. New relations between practise and theory, transdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning, are requested. The central paragraph of the Norwegian Act relating to Universities and University Colleges is used as case of institutional mapping and a pretext for discussing knowledge bases put to use. It is argued that the Act’s provision of alternative career tracks might provide an opportunity bridging gaps between theory and practise. The alternative track of «førstelektor» is seen to comply with the international trend towards designing professional doctorates, and additionally to meet the challenges of contemporary society

Approaches of Fast Moving Consumer Good Brand Manufacturers towards Product Development. "Safe players" versus "Productors": Implications for Retailers' Management of Manufacturer Relations

Drawing on a qualitative study of fast moving consumer good manufacturers’ management of development of line extensions, the purpose of this paper is to pinpoint implications of such management for manufacturers’ relations with retailers. Especially, the study suggests that manufacturers emphasising brands are likely to choose a “stand alone” approach towards retailers whilst manufac-turers emphasising products are more likely (1) to collaborate with retailers whilst developing line extensions and (2) to engage in private label product de-velopment and production. Apart from the fact that the study suggests retailers to influence manufacturers’ levels of innovativeness in relation to line exten-sions, the study further suggests that manufacturers can be divided into two dif-ferent groups on the basis of their line extension development activities. On the basis of these two different approaches, the paper points to implications for re-tailers’ management of manufacturer relations.

Unmanageable Tourism Destination Brands?

Increasingly researchers and practitioners adopt branding to build and manage tourism destination images. However, we have yet to ask the question: Is it pos-sible to build and/or manage destination brands? This crucial question is ad-dressed by means of: (1) recourse to the origins of branding; (2) explication of fundamental differences between such origins and destinations; and (3) e-xemplification by means of resident-tourist interactions. The answer offered by this paper is that destination brands may not be manageable at all – or at least, that destination brands are so different from consumer brands that we have to accept that specific elements of destination brands are unmanageable to an ex-tent that questions much of the taken-for-granted ”destination brand-ing”knowledge. Consequently, the paper discusses what branding/brand man-agement can(not) do for destination image building and management.Branding, destination image, resident-tourist interaction