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Call for papers:
RGS-IBG Annual Conference, London 31 August - 2 September 2005
GLOBAL BUSINESS SPACES
Joint Sponsored by the Economic Geography Research Group and Urban Geography
Research Group
Session convenor: Andrew Jones, School of Geography, Birkbeck College,
University of London
Context:
Over the last decade, geographers have paid a great deal of attention both
to TNCs as major actors in the global economy and also to the development of
global or globalizing cities. Yet whilst these topics have shared
increasingly common theoretical and empirical ground, they have occupied fairly
distinct literatures. This session aims to bring together these two key strands
of geographical interest through a focus on _global business spaces_. It will
examine the spaces of interaction, often in the globalized city, where key
decision-making functions are undertaken and where knowledge communities and
social networks are formed and reproduced. Whilst this obviously includes
the formal and informal physical spaces of the urban environment _ meeting
rooms, board rooms, restaurants, cafes, bars and so on _ the session proposes
that global business exists in a range of other kinds of spaces: the virtual
spaces of the web and electronic communities, the transient spaces of airports,
business-class cabins of airlines and other transport nodes, the social
spaces of knowledge communities and the organizational spaces of global firms.
The session therefore aims to generate innovative debate about how we might
better theorize and research the key spatialised practices that constitute
global economic activity in and through places.
It envisaged that papers may address topics including:
* the spaces of social interaction in the global economy which are at the centre
of global business, spanning physicial, social and virtual spaces
* the nature of firm and other organisational spaces in global economic
activity, including mapping the spatialities of transnational business-contact
networks and communities of practice;
* the development of new physical spaces of global economic action. For example,
purpose built business centres, business hotels, airport and other
travel node facilities, convention centre development
* the redesign and evolution of office buildings in global cities and other key
spaces to the physical fabric of the global economy;
* the wide impact on urban form and development ranging across issues such
as new office developments, 'smart buildings' and IT infrastructure;
*informal spaces of international business such as restuarants, bars and
social clubs.
These topics are offered as an indication and proposals are welcome from
contributors who feel their work fits the wider themes of the session.
Please send expressions of interest, abstracts of no more than 200 words and
5 keywords to [log in to unmask] by Friday 21 January 2005.
Please forward this email to those who may be interested in participating.
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