Dear Andy Pratt,
I will not be attending a paper to your IBG session, though I am sorely
tempted to do so.  However, I am trying to finish up some other papers, and
as a result don't have time to revise the paper and abstract so that it
clear delivers some intellectual value-added.

Please accept my apologies for a late reply.
Best Wishes,
Jeff Boggs

At 11:47 AM 11/24/2004, you wrote:
>Dear All,
>
>You may recall that I sent round an initial call for interest in a session
>for the RGS-IBG conference this summer. I am happy to say that I received
>a positive response, the EGRC have sponsored it, and the RGS have accepted
>the session.
>
>We were allocated 1 session block (2 1/4 hours). I think that is time for
>6 x 20 minute papers.
>
>The detailed proposal is:
>'A critical look at commodity chains (including value chains/production
>networks/systems)': culturalisation or cultural products?
>The aim of this session will be to critically examine the notion and use
>of the 'commodity chain' and related and derivative concepts. The session
>would ideally be a double unit one. The first would focus on the general
>issue, the second on cultural commodity chains.
>1.Some of the writing about commodity chains implies a universal concept
>and policy. A contrasting view is that commodity chains, the spaces they
>are manifest in and through, and the production/consumption processes that
>mobilise them, are quite distinctive. For example, there is a lot of work
>on the specificities of food chains, textiles, and motor vehicles. Is
>there a case to be made for a sectoral perspective (and if so, what are
>the key differences between sectors, and why)? The outcome of this debate
>has more has substantial policy relevance.
>2. The aim of the second session is to focus on cultural industry
>commodity chains. Specifically to examine the tensions between one
>tendency to elide (or simply concentrate on thus cultural dimensions of
>analysis) general commodity chain analysis with 'culturalisation thesis',
>and the counter-tendency to focus on the specificities of the cultural
>industries (in contrast to other industries) as -mainly -economic activities.
>
>**The deadline for abstract submissions is January 31 2005. A general call
>for papers will be sent out in early December and several reminders will
>be sent out between then and the deadline in January.
>
>Can  those of you who are interested send me completed abstract submission
>forms as soon as possible ([log in to unmask]). I will endeavor make a
>fair and balanced choice for the session - so please get tem to me by mid
>January to give me a chance to do this.  Please put 'commodity chains' in
>the header.
>
>Abstract submission forms may be downloaded from www.rgs.org/AC2005
>
>
>Thanks
>
>andy
>
>Dr Andy C Pratt
>Department of Geography
>London School of Economics
>Houghton Street
>London WC2A 2AE
>email: [log in to unmask]
>web pages:
>[log in to unmask]" target="_blank">http:[log in to unmask]
>tel: +44 (0)207 955 7588
>fax: +44 (0)207 955 7412
>This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
>solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
>LSE does not accept responsibility for the external use of any information
>contained within this email message, none of which constitutes an offer or
>a contract.
>  -----Original Message-----
>From:   David Gibbs [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent:   24 November 2004 16:20
>To:     [log in to unmask]
>Subject:        CFP - Industrial Ecology & Regional Development
>
>Apologies for cross postings
>
>CALL FOR PAPERS
>11th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference
>June 7-8, 2005 in Helsinki, Finland at Statistics Finland
>ERP Environment, The Research Institute for Social Sciences, University of
>Tampere Finland, Progress in Industrial Ecology - An International Journal
>and Statistics Finland
>
>Industrial Ecology and Regional Development Session
>
>Organisers:
>Pauline Deutz ([log in to unmask]) and David Gibbs ([log in to unmask]),
>University of Hull, Tony Jackson ([log in to unmask]), University of
>Dundee, and Don Lyons ([log in to unmask]), University of North Texas
>
>In this session, we would like to explore the commonalities between
>industrial ecology and regional development studies.  Industrial ecology
>(IE) is a business-centred eco-efficiency initiative based on an analogy
>with natural ecosystems.  It is part of the broader field of endeavour to
>move society towards a more ecologically balanced relationship with the
>environment.  Exposure to debates in the social science community may be a
>useful vehicle to attempt to understand some of the connections and
>potential synergies between industrial ecology and the broader field of
>sustainability initiatives at what is still a formative stage of the
>discipline.
>
>Notwithstanding the private sector origins of industrial ecology, its
>implementation in the form of eco-industrial development has been seen as a
>public sector tool for promoting sustainable development, especially in the
>US.  In the UK IE, or more specifically industrial symbiosis, has received
>support from regional development agencies in the form of the National
>Industrial Symbiosis Programme. It is seen as a way of promoting regional
>development by improving the economic performance of businesses.
>
>The timeliness of this session is indicated by the increasing influence of
>environmental issues policy areas such as regional development.
>Implementation of the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive, for
>example, requires policy makers to consider environmental impacts
>explicitly. Much EU environmental legislation has no direct equivalent in
>the US, although a series of voluntary programs such as those specified
>under Project XL, are encouraging companies to develop new ways to achieve
>environmental results, which may increase the prioritisation of the
>environment on the regional development and business agendas.  This session
>could help to promote a cross-fertilisation of ideas on the efficacy of the
>EU regulatory driven approach to sustainability, compared to the US
>reliance on voluntary actions and market mechanisms.  Contributions from
>beyond EU/US are very much encouraged, in order to expand the debate
>further.
>
>Among other areas, we would welcome papers that deal with:
>Eco-industrial park development
>Region-wide industrial ecology initiatives
>The role of policy in promoting industrial symbiosis
>Theorising industrial ecology at the regional scale
>Developing interfirm linkages at on-site and/or regional scales.
>
>Please notify one of the session organisers as soon as possible, if you are
>interested in participating in this event, or would like more information.
>
>Deadlines:
>200 word abstract must be e-mailed to Jouni Korhonen
>([log in to unmask]) by 15 December, 2004.  Registration: 520 euros by
>29 April, 2005 (320 euros for students).


----------
J E F F  B O G G S
Ph.D. Candidate
UCLA Department of Geography
Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA