Apologies for cross posting. Anyone who is interested, in participating in the session, please send an abstract conforming to the requirements of the AAG (see http://annualmeeting.aag.org/submit_an_abstract) and provide their PIN by Monday, October 22, 2018 to John Bryson (j.r.bry...@bham.ac.uk<mailto:j.r.bry...@bham.ac.uk>) and Vida Vanchan (vanc...@buffalostate.edu<mailto:vanc...@buffalostate.edu>).
2nd CALL FOR PAPERS Towards Responsible Business? Innovations and Transformations in the Geographies of Production and Work Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting (Washington DC, April 3-7 2019) Sponsored by the Economic Geography Specialty Group Organizers: John R. Bryson (University of Birmingham, UK) & Vida Vanchan (SUNY Buffalo State, US) We are living in interesting times that include trade wars combined with new process and technological innovations that are transforming both the nature of work, but also the geographic organization of production. There is another concern that is beginning to influence debates across the social sciences. This is a concern with 'responsible business'. This adds a third process that is beginning to shape teaching in business schools, but also to impact on some company behavior. These three processes - the reworking of trading relationship, radical and adaptive innovations and responsible business - are altering global and local production networks and simultaneously destroying jobs and creating new forms of work and organization. The interrelationships between these processes includes the reshoring of manufacturing jobs to the US and the UK from low-cost production locations, but also some shift towards more responsible approaches to organizing work and production. This process of change also includes the application of Artificial Intelligence to business and professional services combined with recent debates on green services. At this time, it becomes important for geographies to chart the characteristics of these transformations and to explore the interrelationship between alterations in the global organization of production and local adaptions including the substitution of employees by AI, but within the context of a debate on responsible business. This call for papers is intended to stimulate a debate on new ways of organizing production and work. We are using the term production to embrace manufacturing and services on the understanding that these two activities are interrelated. We are also not isolating work from production. The sessions are intended to bring debates together across economic geography including those that focus on work and skills and those that are more concerned with global and local production networks. We welcome papers on all types of production, sector and work, but encourage papers that explore the impacts of all types of innovations and transformations. Papers may examine topics including, but are not restricted to: * The on-going transformation of production-orientated or manufacturing-orientated activities. * The on-going transformation of business and professional services including the impacts of AI and Big Data. * The changing nature of work and worker. * The regulation of innovation. * Policy development and the emergence of new geographies of production. * The economic geography of production in smaller towns and cities. * Mass production, mass consumptions, but also project-based work. * New drivers that are altering the geographic organization of production. * Innovations in logistics including supply chain management. * Case studies (of all forms) of small, medium, and large manufacturing/service/hybrid firms, and all subsector studies (process chemicals, automotive, aerospace, energy, agricultural equipment, consumer products, business and professional services, design etc.). * The impacts of new technologies including artificial intelligence and robotics and autonomous systems. * Studies that explore manufacturing/services in particular regional or national settings. * Evaluation of policy interventions. * Responsible or sustainable approaches to business. Anyone interested in participating in the session should send an abstract conforming to the requirements of the AAG (see http://annualmeeting.aag.org/submit_an_abstract) and provide their PIN by Monday, October 22, 2018 to John Bryson (j.r.bry...@bham.ac.uk<mailto:j.r.bry...@bham.ac.uk>) and Vida Vanchan (vanc...@buffalostate.edu<mailto:vanc...@buffalostate.edu>). Dr. Vida Vanchan Associate Professor Department of Geography and Planning State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo State 1300 Elmwood Ave. Buffalo, NY 14222 USA Tel: 716-878-5209 E-mail: vanc...@buffalostate.edu<mailto:vanc...@buffalostate.edu>
