“Splendid Isolation”: The reproduction of music industry inequalities in Spotify’s recommendation system

In this article, we argue that offline inequalities, such as core–periphery relations of the music industry, are reproduced by streaming platforms. First, we offer an overview of the reproduction of inequalities and core–periphery dynamics in the music industry. Then we illustrate this through a small-scale network analysis case study of Hungarian metal bands’ connections on Spotify. We show that the primary determinant of a given band’s international connectedness in Spotify’s algorithmic ecosystem is their international label connections. Bands on international labels have more reciprocal international connections and are more likely to be recommended based on actual genre similarity. However, bands signed with local labels or self-published tend to have domestic connections and to be paired with other artists by Spotify’s recommendation system according to their country of origin.

Geoethics education and climate literacy: Bridging the gap – interactively

<p>In previous years, the authors have addressed questions related to <strong>geoethics education,</strong> or what we have called <strong>geo-edu-ethics</strong> (<strong>GEE</strong>), in relation to geo-problems in general (such as global warming, pollution, sea-level rise, deforestation, ocean acidification, biodiversity).</p><p>In this session we wish to focus in on the greatest of all geo-problems, that of <strong>climate change</strong> (<strong>CC</strong>), which necessarily entails the urgent need for massive, widespread <strong>climate literacy</strong> (<strong>CL</strong>) – both education and learning.  We wish to examine the relationships between GEE and CL, their overlaps and differences, and how they may mutually reinforce each other.  In so doing, we will also touch on the ethics of educational and learning methods that are used to help people learn about geoethics and CC.</p><p>Currently, it seems that the two areas work in parallel, maybe even separated by a mindset of splendid isolation, and yet the apparent overlap, not least in their visons and missions, beckons us to bring the two closer together.  This is what we will attempt in our presentation.  The questions that we plan to address include the following:</p><ul><li>Is it true, or a misconception, that GEE and CL tend to work separately, often ignorant of each other?</li> <li>What do GEE and CL have in common?</li> <li>Their ethos, their content, their methods, their audience?</li> <li>Is it possible to unify the GEE and CL into an overarching rational and thereby form a coherent community of practice?</li> <li>What can practitioners in each bubble learn from each other? What will it take for the two bubbles to merge?</li> <li>How can each group maintain its own professional identity (if that is deemed important) and yet work hand in hand with the other, to their mutual benefit?</li> <li>What are the most effective ways forward, given the geoethical urgency of acting to slow CC?</li> </ul><p>The presentation will be interactive, as we will invite the audience to contribute their own ideas and experience.  If we are permitted to have breakout rooms, we will divide into small groups for a short time, and then bring everyone together for a plenary sharing.</p>

'Splendid isolation': Embracing islandness in a global pandemic

Islandness is often considered to be a disadvantage. However, it has helped the residents of islands to delay, deter, and, in some cases, totally insulate themselves from COVID-19. While islanders have been quick to lock themselves down, this has had a tremendous impact on their connectivity and on tourism, which in many cases is their major economic sector. Yet, the association of islands with being safe, “COVID-19 free” zones has helped these spaces to be among the first destinations to restart the tourism economy once travel restrictions were lifted. After several weeks of lockdown, and with the COVID-19 threat still looming, social distancing remained the norm. Travellers were thus eager to immerse themselves in island environments while avoiding crowds and seeking small accommodation facilities in less densely populated rural areas to limit the risks of infection — a package offered by several islands in the central Mediterranean. With many travellers opting to travel close to home, islands benefited from domestic tourism — a key market segment for islands in this region. Islands have thus performed relatively well in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and in restarting their economies; but the pandemic has also exposed challenges including a dangerous overreliance on tourism.

The Neo-Ottoman Foreign Policy of the AKP

This chapter explores the extent of contemporary neo-Ottomanism’s influence in Turkey’s foreign policy and the political infrastructure for implementing it. It examines the dynamic of the mutually constitutive relationship between Islamization and Ottomanization within three stages of Turkish foreign policy: Europeanization (2002–2010); Arab Spring and Islamicization (2010–2013); “Splendid Isolation” (2013–present). The focus of the chapter is Ahmet Davutoğlu, who provided the ideological framework for neo-Ottoman foreign policy. The analysis probes Davutoğlu’s understanding of Ottomanism as Islamist, anti-Western, adventurist, and ideological. This leads to exploring why many pundits and critics of Turkey’s foreign and domestic politics use this specific term as an epithet to signal the gradual Islamicization of domestic politics and the growing presence of Islamic irredentism in foreign policy.