Program for the 70th Annual Meeting now available:
CALL FOR PAPERS AND POSTERS
70th SEDAAG Meeting
Pensacola, FL November 22-24, 2015
As we begin our seventh decade as the preeminent Regional Division of the Association of American Geographers all are invited to attend and submit a paper or a poster, for the upcoming 70th SEDAAG meeting in sunny Pensacola, FL. Hotel information can be found here: uwf.edu/sedaag/welcome/short/ Additionally, two field trips have been announced and interested parties can read more about those here: uwf.edu/sedaag/fieldtrips/ Complete registration information can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sedaag-annual-meeting-registration-17267261845. Organized sessions around specific areas or themes of research, methodological approaches, or regions are especially encouraged. Additionally, graduate students are encouraged to submit a paper for the Student Honors Competition. Undergraduate students are encouraged to submit a poster for the competition sponsored and administered by the SEDAAG Education Committee. Please see the sections below for further information on special sessions and for information on the online submission process. The Program Chair for the 2015 meeting is Joshua Inwood from the University of Tennessee. All submissions must be submitted via the online form referenced below. Please note that all paper/poster presenters and session chairs MUST be members of SEDAAG (membership information can be found at http://www.SEDAAG.org). Finally, and importantly, on behalf of the SEDAAG leadership team and the local organizing committee, we want to especially encourage new members to participate in the meeting and we want to thank our current members for their continued support.
I. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS
Submit via the online submission form (click here)
The deadlines:
The outline for all special sessions (papers and panels) should be submitted by Friday, September 4, 2015.
All paper and poster submissions are now due Monday, September 21, 2015.
Submissions received after the deadlines will not be accepted. The Program Committee will conduct a blind review of all poster and paper abstracts and descriptions received by the deadline. Inclusion in the final program is subject to acceptance following this peer review. Please notify the Program Chair if confirmation of material receipt is not received in one week following paper/poster submission.
All materials must be submitted via the SEDAAG webpage. Paper submissions should be no more than a 1000 word summary-like description of the paper’s key arguments, results, and significance. In addition, potential participants will need to submit a 250 word abstract for inclusion in the meeting program. Do not include tables, figures, or other graphics in your paper or abstract. If the paper description or abstract contains more than one paragraph, leave two spaces between paragraphs. Abstracts (250 words) should be submitted as a separate file on the online submission form. These abstracts will be published on the web. Authors are responsible for editing and proofreading their own abstracts; they will be posted as written.
Poster Submissions: Additional Guidelines
Similar to papers, posters need a 1000 word summary-like description of the posters key arguments, results, and significance. In addition, potential participants will need to submit a 250 word abstract for inclusion in the meeting program. Do not include tables, figures, or other graphics in your description or abstract
Poster set-up: Stands for presenting posters will be provided by the local organizing committee. Poster dimensions will be 36″ by 48″. Materials should be of professional quality and legible from a distance of three feet.
II. Organizing a Special Session or Panel Discussion
Special sessions and panel discussions are a valuable contribution to SEDAAG and a way to build professional networks as well as cast light on cutting edge themes, theories, and methods. Organizers of special sessions or panels should adhere to the following additional guidelines: Special session and panel plans (see next paragraph) should be submitted by Friday, September 4, 2015, and the actual papers and abstracts to be submitted online by authors on September 21, 2015. This earlier date will give the program committee adequate time to read through special session and panel plans.
Organizers of special session or panels need to provide a draft special-session or panel plan to the program chair that includes the title, session/panel chair, intended paper titles for special session, and authors’/panelists’ names and affiliations. All papers submitted are subjected to the regular submission review process. Please send your organized session plan to the Program Chair in a Word attachment and marked in the subject line SPECIAL SESSION SEDAAG. In the word document please include: 1.) Session title; 2.) Participants with their affiliations, e-mail address, and names of their papers; and 3.) The order in which you want to the papers to be presented. Time and space constraints dictate that a special session should have a minimum of four papers, but ideally five papers.
III. GUIDELINES FOR THE STUDENT HONORS COMPETITION
The student honors competition consists of paper competitions for both Master and Doctoral level and one combined poster competition for Master and Doctoral levels. Eligibility: To be eligible to participate in the student honors competition, the graduate student must have been enrolled in a geography program and in residence at the sponsoring department at the time his or her research was done. The sponsoring department must be located within the SEDAAG region. Ph.D. students must still be enrolled as a student at the time the paper is presented. Master level students who have graduated since doing their research may present their papers at the first SEDAAG meeting following graduation. Papers should represent original research. Maps, illustrations, and other audiovisual materials should be designed and constructed by the author. No multiple authored papers will be accepted. All topics broadly related to geography may be entered and will be ensured of a critical and impartial evaluation.
Departmental Responsibilities:
Sponsoring departments need to verify the eligibility of graduate students for the Honors competition and conduct preliminary screening of papers to ensure that those submitted are high quality products. To the extent possible, departments should ensure that authors accepted in the competition attend the 2015 meeting and be present at the awards ceremony.
Evaluation Procedures: Papers and posters submitted for the honors competition will undergo preliminary screening by the Honors Committee. Those accepted for the competition will be referred to the Program Committee for inclusion in one of the honors competition sessions. Papers and posters not included in the competition but accepted in the program will be placed in an appropriate session elsewhere. Each paper submitted to the honors competition will be evaluated for its quality as a written paper and based on original research undertaken by the author and for its oral presentation and defense. The written and oral evaluations will be weighted 60 percent for the written portion and 40 percent for the presentation and defense.
Each poster submitted to the competition will be evaluated for its quality as a written and visual reporting of original research undertaken by the author, for its graphic presentation and for its oral defense and explanation when presented to judges. The weight for each category is 30 percent for the written component, 30 percent for the oral defense and 40 percent for its visual acuity.
Content will be the primary criterion in the written evaluation, but the author should use proper English as well as appropriate illustrations and documentation.
The paper and posters must be prepared with care and treated as one prepares a manuscript for possible publication. A primary criterion will be a well-defined research objective and a research procedure appropriate to achieving it. The paper/poster should focus on one or more research questions and present at least a tentative answer, or it will receive lower marks in the judging competition.
The oral examination is independent of the evaluation of the written paper, and will focus on the professional quality of the presentation and the adequacy with which questions are answered. It is important that the oral presentations be lively and well-illustrated. The visual quality of the presentation is also important in determining the final evaluation. All visual aids should be intelligible. In order to leave adequate time for questions, each oral presentation should adhere to the time limit (15 minutes) for delivery by the person specified by the person chairing the session.
The evaluation of the visual presentation of the poster will include quality, appropriateness, and visual appeal of maps, figures and illustrations. Materials should be of professional quality and legible from a distance of one to three feet. Text should be confined to brief statements. Maximum poster dimensions are 36’ by 48″.
Submissions of Honors’ Papers and Posters:
All honors submissions need to send an 8 page paper or completed poster to the Honors Committee Chair, Heidi Lannon, Santa Fe College (Heidi.lannon@sfcollege.edu) AND honors submissions need to go through the SEDAAG webpage submission portal and submit the paper description and abstract. A letter must accompany a paper or poster submitted for the Honors competition and sent to the Honors Committee Chair from the student’s advisor or head of the sponsoring department verifying the status and eligibility (email letter is fine). Please indicate in the online system that your submission is for the Honors competition and please make sure that you clearly indicate if you wish the paper to be considered for the Master or PhD level.
IV. GUIDELINES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT POSTER COMPETITION
Applicants for the Undergraduate Student Poster Competition must be members of SEDAAG and submit the online submission form with their basic contact information by the Monday, September 21, 2015 deadline. Please select as the submission type ‘Undergraduate Poster’ and provide the title of your project. Abstracts DO NOT need to be submitted until Friday October 16, 2015 to Dr. Phillip Schmutz at pschmutz@uwf.edu. See directions below.
Eligibility:
To be eligible to participate in the undergraduate student poster competition, the undergraduate student must have been enrolled in a geography program and in residence at the sponsoring department at the time his or her research was conducted. The sponsoring department must be located within the SEDAAG region. Master level students who have graduated since completing their research may present their posters at the first SEDAAG meeting following their undergraduate graduation.
Posters should represent original research. Maps, illustrations, and other audiovisual materials should be designed and constructed by the student author. No multiple authored posters will be accepted. Posters should consist of undergraduates as the sole author (supervisors and other students involved in the research can be mentioned on the poster, however only one student can author and present each poster).
All topics broadly related to geography may be entered and will be ensured of a critical and impartial evaluation.
Evaluation Procedures:
All posters must be submitted in the correct format and by the deadlines.
Monday, September 21 —online submission form with their basic contact information
Friday, October 16 —Abstract Submission email to Dr. Schmutz at pschmutz@uwf.edu
Each poster submitted to the undergraduate student poster competition will be evaluated by the Education Committee for its quality of original research undertaken by the author and for its oral presentation and defense. Education Committee members will anonymously review and judge the posters during the undergraduate student poster competition.
The posters must be prepared with care and treated as one prepares a manuscript for possible publication. Primary criterion will be background outlining related literature, research objective(s)/question(s), research design/methods, results, conclusions, and bibliography. Failure to provide any of these criteria will result in receiving low marks in the judging competition.
The oral examination will focus on the professional quality of the presentation and the adequacy with which questions are answered. It is important that the oral presentations be lively and well-illustrated. In order to leave adequate time for questions, each oral presentation should aim for a 3-5 minute presentation.
The visual evaluation of the poster will include quality, appropriateness, and visual appeal of maps, figures and illustrations. Materials should be legible from a distance of one to three feet with text confined to brief statements. All visual aids should be intelligible and have subtitles. Maximum poster dimensions are 36’ by 48″.
The weight for each category is 30 percent for the written component, 30 percent for the oral defense and 40 percent for its visual acuity.
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Email abstracts to Dr. Schmutz at pschmutz@uwf.eduby October 16, 2015. Submissions received after this deadline will not be accepted for consideration. Additionally, submissions received without SEDAAG registration will not be accepted for consideration.
The subject of your email must read SEDAAG 2015 undergraduate poster competition.
The contents of the email must include all of the following in this order.
- First name
- Last name
- Institutional affiliation
- Supervisor’s name
- Email address of supervisor
- SEDAAG registration confirmation order number (provided after submitting the online submission form on Sept 21)
- Poster title
- 250-word maximum abstract
A .pdf file of the poster is not required.