CALL FOR PAPERS, POSTERS, and PARTICIPATION
73rd SEDAAG Meeting
Johnson City, TN November 18-19, 2018
Abstract submission deadline: Friday September 21, 2018
Conference registration deadline: Coming up!
Well into our seventh decade as the preeminent Regional Division of the American Association of Geographers, all are invited to attend and submit a paper or a poster, for the upcoming 73rd SEDAAG meeting in Johnson City, TN at the Carnegie Hotel and Millennium Center. Complete conference registration and hotel information are soon to come. Please check back!
Overview:
The Program Chair for the 2018 meeting is Lynn Resler from Virginia Tech. Organized sessions around specific areas or themes of research, methodological approaches, or regions are especially encouraged.
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.
Finally, we encourage all to participate in the World Geography Bowl Competition, led by Dawn Drake — details below.
The sections below highlight information on submissions, and the online submission process. 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://sedaag.org/). Membership in the AAG is separate from SEDAAG; joining AAG does not automatically make you a member of SEDAAG, although you will receive some general mailings from them if you are a member and your address is in the Southeast Region.
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!
- SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS
Important! All submitted files must be in the .docx format! The system will reject all files that are not in the .docx format.
Submission:
All materials must be submitted via the SEDAAG webpage via the online submission form
Paper, poster, and panel proposal submissions should include a 250 word abstract that includes names and affiliations of all authors, for inclusion in the meeting program. Do not include tables, figures, or other graphics in your paper or abstract. If the abstract contains more than one paragraph, leave two spaces between paragraphs. Abstracts (250 words) should be submitted as a separate file (.docx) 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.
Posters – Additional Information:
Similar to papers, posters need a 250 word abstract (that includes title and all co-authors and affiliations) 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.
Deadlines:
- Special Session Deadline: The outline for all special session plans (papers and panels) should be submitted by Friday, September 7, 2018.
Special session themes need to be emailed to Lynn Resler at resler@vt.edu and please indicate in the subject line “Special Session SEDAAG”. See Section II. Organizing a Special Session or Panel Discussion (below) for more information.
- Paper and Poster Abstract Deadline: All paper and poster submissions are due Friday, September 21, 2018.
Submissions received after the deadlines will not be accepted.
Reminder – Save and submit your abstract as a .docx file! Only .docx files will be accepted by the system!
Review and Notification:
Please notify the Program Chair (resler@vt.edu) if confirmation of abstract receipt is not received within one week following paper/poster abstract submission.
A blind review will be conducted of all poster and paper abstracts received by the deadline. Inclusion in the final program is subject to acceptance following this peer review.
Notification of acceptance: If you have not heard otherwise by October 5, then consider your abstract to be accepted for SEDAAG 2018. I will not be sending out individual acceptance notifications. However, if your university requires a formal letter of acceptance for reimbursement, please contact Lynn Resler (resler@vt.edu).
- 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 7, 2018, and the abstracts to be submitted online by authors on Friday, September 21, 2018. This earlier date will give the program committee adequate time to read through special session and panel plans and address any questions.
Time and space constraints dictate that a special poster session should have a minimum of four papers, but ideally five papers.
Special Session or Panel Plan
Organizers of special session or panels need to provide a draft special-session or panel plan. Please send your organized session plan to the Program Chair (resler@vt.edu) in a Word attachment and marked in the subject line “Special Session SEDAAG”. In the Word document please include:
- Session or Panel title,
- Session/panel chair name, affiliation and email address
- Intended paper titles for special session, with all authors’ names, affiliations, and email addresses, and titles of their papers
- Panelists’ names, affiliations, and email addresses.
- The order in which you want to the papers to be presented (if applicable).
Participants in special sessions should make sure to submit their individual paper abstracts by the Friday, September 21, 2018 deadline.
III. GUIDELINES FOR THE STUDENT HONORS COMPETITION (Graduate level)
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, you must be a graduate student 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. Advisors and other students involved in the research can be mentioned in the poster acknowledgments or in the paper presentation acknowledgments, however, only one student can author and present each poster/paper. All topics broadly related to geography may be entered and will be given 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. Departments should ensure that authors accepted in the competition attend the 2018 meeting and are 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.
Honors Competition Paper Submissions:
Each paper submitted to the graduate honors competition will be evaluated on the following criteria: original research undertaken by the author, its quality as a written paper, and the oral presentation and defense. In calculating the overall score, the written portion of the paper will be weighted 60 percent and the presentation and defense 40 percent.
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 enough 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.
Honors Competition Poster Submissions:
Each poster submission will be evaluated for quality in the written and visual reporting of original research undertaken by the author, for its visual presentation, and for its oral defense/explanation when presented to judges. The weight for each category is as follows: 30 percent for the written component, 30 percent for the oral defense, and 40 percent for the visual presentation.
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″.
Other Considerations for Honors Competition Paper and Poster Submissions:
The paper and posters must be prepared with care and treated as one prepares a manuscript for possible publication, which includes proper citations. A primary criterion for evaluation will be a well-defined research objective and a methodology 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 a lower score in the judging competition. The Honors Paper/Poster Competition is not an appropriate venue for research in the proposal stage or not yet completed.
Submission of Honors’ Papers or Posters Instructions:
A: Attach the following two items in an email to the Honors Committee Chair, Dr. Amy Potter, Georgia Southern University (amypotter@georgiasouthern.edu) by the SEDAAG abstract deadline (September 21, 2018):
1) 3,000 word paper* (not including references/tables/figures) or completed poster *If paper exceeds 3,000 words it will automatically be disqualified from the Honors Competition.
2) A letter from the student’s advisor or head of the sponsoring department verifying the status and eligibility of student (a .pdf of an email stating this information is also fine).
B: Register your paper/poster through the online submission form on the SEDAAG website (see link below) where you will also submit your abstract. Please indicate in the online system that your submission is for the honors competition and please make if you are submitting a paper that you clearly identify if you wish to be considered for Master or Doctoral level competition. Submit abstract via the Online Submission Form
For more information about the Honors’ Paper and Poster Competition, please contact Dr. Amy Potter (amypotter@georgiasouthern.edu Georgia Southern University).
IV: GUIDELINES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT POSTER COMPETITION
Applicants for the Undergraduate Student Poster Competition must be members of SEDAAG and submit their information via the Online Submission Form with their basic contact information, and a title, by the Friday, September 21, 2018 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 12, 2018 to Dr. Jennifer Rahn at jlrahn@samford.edu.
Important Note: In the past, the online system has prevented students from completing their submissions, since no attachment is required by SEDAAG, but the system expects one! We are currently looking into fixing this problem for the undergraduate honors competition. However, if you are experiencing problems completing your submission, please submit your name and title a duplicate time on a .docx file attachment to complete submission.
Eligibility:
To be eligible to participate in the Undergraduate Student Poster Competition, the undergraduate student must have been enrolled in a geography program and be 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.
Friday, September 21 — Online Submission Form
with basic contact information (see above for more details).
Friday, October 12 —Abstract Submission email to Dr. Rahn at jlrahn@samford.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. Rahn at jlrahn@samford.edu by October 12, 2018. 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 2018 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 by Sept 21)
- Poster title
250-word maximum abstract
V: WORLD GEOGRAPHY BOWL
Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in programs at institutions in the SEDAAG region and registered for the 2018 SEDAAG meeting are eligible to participate in the World Geography Bowl competition during the meeting. The Round Robin portion of the competition begins on Sunday with an exciting Finals Round on Monday evening. Different states have different procedures for fielding teams. Students who are uncertain how to join their state team should contact Dr. Dawn Drake, SEDAAG World Geography Bowl Director, at ddrake4@missouriwestern.edu
Participants in the competition at SEDAAG will be ranked by their individual average points scored per round. The highest scoring students will be invited to be a part of SEDAAG’s team at AAG in Washington, DC in 2019. Those students who represent SEDAAG on the team at AAG will receive travel funding from both AAG and SEDAAG. More details on the AAG team can be obtained from Dr. Dawn Drake.