Call for Proposals
(Please see notice below)
The Southeastern Council on Family Relations is pleased to distribute this Call for Proposals for our 2012 Annual Conference to be held at the Marriott Chattanooga at the Convention Center in historic downtown Chattanooga.
SECFR is seeking proposals that will be informative and relevant, encourage opportunities for learner engagement, and/or demonstrate application to the work of participants. In particular the SECFR is interested in receiving proposals that:
The SECFR strives to maintain the highest quality for all presentation sessions. The SECFR Conference is an approved CE provider for NCFR Certified Family Life Educators. Therefore, clear learning objectives must be stated on each proposal. If you have questions regarding content, please call or email the chair of the conference committee, Joi Bulls (jwbulls at uncg.edu).
Proposal Formats
Ø Paper Sessions: A paper session involves the presentation of a publishable manuscript, published paper/article based on research or current practice (see FAQ’s below), completed doctoral dissertation, completed master’s thesis, or completed student paper containing fully-developed ideas and concepts of an empirical, conceptual, or practical nature. Paper sessions will include 45 minutes for presentation and questions/discussion. The deadline for submission of paper proposals is December 16, 2011.
Recent events have brought to our attention that we at SECFR are currently experiencing some technical difficulties related to our website hosting service and, specifically, our host’s email forwarding system. We fear that, due to these technical difficulties, it may be possible that some (or many?) conference proposals that were submitted to the proposals@secfr.net address may not have been delivered to or received by the appropriate person and, rather, may have been permanently lost.
Out of an abundance of caution and in order to ensure that no proposal is ignored, we would like to ask the following:
Thank you for your patience!
Ø Poster sessions: A poster session involves the presentation of detailed information by means of a graphic display that summarizes initiated or completed empirical research, completed student projects, and/or practice, methodologies, or programs that have been or will soon be implemented by practitioners. All related materials must be designed to fill a 4’ high by 8’ wide poster board and include referenced scholarly literature. Authors are expected to be at the poster the entire 60 minutes of display to answer questions and distribute handouts. The deadline for submission of poster proposals is February 1, 2012 with notification within 2 weeks of submission.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Ø I am a student and am not currently involved in any empirical research projects. May I submit a recently completed course paper or project to present at the conference? Absolutely! As a regional conference, we strongly encourage student participation in our conference, both as attenders and presenters. Papers completed for a course may be submitted for paper sessions and completed projects of other sorts may be submitted as poster sessions. Students are also free to propose a roundtable discussion session, perhaps on a topic with particular relevance to students.
Ø I am a practitioner and don’t typically do empirical research. May I submit something related to my work that I feel would benefit the conference attendees? The first stated goal of the SECFR is “to provide a NETWORK for collaboration among family professionals” of all kinds, both university- and community-based. We desire for this conference to be a unique amalgamation of academics, practitioners, and students, all joined together with one cause in mind – to help families in the Southeast. Therefore, we welcome submissions from practitioners of a non-empirical nature, whether conceptual, practical, and/or programmatic as either a paper or poster session.
Ø What if I need A/V equipment? SECFR will provide computers and video projectors in every meeting room. All you need to bring is your presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint (or Adobe PDF) format on a flash drive. We also strongly encourage you to bring handouts for your session.
Ø May I submit a published paper for presentation? If you have recently published a paper that has never been presented at a conference, please feel free to do so. Otherwise, if you have presented that material somewhere else, please do not submit a duplicate proposal to us.
Ø How many proposals can I submit? There is no limit on the number of proposals an individual may submit.
Ø When will I know if my proposal has been accepted? Authors of paper submissions will be notified by December 30, 2011, via the email address provided to the committee, about whether their proposal has been accepted for presentation as a paper. At this time, we will confirm with any author(s) whose paper submission has been declined whether they would like to be considered for presentation as a poster. Authors of poster submissions will be notified within 2 weeks of their submission all the way through February 15, 2012.
Ø When should I register for the conference? Authors of accepted proposals are expected to register for and committed to attend the conference. Registration forms will be available online soon. Completed registration forms, along with all necessary fees, should be postmarked by February 15, 2012.
Submission Process
A complete submission includes the following:
· A 500-word (maximum) summary of the presentation, including the title, but no author(s) name(s)
· A References section (not included in 500-word limit)
· Up to 2 supplemental figures and/or tables (not included in 500-word limit)
· A list of at least 3 learning objectives associated with your proposed session (not included in 500-word limit)
· A completed Presenter Information Sheet
Your submission should be sent through email in the following manner:
· Send the email to the SECFR Proposal Submission Chair, Dr. John Conger (john.conger at lipscomb.edu).
· In the Subject line, type “SECFR Paper Submission” or “SECFR Poster Submission” (in accordance with the type you are submitting)
· Attach the 500-word summary, References section, supplemental figures/tables, and list of learning objectives as A SINGLE FILE (Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF formats only)
· Attach the Presenter Information Sheet as a separate file (Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF formats only)
To ensure full consideration, proposals must be received by the stated deadlines.
