You are cordially invited to join us in Lincoln, Nebraska for the 2006 joint meeting of the AAG Great Plains-Rocky Mountain Division and the West Lakes Division. Geographers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in collaboration with colleagues in the West Lakes Division are structuring a program of invited and contributed papers, symposia, workshops and field trips. Contributed papers on any topic related to geography are invited. The meeting is open to all geographers including teachers, persons in related disciplines and the public. Membership in the Association of American Geographers is not mandatory for attendance at this meeting. We strongly encourage student participation.

Oral or Poster Presentations: (AbstractDeadline: September 15, 2006)

Volunteered presentations will be on Friday or Saturday. Each paper presenter will be allowed 15 minutes with an additional five minutes for questions. Powerpoint projectors will be provided.

Everyone who wishes to present a paper or poster must submit an abstract of no more than 250 words, using the format outlined below. Abstracts will be published in the conference program.

• For author, affiliation, and title, please follow the appropriate sample below.

• Include the e-mail address for the primary author (presenter) only.

• The first line of text should follow directly underneath the title and should be indented one tab stop. Text should be single-spaced.

• In the line below the text, indent one tab stop and type `keywords:' followed by up to three keywords, separated by a comma and ending with a period.

• Do not insert any codes for justification, hyphenation, line height, line centering, margins, spacing, fonts, page centering, page numbering, suppression, or tabs.

• Abstracts may not be edited.

Samples (for single author, or multiple authors with same or different affiliations):

• John P. Smith, Department of Geography, University of New England, Boston, MA 02116. E-mail: smith@university.edu. Title of Paper.

• John P. Smith and Jane D. Jones, Department of Geography, University of New England, Boston, MA 02116. E-mail: smith@university.edu. Title of Paper.

• John P. Smith, Department of Geography, University of New England, Boston, MA 02116, and Jane D. Jones, Department of Sociology, University of the Arctic, Tundra, AK 99799. E-mail: smith@university.edu. Title of Paper.

Please save your abstract as a Microsoft Word file, using the following format: Lastname_Firstname.doc (e.g. Jones_Jane.doc). Submit your abstract by e-mail as an e-mail attachment to: jmerchant1@unl.edu Please use “AAG ABSTRACT - ORAL” or “AAG ABSTRACT - POSTER” as the e-mail subject heading. For presenters of oral papers - please indicate in the email if any projection equipment other than a Powerpoint projector will be required.

The primary author will receive an e-mail reply acknowledging receipt of the abstract Please contact Dr. James Merchant (contact information below) if you do not receive an acknowledgment. Persons submitting abstracts for poster presentations will receive information on poster formatting in the reply message. Note that all presenters of papers must register for the conference.

Each presenter will be provided with a 40' x 60" foamcore panel on which to mount his/her poster. The foamcore panels will be positioned on easels. We suggest that presenters use a horizontal format. Pins and tape for mounting posters to the foamcore will be provided. Posters should be set up on Friday morning, October 6 and left up until noon on October 7. Presenters are requested to stand with their posters during the exhibit session at 5:00-6:00pm Friday - see http://www.calmit.unl.edu/aag/Program.php An excellent guide to preparing posters can be found at http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/IndexStart.html

Abstract Deadline: September 15, 2006

Student Paper Competition

All students attending the 2006 AAG Great Plains-Rocky Mountain and West Lakes Division annual conference are invited to participate in a competition for best paper. Students may compete in one of four categories: (1) best undergraduate paper, (2) best graduate student paper (MA or MS), (3) best graduate student paper (PhD), or (4) best student poster. All papers entered in the competition must report on original research conducted primarily by the student presenting the paper. All competitors must register for the conference. Papers and posters will be judged on the basis of content, organization, style, graphics, and, in the case of papers, quality of oral presentation. The winners in each category will receive a $100 cash prize. Second place finishers in each category will receive a $50 cash prize.

Students wishing to enter the competition must submit an abstract no later than September 15, 2006. Students should follow the guidelines provided in the conference call-for-papers (see above). Abstracts should be sent by email to Dr. James Merchant and copied to Dr. Michael Shambaugh-Miller at the address indicated below. The category of competition for which the abstract is being submitted must be clearly indicated.

Dr. Michael Shambaugh-Miller
Department of Preventive and Societal Medicine
University of Nebraska Medical Center
984350 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-4350
mdmiller@unmc.edu
402-559-7858

Special Issue of Great Plains Research

Selected papers presented at the 2006 joint meeting of the AAG Great Plains-Rocky Mountain and West Lakes Divisions will be published in a special issue of the journal Great Plains Research(http://www.unl.edu/plains/publications/GPR/gpr.html). The guest editors for this special issue are Dr. James Merchant (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and Dr. Rex Honey (University of Iowa). Papers submitted for consideration must address some aspect of the conference theme, Environmental, Social and Economic Transformations of the Prairies and Plains. Authors who wish to have papers considered for publication must submit manuscripts for peer review no later than October 15, 2006. All papers submitted for consideration must be presented orally at the conference. Note that all presenters of papers must register for the conference.

Guidelines for preparation of manuscripts: All manuscripts must be submitted electronically in PDF format. Papers are limited to 5,000 words total. All submissions should be typed double-spaced, including abstract, text, quotations, equations and references. Use 1-inch margins. Authors should prepare a separate title page with their name(s) and affiliation(s), complete contact information and any acknowledgments (these will not be sent to reviewers). For papers having more than one author, please designate the “corresponding author.” The title of the paper should be placed directly above the abstract. Authors should avoid self-identification in the text.

Authors should submit manuscripts as an attachment via e-mail to:

Dr. James W. Merchant
Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies
School of Natural Resources
3310 Holdrege, Hardin Hall
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68583-0973
Telephone: 402/472-7531
jmerchant1@unl.edu

NOTE: The corresponding author will receive an e-mail reply acknowledging receipt of the manuscript. Please contact Dr. James Merchant (see contact information above) if you do not receive an acknowledgment.

Additional information on format:   The paper title should be 10 or fewer words and should not contain a colon. Center the main headings (e.g., Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusions, Acknowledgments, and References). Subheadings should be left justified. A short abstract of fewer than 150 words should precede the main text. The abstract should identify the problem addressed in the paper, indicate the methodology, and summarize the results. Authors should prepare an abstract that will be interesting to and understood by nonspecialists in the field. Author(s) should identify five to eight keywords to be listed after the abstract. Great Plains Research uses The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed., 2003). Please see the following web sites for additional details:

Great Plains Research Style Sheet (including format for references): http://www.unl.edu/plains/images/publications/gpr/GPR%20Style%20Sheet%202006.pdf

Style Sheet for Figures, Photographs, and Maps http://www.unl.edu/plains/images/publications/gpr/GPR%20Images%20Style.pdf

Map sample (contact editor for additional information on color figures)

http://www.unl.edu/plains/images/publications/gpr/Figure%20sample%201.pdf

Review Process: All manuscripts will be given double-blind review. After external reviewers with expertise in the topic have submitted their evaluations, the Editors will make the final decision to publish or not. Authors of papers accepted for publication in the special issue will receive a reprint order form with their article proof. Authors may post only the abstract from their article on the website of their choice. Complete citation for the article must accompany the abstract (including the complete address and website for Great Plains Research.

Registration

Registration information is available on the conference web site at http://www.calmit.unl.edu/aag/

Note that all presenters of papers must register for the conference.

For questions or additional information:

Check the conference web site at http://www.calmit.unl.edu/aag/ or contact:

Dr. James W. Merchant
Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies
School of Natural Resources
3310 Holdrege, Hardin Hall
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68583-0973
Telephone: 402/472-7531
E-mail:jmerchant1@unl.edu
http://calmit.unl.edu