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WHAT IS THE ACA?
The American Correctional Association (ACA) is a professional membership
organization for correctional and juvenile justice practitioners. ACA
offers a variety of opportunities for professional development including
certification programs, regional training programs, self-instruction courses,
and national conferences. At each of their Conferences, ACA sponsors a
Student Poster Session and other student-oriented activities that are
designed to develop the next generation of correctional and juvenile justice
professionals. If you would like more information about ACA, please visit
their website at
http://www.aca.org.
WHAT IS A POSTER SESSION?
A Poster Session provides a friendly, informal environment for students
interested in presenting a paper. For the purpose of the session, the student
must summarize the paper into a graphic and textual format that is reader
friendly and can be posted on a three panel science board (which the student
is to provide). The poster is then displayed on a table or easel in a
conference room for conference attendees to review. Each student stands by
their poster and answers questions about their research.
WHEN IS THE POSTER SESSION HELD?
The poster sessions are on the Sunday of the ACA conference held in
the August of each year.
HOW DOES A POSTER SESSION WORK?
The session lasts for two hours, and participants display their papers on
poster board and discuss them with other conference participants who come
in to learn what students are doing.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR PARTICIPATION?
Any graduate or undergraduate student in Criminal Justice and related
disciplines (Sociology, Psychology, Corrections, Juvenile Justice, Social
Work, etc.) whose paper focuses on an issue in the corrections or
juvenile justice field.
DO I HAVE TO BE A MEMBER OF ACA?
No. Membership is encouraged, but not required.
DOES THE PAPER HAVE TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN FOR A CLASS?
No.
CAN GRADUATE STUDENTS SUBMIT PARTS OF A THESIS OR DISSERTATION?
Yes, as long as it's in the format of a paper.
WHAT SHOULD THE PAPERS BE ABOUT?
Papers are generally related to corrections, probabation/parole, or other
aspects of criminal justice.
HOW LONG IS THE PAPER?
The length of the papers vary, but are generally the length of a
term paper for a class (15-25 pages). However, quality, not quantity,
is the guideline.
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD APPEAR ON THE POSTER?
Both conceptual and empirical papers representing a student's original
work are appropriate. Each poster should include the following
information:
1) Title of paper;
2) Student's name, university affiliation, and contact information;
3) the thesis, or purpose of the paper;
4) Research methods
5) Key findings
6) Conclusions.
Posters should include graphs and charts to depict any statistics reported,
and bulleted text to convey the main points and conclusions. The student can
then supplement this information orally, during their conversations with
conference attendees. A 3-panel science board is recommended for the poster.
Please note that undergraduate papers do not need to be research based,
but must explore a relevant corrections/juvenile justice topic and
opinions must be supported by factual basis. Graduate papers are to be
research based and should explore a timely, relevant corrections/juvenile
justice topic.
WHAT ARE THE SUBMISSION PROCEDURES?
You must send an email notification of your intent to participate in the
poster session by May 15, 2011 This email notification should include an
abstract of about 150-200 words describing your proposed paper. The
complete paper must be submitted by July 1, 2011 as an attachment to an
email to:
Professor Jim Thomas - Northern Illinois University - jthomas@math.niu.edu
You will receive an email confirmation of the receipt of your paper; if not
hear with a few days of submission, contact Jim Thomas at: (815) 756-3839
or at: jthomas@math.niu.edu
You are not required to submit the poster, or its content, prior to the actual
poster session.
HOW WILL MY ENTRY BE JUDGED?
The ACA Student Affairs Committee will select people from ACA's membership
to judge the Student Poster Session. Each judge will be provided with an
electronic copy of the students. papers prior to the conference. During the
poster session, the judges will meet individually with each student to discuss
their paper and conclusions. The written and oral components of the competition
will be judged jointly based on:
1) The clarity and organization of thoughts
2) Knowledge of topic
3) The theoretical and/or methodological basis of the paper
4) Strength of conclusions
1st and 2nd place will be awarded at both the graduate and undergraduate
levels. All participants will receive a certificate of participation and the
winners of each category may be published in ACA's Conference Proceedings.
MUST WE ATTEND TO CONFERENCE TO ENTER A PAPER?
Yes.
WHAT IS THE COST?
You must attend the Conference to participate in the Student Poster Session.
In the interest of promoting student involvement, ACA has approved a reduced
rate for students. To take advantage of this rate, please contact:
Ms. Jennifer Bechtel (1-800-222-5646, ext. 0102)
WHO DO WE CONTACT IF WE HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS?
Contact Poster Session Organizer: Jim Thomas: jthomas@math.niu.edu
Return to the ACA Students' Homepage