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Call for Abstracts
Eleventh Annual Conference
Cambio de Colores (Change of Colors) – Latinos in the Heartland

June 13-15, 2012
Columbia, Missouri

www.cambiodecolores.org
latinosintheheartland.com

Key dates:

·         February 1st, 2012: Abstract submission starts (Online)

·         February 20th, 2012:  Deadline for submitting abstracts

·         March 7th, 2012: Notification  of accepted abstracts

·         April 20th, 2012: Author registration deadline.  At least one author per abstract must register by this date to ensure the integrity of the program.

·         May 8th, 2012: Deadline for submission of papers for publication in Proceedings

·         June 13th-15th, 2012: Eleventh Cambio de Colores – Latinos in the Heartland conference

 

The deadline for submitting abstracts is February 20th, 2012.

About the Cambio de Colores 2012 conference

Cambio de Colores (Change of Colors) is an annual meeting that, since 2002, brings together researchers, practitioners, decision-makers, and community members, to discuss the issues that Missouri, the Heartland, and other states face as a result of the demographic changes made evident by the 2000 Census.  That Census clearly showed that large numbers of immigrants—most of them Latino or Hispanic, but including significant numbers of migrants and refugees from Asia, Africa, and Europe—were settling in rural and urban areas of every state in the region. These dramatic changes are also happening in new destination states in the South, the Pacific Northwest, and New England.

Led by the University of Missouri, Cambio de Colores is a collaborative effort that includes University of Missouri Extension, other educational institutions in the Midwest and the Southern regions, as well as government and private organizations.

The last three conferences benefited from the cooperation of the University of Missouri's Cambio Center for Research & Outreach on Latinos and Changing Communities, and the interstate initiative on “Latinos and Immigrants in Midwestern Communities,” North Central Education and Research Activity 216 (NCERA 216).  In 2011 and 2012, the cooperation has been extended to include the Southern Extension and Research Activity 37 (SERA 37) “The New Hispanic South,” an initiative that brings together a large number of universities and institutions addressing similar changes in that region.

The 2012 meeting will be a multi-state conference showcasing research and best practices mainly but not exclusively from Midwestern and Southern states in the U.S.

While native and foreign-born Latinos may constitute the majority of new arrivals in most communities in these regions of the country, the conference organizers stress that immigrants from other areas of the world are also settling in these regions, mostly to work on jobs made available through the significant aging of the population and the consequent decline in the numbers of the younger demographic segments.  The integration of these very diverse groups is being studied by academics and pursued by stakeholders, as the newcomers seek to become part and parcel of the social, economic, and cultural fabric of the South and the Heartland.

The conference program builds on the sharing of university, government, and community resources, ranging from academic studies to the more applied perspective of people and institutions working at the heart of the changing communities.  This particular and much needed synergy is the signature characteristic of this annual conference.

The 2012 conference will provide state-of-the-art research and best practices that will inform participants, decision-makers and policy-makers, of the multiple ways in which Midwestern and Southern stakeholders are addressing the most significant and transformational demographic and cultural change in decades. The conference provides a unique platform to present, discuss, share, learn, and identify critical areas where the development of information and promising practices will facilitate the successful transition of all newcomers into our communities, while providing these communities with the tools necessary to address these changes in sustainable and beneficial ways to all.  It will also be a timely event to see the effects that current national and statewide discussions about immigrants and immigration are having in this transition.


 

Call for Submission of Abstracts and Papers

 

This is a call for abstracts for scholarly and applied research, and best practices presentations and papers. 

The following themes provide the conference framework:

1.       Change and Integration

2.       Civil Rights and Political Participation

3.       Education

4.       Health

5.       Entrepreneurship and Economic Development

All submitted abstracts should relate to one or more of these themes.  For a detailed explanation of these topics, please refer to the Description of Themes included in this document. Abstracts are limited to 500 words.

If your abstract submission is approved, you will be able to present your work at the conference, and to submit a paper for publication in the 2012 Cambio de Colores proceedings, that will later be published and distributed to all participants. Please see the paper submission guidelines—in the following pages— for details on preparing articles for the proceedings book.  Special consideration will be given to submissions that include a commitment to submit papers for publication.

Proceedings books from previous years are available in electronic form at the Cambio de Colores website at www.cambiodecolores.org. Each conference’s Program is also available on the archival sites and the Library page, which has links to past presentations.  

Please submit your abstract online from February 1st through February 20th, 2012.

Authors of papers and presentations selected for the conference will be notified by March 7th, 2012.

Authors of selected papers will be requested to provide the paper in electronic format by May 8th, 2012.

Please note that all presenters will be responsible for their own travel expenses and conference registration fees ($200 regular, $175 early bird).  At least one author per presentation must register by April 20th. More detailed registration and hotel information will be available at the conference website in February, 2012.

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Information about Submissions of Abstracts and Papers

 

Abstract submissions will be made online.

If you have difficulties uploading your abstract, or if you have any questions regarding this call, please send a message to decolores@missouri.edu .

Committees have been formed around each theme that will evaluate and select the abstracts that best fit the needs of their respective tracks. Additional information will be sent to the presenters of the accepted abstracts with instructions for the conference.

 

The following information will be needed to successfully complete a submission:

A.      TYPE OF SUBMISSION

Please select the type of presentation:

   Organized panel presentation (20 minutes each speaker; 3 speakers)

   Research paper presentation (15 minutes)

   Best practices paper presentation (15 minutes)

   Workshop (up to 75 minutes)

Please indicate if you will submit a paper for publication in the 2012 Conference Proceedings book (Deadline: May 8th, 2012).  Please note that special consideration will be given to abstract submissions that include a commitment to submit papers for publication.

 

B.      ABSTRACT CONTENT

The abstract should be 500 words or less. If your abstract includes citations please follow APA style guidelines (available at www.apastyle.org)

Please include the following in the abstract:

  1. Title of the abstract
  2. Contact information for  the author(s): name, address, phone, email, title and organization; please list Contact Author first
  3. Theme: The theme you want your abstract to be considered in. If in doubt, please specify the possible themes, and the reviewers will determine what theme works best for consideration of your abstract
  4. Type: Whether the presentation is research or promising practices; if research, please specify methodology (qualitative, quantitative, case study, etc.)
  5. For applied methods and/or research, please include in the summary of your presentation an explanation of how your work would link to policy and/or practice
  6. Scope of the presentation: local, state, regional, national, or global
  7. Article: Identify whether your intention is to have the paper considered for inclusion in the conference proceedings publication (see paper submission guidelines below)

 

Please upload your abstract to www.cambiodecolores.org, starting on February 1st, 2012.  The deadline for submitting abstracts is February 20th, 2012.

Presenters chosen to participate in the conference will be notified by March 7th, 2012.

All presenters will be responsible for their own travel expenses and conference registration fees ($200 regular, $175 early bird).  More detailed registration and hotel information will be available at the conference website. The organizers do not offer scholarships or fee waivers.

 

PAPER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

 

The following information is for authors who are also submitting papers for the conference’s book of proceedings.

 

Submission Date:  Please submit the paper by May 8th, 2012 in order to be included in the 2012 conference proceedings.

 

Length: Limit the length of the paper to eight pages maximum. References should be included and do not count against the page limit. Papers should be double-spaced with one-inch margins in Times Roman or equivalent 12 pt. font. Include title of the paper and name and affiliation of each author beginning with the primary and contact author.

 

Format: Electronic text formats only, including .doc, .docx, .rtf and .ods. Please do not submit pdf files.

 

Citation: Please follow APA style guidelines (www.apastyle.org).

 

All graphic elements, including diagrams and charts and graphs, must be submitted with the paper as .jpg, .gif, or .png files, and must be high-quality images of no less than 300 dpi and be at least 3.5 inches wide.

 Description of the Conference Themes

Change and Integration

The increasing population of Latinos and immigrants arriving from all over the globe into the Midwest and the South of the United States, has affected communities, organizations and institutions, and given birth to many programs and practices across the region. The goal of this theme is to utilize both the research and the experience of best practices, to better understand the settlement of the newcomer population and define the characteristics of the immigration phenomenon, as well as to identify effective tools for integrating new populations in rural and urban places. For communities to thrive and prosper, they need to ensure that the growing newly arrived population becomes integrated. Integration, in this context, means newcomers’ full participation in the economic, social, cultural and political fabrics of the communities they live in, while preserving diversity and culture. We seek to learn from the experiences of communities in the Midwest and beyond. We encourage submissions related to the strategies communities take to address issues of immigration, measure the effects of federal, state, and local policies and regulations in rural and urban communities, and explore the opportunities, vulnerabilities, uniqueness, and commonalities associated with urban and rural Latinos and other immigrants. There is urgent need of studies about bridging diverse groups, settled and recently arrived, as well as in cultural diversity, and policy leadership.  How can the receiving population be engaged? Demographic studies also are part of this conference theme, especially regarding the growing data from the 2010 United States Census.

 

Civil Rights and Political Participation

The goals of this conference theme are to raise awareness and to share initiatives about the legal issues that Latino and other immigrant groups face in the South and the Midwest. The Civil Rights theme of the Cambio de Colores conference invites the submission of abstracts for presentations and workshops about legal and political matters facing Latino and other immigrants, and that describe experiences in the application of specific legal tools to address those topics. While few changes have taken place on the federal level there have been many recent attempts by state and local policymakers to address issues of immigration. We encourage submissions that deal with appropriate legal changes, as well as training and information dissemination programs that strengthen the ability of immigrants and supporting organizations to respond to legal, political and cultural challenges.  The present situation, albeit difficult and uncertain, offers hope for better policies both locally and nationally.  Cambio de Colores is especially interested in presentations and workshops about outreach programs and legislative efforts that have improved (or might improve) the climate in communities receiving Latino and other immigrants, and in presentations on current and historical research about the factors that favor or preclude integration of immigrants in the receiving communities.

 

Education

Education plays an important role in the construction of our future society, and the academic success of the younger newcomers will be a requirement for a prosperous community. The 2012 Cambio de Colores Conference is interested in exploring educational issues, policies and practices that impact Latino and other immigrant learners of all ages. Special attention will be given to submissions that emphasize the experiences of Latinos and other newcomers in the Heartland – in comparison to coastal cities and states – as they become more important and prominent throughout this region of the U.S. The education committee would like to examine both the challenges that educational organizations may face in providing the best education for Latinos and all newcomers of varying immigration status, as well as their strengths and what they contribute to the educational system. Key educational research, policy and best practice topics include: the relationship of culture and achievement;  English language learners; multicultural competencies in teacher training; implications of federal, state, and local statutes; parental involvement; after-school programs;  measuring the impact of pre-school programs; effects of national and state policies on achievement; retention in high schools and universities; community education programs and resources; preparing for and access to post-secondary education; and programs in rural and urban school districts.  Access to and success in higher education are also important topics, especially when comparing first and second generation newcomers.

 

Health

The environment people live in, genetics, medical care, and behavior are the primary variables determining physical and mental health and well-being.  For newcomers, issues of access to health care resources, cultural and linguistic differences also are important factors.  What are the effects of these factors on the health of Latinos and other newcomers in the Midwest, the South and other new destination areas? Topics to be discussed should include comparison of immigrants’ health status to other groups; translating research into practice (best practices); and policies which support or inhibit healthy behaviors.  Key research themes may include:  community and research related to health care disparities: barriers to health care access and strategies to overcome them, networking for health care, community-based health care programs; cultural gaps and bridging: positive and negative consequences of acculturation and health behavior modification, influence of race or ethnicity on doctor-patient relationship, cultural competence, traditional practices;  health literacy: patient and provider education, policies and community education programs.

 

Entrepreneurship and Economic Development

Involvement by Latinos and immigrants in entrepreneurial and economic development activities is key to the expansion of the regional economy and to the integration process by and into the receiving communities.  Research on factors that hinder and/or promote their involvement in these essential activities is important to inform policy development, enhance service delivery, and provide additional support that takes into account the risk-taking and eager mindset that usually characterize migrant peoples, as well as how to better use the newcomers’ own cultural and social capital assets to further their success as entrepreneurs.  Comparative studies that take into account these issues will be of special interest, as well as workshops about best practices that could be applicable through the South and the Heartland. On the opposite side, studies about the effects—negative or positive—of state immigration laws on the local economies and fiscal receipts will be very important to have a fuller picture of the impact of immigrants.

 

www.cambiodecolores.org

www.latinosintheheartland.com