The Human Condition Series

The conference is interested in investigating what role Terror has in maintaining the contemporary condition of humanity and what hope there is of envisioning a condition in which Terror is natural and organic rather than strategic and imposed.

Possible topics include but are not limited to: The Laws of State-Terror, Communications of Terror, The Manufacture and Management of Terror, Deconstructing and reconstructing designations: “terrorism”, “Freedom fighter”, “peacekeeper”, “organized crime”, “legality”, and “human security”, Spaces of Terror. Gender, Sexuality and Terror,

Recreational Terror and Terror as Text.

  Poster Presentation Guidelines 

Poster Theme: TERROR (broadly defined).

All accepted posters will be displayed for the duration of the conference on the second floor of K building. 

What is a “poster”?

A poster is actually a bulletin board that displays an academic thesis or idea via a combination of visuals and text. A poster is an opportunity to convey an argument like an essay might, but in a visually appealing and more instantaneous manner.  It may be an overview of an intellectual concept, technical topic, problem, question, product, or case study.The typical poster is not just a shortened version of a presentation (although those are acceptable!); posters are less formal, more interactive, and may provoke argument. Your poster will be on view on a table-top with all conference attendees and presenters looking at it, so the main ideas should be clear without explanation.While the points of your poster should be clear without explanation, you can elect a person in your group to explain or present the display to viewers who will come from several disciplines and several cultural backgrounds. 

Why posters?

More creative and conceptual than a linear essay.Less intimidating for undergraduates that would like to participate in an academic conference but are not prepared to present an abstract and argue a thesis to an audience.More viewers and more visual impact.Increases the variety of points of view regarding the themes and debates surrounding the broad concept of TERROR.Encourages two-way communication Allows detailed and esoteric presentations Provides a forum for “small” presentations (ideas shorter than a conference paper, of interest to only a few people, or which are best communicated graphically).An alternative method of a thesis that is allowed at academic conferences.  

What Materials?

From one to three panels, with text large enough to read easily from 4 to 5 feet away. Use paper (or card stock) or Foam-Core and adhesive or tacks, whatever suits you.No more than 1 table top per entry.  

What Format?

Determine the one essential concept you would like to get across to your audience concerning the topic of TERROR.Create a list of ideas you’d like to express in the presentation. Determine the size of the poster you’re going to work with and the kinds of materials you plan to use. Determine if you have all the elements you’ll need for the poster: Bits & pieces? Poster board, glue, razor blades, visuals ? Do you have the data you will need? How much time will you need to prepare the data for presentation (tables, photographs, etc.)? Outside agencies? Does material need to be sent out & returned (photographic services, collaborators)? A word of advice (the first of many; pick and choose what works for you). Preparing a poster will take as much time as you let it. Allocate your time wisely. There are always things that go wrong, so do not wait until the last minute to do even a simple task. This is a public presentation; by planning carefully, striving to be clear in what you say and how you say it, and assuming a professional attitude you will avoid making it a public spectacle. If you have little experience making posters, it will take longer (estimate 2 weeks at the very minimum). Too much lead time, however, encourages endless fussing about. Do the poster to the best of your ability, then go do something else. Remember this is an artistic AND intellectual exercise…there is a central thesis that you are trying to get across. 

The Title banner?

This part of the poster includes the title of the work, (come up with something that exposes your position and ideas on TERROR) and the group members’ names. 

Think BIG!

The title banner should be readable from 10 feet away. There are seldom rules regarding line justification of the title. Determine if you will left or center justify the text of the title banner once it has been formatted, based upon personal preferences and space constraints.  

Use of Color

Mount poster materials on coloured art, mat, or bristol board: Mat board is available in a large range of colors. Mat board is heavier, making it more difficult to crease the poster while traveling. Mat board has a more durable surface than other art papers. Mat boards is, however, heavier and more difficult to attach to display boards in the poster session. Use a coloured background to unify your poster: Muted colors, or shades of gray, are best for the background. Use more intense colors as borders or for emphasis, but be conservative - overuse of color is distracting. If necessary for emphasis, add a single additional color by mounting the figure on thinner poster board, or outlining the figure in coloured tape. Color can enhance the hues or contrast of photographs: Use a light background with darker photos; a dark background with lighter photos. Use a neutral background (gray) to emphasize color in photos; a white background to reduce the impact of coloured photos. Most poster sessions are held in halls lit with harsh fluorescent light. If exact colors are important to the data, balance those colors for use with fluorescent lighting. Also, all colors will be intensified; bright (saturated) colors may become unpleasant to view. IllustrationsThe success of a poster directly relates to the clarity of the illustrations and tables. Self-explanatory graphics should dominate the poster. A minimal amount of text materials should supplement the graphic materials. Use regions of empty space between poster elements to differentiate and accentuate these elements. Graphic materials should be visible easily from a minimum distance of 6 feet. Restrained use of 2 - 3 colors for emphasis is valuable; overuse is not.Poster textDouble-space all text, using left-justification; text with even left sides and jagged right sides is easiest to read.The text should be large enough to be read easily from at least 6 feet away. If you must include narrative details, keep them brief. They should be no smaller than 18 point in size, and printed in plain text. Remember that posters are not publications of record, and you can always come to the session armed with handouts. Attempt to fit blocks of text onto a single page: This simplifies cutting and pasting when you assemble the poster. Other options for fonts include Helvetica, Arial, Geneva, Times Roman, Palatino, Century Schoolbook, Courier, and Prestige. Note that these fonts represent a range of letter spacing and letter heights. Keep in mind that san serif fonts (having characters without embellishments) are easiest to read.Finally, be consistent. Choose one font and then use it throughout the poster. Add emphasis by using boldface, underlining, or color; italics are difficult to read.Putting it togetherGreat - you’ve got a good story, supported by bunches of data and lots of quality graphics. How do you go about making all this accessible to an audience. The Poster’s  BackgroundTwo basic rules to keep in mind are that 1) Artistry does not substitute for content2) The fancier the poster, the greater the time investment.There are several common approaches. Some folks use pieces of mat board (or Bristol board) to make a solid background for the entire poster. They may then choose to use a complementary colour as a border for important elements of the poster.Others use smaller pieces of board to frame only the elements of the poster, leaving spaces between the elements empty.Before you trim those elements which are more difficult to replace (photographs, etc.), lay the poster out again and have someone else view it with you. NOW is the time to look for errors in the text and correct them. If you do make any changes in the text, save those changes!  

Adapted from :Woolsey, John D. (1989) Combating poster fatigue: how to use visual grammar and analysis to effect better visual communications. Trends in Neurosciences, 12(9):325-332. 

The Organizing Committee welcomes the submission of posters for approval by April 30th, 2008. Please arrange approval by a committee member contacting one of the following organizers:

Darren Alexander,

Bruce Meyer,

Vincent di Norcia,

Peter Burztyn,

Guy Letts,

Jane Haig,

Herminio Teixeira,

Beverly Bain,

Sylvia Hunt,

Anas Karzai,

Michael Dartnell,

Steve McDonald,

Liane Cheshire,

Ed Robinson and

Marianne Vardalos.

Deborah Clyne

Derek Flear

Katrina Dobson

Andrew Preston

Susan Mills