ISA Annual Convention 2010 Blog

New Orleans Welcomes ISA

The New Orleans Conventions & Visitors Bureau has prepared a customized website just for our participants. They are eager to highlight New Orleans attractions including:

• Top 10 Things you MUST do in New Orleans
• The Best Dining and Live Music
• Tips for the Green Traveler

Visit New Orleans Welcomes the International Studies Association for more information on this amazing city.

MyISA Access Restored

Some of you may have experienced difficulty accessing our MyISA system today. The University of Arizona suffered a campus wide network outage as noted on their system alert site:

At approximately 11:50 a.m. on Wednesday, September 23rd, a normally non-disruptive UPS maintenance procedure unexpectedly resulted in a campus wide network outage. Power was restored at 12:10 p.m.

Network services are currently being restored and we expect to be fully online no later than 4:00 p.m. today. As a result of this network outage, UA WebMail is experiencing residual problems, including trouble logging in.

Access to MyISA now appears to be fully restored. We are monitoring the situation and will keep you updated.

Visa Information

Before traveling to the U.S., a citizen of a foreign country must generally obtain a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. The type of visa you will need is based on the purpose of your travel: visit, study, work, immigrate. Please visit the U.S. Department of State Visa website for more information on how to apply for a visa for business travel to attend the ISA Annual Convention.

Travel Tips

• Airline tickets should be issued with the full name on your passport
• Apply for passports and any required visas well in advance
• Passport information may be found here (U.S. State Department website)
• Visit the Travel Security Administration website for latest security requirements for travel into the U.S.: www.tsa.gov
• The New Orleans Conventions & Visitors Bureau has prepared a customized site just for our international participants featuring information on passports, tax-free shopping, and customs.

Program Posted

The preliminary program for the 2010 Annual Convention has now been posted to our website and to our MyISA system. ISA's 51st Annual Convention will take place from February 17-20 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel and the Loews New Orleans Hotel.

We have posted the program in a PDF format (above) on this, our public (no login required) website. You may view and browse the entire program online and use the binocular search icon (or Ctrl F on your keyboard) to search the program. You may also download the entire program to your computer and browse at your leisure.

In the MyISA system, you may search the program by keyword search of people (first name, last name, affiliation), sponsor (sections), title/abstract, day, and event title. You may also customize your panels and any panels you are interested in attending into your personalized My Program. You can then print your personalized program before the convention so that you know what you want to see each day.

ISA Working Groups

The ISA International Communications Section and Human Rights Section invite you to participate in a working group at our annual convention in New Orleans in 2010. By participating in a working group, conference attendees discuss the most thought-provoking issues in their sections as well as their own research through an extended and focused discussion.  Such dialogue will stimulate new research questions and project ideas, and may contribute to development of new communities of scholars. Participants meet within their working group on three separate occasions during the conference. The first meeting will occur in advance of the start of the panels and provides an opportunity for participants to create a framework to guide their interactions. Working group participants will then also meet towards the middle of the scheduled conference and again towards the end of the conference. Participants commit to attend a small group of related panels throughout the course of the meeting to discuss during their group meetings. Please see the ISA Working Groups website for more information. You may register online here. Participation in each group is limited and is on a first come, first served basis.

Audio-Visual Equipment

PANELISTS AND PRESENTERS:

For the 2010 convention, ISA is providing both laptop personal computers and LCD projectors in all panel rooms.  Software capabilities are LIMITED to Powerpoint reader and Adobe reader ONLY. The reader software can accommodate presentations created in Microsoft or Mac formats. 

Presenters will not be able to use their own laptop computers since the audio visual setups in the meeting rooms must not be changed in any way.  Presenters must bring their Powerpoint or Adobe presentations on a flash drive and insert the flash drive into the ISA netbook computer at the start of the presentation. 

Overhead projectors are not available.  Anyone desiring to utilize overhead projectors or other audio visual equipment must contact our audio visual supplier Presentation Services (PS-AV) and make arrangements directly with PS-AV. 

Detailed instructions for creating and saving your Powerpoint or Adobe presentations will be sent to all registered participants, and will be posted here, around the end of October.

WORKSHOP CHAIRS, BUSINESS MEETING AND RECEPTION ORGANIZERS:

For security reasons, laptop computers and LCD projectors will be removed from all meeting rooms immediately upon conclusion of each day’s panels.  Equipment will be secured during the lunch hour.  Workshop Chairs are responsible for the security of ISA equipment during breaks and lunch.  If AV equipment is needed for evening functions, please be sure to indicate this on the Meeting or Reception request forms found on the convention meetings & receptions home page. 

AUDIO-VISUAL SUPPLIER:

Presentation Services Audio Visual (PS-AV) is the official supplier for the ISA 2010 Convention at the Hilton Riverside Hotel and Loews New Orleans Hotel.  Telephone 504-592-8000 to order additional audio visual equipment not provided by ISA.

ISA CONTACT:

Please direct questions NOT COVERED in the above information to Jeanne White, ISA Director of Conventions.  Due to the large volume of inquiries, please allow 3-5 business days for a reply.

Deadline: Travel Grant Applications

Each year ISA sets aside a small budget to supplement travel expenses for graduate students and junior scholars attending our annual convention. We opened the application process for New Orleans on June 6th and we are closing the process today at 5 PM PST. Travel grants are available only for ISA members. If you are not an ISA member you may still apply, your membership fee will be deducted from your grant.