The Broadcast Education Association invites panel submissions and scholarly papers from academics, students and professionals for presentation at the 57th annual convention, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Once again, through an online system by All Academic, Inc., BEA members can upload papers online for the 2012 paper competitions. Tipping Points serves as a focus for the convention, but papers are not limited to this area of research and discussion. All sessions must adhere to the goals and objectives of the interest division(s) to which they are submitted. Descriptions of each Interest Division are listed on the online paper submission site. Each division selects up to six papers - four for presentation and two as alternates – for presentation at the convention. In addition, a few papers may be selected by divisions for consideration in the Scholar-to- Scholar (poster) session.
Announcing the BEA2012 Spotlight: Tipping Points
The BEA2012 convention spotlight is Tipping Points. The term ―tipping point‖ was first popularized in the 1970s to describe white flight from urban America to the suburbs. More recently, Malcolm Gladwell has used it to describe how innovative ideas spread to ―the moment of critical mass,‖ to a ―threshold‖ or ―boiling point.‖ According to Gladwell, ideas gain ―stickiness‖ when they are adopted by mavens, then spread through people who act as connectors and salesmen. Like viruses, even small ideas can quickly become big deals. This spotlight will highlight those developments that have now reached or crossed the threshold of ―something to consider for the future‖ to ―it's happening, we have no choice but to deal with it.‖ Tipping Points can also encourage conferees to consider their roles as—to use Gladwell's lexicon—mavens, connectors, or salesmen.
Past Convention Programs