The deadline for submitting an abstract for the 62nd North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International in Portland, Oregon is one month away. In this e-mail you will find the 1) the general call for papers, 2) an invitation to submit a proposal for a workshop or tutorial (there is a June 5 deadline for those), and 3) an invitation to submit abstracts for special sessions on GeoComputation.

1) CALL FOR PAPERS - NARSC 2015

Join us in Portland, Oregon for the 62nd North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) sponsored by the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC) and hosted by the Western Regional Science Association (WRSA).  The conference will be held at the Portland Hilton Hotel, November 11th - 14th, 2015.  You can learn more about the conference, submit an abstract, and register for the conference and workshops at the NARSC Website at:

http://www.narsc.org/

Click on the link to the conference section for general information on the conference.  To register for the conference or submit an abstract/session online you must first login to the User Area. If you attended a NARSC conference over the past couple of years or are a member of a North American regional science organization, when you reach the login page of the User Area, you will be asked to enter your provided username and password.  Otherwise, when you reach the login page of the User Area, you will be asked to click on a link and enter your e-mail address so we can check if you are already in our database. If you are in our database, your username and password will be e-mailed to you so you can login. If you are not in our database, you will need to register for a free NARSC user account and then you will be able to register for the conference and submit an abstract.

Once logged, you can change your password, update your profile, submit an abstract/session, register for the conference, and check the status of your registration.  You will be able come to your account in the User Area subsequently using your valid username and password.  In case you forget your password, just contact technical support at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your e-mail address and your password will be e-mailed to you so you can login.

Individual papers, posters, and sessions must be submitted online in the abstract submission section of the Website between now and July 1, 2015. The conference registration section is open and allows secure electronic financial transactions. We plan to have host poster sessions, and pre-conference workshops. The latter will be held on November 11th. Be sure to consult the conference website for additional information and details. More information about the workshops will be forthcoming.

Conference organizers welcome individual papers and organized sessions relating to a wide variety of topics inclusive within the diverse realm of regional science.  We are an international scholarly organization that focuses on regional analysis, ranging from urban and spatial theory to applied problems in regional development, sustainability, environmental management, and rural land use.  We are an interdisciplinary association, with members representing fields as diverse as economics, agricultural economics, public policy, urban planning, civil engineering, geography, finance, and demography.  The annual North American RSAI conference is the premier regional science meeting in North America and attracts scholars and practitioners from around the world. 

A block of rooms have been reserved at the Portland Hilton Hotel at a rate of $189 per night (plus tax).  The Hilton is extending the conference rate for those who wish to spend extra time in Portland, subject to availability.

If you have questions, here is contact information:

Local arrangements:
Elizabeth Mack: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jaewon Lim: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Program Chair:
Rachel Franklin:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Overall Arrangements
Neil Reid: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We look forward to seeing you in Portland

2) CALL FOR WORKSHOPS AND TUTORIALS

The Local Organizing Committee of the 2015 NARSC Conference in Portland  invites proposals for half-day and full day Workshops and Tutorials. The deadline for proposals is June 5, 2015. Please see guidelines below:


62nd Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International, Portland, Oregon November 11-14, 2015
In conjunction with the 2015 NARSC meetings, one day of workshops and tutorials will be held on Wednesday, November 11th.

WORKSHOPS:
Workshops should provide a platform for presenting and discussing ideas in a less-formal and more open way than is possible in a conference setting. Thus, they should provide an excellent opportunity for researchers to present work in progress and obtain detailed feedback, and should have ample time allocated for discussion and participation by all attendees. Workshops are welcome in all topics of interest to NARSC attendees, with the proviso that new and emerging areas of research are especially welcome.

Workshop proposals should be less than 1,500 words, and must include the following:
* Title of the workshop
* Description of topics to be covered
* Scope and novelty of the workshop
* Workshop organizer(s) and their qualifications
* Format of workshop (1/2 day, 1 day)
* Highlights (e.g. keynotes, panels, other modes of discussion)
* Expected number of participants
* Details of any previous related workshops

TUTORIALS:
Tutorials are an innovative way of covering a single topic in detail, to cover a Regional Science topic in depth or introduce emerging research area. A tutorial should last either a full (two sessions of three hours) or half (one session of three hours) day.  Tutorials may include activities or exercises for participants.
Tutorial proposals should be less than 1,500 words, and must address all of the following issues:
* Title of the tutorial
* Description of topics and relevance to NARSC community
* Tutorial organizer(s) and their qualifications
* Format of tutorial (1/2 day, 1 day)
* Tutorial outline, indicating overall learning objectives and individual course elements
* Intended audience (introductory, advanced) and any background knowledge or skills required
* Required materials (e.g. will you need internet access, lab access, specific software installed?)
* Expected number of participants

SUBMISSION:
All workshops and tutorial proposals should be submitted by e-mail to Neil Reid (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by June 5, 2015. All proposals will be reviewed by the organizing committee. Successful proposals will be notified by June 12, 2015. Please note that workshops or tutorials which receive do not achieve sufficient enrollment will be canceled.

3) SPECIAL SESSIONS ON GEOCOMPUTATION
The special sessions on various aspects of GeoComputation are planned for the North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (NARSC) to be held in Portland, Oregon, USA, November 11-14, 2015. Suitable topics for the session presentations are theoretical, methodological and applied issues related to GeoComputation - spatial analysis and modeling, and in the context of regional science.

Please let us know if you are interested to contribute to the special session(s) by sending an email at <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.> with the title, abstract, name of author(s), affiliations, contact details and the unique ID number at your earliest but not later than June 25th, 2015. The abstract should be 2,000 to 5,500 characters and spaces.

Please note that in order to have your presentation included to the special session we do need the unique identification number (ID). The ID, or PIN, is a number included at the bottom of the confirmation email received following the submission of an abstract.

Detailed information about the NARSC conference can be found at <http://www.narsc.org >. Information about the submission process can be found at <http://www.narsc.org/newsite/?page_id=64>. Conference abstract submission deadline is July 1st, 2015.

Looking forward to seeing you in Portland.

The organizers:
Prof. Suzana Dragicevic
Department of Geography
Simon Fraser University, Canada
Email: <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Prof. Jean-Claude Thill
Department of Geography and Earth Sciences
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA
Email: <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>