BEST MAMAS CONTEST The Ecological Society of America's Public Affairs Committee announces its second contest for the best MAMAS (Maxims, Analogies, Metaphors, Anecdotes, Similes) to communicate ecological knowledge
1st Prize: Full refund of San Jose Annual Meeting registration 2nd Prize: One year ESA membership & online subscription to journals 3rd Prize: ESA t-shirt & travel mug Best Student Prize: One year ESA membership, includes Frontiers journal Background: After last year's successful first contest, the Society's Public Affairs Committee is again this year offering an opportunity to win great prizes in exchange for memorable 'MAMAS.' Last year's winners were published in the ESA Bulletin. Explaining the complexity of ecological systems to policy makers and the public is challenging for ecologists. The Committee is again hosting an evening session at the Annual Meeting in August that will address the use of analogies, metaphors, anecdotes, etc. to explain complex ecological principles. The session will include seasoned ecologists with a flair for using MAMAS and will center on the best submissions received via this contest. To participate: Entries should be no more than one page in length and should feature your favorite Maxim, Analogy, Metaphor, Anecdote, or Simile as it relates to the science of ecology. Please indicate the source (whether it is your own or if it is accredited to someone else) and the context in which it has been effectively used (e.g. during a radio interview; before a Rotary Club, in a lecture hall). Submissions should include full name and all contact information. ESA student members are especially encouraged to participate in this competition. Members of the Public Affairs Committee will presort all entries and the top 10 finalists will be highlighted during the Annual Meeting Evening Session, "Ecological Analogies, Metaphors, & Anecdotes" on Monday, August 6, 8 - 10 PM. Prize winners will also be announced. The Goal: We hope to create an on-line database, searchable by topic, which will be available to all ESA members for use in outreach activities. All sources of the best MAMAS will be acknowledged. Definitions: Maxims - a pithy statement of general wisdom, e.g. "where there's smoke, there's fire" Analogies - comparing similarities between things otherwise unlike, e.g. "hot is to cold as fire is to ice" Metaphors -implied comparison, e.g. "All the world's a stage" Anecdotes - Personal experience/story Simile - an explicit comparison, e.g. "Her tears flowed like wine" Submit your entry by Friday, July 6, 2007 to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You will be contacted by late July if your submission is a finalist to be presented at the Evening Session during the Annual Meeting.
