Newsletter
Volume 30 | 2007 | Number 2
Southeastern ABA
By Dr. Dean Williams
The Southeastern Association for Behavior Analysis (SEABA) is a regional affiliate of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABA). Like its parent organization, SEABA seeks to promote scholarly discourse within and about behavior analysis. SEABA membership and convention registration are open to anyone with a scholarly interest in Behavior analysis.
SEABA pursues its agenda primarily through an annual scientific meeting. The 1.5-day program of the annual meeting features invited addresses touching on the many domains in which behavior analysis has had an impact. SEABA’s first convention was held November 15-17, 1984, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The original program format emphasized topical symposia organized by a variety of SEABA members. Over the years, the annual meeting has evolved to emphasize hour-long addresses invited by a program chair.
SEABA convenes its annual meeting each October or November. Sites are preferred that provide ready access from throughout SEABA’s large catchment area, which stretches roughly from Southern Florida to Northern West Virginia. Over the years, a loyal SEABA following has developed from outside the region as well. Among these welcome interlopers are former invited speakers and former students of graduate programs in the region, who, upon sampling the annual meeting, increasingly make SEABA a permanent fixture on their convention calendars.
A guiding philosophy of SEABA is that students are junior colleagues, with an emphasis on the latter portion of the term. Consequently, SEABA strives to keep membership and convention registration fees low to facilitate student attendance. By SEABA tradition, students typically assist in the planning and orchestration of the annual meeting, and contribute to its scholarly well being through numerous poster presentations.
The annual conference is a single-track program of invited addresses spanning about 1.5 days. About an hour is allotted to each address, including time for questions and audience participation. Addresses cover a variety of domains in which behavior analysis has had an impact. Speakers are told to expect some audience familiarity with behavior analysis, but not specialty-area expertise. The President of SEABA convenes the conference and the Program Chair serves as master of ceremonies and moderator.
The conference runs from Thursday to Saturday, starting with a registration desk/social hour on Thursday evening. Friday incorporates a full day of addresses, the SEABA business meeting, and a lively evening poster session and cash bar. The conference concludes with a half day of addresses on Saturday.
SEABA membership is open to anyone with a scholarly interest in behavior analysis. Current members include both academic and professional people, psychologists and persons in related disciplines such as education, psychopharmacology, and social work, and established scholars and students. Most members reside in the Southeast, although an increasing number of members participate from other parts of the US.
Fees for membership are kept low, in part to make the organization friendly to students.
For further information see our Website: SEABA.ORG