- •Eu jep catch project
- •If you are not sure about the meaning of the expressions, look them up in a dictionary.
- •Types of conferences and differences between them
- •Introduction
- •In class
- •High-level scientific conferences. Videoconferences
- •Videoconferencing Etiquette
- •Conference planning
- •Programming of a scientific conference (call for papers, contingency plan, conference pack, conference officers, during the conference, after the conference)
- •Impromptu talks and addressing a nonscientific audience
- •Impromptu Talks
- •Unit: intercultural awareness
- •Intercultural competence is a guarantee of successful communication
- •Tips for dealing with people who belong to different cultures
- •Unit: conference etiquette
- •Rules of etiquette and their importance
- •Rules of etiquette and their importance (continuation)
- •Unit: scientific report preparation and presentation. Academic argument
- •Conventions in scientific report writing
- •Introduction
- •Evaluation of a scientific report
- •Abstract
- •Introduction
- •Results
- •Discussion
- •References
- •Language of a scientific report
- •Steps of research and the examples of structural patterns used
- •Scientific report presentation
- •Making a speech
- •Making short speeches with impact
- •Academic argument
- •Introduction
- •Appendix the effect of nickel, chromium, and primary alpha phase on the creep behavior of ti 6242si
- •Introduction
- •Experimental procedure
- •Results
- •Discussion
- •Conclusions
- •Acknowledgments
- •References
- •Establishing Arguments
- •1. Developing Strong Thesis Statements
- •Appendix
- •1.1. Different types of conferences
- •1.3. Time and venue
- •1.4. Programming, call for papers.
- •1.5. Conference planning
- •1. Comment on the following statements. In your opinion are they:
- •2. Mind useful language
- •3. Request and offers.
Programming of a scientific conference (call for papers, contingency plan, conference pack, conference officers, during the conference, after the conference)
http://www.gmik.ru/science_en.html
Do you plan your working day and what for? How do you try to follow it?
Programming of a conference:
Divide into small groups. The number of the groups should correspond to the number of the text parts.
Students of each group study one of the sections, present the information obtained, and answer their group mate’s questions on the topic under discussion.
Programme
Anyone who has tried to organize a conference knows that the hardest thing to establish is the programme. This often goes through several different stages or order of speakers before being finished. One effective way of controlling this variability might be:
Set out the aims of the conference and its format (symposium, workshop, round-table, etc.).
Set out issues to be covered.
Identify a proper title.
Release the call for papers and send all personal invitations.
Collect abstracts from speakers (rejecting - if necessary - those extraneous to the conference subject or devoid of any academic relevance) and confirmations of availability from chairs.
Verify what technical devices each speaker needs.
Verify if and how many overseas speakers you can afford.
Divide speakers (and chairs) into coherent sessions on the basis of the subject of their paper, taking into account the technical devices they asked for when assigning the rooms and remembering to allow time for questions and for refreshments breaks.
Send speakers and chairs the draft programme and ask them for confirmation.
Type and release the definitive programme. At that point, your programme should not change any more, but it is possible (or rather, probable) that this will turn out to be necessary. This is the reason why you should not remain without a contingency plan.
Call for papers
Researchers regularly receive – directly or indirectly – 'calls for papers’, which means that yours will have to be catchy, neat and informative if you want to attract their interest. It should indicate in the clearest way:
aim of the conference
format of the conference (symposium, workshop, round-table, etc.)
issues to be covered
date and venue
length of papers
deadline for provisional titles and abstracts (as well as a word limit)
address for submission
fees (if any)
scholarships (if any)
As to its dissemination, it should be sent to
academic departments and centres dealing with the subject of your conference
specialized mailing lists and newsgroups
Contingency plan if speakers cancel
Do not finally forget to have some 'second choices' as standby, in case a speaker withdraws at the last moment. In this case you can
read her/his paper yourself (provided that s/he prepared it)
replace her/him with another speaker (someone who was, for example, in two minds about participating)
extend the time reserved for questions
bring forward all the papers and present an 'unplanned' event (such as the screening of a video linked to the subject of the conference)
if the person who withdraws is a chair you can ask another chair to preside at a second session, or
ask a speaker to chair that session.
Conference pack
Even if some of your conference participants know each other, they are unlikely to be familiar with the host institution, so it is important that you offer them a conference pack as soon as they arrive. This kind of pack should include:
the definitive programme
abstracts if possible
name tags
a map of the conference rooms
a map of the city
a list of all participants (with their e.mail)
And may include:
a list of useful telephone numbers (starting from your own and including those of hotels, taxicab services, medical assistance, etc.)
the list of major cultural institutions and events currently available in the city, including advice on where to eat
some white paper
a pen
fliers from external organizations (publishers etc), who have paid for the inclusion of their publicity.
Conference offices
You can plan a conference by yourself, but you cannot conduct it alone: you need some assistance. You can obviously ask your postgraduate colleagues for help, but if you do not get any positive support, try to turn to your own home institution (or, to the institution that is going to house the conference), since many academic institutions offer this kind of service through a central conference office. You can delegate any duty from the early stages, but some help becomes absolutely essential when the conference starts, since at that stage you will not be able to deal with everything by yourself.
During the conference
Once the machinery has been set in motion, you should be able to reduce your tasks to:
smiling, always and whatever may happen
receiving speakers, chairs and all other participants
being present whenever possible at all lectures and events
indicating who to turn to for assistance
if possible leaving to assistants (postgraduate students, friends who offered their help) the duty of
registering participants
distributing conference packs
collecting conference fees
collecting receipts for all payments to be refunded
receiving people during all conference sessions
giving general information
checking daily that direction signs are on/in place
solving minor inconveniences
reporting to you (and to all other organizers) any major inconveniences.
After the conference
A conference is only finished on the last day of its programme for the speakers. For organizers its conclusion simply marks the beginning of a new series of tasks to be carried out. You must take care in particular of three bodies: your institution and any other sponsor, speakers and the research community.
Case study
Read the tip on critical path analysis.
Tip
Critical Path Analysis
This is a way of planning a project so that it can be carried out in the shortest possible time.
It involves:
Making a schedule covering all activities in the project
Deciding how long each activity will take
Setting realizable deadlines for each activity
Deciding how activities relate to each other
Read the situation. What could go wrong?
You specialize in organizing conferences. The World Computer Games Confederation wants you to organize next year’s award ceremony (‘the Oscars of computer games’). The WCGC has asked you to find a suitable venue (e.g. hotel, famous building) to arrange entertainment and a charity dinner on the night of the ceremony. Tickets cost $2,000 each and about 800 guests are expected. The event will be hosted by the famous comedian Sammy Webb.
Work in groups and study the ‘to do’ list. After each item in brackets is an estimate of the time which it will take. Produce a schedule which shows how the event can be organized in the most efficient way.
‘to do’ list
send out requests for prize nominations (two weeks)
deadline for nominations (six weeks after requests sent out)
print invitations (two weeks)
make a shortlist of venues (two weeks)
make final selection of venue with sponsor (one week)
book venue (eight months notice usually required)
approach caterers to tender for charity dinner (two months before the event)
decide menu and check with sponsors (two weeks)
produce and print tickets and programmes (three weeks)
invite celebrities to present the different awards (six months before the event)
send out tickets and programmes (eight weeks before the event)
decorate and arrange venue (one week)
contact TV chains about filming awards (as soon as the date and venue are know)
visit venues and ask for quotations (six weeks)
advertise event in trade magazines (five months before the event)
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When will you need to start in order to keep the preparation period as short as possible?
Present your critical path analysis to another group.
’Murphy’s law means ‘anything that can go wrong, will go wrong’. Do you have a similar saying in your country?
Listen to four problems which have come up with the organization of the ceremony. Summarize each in your own words
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Four months before Two months before Six weeks before One week before |
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You don’t want to postpone the event and your deadline is definite. What could you do to minimize or deal with the problems from listening. |
(Oxford English file/ Clive Oxenden, Christina Latham-Koenig)
Write an abstract of an imaginary conference event with well grounded criticism or appraisal.