2024 CONFERENCE PROGRAM

 

The full conference program is now available: CONFERENCE PROGRAM and SCHEDULE OVERVIEW

You can also access an interactive version here: https://iafmhs2024.exordo.com/programme

Please contact conference@iafmhs.org for any conference program related enqueries. 

INFORMATION FOR PRESENTERS

There are five presentation formats that will occur at the conference: paper presentations, symposium paper presentations, roundtable discussions, physical poster presentations, and virtual poster presentations. Authors have been notified within the ExOrdo submission platform about for which presentation format their submission was accepted.

Presenters should strive to make their presentations as accessible as possible for all conference attendees. All presenters are thus encouraged to review the sections on Everyone: Understanding the Basics and Speakers: Planning Your Session at https://www.w3.org/WAI/teach-advocate/accessible-presentations/#participants-and-speakers-during-the-meeting-or-presentation

 

PAPER SESSIONS

There are numerous individual paper sessions throughout the conference. These sessions feature individual paper presentations that have been as thematically grouped and organized as possible by the Scientific Committee Chairs. Each of these sessions features three to five individual paper presentations (in part owing to some number of withdrawn presentations post-acceptance and -scheduling). 

In light of overall conference event scheduling, there are three paper session durations: 1 hour, 1 hour and 10 minutes, and 1 hour and 15 minutes. Paper sessions were randomly assigned across these three durations. 

As there will be no paper session chairs, presenters are encouraged to briefly decide amongst themselves how they will evenly distribute the session time for their paper presentation deliveries. While the conference program schedule reflects an even division of time for each paper based on the total session time and number of papers included therein, this approach assumes that presenters will factor in time for Q&A after each paper. However, the presenters within a given session are free decide amongst themselves whether they would prefer to deviate from this “simplest” approach reflected in the program schedule, and instead present for slightly shorter durations of time so as to overall leave 10 to 15 minutes at the end of the session for a collective Q&A (i.e., rather than allowing Q&A after each individual paper presentation).

For example, assuming there are 5 papers in a 1 hour and 15 minute session, the “simple” distribution of time might be:

Paper 1: 15 minutes (including Q&A)

Paper 2: 15 minutes (including Q&A)

Paper 3: 15 minutes (including Q&A)

Paper 4: 15 minutes (including Q&A)

Paper 5: 15 minutes (including Q&A)

Alternatively, the presenters in this hypothetical session might instead decide to employ the following for their paper session:

Paper 1: 12 minutes

Paper 2: 12 minutes

Paper 3: 12 minutes

Paper 4: 12 minutes

Paper 5: 12 minutes

Q&A: 15 minutes

 

Laptops/AV equipment will be provided for use during the paper sessions. Presenters should bring a copy of their presentation file on a USB drive. Use of a PowerPoint file is recommended to ensure that the laptop in the room will be able to display the presentation file. In addition, formatting the USB drive in exFAT or FAT32 is recommended, as these formats work on both Windows and MacOS. IAFMHS is not able to accept presentation materials via email prior to the conference.

SYMPOSIUM SESSIONS

Symposium sessions are in general very similar to paper sessions. However, these sessions and the three to five symposium papers contained therein were thematically organized by the involved presenters themselves at the time of submission. Symposium sessions typically feature a chair who introduces the symposium, individual symposium paper presenters, and possibly a discussant who comments on the work presented.

In light of overall conference event scheduling, there are three symposium session durations: 1 hour, 1 hour and 10 minutes, and 1 hour and 15 minutes. Symposium sessions were randomly assigned across these three durations.

Symposium chairs may structure their session time however they prefer. While the conference program schedule reflects an even division of time for the chair and optional discussant at the start of the symposium and then all the individual symposium papers thereafter, it is anticipated that symposium chairs will opt to deviate from this “simplest” structure (as it is just a placeholder distribution of time based on what the conference scheduling software allows). Rather, it is anticipated that symposia will generally be organized by the symposium chair as follows:

Introduction by the symposium chair

Individual symposium paper presentations

Remarks by the discussant or symposium chair

Q&A

 

Thus, as an example, assuming a symposium session of 1 hour and 10 minutes, featuring a chair, four symposium papers, and a discussant, the chair may decide to organize the symposium session as follows:

Introduction by the chair: 2 minutes

Symposium paper 1: 12 minutes

Symposium paper 2: 12 minutes

Symposium paper 3: 12 minutes

Symposium paper 4: 12 minutes

Remarks by the discussant or chair: 10 minutes

Q&A: 10 minutes

 

It is recommended that the symposium chair help keep track of time for the symposium paper presenters and any discussant.

Laptops/AV equipment will be provided for use during the symposium sessions. Presenters should bring a copy of their presentation file on a USB drive. Use of a PowerPoint file is recommended to ensure that the laptop in the room will be able to display the presentation file. In addition, formatting the USB drive in exFAT or FAT32 is recommended, as these formats work on both Windows and MacOS. IAFMHS is not able to accept presentation materials via email prior to the conference.

 

ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS

Roundtables are most akin to the symposia format, but feature presenters (aka discussants for this format) who will share expert information and opinions in a more open and conversational forum.

In light of overall conference event scheduling, there are three roundtable session durations: 1 hour, 1 hour and 10 minutes, and 1 hour and 15 minutes. Roundtable sessions were randomly assigned across these three durations.

Roundtable discussants may structure their session time however they prefer, as roundtables are the most “flexible” or “tailored” of the five presentation formats at the conference. Nevertheless, it is recommended that the discussants decide amongst themselves ahead of time how the session time will be organized, and that they help keep track of time for one another. This includes planning to honor part of the spirit of roundtables: to allow ample time for interaction (Q&A and back-and-forth conversation) with the audience.

Laptops/AV equipment will be provided for use during the roundtable sessions, in case desired by the roundtable discussants. However, it is anticipated that roundtables discussants may forego the use of presentation materials and instead proceed purely conversationally. If planning to use the laptops/AV equipment, disussants should bring a copy of their presentation file on a USB drive. Use of a PowerPoint file is recommended to ensure that the laptop in the room will be able to display the presentation file. In addition, formatting the USB drive in exFAT or FAT32 is recommended, as these formats work on both Windows and MacOS. IAFMHS is not able to accept presentation materials via email prior to the conference.

 

POSTER SESSIONS

There will be two separate poster sessions, on the second and third days of the conference, respectively.

On each day during which poster presentations are scheduled, there will be a morning coffee break poster viewing session at which presenters should hang their posters and stand by them to answer questions from conference attendees who stop by to view them. Presenters should then leave their posters hung for the remainder of the day, so that conference attendees can continue to view them during the lunch hour and during an afternoon coffee break. However, presenters do not need to be by their posters during either the lunch or afternoon coffee break viewing times.

Presenters are responsible for bringing their printed posters to the conference. IAFMHS is not able to accept poster shipments prior to the conference.

The maximum accepted dimensions for posters are 175 cm wide x 110 cm tall (i.e., landscape format—see picture below).

Push-pins for hanging posters will be available onsite. 

Posters can be set up in the morning prior to morning coffee break poster viewing session. Presenters can take down their posters after the last afternoon coffee break.

VIRTUAL POSTERS

Overview of Virtual Poster Presentations

Virtual poster presentations will be delivered in an asynchronous manner via a private YouTube channel shared only with conference attendees. QR codes directing to the virtual poster presentations will be included in the full conference program. The QR codes will also be provided via a master physical poster on display during the in-person poster sessions at the conference.

Conference attendees will be able to scan these QR codes with their electronic devices to access the virtual poster presentations on YouTube at their leisure during the conference and for one week after the conference. Conference attendees will be able to leave comments and questions for presenters in the YouTube comment section. Presenters will be able to respond to these comments in an asynchronous fashion for up to one week after the conference has concluded. 

Developing and Submitting a Virtual Poster Presentation

Virtual poster presenters are required to complete the following steps by June 1.

1. Create a PDF copy of your virtual poster

a. Presenters should develop a PDF copy of their virtual poster. For example, using PowerPoint to design the poster, and then exporting as a PDF file.

b. Presenters are encouraged to format their posters in line with Better Poster Format recommendations (see https://convention.apa.org/blog/rethinking-the-science-poster or https://astrobites.org/2020/02/28/fixing-academic-posters-the-betterposter-approach/)

c. Presenters will submit their PDF copy of their virtual poster along with a video or audio file that narrates the virtual poster, as explained below.

2. Create a video file narrating your virtual poster

a. Presenters should narrate their virtual posters via a video recording. For example, presenters may create a video file using Zoom in which their poster is displayed and they can also be seen discussing it. Or they may use the Record feature in PowerPoint to just capture their voice narrating a display of the poster.

b. Virtual poster narrations should not exceed 3 minutes.

c. See the following link for an example narrated virtual poster (please excuse the duration of this sample recording exceeding 3 minutes): SAMPLE

d. The above example was recorded via Zoom. The presenter started a private Zoom meeting, used a feature within Zoom to share a portion of their screen, and recorded their comments.

For more about sharing your screen in Zoom, see https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0060596

For more about recording Zoom meetings, see https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0059856

3. Upload virtual poster PDF file and video recording

a. Presenters will receive an email with a link to an individual and restricted Google Drive folder. Presenters will upload to this folder their virtual poster as both a PDF file and video recording file. The Google Drive folder will be permanently deleted one week following the conference.

b. Presenters should name their files using the following format:

[Presenting author last name], [Presenting author first name] - [Title of virtual poster] - PDF

[Presenting author last name], [Presenting author first name] - [Title of virtual poster] - Recording

For example,

King, Christopher - A study of the countries represented at the IAFMHS Conference - PDF.pdf

King, Christopher - A study of the countries represented at the IAFMHS Conference - Recording.mp4

Virtual poster presentations will then be uploaded by IAFMHS personnel responsible for the virtual posters to a private YouTube channel, and individual QR codes will be generated for each virtual poster on this YouTube channel.

By submitting a virtual poster presentation, presenters have agreed to have their virtual poster presentation being uploaded to this YouTube channel that restricts access to conference attendees. However, it is important for presenters to know that, although the YouTube channel is private (i.e., not accessible without the QR codes nor searchable on YouTube), it is possible that persons with the QR codes may share them with non-attendees.

The YouTube channel will be permanently deleted one week following the conference.

Virtual Poster Award

An awards committee within IAFMHS will select one virtual poster presentation to receive the Best Virtual Poster award.