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of Submissions
Proposals should include the following information
through the electronic abstract submission system accessible
through http://www.ecohealth2008.org/sglobal/
- the title,
- the theme and subtheme,
- current status of the presenting author
- the proposed presentation format (see potential
types of sessions),
- the name(s), e-mail address, organization, and
country of residence of the presenter and authors
involved,
- the presentation abstract (300 words)
Focus of Presentations
The presentations should allow for knowledge transfer,
for example focusing on:
- research methodologies;
- research outputs;
- community participation methodologies or examples
of concrete experiences;
- capacity-building methodologies or examples of
concrete experiences;
- successful implementation;
- scaling up;
- policy influence; etc.
All abstracts submitted will be peer reviewed by the
Abstract Review Subcommittee. The following criteria
will be used in the selection process:
- Quality of abstract
- Clarity of goals and strength of connection to
Forum theme and suggested topic areas
- Potential to promote discussion and interaction
among Forum participants
- Reported outcomes and/or research results
- Use of relevant literature citations
Available Equipment
The following equipment could be made available to
presenters at the Forum site:
- LCD projectors
- slide projectors
- overhead projectors
- microphone
- laser pointer
- DVD player
- video player
Presenters should keep in mind session time
constraints. If using PowerPoint presentations
and LCD projectors, it is requested that the presenters
arrange to have their presentation loaded on the computer
of the session 15 minutes PRIOR to
the beginning of the session. For overheads and slide
projectors, it is the presenter's responsibility to
ensure that the session facilitator is aware of each
presenter's specific need and to ensure adequate set-up
before the beginning of the session.
Presenters should use PPT version 97-2003 to avoid
technical problems. There will be a laptop computer
in each presentation room with the latest software.
Presenters will be able to download and check their
presentations prior to their session in the Santa Lucía
Room of the Fiesta Americana and the Ek Balam room of
the Hyatt Regency.
Session Formats
The IEF 2008 will consist of plenary sessions and a
number of parallel sessions each day. Alternative formats
for presentations, including video, audio, multimedia,
remote presentations via a live internet link, outdoor
sessions, sessions that are connected to field trips,
are strongly encouraged at the IEF 2008 - be
creative!
The list of potential types of sessions found here
is intended to provide some ideas and clarify different
types of sessions or parts of sessions that could be
organised at the IEF 2008.
Additionally, public space is available in the Hyatt
Regency Lobby for interested organisations to set up
3 x 3 m2 booths. Please contact Teresa Téllez,
logistics@ecohealth2008.org,
if you are interested in this opportunity, to receive
details on costs. Please indicate if you need equipment
to show media clips or audio-visual material at your
booth. For those who will not have a booth, a special
“Tool Bazaar” area will be set up near the
booths to offer a central point where CDs, books, posters,
and other tools could be displayed for sharing.
With any questions regarding booths, please contact
Teresa Téllez, logistics@ecohealth2008.org.
Please note that all participants who wish
to submit an abstract must begin the submission process
by creating a user profile, accessible through
http://www.ecohealth2008.org/sglobal/.
Designing a poster
A poster has to allow an observer to quickly learn
the essence of the research. It tells a story.
In preparing a poster, simplicity is the key. A typical
reader may spend only a few minutes looking at the poster,
so there should be a minimum of confusion and a maximum
of conciseness, informative statements and attractive,
enlightening graphics. A poster should not contain a
lot of details - the presenter can always communicate
the fine points to interested participants.
Keep in mind that the poster will be one of many
in the exhibition area. You need to make sure that it
will capture and hold the reader’s attention.
The organization
- Aim for clarity and simplicity. It helps to make
an initial rough layout keeping in mind the proportions
of figures, tables and text.
- Divide the contents of your poster into appropriate
sections:
At the top: Title of paper, Author(s), Institutional
affiliation(s);
In the Body:
- Introduction
- Objectives
- Materials and Methods
- Results
- Discussion and conclusions
- Be sure to include each section on a separate sheet(s)
of paper or in specific boxes. The poster should flow
left to right, top to bottom. If there is any doubt
about the order in which the sheets should be read,
guide the reader by numbering the sheets clearly or
linking them with arrows.
- Resist the temptation to use excessive text and
to overcrowd the surface. Be concise with your written
material. Save elaborative points for discussion/interaction
with viewers. For conclusions, focus on a central
finding that lends itself to informal discussion.
More specifically, it is not necessary to write in
complete sentences; sentence fragments may be easier
to comprehend. Bulleted lists are effective. An alternative
is to break the text into chunks - small units that
are not necessarily paragraphs in the usual sense.
A question and answer format, for example, may be
appropriate for part of the poster.
- For presenting results, figures, graphs, charts
and/or tables are more appropriate than text. Graphics
and photographs can also help to make your poster
interesting. Legends should be minimal but a brief
description of the implications of the graphic should
be placed just above or below it. In general, remember
that it is not a good idea to present proofs, except
in brief outline, unless the proofs are the focus
of the presentation.
Tips to make a good poster:
- Posters should be readable from 3 feet (1 meter)
away and be understandable without oral explanation.
- DO NOT mount the full text of your paper as the
poster! Instead, if the work presented in the poster
has been described in more detail in a paper, consider
making the paper available as a handout at the poster
driven seminar. Small tables will be provided to each
presenter to display additional material such as outlines
or copies of the full paper.
- DO NOT use less than 18 font for any text you mount.
Most viewers will be at least 3 feet away from your
poster.
- Use larger lettering for the poster's title, author
and institutional affiliation (larger than 18 font).
Make the lettering at least one inch high (2.5 cm).
- Avoid fonts that are script or difficult to read.
- If hand lettering is required, use a black felt-tip
pen (Sharpie).
- A neutral poster or matte board is more amenable
to the eye than a bright coloured background. A splash
of colour here and there, perhaps highlighting central
finding(s) or provocative results, will make your
poster "stand out" from the crowd. Remember
that the use of pictures as background for a coloured
text (regardless of the beauty of the picture or the
design of the poster) can make reading much harder.
During the poster session:
- The presenter should be prepared to answer questions
that their poster will inevitably generate. However,
the presenter’s attitude during the visit should
not distract the attention of the reader.
- Have a notepad handy when presenting at your poster
session. It may be helpful in elaborating on your
findings, or for taking names & addresses of people
interested in your research.
- It is recommended to presenters to bring some copies
of the paper for distribution to attendees.
Transportation of the poster
- Transporting a poster can be a problem if it contains
large sheets of paper. Rolling the paper into a cylinder
is the most common system.
- You will usually be allotted plenty of time to
set up the poster, so it may be easiest to bring it
in pieces, to be assembled on site (but be sure to
work out the layout beforehand—and bring a diagram!).
- Finally, it is often recommended to authors to
carry their poster material as hand luggage while
traveling, in order to minimise the risk of losses.
Using LCD projectors
If you plan to use PowerPoint as visual support to
your presentation (Plenary sessions, symposia, oral
presentations, workshops, short courses and other meetings/activities),
please contact the organisers to ensure that the proper
LCD projector will be available in the room where you
are presenting. Arrive 10 minutes before the beginning
of the session to ensure sufficient time for setting
up the equipment. You should also keep the following
advices in mind when developing your presentation.
Tips to make a good PowerPoint
presentation
- Do not use excessive text on each slide. Be concise.
You will have a chance to elaborate on each of these
points in your presentation. It is not necessary to
write in complete sentences. Bulleted lists are much
more effective than full text.
- DO NOT use less than 28 font for the text of your
slide and 36 font for the title of the slide (recommended).
- As for poster sessions, it is not recommended to
use script fonts (which may prove to be hard to read
from a distance) or fancy backgrounds.
- Do not use too many transition effects (ex: checkers
and blinds) between slides. These effects can distract
the attention from the content of your slide and can
impinge on the capacity of viewers to concentrate
on your presentation.
- Do not try to fit all the elements of your presentation
in your PowerPoint presentation. Too many slides may
also divert the attention of the audience. You should
plan to spend 1 1/2 - 2 minutes per slides minimum.
- Consider having some handouts of your PowerPoint
presentation to distribute to the audience. This will
help people to concentrate on what you say rather
then on the screen.
Setting up your presentation:
- If you plan to use your own computer, be sure to
be in the room 10 or 15 minutes before the beginning
of the session to ensure that the proper setting is
in place and to boot your computer when connected
to the device (some computers need to be rebooted
to recognize new hardware devices such as LCD projectors).
- If you plan on using a computer from the conference,
ensure that your presentation is copied onto the right
computer PRIOR to the session.
Transporting your presentation:
- Travel with more than one copy of your presentation
for more security. Having a paper copy of your presentation
with you is always an additional security (if something
happens to your PowerPoint presentation, the paper
copy can always be reproduced on transparencies).
Using overheads
Tips to make a good transparency
- DO NOT use excessive text on your transparencies.
Be concise. Transparencies should not be used to reproduce
the text of the presentation but to provide visual
elements to guide the audience or support the presentation
(ex: bullet points arguments, graphs, charts, etc...).
It is more efficient to provide a bullet list of key
arguments than complete sentences and full arguments.
You will have a chance to elaborate on each of these
points in your presentation.
- DO NOT use less than 28 font for the text of your
slide and 36 font for titles (recommended) and avoid
using script fonts. They may be hard to read from
a distance.
- Avoid or minimize photocopying illustrations or
text from a textbook. The quality of the photocopy
usually does not lead to very clear results when projected
on the screen. If there are figures that you want
to use from a report or existing paper, ensure that
they are printed large enough and avoid crowding to
many of them on the same transparency.
- If you intend to use blank transparencies and coloured
markers to illustrate models, highlight processes,
etc...it is recommended to use coloured markers and
to avoid really fine tips.
- Several types of transparencies exist, some are
specifically designed for ink jet printers, other
for laser printing or photocopying. Be careful to
ensure that you are using the right type of transparency
for the type of printing device you are using... You
could seriously damage your equipment.
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