1. Prior to departure for the meeting, check teh program
on the AP web-site to determine the number and order of the abstracts
to be presented, the time allocated to each abstract, and if there are
any supplementary abstracts assigned to the session you are chairing.
2. Upon arrival at the meeting, check the Corrigenda
distributed with the printed Bulletin and the "program changes
board" to determine if any supplementary abstracts have been assigned
to the session you are chairing, or if any abstracts have been withdrawn.
3. If possible, arrive at the meeting room about 15
minutes prior to the start of the session and familiarize yourself with
the controls for lights, microphones, a-v equipment and the timer. If
you encounter problems, you should immediately alert the Meetings Manager
(at APS Registration Desk) and/or the A-V technician.
4. At the start of the session, briefly introduce yourself
and explain the timing system to the audience, and as often during the
session as you think necessary.
5. Start the session on time - announce the first abstract
and author, and start the timer.
6. Make sure the speaker has the lavalier microphone
placed no lower than 6" below his/her chin.
7. Please adhere to the time schedule listed in the
Bulletin so that simultaneous sessions are as closely synchronized as
possible. Many attendees move from session to session in order to hear
specific abstracts.
8. The normal allotted time for contributed abstracts
is 12 minutes (10 minutes to present; 2 minutes for Q and A). If you
are chairing a session that includes both contributed and invited abstracts
please be aware of the different times allocated for each and set the
timer as follows:
Contributed abstracts - set
timer for 8 minutes to give initial warning, then set the final bell
to go off 2 minutes later to signal the end of the talk. When this
time is up, allow 2 additional minutes for questions relating to the
abstract, thank the speaker and promptly introduce the next abstract
and speaker.
Invited abstracts - set
timer for 25 minutes for initial warning, and the final bell to ring
5 minutes later to signal the end of the prepared talk. Then set the
timer for 6 additional minutes for questions from the audience.
9. Speakers must be asked to stop when their allotted
time is up in a courteous but firm manner. Keep in mind that the session
must end on time, and that the last speaker has just as much right to
an audience as does the first speaker. Should a speaker fail to appear,
call the author of the first supplementary abstract assigned to the
session, if any. If that author is not in attendance, call the author
of the following supplementary abstract and so on. If there are no supplementary
abstracts assigned to your session, allow the precending discussion
to continue, or recess the session until it is time for the next scheduled
abstract. At the end of the session, call again for the regularly scheduled
abstract, if time allows.
10. When two or more abstracts are submitted by a first
author, only one of these will be assigned a scheduled presentation
time within that session. It is assumed that the first author listed
in the abstract is the person who will present the paper at the meeting.
Other abstrats with the same first author may be assigned as supplementary
abstracts, to be called for if time permits. If you notice that an author
who has already presented an abstract rises to present another, you
should request that this abstract be presented at the end of the regular
program as a supplementary abstract, if time allows.
11. If any problems arise that you are unable to handle
relative to successfully chairing the session, either go, or immdiately
send, someone to the APS registration desk to alert the Meetings Manager
of the problem.