Calls for Organized Oral Sessions, Workshops, Evening Sessions, and Discussions for the 2004 ESA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon,
August 1-6, 2004

Link to Allen Press Proposal Submission Site
(Proposals are Due on 1 December 2003.)

PLEASE READ ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW BEFORE SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL

This is a call for the submission of proposals for ESA Organized Oral Sessions, Workshops, Evening Sessions, Discussions, and any other special nonsocial events in the formal program of the meeting. Proposals may be from any area of ecology, but those that relate to the overall theme— “Lessons of Lewis and Clark: Ecological Exploration of Inhabited Landscapes” —are especially encouraged. We also welcome proposals that explore connections with the social or natural sciences, or that are directed to ecological education at any level. Workshops and Discussions are considered supplementary to the main program of Symposia, Oral Presentations, and Posters.

Note that Organized Oral Sessions are a new type of event, and they are described in some detail below.

Proposals for all types of sessions in this Call are reviewed and selected by the Program Chair and his designated committee. The primary criteria for acceptance include scientific merit, probable interest by meeting attendees, and a clearly written and compelling description and justification. Limits of space and time may make it impossible to accommodate all worthy submissions.

All proposals MUST follow the format of the online Allen Press submission forms, on the ESA website. Incomplete and inaccurate information provided on these forms may result in the proposal not being accepted. Information requested includes complete contact information, accurate email addresses for all Organizers and Co-Organizers, descriptions (400 word maximum), section/chapter outside group sponsorships, lists of speakers/panelists, and any requests that would require financial expenditures.

If accepted, these sessions will have a brief (400-word maximum) description in the preliminary and final official programs naming the organizers. This description should be written with special attention to attracting attendees. Other contributors and their topics can be mentioned in the description, but there is no room for a detailed agenda. If you feel it is critical that participants have more detailed information, it will be your responsibility to distribute it to them. All sessions must have a lead organizer who serves as the primary contact and who will be readily available by e-mail and phone in the months leading up to the meeting. This person must also register and pay all fees for the meeting. Note that the organization of a session does not preclude a person from also being first author or presenter on a paper, poster, or Symposium talk. (See the Call for Papers and Posters for a complete explanation of the “one-paper rule.”)

An important note regarding funds: Acceptance of your proposal does not obligate ESA beyond assuring you of a meeting space and inclusion in the official program. We stress especially that no ESA funds are available for honoraria or travel expenses for workshop and discussion participants. Further, registration is not waived. Anyone participating in any capacity in an organized oral session, workshop or discussion must be registered. Organizers are responsible for making these facts clear to persons they invite to participate.

Organized Oral Session: This is a new type of session aimed at providing an additional opportunity – besides symposia -- for meeting attendees to plan and propose a session focused on a particular topic with a set of invited speakers. These sessions are distinguished from symposia in that (1) they do not require as broad a level of interest or synthesis as usually expected of symposia, (2) they can be comprised largely of related case studies on the topic, (3) the length and timing of the talks are prescribed at 15 minutes each, with 5 minutes of discussion following each talk, and (4), two time slots out of the 10 available in this session are reserved for filling, by the Program Chair, with related talks from the contributed abstracts.

A goal of the Organized Oral Sessions is to add a larger proportion of paper sessions in the formal program that are organized in advance. The expectation is that Organized Oral Sessions will generally be more coherent and integrated than is possible in the Contributed Oral Sessions, which are assembled ad hoc from contributed abstracts according to topic by the Program Chair. In Portland, we expect to schedule up to 20 Organized Oral Sessions.

The Organized Oral Sessions require a proposal submitted to the Program Chair, through the ESA web site, by 1 December 2003.

Organized Oral Sessions should be structured with talks having a common theme or topical area, and should contain the following information:

• Title of Organized Oral Session
• Description and justification of the session (approximately 250 words).
• Principal Organizer (Name, institution or affiliation, address, phone, FAX, e-mail)
• Co-organizers (Names, institution or affiliation, address, phone, FAX, e-mail)
• Speakers (Names, affiliations, and tentative titles. Indicate in brackets after speaker’s names whether [C]=committed and confirmed, [T]= tentative, or [S] = suggested, but not yet contacted.)
  1.
  2.
  3.
  etc.

In preparing the proposal, the organizer should plan on 6 to 8 speakers, each permitted a 20-minute time slot: 15 minutes for the presentation, followed by 5 minutes for questions.

An additional 2 or more speakers will be added to the session by the Program Chair from the contributed abstracts for a maximum of 10 talks in the session.

Organized Oral Sessions will be scheduled for half-day sessions (morning or afternoon) in a meeting room. Available equipment will include an overhead transparency projector, a 35mm slide projector, and a computer and LCD projector.

If a proposal is accepted, the organizers will be required to submit a final summary description of the symposium in the correct format no later than January 10, 2004. This summary will appear in the preliminary program and should be written so as to stimulate interest and promote attendance. This description should be submitted on the electronic form posted on the ESA Portland meeting web site. The correct format also requires a complete and up-to-date listing of organizers names and their institutions, addresses, telephone, fax and email addresses correctly referenced. The title of the Organized Oral Session should be followed by the descriptive text.

In addition, it is the responsibility of the organizers to see that each speaker submits a properly formatted individual abstract of their talk and the abstract fee by means of the ESA website by the March 1, 2004 deadline. Do not submit abstracts by any other means. Contact the Program Chair if your situation precludes use of the submission web site.

Workshop: Workshops require a proposal submitted to the Program Chair, through the ESA web site, by 1 December 2003. Workshops are focused on transferring specific knowledge or skills to others, and with substantive feedback and interactions among participants. They might involve one presenter, a series of lecturers, or a panel. Workshops are usually scheduled for half-days on the Sunday before the scientific meeting starts, and before the public plenary and welcome mixer, either 8 am to noon or 12:30-4:30 pm. A few Saturday afternoon workshops might be scheduled, especially if they start with or include a scientific field trip. Please indicate your preference for a.m. or p.m. time slots. Full-day workshops are possible, but are given more stringent scrutiny. Workshops generally involve a per person participation fee that covers refreshments, materials, special equipment, or, occasionally, lunch. Any other needs that may result in expenditures (e.g., special equipment rentals other than slide, overhead or LCD projectors) should be listed. All workshop proposals must indicate minimum and maximum participation. You should be notified of acceptance of the workshop or discussion session by 15 February 2004. Communication between the Program Chair, meeting organizer, and session organizers will be necessary in most cases before final approval is given.

Evening Session/Discussion: Require a proposal submitted to the Program Chair via the ESA web site, by 1 December 2003. Evening Sessions/Discussions (the terms are used broadly) are a supplement to the formal program that provide an opportunity for extended dialogue and exchanges not usually possible in the regular sessions. Most run for 1–2 hours, and most will be scheduled in the evenings. Discussions are not intended for the presentation of formal research papers. They may be scheduled at any time during the meeting from Saturday through Thursday, but it is very strongly preferred that they not run concurrently with the paper or poster sessions. Hence, evenings or the preceding Sunday are the best times. Scheduling is flexible, especially on the days preceding the formal sessions. The preferred starting time for evening is generally 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. to allow participants to have dinner or otherwise adjust their body chemistry to prepare for the rigors of intellectual engagement. For purposes of selecting an appropriate-sized meeting room, you must indicate the expected minimum and maximum attendance.

NOTE: Required information for Workshop, Evening Session, and Discussion Proposals to be entered via the Proposal submission form:

1. Title of the session
2. Description of the session
3. Names and contact information of the Organizers.
4. Minimum number of participants (Workshops)
5. Maximum number of participants (Workshops)
6. Starting and ending times
7. Anticipated Equipment, Food/Drink or Other Needs
   - Screen, LCD Projector, Dedicated Laptop computer, Slide Projector, Overhead Projector, Flip charts, VCR and Monitor, Internet Connection (not guaranteed), Off-site Computer Labs and Transportation.
   - Continental Breakfast, Lunch, or Grab and Go Lunch for daytime Workshops and Discussions, Afternoon Snack, Reception or Wine and Cheese
   - Supplies, Hand-outs, Honoraria or Speaker Fees, Lodging or Travel
8. Room Set-up desired: Theater, Conference, Hollow Square, Rounds.
9. Preference for a particular day or evening: Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. (Evening and Discussion Sessions)
10. Preference for a Sunday Workshop (Full day, Half day, 2 Hour) or a Lunch Break Workshop (2 Hour).
11. Outside sponsorship or underwriting of Workshop fees.
12. Endorsement by an ESA Section, Chapter, or other group.
13. Is the Discussion intended to follow a Symposium or Organized Oral
    Session?
14. Is the Evening Session linked to the Business Meeting or Mixer of any ESA
    Section, Chapter, or other group?

Other types of sessions: It is not the intent of the Program Committee to limit creativity. Feel free to make inquiries to the Program Chair if you have an idea for a session that will enhance the meeting, but does not exactly fit the descriptions of workshops or discussions. Be aware, however, that demand for sessions outside of the formal program has been growing, and that every worthy or interesting proposal cannot necessarily be accepted. As with Discussions, events that run concurrently with the formal program will be allowed only in exceptional cases.

Workshop and Evening Session, Discussion, or Organized Oral Session proposals must be submitted through the Allen Press Proposal Submission web site by 1 December 2003.

In extraordinary circumstances in which you do not have access to the Web, proposals may also be e-mailed to the address given below. Please check with the Program Chair before following this route. Instructions for the submission of Posters and Oral Presentations are given above. Please do not use the Poster and Oral Presentation abstract submission web site for submission of Workshop, Discussion, or Organized Oral Session proposals. If you submit your proposal on the web site submission form, you will be notified electronically concerning review and acceptance of your proposal, using the return e-mail address that you provide.

If the return address is incorrect, you will not be notified. If you do not hear from the Program Chair or Meeting Organizer by 31 January 2004, please contact ESA@LTRR.ARIZONA.EDU to confirm that your proposal was received. The complete scientific program should be on the ESA web site by 1 May 2004, and each accepted proposal organizer or submitter should check for exact time and location of their Workshops or Discussion, as these are subject to change (and mistakes are sometimes made). Organizers are responsible for notifying all participants in their Workshop, Evening Session, Discussion, or Organized Oral Session concerning the date, time, and place of the session.
Cancellation policy: Once a Workshop or Evening Session, Discussion, or Organized Oral Session has been accepted and listed in the Preliminary Program, it imposes a serious burden to cancel it. Do not submit a proposal if you are uncertain that you will be able to fulfill your obligation to organize and conduct the session.

Contact information for Papers, Posters, Discussions, and Workshops:

ESA Program Chair
Dr. Thomas W. Swetnam
Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research
The University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
(520) 621-2112
Fax: (520) 621-8229
E-mail: ESA@LTRR.ARIZONA.EDU

ESA Assistant Program Chair
Dr. David E. Grow
Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research
The University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
(520) 621-7911
Fax: (520) 621-8229
E-mail: dgrow@u.arizona.edu

Allen Press Proposal Submission web site