Last Updated on 22 August 2018 for AOGS2019

Conveners Develop Session Schedules

The number of timeslots that each Session receives will vary according to the number of abstracts garnered. Session Conveners should receive their timeslot allocation from the respective Section Presidents within 3 to 4 weeks, after abstract submission closes. Conveners should aim to complete their session’s programs within 7 to 10 days. These are the main activities and their schedules.

Abstract Submission Closes	12 Feb 2019
Conveners’ Complete Abstract Reviews & Decide AOGS Comps (if applicable)	12 – 19 Mar 2019
Conveners Receive Session Time Slots	05 – 12 Mar 2019
Conveners Input Schedules & Session Chairs to the Online Scheduler on MARS	15 – 25 Mar 2019
Section’s Program Ready for Approval by Program Committee	02 Apr 2019
Schedule Notification to Authors/Presenters	16 Apr 2019
Secretariat Delete from Program – Abstracts Not Covered by Paid Registration	28 May 2019

1. Assigning the presentation mode for each accepted abstract and observing these society policies and rules
   
   

   1. It is normally a 60%-40% Split between Oral and Poster
      
   2. Any author requesting poster presentation SHOULD NOT be assigned to oral!
      And many requesting oral should be considered for posters as well.
      
   3. Invited Talks may not exceed one-third of the papers in the given session
      Typically, each Invited Talk will be 20 minutes induration but sometimes needs to be 15 minutes in order to fit oral presentations in the time available.
      
   4. Convener and Co-conveners cannot present or be a co-author to an invited paper in their own session. Any paper with an overlap between the co-authors and the co-conveners cannot be designated as “Invited”.
      

   
   
2. The rest of this document covers
   
   

   • Accessing your Session(s) and Abstract List(s)
   • Assigning Presentation Mode
   • Viewing Your Session Timeslot(s)
   • Ordering the Talks (Oral Presentations)
   • Assigning Session Chairs

   
   
3. Accessing your Session(s) and Abstract List(s)
   
   

   3.1 Log-in on MARS: https://meetmatt-svr.net
   
   

   3.2 Click “My Sessions” (under Convener Options) on the left menu to see the “My Sessions” page. This lists the session(s) that you are convening.
   
   

   3.3 The “Abstract Submission Summary” provides a quick preview about the abstracts in your session.
   
   

   3.4 Click the abstract count next to “Total Submitted” and you will see the “Abstract List” page.
   This lists all the abstracts in your Session.
   
   

   3.5 Click on the “ID” to view the abstract’s details including Title, Author List, Review Decision, etc.
   
   
4. Assigning Presentation Mode
   
   

   4.1 Decide for every abstract, its presentation mode – whether “Oral” or “Poster”. For as long as the session’s program is still work-in-progress, changes can be made as often as you wish.
   
   

   4.2 The number of “Oral” and “Poster” presentations for each session is according to the number of timeslots allocated to your Session which, is calculated based on the total number of accepted abstracts in your Session relative to the total number for the conference.
   
   

   4.3 The assignment is expected to be based on the abstract content and quality, consideration for preferences of the authors, and the necessity that the session fits within the time allocated. Session scheduling is based on a ratio of oral to poster presentations of 60:40. Authors who requested for posters should not be assigned to oral presentations.
   
   

   4.4 Care needs to be taken that the oral presentations, especially within a single Session, are seen to be fairly distributed. Typically, a person should not make more than one presentation in a session.
   
   

   4.5 There are two ways to assign the Presentation Mode: For each Abstract or In Batches
   
   

   1. For Each Abstract (Individually)
      
      1. Go to the “Abstract Details” page (see 3 above for detailed instructions)
      2. Under “Abstract Status” section, go to “Assign Presentation Mode” and then click the link “Mark as Oral” or “Mark as Poster”, as desired and where appropriate.
      
      
   2. Batch Assignment
      1. Go to the “Abstract List” page (see 3 above for detailed instructions)
      2. Tick the checkboxes of the abstracts to be assigned as “Oral” and click the button “Oral” at the top of the list. And all the selected abstracts will be assigned as “Oral”.
         The procedure to assign “Poster” presentations is similar to for “Oral”.

   
   
5. Viewing Your Session Timeslot(s)
   
   

   5.1 Go to the “My Sessions” page.
   
   

   5.2 In the Abstract Summary Table is a section titled “Session Schedule”.
   This lists the timeslots (for oral presentations) assigned to your Session.
   It shows the:
   

   1. Timeslot code
   2. Day, time and duration (90min or 120min)
   3. Presentation room number and room capacity (in theatre seats)
   4. Number of abstracts you have assigned to the timeslot and the amount of time utilized

   
   

   5.3 Click the “View Program” link to view your timeslots in the overall timetable.
   
   

   5.4 Please contact the Section President for assistance relating to timeslot allocation (quantity, schedule), including your re-arrangement requests.
   
   
6. Ordering the Talks (Oral Presentations)
   
   

   6.1 Go to the “My Sessions” page.
   
   

   6.2 Click on “Oral Presentation Schedule” in the “Session Schedule” section.
   
   

   6.3 Click on “Order Oral Presentations”.
   
   

   6.4 On this page, you can choose for each talk (accepted abstract)

   1. The timeslot
   2. The sequence of the talk in the timeslot
   3. The talk duration (pre-set to 15 min for contributed talks and 20 min for invited talks)

   
   

   6.5 Note that only abstracts that are assigned “Oral” can be available for ordering. Poster presentations will be ordered and assigned to specific posters sessions by the Program Committee.
   
   

   6.6 The duration is 15 minutes for contributed talks, including questions and changeover between speakers. Only invited talks may be give a longer presentation time; typically 20 minutes each but sometimes need to be 15 minutes in order to fit oral presentations into the time available.
   
   
7. Assigning Session Chairs
   
   

   7.1 You should assign Session Chairs for each timeslot.
   These are the people who will be chairing the session in the presentation room at the conference.
   
   

   7.2 It is the responsibility of the Session Chairs to:

   1. Ensure that presentations stick to the time available
   2. Facilitate the Q & A at the end of each presentation

   
   

   7.3 Usually the Session Chairs will be the Conveners of the Session.
   The Conveners need to have the agreement of the proposed Chair before assigning them to a particular timeslot.
   
   

   7.4 Usually the Session Chair will not present a paper in the portion of the session that they are chairing. It is strongly advised that you assign Two Session Chairs to each timetable slot.
   
   

   7.5 Follow these steps to assign Session Chairs

   1. Go to the “My Sessions” page.
   2. Click the link “Assign Session Chairs” under the “Session Schedule” section
   3. On this page, you can input the Chair’s email address and they will be added based on their email record in MARS.

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