Greetings, This was my first AoIR, and overall I enjoyed and appreciated the conference's tone and rigor, and admired the sense of warm community among participants. I'm curious if AoIR collects statistics about the rate of no-shows, and if anyone knows what the typical absenteeism rate is at other conferences. I ask because I was unexpectedly the only person (of four) on my panel to show up to present. One person did notify the conference staff that she would be unable to attend; I hope that nothing serious had befallen the other two. Is such a high absentee rate a fluke at AoIR? Do others have any thoughts on this topic? Cheers, Cassandra Van Buren University of Utah
Is such a high absentee rate a fluke at AoIR? Do others have any thoughts on this topic?
Cheers, Cassandra Van Buren University of Utah
We try REALLY hard to get people to tell us if they are not coming far enough in advance that we can adjust the program accordingly. Most do, but much to my frustration, there are always no-shows, and those who cancel in the week before the event can't be taken out of the print version of the program in time. We haven't got the figures handy to tell you if this year was a fluke or not. It seems to me bad form to not show and we do ask that if you submit a proposal you consider it a promise to come should it be accepted. Other people are denied a spot if someone who doesn't show takes it. I would be interested in knowing people's experiences at other conferences. (And I'm glad you enjoyed your first AoIR meeting, Cassandra) Nancy -- Nancy Baym http://www.ku.edu/home/nbaym Communication Studies, University of Kansas Bailey Hall, 1440 Jayhawk Blvd., Room 102, Lawrence, KS 66045-7574, USA Association of Internet Researchers: http://aoir.org
At 09:37 PM 9/25/2004, you wrote:
I would be interested in knowing people's experiences at other conferences.
My highly subjective and non-scientific reaction is that we do far better at AoIR than some of the big conferences, such as the National Communication Association. Yes, we had some people who had to cancel because they were being chased by hurricanes and what not, but generally people were there, and even more, there were people present to hear the presentations. I can't count how many times I've been in NCA sessions where the panelists -- sometimes only two of the four scheduled -- merely presented to one another. Cassandra, I think what you experienced was something of a fluke for AoIR. ------ Mark D. Johns, Ph.D. Asst. Professor of Communication/Linguistics, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa http://faculty.luther.edu/~johnsmar/ ----------------------------------------------- "Get the facts first. You can distort them later." ---Mark Twain
I would concur with Mark Johns that AoIR does fairly well with regard to show/no show panelists. I have chaired panels at the larger Communication conferences and also at AoIR, and my policy is to start right on time with the first listed presenter who is actually present. If the other person shows up along the way, then they will have to go last and deal with it if there is not enough time or less time for their presentation. Then of course, it's also my policy to a) indicate time throughout presentations, and b) stand up and eventually interrupt a speaker if they go over their allotted limit. I've been told that's rude, but I think it's even ruder to have one person present for such a long time that another has only a couple of minutes left. Already at AoIR we allot 15-20 minutes per paper. At the big Communication conferences you often have only about 10 minutes. Hopefully people who are interested in each others' presentations find time to continue the conversation during breaks or over lunch. Ulla ---------------------------------------------------- Ulla Bunz Assistant Professor Department of Communication Rutgers University 4 Huntington Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Email: bunz@scils.rutgers.edu ---------------------------------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Mark D. Johns Sent: Sunday, September 26, 2004 11:27 AM To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] Conference absenteeism? At 09:37 PM 9/25/2004, you wrote:
I would be interested in knowing people's experiences at other conferences.
My highly subjective and non-scientific reaction is that we do far better at AoIR than some of the big conferences, such as the National Communication Association. Yes, we had some people who had to cancel because they were being chased by hurricanes and what not, but generally people were there, and even more, there were people present to hear the presentations. I can't count how many times I've been in NCA sessions where the panelists -- sometimes only two of the four scheduled -- merely presented to one another. Cassandra, I think what you experienced was something of a fluke for AoIR. ------ Mark D. Johns, Ph.D. Asst. Professor of Communication/Linguistics, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa http://faculty.luther.edu/~johnsmar/ ----------------------------------------------- "Get the facts first. You can distort them later." ---Mark Twain _______________________________________________ Air-l-aoir.org mailing list Air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Dear Ulla, I read all of the postings regarding absenteeism at the Air conferences, and the truth of the matter is that the reason I did not attend this year's conference is because it was held in September. I don't know about other people's schedules, but I do have a full teaching load and it's pretty difficult for me to escape to a conference during term time. In my opinion, if Air really wanted to have a full house, then the conferences should be held between May and August - a time when most academics have more free time to travel around the world and give 20-minute papers. Hope my 'two-cents'counts for a bit more than a drop in the ocean. Cheers! Peter Jakubowicz The Chinese University of Hong Kong --- Ulla Bunz <bunz@scils.rutgers.edu> wrote:
I would concur with Mark Johns that AoIR does fairly well with regard to show/no show panelists. I have chaired panels at the larger Communication conferences and also at AoIR, and my policy is to start right on time with the first listed presenter who is actually present. If the other person shows up along the way, then they will have to go last and deal with it if there is not enough time or less time for their presentation. Then of course, it's also my policy to a) indicate time throughout presentations, and b) stand up and eventually interrupt a speaker if they go over their allotted limit. I've been told that's rude, but I think it's even ruder to have one person present for such a long time that another has only a couple of minutes left. Already at AoIR we allot 15-20 minutes per paper. At the big Communication conferences you often have only about 10 minutes. Hopefully people who are interested in each others' presentations find time to continue the conversation during breaks or over lunch. Ulla
---------------------------------------------------- Ulla Bunz Assistant Professor Department of Communication Rutgers University 4 Huntington Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Email: bunz@scils.rutgers.edu ----------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message----- From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Mark D. Johns Sent: Sunday, September 26, 2004 11:27 AM To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] Conference absenteeism?
At 09:37 PM 9/25/2004, you wrote:
I would be interested in knowing people's experiences at other conferences.
My highly subjective and non-scientific reaction is that we do far better at AoIR than some of the big conferences, such as the National Communication Association. Yes, we had some people who had to cancel because they were being chased by hurricanes and what not, but generally
people were there, and even more, there were people present to hear the presentations. I can't count how many times I've been in NCA sessions where the panelists -- sometimes only two of the four scheduled -- merely presented to one another. Cassandra, I think what you experienced was something of a fluke for AoIR.
------ Mark D. Johns, Ph.D. Asst. Professor of Communication/Linguistics, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa http://faculty.luther.edu/~johnsmar/ ----------------------------------------------- "Get the facts first. You can distort them later." ---Mark Twain
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Peter and others - the timing of AoIR conferences is indeed something we have discussed intensely on the exec listserve. This year's date was chosen mostly because of availability of space at Sussex. Once the semester starts up again there, dorms are full, classes are in session, etc. In general, we have considered summer conferences but have, so far, decided to stick with the early fall dates. There are many arguments for and against it, and I would have to check my notes and the archives in order to give you details as discussed on the exec on this, but I do want to point out to you that in some parts of the world (and I believe Australia is one example of these "parts") the semester actually starts in June or July and goes till about October. It is difficult for many of us to take off time from teaching to travel to a conference, especially if it doesn't take place in our own country. Unfortunately, just about any month you could pick the semester is going to be in session somewhere! Appart from semester schedules, moving the conference forward also influences our conference scheduling. For example, for our October conferences, submission of papers due date is generally February 1. If we moved the conference to, let's say, June, that would move the paper/abstract due date to... October 1! Wow. That's next week. Of course these are only two arguments and as I said there are many more both for and against May-August conferences instead of September/October conferences. It's certainly important for us on the exec to take note of opinion such as yours, so thank you for bringing this up. If others on the list have opinions on this, they are certainly encouraged to express themselves. Thanks, Ulla
It's exactly the same situation for me. Serge Proulx Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada)
Dear Ulla,
I read all of the postings regarding absenteeism at the Air conferences, and the truth of the matter is that the reason I did not attend this year's conference is because it was held in September. I don't know about other people's schedules, but I do have a full teaching load and it's pretty difficult for me to escape to a conference during term time. In my opinion, if Air really wanted to have a full house, then the conferences should be held between May and August - a time when most academics have more free time to travel around the world and give 20-minute papers. Hope my 'two-cents'counts for a bit more than a drop in the ocean.
Cheers!
Peter Jakubowicz The Chinese University of Hong Kong
--- Ulla Bunz <bunz@scils.rutgers.edu> wrote:
I would concur with Mark Johns that AoIR does fairly well with regard to show/no show panelists. I have chaired panels at the larger Communication conferences and also at AoIR, and my policy is to start right on time with the first listed presenter who is actually present. If the other person shows up along the way, then they will have to go last and deal with it if there is not enough time or less time for their presentation. Then of course, it's also my policy to a) indicate time throughout presentations, and b) stand up and eventually interrupt a speaker if they go over their allotted limit. I've been told that's rude, but I think it's even ruder to have one person present for such a long time that another has only a couple of minutes left. Already at AoIR we allot 15-20 minutes per paper. At the big Communication conferences you often have only about 10 minutes. Hopefully people who are interested in each others' presentations find time to continue the conversation during breaks or over lunch. Ulla
---------------------------------------------------- Ulla Bunz Assistant Professor Department of Communication Rutgers University 4 Huntington Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Email: bunz@scils.rutgers.edu ----------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message----- From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Mark D. Johns Sent: Sunday, September 26, 2004 11:27 AM To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] Conference absenteeism?
At 09:37 PM 9/25/2004, you wrote:
I would be interested in knowing people's experiences at other conferences.
My highly subjective and non-scientific reaction is that we do far better at AoIR than some of the big conferences, such as the National Communication Association. Yes, we had some people who had to cancel because they were being chased by hurricanes and what not, but generally
people were there, and even more, there were people present to hear the presentations. I can't count how many times I've been in NCA sessions where the panelists -- sometimes only two of the four scheduled -- merely presented to one another. Cassandra, I think what you experienced was something of a fluke for AoIR.
------ Mark D. Johns, Ph.D. Asst. Professor of Communication/Linguistics, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa http://faculty.luther.edu/~johnsmar/ ----------------------------------------------- "Get the facts first. You can distort them later." ---Mark Twain
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Dear all, I seem to have been lucky, not to have been sitting in many sessions with people missing.. except for my own panel on identities and internet... (localities)... out of 6, three were present.. one panelist was cancelling on monday .. so not much to do about that... then only 7 people showed up for the session at all... but nonetheless it was worth it and for those of you that haven't been there .. you can take a look at http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/russ-cyb/library/seminars/AOIR2004/aoir_2004.h... to see the abstracts and soon the full papers of the people that presented...... I hope that we can keep the discussion going for a bit, as it was interesting and many important issues as to how we are researching on identity issues, diaspora and migrants use of internet technology came up. interesting to note, that the sesson was only attended by non-native english speakers.. which may say something about the importance of the issue for groups tha tdo not live in their home countries or people that are dealing with these issues... the breakdown was 5 Germans, 1 Brasilian, 1 Polish, 1 Russian, 1 German-American-English and 1 Indian. On the conference: Praise for Kate and all her work (and that of her staff of course) some remarks for next year. I was a bit dissappointed with the sessions, as most had no chair that could focus the issues and tried steer through the papers. Many times the papers seemed isolated from each other, when in fact there were common issues... a chair could bundle them and thus a discussion would be much more fruitful. the last day... I know there are many papers and too little time.. but given the travel schedules and the attendance concentration, would it be worth to think about less session on the last slot of the last day... because I believe many participants are gone by then, or are about to leave... so less people could then hear fewer session and it would be better for the presenters and the audiences on the last day... the first can have 2 or three more sessions, even longer on that day... as most people are already there and still curious and not too tired... ??? comments welcome.. best and thanks for a great and stimulating time in Sussex. nilz -- Dr. Nils Zurawski Universität Hamburg Inst. für kriminologische Sozialforschung Allendeplatz 1 20146 Hamburg Germany tel. +49 (0) 40 42838 6185 fax. +49 (0) 40 42838 2328 Projekt zu Videoüberwachung: http://www.surveillance-studies.org
I have had a few requests to collect and post powerpoint presentations used in the Sussex conference. People are already requested to : 1) Submit full papers to the aoir archive, by mailing to papers@aoir.org 2) Submit papers for inclusion in the Annual (please send to Mia Consalvo, at consalvo@ohio.edu ) Without adding to the confusion, let me also urge you to share your powerpoint presentations. I will place these alongside the online abstracts, in the online program, available here: http://gsb.haifa.ac.il/~sheizaf/AOIR5 Prof. Sheizaf Rafaeli Center for the Study of the Information Society and the Graduate School of Business University of Haifa. Tel +972-4-8249578 sheizaf@rafaeli.net http://sheizaf.rafaeli.net Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
In thinking of scheduling for future conferences, I'd like to make two suggestions. First, the Sunday to Wednesday schedule exacerbates the teaching conflict for those of us who teach and have begun our semesters/quarters. I know of several people who opted out of the conference this year because of the Sunday-Wednesday schedule. I had to cancel two classes in order to come, which isn't ideal. A Thursday or Friday to Sunday schedule is better in that it doesn't conflict as much with the work week. Second, chairs are an essential part of any panel. I was lucky this year and had good panelists who kept each other to their alloted time frame, but I have attended and participated on too many panels (Aoir and elsewhere) where participants did not keep time, and one person took too long presenting leaving the others to cut theirs short and erasing the limited time there is for questions. It suspect it's difficult to coordinate chairs on top of everything else. Perhaps, the reviewers for the conference papers could serve as a useful pool of people to request help from. As always, I was delighted to participate in yet another AoIR experience. This has been and continues to be my favorite conference. I always leave AoIR energized intellectually. I can't say that for my other conference participation. ~JSG
Yes, yes, yes, on both counts. A Thursday to Sunday makes much more sense for teaching schedules. A chair and some sort of time keeper is critical. I presented for my spouse who could not make it and she had received an email at the last moment asking her to chair her panel, which I ended up doing (she had earlier notified AIOR that she was not coming). It's pretty basic and I think that a regular panel member can also chair. I dislike the chair/respondent format where she/he discourses on the presentations. It takes away from already tight presentation times and especially questions/comments, the latter which are most important (to me anyway). Let the audience/speakers draw the connections, it's what we do. Basically, all someone has to do is to introduce the session title, each presenter when their turn comes, and get an audience member to time people. Since my sessions had no chair, and I saw some presenters in other session go long, I just asked someone to volunteer to time and multiple audience members offered. It didn't effect my ability to present. We could just start a tradition where the first or last presenter chairs, simple. My thoughts. -TED Ted M. Coopman Department of Communication University of Washington On Mon, 27 Sep 2004, Jennifer Stromer-Galley wrote:
In thinking of scheduling for future conferences, I'd like to make two suggestions.
First, the Sunday to Wednesday schedule exacerbates the teaching conflict for those of us who teach and have begun our semesters/quarters. I know of several people who opted out of the conference this year because of the Sunday-Wednesday schedule. I had to cancel two classes in order to come, which isn't ideal. A Thursday or Friday to Sunday schedule is better in that it doesn't conflict as much with the work week.
Second, chairs are an essential part of any panel. I was lucky this year and had good panelists who kept each other to their alloted time frame, but I have attended and participated on too many panels (Aoir and elsewhere) where participants did not keep time, and one person took too long presenting leaving the others to cut theirs short and erasing the limited time there is for questions. It suspect it's difficult to coordinate chairs on top of everything else. Perhaps, the reviewers for the conference papers could serve as a useful pool of people to request help from.
As always, I was delighted to participate in yet another AoIR experience. This has been and continues to be my favorite conference. I always leave AoIR energized intellectually. I can't say that for my other conference participation.
~JSG
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Remember the hurricane in the US held some folks so long that it became ineffective for them to come to the conference. Quoting cvb <cvb@utah.edu>:
Greetings,
This was my first AoIR, and overall I enjoyed and appreciated the conference's tone and rigor, and admired the sense of warm community among participants. I'm curious if AoIR collects statistics about the rate of no-shows, and if anyone knows what the typical absenteeism rate is at other conferences. I ask because I was unexpectedly the only person (of four) on my panel to show up to present. One person did notify the conference staff that she would be unable to attend; I hope that nothing serious had befallen the other two. Is such a high absentee rate a fluke at AoIR? Do others have any thoughts on this topic?
Cheers, Cassandra Van Buren University of Utah
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I had the experience of coming to a couple of panels for a specific paper and then having the person a no-show, one panel even had only one presenter show up! Still, I agree that AOIR is better than most, especially in people actually attending panels. I have had "death slots" (last half day) at NCA and WSCA and had 2 people show up. I figured with the mix-up on Wednesday night lodging that there would be no one there for my presentations (both were on Wednesday morning), but we had 13 in the first and something like 25+ in the second!! Talk about ending on a high note. No convention or conference I have ever attended comes close to AOIR for the level of engagement and the intellectual exchanges, not to mention cutting edge, interesting research from different fields. Most conventions make me tired, AOIR always fires me up. I really want to thank you to everyone who collectively makes these events so successful. -TED Ted M. Coopman Department of Communication University of Washington On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 lscheidt@indiana.edu wrote:
Remember the hurricane in the US held some folks so long that it became ineffective for them to come to the conference.
Quoting cvb <cvb@utah.edu>:
Greetings,
This was my first AoIR, and overall I enjoyed and appreciated the conference's tone and rigor, and admired the sense of warm community among participants. I'm curious if AoIR collects statistics about the rate of no-shows, and if anyone knows what the typical absenteeism rate is at other conferences. I ask because I was unexpectedly the only person (of four) on my panel to show up to present. One person did notify the conference staff that she would be unable to attend; I hope that nothing serious had befallen the other two. Is such a high absentee rate a fluke at AoIR? Do others have any thoughts on this topic?
Cheers, Cassandra Van Buren University of Utah
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participants (11)
-
cvb -
Jennifer Stromer-Galley -
lscheidt＠indiana.edu -
Mark D. Johns -
Nancy Baym -
Nils Zurawski -
peter jakubowicz -
Serge Proulx -
Sheizaf Rafaeli -
Ted M Coopman -
Ulla Bunz