Convener Guideline for Session organization

September 6, 2010 (Ver.3.22)

1. Session configuration (Scientific sessions) JpGU Meeting is organized as an aggregation of many scientific sessions. Each session have its unique scope presented by each group of conveners and is made up of oral and poster presentations. Each session is categorized into one of the sessions shown below. Session Language is Japanese or English. When English is chosen, the session is called JpGU International Symposium Session, hereinafter abbreviated as International Session. JpGU International Symposium is a subset of JpGU Meeting. International Session is given several favorable treatments on the number of invited lecturers and presentations. (Session categories) Each scientific session is categorized into two special sessions (Public[O], Union[U]), and seven normal session categories (Space and Planetary Sciences [P], Atmospheric, Ocean, and Environmental Sciences[A], Human Geosciences [H], Solid Earth Sciences[S], Biogeosciences [B], General (Education & Outreach) [G], Mutlidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary [M]). Each session category is distinguished by the marks in brackets. (Special session) * Public Session Sessions open to the public, to promote scientists' outreach activity, and to help society's understanding of the JpGU research fields. For a Public Session abstract submission and participation fees are free of charge. * Union Session Sessions to present the up-to-date frontier topics of the earth and planetary sciences covered by JpGU, or to treat subjects which are of common interest to the whole geosciences community The JpGU Program Organizing Board reviews session proposals to decide potential Union sessions. Conveners of the selected sessions are requested to hold their sessions as Union Sessions. A Union Session has no restriction of the number of invited papers as well as full flexibility of time slot settings of presentations and discussion time as far as total Session time is within the given length. (Normal session) Normal sessions are divided into seven session categories shown below. * Space and Planetary Sciences (Planetary Science, Solar Terrestrial Physics, Space Physics,Space Electromagnetism,Exoplanetology... etc) * Atmospheric, Ocean, and Environmental Sciences (Atmospheric Science, Meteorology, Atmospheric Environment,Ocean Sciences, Hydrology, Limnology, Ground Water Hydrology, Cryospheric Sciences, Geoenvironmental Science, Climate Change Research...etc) * Hunan Geosciences (Geography, Geomorphology, Engineering Geology, Sedimentology, Natural Disaster, Disaster Prevention, Resources, Energy...etc) * Solid Earth Sciences (Geodesy, Seismology, Geomagnetism, Science of the Earth's Interior, Earth and Planetary Tectonics Dynamics, Geology, Quaternary Research, Lithology and Mineralogy, Volcanology, Geochemistry...etc) * Biogeosciences (Biogeosciences, Space Biology, Origin of Life, Geosphere-Biosphere Interactions, Palaeontology, Paleoecology...etc) * Education & Outreach (Earth Science Education, School Education, Relation to the society...etc) * Mutlidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary (session that can't be categorized into one session, Joint Symposium with other scientific societies...etc) 2. From Session Proposal to Adoption (Session proposal) Session proposal can be submitted through the JpGU Meeting 2011 Web system, From September to October. Exact dates of deadlines will be announced separately. (Convener) Each session needs at least one "main convener". A main convener has to obtain JpGU ID. In addition to the main convener, co-conveners can be registered in your session proposal. Co-conveners who hold JpGU IDs can organize the program together with the main convener. A main convener and co-conveners of a session are called "conveners" of the session. (Session category) Conveners propose a session, as a normal session in one of the seven session categories. When you can't find the appropriate one, please ask the secretariat. When you want to organize your session as Public, Union, or International Sessions, please be sure to check the corresponding checkboxes in the session proposal web page. (Session subcategory) Each session is categorized to more detailed subcategories. Basically, Program Organizing Board decides them. Please submit your requests from the session proposal web page, if you have any. (Request for date and room) Conveners can submit request on the room size and date from the session proposal web page is accepted. However, please be sure that EVERY request is NOT satisfied. (Acceptance of sessions) Program Organizing Board makes the final decision of acceptance. In case of mismatched session category and subcategory, sessions may be accepted in the different categories. Program Organizing Board may NOT adopt sessions under the following cases. * Out of the JpGU Meeting scope * Session scope is almost the same as others. Program Organizing Board may wrap sessions with similar scopes into one. * Session scope is NOT appropriate from the scientific aspect of views or may become an abuse and is ethically inappropriate. Adoption is released on our website at the end of November. 3. Call for abstracts, Invited papers (Call for abstracts) Please actively ask related researchers to make abstract submissions. Abstract submissions are accepted from January to February in 2011. Date and the number of oral presentations are NOT fixed by the beginning of March. Please do NOT give assurance on the date and the oral presentation. (Notification to the contributors) In case of abstract submission, authors and presenters are required to obtain an account (ID) in JpGU Web system. (Invited papers) Conveners can invite papers. The maximum number of invited papers is 3 for normal sessions. To encourage submissions from abroad, the maximum is temporarily increased to 6 for international sessions. Pubic and Union sessions have no limitation in the number of invited papers. Invited papers are NOT guaranteed as oral presentations. NO favorable treatments are given to invited papers. Please make abstract submission just as the same as regular paper submissions. In principle there are no discount of abstract submission and participation fees. 4. Session Organization (Session organization) Sessions are organized on our web system in March, 2011. Each convener and co-convener is obliged to be responsible for this process. Although more than one convener can access this web system at the same time, the system cannot distinguish changes made by different conveners and may yield unexpected results. Please be sure to have close contact with each other when you organize the session at the same time. Please contact the secretariat with time to spare if you have any trouble organizing  your session. (Acceptance of submitted papers) Please scrutinize submitted abstracts carefully. Conveners can recommend the REJECT of the inappropriate abstracts. The final decision is made at the Program Organizing Board. Please be sure to ask Program Committee members beforehand to avoid the trouble when you find the inappropriate abstracts. Criteria for rejecting abstracts * Out of the scope of each scientific session (Transfer to other sessions may be possible.) * Content is scientifically inappropriate and not organized as a scientific research. * Content is an abuse or ethically inappropriate. In one session, the limit of submission as the first author or the presenter is one for oral and one for poster, totally two. When students with a common supervisor are the first author, the supervisor can submit additional abstracts as a presenter on behalf of his/her students. However, this is an exceptional rule, and generally it's not favorable for an identical presenters to make several presentations in a session. Dummy submission and submission by deputy without agreement with the paper's presenter are strongly prohibited. If conveners are involved in such a case, the sessions may be cancelled. (Presentation mode) Conveners are responsible for the selection of the presentation mode, oral or poster, for all submitted paper in their session. Conveners can change the requested presentation mode from oral to poster. Please understand that the number of oral presentations for each session is limited. Oral presentation is 15 minutes each. Only invited papers are given more than 15 minutes. (Sessions which needs special treatments) Please be sure to ask JpGU Meeting Organizing Committee beforehand and follow the advices when you want to invite speakers who need special security, such as VIPs (very important persons) including high-class government officials, ministers, company presidents and so on. Conveners are responsible for such special speakers. Expenses including room charge for a waiting room are also charged to conveners. This is also applied to other cases which require special treatments. (Presentation order) Conveners are responsible for the presentation order within their session. Requests on presentation order from contributors, if any, are sent to conveners. (Displacement to other sessions) Conveners can move a paper from an originally proposed session to another, if conveners of both the original and destination sessions agree with the transfer. Please be sure to consult the convener(s) in advance of the destination session (session to which the paper is transferred to) . Notice to the contributor who submitted the paper is also recommended. (Selection of chairperson) Conveners have to assign at least two chairpersons for one oral session. Chairperson is not necessary for poster presentations. Chairpersons do not have to be a convener or contributor of the session, but must attend the session. (Program Modification) Basically modification of author, presenter and title of abstracts is prohibited. Please be sure to contact the secretariat when you have unavoidable circumstances. (Settlement and confirmation of sessions) Every session program is checked at the Program Organizing Board and approved by the Board Meeting. Frequently-asked questions * Invited lectures Q: Is the abstract submission the same as normal sessions? A: Yes, it is. Q: Is the abstract submission fee the same as normal sessions? A: Yes, it is. No favorable treatment is given, except for Public Session. Q: Is there any limitation of the number of abstracts one contributor can submit? A: In one session, one for oral and one for poster, totally two submissions are available. There is no limitation for the total number of abstracts by one contributor for JpGU meeting. Invited lectures are counted on the same basis. Q: Can we distinguish the invited lectures from normal lectures? A: 'Star' mark in the printed program means the invited lectures. * Presentation time Q: Can we increase the number of presentations by shortening each oral presentation time? A: Basically NO. Presentation time is 15 minutes each. Please understand that it's for keeping the quality of oral presentation high and making the audience move smoothly from one room to the other. Q: Can we spare some time for explaining the drift of the session? A: Basically NO. It's not favorable to shorten the presentation time. You can explain it shortly at the beginning of the session, or during conveners' presentation time. Q: Can we set discussion time? A: No, you can't. Town meeting is available after your session in paid spare rooms. Please consult the secretariat. *Others Q: When is the session schedule fixed? A: Session schedule is informed to each convener at the end of February after Program Organizing Board makes adjustments. Conveners can check and adjust after that. Q: Can we make abstract submission through English web system? A: Yes, you can. Please log in from the following URL https://secure.jtbcom.co.jp/jpgu_e/ Q: Is abstract submission to Union Session the same as normal sessions? A: Yes, it is. No preferential treatment is given. Q: What is equipped at the lecture room? A: LCD Projector is equipped. Please contact the secretariat, if you want to use OHP. Personal computers are not equipped. Please be sure to prepare one by yourself. We cannot supply electric power for equipment used at the poster presentation site.