1、Unit 1 Understanding International ConferencesTypes of MeetingsIPrincipal Activities at Academic ConferencesIIImportant Information about an Academic ConferenceIIIReflections and PracticeIV2After completing this section,you will be able todifferentiatedifferenttypesofmeetings;befamiliarwiththeprinci
2、palactivitiesatacademicconferences;grasptheimportantinformationforpreparingforanacademicconference.3Part ITypes of Meetings41.Types of MeetingsMEETING meansanactorprocessofcomingtogether.Merriam-Webster DictionaryMEETING isanassemblyorconferenceofpersonsforaspecificpurpose.T51.Types of MeetingsMeeti
3、ngsmayoccuruface-to-faceorvirtuallyumediatedbycommunicationstechnologyatelephoneconferencecallaskypeconferencecallavideoconference61.Types of MeetingsMeetingsaredifferentfromothergatherings,forexample,achanceencounter(foritisnotconvened);asportsgame(forthereisnoverbalinteraction),acompanyoffriends(f
4、orthereisnocommongoal);orademonstration(foritismostlydonebythenumberofthedemonstrators).Meetingsarefeaturedbybeingconvened,havingcommongoals,andinvolvingverbalinteractions.71.Types of MeetingsMeetingsareoftenheldathotels,conventioncentersoranyvenuesspecificallyusedformeetings.81.Types of MeetingsMee
5、tingscoverlecture(onepresentation)seminar(typicallyseveralpresentations,smallaudience,oneday)symposium(small-size,oneday)workshop(smaller,withactiveparticipants)conference(mid-size,oneormoredays)congress(large,severaldays)91.1 LectureTheword“lecture”datesbacktothe14thcentury,meaning“actionofreading”
6、.Itreferstoaspeechreadordeliveredbeforeanaudienceorclass,especiallyforinstructionortosetforthasubject.Alecternisaraised,slantedstandonwhichaspeakercanplacehisorhernotes.Theword“lectern”comesfromthesamesourceas“lecture”,meaning“toread”.Thoughlecturesaremuchcriticizedasateachingmethod,theyarestillthem
7、ainstayofhighereducationteaching,andoftentheyaretheonlypracticalandcost-effectivemeansofensuringthatcurriculacanbedeliveredinfulltolargenumbersofstudents.Thelecturingstyleandtechniqueisalsooftenusedsuccessfullyinconferencesandworkshops.101.2 SeminarTheword“seminar”isderivedfromtheLatinwordseminarium
8、,meaning“seedplot”.Itisaformofacademicinstruction,eitheratanacademicinstitutionorofferedbyacommercialorprofessionalorganization.Oftenaseminarfocusesonaparticularsubject,inwhicheveryonepresentisrequestedtoparticipate.Overtheseminar,theassignedreadingsarediscussed,questionscanberaisedanddebatescanbeco
9、nducted.Knowledgeinaseminarisgainednotbylistening,butbyreadingandtalking.11AtNorthAmericanuniversities,theterm“seminar”referstoacourseofintensestudyrelatingtothestudentsmajor.Seminarscanrevolvearoundtermpapers,exams,presentations,andotherassignments.Theideabehindtheseminarsystemistofamiliarizestuden
10、tswiththemethodologyoftheirchosensubjectandalsotoallowthemtointeractwithexamplesofthepracticalproblemsthatalwaysoccurduringtheirresearchwork.12InsomeEuropeanuniversities,aseminarmaybealargelecturecourse,especiallywhenconductedbyarenownedthinker,regardlessofthesizeoftheaudienceorthescopeofstudentpart
11、icipationindiscussion.Somenon-EnglishspeakingcountriesinEuropeusetheterm“seminar”(e.g.GermanSeminar)torefertoauniversityclassthatincludesatermpaperorproject,asopposedtoalectureclass.131.3 SymposiumTheword“symposium”isderivedfromGreek,meaning“todrinktogether”.InancientGreece,asymposiumwasapartofabanq
12、uetthattookplaceafterthemeal,whendrinkingforpleasurewasaccompaniedbymusic,dancing,recitals,orconversations.Inmodernusage,asymposiumisaformalmeetingatwhichseveralspecialistsdelivershortaddressesonatopicoronrelatedtopics.Itischaracterizedbyanopenlydiscursiveformat,ratherthanalectureandquestion-answerf
13、ormat.Comparedwithaconference,asymposiumisusuallynarrowerandmorespecificintherangeoftopics.Intermsofscale,itissmallerthanaconference,assometimesaconferencemayincludeseveralsymposiumsheldsimultaneously.Thechiefcharacteristicofasymposiumisthatitcoversasingletopicorsubjectandallthelecturesgivenbyspecia
14、listsarecompletedinasingleday.141.4 WorkshopOriginally,a“workshop”referstoaroomorabuildingwhichprovidesboththeareaandtools(ormachinery)thatmayberequiredforthemanufactureorrepairofmanufacturedgoodsintheIndustrialRevolutionera.Butnowaworkshopoftenreferstoameetingatwhichagroupofpeopleengageinintensived
15、iscussionandactivityonaparticularsubjectorproject,aseminar,discussiongroup,orthelike,thatemphasizesanexchangeofideasandthedemonstrationandapplicationoftechniques,skills,etc.Differingfromothermeetings,workshopsemphasizepracticalperformance,besidesacademicdiscussions.151.5 ConferenceTheLatinrootsofthe
16、word“conference”mean,literally,“bringtogether.”Aconferencebringstogetherpeopleandideas.Itisameetingofpeoplewho“confer”aboutatopic.Itcantakeplaceindifferentfields,andneednotbeacademicinnatureallthetime,e.g.theChinesePeoplesPoliticalConsultativeConference.Aconferenceisalwaysprearrangedandinvolvesconsu
17、ltationanddiscussiononanumberoftopicsbytheparticipants.16Anacademicconferenceorsymposiumisaconferenceforresearcherstopresentanddiscusstheirwork.Togetherwithacademicorscientificjournals,conferencesprovideanimportantchannelforanexchangeofinformationbetweenresearchers.Inreality,symposiumandconferencear
18、eoftenusedinterchangeably.Theformatusuallyinvolvesgraduatestudentsandacademicspresentingtheirresearch,work,andtheories,anddefending,expanding,orchangingtheminresponsetoquestions,criticism,andotherfeedbackfromcolleagues.Generally,theseconferencesareoftensponsoredbyaprofessionalorganizationofthediscip
19、lineinvolved,andmaybeheldinadifferentcityeachyear.Amajorfocusofacademicconferences,besidestheexchangeofideas,isnetworking,whichisakeytocollaboration,funding,employment,andotherprofessionalbenefits.17Academicconferencesareusuallycomposedofvariouspresentationswithatimespanofabout10to30minutesandthewor
20、kmaybebundledinawrittenformasacademicpapersandpublishedastheconferenceproceedings.Usuallyanacademicconferenceinvitessomestandingscholarstogivekeynotelectures.Andthesekeynotelecturesoftenrunuptoanhourorlonger.Inadditiontopresentations,academicconferencesalsofeaturepaneldiscussions,roundtablesonvariou
21、sissues,postersessionsandworkshops.18Anacademicconferencemayalsobeheldonline,orsomethingsimilar.Teleconferencesbringpeopletogetherthroughlivevideofeeds,allowingpeopletodiscussissues,hearpresentations,network,andotherwisedomanyofthethingstheymightdoataconference,withoutleavingtheirhomesoroffices.Simi
22、larsituationscanbesetupusingtheInternet,projectors,webcamsandmicrophones.191.6 CongressTheword“congress”ismostfrequentlyusedtodenotethesupremelegislativebodyofanationandespeciallyofarepublic,e.g.theCongressoftheUnitedStates.Italsoreferstoaformalmeetingorassemblyofrepresentativesforthediscussion,arra
23、ngement,orpromotionofsomematterofcommoninterest.Congressissimilartoconference,buttheformerimpliesahigherdegreeofformality.20Part IIPrincipal Activities at Academic Conferences212.Principal Activities at Academic Conferencesu2.1plenarysessionsu2.2Parallelsessionsu2.3postersessionsu2.4paneldiscussions
24、222.1 Plenary sessionsAplenarysessionisasessionofaconferencewhichallparticipantsaretoattend.Suchasessionmayincludeabroadrangeofcontent,fromkeynotestopaneldiscussions,andisnotnecessarilyrelatedtoaspecificstyleofpresentationordeliberativeprocess.Thekeynotelecturesdoneintheplenarysessionsareoftenlonger
25、thanthosedoneinparallelsessions.Mostfrequentlythekeynotespeakersareinvitedbytheorganizersandtheyareusuallyquiteseniororsomehowbig-name.Theymaygiveageneral,highlevelreviewtalk(s).232.2 Parallel sessionsAparallelsessionorcalledaconcurrentsession,isasessionofaconferencewhichthespeakersgivetheirpresenta
26、tionsinseparateroomsatthesametime.Thespeakersfortheparallelsessionsareselectedbasedontheirsubmittedabstracts.Attheendoftheirpresentationthereistimeforquestions.Inaparallelsessionthesizeoftheaudienceislimited.242.3 Poster sessionsInapostersessionofaconference,participantspresenttheirinformationthroug
27、haposter.He/shewaitsforpassingcolleagues,tobrieflypresenthis/herworkandanswerquestions.Inapostersessionthepresenterhastotellhis/herstorymorethanonceandtheinteractionbetweenthepresenterandaudiencecanbemoreintense.Generallythereisanawardtothebestdesignedposterpresentedattheconferenceandthewinnerwillre
28、ceiveaprizeandacertificate.252.4 Panel discussionsPaneldiscussionsatacademicconferencesareausefulwaytotriggeranexchangeofviewpointsamongexperts,eitherwithpreparedstatementsorinresponsetoquestionsfromtheaudience.Duetotheon-the-spotinteraction,paneldiscussionsaremoredifficulttopreparethanpresentations
29、.26Part IIIImportant Information about an Academic Conference273.Important Information about an Academic ConferenceAttendinganacademicconferencecanbeabigtimecommitment.Thereisseveralvitalinformationtheparticipantsneedtoknowbeforetheyattendinordertomakethemostofanacademicconference.283.1 General info
30、rmation about an academic conferenceTheparticipantshouldknow:thenameoftheconference,thedateandlocation,topicsfordiscussion,accommodation,transportation,weatherconditionsrecommendationsforclothesandsoon.Thiskindofinformationcanbeverycomprehensive,involvingactivitiesbefore,duringandafteranacademicconf
31、erence.293.2 Paper submission informationPapersubmissioninformationincludesthetypesofsubmissionsandhowtosubmittheworktotheconference.TheSubmission Types informationgenerallycanbereadinconjunctionwiththeCall for Papers andtheSubmission Guidelines oftheconference.WiththehelpoftheCall for Papers andthe
32、Submission Guidelines,theparticipantcaneasilyobtaininformationtohelpthroughtheprocessfromabstractsubmissiontopreparingthepresentationattheconference.30Itsimportanttofindoutwhatisrequired,forexample,doestheconferencewantatitle,anabstractandtitle,orafullcopyofthepaper?Whatisthewordlimitthattheconferen
33、ceorganizersets?Whatisthedeadlineoftheabstractandthepapersubmission?313.3 Organizational informationConferencecommitteesandorganizationalstructuresmayvaryaccordingtoconferencecircumstances.Somestructuresmaydependonwhetheraprofessionalconferenceorganizerisemployed.Generally,thereisanorganizingcommitt
34、ee,anacademiccommittee,andasecretariatforthesmoothrunningoftheconference.Sometimesaccordingtothescaleandthepurposeofanacademicconference,somemorecommitteesareneeded,forexample,advisorycommittee,executivecommittee,registrationcommittee,financecommittee,localarrangementcommitteeandsoon.32Asfortheorgan
35、izingcommitteeofanacademicconference,itischargedwiththeplanning,running,andoversightoftheconferencetoensurethatitmeetstheobjectivesstatedtotheconference.TheorganizingcommitteeisoftencomposedoftheGeneralChair(s),theProgramChair(s),andotherselectedchairs.TheGeneralChair(s)is/areresponsiblefortheoveral
36、lrunningoftheconference,andservesastheChair(s)oftheOrganizingCommittee.33Asfortheacademiccommittee(alsocalledprogramcommittee),itisresponsibleforevaluatingthesubmittedpapers,thedesignoftheagendaandthearrangementofacademiccommunicationattheconference.Asforthesecretariat,itisresponsibleforensuringthat
37、theconferenceisproperlycalledandorganized.Itsofficialsorofficeareentrustedwithadministrativeduties,maintainingrecords,andoverseeingorperformingallsecretarialduties.343.4 Participants informationAttendingaconferenceisaprofessionallyrewardingexperience.Obtainingtheparticipantsinformationisimportanttom
38、aketheexperiencemorerewardingforaconference-goer.Theinformationincludeswhoisthechairpersonoftheorganizingcommittee,whoarethekeynotespeakers,whoarethemembersoftheacademiccommittees,whoarethemembersofthesecretariatandsoon.Theseinformationwillgetyoupreparedtoseethosewhohavewrittenpapersyouveread,ormayb
39、etostarttobuildrelationshipswithotherresearchersinthesamefield.35Part VIReflections and Practice 361.Whatarethemaindifferencesbetweenthedifferenttypesofmeetingsfromtheperspectiveofthemeeting-goers?2.Whatinformationisalsoimportantforafirst-timeconferenceattendantbesidesthosementionedinthetext?3.Whatareyourgoalsofconferenceattendance?4.Findoneacademicconferencenoticerelatedtoyourresearchfieldanddiscussinpairsitsimportantinformation.37THANK YOU38
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