Ecohealth 2010

Focus of Oral and Poster Presentations

The presentations should allow for knowledge transfer, for example focusing on:

• research methodologies;
• research outputs;
• community participation methodologies or examples of concrete experiences;
• capacity-building methodologies or examples of concrete experiences;
• successful implementation;
• scaling up;
• policy influence; etc.

All abstracts submitted will be peer reviewed by the Scientific Programme Committee. The following criteria will be used in the selection process:

• Quality of abstract
• Clarity of goals and strength of connection to Forum theme and suggested topic areas
• Potential to promote discussion and interaction among Forum participants
• Reported outcomes and/or research results
• Use of relevant literature citations

Session Formats

Ecohealth 2010 will consist of plenary sessions and a number of parallel sessions each day. Alternative formats for presentations, including video, audio, multimedia, remote presentations via a live internet link, outdoor sessions, sessions that are connected to field trips, are strongly encouraged.

Using video links, DVD and other media

If you want to include video links, DVD and/or other media, make this clear in your abstract submission.  If you have specific ideas for sessions and/or symposia involving a group of researchers, and/or policy makers, please submit an abstract for these sessions in our abstract submission system.

Oral Presentations

Available Equipment

The following equipment will be available to presenters in the LSHTM conference rooms:

• LCD projectors
• overhead projectors
• microphone
• laser pointer
• DVD player
• VHS video player

Presenters should keep in mind session time constraints. If using PowerPoint presentations and LCD projectors, it is requested that the presenters arrange to have their presentation loaded on the computer of the session AT LEAST 15 minutes PRIOR to the beginning of the session. For overheads and slide projectors, it is the presenter's responsibility to ensure that the session facilitator is aware of each presenter's specific need and to ensure adequate set-up before the beginning of the session.

Presenters should use PPT version 97-2003 to avoid technical problems. There will be a laptop computer in each presentation room with the latest software.

Using LCD projectors

If you plan to use PowerPoint as visual support to your presentation (Plenary sessions, symposia, oral presentations, workshops, short courses and other meetings/activities), please contact the organisers to ensure that the proper LCD projector will be available in the room where you are presenting. Arrive 10 minutes before the beginning of the session to ensure sufficient time for setting up the equipment. You should also keep the following advices in mind when developing your presentation.

Tips to make a good PowerPoint presentation

• Do not use excessive text on each slide. Be concise. You will have a chance to elaborate on each of these points in your presentation. It is not necessary to write in complete sentences. Bulleted lists are much more effective than full text.
• DO NOT use less than 28 font for the text of your slide and 36 font for the title of the slide (recommended).
• As for poster sessions, it is not recommended to use script fonts (which may prove to be hard to read from a distance) or fancy backgrounds.
• Do not use too many transition effects (ex: checkers and blinds) between slides. These effects can distract the attention from the content of your slide and can impinge on the capacity of viewers to concentrate on your presentation.
• Do not try to fit all the elements of your presentation in your PowerPoint presentation. Too many slides may also divert the attention of the audience. You should plan to spend 1 1/2 - 2 minutes per slides minimum.
• Consider having some handouts of your PowerPoint presentation to distribute to the audience. This will help people to concentrate on what you say rather then on the screen.

Setting up your presentation

• If you plan to use your own computer, be sure to be in the room 10 or 15 minutes before the beginning of the session to ensure that the proper setting is in place and to boot your computer when connected to the device (some computers need to be rebooted to recognize new hardware devices such as LCD projectors).
• If you plan on using a computer from the conference, ensure that your presentation is copied onto the right computer PRIOR to the session.

Transporting your presentation

Travel with more than one copy of your presentation. Having a paper copy of your presentation with you is always an additional security (if something happens to your PowerPoint presentation, the paper copy can always be reproduced on transparencies).

Poster presentations

Designing a poster

A poster has to allow an observer to quickly learn the essence of the research. It tells a story.

In preparing a poster, simplicity is the key. A typical reader may spend only a few minutes looking at the poster, so there should be a minimum of confusion and a maximum of conciseness, informative statements and attractive, enlightening graphics. A poster should not contain a lot of details - the presenter can always communicate the fine points to interested participants.

Keep in mind that the poster will be one of many in the exhibition area. You need to make sure that it will capture and hold the reader’s attention.

The organization

• Aim for clarity and simplicity. It helps to make an initial rough layout keeping in mind the proportions of figures, tables and text.
• Divide the contents of your poster into appropriate sections: At the top: Title of paper, Author(s), Institutional affiliation(s); In the Body:
  • Introduction
  • Objectives
  • Materials and Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion and conclusions
• Be sure to include each section on a separate sheet(s) of paper or in specific boxes. The poster should flow left to right, top to bottom. If there is any doubt about the order in which the sheets should be read, guide the reader by numbering the sheets clearly or linking them with arrows.
• Resist the temptation to use excessive text and to overcrowd the surface. Be concise with your written material. Save elaborative points for discussion/interaction with viewers. For conclusions, focus on a central finding that lends itself to informal discussion. More specifically, it is not necessary to write in complete sentences; sentence fragments may be easier to comprehend. Bulleted lists are effective. An alternative is to break the text into chunks - small units that are not necessarily paragraphs in the usual sense. A question and answer format, for example, may be appropriate for part of the poster.
• For presenting results, figures, graphs, charts and/or tables are more appropriate than text. Graphics and photographs can also help to make your poster interesting. Legends should be minimal but a brief description of the implications of the graphic should be placed just above or below it. In general, remember that it is not a good idea to present proofs, except in brief outline, unless the proofs are the focus of the presentation.

Tips to make a good poster

• Posters should be readable from 3 feet (1 meter) away and be understandable without oral explanation.
• DO NOT mount the full text of your paper as the poster! Instead, if the work presented in the poster has been described in more detail in a paper, consider making the paper available as a handout at the poster driven seminar. Small tables will be provided to each presenter to display additional material such as outlines or copies of the full paper.
• DO NOT use less than 18 font for any text you mount. Most viewers will be at least 3 feet away from your poster.
• Use larger lettering for the poster's title, author and institutional affiliation (larger than 18 font). Make the lettering at least one inch high (2.5 cm).
• Avoid fonts that are script or difficult to read.
• If hand lettering is required, use a black felt-tip pen (Sharpie).
• A neutral poster or matte board is more amenable to the eye than a bright coloured background. A splash of colour here and there, perhaps highlighting central finding(s) or provocative results, will make your poster "stand out" from the crowd. regardless of the beauty of the picture or the design of the poster) can make reading much harder.

During the poster session

• Remember that the use of pictures as background for a coloured text (The presenter should be prepared to answer questions that their poster will inevitably generate. However, the presenter’s attitude during the visit should not distract the attention of the reader.
• Have a notepad handy when presenting at your poster session. It may be helpful in elaborating on your findings, or for taking names & addresses of people interested in your research.
• It is recommended to presenters to bring some copies of the paper for distribution to attendees.

Transportation of the poster

• Transporting a poster can be a problem if it contains large sheets of paper. Rolling the paper into a cylinder is the most common system.?
• You will usually be allotted plenty of time to set up the poster, so it may be easiest to bring it in pieces, to be assembled on site (but be sure to work out the layout beforehand—and bring a diagram!).?
• Finally, it is often recommended to authors to carry their poster material as hand luggage while traveling, in order to minimise the risk of losses.