Checklist and Instructions for Session Organizers

Below are the steps which need to be completed for your session in the Confex online system. These steps must be completed by May 10, 2019.

Session Completion Checklist

Add Presentations, if applicable

Add Panelists, if applicable

Arranging a Session

Session Completion Checklist

1. The session title should be in title case with the first letter of every word capitalized. Please check for proper italicization of any scientific names. 
   • For example: Bed Bugs, Cimex lectularious, in Sensitive Areas: Research and Mitigation Techniques
2. Contact each presenter and/or panelist to ensure they will participate in your session. While presenters are limited to one oral and one poster presentation during the meeting, presenting in an Organized Meeting, Workshop, Lunch and Learn, or 3-Minute Presentation will not count as the one oral presentation.
   • The Annual Meeting Program Committee, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and President Bob Peterson encourage you to make an effort to have a strong representation of diverse speakers across multiple demographics. Please take some time to consider the diversity of the speaker line-up of the symposium you are organizing. We understand that there may be obstacles, despite best intentions, to achieving diversity in symposium speakers and participants. Diversity is important—it will make your symposium and your area of study better. View the recommended considerations compiled by ESA's Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
3. Obtain the following information from each presenter, if applicable:
   • Presentation title
   • Author information (for all contributing authors) including name, email address, affiliation, and city, state (US) or city, country (international)
   • Abstract (strongly recommended, but not required)
   • Arthropod species information, if applicable
4. Upload all presentations, if applicable) to your session using the link on the left control panel to navigate (instructions below). 
    
5. Using the “Non-Paper Events” link on the left control panel, add any “introductory remarks,” “concluding remarks,” “breaks,” “poster sessions,” “panel discussion,” etc. Enter the appropriate time duration for each non-paper event (instructions below). 
    
6. Arrange the presentations and non-paper events in the appropriate order (instructions below).
    
7. For Organized Meetings – if you are accepting contributed papers and/or poster, be sure to leave time in the program for the submissions you will receive in early June. You will be given additional instructions for accepting papers and/or poster at that time. 

Add Presentations, if applicable

All presentations should be added and confirmed in Confex. This includes:

1. Presentation title
   • Please use sentence case for presentation title. Only capitalize the first letter of the first word in the heading. Proper nouns also have a capital. 
   • For example: Monitoring the corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) in Bt corn crops
2. Designate oral or poster presentation
    
3. Arthropod species information, if applicable
    
4. Author information for each contributing author
   • Name
   • Email address
   • Affiliation
   • City, State (US) or City, Country (international)
5. Abstract (strongly recommended, but not required)
   • Abstracts must be written in English. 
   • Abstract must be 250 or fewer words.
   • Do not include title, authors or addresses in the text of the abstract. 
   • Use scientific names for species and taxonomic groups. 

To add a new presentation, select “Add” under Presentations on the left control panel. To remove a presentation, click on the presentation title and select “Withdraw” on the left control panel of the presentation under Options. 

Please note that you can update/edit presentation information anytime between now and the specified deadline. Simply click on the presentation title and use the links under “4 Steps to Submit a Presentation” to navigate the submission. 

Add Panelists, if applicable

If your session will not be featuring specific presentations, but you will have multiple people involved in the session, you can add them as Panelists so attendees will know who is participating. 

To add a Panelist:

1. Login to your session. 
2. Select “Organizers” under 3 Steps to Submit at the top of the left control panel.
3. Click “Add new person.”
4. Select “Panelist” and search for the name of the person in the database. It is recommended that you search by one field at a time. If the person is not listed in the database, please enter as much information about them as possible. 
5. Repeat for all additional Panelists.

Arranging a Session

All presentations and non-paper events should be arranged in the order in which they will take place. To rearrange the order of events, simply enter the correct order in the “Order Within Group” fields and select “Update.”

If your session includes poster presentations, be sure to group all of your posters together in the symposium schedule. Please select the “No Duration” box for poster presentations, then select “Update.”

To add any introductory or closing remarks, breaks, poster sessions, discussions, etc., use the “Non-Paper Events” link on the left control panel. Once your non-paper events have been added, enter the appropriate time duration for each non-paper event.