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OFFICERS

President
Maureen L. Mackenzie, 2012
Dowling College

Treasurer
Constance Crawford, 2014
Ramapo College of New Jersey

Secretary, Webmaster
William O'Brien, 2013
Worcester State University

Executive Director
Ahmad Etebari, 2012
University of New Hampshire

Managing Editor, Journal of
Business & Economic Studies
Luis Rivera, 2012
Dowling College

 

DIRECTORS

T. Homer Bonitsis, 2014
New Jersey Institute of Technology

Mitch Charkiewicz, 2013
Central Connecticut State University

Nejdet Delener, 2012
SUNY at Old Westbury

Kimberly Killmer Hollister, 2012
Montclair State University

Paul Kutasovic, 2014
New York Institute of Technology

Carlos Liard-Muriente, 2013
Central Connecticut State University

Scott Mackey, 2013
Roger Williams University

Stuart Rosenberg, 2013
Monmouth University

George Sillup, 2012
Saint Joseph's University

Della Lee Sue, 2013
Marist College

Ramon Vasoncellos, 2014
Barstow College


Guidelines for Session Chairs

Most of the people who have agreed to chair sessions at this Conference are experienced teachers, researchers, conference attendees, paper presenters, panel members and session chairs. These guidelines suggest an approach that you might want to take in facilitating the presentation of the papers and the discussion at the session you chair as well as encouraging the people in the audience to continue their discussions outside the session. No doubt this approach will be familiar to you and so the intention of the guidelines is to serve as a reminder rather than a prescription.

Before the session

Before the Conference become familiar with the papers being presented in the session. Look for common themes among them as well as distinctive features of each one. You might also want to prepare a question arising from each paper / research note in case none are forthcoming from the audience.

At the Conference make contact with the presenters and confirm their preferred names, the pronunciation of them and the significant but very brief biographical details they wish you to mention in your introduction of them. You might also want to confirm the order of the papers, as well as the timing. Clarify whether comments and questions will be invited at the end of each presentation or at the end of the session. This is a matter of judgment: if the comments and questions are taken at the end of each presentation they might distort the flow of ideas but if they are left to the end of the session there is a risk that the first presentation will be overlooked

If there is sufficient time and opportunity available in advance of the session (eg at the Conference Opening) introduce the presenters to each other so they at least recognize the people who will be sharing the presenters' platform with them.

At the session

Arrive at the designated room at least 10 minutes before the session starts so that you can check the placement of the presenters' aids (projector, screen), their seating and water glasses and welcome the presenters. Confirm again the timing of each presentation and comments and questions and clarify a 3-minutes-to-go signal that you will use.

Open the session at the designated time and introduce it briefly (2 minutes or so) by setting the scene for the papers to come as well as giving time for people to settle. Introduce all the presenters at once in order of presentation and inform the audience of the agreed pattern for presentation (eg questions and comments at the end of each paper and then perhaps further questions at the end).

Keep time strictly. This is probably the most important success factor for a conference session and sometimes one of the most difficult to achieve. You might need to be assertive or even ruthless towards the presenters (and yourself). Remember that it is unfair to the following presenters if the first presenter uses more than the time allotted and agreed. It is also unfair to the audience if you have allocated time for comments and questions and there is no time to ask them let alone pursue them. It is unfair to the Conference organizers if a group is late for tea or a meal break.

Use your judgment in dealing with comments and questions. In some instances it might be necessary for you to restate a question so that all can hear.

At the end of the session make a few brief remarks (no more than 2 minutes) about the presentations as a whole relating them to the relevant theme of the Conference. Thank the presenters and invite the audience to acknowledge the presenters and their papers. Finally thank the audience for their attendance and their contributions.