Information for Presenters, Discussants and Chairs
Paper Presenter Information
Your presentation should be no more than 20 minutes. Chairs have been instructed to keep time strictly to ensure there is sufficient time for the discussant and for questions from the audience.
You can upload your presentation slides at the following website:
http://law.usc.edu/cels/upload.cfm
Note this is not an SSRN-administered site. Uploading your files should be very, very easy. Computers in the conference rooms are set up to display PowerPoint or PDF files. If you want to use other kinds of files, please email cels2009@law.usc.edu. We can accommodate just about any file format, including Mac Keynote files, but we may need some advance notice to make sure we have the appropriate hardware and software. We strongly discourage you from using your own laptop for your presentation. If you have a strong desire to use your own laptop, please let us know so we can work something out.
If you are going to upload your slides, please do so by Wednesday midnight. Presentations uploaded after that time may not be loaded onto the proper computers.
If you do not upload your slides, you may, of course, bring them on a USB drive. Even if you upload your slides, we strongly recommend that you bring a backup version on a USB drive.
Whether you upload your slides or bring them on a USB drive, please make sure that our slides have been loaded properly well before your panel starts. That way problems can be worked out without slowing down the conference.
Discussant Information
Your discussion should be no more than 10 minutes. Chairs have been instructed to keep time strictly to ensure there is sufficient time for questions from the audience.
You can upload your presentation slides at the following website: http://law.usc.edu/cels/upload.cfm
Note this is not an SSRN-administered site. Uploading your files should be very, very easy. Computers in the conference rooms are set up to display PowerPoint or PDF files. If you want to use other kinds of files, please email cels2009@law.usc.edu. We can accommodate just about any file format, including Mac Keynote files, but we may need some advance notice to make sure we have the appropriate hardware and software. We strongly discourage you from using your own laptop for your presentation. If you have a strong desire to use your own laptop, please let us know so we can work something out.
If you are going to upload your slides, please do so by Wednesday midnight. Presentations uploaded after that time may not be loaded onto the proper computers.
If you do not upload your slides, you may, of course, bring them on a USB drive. Even if you upload your slides, we strongly recommend that you bring a backup version on a USB drive.
Whether you upload your slides or bring them on a USB drive, please make sure that our slides have been loaded properly well before your panel starts. That way problems can be worked out without slowing down the conference.
Chair Information
You have three principal responsibilities as chair:
- You should keep time—20 minutes max for the presenter, 10 minutes max for the discussant, and 10 minutes minimum per paper for questions from the audience. Papers must be presented in the order listed in the program. Each paper must be followed immediately by its discussant and questions from the audience. The first paper must start promptly at the start of the session, the second paper 40 minutes after the start, and the third paper (if there is one) 1 hour and 20 minutes after the start of the session. Keeping time is essential for two reasons. First, it is important to keep the presenter and discussant to their allotted times so that there are at least ten minutes per paper for questions from the audience. Second, it is important to start each paper at the appointed time, because some people switch rooms mid-session to hear papers on different panels. There will be time cards in each room for you to visually remind authors and discussants of the time remaining.
- You should give very brief introductions of the presenters and discussants. These should be no longer than 30 seconds each. Generally, your introduction should consist only of name, affiliation, and paper title. You may also use your introduction time to highlight poster presentations related to the theme of your panel. See program for relevant poster presentations.
- If you are chairing a session which is being webcast, you should give the portable microphone to audience members who are asking questions.
Ordinarily, authors will call on audience members for questions. If the author requests your help, you may call on questioners instead.
Poster Presenter Information
Poster sessions are common in the physical sciences and many social sciences, though not yet in the legal world. Nevertheless, AALS has begun to offer poster sessions at its annual meetings, and the three prior CELS conferences have included very successful poster sessions. Because the poster session does not conflict with other sessions, posters generally get lots of attention. Because the poster session is held in conjunction with the reception, with free flowing wine and ample food, it also tends to be a lot of fun!
In a typical poster session, participants organize display materials that show the highlights of their project. Some people prepare printed poster boards, while others prepare sheets of paper with a title, abstract, core results, graphs, and charts, and then attach them in a meaningful sequence to a poster board. The idea is to present your project so that the topic, dataset, and main results are immediately identifiable, and the empirical questions and hypotheses guiding your work are noted (perhaps in bullet point form). Ideally, your data will be presented visually through charts and graphs so someone can quickly grasp what you found. Ideas for future work can also be noted. Less (detail, that is) is often more. The poster should be readable from several feet away.
For design ideas, several websites present a variety of ways to present empirical work in a poster format:
Among the suggestions, these websites recommend using a crisp, clean design and a strong title; making illustrations simple and bold; conveying only selected portions of your research (key findings) rather than the entire research history; and converting tables to graphs for easier viewing. Keep our particular format in mind—a poster on an easel with tripod—as you think about how to present your work most effectively.
- If you would like your graphics/poster mounted on a poster board in advance and delivered to the Law School, please contact Sam Rosenow at Graphics and Beyond (http://www.graphicsandbeyond.com/home.htm). You may contact Sam at 213-625-8283 or by e-mail at gb@graphicsandbeyond.com. There are three poster board sizes you can select from: 24" X 36" ($49.00), 36" X 48" ($89.00) and 48" X 48" ($119.00). Please inform them that you are attending the CELS conference at USC Law School and they will give you the discounted price. If you need an easel, please tell them, and they can deliver one for you at no additional cost.
- For those traveling with poster boards, we can provide an easel at no additional cost. To reserve an easel, please e-mail the Events Office at events@law.usc.edu. When you arrive at the conference check-in table, please confirm with one of our staff members.
- If you are bringing your presentation on paper and need 32 x 40 foam poster board to mount it, please email cels2009@law.usc.edu to let us know, so we can have a sufficient number of poster board on hand for you.
