Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 2
ABA 2006 Convention Program Committee Report
By Dr. Ramona Houmanfar
Program Committee Senior Co-Chair
We experienced another successful convention this year at ABA. As always, our accomplishment was a product of the incredible contribution and support provided by the ABA administrative staff, ABA Council, and the Program Committee. The following is a data-based outline of the ABA 2006 program and the associated discussions and changes that will affect next year’s program structure.
As shown in Table 1 and Figure 1, the total number of submissions was 1,477, a 4.9% increase from 2005. It is important to note that the major growth of the program this year was in the areas of the ABA Expo and business meetings. All SIGs and chapters were prompted to submit posters and schedule meetings.
Autism (23%), Experimental Analysis of Behavior (17%), Education (16%), and Developmental Disabilities (13%) continued to be the largest areas and together accounted for 68% of all submissions. As well, ABA Expo posters increased 71% from 2005; business meetings 43%; and workshops 7%. Seven of 14 areas experienced a decrease in the number of submissions from 2005, while other areas demonstrated an increase in the number of submissions. Overall, we experienced a maintained level of performance in terms of number of presentations, which allows for a healthy pattern of growth over time (see Figure 1).
The Program Co-Chairs and Area Coordinators held a business meeting during the convention to review issues associated with the program. The process included an update regarding the Program Committee Report that was submitted to the ABA Council prior to the convention and further discussion of ways to improve the quality of the program. The following topics were discussed and approved for implementation in next year’s program.
Area Coordinators
As predicted, the substantial work and effort of the program coordinators resulted in a record year in terms of the number of invited presentation submissions and tutorials. Moreover, eight of the 38 invited addresses and tutorials were conducted by non- ABA members. This is a record number of invited presentations by non- ABA members during my tenure as the Senior Co-Chair. And, it is indicative of the program coordinators’ amazing efforts and willingness to support our goal of interaction with scholars of interrelated disciplines. Through the great support of our Program Board Coordinator, Thomas Critchfield, the ABA Council acknowledged this practice by approving the allotment of $2,000 honoraria per program area for distribution among invited presenters who are not members of ABA ($1,000 per non-member invitee, per program area).
With regard to Area Coordinators’ terms, the ABA Council approved the extension of the three-year term to a four-year term for all coordinators. In addition, the Council approved our recommendations for the recruitment of a co-coordinator for each area. Accordingly, the Area Coordinators completing the third year of their term were invited to maintain their roles for another year and help with the recruitment of co-coordinators for their areas. Other program coordinators were also invited to help with the recruitment of co-coordinators for their areas. The updated list of co-coordinators for program areas will be included in the Call for Papers for ABA 2007 and its complete version will be announced prior to the 2007 convention.
Program Quality
Given the increased usage of the Web-based version of the ABA program, which includes the submitted abstracts for a majority of presentations, the ABA Council approved the inclusion of a new set of guidelines for abstract submissions in the upcoming Call for Papers. These guidelines will allow for a descriptive approach to abstract submission that will provide the audience/reader with structured information regarding the content of presentations.
Other Areas of Improvement
Road Map Session
Jack Scott (Program Coordinator of the Autism area) led the first Road Map session for the Autism area this year and received great feedback regarding its utility. We are very thankful to Jack Scott for his coordination of this session.
Implementation of the New On-Line Personal Scheduling for the ABA Convention
The e-mail announcement regarding the availability of this the new on-line personal scheduling system was sent by Maria Malott to all members on April 14 th, 2006. This system allows members to preview convention events by day, author, area, workshop, or invited events and tutorials. Members can add or remove any event in the program to their personal schedule. A password allows each individual to save events and then review and make changes at any time. Since its distribution, we have received many compliments and positive reviews by members. We thank Maria Malott and her amazing staff for their design and implementation of this invaluable system that enhanced the quality of this year’s convention.
Last, but not least, I would like to thank my co-chair, Bill Palya, for his incredible support and collaboration, and the Program Coordinators and other members of the Program Committee for their outstanding effort this year. In addition, on behalf of the ABA Program Committee, I would like to thank Maria Malott and her exemplary staff for their remarkable support and guidance.