Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 1
3rd International ABA Conference in Beijing
By Maria E. Malott, Ph.D.
Behavior Analysis made great strides in China at ABA’s third international conference in Beijing, conducted this past November 25-27. The event was co-sponsored with the Tongji School of Medicine and Hua Zhong University of Science and Technology and substantial logistical support was also provided by the Chinese ABA. The event was held at the Kerry Centre, a five-star hotel located in the heart of Beijing’s diplomatic and commercial district. Outfitted with a contemporary design and modern conveniences, the Kerry Centre has hosted presidents and diplomats. Figure 1 shows attendees enjoying lunch in a Kerry Centre ballroom.
Figure 1. A Kerry Centre ballroom.
A total of 260 people from 20 countries attended the conference. Countries represented were: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela. Figure 2 depicts Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis (SABA) President Dr. Linda Hayes with conference registrants from around the world.
Figure 2. Conference attendees with SABA President Dr. Linda Hayes (sixth from left).
The program included the contributions of over 300 authors from 23 countries. A total of 75 events on a wide variety of topics made up the program, and included paper sessions, symposia, panel discussions, invited presentations, workshops, and special events. Following a long day of presentations and thought-provoking discussions, conference attendees enjoyed evening social events with traditional Chinese entertainment. Figure 3 shows Dr. Guo Yanqing enjoying a photo opportunity with of one of the performers.
Figure 3. Dr.Guo Yanqing and Chinese performer.
The conference program included a bilingual (Mandarin-English) track that ran concurrently with traditional ABA tracks, including Autism; Behavioral Pharmacology; Clinical, Family, Behavioral Medicine; Community Interventions, Social and Ethical Issues; Developmental Disabilities; Human Development, Gerontology; Experimental Analysis of Behavior; Education; Organizational Behavior Management; Teaching Behavior Analysis; Theoretical, Philosophical, Conceptual Issues; and Verbal Behavior. Attendees of a bilingual presentation are depicted in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Chinese attendees at a bilingual presentation.
Following the conference, attendees had the opportunity to travel and sightsee. These tours included a one-day tour of Beijing, a three-day tour of Beijing, a one-day tour of the Great Wall, and a two-day tour of Xi’an and the Terra Cotta Warriors. The tours provided conference attendees an opportunity to visit some of China’s famous landmarks and become more familiar with the Chinese culture.
Attendees were very pleased with the conference, with 90% out of 74 survey respondents rating the conference as very good to excellent. Figure 5 shows a graph of responses in the areas of program quality, registration services, ABA staff and volunteers, hotel staff and services, the city of Beijing, Web information and services, and overall.
Figure 5. Survey responses of Very Good – Excellent.
The conference resulted from ABA’s long-term development efforts in China. ABA’s involvement began when David (Zhuo-Xi) Peng, father of an autistic son, communicated that his child had been successfully treated in the United States with behavioral technologies, and that he was interested in bringing the science to China. ABA subsequently organized a delegation that took place in March, 2001 (“China,” 2002). Participants included Dr. Joe Morrow, Brenda Terzich, and Dr. Joyce Tu, of Applied Behavior Consultants, Inc. (ABC), Dr. Linda J. Hayes, Naoko Sugiyama, liaison from Japanese ABA, Dr. M. Jackson Marr, ABA’s President at the time, and myself, Dr. Maria E. Malott. The delegation was very well received and Chinese attendees were eager to learn more about the field, which led to a discussion of holding a conference in China.
Among its many achievements, the delegation assisted in assembling the first Chinese ABA chapter. As well, f ollowing the visit and thanks to its dedicated work, ABC established three schools for the treatment of autism in China. Naoko Sugiyama initiated the formation of the regional Asian Association for Behavior Analysis and facilitated the effort of Japanese ABA to sponsor David Peng to travel to Tokyo to collaborate on the project. Dr. Linda Hayes facilitated a full sponsorship for Dr. Guo Yanqing, of Peking University, to attend the University of Nevada, Reno and receive a year of training in behavior analysis. Upon his return to China, Dr. Guo became the chair of Chinese ABA. In addition, the decision to conduct an international ABA Conference in China was made and preparations begun in earnest.
The success of this conference was possible due to the combined effort and assistance of many people, foremost Dr. Ming Bai, President of the Tongji School of Medicine and Hua Zhong University of Science and Technology and School, without whom ABA would have been unable to conduct the conference. Dan Li, Associate Professor at the Tongji School, provided critical logistical support for arranging visas for attendees and Lige An, a lawyer advocating for services for autistic children in China, provided, among other things, the translation of the Chinese track of the program.
Dr. Guo Yanqing, Chair of Chinese ABA, was invaluable in his dedication to conference efforts. The incredible, enthusiastic volunteer team made up of Guo Yanqing’s students was led by Tan Yonghon. These volunteers facilitated logistics at the event and acted as interpreters for sessions in the Chinese Track. The team of volunteers included Du Jiame, Hu Jun, Jiang Ronghuan, Liang Ying, Na Hai, Sun Wei, Xueqin Wang, Yang Rui, Yang Xijie, Zhang Qian, Zhang Rui, and Zhao Qi. Figure 7 shows the convention staff and volunteers and Figure 8 shows Dr. Timothy Hackenberg reviewing his presentation with Sun Wei, a volunteer interpreter.
Figure 7. ABA volunteers and staff.
Figure 8. Sun Wei (l) and Dr. Timothy Hackenberg.
The following international coordinators were wonderful representatives of their countries: Dr. Carla Schlesinger (Australia), Dr. Guo Yanqing (China), Dr. Eitan Eldar (Israel), Naoko Sugiyama (Japan), Dr. Carlos Bruner (Mexico), Dr. Sang Bok Lee (South Korea), Dr. Sherman Yen (Taiwan), and Dr. Pauline Horne (United Kingdom). Figure 9 shows Dr. Carlos Bruner (center), international coordinator from Mexico, with Dr. Laura Acuña and Rogelio Escobar.
Figure 9. Dr. Laura Acuña, Dr. Carlos Bruner and Rogelio Escobar.
Other contributors of note were Drs. Julie and Ernest Vargas, who hosted the opening event as representatives of the B. F. Skinner Foundation, and Dr. Richard Malott, who closed the conference with his signature Power Point presentation about China. Israeli international coordinator Dr. Eldar and opening event host Dr. Vargas are pictured in Figure 10.
Figure 10. Drs. Eitan Eldar and Julie Vargas.
This terrific event was unforgettable for all who participated. The conference presented opportunities to learn, promote, and develop behavior analysis in China—only a few years ago, behavior analysis was practically unknown in that part of the world. It also provided networking opportunities for the exchange of information and ideas. Like the preceding international conferences, the third international conference in Beijing was a model of international collaboration.
References
China: Land of Opportunity for Behavior Analysts (2002). The ABA Newsletter 25(2)