Newsletter
Volume 30 | 2007 | Number 1
Looking Forward Towards the Fourth ABA International Conference in Sydney, Australia, August 12-14th 2007
By Dr. Simon Dymond, ABA International Representative/International Conference Program Chair and Dr. Maria E. Malott, ABA Executive Director/Secretary Treasurer
Every two years, ABA organises an international conference in a country outside of the USA. The three previous conferences were held in Italy, Brazil, and China and each was hugely successful in contributing to the international development of our field.
The next international conference will be held in Sydney, Australia, from August 12th to the 14th 2007. It is time to begin planning your trip “down under.” Sydney is an exceptional city with a unique history. Host to the 2000 Summer Olympics, the city has a varied culture and offers several interesting sights and activities for even the most experienced traveller. From sports like bushwalking and canyoning to tours of the city and harbor, you are sure to find the perfect distraction while in Sydney.
The call for papers closed in mid-November and over the past few months the International Program Committee members and Dr. Simon Dymond, with the expert assistance of the ABA office, have been compiling and organising the conference program. To undertake this task, Simon Dymond invited two prominent ABA members from Australia and New Zealand (J.T. Blackledge, University of Wollongong, and David Harper, University of Wellington) to serve on the Program Committee. Our task was a) to identify and recruit potential invited events that would be of interest to the conference delegates, b) to make recommendations for acceptance and rejection of posters, papers, and symposia, c) to organise presentations into related paper sessions, and d) to oversee the scheduling of the various conference events and the production of the final conference program.
The Program Committee worked tirelessly in putting together what we think you will agree is a very exciting conference programme.
The conference will open with a reception on Sunday, August 12, followed by two days of programming and evening entertainment on Monday, August 13. The conference programme will consist of 13 symposia, 35 paper sessions featuring 125 papers, five panel discussions, and a poster session highlighting 51 posters. Nine of these events are invited presentations. There is considerable diversity of conference tracks and topics. For example, there are sessions on gambling, behavioural intervention for children with autism, stimulus control, choice and timing, community and behavioural medicine, staff training, and conceptual issues, among other fascinating topics.
We are delighted to have three invited addresses from high-profile researchers from the region. Matthew R. Sanders, University of Queensland, will give an invited address entitled, Triple P as a Public Health Approach to Parenting: Current Status and Future Directions; R. Mark Mathews, University of Sydney, will present on Engaging People with Dementia in Life; and Michael Davison, University of Auckland, will give an address entitled Does Reinforcement Really Increase the Probability of Prior Responses? Others giving invited addresses include William Heward, Marjorie Charlop-Christy, Steve Dworkin, Julie Vargas, Francis Mechner, and Thomas Brigham.
The conference will be held in the elegant Hilton Sydney, located right on Sydney Harbor and close to Bondi beach, the Sydney Aquarium, and shopping. Amenities include Sydney’s largest health club, in-room wireless Internet access, a full-service spa, and exceptional dining.
ABA’s fourth international conference is being held in conjunction with the third annual New Zealand ABA conference, and the program will feature presentations by leaders in the New Zealand ABA (NZABA) chapter. The Executive Council of ABA International thanks NZABA for its support and assistance in planning the conference program. We are also grateful to the coordinators from around the world who played a critical role in planning the program and ensuring this will be a successful conference. Country coordinators are helping to attract participants in their countries, among them, Martha Hubner (Brazil); Dave Harper (New Zealand); Shanti Kilduff (the Philippines), Geraldine Leader (Ireland), Jeongil Kim (Republic of Korea), and Hua Feng (Taiwan).
A unique strength of the conference programme is the high proportion of presentations by behaviour analysts from Australia, New Zealand, and many parts of South East Asia. Indeed, as one of the aims of the international conference series is to facilitate the international development and dissemination of behaviour analysis, it is only by working with local affiliated chapters and other behavioural organisations to encourage people to attend and present their work that this aim will be realised.
Proposals to host the 2009 international conference are currently being sought. If your affiliated chapter is interested in hosting the next installment in ABA’s exciting international conference series, then go to: www.abainternational.org/Chapters/Conference_proposal.asp. Submissions will be accepted up until April 15th 2007, and the location of the 2009 conference will announced at the International Brunch during the annual convention in San Diego, May 2007.
ABA International is an approved provider for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board and offers continuing education for Behavior Analyst Certification Board® certified behavior analysts and will offer continuing education credit for select conference events. The reception, evening entertainment, coffee breaks, and two lunches are included in the conference registration fee.
Early registration for the 4th International Conference will run through May 11, 2007; after this date, the registration fee increases by $50. Please visit www.abainternational.org/sydney/ for a detailed fee schedule. You may register for the conference using the form via the Web site. Information about the conference program and travel and visa requirements is also available on the Web.
ABA International is currently organizing post-conference tour packages with Sydney tour companies. Options may include single-day tours of sights in Sydney or visits to the Blue Mountains, the Ku-Rig-Gai National Park, and Hunter Valley Wine Country. Multi-day tour destinations will range from the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley Wine Country, Heron Island, the Australian Red Centre, the Great Barrier Reef, the state of Tasmania, and New Zealand. When available, detailed information about tour packages available to conference registrants will be listed on the ABA Web site.
We hope that you can join us in the wonderful city of Sydney for a unique international experience.