University of the Aegean Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering

DISSERTATION: E-POSTERS IN ACADEMIC/SCIENTIFIC CONFERΕNCES – GUIDELINES, COMPARATIVE STUDY & NEW SUGGESTIONS

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia 511/2004041

Supervisor: Paraskevas Papanikos Committee Members: Nikolaos Zacharopoulos Maria Simosi

Syros, June 2015 DISSERTATION: E-POSTERS IN ACADEMIC/SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES – GUIDELINES, COMPARATIVE STUDY & NEW SUGGESTIONS

Supervisor: Paraskevas Papanikos Committee Members: Nikolaos Zacharopoulos Maria Simosi

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia Syros, June 2015 3 ABSTRACT

Conferences play a key role in getting people interested in a field together to network and exchange knowledge. The poster presentation is a commonly used format for communicating information within the academic scientific conference sector. Paper posters were the beginning but as technology and the way people work changes, posters have to be developed and implemented in order to achieve successful knowledge transfer. Incorporating aspects of information technology into poster presentations can promote an interactive learning environment for users and counter the current passive nature of poster design as an integrated approach with supplemental material is required to achieve changes in user knowledge, attitude and behaviour. After conducting literature review, research of existing e-poster providers, interviews with 5 of them and a personal evaluation in a real time conference environment results show a gradual turn towards e-posters with the medical sector pioneering. Authors, viewers and organisers embrace this new format, and the features and functions it offers, although objections exist since people have different preferences and the e-poster sector is relatively young, an average of 5 years.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 4 SUMMARY Η ανάγκη των ανθρώπων να συγκεντρώνονται για να ανταλλάσσουν ιδέες, ευρήματα, έρευνες και απόψεις υπήρχε από τη δημιουργία των πρώτων πόλεων όπου φτιάχνονται με χώρους συγκέντρωσης. Με την ανάπτυξη των τελευταίων αιώνων, πανεπιστήμια και εμπορικοί οργανισμούς φτιάχνουν τέτοιους χώρους, ενώ οι μετακινήσεις διευκολύνονται με τη δημιουργία σιδηροδρομικού δικτύου. Συνέδριο, σύσκεψη, συνδιάσκεψη, σύνοδος, συμπόσιο, διάσκεψη, ημερίδα, διημερίδα, συνάντηση είναι διαφορετικές λέξεις που εκφράζουν την ίδια ανάγκη για ανθρώπους και επαγγελματίες να βρίσκονται για να διαδίδουν τη γνώση που έχουν. Η βιομηχανία των συνεδρίων άρχισε να αναπτύσσετε σε Ευρώπη και Αμερική με πολλά οφέλη, οικονομικά και όχι μόνο. Η βιομηχανία αυτή ωστόσο δεν έχει κοινώς αποδεκτή ορολογία παγκοσμίως. Σύμφωνα με τα στοιχεία του Union of International Association, με έτος ίδρυσης το 1907, πάνω από 400 χιλιάδες συναντήσεις έχουν καταγραφεί που πληρούν τα κριτήρια της Ένωσης, με χώρες όπως η Σιγκαπούρη, Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες, Κορέα, Ιαπωνία, Ισπανία, Βέλγιο, Αυστρία, Γερμανία, Γαλλία και Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο να καταλαμβάνουν τις πρώτες 10 θέσεις με τον μεγαλύτερο αριθμό συνεδρίων. Το International Congress and Convention Association, με 50 χρόνια ιστορία, καταγράφει μεταξύ άλλων και πώς μεταβάλλεται ο αριθμός των συνεδρίων ανάλογα με το αντικείμενο τους, παρατηρώντας σαφώς μεγαλύτερο αριθμό συνεδρίων στον ιατρικό κλάδο. Η κατάτμηση των συνεδρίων είτε αφορούν εθνικό ή διεθνές επίπεδο μπορεί να γίνει με διάφορα κριτήρια, όπως σκοπός του συνεδρίου ή άτομα που το επισκέπτονται. Ένα βασικό κριτήριο όμως είναι ποιος το οργανώνει, αν είναι από τον ιδιωτικό τομέα ή από ένωση επαγγελματιών. Ανάλογα με τον κλάδο αφορούν: ανθρωπιστικές, κοινωνικές, φυσικές, θετικές επιστήμες ή επαγγέλματα. Ένα συνέδριο μπορεί να διαρκέσει από λίγες ώρες μέχρι κάποιες μέρες ή βδομάδα. Μπορεί να γίνει σε ένα χώρο πανεπιστημίου, ξενοδοχείου, στο τοπικό κέντρο ή όπου αλλού μπορεί να χωρέσει ο επιθυμητός αριθμός συνέδρων. Τα συνέδρια κατατάσσονται σε ακαδημαϊκά, επαγγελματικά, εκπαιδευτικά ή που στοχεύουν σε ένα συγκεκριμένο πρόβλημα. Οι λόγοι και οι φορείς που μπορούν να οργανώσουν ένα συνέδριο ποικίλουν. Εμείς αναφερόμαστε σε ακαδημαϊκά/επιστημονικά συνέδρια, που εντάσσονται σε θεματικά, γενικά ή ανοιχτά σε επαγγελματίες και ακαδημαϊκούς. Τα συνέδρια αυτά προσελκύουν ακαδημαϊκούς, σπουδαστές, σχετικό προσωπικό, ερευνητές και άτομα που έχουν διαφορετική συσχέτιση με το θέμα, μπορεί να απαρτίζονται από 20 άτομα μέχρι και μερικές χιλιάδες και σε διαφορετικούς χώρους. Σε ένα ακαδημαϊκό συνέδριο τα συνήθη είδη παρουσιάσεων που υπάρχουν είναι η προφορική παρουσίαση, συζήτηση στρογγυλής τραπέζης ή πάνελ, εργαστήριο, poster (αφίσα) και παρουσίαση poster. Εμείς θα ασχοληθούμε με τα poster, η θέση των οποίων είναι αναγνωρισμένη στα συνέδρια παρόλο που δεν λαμβάνουν τη σημασία που τους πρέπει. Τα poster με την υβριδική τους φύση, μεταξύ εργασίας και παρουσίασης, προωθούν τη διάδοση πληροφορίας στα συνέδρια. Χρειάζεται περαιτέρω έρευνα για να διαπιστωθεί η αποτελεσματικότητα τους στη διάδοση πληροφορίας, η οποία αυξάνεται όταν συνδυάζονται και με άλλες εκπαιδευτικές παρεμβάσεις, και όταν το αισθητικό στοιχείο και ο τρόπος τοποθέτησης της πληροφορίας είναι προσεγμένος και ευχάριστος. Τα πλεονεκτήματα μιας τέτοια παρουσίασης, που ένα μεγάλο μέρος προτιμάει να γίνεται με την παρουσίαση κάποιου συντονιστή, αφορούν στο λιγότερο εχθρικό και πιο φιλικό και άμεσο περιβάλλον που λαμβάνουν χώρα. Αποτελούν έναυσμα για συζητήσεις, εποικοδομητική κριτική, αφετηρία συνεργασιών, περίληψη μιας έρευνας και πηγή πληροφορίας. Παρόλο που έχουν συνήθως την ίδια δομή με ένα επιστημονικό άρθρο είναι το οπτικό στοιχείο που τα κάνει να ξεχωρίζουν, δίνοντας τους μια πιο δημιουργική νότα και το γεγονός ότι το μήνυμα που θέλουν να περάσουν είναι εμφανές και δεν εξαρτάται

5 απόλυτα από τον τρόπο παρουσίασης όπως σε μια προφορική παρουσίαση. Οι διοργανωτές γεμίζουν χώρο και χρόνο ενώ παραμένουν παρόλο που ο παρουσιαστής τους δεν είναι δίπλα τους συνέχεια, επιτυγχάνοντας μεγαλύτερη προβολή. Το κοινό κατατάσσεται ανάλογα με τα διαφορετικά επίπεδα σχετικότητας με το αντικείμενο σε ειδικούς, ευρύτερους ειδικούς/σχετικούς με το θέμα και άτομα σε εντελώς άλλο αντικείμενο. Τα ίδια τα poster καθώς είναι έρευνα σε εξέλιξη έχουν χαμηλό ποσοστό έκδοσης της τελικής έρευνας και αυτό ίσως συμβάλει στην όχι τόσο υψηλή υπόληψη που υπάρχει για αυτά. Υπάρχει μια άτυπη αρνητική αντίληψη για την αξία τον poster σε σχέση με τις προφορικές παρουσιάσεις. Θεωρούνται κατώτερες και ότι είναι τα αποτυχημένα papers που δεν κατάφεραν να γίνουν προφορική παρουσίαση. Σε κάποια συνέδρια θεωρείται δεύτερης κατηγορίας, ενώ σε άλλο το να έχεις poster θεωρείται κατόρθωμα. Παρόλα αυτά τα poster δίνουν τη δυνατότητα εις βάθος συζήτησης σε πιο προσωπικό και ανεπίσημο επίπεδο. Η δομή και ο σχεδιασμός ενός poster έχουν σημασία για την καλύτερη σχεδίαση πληροφορίας. Τα τμήματα ενός poster συνάδουν με αυτά που χρησιμοποιούνται σε επιστημονικά άρθρα. Η μορφή, το μέγεθος και ο προσανατολισμός του poster, καθορίζονται από το ίδιο το συνέδριο, ενώ υπάρχουν στην βιβλιογραφία πολλές σχεδιαστικές προδιαγραφές, είτε αποδεδειγμένες, είτε εμπειρικές για την καλύτερη εμφάνιση του poster, που αφορούν τη γραμματοσειρά, το χρώμα, τις φωτογραφίες, τα σχεδιαγράμματα και τους πίνακες. Λόγω του μη παγιωμένου τρόπου παρουσίασης και τις διπλής τους ιδιότητας (κάτι μεταξύ paper και προφορικής παρουσίασης), τα poster άρχισαν να εξελίσσονται και να χρησιμοποιούν την τεχνολογία για να επιτύχουν ένα καλύτερο και πιο ελκυστικό αποτέλεσμα. Τα τελευταία 8 με 10 χρόνια, μεμονωμένοι πειραματισμοί έχουν καταγραφεί με την προσθήκη ψηφιακής κορνίζας, DVD player, ακουστικού υλικού, ή προσθηκών για καλύτερη συνδεσιμότητα όπως ο QR code, χρήση επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας μέχρι και εικονικό συνέδριο. Αναπόφευκτα δημιουργήθηκε η ανάγκη να ξεπεραστούν οι περιορισμοί που έχει το τυπωμένο poster, και άρχισε η εποχή των ηλεκτρονικών poster ή e-poster που προβάλλονται σε οθόνη, και η χρήση εφαρμογών σε συνέδρια. Καθώς είναι καινούριο πεδίο που επίσης προσπαθεί να προσδιοριστεί, διάφορες εταιρίες έχουν δημιουργηθεί που προσφέρουν πλατφόρμες για ηλεκτρονικά poster, με διαφορετικό τρόπο αλλά η βασική ιδέα παραμένει η ίδια. Το poster υπάρχει ηλεκτρονικά, και διατηρείται και μετά το πέρας του συνεδρίου, επιτρέπει την ενσωμάτωση οπτικοακουστικού υλικού και κάνει την εύρεση και επικοινωνία με τον συγγραφέα πολύ πιο άμεση και εύκολη. Σχεδιασμένα σκεπτόμενοι τους τρεις άμεσους χρήστες, τον συγγραφέα, που θέλει να αποφύγει την ταλαιπωρία και την οικονομική επιβάρυνση της εκτύπωσης, τον θεατή που θέλει να αναπτύξει τις γνώσεις του και τους διοργανωτές που θέλουν ένα καλό προϊόν χωρίς να χρειάζεται να επενδύσουν χρόνο και χρήμα, τα e-poster έχουν οφέλη και για τους τρεις καθώς και για το περιβάλλον αφού δεν χρησιμοποιείται πια χαρτί. Ο τρόπος που θα αγκαλιαστούν τα e-poster εξαρτάται πάρα πολύ από τον τρόπο που θα τα προωθήσουν οι διοργανωτές. Η τεχνολογία δίνει απέραντες δυνατότητες που χρειάζονται την άμεση συμμετοχή του ανθρώπου για να τις εκμεταλλευτεί στο έπακρο και να επωφεληθεί από αυτές. Στη μεταβατική εποχή που είμαστε, υπάρχει αποδεδειγμένα μια τάση υπέρ του ηλεκτρονικού poster, με το κοινό να έχει διαφορετικές αντιδράσεις ανάλογα με την άνεση του στη χρήση της τεχνολογίας. Η τελειωτική μετάβαση είναι αναπόφευκτη. Ένα καινούριο είδος έχει ήδη γεννηθεί.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my professor, Paraskeuas Papanikos for his guidence, Evangelos Karageorgos for his help and all the information he shared with me and all those who answered my questionnaires.

A deep thank you to my mother, Eleni Pissaridou, and my sister, Avgusta Pissaridi, who never lost faith in me and were always there to support me. To my friends, the people who passed by over the years, the island and the years there that shaped me. To the future adventures…

7 INTRODUCTION & STRUCTURE This dissertation consists of 4 Chapters. In the first Chapter the author describes the evolution of conferences, their benefits and the different types of conferences there are, focusing more on the academic/scientific conference sector. The second chapter is a description of the different presentation types you can find in a scientific conference, that include presentations, round tables, panel discussion with a focus on posters that is the main subject of this dissertation. We highlight the advantages of posters but also the perception authors viewers and organised have for them. Moving more into posters we describe how a poster is structured and what elements can affect its visual appeal and suggest general guidelines on font, colour, layout, pictures and graphs. In Chapter 3 we describe the evolution of posters, form paper posters to e-posters and state the few different providers of e-posters today, the way they work and the feedback they get from viewers. In the fourth and final chapter, we are reaching a conclusion of what is an e-poster, what are the benefits for the author, scientific community, organiser and environment. The feature and functions that make an e-poster different from a paper poster and how technology is contributing in the dissemation fo information.

Keywords: poster, e-poster, scientific presentations, conferences, electronic poster

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 8 CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...... 4 SUMMARY ...... 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... 7 INTRODUCTION & STRUCTURE ...... 8 CHAPTER 1_CONVENTIONS/CONFERENCES ...... 11 1.1 The origins of the conference industry ...... 11 Benefits: Economic and beyond of conferences ...... 12 Non standardised terminology and definitions ...... 13 Statistics Reports ...... 16 1.2 Segmentation ...... 25 Types of conferences ...... 26 Why organise a conference ...... 27 Who organises conferences ...... 28 When is a conference organised ...... 29 1.3 Academic/Scientific Conference...... 30 Academic conference description ...... 30 General Structure ...... 30 Who attends ...... 31 Who organises ...... 31 Where it takes place ...... 31 CHAPTER 2_PRESENTATION/SESSION TYPES ...... 32 2.1 Poster and Poster Session Focus ...... 34 Importance ...... 39 Advantages ...... 39 Audience ...... 40 Publication Rate ...... 41 Poster Perception: The ‘Hidden Curriculum’? ...... 41 2.2 Format – layout – guidelines ...... 43 Scientific poster sections layout ...... 43 Layout and guidelines from bibliography ...... 45 Practical issues ...... 45 Layout ...... 45 Fonts ...... 50 Colour ...... 52

9 Pictures/figures and graphs...... 56 Eye tracking and fixation of the eye in poster sessions and adverts ...... 58 CHAPTER 3_EVOLUTION OF POSTERS ...... 59 3.1 How the genre is evolving ...... 59 3.2 The e-poster today ...... 66 E-poster mobile applications ...... 66 ePosteresLive by SciGen Technologies ...... 69 Digital Posters by Scolars ...... 71 Digital Posters by Lucien Mark/Paperless Events ...... 74 Multiposters by Multilearning Group ...... 78 ePosters by Digital Acumen's APPRISOR™ Services ...... 83 Eposters Gallery by Cadmium CD ...... 86 3.3 Feedback on e-posters ...... 88 3.4 Documented Evaluation of posters/e-posters ...... 97 CHAPTER 4_CONCLUSIONS ...... 103 4.1 What exactly is an e-poster or digital poster?...... 103 4.2 Hardware Compatibility ...... 103 4.3 Benefits of e-posters ...... 104 For the poster author ...... 104 For the organising committee ...... 104 For the scientific community ...... 104 For the environment ...... 105 4.4 Functions and suggestions ...... 105 Use Cases ...... 106 4.6 Author’s Conclusions and thoughts ...... 108 APPENDIX ...... 110 TABLE OF FIGURES ...... 116 REFERENCES ...... 119

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 10 CHAPTER 1_CONVENTIONS/CONFERENCES

1.1 The origins of the conference industry The world’s political leaders gathering for the latest G8 summit, the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland holding the Annual International Surgical Congress, in Manchester, the society for Clinical Vascular Surgery holding the 43rd Annual Symposium in Florida, delegates attending the 8th Annual International Symposium on Agriculture in Athens, shareholders of Microsoft or HSBC attending the company’s annual general meeting, the sales force of Bosch coming together for a regular briefing or training event – all these different events have one thing in common: They are all to do with bringing people together, both face-to-face and virtually, to exchange ideas and information, to discuss and in some cases to negotiate, to build friendships and closer business relationships, to encourage better performance by individuals and organisations. They are different facets of the same dynamic, international, economically vibrant conference industry. The terms used (conference, convention, meeting, summit, assembly, seminar, colloquium, symposium, forum, convocation, synod) may vary, and the events themselves may have different formats and emphases, but the essential ingredients and objectives are the same.

Meetings, conferences and conventions are at the forefront of modern communications. The phrase ‘conference industry’ is of very recent origin and is certainly not one that would have been heard until the second half of the twentieth century. Yet people’s need to congregate and confer is one of the things that defines our humanity and, for a multitude of different reasons, meetings and gatherings of people have taken place since the early days of civilisation. Fenich says that once humans developed permanent settlements, each town or village had a public meeting area, often called a town square, where residents could meet, talk and celebrate [1] .

Shone traces the evolution of meeting since Roman times in Britain and Ireland together with the development of meeting rooms and meeting places to accommodate such events, driven largely by the needs of trade and commerce [2].

As the nineteenth century progressed, universities increasingly provided facilities for the dissemination of information within academic circles while the boom in spa towns and, in the UK, Victorian resorts with assembly rooms, began to make available larger public space for entertainment and meetings. At the same time, the development of the railway networks was accompanied by the construction of railway hotels alongside major stations. Many of these hotels had substantial function rooms available for hire.

The situation was somewhat different in North America during the latter half of the nineteenth century, particularly across the eastern seaboard of USA where various trade and professional associations, as well as religious groups, were being formed and, as they became more established, beginning to hold conventions for their memberships. Gatrell records that, in due course, a number of committees were also created to lure the growing convention business from these expanding and thriving associations. The first convention

11 bureau was formed in 1896 in Detroit, Michigan, and an industry emerged. Detroit was shortly followed by other US cities which established their own convention bureau: Cleveland (1904), Atlantic City (1908), Denver and St Louis (1909), Louisville and Los Angeles (1910). Now many cities around the world have their own conventions bureau, or convention and visitor bureau (CVB), also known as a destination marketing organisation(DMO), and similar entities have been created at a national level to promote an entire country as a meetings, convention and business event destination [3].

Benefits: Economic and beyond of conferences In order to justify the need for investment on enhanced event related infrastructure and organiser incentives to local government authorities and other stakeholders, it became essential to estimate the economic contribution that these events would make to the host destination via the conduct of economic impact studies. A proliferation of approaches to estimating the economic impact of events appeared from the 1990s.

Since the key objective of these studies was to demonstrate maximum value, many of the evaluations undertaken adopted optimistic assumptions and used multipliers that were often higher than those used in other sectors of the economy. As a consequence of this, it became very difficult to compare the results of different studies because the bases used varied so greatly. Some stakeholders became concerned that studies were tending to overstate the economic impact of events and the credibility of these studies was damaged as a consequence.

In response to concerns that the lack of consistent definitions and data meant that it was not possible to credibly demonstrate the economic contribution of business events, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) undertook a study to set definitions, data standards and a methodology to address this problem. This study was supported by business partners Reed Travel Exhibitions, ICCA, and Meeting Professionals International (MPI). Its report entitled “Measuring the Economic Importance of the Meetings Industry” was released in 2006 and has since been used to underpin national studies in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The fact that these national studies are based on a methodology developed by the UNWTO gives them international comparability and credibility.

In May 2011, the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) convened a conference in London involving leaders from event industry associations and experts in event evaluation. The key objective of this conference was to identify a consistent method for estimating the value of business events. A report commissioned by JMIC as a result of this conference endorsed the UNWTO method and made recommendations regarding adaptations suitable for estimating the contribution of business events at sub-national levels (e.g. region or city level).

At the JMIC conference, there was unanimity amongst all stakeholders that the true value of business events extends well beyond their contribution to tourism, substantial though that

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 12 tourism expenditure may be both in absolute and per-capita terms. Put simply, coming to a new destination and staying in hotels at that destination are not the key drivers for staging events, but rather a side benefit. The reasons for staging business events include opportunities to create and disseminate knowledge, stimulate learning, enhance business performance, foster personal and professional development, increase sales, and to address major societal and environmental challenges.

Although the ‘beyond tourism value’ of business events greatly exceeds their tourism value, it tends to be out of sight; it is somewhat akin to the fact that 90 per cent of the mass of an iceberg is below the waterline. Whilst it is possible to quantify the benefits that attendees and their employers get from involvement in a business event using techniques such as Return on Investment, it is very difficult to quantify other dimensions of the beyond tourism value including the capacity building and investment benefits for the host destination. The fact that these benefits are difficult to quantify does not, however, mean that these benefits are any less real.

Unlike the tourism benefits, the beyond tourism benefits vary greatly from one event to another both in terms of category and the time it takes for the benefits to be realised. Some excellent case studies have been undertaken to highlight the beyond tourism value and a good example is the Follow-up Survey Report (2011) by the International AIDS Society on the impact of its conference that was held in Vienna in 2010. This study showed that the conference had helped “accelerate the national, regional and global response to HIV”.

A study was undertaken in Australia by Business Events Sydney that attempted to quantify the broader value of business events. This study confirmed a wide range of benefits for the host destination, delegates and exhibitors that extended well beyond tourism. Although this study showed that a large percentage of those involved with the events that were examined derived substantial broad-based benefits, it was not able to actually quantify the outcome.

Over the past couple of years, there has been growing acceptance that there are substantial ‘beyond tourism’ benefits derived from staging business events but that these are very difficult if not impossible to quantify. It is critical, therefore, that effort be focused on leveraging the potential benefits rather than spending substantial resources in trying to further quantify their magnitude [4] [5].

Non standardised terminology and definitions Dictionary etymology and definitions of the words conference and convention according to Oxforddictionaries.com, Wiktionary.org and Dictionary.com include: Conference

Etymology: 1530-40; from Middle French conférence (15c.), from Medieval Latin cōnferentia, from Latin cōnferēns, cōnferent-, from cōnferre, (to bring together); conferre, from con- 'together' + ferre 'bring'.

13 A formal meeting of people with a shared interest, typically one that takes place over several days [6].

The act of consulting together formally; serious conversation or discussion; interchange of views// (politics) A multilateral diplomatic negotiation// (sciences) A formalized event where scientists present their research results in speeches, workshops, posters or by other means// (business) An event organised by a for-profit or non-profit organisation to discuss a pressing issue, such as a new product, market trend or government regulation, with a range of speakers [7].

A meeting for consultation or discussion, an exchange of views [8].

Convention

Etymology: Recorded since c. 1440, from Middle French convention, from Latin conventiō (“meeting, assembling; agreement, convention”), from conveniō (“come, gather or meet together, assemble”), from con- (“with, together”) + veniō (“come”).

An agreement between states covering particular matters, especially one less formal than a treaty// A large meeting or conference, especially of members of a political party or a particular profession or group [9].

A meeting or gathering// A formal deliberative assembly of mandated delegates// The convening of a formal meeting [10].

A meeting or formal assembly of representatives or delegates, for discussion and action on particular matters of common concern [11].

Synonyms

Congress, meeting, convention, seminar, colloquium, symposium, forum, convocation, summit, synod, conclave, consultation.

According to Rogers one of the reasons for the limited statistics on the size and value of the industry is the lack of an accepted and properly defined terminology. At a macro level, arguments still rage over whether the term ‘business tourism’ is an accurate or appropriate one to describe a sector encompassing conferences, exhibitions and incentive travel. The link with ‘tourism’ is thought to be confusing and overlaid with a number of negative perceptions (jobs of a seasonal and poorly paid nature, for example, and dominant associations with holidays and leisure tourism). While 'business tourism' is the phrase now widely in use in Europe as the accepted generic term, in Australia the industry has adopted the term ‘business events’ to describe its essential focus.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 14 The acronym ‘MICE’ (for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions or Events) is also still in widespread use around the world, despite its somewhat unfortunate connotations. In Canada this is adjusted to MC&IT: meetings, conventions and incentive travel.

At the micro level words such as ‘conference’, ‘congress’, ‘convention’, ‘meeting’ even, are often used synonymously or indiscriminately. Other words are also used with similar but more specialised connotations, such as ‘symposium’, ‘colloquium’, ‘assembly’, ‘conclave’, ‘summit’, though it is probably only the last of these for which it might be easy to reach a consensus on its precise meaning (namely, a conference of high level officials, such as heads of government).

A first attempt was made by a number of industry professionals in 1990 to produce a ‘Meetings Industry Glossary’. A finished version of the Glossary was published in 1993 under the auspices of the Convention Liaison Council (now the convention Industry Council) and the Joint Industry Council (now the Joint Meeting Industry Council) as the ‘International Meeting Industry Glossary’. This has now evolved into an electronic glossary maintained by the Convention Industry Council as part of its Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) initiative.

The glossary’s definitions for several key industry terms, as documented on March 2015, are shown below:

Conference

• Participatory meeting designed for discussion, fact-finding, problem solving and consultation. • An event used by any organisation to meet and exchange views, convey a message, open a debate or give publicity to some area of opinion on a specific issue. No tradition, continuity or timing is required to convene a conference. Conferences are usually of short duration with specific objectives, and are generally on a smaller scale than congresses or conventions.

Convention

Gathering of delegates, representatives, and members of a membership or industry organisation convened for a common purpose. Common features include educational sessions, committee meetings, social functions, and meetings to conduct the governance business of the organisation. Conventions are typically recurring events with specific, established timing.

Congress

• The regular coming together of large groups of individuals, generally to discuss a particular subject. A congress will often last several days and will have several simultaneous sessions. The length of time between congresses is usually annual, although some are on a less frequent basis. Most international or world congresses are latter type; national congresses are more frequently held annually. • European term for convention.

15 Meeting

An event where the primary activity of the participants is to attend educational sessions, participate in discussions, social functions, or attend other organised events. There is no exhibit component [12].

The descriptions listed above help shed some light on the nature of different kinds of communications events, but it is perhaps not surprising that they have not as yet been adopted as succinct, easy-to-remember definitions in regular use within the twenty-first- century conference and convention industry.

It could be argued that the variety of available vocabulary is more a reflections of the diversity of the English language than a symptom of an industry with myriad event, each with its own distinct characteristics. At one level, it may not really matter whether an event is called a ‘conference’ or a ‘convention’ and certainly there are as many misuses of these terms as there are correct interpretations, if indeed such a thing as a correct interpretation really exists. Yet at another level, some of these terms do have a specific connotation in one part of the world, and a different connotation in another part, giving rise to potential confusion and misunderstanding. For example, the word ‘conference’ in the UK is used generically to describe events both large and small, whereas in the USA a ‘conference’ is essentially a ‘meeting’ and certainly implies an event with limited number of delegates/attendees. The word ‘ convention’ is used to describe a large event in the UK and North America, whereas many countries in mainland Europe prefer the term ‘congress’ to describe a large conference.

It is vital that any potential confusion over terminology is minimised, enabling statistics and data to be collected and interpreted in a standardised way on a worldwide level. This will allow the real size and value of the conference industry to be established and monitored [3].

Statistics Reports Although there is still a long way to go regarding terminology and statistics there are two associations that issue an annual statistics report on business events: the Union of International Associations (UIA) and the International Congress and Convention Association.

Whilst there is a considerable overlap between the events considered by ICCA and UIA for their statistics, the most important difference from a marketing point of view is that UIA’s events include those which are held in a fixed location, whereas all of ICCA’s events must rotate between at least three countries. UIA Type A category also includes intergovernmental and transnational meetings (eg. EU and UN institutions).

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 16 Union of International Associations (UIA) The Union of International Associations (UIA) is a research institute and documentation centre, based in Brussels. It was founded over one hundred years ago, in 1907, by Henri La Fontaine (Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 1913), and Paul Otlet, a founding father of what is now called information science.

Non-profit, apolitical, independent, and non-governmental in nature, the UIA has been a pioneer in the research, monitoring and provision of information on international organisations, international associations and their global challenges since 1907.

The UIA has consultative status with ECOSOC and associate status with UNESCO. Since 1949 the Union of International Associations (UIA) has published annual statistical studies on international meeting taking place worldwide. The statistics are based on information collected by the UIA Congress Department and selected according to very strict criteria.

Meetings included are divided into three types. The types are indicated by letters: type A, type B and type C. These letters have, in themselves, no significance in relation to the meetings they group, and are used merely for convenience.

Meetings taken into consideration include those organised and/or sponsored by the international organisations (i.e. non-governmental organisations-NGOs and intergovernmental organisations-IOGs) which appear in the UIA’s ‘Yearbook of International Organisations’ and ‘ International Congress Calendar’ (the UIA database) and whose details are subject to systematic collection and updates on an annual basis by the UIA. Broadly these meetings comprise the ‘sittings’ of their principal organs (notably IGOs) and their congresses, conventions, symposia, and regional sessions grouping several countries. The meetings should have a minimum of 50 participants, or be of an unknown number of participants (Type A).

Other meetings of ‘significant international character’, especially those organised by national organisations and national braches of international associations, are included provided that they meet the following criteria:

• At least 40 per cent of the participants are from countries other than the host country and at least five nationalities are represented; • The meetings last at least three days (Type B) or 2 days (Type C), or are of unknown duration; • They have at least 300 (Type B) or 250 (Type C) participants or a concurrent exhibition.

The data in UIA’s annual statistics report are drawn from the International Congress Calendar, the meetings database of the UIA. Excluded from the UIA database are:

• purely national meetings, as well as those of an exclusively religious, didactic, political, commercial or sporting nature, such as religious gatherings, courses, party conferences, sales meetings, contests, etc;

17 • meetings with strictly limited participation, such as those of subsidiary (internal) statutory bodies, committees, groups of experts, etc, of which the greatest proportion are held at an intergovernmental level and take place at the headquarters of the large IGOs; • corporate and incentive meetings, the survey of commercial activities and markets being outside the UIA’s scope.

The editors emphasise that the number of meetings in the database for a current reporting year will, on average, increase by 11% over the next year, and by 37.6% over the following five years. The UIA criteria for collection and inclusion have not changed at any point in this report’s 30 year history; only the presentation has changed [13].

At the time of producing the 2013 edition (May 2014) there were 408,798 meetings in the UIA meetings database of which 364,929 (89%) meet the criteria for inclusion in this report. Of these 364,929 meetings, 347,165 took place in 2012 or earlier, 11,135 took place in 2013, and 6,629 are scheduled for 2014 or later (Table 1.1).

Table 1.1: International Meetings Statistics Report for the year 2013. The data are drawn from the International Congress Calendar, the meetings database of the UIA

In report for 2013 In report for 2012 (published 2014) (published 2013) Total number of meetings in the UIA database 408,798 392,588 Number of those answering the criteria for inclusion in 364,929 349,089 this report Number of those taking place prior to the reporting year 347,165 332,293 Number of those taking place in the reporting year 11,135 10,498 Number of those scheduled to take place after the 6,629 6,298 reporting year Number of countries represented for all years 254 254 Number of cities represented for all years 11,642 11,445 Number of countries represented for the reporting year 174 167 Number of cities represented for the reporting year only 1,465 1,374 Source: Union of International Associations; [email protected] - www.uia.org According to UIA rankings for 2013, amongst the top 5 countries that host meetings are Singapore, USA, Korea Republic, Japan and Spain, while there is a slight modification when it comes to cities that host meetings wirh Singapore, Brussels, Vienna, Seoul, and Tokyo occupying the top 5 (Table 1.2, Table 1.3).

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 18 Table 1.2: UIA rankings: top 40 international meeting countries in 2013

Country Number of Meetings Percentage of all Meetings 1 Singapore 1132 10.2 2 USA 802 7.2 3 Korea Rep 703 6.3 4 Japan 631 5.7 5 Spain 550 5.0 6 Belgium 512 4.6 7 Austria 438 3.9 8 Germany 434 3.9 9 France 428 3.9 10 UK 352 3.2 11 Australia 296 2.7 12 Italy 294 2.6 13 Netherlands 293 2.6 14 Canada 217 2.0 15 Switzerland 216 1.9 16 China 211 1.9 17 Norway 196 1.8 18 Finland 175 1.6 19 Turkey 161 1.4 20 Malaysia 146 1.3 21 Portugal 138 1.2 22 Denmark 134 1.2 23 Hong Kong 131 1.2 24 Poland 121 1.1 25 Sweden 118 1.1 26 South Africa 114 1.0 27 Brazil 106 1.0 28 United Arab Emirates 104 0.9 29 Czech Rep 97 0.9 30 India 87 0.8 31 Indonesia 85 0.8 32 Greece 84 0.8 32= Thailand 84 0.8 34 Ireland 83 0.7 35 Russia 64 0.6 36 Mexico 63 0.6 37 Taiwan 58 0.5 38 Argentina 56 0.5 39 Hungary 54 0.5 40 Philippines 46 0.4 Total 10,014 90.3

Source: Union of International Associations; [email protected] - www.uia.org

19 Table 1.3: UIA rankings: top 40 international meeting cities in 2013

City, Country Number of Meetings Percentage of all Meetings 1 Singapore, Singapore 1132 10.2 2 Brussels, Belgium 442 4.0 3 Vienna, Austria 348 3.1 4 Seoul, Korea Rep 271 2.4 5 Tokyo, Japan 233 2.1 6 Barcelona, Spain 214 1.9 7 Madrid, Spain 189 1.7 8 Paris, France 187 1.7 9 Busan, Korea Rep 166 1.5 10 London, UK 147 1.3 11 Sydney, Australia 135 1.2 12 Hong Kong, Hong Kong 131 1.2 13 Geneva, Switzerland 126 1.1 14 Amsterdam, Netherlands 121 1.1 15 Istanbul, Turkey 104 0.9 16 Copenhagen, Denmark 100 0.9 16 = Oslo, Norway 100 0.9 18 Berlin, Germany 92 0.8 19 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 91 0.8 20 Jeju, Korea Rep 87 0.8 21 Helsinki, Finland 86 0.8 21= Montréal, Canada 86 0.8 23 Prague, Czech Rep 81 0.7 24 Dubai, UAE 80 0.7 25 Melbourne, Australia 75 0.7 26 Munich, Germany 74 0.7 26= Rome, Italy 74 0.7 28 Lisbon, Portugal 72 0.6 29 Dublin, Ireland 71 0.6 30 Beijing, China 67 0.6 31 Lyon, France 66 0.6 32 Kyoto, Japan 57 0.5 32 = Shanghai, China 57 0.5 32= Yokohama, Japan 57 0.5 35 Bangkok, Thailand 55 0.5 36 New York NY, USA 52 0.5 37 Athens, Greece 49 0.4 37= Cape Town, South Africa 49 0.4 39 Chicago IL, USA 48 0.4 40 Stockholm, Sweden 47 0.4 Total 5719 51.2

Source: Union of International Associations; [email protected] - www.uia.org

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 20 International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ICCA - The International Congress and Convention Association - represents the main specialists in organising, transporting and accommodating international meetings and events, comprising almost 1,000 member companies and organisations in over 90 countries worldwide. ICCA is an international meetings association specialised in the international association meetings market, and has been tracking international association meetings for 50 years. ICCA’s area of expertise is in the international association meetings market, but it also assists ICCA members to share knowledge on the other segments.

ICCA Statistics Reports are based on the ICCA Association Database, which means the figures cover meetings organised by international associations which:

• take place on a regular basis • rotate between a minimum of three countries • have at least 50 participants

Please note that since early 2010, ICCA has data collaboration with UIA: 4,500 regularly occurring meetings within the ICCA Association Database have been enhanced through access to supplementary UIA data [14].

Table 1.4 and Figure 1.1, representing 5-year aggregated data of the last 50 years, shows that since 1963, the number of meetings in the ICCA Association Database has grown exponentially by approximately 10% each year, which means the number of meetings doubled each 10 years. The ICCA Association Database contains 173,432 meetings taking place between 1963 and 2012. 1,795 (1%) of these meetings took place in the period 1963-1967, 54,844 (31.6%) in the period 2008-2012. Notably, this exponential growth pattern continues to show during the economic recession of the recent years.

Table 1.4: Number of meetings 1963-2012, 5-year 60000 aggregated data 50000 Year Meetings 63-67 1,795 40000 68-72 2,695 73-77 4,057 30000 78-82 5,977 83-87 8,585 20000 88-92 12,260 93-97 16,861 10000 98-02 25,535 03-07 40,823 0 08-12 54,844 63-6768-7273-7778-8283-8788-9293-9798-0203-0708-12 Total 173,432 Figure 1.1: Number of meetings 1963-2012, 5-year aggregated data

21 In the last 50 years, Europe consistently attracted the highest number of meetings per region. However, Europe’s market share has shrunk from 72.3% in 1963-1967 to 54.0% in 2008-2012. Asia/Middle East has seen a rise in relative popularity over the past decade, almost being a counter mirror for Europe; The market share of meetings in Asia/Middle East has grown from 8.2% in 1963-1967 to 18.2% in the last half decade. Latin America’s market share has grown from 4.2 to 10.0% in the same period. Despite ups and downs North America is still the third most popular region. Africa’s and Oceania’s market share are both fluctuating, but Africa’s market share shows growth in the last 25 years (Table 1.5, Figure 1.2. ). These changes mirror the changes to the mix of ICCA’s membership, where the percentage of European members is slowly declining whilst Asia represents 20% of the total.

Table 1.5: Number of meetings per region

Continent 63-67 68-72 73-77 78-82 83-87 88-92 93-97 98-02 03-07 08-12 Europe 72.3% 67.1% 63.2% 61.2% 59.4% 59.7% 56.4% 55.6% 54.9% 54.0% Asia/Middle 8.2% 9.1% 10.1% 11.9% 12.8% 13.6% 15.5% 15.1% 17.2% 18.2% East North 13.0% 14.8% 15.7% 16.5% 16.7% 15.4% 15.4% 14.8% 13.1% 12.0% America Latin 4.2% 5.4% 6.0% 5.5% 6.1% 6.2% 6.9% 7.9% 8.9% 10% America Africa 0.9% 1.6% 2.6% 2.6% 2.2% 2.1% 2.5% 2.9% 3.0% 3.3% Oceania 1.4% 2.1% 2.4% 2.3% 2.8% 3.1% 3.4% 3.7% 3.0% 2.5% Totals 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

80.00%

70.00%

60.00% Europe 50.00% Asia/Middle East 40.00% North America 30.00% Latin America Africa 20.00% Oceania 10.00%

0.00%

Figure 1.2: Market share per region by number of meetings

Due to the numbers of meetings growing exponentially in the past half century, we can also see a trend in growing total numbers of participants, despite the average meeting size getting smaller: The estimated total number of participants of all meetings has grown from just over 2 million in the period 1963-1968 to almost 22 million in 2008-2012 (Table 1.6, Figure 1.3. ).

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 22 Table 1.6: Estimated total number of participants 25000000

Year Participants 20000000 63-67 2,069,060 68-72 2,707,543 15000000 73-77 3,141,762 78-82 4,048,112 10000000 Participants 83-87 4,997,936 88-92 6,816,187 5000000 93-97 9,018,874 98-02 12,596,377 03-07 17,325,864 0 08-12 21,962,221 Total Figure 1.3: Estimated total number of participants

Technological meetings show highest relative growth in the last 50 years: from 6,2% of all meetings in the first 5 years to 14,5% in the last. Throughout the past 50 years Medical Sciences has always been the most popular subject matter: 17,2% of all meetings in the last 5 years were about Medical Sciences. Although the absolute numbers of meetings organised on this subject kept on increasing over the past 50 years, the relative popularity shrunk over the last decade. A similar trend could be seen for the third favourite subject: Science, which was the second most popular subject for the first 4 decades. Its second place has been taken over by Technology in the last decade. Another notable riser is Ecology & Environment. However, fewer meetings are being organised on Agriculture (from 5,0% to 2,8%) and Sports & Leisure (from 4,5% to 1,8%) (Table 1.7, Figure 1.4.).

Table 1.7: Subject matters by relative number of meetings

Meeting 63-67 68-72 73-77 78-82 83-87 88-92 93-97 98-02 03-07 08-12 Subject Medical 16.5% 17.3% 17.3% 18.1% 18.5% 19.1% 19.3% 19.0% 17.7% 17.2% Sciences Technology 6.2% 6.9% 8.2% 8.8% 9.7% 10.6% 12.0% 13.3% 14.1% 14.5% Science 13.3% 14.1% 15.3% 15.4% 15.1% 15.4% 15.3% 14.7% 13.8% 13.0% Industry 7.7% 7.9% 8.0% 8.0% 8.2% 7.6% 7.1% 6.8% 7.2% 6.8% Education 3.8% 4.4% 4.6% 4.5% 4.5% 4.7% 5.0% 5.2% 5.5% 5.8% Social Sciences 6.2% 6.0% 6.2% 6.2% 5.9% 5.8% 5.4% 5.3% 5.2% 5.1% Economics 4.0% 4.3% 4.0% 3.7% 3.8% 3.8% 3.8% 3.9% 4.3% 4.4% Management 3.5% 3.1% 3.3% 3.1% 3.0% 2.9% 3.2% 3.3% 3.8% 3.9% Transport & 4.3% 3.7% 3.7% 3.7% 3.6% 3.3% 3.0% 2.9% 3.4% 3.6% Communication Culture & Ideas 4.4% 3.6% 3.1% 3.1% 3.2% 3.1% 2.8% 3.0% 3.0% 3.1% Commerce 3.7% 3.3% 3.2% 3.2% 3.2% 3.0% 3.1% 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% Agriculture 4.9% 4.9% 4.1% 4.1% 3.6% 3.4% 3.3% 3.0% 2.8% 2.8% Law 2.8% 2.7% 2.5% 2.2% 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 2.0% 2.3% 2.5% Ecology & 1.5% 1.7% 1.7% 1.6% 1.7% 1.7% 1.9% 2.0% 2.2% 2.4% Environment Sports & 4.6% 4.0% 3.3% 2.8% 2.8% 2.7% 2.3% 2.0% 1.7% 1.8% Leisure Others 12.7% 12.1% 11.6% 11.4% 11.4% 11.2% 10.8% 10.7% 10.1% 10.2% Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

23 25.00%

20.00%

Medical Sciences 15.00% Technology Science 10.00% Industry Education 5.00% Social Sciences Economics 0.00% Management

Figure 1.4: Subject matters by relative number of meetings

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 24 1.2 Segmentation The conferences market (national or international) can be segmented in many different ways. It can be segmented by the size of the conferences, by the kind of people who visit the conferences, by the purpose of the conferences and by many more criteria. However, the main criterion a supplier uses to segment the market is by the initiator of the conference. The initiator determines what kind of conference is organised and the kind of supplier services needed. When segmenting the international conferences market by initiator, two primary markets can be defined: the corporate market and the non-corporate market. The latter consists of national/international governmental organisations and national/international nongovernmental organisations or associations.

Conferences National or International

Corporate Conferences Association Conferences

Internal Conferences Governmental Organisations

External Conferences Non-Governmental Organisations (Associations) National/International In/External Conferences

Figure 1.5: Conferences Segmentation

Characteristics of the association market

The association market covers a wide range of event types and categories: medical conferences (the largest segment); scientific; other academic; trade organisations; professional bodies; social groupings. In terms of size, budget, duration and complexity there are massive variations between and also within categories. However, some similarities can be identified:

• Almost every ‘specialty’ has an association which holds one or more conferences.

• Most associations have conferences that are repeated at regular intervals. These can be annual, biennial etc.

• The destinations rotate. They rarely return to the same destination within very short time-span.

25 • The initiative to host a conference often comes from the local counterpart, e.g. the national association. If that body is difficult to motivate to organise the conference, the chances are high that the conference will be scheduled elsewhere.

• Association conferences have a very long leadtime; it is not unusual to find lead times of 5 years or more.

• It is estimated that a growing minority of about 25-30% of the decision-making processes no longer include an official bidding procedure, but have a 'central initiator' who selects the location and venues based on pre-determined and strict criteria.

It is estimated that there are approximately 23,000 different association conferences organised on a regular basis. The ICCA Association Database has collected information on approximately 80% of them [14].

Conferences can also be segmented by the field of study or discipline they are referring to. Again many different categorisations can exist since proper criteria for organising knowledge into disciplines are also open to debate. In Table 1.8 a discipline categorisation includes Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Formal Sciences and Professions [15].

Table 1.8: Discipline segmentation of conferences

Discipline Sub-discipline 1 Humanities Human history, Linguistics, Literature, Arts, Philosophy, Religion 2 Social Sciences Anthropology, Archaeology, Area studies, Cultural and ethnic studies, Economics, Gender and sexuality studies, Geography, Political science, Psychology, Sociology 3 Natural Sciences Biology, Chemistry, Earth sciences, Physics, Space sciences 4 Formal Sciences Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, Computer sciences, Logic, Statistics, Systems science 5 Professions Agriculture, Architecture and design, Business, Education, Engineering, Environmental studies and forestry, Family and consumer science, Journalism, media studies and communication, Law, Library and museum studies, Medicine, Military sciences, Public administration, Social work, Technology, Transportation

Types of conferences A conference may last a few hours or several days. It may be a one-time event, or a regular (usually annual) fixture on participants’ schedules. It may be held at the YMCA down the street, or in a hotel in Paris or Barcelona or San Francisco. It may also be one of several types:

Academic conferences Most academic conferences are centered around a single subject, and sometimes on a single topic within that subject. The format usually involves graduate students and academics presenting their research, work, and theories, and defending, expanding, or changing them in response to questions, criticism, and other feedback from colleagues. Generally annual,

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 26 these conferences are often sponsored by the professional organisation of the discipline involved, and may be held in a different city each year.

Professional association conferences These are similar to academic conferences in some ways, but presentations tend to be focused more on practical issues, both having to do with the actual work participants do, and with regulations, funding, and other forces that affect the profession. Professional associations in the U.S. may exist at state, national, and, sometimes, international levels, and each of these levels may hold a yearly conference. Both of these types of conferences may also be used to conduct organisation or association business – election of officers, approval of bylaw changes, annual meetings, etc. – and to present awards and honors.

Training conferences A training conference may be run by a professional association, but is at least as likely to be conducted by an industry or industry organisation, a state or federal agency, or a local coalition or initiative. As might be expected, its purpose is training, and so it might include workshops on methods and techniques, information on new regulations, or simply an exchange of experience and methods among people from a number of different organisations. Another possibility for nonprofits is a conference run by a manufacturer or supplier to teach participants how to use products their organisations have purchased.

Issue- or problem-related conferences These might be convened by almost any association, organisation, institution, or citizens’ group to focus on a particular concern. Such conferences range from “Education Summits” called by the President of the U.S. and attended by politicians, school superintendents from large cities, and eminent thinkers (but often no teachers or students), to local-coalition- sponsored events focusing on child abuse in the community. The purpose here may be to inform and energize people about the issue, to create a critical mass of concern about it, or to develop strategies for approaching it. Depending on the issue’s importance and the enthusiasm of the participants, this kind of conference can turn into an annual event.

Why organise a conference There are a number of reasons you might organise a conference, some practical, some idealistic, some political, and some with elements of all three. • There’s an issue that needs examining. The example of childhood asthma at the beginning of this section fits into this category. Organising a conference may both respond to and help to emphasise the urgency of dealing with the issue. • The field needs a conference. There are several possible reasons for this: - The field may be a new one, and still lack a clear identity. A conference could bring together the people who are building it, and help to define it. - The field may not be cohesive. People in it may not know one another, may disagree on methods or other issues, or may simply not realize how many others have similar interests. A conference could bring them together and create networks that would expand and improve the work. - There may be new research findings, work, ideas, methods or information (new regulations, etc.) that need to be shared.

27 - People may need to be energised, and to know they’re not alone. The field may be reeling from budget cuts or revelations of illegal or unethical practice on the parts of some. A conference may serve to refocus energy, provide a forum for solving some of the problems that have come to light, and simply give participants a chance to demonstrate mutual support. • Your organisation or group wants to start an annual gathering. You think that an issue, a field, a community, or a particular group of people is important enough that it needs to have an annual conference focused on it. • There’s a crisis or opportunity that should be addressed. A conference may deal with a huge drop or a huge increase in funding for the field, for instance, or with the fact that a standard practice has been shown to be ineffective or dangerous. Opportunities here might include an opportunity to advance knowledge or practical application in the field. A hot issue may bring funding to study or try certain things, for instance, or may attract new participants or funders. • You may want to establish the legitimacy of the field. Especially if your work has only existed for a few years – or less – you may want a conference to confirm that there are large numbers of people engaged in it; that most of them have respectable credentials; and that the field is not out on the crazy fringe, but has a solid intellectual and philosophical foundation. • Feedback from the field or the community may demand it. People may clearly express their desire for training, networking, or other benefits that a conference can provide. • A funder may demand it. Some of the funding for an organisation or coalition may come earmarked for a conference, or organising a conference may be a condition of funding for your work. • You may want to enlist people to advance the field, either through their work or through advocacy. A conference can provide instruction and motivation to that end. • It’s a matter of prestige, credibility, or credentials for you or your organisation. For academics, for instance, the act of organising a conference itself may bring prestige. The fact that you can gather people from your discipline – or, better yet, from a variety of disciplines – establishes you as an important person in your field. The same may be true for a community organisation, a hospital or clinic, a coalition, or any number of other organisations or institutions. Organising a conference can establish you as a voice of reason or a leading authority in the field, which, in turn, can bring funding and requests for collaboration that can improve your work. • It’s part of your job. Some staff and board positions in professional associations, government agencies, coalitions, foundations, or educational institutions come with the organising and running of an annual conference as part of their job description.

Who organises conferences We’ve said that many different kinds of organisations, groups, and institutions might find themselves in the position of organising a conference. Some of the more common examples are: • Professional associations and organisations. These might include associations that represent: - Academic disciplines (economics, education)

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 28 - Licensed or certified professions (psychology, social work, nursing, law) - Special interest groups within professions (environmental law, family therapy) - Line workers within professions (home health aides, independent living advisors) • Government agencies. Government agencies at many levels run conferences for their own employees, usually for purposes of training and information-sharing. They may also run conferences as funders – bidders’ conferences to help potential funding applicants understand a bidding process, for instance, or conferences to explain new regulations or other important information to funded groups. • Coalitions. Whether at the local, state, or national level, coalitions often find that conferences are good vehicles for highlighting and strategising about issues, planning for the future, or motivating advocacy. • Individual organisations. A local organisation such as a mental health centre, a hospital, or a parenting teens program may host a conference focused on its issue, or on a community-wide problem that concerns it and other organisations and agencies as well. A statewide or national organisation may organise a conference for its own members.

When is a conference organised • When you want to educate the field, a particular group, or the public about an issue. You might organise a legislative conference to which you invite lawmakers, experts in the field, and practitioners to discuss a policy issue. A local coalition might convene a conference centered on a local issue, and invite people from all sectors of the community to learn and strategize about it. • When you want to gather people with expertise to tackle an issue that needs to be addressed, or to work on a problem. • When new work in the field needs to be publicized. A conference is sometimes the best way to get the word out. • When you want to energize or re-energize people about their work. Having the chance to discuss the work with others in the same circumstances, and to remember why they’re doing it are powerful encouragements to keep going. • Annually, to bring the field, profession, coalition, or interest group together to learn, network, celebrate successes, and work through challenges. Annual conferences serve a variety of purposes, not the least of which is to define the group and to create solidarity [16].

29 1.3 Academic/Scientific Conference From this wide range of conferences we will focus more on the academic/scientific conference.

Academic conference description An academic conference is a conference for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their work and research results, ideas, problems or theories related to a particular topic through presentations, speeches, workshops, posters and other activities, usually for several days on a single subject, and sometimes on a single topic within that subject. A major focus of academic conferences, besides the exchange of ideas, is networking, which, in academia as elsewhere, is a key to collaboration, funding, employment, and other professional benefits. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.

General Structure The structure and contents of conferences can vary greatly, but a typical framework would include various presentations of work and/or ideas about a given topic. These presentations tend to be short and concise, with a time span of about 10 to 30 minutes; presentations are usually followed by a discussion. The work may be bundled in written form as academic papers and published as the conference proceedings. Usually a conference will include keynote speakers, often, scholars of some standing, but sometimes individuals from outside academia. Conferences might be single track or multiple track, where the former has only one session at a time, while a multiple track has several parallel sessions with speakers in separate rooms speaking at the same time. In addition to presentations, conferences also feature panel discussions, workshops, round tables on various issues, poster exhibits or poster sessions, graphic, multimedia or product exhibits that participants can also view independently. In large conferences, academic publishing houses may set up displays, or you may find a career and job search along with interview activities. At some conferences, social or entertainment activities such as tours and receptions can be part of the program. The conference is announced by way of a Call For Papers (CFP) or a Call For Abstracts, which is sent to prospective presenters and explains how to submit their abstracts or papers. These will be reviewed before the presentation is accepted for the conference. Some disciplines require presenters to submit a paper of about 6-15 pages, which is peer reviewed by members of the program committee or referees chosen by them. CFP describes the broad theme and lists the conference's topics and formalities such as what kind of abstract (summary) or paper has to be submitted, to whom, and by what deadline. A CFP is usually distributed using a mailing list or on specialised online services. Contributions are usually submitted using an online abstract or paper management service. In disciplines, such as English and other languages, it is common for presenters to read from a prepared script. In other disciplines such as the sciences, presenters usually base their talk around a visual presentation that displays key figures and research results.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 30 Academic conferences fall into three categories: • The themed conference, small conferences organised around a particular topic. • The general conference, a conference with a wider focus, with sessions on a wide variety of topics. These conferences are often organised by regional, national, or international learned societies, and held annually or on some other regular basis. • The professional conference, large conferences not limited to academics but with academically related issues.

Who attends Most academic conference attract mainly researchers and scientists with different levels of familiarity with the topic. Depending on the subject and discipline a conference may be attended by academic faculty or staff, trainees, community providers, community researchers, and private companies operating in the field. The number of participants can vary greatly, being anything from 20 people to some thousands.

Who organises Many different kinds of organisations, groups, and institutions might find themselves in the position of organising a conference. Conferences are usually organised either by a scientific society or by a group of researchers with a common interest. Larger meetings may be handled on behalf of the scientific society by a Professional Conference Organiser or PCO. [1]

Where it takes place Conferences are usually held in places other than the workplaces and neighbourhoods of their participants, so that the people attending can focus on the topic at hand without distractions. Many conferences are held in another area of the country or the world in conference rooms of hotels and universities or in convention centres. A conference may also be held online, or virtually. Teleconferences bring people together through live video feeds, allowing people to discuss issues, hear presentations, network, and otherwise do many of the things they might do at a conference, without leaving their homes or offices. Similar situations can be set up using the Internet, projectors, and web cams and microphones. Increasing numbers of amplified conferences are being provided which exploit the potential of WiFi networks and mobile devices in order to enable remote participants to contribute to discussions and listen to ideas

Conferences can be held on almost any topic, can be tiny, huge, or in between, and can be run by any number of organisations, groups, or institutions. [17] [18]

31 CHAPTER 2_PRESENTATION/SESSION TYPES The final step in the research process is the presentation of finding so that others are aware on the results [19]. It is unproductive to spend time conducting research and then fail to inform others of the findings. Submitting research papers for publishing is the most important method of dissemination, however it can be lengthy. By the time the article is published, the findings might be outdated, as the reviewing, editing and publishing process can take up to 5 years. Add to this the time spent conducting the research and writing the final product, and a significant time period has transpired [20]. Academic/scientific conferences have been identified as more influential than print media in disseminating research [21] as they offer the option of presenting research even if it is not in a final or published stage and encourage interaction. An accepted proposal for a single paper presentation (prepared by one or more authors) can be assigned to one of the various types of sessions as mentioned in the previous chapter. In the first and most prominent position are the oral presentations (usually themed). Conferences also feature panel discussions, workshops, round tables on various issues, poster exhibits or poster sessions, graphic, multimedia or product exhibits. Every conference has a structure of its own and might include one, two, all or even new presentations types not mentioned here, costumised for the event. Presentation types differ among disciplines and can potentially have different impact on the attendees. In certain human sciences, such as applied linguistics, history or philosophy, the role of visuals may be minimal [22], but across much of the disciplinary spectrum conference presenters are expected to provide some kind of visual support, whether in the form of a PPT, a poster or a simple handout [23]. For example, those in the humanities typically read their papers aloud at conferences, while social scientists give summary presentations of longer works. In the medical discipline, sessions that enhance participant activity and provide the opportunity to practice skills can effect change in professional practice. Contrary to didactic sessions which do not appear to be effective in changing physician performance [24] [25].

The Oral Presentation/ Themed Session This type of session is best suited for reports on completed research or scholarly work. Authors present summaries or overviews of their work, describing the essential features (related to purpose, procedures, outcomes or product). The formal oral presentation of work varies between 15-30 minutes and takes place in the main conference room as a plenary session. Presentations are grouped according to topic or perspective into these themed sessions (which are usually either 75 or 100 minutes), with time provided after all of the presentations for Q&A and group discussion. Authors are welcome to include visual supports (paper handouts, computer slides, or digital displays) to assist delivery of their oral presentation.

Roundtable Session This type of session is best suited for position papers, reviews of theoretical or conceptual frameworks, works-in-progress, policy analyses, or topics that generate, or benefit from, extended discussion. Authors are each assigned a numbered table in a large meeting room for the full session (usually about 40 minutes), during which time they converse and interact with interested delegates who join them at their table. The discussion may begin with the

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 32 author presenting a synopsis of their work, to generate discussion on the topic. It is an oral presentation followed by the presenter facilitating/workshopping discussion with participants in groups seated around a table. Authors are encouraged to bring copies of their papers and/or a short handout summarizing their work for distribution at their tables. Multiple authors of a single paper may participate, and one article per roundtable may be submitted for publication. Roundtables are an ideal format for networking and in-depth discussion on a particular topic.

Panel Session/Discussion Panel sessions usually involve up to five panellists commenting on a specific topic or challenge, in a discussion moderated by a session chair. Since they are more open and interactive than a paper session, they are especially good for a problem-oriented approach to a topic which encourages panellists to take different perspectives, offer different solutions and generally open out the topic. Panellists are experts in a particular issue, topic, technology, strategy or they represent an institution, department or company.

Workshop This type of session is best suited for teaching or demonstrating particular procedures, skills, or techniques. Appropriate considerations for this session format may include, for example: a workshop, demonstration, performance, exhibition, staged conversation, debate, or extended dialogue with the audience. These sessions are scheduled for about 45 minutes and should be structured so that some explanatory or introductory information is provided, with ample time for audience interaction, participation, and involvement. The emphasis of most workshops is on their practical nature. Their purpose is for participants to experience a strategy, a technique or a practical demonstration, and to have opportunities to question the value or workability of what is being presented.

Poster and Poster Session (poster talk, poster presentation, poster discussion) A research poster is a display that describes late-breaking or otherwise novel and interesting results to the overall community at large. Messages disseminated through poster presentations often represent new research findings [26]. Displays may be posters (various sizes, usually an A1 or A0 or 1.22x1.83 meters/4x6 feet), digital/computer displays, artwork, or other visual media. The goal is to give novel but not necessarily mature work a chance to be seen by other researchers and practitioners and to be discussed at the conference. This format is ideal for presenting preliminary results of work in progress or for projects that lend themselves to visual displays and representations (including diagrams, text, references or visuals). Posters can be displayed for the length of the conference or for a single day [23]. Poster presenters are given a dedicated/designated space (e.g. large pinboard or equivalent presentation opportunity) to put up material describing, displaying or exhibiting their work. A dedicated time slot, the poster session (30-90 minutes), is reserved for a large number or all poster presenters to be available at their designated space and engage in informal discussion about their work with other delegates and interested parties throughout the session. These are designated periods during the meeting when presenters stand by their posters while conference attendees circulate through the room.

33 Again it can have different structures; it can be a poster talk that gives the audience a chance to question the poster creator at a specified time, a poster presentation featuring a number of posters (four to ten) on a single theme displayed at a specific time. Each poster creator gives a short talk (5 minutes) on his or her project. The presentation may have a chairperson facilitating it, keeping the timings, encouraging questions and discussion afterwards. Poster discussions also include 4-6 posters on a single theme displayed at a specific time. Conference-goers circulate around the room, questioning and collecting handouts from presenters [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32].

All types of sessions support the interaction between participants (authors, presenters, panellists, attendees), the lack of which could be a limitation to dissemination of information. As Huberman argues ‘a study to exert strong conceptual influence on practitioners, interactions between researchers and practitioners must occur’ [33].

2.1 Poster and Poster Session Focus We will focus on the poster and the poster session. Its purpose, guidelines, advantages and disadvantages compared to the oral presentation, the audience and the area it will be displayed, the different formats, layouts and bad examples. A search on Google™ using the phrase ‘research poster’ yielded almost 18,700,000 hits, a potentially overwhelming array of resources. A similar search in SCOPUS and pubMed, with the phrases ‘poster’ found over 14,300 documents and ‘research poster’ counted over 3,000 documents, ranging from actual posters presented in a conference, articles on how-to tips and techniques to discussions of how to use posters as a tool for professional development in the workplace and more. Posters are a key component of communicating science and an important element in a successful scientific career. Posters, while delivering the same high-quality science, offer a different medium from either oral presentations [34] or published papers [35], and should be treated accordingly. They are a hybrid of a published paper and an oral presentation which gives them a unique format nature, however posters carry a potential which is not currently being realised. The purpose of a poster is to outline a piece of work in a form that is easily assimilated and stimulates interest and discussion. The ultimate aim is a fruitful exchange of ideas between the presenter and the people reading the poster [36]. Posters should be considered a snapshot of work intended to engage colleagues in a dialog about the work, or, if author is not present, to be a summary that will encourage the reader to want to learn more. Many lifelong collaborations [37] have begun in front of a poster board. The poster is a visual representation of information that needs to effectively communicate the research and convey the results of research activities as to promote the scientific achievements of the poster's presenter [38] [39]. Poster sessions, pioneered in Europe, made their first appearance at a major US meeting in Minneapolis in 1974 (Biochemistry/biophysics Meeting, cosponsored by the America Society of Biological Chemists and Biophysical Society) and have been evolving ever since [40].

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 34 Poster and Poster Session examples The Neuroscience 2009 Conference, running from 17th-21st October 2009 was the largest conference of the year for Neuroscientists, hosted by the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) at the McCormick Place convention centre in Chicago, Illinois. The conference week hosted 15,000 posters across nine sessions (Figure 2.1, Figure 2.2). There were also special lectures, exhibitions and a whole series of symposia, minisymposia and even nanosymposia [41] [42].

Figure 2.1: Posters (rows A-H) in one of the nine poster sessions at Neuroscience 2009

Figure 2.2: Posters in rows U-HH at Neuroscience 2009

35 In the Celebration of Research 2015 organised by the College of Medicine, University of Florida on 9th -13th February 2015, 451 posters were displayed, 18 of which were on screens (Figure 2.3, Figure 2.4, Figure 2.5) [43].

Figure 2.3: Posters in the Celebration of Research

Figure 2.4: Posters in the Celebration of Research 2015 (E-posters on the back)

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 36

Figure 2.5: Poster Session in the Celebration of Research 2015

The International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS 2014)/ 35th Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing (35th CSRS) held on 13th -18th July 2014 in Quebec, Canada also hosted posters and poster sessions (Figure 2.6) [44].

Figure 2.6: Posters in IGARSS2014

37 The International Conference on Technology and Instrumentation in Particle Physics - TIPP 2014 held on 2nd-6th June 2014 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands featured posters and poster sessions (Figure 2.7) [45].

Figure 2.7: Posters in TIPP 2014

Finally the 35th American Indian Workshop on 21st-25th May 2014 in Leiden, the Netherlands, held poster sessions in the Humanities (Figure 2.8) [46].

Figure 2.8: Posters in the 35th American Indian Workshop

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 38 Importance The poster exhibition is an established element of medical meetings which often receives little attention. In documented poster exhibitions very few delegates (<5%) visited posters. Only a minority read them and fewer asked useful questions. Recall of content was so poor that it prevented identification of factors improving their memorability [47]. Participation in another poster exhibition was also very low. Despite this, their scientific value was esteemed high by young authors and the poster chairpersons. Almost a third (29.4%) of posters had been displayed at other meetings. Several attendees (55.4%) and poster presenters (49.1%) say they would welcome the opportunity for personal one-on-one discussion at the poster in addition to poster viewing. Almost half of the authors were in favour of the formal system of moderated poster presentations by chairpersons. The option of additional personal discussion with the poster presenter may lead to an increase of the rather modest participation of attendees at poster exhibitions, which are of value in particular for young scientists and poster chairpersons. The time spans reported by conference visitors for individual study of individual posters show that 94.1% of conference delegates spent 3 to 9 minutes on independent study of a poster. [48]

On the effectiveness of poster presentations on knowledge transfer, a state of the art review on the literature (published until 2012) concludes that: • Poster presentations achieve success in increasing knowledge, changing attitudes and behaviour when integrated with a suite of educational interventions. However there is no study that directly compares the effectiveness of poster presentations to other educational interventions in achieving knowledge transfer. Most studies utilised a before/after methodology, with the common conclusion that posters elicit greatest effectiveness in knowledge transfer when integrated with other educational modalities • Given their common use within the academic and public health fields, there is a need for comparative studies to assess the effectiveness of posters in knowledge transfer as the first step in establishing an evidence base on this topic area. • Although superficial, the graphical design and physical appearance of the poster can determine its success in promoting knowledge transfer. The factors that increase visual appeal include pictures, graphs, and a limited use of words. [47] Often, a participant’s perception of the quality of the research is influenced by the overall appearance of the poster. A good poster cannot rescue a bad idea, but a poor one can easily sink the best ideas as well as the viewer’s impression of the author [49] [50]

Advantages Many participants attending concurrent sessions are passive and fail to challenge assumptions or the content of presentations [51]. Poster presentations offer a less threatening environment for interactions to occur. According to Gray, posters are a good way of introducing an individual to presenting material at conferences, and allows one to present ideas to others on a one-to-one basis [52]. They can attract attention, create interaction with participants, stimulate interest and impart information [53], and are viewed as less intimidating as they provide a collegial, nonthreatening and more relaxed atmosphere in which the exchange of information occurs [54] [55]. Poster presentations provide an excellent starting point for the novice presenter who may feel less intimidated in presenting a visual paper [55]. Posters also offer sight

39 recognition of the researcher(s); and immediate feedback from others who are interested in the research area can be invaluable in refining the research and preparing for publication in a peer reviewed journal [56]. An effective poster delivers a clear message but is primarily a visual communication tool which operates on multiple levels: as a summary of research findings, as a source of information, practice development initiatives and as a conversation starter. Choosing an idea that is visually clear, appeals to the eye and conveys a message is challenging for many presenters. Posters typically include similar content sections as concurrent papers but the emphasis is on the visual impact which allows material to be presented in a more creative way. In contrast, oral presentations often focus on the presenter’s skills, the mechanism used to support the presentation; thus, the real message may be lost to most of the audience. From the organiser’s perspective, posters make efficient use of time and space. Attendees can peruse many offerings, quickly grasp essentials, and access experts for questions not appropriate in large venues. Posters are also handy because they can be viewed while you are off at a bar and even after the conference if you find some hallway real estate to pin them up on. Finally, presenting a poster is especially recommended if you are bad at public speaking [57] [58].

Audience The audience includes people with different levels of familiarity with the topics and methods. According to Woolsey there are three categories of readers in most audiences [59] [60].

Table 2.1: Categories of readers

Categories of readers Characteristics 1 People in your field of specialisation, No special efforts are required to attract them. including your competitors. They will read whatever you present, no matter how well or poorly you present it. 2 People in fields closely related to They will require that you supply context for yours are worth capturing, because your work. They are likely to be unfamiliar with they can have interesting insights and your jargon. perspectives about your work. 3 People in unrelated fields can be They require you to explain the problem and attracted by an accessible message, the solution. They will not understand your and provide valuable insights and links jargon. to distant fields.

The amount of different readers depends also on the type of meeting and its specialisation. In specialists only meeting you can assume a high level of disciplinary knowledge, use jargon, and take other presentation shortcut (e.g. Symposium on the Behavioural Ecology of Ants). In a wide-ranging discipline you can assume familiarity with the discipline in general, but there are so many sub-specialties that jargon is to be avoided and language simplified (e.g. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting). While in a very general audience meeting, you cannot assume familiarity with any discipline and must explain everything in the most basic terms (e.g. town-hall meeting on wildlife conservation).

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 40 Publication Rate Publication is the desired end point of scientific research. Ultimately, it is desired that research presented in poster format at a scientific conference will be developed into a report and become published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Statistical studies gave a number of results when different parameters were applied (time or type of conference). One study shows a publication rate of abstracts accepted in conferences at 36.7% in a period of 12-15 months. Experimental studies with a publication rate of 50.9%, showed better results than clinical studies (36.0%) while abstracts of oral presentations were published significantly more often than poster abstracts (P<0.001). Another study shows that only 45% of abstracts end in full paper, while this percentage increases in a 9-years’ time to 50%-60%. A third study indicates that 24% poster presentations were ultimately published in 1 out of 32 medical journals (25 peer- reviewed) within a weighted mean of 17.6 months. Once more the publication rate of poster presentations was lower than the one of oral presentations. Only a few of the posters presented at the conferences will be valid because they will not survive the rigors of publication more than half of the times (approximately 65%). However posters carry a potential which is not currently being realised. Additionally, more stringent selection criteria should be used so that the selected poster presentations can ultimately withstand the publication process. The process of selecting abstracts for poster presentations and how sessions are organised ought to be re-examined [57] [61] [62] [63].

Poster Perception: The ‘Hidden Curriculum’? MacIntosh-Murray illustrates the hidden curriculum by quoting opinions and discussions she heard while attending an international conference. This refers to professional attitudes and academic cultural values, in this case related to the worth of poster compared to oral presentations [64] [65] [66]. One participant rhymed off a hierarchy of presentations with posters at the bottom, calling this the ‘hidden curriculum’, ‘You don’t tell anybody if you’ve had a poster rejected!’. Many posters are poor research, he continued, and he will often just look at the topics in the list and if there is something of interest he will contact the authors or wait until the research is further along and published (if the research is in early stages). The comments from several of the students in the case study echo exactly those opinions: ‘The better proposals get accepted for oral presentation and everyone else gets a poster. And most of them, I’ve never heard of anybody ever getting rejected for a poster. You get accepted for an oral, and the rejection is getting a poster!’ Others described poster presentations as second class and as the consolation prize. One student commented that more senior researchers send others to do posters and simply do not go to a conference if they do not give an oral presentation. While being allocated a poster may be second class in some conferences, in others having a poster accepted was considered a worthy accomplishment. Because of the perceived difference in prestige and quality, the students observed that orals were largely the preferred mode for conference presentations. This is underscored by Shalom: ‘The basic distinction between the two forms of presentation [the paper and the poster] seems to be in the standing of the scientist and the importance and conclusiveness of the research, the paper being seen as the more significant contribution’ [67]. Dubois

41 speculates that posters may ‘suffer in esteem because of their popularising function’ [68]. Presenters may attempt to appeal to non-specialists as well as to their peers, resulting in content that may appear to be unsophisticated. After commenting on the perceived difference in status, two of the students said that they still chose to do posters when given the option, because they valued the chance for in-depth discussion. Another will continue doing poster presentations ‘because you cannot avoid posters, you have no choice, and it is a way to show your research.’ The two themes of prestige and quality are combined in the message conveyed to the students when they hear new investigators (who may be role models) decide that ‘if my paper is not accepted as an oral, I won’t attend the conference.’ Many conference Web sites and tips and techniques articles emphasise the importance of actually attending to present a poster once it has been accepted (e.g., American Library Association, 2003). They make an appeal to the presenters’ sense of obligation to not let down the prospective audience, reminding them that others who were turned down would have taken their place. What does not showing up say about the poster as a genre and how it is valued? One faculty member pointed out that conference travel to make poster presentations may not be funded, whereas oral presentations are more likely to be. Or at the other end of the spectrum, is this also an indicator of less scrupulous behaviour behind the scenes, such as citing the unpresented poster as an accepted abstract in one’s CV? Inadequate peer review of posters may also contribute to their reputation as presenting poor quality research. In an opinion piece in the British Medical Journal, Leach was very critical of the lack of peer review and the quality of posters at a world congress he had attended [69]. He pointed out the risk of unscrupulous people submitting abstracts to get publications based on ‘work that might never have been seen in public, let alone subject to adequate peer review.’ The concern that poster sessions are used as a way for conference organisers to increase attendance does not help the situation. The context and location of poster sessions at conferences also send a strong message. The timing, the number of other concurrent activities, the physical space, and the sound level may diminish the experience. Some poster sessions are held over the lunch or coffee break, so presenters may be competing against more appealing coffee and networking, which Shalom describes as social genres [70]. On the conference there are many challenges, beyond the poster authors’ control, to consider, for attracting the audience. Distracted academics are walking through a crowded, noisy room with bad lighting, passing by a number of posters. Participants are not focused as poster sessions are often concurrent with the meeting’s wine and beer mixer, thus being distracted by food and drink. Posters are viewed from a distance of at least 1.5 meters away and in an average of 3-5 seconds the viewer decides whether to approach a poster or leave and in 30 seconds if the content is worthy of further explanation or not. The format of the poster session and the dedicated time are very important factors to consider that affect the audience. The poster presentations may leave the audience and presenter with a sense of frustration and incompleteness. This point of view is probably due to the fact that individual posters tend to attract a limited number of viewers. At most poster sessions, people casually stroll by, glancing at posters and picking only a handful to read carefully. At paper presentations, instead, speakers have the full attention of their audience, who choose to be present and (normally) sit through the whole session. As poster presenters do not have the advantage of a committed audience, they have to compete for space, visibility and attention, accepting the fact that for most viewers the interaction will be brief and superficial [23]. The posters may well be like a middle child seeking the attention given to their more favoured conference siblings, the oral presentations and papers, and the meals and breaks. It may be that offering coffee and the chance for networking is needed to attract people to

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 42 the posters. The politics and marketing of poster sessions are interesting issues to consider and may reflect on the perception of posters as a presentation medium. There have been interesting efforts to put poster sessions on a more even footing with oral presentations. One student had participated in a structured poster session with a rapporteur who highlighted all the poster presentations at a plenary session. Other conferences are trying different approaches. For example, at the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) symposium in Australia in 2003, the posters were grouped in three sessions of ninety minutes. The poster presentation guidelines on the Web site state that ‘each author will be required to do a platform presentation of two minutes (a lectern and microphone will be provided) and then be available to answer questions after the presentations in front of your poster’ (IFAC 2003) [71]. This puts each presenter in the spotlight (albeit very briefly) and gives an overview of all the posters, allowing the audience members a chance to seek out those whose work has caught their attention. Shalom highlights the logistical difficulties of managing such poster discussions. She noted that the poster session discussion appeared to be a ‘fragile, embryonic research process genre struggling for definition’ [67].

2.2 Format – layout – guidelines ‘Posters show rather than tell. How the message is conveyed is important.’ Miracle and King, 1994 [25]

Scientific poster sections layout Although there is no standard structure for posters, many experts advocate organising the content in the form of a research report. Nicol and Pexman (2003) suggest the standard research model of introduction, methods, results, and conclusions, as do most articles and web guidelines [72]. This format, however, may provide too much text for an effective visual display. Radel affirms that ‘artful illustrations, luminous colours, or exquisite computer-rendered drawings do not substitute for content’ [73]. The conventional sections and their order are part of the expected structural characteristics that the poster genre shares with the research article and abstract. However, the need for readily recognisable logic and flow competes with the need to stand out and attract attention in a room crowded with other posters. The standard structure combined with the limited physical parameters of display boards may make it difficult to be different. There is the risk of upsetting the norms, as viewers expect certain conventions in the presentation of material and disharmony may be created when the sequencing is unconventional [74].

The sections include: Title, Authors and Affiliations The title which is enticing but short, authors, affiliations - The title briefly conveys the interesting ‘issue’, the general experimental approach, and the system; needs to be catchy in order to reel in intoxicated passers-by. Simple messages are more memorable and it conveys message even to people who only read titles.

43 Abstract This is to be included only if required by the conference since a poster is an abstract of the research. Introduction/Purpose Introduction is a brief but important overview to secure the viewer’s attention. The purpose is to get the viewer interested in the issue or question while using the absolute minimum of background information and definitions; identifying the problem statement and the objectives and/or purpose of the study or continuous quality improvement initiative; placing the issue in the context of published, primary literature; supporting an interesting, novel hypothesis and briefly describing the experimental approach that tested your hypothesis. Purrington considers the introduction of a poster as a wonderful place to put a photograph or illustration that communicates some aspect of the research question, contrary to the introduction of a manuscript. The introduction should and be limited to a few sentences Problem/objectives This section is a concise statement of the problem and purpose of study. Materials and Methods This section is a brief description of the processes and procedures. In this section experimental equipment and procedures are described, but not with the detail used for a manuscript; use of figures, flow charts, photographs and statistical analyses help to illustrate them. This section highlights the tools and procedures for gathering and analysing data. In the case of a continuous quality improvement project, flow charts and timeline figures could be used to depict the sequencing of the study. Results/Data Outcomes, findings and data. Each component of a research poster about a quantitative analysis should be adapted to the audience and format, with complex statistical results translated into simplified charts, tables, and bulleted text to convey findings as part of a clear, focused story line. If the research has data, then results are the largest section. Use of figures gives a better understanding than the use of tables; if used, tables should be simple stating whether the experiment procedure actually worked, while briefly describing qualitative and descriptive results; in a second paragraph, data analysis that more specifically addresses the hypothesis; charts or images; extremely engaging figure legends that could stand on their own (i.e., could convey some point to reader if viewer skipped all other sections); tables with legends, too, but opt for figures whenever possible. ‘The success of a poster directly relates to the clarity of the illustrations and tables’ as Radel states. Pertinent findings should be highlighted, and everything that is not absolutely necessary should be deleted. Self-explanatory graphics should be used with a minimal amount of supporting text while precise and simple language is crucial when creating an effective visual display [73]. Implications (rarely used) The implications section should summarise the significance of the initiative on existing or future processes and structures. In a formal presentation, the speaker can interpret findings relative to other studies. But, in a visual display, this interpretation must be done via the written word and aesthetic design. Conclusion/Outcome In a poster display, the conclusions section is short; including clear statements that highlight what has been achieved relative to the objectives. It is the summary, discussion of

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 44 significance and relevance of results, a few easily remembered key conclusions and possible future research. In this section the author reminds the reader of the major result and quickly states whether the hypothesis was supported; tries to convince the visitor why the outcome is interesting; states the relevance of the findings to other published work and real organisms in the real world while suggesting future directions. Bulleted lists are an effective way to present these findings while future plans can also be included in this section. Effective research posters should be designed around two or three key findings with accompanying handouts and narrative description to supply additional technical detail and encourage dialog with poster viewers. References/Literature cited Adding the references or a selection of the most important literature used to support the research. Sometimes is omitted. Acknowledgments This section highlights the people or institutions that helped the author in his research. Contact Information/ website/ QR code/ download file In some posters depending on the conference guidelines you might find the author’s contact details or website. In most recent years, a QR code is used, that can be scanned to transfer you directly to an online version of the poster or to a download link [75] [76] [77] [78] [79].

Layout and guidelines from bibliography Throughout the bibliography there is a number of visual and content guidelines regarding posters, most of which derive from the experience of the author. The basic advice is to minimise text by using visuals such as figures, tables, and graphs whenever possible [80], and to ensure that the text is large enough to be legible from 1-1.5 meters away and the title from 3 to 9 meters away. It should be a minimum of clutter and a maximum of pithy including informative statements and attractive, enlightening graphics. Before developing a poster presentation, adequate consideration must be given to careful planning. As a poster is a summary of work or research it should focus on major findings without being too long and densely packed. An interesting result could be stated explicitly in the title while the strongest statements the data support are to be highlighted. Strive for consistency, uniformity, and a clean, readable look, with all visuals and text relating to a succinctly stated message. Things to be considered when creating a poster include practical issues, layout, font size, colour, pictures and graphs.

Practical issues Practical issues to be considered when preparing a poster include the size of allocated space, the portability of poster, the ease of assembly and attachment to poster board; the creation of additional resources (handouts, models, samples, animations etc). The conciseness of text should be read in less than 10 minutes and understandable from at least 3 meters away, while all elements are visible from 1.5 meters away. As the poster will be one of many in the exhibition area it needs to capture and hold the reader’s attention.

Layout A poster uses visual grammar; it guides the viewer by using a visual logic, with a hierarchical structure that visually reflects the relative importance of elements and emphasises the main

45 points. It is understandable without verbal explanation and has clear flow of information with clear space, logical column alignments, and clear cues Decisions about poster format and design contribute to efficient and accurate transfer of information. Simple figures and graphs should dominate the poster visually and eliminate ‘chart junk’ to keep focus on data [81], while white space can help define the flow of information. Pop musician Keith Richards put the matter well in an interview with Der Spiegel: ‘If you are a painter, then the most important thing is the bare canvas. A good painter will never cover all the space but will always leave some blank. My canvas is silence.’ Your canvas as poster presenter is also white space [82]. A poster can adopt a variety of layouts depending on the form of charts and photographs. It can be portrait/vertical or landscape/horizontal. In vertical posters the top and bottom portions are not at eye level, while too much of the poster is blocked if presenter or other viewers are standing in front of it. A two-columns format suites a portrait/vertical oriented poster, while a three-columns is more suitable for a landscape/horizontal oriented poster. Columns and text boxes are widely used in order to make the poster easier to read in a crowd. The order of reading should be down columns rather than across rows. The columnar format allows readers to read the entire poster as they proceed from left to right since they can read all of a column before they move to the next one. A row-oriented layout moves readers past the poster very quickly as viewers who read the first row might be unable to fight their way back to the beginning, meaning they will proceed quietly to the next poster. Organisation cues - numbers, letters, and arrows - guide readers through a poster. ‘Reader gravity’ pulls the eye from top to bottom and left to right in English [83]. There are language-specific ways in which most people read; using organisational constructs that defy reader gravity will confuse viewers. A proportion of about 20% text, 40% graphics and 40% empty space, makes a poster visually appealing as it has to be kept in mind that it is not a written paper in poster size. A good visual balance of figures and text, separated by white space occurs when images and text are reflected (at least approximately) across a central horizontal, vertical, or diagonal axis, known as the axis of symmetry (Figure 2.9).

Figure 2.9: Visual balance through the axis of symmetry

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 46 According to the principals of grouping from the Gestalt theory, the power of proximity, similarity, common fate, good continuation, closure, symmetry, parallelism and white space play a very important role when formatting a poster since well-designed information in an organised manner is more likely to be read. Unity makes all the components on the page appear to be organised, connected, and interrelated. Using grids and guides avoids visual chaos, with many jagged edges or various-sized boards that distract the viewer. A grid is an invisible structure used to guide the placement of elements on the page, lining up photos and text. Grids don't appear on the printed poster but their influence may be evident in the widths of column texts, the uniformity of space around graphics, or the consistent placement of repeating elements from section to section. They are a series of guides that determine the margins of the piece, space between page elements (headlines, body text, photographs, etc.), and let you know where to put things on the blank page. Gutters are the unpopulated spaces between columned text and images that break the page into readable chunks and help the viewers’ eyes navigate through the page. Margins are the spaces between the page content and the edge of the page [84] [85].

Examples of poster layout templates As information vary so will the way of organising it. Posters can be horizontal or vertical and the final layout is decided by every author unless otherwise instructed from the conference organisers. One of the most common horizontal layouts is a 4-column format, with the title placed across the whole width of the poster, introduction up on the left and conclusions down on the right to follow the reader gravity (Figure 2.10).

TITLE

INTRODUCTION

CONCLUSION

Figure 2.10: Horizontal 4-column format

Colin Purrington suggests 5 different poster layouts depending on the section the creator wants to emphasise more [75].

47 In Figure 2.11 the ‘results arena’ layout demotes the unimportant sections (literature cited, acknowledgements, and further information) to the bottom portion of the poster, freeing up the valuable real estate on the top for interesting stuff. In Figure 2.4 a more traditional layout emphasising the ‘results arena’, in which the content near the bottom part of the materials and methods and results sections might be harder for most people to read.

Figure 2.11: Poster layout - Results arena

Figure 2.12: Poster layout - Traditional results arena

A four-column approach is ideal for results that are best displayed in a linear fashion (Figure 2.13).

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Figure 2.13: Poster layout - 4 column horizontal

A portrait-style poster template organised in 3 columns has little dots near the bottom to indicate that literature cited and acknowledgements should be read last. You can use dots, line, extra space between the important and less important sections - just signify to the viewer somehow that they shouldn’t drop down to literature after finishing protocol section (Figure 2.14). In Figure 2.15 big results are spread to 2 columns.

Figure 2.14: Poster layout - vertical

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Figure 2.15: Poster layout - vertical results arena

When comparing horizontal vs. vertical poster, the disadvantages of the vertical include the top and bottom portions not being at eye level and the fact that too much of the poster is blocked if presenter is standing in front of it [75] [85] [86] [87].

Fonts The style and size of fonts have great impact on how a poster is perceived. Type size is to be proportional to importance, each main point is stated in large type-face headings; details are subordinated visually, using smaller type-face. Formatting titles and text in sentence case makes it easier and faster to read than in title case, all caps, italics or underlined, while boldface works well if it is restricted to title or headings. When it comes to choosing between a serif or sans-serif font, the rule used to be: Use sans- serif fonts for titles and serif fonts for body text, as they were considered much easier to read at smaller font sizes when printed. In recent years, that’s begun to reverse, and multiple permutations are acceptable. The only hard-and-fast rule is to pick one of each and use them in complement. Stick to two complementary fonts like many print designers pair one serif font with one sans-serif font, and use only those two fonts throughout their work. This is a good rule to adopt for poster design, although successful posters can have just one or up to three font choices. Another opinion supports that a font should match the context around the text: use a serif thick font for loud and heavy impact or a lighter san-serif font for a more minimalist message. Keeping consistency is the key factor. Once a font for the section heading ‘Introduction’ is chosen, the exact same font for all other content section headings as well. Similarly, all photo and figure captions should use the same font, and all of your main body text should use the same font. These fonts may differ from one section to the other, but they should remain consistent across each group. Font styles like word art, drop shadows, and gradients don't convey a ‘professional’ message. When it comes to aligning the text, straightforward left-justified text, with ragged right margins, is highly suggested for clean word spacing and ease of reading. Justified without hyphenating the text might also be used, however fully justified text creates confusing gaps

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 50 in the text. As stated before minimising the text can have very positive feedback while it should also be kept simple, direct, and large enough to read so that the message comes through loud and clear. Pithy headlines should briefly convey the takeaway message of the poster, and should be catchy enough to draw an audience; they carry the main message and can attract viewers to a poster. Active voice and lack of jargon short lines of text, the use phrases rather than full sentences and bulleted lists than paragraphs and keeping text elements to 50 words or fewer also bring a positive feedback [39] [87]. Below an example of title that communicate the same thing in a different way Title 1: Effects of Permafrost Thaw on Plants in the Boreal Forest. Title 2: Permafrost thaw releases plant-available nitrogen in the boreal forest.

Attention needs to be given from the typography perspective, to kerning, tracking, ligatures, leading, widows and orphans as they can affect the readability of the text. Kerning is the adjustment of space between pairs of letters. Some pairs of letters create awkward spaces. Kerning adds or subtracts space between letters to create more visually appealing and readable text.

Tracking differs from kerning in that tracking is the adjustment of space for groups of letters and entire blocks of text.

Leading in typography refers to the amount of added vertical spacing between lines of text. This is also referred to as ‘Line Spacing’. Large text need decrease line spacing. Tracking and leading change the overall appearance and readability of the text, making it more open and airy or more dense.

Ligatures: Two or more letters combined into one character make a ligature. Used primarily to make type more attractive on the page such as the fl and fi ligatures.

Widows and Orphans: A widow is a very short line - usually one word, or the end of a hyphenated word - at the end of a paragraph or column. A widow is considered poor typography because it leaves too much white space between paragraphs or at the bottom of a page. This interrupts the reader’s eye and diminishes readability. An orphan is a single word, part of a word or very short line, except it appears at the beginning of a column or a page. This results in poor horizontal alignment at the top of the column or page. Stick to a minimal set amount of text sizes, if you have to accent then change the font weight or text leading rather than changing the font size [87]. In Table 2.2 an example of different font sizes suggested from bibliography and websites with poster guidelines where pt is the point size and mm the millimetre size. The sizes

51 change in order of importance. The title is always in the largest font and usually bold, while the rest of the text should always be readable from 1 meter distance.

Table 2.2: Font sizes

Paper size Page title Sub-heading Body of text Fine print A1 72pt 36pt 16pt 10pt 102pt 41pt 30pt 24pt 120-200 pt 48pt 36pt 26pt 35mm 14mm 5.7mm 3.8mm A0 144pt 58pt 23pt 15pt 51mm 20mm 8mm 5mm

Colour Colour can make a poster attractive and improve readability; however, it needs to be used wisely and sparingly. Use colour to attract attention, organise, highlight or emphasise, separate, define sections and associate related information without competing with the information or overwhelm the viewer. The colours and contrast of the information will ultimately impact on the readability or legibility of the final poster design. The use of colour or background shouldn’t detract from the message. Background may be: a solid colour, a gradient, a texture or a photograph, although the last has seen bad uses of it (Figure 2.16). White or light coloured lettering is hard to read on a dark background when printed contrary to black lettering on a white or light coloured background which has the biggest contrast.

Figure 2.16: Overuse of background picture and matching clothes with the poster. Photograph Nicole Barker

When it comes to poster presentation, Keegan and Bannister’s study supports that colour coordination between the poster and the presenter's attire may substantially increase the popularity of the poster and the likelihood that the research will be disseminated (Figure 2.16, Figure 2.17) [88].

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Figure 2.17: Study presenter in lavender-coloured blouse (chosen to coordinate with poster colour) and in rust- coloured blouse (chosen to clash with poster).

Colourful photographs, can work as an inspiration for your colour scheme. According to Joshi colour can enhance the hues or contrast of photos. Use a light background with darker photos; a dark background with lighter photos. Use a neutral background (gray) to emphasise colour in photos; a white background to reduce the impact of coloured photos [89].

Most poster sessions are held in halls lit with harsh fluorescent light. If exact colours are important to the data, balance those colours for use with fluorescent lighting. Also, all colours will be intensified; bright (saturated) colours may become unpleasant to view. Overly bright or highly saturated colours might attract attention but will tire your viewers’ eyes. Colour selection should reflect the theme of your subject area (Life Sciences and Medicine tend to use green/blues/ turquoise for example) and be limited to 2-3 colour that harmonise well together and use them throughout, so as not to confuse and overload the viewer. The number of different colours should be limited, but different tones of the same colour can be used. Cool and/or muted colours are easier for the eyes contrary to bright, warm colours. Blue and green, for example, are the colours most often used for doctors' and surgeons' scrubs, because those colours convey relaxation and loyalty; they are a good choice for posters. Bright reds and yellows, on the other hand, can induce anxiety. Colour theory was originally formulated in terms of three "primary" or "primitive" colours— red, yellow and blue (RYB)—because these colours were believed capable of mixing all other colours. This colour mixing behaviour had long been known to printers, dyers and painters, but these trades preferred pure pigments to primary colour mixtures, because the mixtures were too dull (unsaturated). German and English scientists established in the late 19th century that colour perception is best described in terms of a different set of primary colours—red, green and blue violet (RGB)—modelled through the additive mixture of three monochromatic lights. Across the same period, industrial chemistry radically expanded the colour range of lightfast synthetic pigments, allowing for substantially improved saturation in colour mixtures of dyes, paints and inks. It also created the dyes and chemical processes necessary for colour photography. As a result three-colour printing became aesthetically and economically feasible in mass printed media, and the artists' colour theory was adapted to primary colours most effective in inks or photographic dyes: cyan, magenta, yellow and black represented as key (CMYK)(Figure 2.18) [90].

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Figure 2.18: Colour models: RYB, CMYK, RGB

All visual media (images, charts, and graphs) should be converted to CMYK format for print and RGB for screen. Primary colours (red, yellow and blue) are the 3 pigment colours that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colours. All other colours are derived from these 3 hues. Secondary colours (green, orange and purple) are the colours formed by mixing the primary colours and finally tertiary colours (yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue- purple, blue-green and yellow-green) are the colours formed by mixing a primary and a secondary colour. That's why the hue is a two word name.

Figure 2.19: Primary, secondary and tertiary colours in the RYB

Analogous - Match colours with adjacent hues. Monochromatic - Focus on one colour with variation in intensity. Triad - Space your colours around the wheel for a contrasting theme. Complementary - Oppose two colours on the wheel for a simple theme based on two hues. Compound - Combine different hues.

In visual experiences, harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. At one extreme is a visual experience that is so bland that the viewer is not engaged. The human brain will reject under-stimulating information. At the other extreme is a visual experience that is so overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it cannot organise, what it

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 54 cannot understand. The visual task requires that we present a logical structure. Colour harmony delivers visual interest and a sense of order. In summary, extreme unity leads to under-stimulation, extreme complexity leads to over- stimulation. Harmony is a dynamic equilibrium. There are many theories for harmony. The following illustrations and descriptions present some basic formulas.

A colour scheme based on analogous colours Analogous colours are any three colours which are side by side on a 12 part colour wheel, such as yellow-green, yellow, and yellow-orange. Usually one of the three colours predominates.

A colour scheme based on complementary colours Complementary colours are any two colours which are directly opposite each other, such as red and green and red- purple and yellow-green. In the illustration above, there are several variations of yellow-green in the leaves and several variations of red-purple in the orchid. These opposing colours create maximum contrast and maximum stability.

A colour scheme based on nature Nature provides a perfect departure point for colour harmony. In the illustration above, red yellow and green create a harmonious design, regardless of whether this combination fits into a technical formula for colour harmony.

Colour Context How colour behaves in relation to other colours and shapes is a complex area of colour theory. Compare. When comparing the contrast effects of different colour backgrounds for the same red square, red appears more brilliant against a black background and somewhat duller against the white background. In contrast with orange, the red appears lifeless; in contrast with blue-green, it exhibits brilliance. The red square appears larger on black than on other background colours.

55

Different readings of the same colour

©Colour Voodoo Publications The small purple rectangle on the left appears to have a red-purple tinge when compared to the small purple rectangle on the right. They are both the same colour as seen in the illustration below. This demonstrates how three colours can be perceived as four colours. Observing the effects colours have on each other is the starting point for understanding the relativity of colour. The relationship of values, saturations and the warmth or coolness of respective hues can cause noticeable differences in our perception of colour [91].

The three principles of Colour Universal Design state: 1. Choose colour schemes that can be easily identified by people with all types of colour vision, in consideration with the actual lighting conditions and usage environment. Consider people who have problems differentiating colours, especially when designing graphics - one of the most common is an inability to tell green from red; nearly 10 percent of male audience.

Figure 2.20: Differentiating colours problem. On the left, strawberries as they appear to a person with full- colour vision and on the right to a person who can't tell red from green. Source: www.vischeck.com

2. Use not only different colours but also a combination of different shapes, positions, line types and colouring patterns, to ensure that information is conveyed to all users including those who cannot distinguish differences in colour. 3. Clearly state colour names where users are expected to use colour names in communication [92].

Pictures/figures and graphs

Pictures/figures A picture, figure, diagram or illustration can speak a thousand words - much more effectively than multiple paragraphs of text, but poor quality visual imagery is often perceived as poor quality research. Likewise, images that are too small or without captions create a poor impression. Images and photographs should only be used if they add interest to the display

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 56 and complement the subject matter. A statement photo or diagram can be used as a focal point to attract attention. In the eyes of the visitor, poor quality pictures and graphs equal poor quality research, also if using microscopic images, scale information should be provided [87].

Graphs When illustrating research results, graphs are a powerful tool to simplify complex findings in a clear visual format. The key point to note is the importance of focusing on relationships between the data, and not necessarily focusing on the exact values of the research findings. All graphs must have labelled axes and captions while failure to include these captions reflects poorly on the research. When illustrating scientific research results, graphs are a powerful tool to simplify complex findings in a clear visual format. The key point to note is to focus on the relationships between the data. Depending on the audience in question, presenters need to decide whether focusing on the exact values of the research findings is absolutely necessary. Remove all non-essential information from graphs and tables like grid lines, detailed ticks on axes, data markers, and grey background. Label data directly, and avoid using legends as they force the reader to look back and forth to decode the graph. Instead of using lines of different thickness, use contrasting coloured lines or different line styles to distinguish different lines in multi-line graphs, minimise abbreviations and cross-references, graphs should be of the same size and scale especially if they are to be compared, and captions should either be positioned at the top or at the bottom of the figure [87] [93]. Persuading delegates to stop and read posters is the first step towards interaction. Overcrowding has a negative impact on visual appeal while the ideal number of words appears to be 300–400 per m2. Graphs or pictures are preferred to tables but no no preference in colours is identified from a viewer’s point. [47]

Standing out from the crowd As stated above general rules apply for the creation of a poster but it is up to the author to decide how his poster wants to look. Some efforts of people trying to stand out from the crowd include: placing a 3-D object on the poster if the topic allows it or printing it in fabric to wear it as a scarf.

Figure 2.21: Louise Hughes made good use of her 3-D printer

57 Eye tracking and fixation of the eye in poster sessions and adverts A combination of eye tracking research studies concerning fixations of the eyes when looking at posters or adverts and attention during a poster session support that that the goal of the viewer very much influences where (and for how long) viewers look at different parts of an advert, but also indicate that the nature of the subject matters. In an experiment half of the viewers were told to pay special attention to car adverts and the other half were told to pay special attention to skin-care adverts. Viewers tended to spend more time looking at the text than the picture part of the ad, though they did spend more time looking at the type of ad they were instructed to pay attention to. Fixation durations and saccade lengths were both longer on the picture part of the ad than the text, but more fixations were made on the text regions. Viewers did not alternate fixations between the text and picture part of the ad, but they tended to read the large print, then the smaller print, and then they looked at the picture (although some viewers did an initial cursory scan of the picture). In poster sessions participants spent the most time looking at introductions and conclusions (Figure 2.22). Larger posters were looked at for longer, as were posters rated more interesting (but not necessarily more aesthetically pleasing). Those making posters should concentrate on providing an interesting introduction and conclusion. Interestingly, gaze did not correlate with memory for poster details or liking, suggesting that attracting someone towards your poster may not be enough [94] [95] [96] [97].

Figure 2.21: View from the scene camera, with point of gaze (red circle) in this example directed at the poster conclusions. Schematic representation the gaze transitions between regions, across all observers and posters. Arrow size represents the relative frequency.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 58 CHAPTER 3_EVOLUTION OF POSTERS

Unlike more established academic genres, the poster tends to change rapidly with technology, due to its multimodal nature. As this multimodal genre becomes more complex, it forces presenters to learn new skills in order to communicate effectively. Technology is affecting the interactional dimension of posters, communicative purpose and textual construction, along with the role of the audience and presenter [23]. Given the limited time allotted to conference presentations, the idea that “a picture is worth a thousand words” clearly comes to the fore [22]. The poster presentation is a type of conference presentation that relies heavily on visuals. Like PPTs, posters display text and iconic content in such a way that enables viewers to ‘look into’ the research of a colleague, with the freedom to read a poster at their own speed, to linger on a specific aspect (e.g. a table, graph or picture) and finally to engage with the author in a face-to-face discussion. The poster session is therefore an arena within the conference arena. Although academics generally view posters as a less intimidating and demanding genre than papers, poster presenters are equally expected to showcase their knowledge and defend their work. What changes is the type of interaction a poster presenter has with his/her audience: each person approaching the poster presenter tends to establish a relationship that is undeniably closer and less intimidating than that observed at a paper presentation. However, the opportunity to interact personally with members of the audience (with no other time limitation than the beginning and the end of the poster session itself), means that the number of questions and comments is potentially very high. This increases the likelihood of being posed problematic or challenging questions. While paper presenters have 5-10 minutes for questions, poster presenters may have to remain available for 1-2 hours at a time, sometimes even longer. As mentioned earlier, the audience associated with poster presentations is smaller and less formal, so that the presenter can engage in longer discussions, admit mistakes or doubts, ask questions and receive answers from the viewers, and even engage in socialising and networking. This is where the presenter’s speaking skills and the soundness of his/her research can be safely tested. Junior researchers can learn by trial and error, within an informal setting, to slowly build up their academic persona. The author of a poster aims to attract the right kind of visitors and to engage with the work emotionally or mentally; ensure that the person understands even if the author is not there (or engaged in another conversation); provide something the visitor did not know beforehand by giving them something of value, that they can take with them; be upfront of what he wants from the visitor, if in search of specific skills or someone to collaborate with.

3.1 How the genre is evolving To make posters more effective and minimise their drawbacks, several disciplines have introduced changes that seek to make poster sessions a broader, more appealing experience, making the most of the genre’s multimodal nature. While presenters at a poster might be stuck gesticulating awkwardly trying to explain the dynamics of cellular motility, oral presenters can simply queue a movie. Short video clips can explain technical details better than hundreds of words. Interesting methods have been developed to overcome the disadvantages of a poster presentation including the report of the ‘video in poster’ technique, using a DVD player, at different medical conferences in 2007. The poster is attached to the DVD player and a window is

59 made in the poster to expose the screen of the DVD player so the screen appears as a picture on the poster. Then this video in poster is fixed to the panel. When the DVD player is turned on, the video presentation of the surgical procedure starts [98]. Another way, that appeared in a surgical conference in 2009 in Krakow, Poland, is the incorporation of a digital picture and video frame which supports popular media card formats as well as USB flash drives, with the advantage of no computer, DVD or internet connection requirements. Photos and videos can be displayed in superb quality along with music files that can be played utilising the frame’s integrated speakers or a separate headset [99]. Integration of audio into dissemination efforts maintains a level of transparency related to interpretation bias, improving the trustworthiness of the data, and potentially encouraging poster audiences to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning conveyed by research participants. Additionally, adding an audio component to the poster presentation enhances multi-modal input; this aligns with new knowledge about how people learn and has potential for increasing audience engagement as well as understanding and retention of the poster’s content. Chandler et al. propose the Experiencing Audio Recorded Research Model - EARR Model which facilitates a multisensory approach to qualitative data dissemination while honouring the subjectivity of the participants. The ability to hear participants’ voices adds authenticity to the presentation, augments the experience and interpretation of the viewer/listener of the presentation, and enhances the fluidity and engagement of the learning environment. As part of the continued transition to digital media, online journal articles could contain links to audio clips, improving the trustworthiness of the data and ultimately preserving the voices of participants for readers over time [100]. Regarding visual limitations enterprising presenters have worked around it by setting tablet computers up at their poster presentation, an approach that has been met with some measure of success. However, when the presenter needs to step away, tablets (and the movies) generally leave as well, removing key piece of information. With more conference attendees carrying smartphones, however, an alternative approach has emerged in the form of QR codes. The quick response code (QR code) technology is a way to improve the scientific value of posters, by making available deeper information, dynamic or otherwise inaccessible data without damaging the visual impact. A two-dimensional barcode that can be scanned by smart phones, which then display the content. Two projects in 2012 and 2013 (The QR code project) tested the QR code use when a dedicated poster is available to congress delegates. Results showed that the code is not outdated as it is free, available, powerful and easy to use, allowing reliable and quick contacts, bridging the gap between the printed material and the web by reaching also many users at large conferences. Movies, animations, tutorials and others pedagogic materials can be easily included. The delivered information become modular on demand and the poster remains clear and readable [101] [102] [103]. If the poster is viewed via a computer screen or LCD display, named e-poster, numerous features can be added to enhance communication between presenter and audience. Figure 3.1 shows the pdf of a traditional poster, with such interactive elements as the QR Code (bottom right), hyperlinks and email addresses. The poster can be scrolled through and viewers can email comments and feedback to presenters immediately.

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Figure 3.1: Example of e-poster with QR Code and hyperlinks [104].

Smartphone users equipped with the right app can scan the QR Code image to receive text and contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a webpage in the phone’s browser. Users may also generate a vCard contact on their device or compose an email or text message using the QR Code’s contact details. Hyperlinks in a poster’s content are particularly useful as they overcome the problem of limited space; by linking the poster to other virtual spaces, the author can provide more information on his/her research and be contacted immediately by email. Atherton et al. propose the use of an augmented reality application for smartphones and tablets as a potential future addition to the presentation of scientific work and surgical techniques in poster format, allowing the audience to view surgical techniques and research as 3D animation or video by using a trigger image in a poster/journal/text book via their smart device. Further interaction can direct the user to a website for more content. The author has trialled this method by using the free Aurasma© application at a regional burns and plastic surgery centre and argues that the use of this novel method adds a new dimension to the presentation of scientific work at surgical and medical conferences and as

61 part of journals and textbooks by permitting users to view scientific data and techniques on mobile devices as videos or as three dimensional environments at their own leisure [105]. Physics, biology, law and medicine disciplines have been particularly active in the direction of introducing changes for making the most of the posters nature by using poster projections followed by short oral presentations, online poster sessions and virtual science fairs with online conferencing. A new system for presenting posters called ‘digital interactive poster presentation’ (DIPP) has been proposed by De Simone et al [106]. The DIPP (Figure 3.2) is a pdf version of a traditional poster that can be projected on a wall or screen at allotted times. They are often given dedicated sessions, where each presenter previews his/her poster for 3-5 minutes and summarises the research, so that the audience is able to decide which presentations to attend during the poster session proper. Thus presenters can showcase their work before the poster session and attract a higher number of interested viewers.

Figure 3.2: Screenshot of a digital interactive poster presentation [106].

During the DIPP a presenter can enlarge parts of the poster to concentrate on specific aspects of the research. The DIPP file can also be made available online by conference organisers, not only after but also before the conference, so that participants can browse through an archive of posters and retain the information they are mostly interested in. This contrasts with the traditional poster, which is extremely constrained in time and space, being displayed only for the duration of one or (e.g. in physics and medicine) several conferences. The impact of a traditional poster is therefore limited: after the conference it may end in a bin or on the department’s wall, before it eventually deteriorates and is thrown away. DIPPs instead are conductive to a much larger audience, more interactive presentations and in- depth discussions of scientific evidence. The audience tends to welcome digital presentations enthusiastically [106].

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 62 Powell-Tuck et al. compared the quality of what they term ‘e-posters’ and traditional posters. Their e-poster was in fact a DIPP and was displayed and handled in exactly the same way. Presenters at the BAPEN medical congress in 2001 were invited to submit their title and contents of their posters electronically. Like DIPPs, the submissions were projected as posters and presenters ‘talked to’ the projection and clicked on individual tables or figures to enlarge them. Delegates attending two e-poster sessions, and a control group attending two simultaneous traditional poster rounds, answered a questionnaire on the ability of delegates to hear and see well, on the posters’ clarity and attractiveness, on whether the format of the session captured their interest and encouraged discussion. They also responded on how e-posters should be used in future meetings. The results were in favour of e-posters, which facilitated the viewing of the posters’ full content, allowed a detailed computer-based search of presentations, captured viewers’ interest and encouraged discussion while post-conference collaboration is enhanced by email contact [26]. In a further development of this format, Rowe and Ilic suggest the term ‘MediaPoster’: ‘’In developing the ‘MediaPoster’ concept, we have looked to enable the combined evolution of the DIPP principle and its traditional forbear. The ‘MediaPoster’ aims to combine information technology (IT) with a ‘traditional’ poster appearance, thus retaining the static image and at the same time releasing the full interactive potential of the medium.’’ Like an e-poster, the MediaPoster is presented (from a laptop) via an interactive LCD display or a smartboard, with embedded links to additional information. The novelty in this case, is that viewers can select an area of interest on the poster surface and access a full range of linked documents and images which open up in a dedicated viewing area at the side of the screen. Viewers are therefore not redirected to a webpage (which would force them to leave the poster presentation) but remain instead within the same environment, with the original poster always in full view (Figure 3.3). MediaPoster authors are free to add as much (or as little) of supporting material as needed, while readers can choose how much information to browse, concentrating single aspects or retaining all the additional information provided via the hyperlinks [107] [108].

Figure 3.3: How a ‘Media Poster’ is viewed

63 Recent years have thus seen a gradual shift away from the traditional paper-based poster. The consequences of this radical development are entirely positive, as the reader is forced to follow the sequence of the slides and cannot skip unwanted information or browse through the entire poster before deciding on which aspect to focus. Software developers claim readers need to be guided through the presentation but D’Angelo would argue that the use of numbered sections (provided they designed in a sufficiently clear and intuitive manner) makes it unnecessary to impose a pre-defined reading sequence. The use of a uniform template, moreover, prevents presenters from using many visual elements that attract viewers. The presenter has no way to ‘stand out from the crowd’, making each poster equal (from a cognitive point of view) to everyone else’s. A final negative aspect of this shift is that neither the best practices of poster design nor those of PPT are followed.

Figure 3.4: Sample for ACSN 2010 e-poster submissions

When assembling a PPT poster presentation, authors are advised to avoid slides with too much text crammed in them, as this diminishes the retention of information. Also, the reader may be put off the amount of text and stop reading the presentation altogether. A positive aspect of slides, on the other hand, is that they can easily embed video and audio clips (Figure 5), which enhances the presentation’s content as well as its salience. Another type of medium sometimes employed at conference is the web-based e-poster (Figure 3.5). In this case, presenters produce web pages describing their research results or ongoing research, as well as additional information, images, videos, etc. Despite its hyperlinks, and multimedia, the webpage presentation is still bounded by two reading levels: the first is that of the traditional, the second is an extension of the poster, with a downloadable pdf version and video files. The example in (Figure 3.5), for instance, has list of subsections in the left margin which in turn lead to a number of hyperlinks and downloads.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 64

Figure 3.5: An example of web-based e-poster from 2006

A final example of how far the poster has come, are virtual science fairs with online conferencing or weblogs. In October 2006, the New Media Consortium [http://www.nmc.org] hosted a 12-day international symposium on the impact of digital media. The symposium took place entirely within the virtual world of Second Life, where NMC had built a virtual campus. On this occasion, poster presenters were not required to physically travel to the conference, but made use of virtual reality to interact with other participants who might be online. Much like in a real poster session, we see a large poster in the background (Figure 3.4) and the presenter’s moving alter ego. To activate the presentation, virtual participants simply need to step closer to the poster and enter the circle which surrounds the avatar. They can also pose questions and make comments.

Figure 3.6: Life poster session, with the avatar of NCAT director Christopher Watts

65 A virtual conference undoubtedly offers a number of advantages, such as the fact that there is no need to travel to a conference carrying (or having to post) a cumbersome poster. This removes the cost and burden of travel as well as the risk of damaging the poster. However, to participate, one needs a fair amount of IT skills, which is not always the case and, no matter how similar to real-life, the virtual setting can hardly reproduce the atmosphere and excitement of a real-world conference, which makes networking harder and certainly less spontaneous. Finally, one should consider that setting up a virtual conference is inevitably expensive and time-consuming [23]. Although the genre is evolving a first attempt to define an e-poster would describe it is as an electronic version of the traditional poster, presented on a large screen. The electronic format offers the added benefit of animation, video and multimedia to enhance visual experience and provide greater interactivity between delegates and authors. During the e-poster Session, presenters give short presentations in an informal setting and facilitate direct discussions with delegates at designated e-poster stations, where e- posters are also available for view at the stations throughout the conference.

3.2 The e-poster today

‘When there is a technology trend, if you resist and don't follow it, you are going to fail.’ Pavlos Moustakidis, SciGen Technologies [109]

Technology is also changing the way conference organisers handle poster presentations. For the past 5-8 years, there is a gradual turn towards the use of electronic posters and event applications to facilitate events. Below we will present briefly 2 applications and examine six companies that offer e-poster services and how they can be linked to a mobile application.

E-poster mobile applications Elsevier, the world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals through web-based digital solutions, publication of books and journals and conferences, has created its own mobile application named ‘Poster in my pocket’ to allow participants in Elsevier events to have access to posters from mobiles or tablets. It includes a list of all the events and posters in each event, offering options such as to search by event name or city, email the author, send the poster to a colleague, save the poster in a ’favourites list’, scan or enter a QR code to go directly to the poster someone wants to see.

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Figure 3.7: Mobile screens of the Elsevier mobile application

Other conferences have created customised applications that require login details to see the information. Presentations and posters along with biographies and photos of the authors are available (Figure 3.8).

67

Figure 3.8: Customised application with login details

There are a number of private companies that offer e-poster services around the world. Most of them are mostly active on the scientific and more precise medical sector. The way they create and promote e-posters varies. Below we will describe how 6 different companies work with e-posters and what functions they offer, after speaking with representatives from each one. The products and companies are: • ePosteresLive by SciGen Technologies in Chicago, USA (headquarters in Greece), founded in 2008 www.eposterslive.com • Digital Posters by Scolars in Vancouver, Canada, founded in 2008 www.scolars.com • Digital Posters by Lucien Mark/Paperless Events in Australia, founded in 2007 www.paperlessevent.com.au • Multieposters by Multilearning in Montreal, Canada, founded in 2000 www.multieposter.com • Eposters by Digital Acumen's APPRISOR™ Services in East Hampton New York, founded in 1992 and introduced e-posters in 1999 www.mobilemedica.com • Eposters Gallery by Cadmium CD in Maryland, USA, founded in 2000 www.cadmiumcd.com Different names exist for this genre such as eposters, multi eposters or digital posters. We will refer to all of them as e-posters.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 68 ePosteresLive by SciGen Technologies SciGen Technologies offers two poster products. A software tool called PosterGenius that enables researchers to create professional scientific posters quickly and easily with predefined sizes, suggested background and colour schemes, font size and type limitations, and an e-poster platform called ePostersLive that manages the submission of posters and their presentation online, on mobile devices and at conferences via PC workstations and high-definition screens. The ePostersLive platform has been featured at a variety of conferences in Europe, Asia and the United States. The medical society was the first to experiment with this new software [109].

At the 2014 Anaesthesiologist meeting, of the American Society of Anaesthesiologists, in New Orleans, more than 2400 e-poster presentations were presented, using time-scheduling, during three days, in three different locations (Figure 3.9). While in the 2013 edition in San Francisco, US, more than 2350 e-posters were presented in total (Figure 3.10).

Figure 3.9: E-poster session during the ASA 2014

Figure 3.10: Delegates presenting medically challenging cases in ASA 2013

69 More than 900 e-posters were presented in total, at the RCOG World Congress 2014 in Hyderabad, India and search stations were set up in the 2013 edition in Liverpool, UK (Figure 3.11, Figure 3.12).

Figure 3.11: RCOG World Congress 2014

Figure 3.12: RCOG World Congress 2013 in action

The software is created within SciGen, allowing a number of customisations to meet the conference’s needs each time. It is hardware independable software that can work on normal LCD screen, touch screens, computers, tablets, smartphones etc. The web library allows viewers to search by title, name of author or institution, poster number, while it shows the number of posters, sections, authors and institutions participating. Anyone can rate anonymously or not, share on social media (facebook, twitter, google+), contact the author if he provided an email, download a pdf or jpeg version of the poster, or just read the abstract/content without even opening the pdf (Figure 3.13). When opening the pdf, navigation may be predefined by the programme, while videos, links etc. can also be embedded (Figure 3.14) [110] [111] [112].

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Figure 3.13: E-poster search page of a conference from pc

Figure 3.14: E-poster with navigation buttons

Digital Posters by Scolars Scolars uses a different approach. The e-posters are actually online as URL paths, meaning they are created in HTML by the poster author through a simple system of uploading pictures and copy pasting text. This means that no other programme is required apart from a word processor and an internet connection. Search option by author, subject or poster number is also available. To avoid internet connection problems on the day of the conference, posters are internet-independent as they are loaded on laptops connected to the screens.

71 The designated site for uploading the posters is prepopulated with the information from the abstracts submitted. After the deadline of uploading the e-posters, Scolars check all the posters to make sure everything is working.

Figure 3.15: Scolars poster example

Due to the fact that it is in HTML, the formation is very restrictive. They offer 2-3 templates always on white background with black letters for greater contrast, with limitations in font size and type, while coloured text or background are not available (set by the CSS). Zoom is available for pictures and soon for text (Figure 3.17). This way they try to keep a universally pleasant and consistent format.

Figure 3.16: Scolars poster example 2

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Figure 3.17: Scolars poster example - enlarge pictures tool

Figure 3.18: Delegates cluster around a poster station while author makes presentation

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Figure 3.19: Delegates cluster around a poster station to hear simultaneous poster presentations

Bill Halam supports that ‘During poster sessions or in poster stations people tend to view all the posters as a whole, like pages in a book, so if one is ugly then they associate all of them to be ugly and they miss the rest, whereas if they are displayed in different screens in a hall then how one looks doesn’t affect the other. E-posters are more exciting because paper posters were looked as sad’. According to Bill less than 5% of users complain for these restrictions either because they are HTML experts and want to do more formatting, or because they already have a pdf poster and get upset for being forced to recreate it online. Due to market demand, Scolars created also a database of posters with a search and retrieval system where posters are in pdf. In big conferences, some posters get to have a small oral presentation and others are only for display. For example at a veterinary conference, they had 200 oral and 600 display posters. Scolars is also more active in the medical field [113] [114] [115].

Digital Posters by Lucien Mark/Paperless Events

Digital Posters software from Paperless events utilises seamless programming of presentation upload to collate and construct pre-printed posters onto interactive viewing stations on monitors and/ or plasma screens. Offering the ability to rank or vote posters, leave feedback and request or leave contact details should delegates wish to interact with the presenter further. The system also supports numerous delegate services in the one module as well as free or paid internet access and downloading of all formats of presentations.

Having in mind the Hidden Curriculum of poster, Andrew Richie from Paperless Events explains how they are trying to rebrand posters by making them 5-8 slide presentations and emphasising the importance of poster sessions. Andrew used the term multi-slide oral presentation, in an effort to give emphasis and promote this type of presentation as big sessions that contribute to the event. Digital Posters can become a staple of every scientific conference and not be considered as a fall back given to those that didn’t meet

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 74 requirements for an oral presentation or those that didn’t get their abstracts off in time, but a presentation by its own merits that allows close interaction with their audience, the ability to distribute their research and work to a larger audience. Moreover another technical reason for moving from big sized posters to small multiple slide ones is the difficulty to zoom in or scroll on a big sized online poster on your PDA, mobile or tablet.

Figure 3.20: Personal and group interaction with the e-poster on the conference

Digital Posters website is available for 6 months after the conference ends, giving the ability to contact the author and share the Digital Poster with colleagues and friends. Information on file size and formats (PowerPoint, PDF, Audio, Video, or others), screen ratio and sizes, slide and presentation length is also available on the submission site created by Paperless Events. Authors can include audio commentary, animation, and video to showcase their work. The software can auto play slides with the authors commentary, making the dissemination of information easier. Once again the medical society (surgeons) was the first to use this new software, followed by engineers and the artistic society that showcased painting techniques.

The software is visually simplified (big buttons) to require the minimum amount of delegate training (Figure 3.21). The audience of the conference is mainly going to interact with the software during the conference (2-3 days) meaning that they don’t have time to learn new software.

Figure 3.21: Home screen of e-poster gallery with and without login details

75

Figure 3.22: E-posters search screen

Figure 3.23: E-posters results screen, search by author's name

Figure 3.24: E-posters results screen, search by poster theme

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Figure 3.25: E-poster from Paperless Events

Figure 3.26: Contact the author of the e-poster feature

The software was created by the company; thus making it fully customisable according to the costumer and the needs of the conference. Once the organisers state how many posters will be submitted, the company inserts the information into the software which generates a username and password for every poster. You can customise how much time the presentation lasts, if you are able to add animation, how many slides there will be or contact the author. Everything can be controlled by a PC while a new hybrid system of questions being asked online during the presentations was launched for university organised conference. From a technical point, Paperless Events sets up a server for every event where they allocate space that the organiser has bought. Having a lot of videos means you need more space, a lot of bandwidth and 2 servers for a fail over, while there is also helpdesk and online support.

They have organised conferences with 600 posters such as the IUCN-International Union for Conservation of Nature World Congress, while in another one with 1200 posters, preset poster sessions of 10 presenters at screens allowed large groups of people to congregate and hear the presentations. Post event, delegates can review the posters in the online database created by Paperless Events. Previous editions of the same event will be on online where you can search by year of conference, while the system will recommend posters that match your key words search from

77 other years. On site and on the day of the conference, access to participants is restricted to that year’s conference unless they are registered members from previous years.

Figure 3.27: E-poster stations and search PC workstations

The network techniques on site differ according to the venue. In large conventions where the internet is reliable with a guaranteed connection, e-poster stations connect to the server and use a unique address for each presentation. Local servers can be used to cache data that will lock locally without any internet needed or the database is on the hard drive of standalone PCs used. Every screen has a laptop while some links might to require having Adobe pdf Reader installed to work. ‘On the day of the conference participants might try to do other staff on the pcs connected to the screens like check their emails. Using engineered solutions to block them might not get the best results so it is better to have a single human factor, someone roaming in the room between the screens to see if everything is running smoothly. It is better to talk to the delegates than block them technologically’, Andrew Ritchie supports. To minimise this possibility, most events will have a digital kiosk area with laptops that participants can use in any way they wish (Figure 3.27) [116] [117] [118].

Multiposters by Multilearning Group

Multieposters accepts e-posters in a pdf format that guide viewers by zooming into poster sections containing text, images and embedded videos in the author’s intended sequence, making posters more clearly visible and comprehensible on all screens sizes. Understanding the natural reading flow of a scientific poster can be very difficult and lead to misinterpretation; Multiposters believe that it is crucial for readers to be guided in the right direction to enhance their comprehension. Posters are made available seamlessly at conferences, on a web-based platform and on mobile devices. Onsite display of e-posters on touch screens is very simple and intuitive to use. Users can easily read e-poster content by using the auto-zoom feature (Figure 3.28). Each e-poster is presented with a unique QR code which provides a direct link to the online and mobile version of the e-poster (Figure 3.29). Statistical Reports on activity are compiled at the end of the conference to measure the activity per station per conference day. Online and mobile activity is compiled seamlessly on a monthly basis.

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Figure 3.28: E-poster screens in action

Figure 3.29: E-poster with navigation and QR code

According to Pierre-Yves Lemair, representative of Multiposters, in their biggest conference, they set up 74 stations with nearly 2000 posters. On site, every station (screen with laptop) is numbered and has predefined posters. The software can lock a specific poster or a combination of posters to a specific time to facilitate e-poster sessions.

On oral e-poster sessions, presenters can reach a much larger audience thanks to the Auto- Zoom feature. The pre-management of well organised oral e-poster sessions at meetings is facilitated by the ability to lock a session to browse and present specific e-posters assigned to a session. Usually there is a chairman to coordinate while each presenter has a 4-6

79 minutes slot to showcase his poster. Multiposters have created a general screen to introduce viewers to the poster session and inform them on the order of the upcoming posters to be presented, allowing presenters and viewers to know where they need to be at the specific time (Figure 3.30). During the very restrictive time allocated for poster during a poster session, which may vary between 3-6 minutes, a timer on the screen helps the presenter, facilitator and viewers not to exceed the allocated time. It is set to start from 00:00 and go up while it is respected by the participants without the need to have a time limit (Figure 3.31).

Figure 3.30: E-poster session screen with upcoming presentations and time of session

Figure 3.31: E-poster during poster session where a timer takes the place of the QR code

Every station is independent as each screen has its own laptop. The whole database of posters is loaded in every station. If a station is connected to the wireless network, an update can happen on the general database otherwise the update has to be performed manually on every station with a USB. The software and screens are password protected to avoid misuse.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 80 Poster submission takes place directly on the customised portal set-up for the clients. Authors/presenters or authorised submitters are able to download e-poster templates, upload their materials (poster, images and embedded videos) and provide personal publishing instructions. Accounts are created for every person that will submit a poster giving them also a QR code and the ability to upload their picture. When the submitting process begins, you need to provide author information, e-poster information, there is contract to accept, there is the option to publish during or after the meeting, a question of whether or not you agree to give it for download and the option to receive questions from the users. The whole validating process can last from few hours to few days from the multiposters side. Once everything is verified an email is sent to the author to review his poster. Sections of the poster in half cases are predifned by the author and in the other half by the multiposters team. The online release of ePosters is also controlled by Mutiposters due to restriction on publishing prior to a certain date and time. Users can shift between sections/videos by clicking on the next/previous arrows or in/out each section. They may also select precise sections or play integrated full screen videos. All posters are listed by topics/sessions and searchable by keywords, title, authors/presenters’ name, and even poster/abstract numbers when available. Users may rate; comment and share on social networks add them to favourites, send questions to the authors or receive a PDF version of the e-poster viewed, when permitted by the author. After 5 minutes of no action usually the screen is set to go back to the main menu where viewers can start browsing through e-posters by topic, author’s last name or number of poster (Figure 3.32, Figure 3.33).

Figure 3.32: Search screen by topic

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Figure 3.33: Search screen by poster number

Another type of presentations, Pierre-Yves referred to, was the poster-author session time. In a predefined time slot (2 sets of twelve streyms) every screen was locked for 30 minutes to only one poster and the author was standing next to it, making him available for questions and discussions that extended even after the 30 minute session.

The area that the stations are placed is very important as it affects the duration viewers have access to them. Using an area that is accessible even after the end of the conference, for example main hall, gives the opportunity to viewers to spent more time browsing through posters. Stations located in front of the registration area, allow instant access to the people waiting to register. For example in a 10.000 participants meeting, Multiposters counted at least 1000 views at each station.

Pierre-Yves also made a reference on a problem they sometimes faced where some authors hadn’t understood that they would give an oral presentation on their poster, while another time a presenter created the poster he wanted and in on section he inserted a 4-slide presentation that was actually what he used as his oral presentation.

Multilearning also released an App called “POSTER on the GO” that allows the audience full access to e-posters at all times, during an event and beyond. Auto-Zoom facilitates the reading and increases comprehension of e-posters viewed on smaller size screens, even on smartphones. More information can be included like the authors picture, biography and contact details. Again the search can be by author or topic, while you are able to save posters in your favourites (Figure 3.34) [119] [120] [121].

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Figure 3.34: Screens of the 'Poster on the Go' application

ePosters by Digital Acumen's APPRISOR™ Services Digital Acumen, founded in 1993, introduced electronic scientific posters, or ePosters, at medical meetings in 1999 and added integration with printed 2D barcodes in 2010. APPRISOR is the name of the meeting services line it offers. The customised ePoster system supports both single and multi-page ePosters, as well as video and author narration.

83 Designed for deployment during and after an organisation's meeting, the web-based reference system organises and displays poster content for easy access on an exhibition floor, or later through the online website. Users can quickly locate and review the posters in which they are most interested, through the intuitive desktop and mobile-friendly browser interface and powerful search capability by topic, author, number, or matching text. Acumen offers 3 ways of presenting posters: • Electronic posters only – where all posters are available on computer kiosks and any of attendees personal mobile devices • Large screen display – where all the posters are presented using a customise virtual carousel and display software on large screen like in a small theatre • Print poster – apart from authors printing and delivering the poster, Acumen offers a printing service, catering to scientific posters only, where the posters are shipped to the event site Users can also view each poster's abstract, authors, disclosures, as well as view each submitted poster in its entirety, with near infinite zoom, communicate with poster authors through the forum’s feature, or access e-posters and narration directly through a special 2D barcode tag for each poster. Detailed use statistics are collected through the tracking of system access. Viewer, by signing in, can build and share collections, build customized QR code links and view the top 50 best posters.

Figure 3.35: Screenshots of the e-poster database and example of the American Diabetes Association where poster have also audio material

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 84 Presenters receive customised emails so they can upload content via the Internet before, during, and after the meeting in ppt, pptx, doc, pdf, and most image formats, including additional media uploads of audio and video to play within the e-poster. The APPRISOR™ format protects author’s intellectual property. Access to posters can be global, via the Internet, or local, through an onsite network server. If accessed from a desktop that supports Adobe Flash Player, e-posters can be viewed through APPRISOR Viewer, whereas when accessed from mobile device that does not support Adobe Flash, e-posters will be viewed in pdf format [122] [123].

Figure 3.36: E-poster example of the APPRISOR product

85 Eposters Gallery by Cadmium CD Cadmium CD offers a wide range of conference services including conference proceedings, on-site audio recording, and audio synchronisation with presentation slides, abstract collection systems, speaker data collection, review tools, poster galleries, online itinerary planners, exhibitor management tools, and conference education Apps. The e-posters gallery is a database driven online system that stores posters, abstracts and keywords in an intuitive, easy-to-use format. It can be open for anyone to view, or you can set it up so that only attendees of your conference can access it. Users of the e-poster gallery can login, take notes directly on the poster, rate posters, and select favourites. The info is easy to share so that users can continuously educate themselves and others. Presenters submit their information through a secure online system. Submitting copyright permissions, collecting abstracts, identifying keywords and uploading posters is quickly and easily accomplished. Once the poster submitters have been identified and approved, the administrative effort needed to create the system is minimal; with the poster gallery instantly updated a new content is submitted. Gentle electronic reminders for those who have not submitted are sent through a bulk email system that is easily customised to target only those who have not completed specific task requests. Viewers of the online poster gallery can take notes and share interesting content. While browsing through the gallery, a notes feature allows viewers to create comments about individual posters and print them out. Other features include bookmarks that allow viewers to identify which posters are of interest to them, and ranking, which uses a 5-star scale. With four different search options, viewers can search for the information they want. Search options include viewing a list of poster titles and presenters, viewing all posters at once, selecting by most popular and keyword search capability with the default being to shuffle through individual posters presented with the supporting abstract, title and authors. Users can navigate the e-poster gallery by individual posters, thumbnail images, lists, and a variety of other ways. Or they can simply enter keywords into a search bar and instantly receive a list of relevant posters. A specialised sidebar allows users to search by category, author, or title so they can always find what they're looking for. If they're looking for a specific poster but can't remember this info, they can browse by thumbnail images to jog their visual memory. Finally, the ability to publish and present posters can extend beyond the length of the event to become part of the education accessible post-conference. Goal is to build a stronger community that is focused on collaboration. By requiring user logins, a complete breakdown of feedback and usage statistics can be obtained, so you can constantly enhance the educational goals.

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Figure 3.37: Home screen from the e-poster gallery of a conference

Figure 3.38: Different search views: List only, thubnail and list, detailed list view, thubnail view, fullscreen view, all at once view

87 3.3 Feedback on e-posters SciGen Technologies shared their statistical feedback collected in the years 2013 and first half of 2014 for conferences that were using e-posters for the first or second time, a transition period from printed to e-posters. The questionnaires (online link to an electronic survey) were sent to the delegates after the end of the event by the organisers, to fill them in anonymously. Approximately 2000 delegates, from all over the world that attended conferences in the UK and the USA, received them with the majority of them answering, however the accurate number is not known.

The majority of the delegates (84%) knew prior to arrival that there would be only e-posters, however only half of them knew they could view them online (58%) and almost the same amount tried to do so (51%). Knowing before the conference the existence of e-posters allows delegates to come well prepared, knowing they can find the posters online, which means they don’t have to take pictures or search for a usb stick to get the poster database. The overall feeling on how well the existence of e-posters was communicated, the instructions given on viewing e-posters on mobile devices and the ease of use of the online system was quite positive(95-88%), ranging from adequate to very good.

Rate the communication you received regarding e-posters

1% 4%

Very Good 21% 35% Good Adequate Poor Very Poor

39%

Figure 3.39: Communication received regarding e-posters

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 88 Did you know there would be only e-posters prior to arrival?

16%

Yes No

84%

Figure 3.40: Knownledge of e-posters prior to arrival

Did you know about viewing e-posters on mobile devices?

42% Yes No 58%

Figure 3.41: Knowledge of viewing e-posters on mobile devices

89 Rate the instructions on viewing e-posters on mobile devices

10% 2% 12%

Very Good Good Adequate

35% Poor 41% Very Poor

Figure 3.42: Rate the instructions on viewing e-posters on mobile devices

Have you tried to view e-posters online?

49% Yes 51% No

Figure 3.43: How many viewed e-posters online

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 90 How would you rate the ease of use of the onine system?

5% 9% 7%

Very straightforward Straightforward Adequate Difficult 38% 41% Very difficult

Figure 3.44: Rate the ease of use of the online system

An interesting percentage was the one regarding the clarity viewing e-posters online compared to printed, where 37% said it was better or much better, 33% saying it made no difference if the poster was printed or online and 30% said it was worse or much worse. According to Evangelos Karageorgos, SciGen representative, this was due to the fact that people didn’t know that they could find the posters online, meaning it didn’t make any difference for them if they would be printed or not, supported by the next statistic that indicated that 32% didn’t know if they would check them online in the future and 11% saying they wouldn’t. Although 74% said that e-posters should be open-access published online, it brings the question of information not being authenticated and verified since most of them are research in progress.

Rate the clarity viewing ePosters online (c.f. printed)

6% 11%

Much better 24% Better 26% No difference Worse Much worse

33%

Figure 3.45: Rate the clarity of viewing e-posters online

91

Will you view e-posters online in the future?

32% Yes No

57% I don’t know

11%

Figure 3.46: How many will view e-posters online in the future

Should e-posters be open-access published online?

15%

11% Yes No I don’t know

74%

Figure 3.47: Question of e-posters being open-access published online

The majority of delegates (95%) had a chance to view e-posters on the display screens during e-poster sessions or breaks. On the usefulness of the automated rotation of e- posters, 36% said it was, 44% it wasn’t and 20 % didn’t know. By using automated rotation, organisers try to give equal presentation time to every poster which can vary between 6-10 minutes having in mind that the attention span is 5-6 minutes. Many reasons can be behind the dislike of the automated rotation system, like the fact that you don’t have as much time

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 92 to look at one poster as you used to have with printed posters, the order of the posters might not be the order you would see them and many more.

Did you view ePosters on display screens?

5%

Yes - during Eposter 38% session Yes - during breaks

No 57%

Figure 3.48: How many viewed e-posters on display screens

Did you find the automated rotation useful?

20%

36% Yes No I don’t know

44%

Figure 3.49: Usefulness of the automated rotation

Finally, when it comes to the visual experience, 23% said it was poor or very poor. Although the question referred to the quality of the picture that depends on the screen quality and size, viewers might have mistaken it with the graphic and visual appeal of the posters. The audio experience, referring to a presenter talking, was also poorly rated with 50% of viewers rating it as poor or very poor.

93 Rate the visual experience

8% 13%

15% Very good Good Adequate 30% Poor Very poor 34%

Figure 3.50: Rate the visual experience

Rate the audio experience

10% 6%

18% Very good Good 29% Adequate Poor Very poor

37%

Figure 3.51: Rate the audio experience

From the delegates that filled the questionnaire, almost half of them (41%) submitted an e- poster. In order to submit their e-poster, presenters had to purchase a submission code that allowed them access to the uploading system. Only 4% found this experience poor or very poor, while a slightly higher percent (8%) said that the online submission was difficult or very difficult.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 94 Did you submit an e-poster?

41% Yes No 59%

Figure 3.52: How many submitted an e-poster

Rate the experience of purchasing the submission code

2% 2%

17% 27% Very straightforward Straightforward Adequate Poor Very poor

52%

Figure 3.53: Rate the experience of purchasing the submission code

95 Rate your experience of submission online

5% 3% 20% Very straightforward 24% Straightforward Adequate Difficult Very difficult

48%

Figure 3.54: Rate the experience of submission online

The above statistics show a positive turn towards e-posters both from a viewer’s and a presenter’s side. There are still issues to be resolved and depending on the technological familiarity of the users the satisfaction rate will change.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 96 3.4 Documented Evaluation of posters/e-posters Continuous quality improvement and performance improvement initiatives also lend themselves to demonstration in a poster or storyboard fashion. Some authors concentrate on the mechanics of developing poster presentations, such as content organisation and presentation style. Several others focus on aesthetic and artistic dimensions of poster presentations. Even though a number of articles, and more web sites, have included information on developing poster presentations, there is a dearth of information in the print literature focusing solely on effective evaluation tools that may be used to evaluate posters objectively. Currently, the available tools (e.g., print and electronic) used to evaluate poster displays are for the most part “elaborate questionnaires”. Essentially, an extensive list of criteria makes it difficult to evaluate professional poster displays objectively and quickly in the absence of the authors or presenters. Since the first appearance of an evaluation tool by Bushy in 1990, which one year later was modified and renamed by the same, the Research- Poster Appraisal Tool (R-PAT) was introduced, comprising 30 questions. Although this was widely used different evaluation tools emerged from printed or online literature. As there is no set standard for poster structure, there is no set standard for poster evaluation tools. For evaluating posters at a conference, one tool may not be specific enough, while another tool may assign too much credit to a specific area. In light of the information deficit and as a result of conducting a literature search on print and electronic sources, Bushy refined the R-PAT in 2004 (Figure 1) to reflect current trends. The goal was to develop a tool that may be used effectively to appraise research and continuous quality improvement and performance improvement poster. The R-PAT II lists essential criteria, in a 10 question format, that may be used both to create and rate posters for a variety of purposes which may be used to evaluate professional posters at local, regional, national, and international events objectively. Poster evaluation tools like the Research Appraisal Tool (R-PAT-II) developed by Garrison and Bushy (2004) provide a systematic approach to objectively evaluating the quality of poster presentations. Effective posters visually display information in a way that draws in the viewer and facilitates the sharing of knowledge with diverse conference participants. Not only are oral presentation skills important during a poster session, but also there is an art to creating a poster that requires practice and refinery. Despite the importance of sharing quotes in disseminating qualitative results, text-laden posters are discouraged because they are difficult for viewers to process [79] [100].

97

Figure 3.55: The R-PAT evaluation tool

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 98

Figure 3.56: The R-PAT II evaluation tool

Beamish et al. in their effort to explore the educational value and quality of conference poster presentation (only printed) identified and described the variation in poster exhibitions across a spectrum of 7 variables (poster present, presenter present, size, format, references, interpretability, overall rating) in 4 conferences in 2012, including a UK national, UK international, European and North American conference. Significant variation existed between conferences in posters and their presentation. The proportion of presenters failing to display their posters ranged from 3% to 26% (p < 0.0001). Adherence to size guidelines varied from 89% to 100% (p = 0.002). The inclusion of references ranged from 19% to 82% (p < 0.0001). The presence of a presenting author during the allocated session varied widely from 21% to 86% (p < 0.0001). No significant variation was observed in the proportion of posters that were formatted using aims, methods, results, and conclusion sections (81%-93%; p = 0.513) or in the proportion of posters that were identified as difficult to read (24%-28%; p = 0.919). Association for the

99 Study of Medical Education outperformed each of the other exhibitions overall (p < 0.0001). Posters with greater than the median of 4 authors performed significantly better across all areas (p < 0.0001-0.042) except presenter attendance (p = 0.480). Poster exhibitions varied widely, with room for improvement at all 4 conferences to improve presenter engagement and the educational value of poster exhibitions [124].

Regarding the evaluation of digital, split-site and traditional formats in conference poster sessions, in a 2004 study, qualitative and quantitative analysis suggested that no one format was preferred. Each had different strengths and weaknesses relating to seeing and hearing the presenter and viewing the poster [125].

As technology is evolving and electronic posters (e-posters) have been adopted at many medical conferences, the need to report on their usefulness and effectiveness emerged. Shin gathered 78 questionnaires (mean age: 44.84 ± 11.12 years) in the 2011 Korean Society of Nephrology Congress, from a total of 744 participants and 207 posters. Questionnaires comprised of items on the legibility, readability, accessibility and scientific value of the poster presentations. Legibility referred to the degree to which contents were recognisable and understandable. Readability referred to whether entire words, sentences and paragraphs were easy to read. Accessibility considered whether participants could access e- posters anytime and anywhere. The results showed trends in favour of e-posters over traditional formats for all items. Mean scores were: legibility, 8.6 ± 2.3 versus 7.9 ± 1.9 (p = 0.048); readability, 8.2 ± 1.9 versus 8.0 ± 2.9 (p = 0.052); accessibility, 9.1 ± 3.3 versus 6.0 ± 2.4 (p = 0.036), and scientific value, 8.6 ± 2.3 versus 7.8 ± 2.7 (p = 0.056). The mean final score for satisfaction with the e-poster system was 8.1 ± 2.4 and most respondents recommended using the e-poster system in future conferences [126].

Another evaluation was conducted by the author during the Manchester Surgical Week Convention 2015 that included the International Surgical Congress of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland - ASGBI along with the 11th International Congress of E- AHPBA in Manchester. The convention lasted 3 days, from Wednesday 22nd to Friday 24th April 2015, but attended only Wednesday 22nd, conducting 17 opportunistic interviews on the following 8 questions. 1. Do you often attend conference? 2. Do they have posters? 3. Is it the first time you see e-poster? 4. Are you a poster author? 5. Do you prefer e-posters from printed? 6. Why? 7. Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? 8. Are you going to check them online?

The convention featured presentations, e-posters but not e-poster sessions and exhibition area. This was the second year SciGen was used for the e-posters but the first time the setup of e-posters was like that. In the room/hall that led from the main conference room to the exhibition, lunch and coffee break room, 34 screens were placed one next to the other. Posters were organised by topic/focus area; each of the 32 screens was loaded with 10 posters that automatically rotated every 2 minutes, while 2 screens were connected to a

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 100 mouse and keyboard allowing viewers to search for a specific poster. The first 16 with rotating poster screens had ASGBI’s posters, the 17th was a search screen for ASGBI, 18th search screen for E-AHPBA and the rest where rotating poster screens for the E-AHPBA Congress. Observations: People were looking from 1-1.5 meters and where only coming closer if they got interested by the title. On the search screens, 4 people were documented searching for their poster to get a picture with it. Some people where just passing by having a look while others were going through all the posters. Some viewers took pictures of some poster sections. From the 17 people questioned, the majority preferred e-posters, although a drawback mentioned, was the time you had to read the poster, which was of great significance to all the people questioned. All the viewers supported that they were content oriented and would read a poster regardless of the visual appeal, which would help but not have a great effect, except for extreme cases where the information was very hard to read. Most of them said they would prefer to have chaired poster sessions to interact with the author. None of them knew that the posters would be available online, but once informed almost all of them said they would check them online. The fact that the posters were not placed in a huge room was a positive comment although different opinions arouse as some people prefer to view the posters on their own pace, and know which ones they have already seen by walking past them, while others liked the fact that they didn’t have to move around since the posters were changing in front of them.

Figure 3.57: E-poster screens at the Manchester Surgical Week Convention 2015

101

Figure 3.58: Manchester Surgical Week Convention 2015

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 102 CHAPTER 4_CONCLUSIONS

4.1 What exactly is an e-poster or digital poster? As stated in the beginning the poster gender is changing and evolving and no agreed definitions and descriptions exist. In concept an e-poster is much like a conventional paper poster, except that you display it in on a large screen HDTV rather than a poster board. We can say it’s an electronic version of the traditional poster. Instead of walking through a large hall full of poster boards, the viewer simply stands in front of the screen either seeing e- posters rotating, or using a mouse driven or touch screen search and menu system to find and view the posters. E-posters have revolutionised the way traditional posters are viewed at conferences, online and on mobile devices. As event organisers are generally responding to the needs of their audience, this means certain events are likely to adopt new technology faster than others. The medical field is a pioneer in this field as well. They were the first to use e-posters and keep on using them at most conferences. This is due to the fact that the medical sector is the one that needs to be constantly up to date, and the use of screen instead of poster facilitates the dissemination of information in a faster, more efficient and time and place resistant way. During the e-poster session, presenters give short presentations in an informal setting, where they can show audiovisual material, and facilitate direct discussions with delegates at designated e-poster stations, where e-posters are also available for view at the stations throughout the conference. The objectives of e-posters are to broaden the reach of scientific posters by disseminating findings as broadly as possible, enhance the viewing experience and discussions at conferences in order to get in contact with experts in the field and extend the life of Scientific Posters.

Based on existing products an e-poster can have 3 different formats, where authors may use any design software to create their posters a. One slide file of ppt or pdf in the normal poster size b. Multiple slide poster presentation c. HTML online poster (you need to import all your text and pictures in the programme provided) The first format is the most commonly used that facilitates a smoother transition from paper to screen, allowing authors to use any programme they fancy. The second format is a try to rebrand the e-poster and make it a presentation so it gets a better position in the eyes of the authors and viewers. However it loses the meaning of poster in that way as it cannot be a standalone page, and you are losing the auto rotate ability during the day of the conference. The third format is the one that better reflects the meaning of electronic poster as the format itself is electronic.

4.2 Hardware Compatibility E-posters are displayed on screens of various sizes and quality (44-60 inches). The quality of the hardware affects the experience of the viewer. A High Definition screen makes the viewing less tiring for the eyes and more vivid. Every screen is connected to a laptop that runs the software and has the database of e-posters so as to avoid internet connection failure. Screens can either be touch screens or connected to a mouse or keyboard to allow

103 interaction with the presenters and viewers. Depending on the way organisers want to promote e-posters and the budget they have they can make it from a simple experience to a very hi-tech one. Set up can be from simple screens that rotate e-posters, like in the Manchester Surgical Week 2015, to a wall of screens that show e-posters in a very large size. E-posters software is device-independent meaning that it runs on any hardware and is compatible with tablets, computers, smaller screens, and mobiles. The e-poster database is loaded on every computer so that it is network independent but every computer is usually also connected to the internet, or a local network, to allow simultaneous access and control of e-posters.

4.3 Benefits of e-posters E-posters are designed with the three most important users in mind: the poster presenters submitting the information, the viewers looking to advance their knowledge and the administrators who need a great product without investing a lot of time and effort.

Benefits of e-posters

Poster Organising Scientific Environment author Committee Community

For the poster author The poster creation and submission becomes easier taking just a few seconds to minutes while there is no need for the author to print, carry and pin his poster on conventional boards in the conference hall or worry if it will get lost or damaged during transportation. Video and dynamic images that can be included make the poster more interesting and interactive while creating discourse between the author and their audience, both at the conference and offsite post conference. Knowing that the poster will stay online, authors might give more attention to the visual aspect of it.

For the organising committee The conference becomes “state-of-the-art” with improvement in the quality of presented posters that all attendees can access from all kind of devices. Organisers don’t have to worry about who is actually brining his poster, as everything will be with them before the start of the conference.

For the scientific community All scientific information published in a poster session is preserved on the Internet making conference posters a point of reference in the scientific literature and giving duration to the name of the conference. Posters can be archived, stored and displayed online, whereas paper ones jut get thrown away. This way it is easier to find posters you want by searching author, title, subject or keywords. The post-conference experience is nowadays part of medical societies’ yearlong educational program.

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 104 For the environment A conference becomes environmentally friendly since both the monetary cost and the environmental burden associated with printing, carrying in tubes and hanging tens, hundreds or even thousands of posters is avoided. Poster presentation is an important activity at academic conferences. It provides opportunities to present new information and to facilitate communication among interested groups. At both national and international conferences, however, very few attendees read posters and ask useful questions. To make matters worse, content recall has been established as poor. In these circumstances, e-posters can complement traditional presentation formats and provide additional benefits in some areas. For example, e-posters can enhance scientific communication or discussion more easily, even after the meeting. Given the increased interest in e-posters, attention should be paid to evaluating and identifying the usefulness, effectiveness and educational effects of e-posters at medical conferences. Their advantages include the provision of video files, in which various clinical and surgical procedures can be displayed. E-posters can also be synchronised to tablet PCs and smartphones. This enables attendees of a conference to search for and look at e-posters anywhere and at any time. Moreover, e-posters are provided not only during but also after a meeting, and thus participants can refer to e-posters and exchange their opinions with authors at any time. However, e-posters are also subject to various problems, such as those associated with copyright infringement, and the cost associated with the set-up and maintenance of an e-poster system is not negligible.

4.4 Functions and suggestions Changing the way posters are displayed, from paper to screens, their functions are enhanced. E-posters are inextricably linked to the e-poster archive gallery. New features that e-posters enclose have to do with:

Multimedia Audio and video can be easily added on an e-poster for a better understanding.

Connectivity Delegates can connect with the author through his details that are uploaded on the e-poster archive gallery with a simple click or connect with him on a research platform. These information may include a picture and a small biography as well, to make it easier for delegates to recognise him. These contact details can also be on the e-poster as a hyperlink. Sharing the e-poster with colleagues that are not even attending the conference or saving a pdf version is easier than ever. A live question and answer feature could allow everyone to ask questions to the author anonymously or not. Although during the e-poster session, this might not be practical enough, as each presentation lasts for 5-8 minutes, it would be interesting to have it enabled throughout the days of the conference.

Navigation When seeing an e-poster on any screen, you have the ability to zoom in and out so you enlarge the parts you need to see well. An e-poster can be divided into sections, with a navigation bar at the side, where you can see each one and click to zoom in a linear way. This is more helpful in small screens where navigation can save a lot of time from trying to zoom in. QR codes that can be either placed on the poster or on the side in the navigation

105 bar allow easy online access to delegates. Taking notes directly on an e-poster allows the delegate to have all his information well organised.

Control All e-posters and all screens can be controlled online, giving the option of locking posters on screens, in designated station for specific time, or changing simultaneously in order to start the sessions all together, and having a timer to give equal time to presenters.

Graphic Restrictions When an e-poster making programme is used or when the e-poster is in HTML, restrictions on board size, font size, colours and backgrounds can be imposed by the organisers or the e- poster company to have a more aesthetically pleasant result.

Feedback Delegates can leave their feedback either by rating the e-poster, in a star-scale, liking the most interesting ones, or even without knowing it by searching for an e-posters. However the rating system can be too complicated and time consuming to have it on the screens on the actual day, so it would make more sense to have it online. On every station and online, the software counts how many people searched for what, giving a statistical feedback of what is more interesting and worth reading for delegates. Searching can be by author, title, poster number or key words, while statistic view feedback can be by station, by day or on the online gallery. Technology is here to make things easier, not to complicate them. Although almost everything is possible nowadays, attention should be given to what exactly is needed, so as not to overwhelm the viewer and make it a work experience for him.

Use Cases Below we will examine how an average viewer will react in 3 different set-ups of e-posters, and the action he will take when in front of them. In this transitional stage of moving from paper posters to e-posters and e-posters sessions, the medical sector is pioneering in the field by being the first to adapt to this new technology. Our use cases are also taking place in a medical conference with touch screens that auto rotate e-posters but also give the option of searching in all of them. PC stations also exist to allow separate search while seated.

Average viewer’s profile An average medical professional, 35-45 years old, European education, that is well connected with technology (owns a Smartphone, downloads apps) and wants to be updated and informed on new findings and techniques as well as connected with other peers. Has attended many conferences and has also done posters in the past.

Conference has only display e-posters The viewer walks in the e-poster area during breaks. Actions that he takes:

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 106 Stay in front of screens for a long time to watch the posters change without interfering // Walk very close to the screen to read and zoom in and out of areas or navigate through the poster // Walk by all the screens to look at the posters displayed at that time// Go to the screens where you can search to find posters that you want or sit in front of existing PCs to search the whole database Do nothing // Scan the QR code to go to the e-poster online so you can bookmark or send to a colleague // search the database on your mobile // see the picture, bio and contact details of the author on the screen or on your mobile// take notes on the poster on personal tablet or mobile // contact the author to meet him in the conference

Conference that has display e-posters and e-poster sessions (8 e-posters per screen) Congregate in front of a screen on the designated area and time to listen to e-poster presentations on a subject, moderated by a chairman, for a specific time of one hour with 8 presentations. 10 authors are there, the moderator and the audience interested (standing), every author has a 7-minute slot including Q&A to showcase his research Moderator starts // first presenter begins // he zooms in and out of the poster while talking so all people can see clearly // he streams a video if needed to show what words can’t explain so good // everyone sees the clock and adjust according to the time // moderator interferes if it goes off time schedule // Q&A after presentation // presenter can go back and forth in the e-poster by zooming to explain further In the meantime, viewer, marks questions on his mobile or tablet, sends them to the author online, asks them live, or sends them to the moderator’s tablet that will ask all the questions at the end. This goes into loop. Until the last presenter finishes. Discussions can continue even after the end of the session in front of another screen that the parties interested can navigate as they wish.

Conference that has static e-poster sessions (10 e-posters on 10 screens for one hour) Author has a designated time and screen that will display only his poster for one hour, in a room with other screens that are set to do the same. Author stands next to his poster and gives small presentations and explanations to people interested. He zooms in and out of the poster while talking so all people can see clearly // he streams a video if needed to show what words can’t explain so good // Q&A after his presentation Less intimidating, friendlier, can go on long after the end of the session

Actions after you leave the conference area Go to the online gallery to search for posters // Check the bookmarked posters // Wait for the paper to come out // Contact the author for more info // Rate the poster// Share it on social media // Connect with the author and see his research profile in different networks // forget about it // Leave feedback on the poster to make it better

107 Old fashioned viewer’s profile Old fashion viewer that is used to the paper posters and is not a big fan of technology will react to the e-posters the same way he would in the paper posters. Probably have a look while on the conference but no interaction before or after. However by seeing other people interacting or the potential of an e-poster he might be intrigued to search for the e-poster online if he was fascinated by it. As stated in the first chapter, a viewer’s actions are driven by his intentions.

4.6 Author’s Conclusions and thoughts Displaying posters in scientific conferences is an established way of disseminating information. Due to its nature, it is a type of presentation that is still defining itself and evolving according to the needs of the audience. As technology is moving forward people are adapting to the trends and are used to finding everything online with the click of a mouse or a tap on a touch screen device. Information is transmitted and stored in different means. As technology offers a number of sharing and networking opportunities, the need to evolve from paper posters to electronic arouse. As stated above the format of a poster might change but the essence stays the same. The e- poster is displayed on a screen instead of being printed on paper and exists on an online gallery that is accessible from any device, any time, any place. A basic need that led to this upgrade had to do with the logistics point of posters from printing to transporting and hanging up on the wall. Making the whole process difficult and stressful for authors and organisers as too many people were involved in the final steps of setting up the poster. Moving forward to e-posters, all the material is gathered days before the event in the ease of a click and send. So authors have one less thing to worry about and organisers know how many actually send their posters and can chase the rest to do as well. Another aspect that was covered was the need for huge rooms to hang all the posters, by rotating e-posters on screens, viewers can see more posters by standing in front of one screen. Different feedback of this set up confirms that as the audience consists of different people with different priorities and preferences, not everyone are fond of the new way forward. The fact that you can see a poster on a screen and not printed offers audiovisual and interaction enhancements. Adding video or sound facilitates the comprehension of information where text or plain images wouldn’t be enough to describe what is needed. Links or QR codes included can provide access to even more information or the online version of the poster. Other features like zoom in/zoom out, linear navigation in the sections of the poster, taking notes, contacting the author etc can augment the e-poster experience. The ability to add sounds allows the author to actually have his presentation always accompanying his poster, emphasising more on the things he wants and making it even faster and better for the viewer to understand the key points of the research. Having e-posters on an online gallery, before after or during the conference, means that you allow access to even more people without the restrictions of time and space. Delegates that have enrolled for the conference, and in most cases even those who haven’t, can see all the posters in the ease of their computer, tablet or mobile; search for topics, authors or keywords they are interested in and making it easier to contact the author, leave feedback, rate, share or keep a record. A great number of viewers choose to be only viewers without the interaction and the feedback they need to give to the author in order to move the field

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 108 forward. People are either not so interested to get involved or are afraid that any questions they might ask will sound stupid. There are of course those who want to get actively involved and start cooperation with other experts in the field. These people would have tried to get in touch with the author in any way even with the printed posters, because their purpose was that, but by making the connection between author and viewers easier you raise the chances of more people interacting as everyone is accessible in an informal way, that doesn’t intimidate people. As we live in the information era, people expect to find the information they need without having to look too much. There are a lot of advantages on the before and after the event. What happens on the day of the event though and how much more helpful can e-posters be compared to the printed ones? It all comes down to the way the organisers have decided to place and promote e-posters and how much they will try to engage people with this new format. Technology is here to help but it’s the way people will embrace it that will make things different. In an event where only e-poster display exists, not all the benefits of an e-poster are used. People will interact but since they are not so familiar yet, if they don’t see anyone navigating, zooming, playing a video etc, their functions will not be too different from a paper poster that is only there for display. The online functions of the e-poster gallery will still be available for search, contact, take notes. If the event includes poster sessions then much more of the functions are used. E-posters can be controlled by a main computer or tablet and lock at the same time on selected posters so that the authors can start their presentations. While the presenter is speaking he can zoom in and out of the things he wants to emphasise, making them more visible to everyone that has gathered around the screen. He can play a video to show a procedure that would otherwise be too difficult to explain. At the same time both presenter and audience could be aware of the time they have for presentations and questions by seeing the clock on the screen. In static e-poster sessions, posters are locked on specific screens for a certain amount of time with the presenter standing next to them. All the features of an e-poster can be fully used when the presenter is doing his presentation. As stated above it’s the way that presenters, viewers and organisers will promote and engage with e-posters and use their features in full, supporting viewers to get more involved and active. A new era of e-posters is here to stay.

109 APPENDIX Questionnaires at the Manchester Surgical Week Convention 2015, that included the International Surgical Congress of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland - ASGBI along with the 11th International Congress of E-AHPBA in Manchester. The convention lasted 3 days, from Wednesday 22nd to Friday 24th April 2015, but the author attended only Wednesday 22nd, conducting 17 opportunistic interviews.

1. Female 35 Do you often attend conference? YES Do they have posters? YES Is it the first time you see e-poster? NO Are you a poster author? NOT TODAY Do you prefer e-posters from printed? YES Why? You need a smaller area to place them so you don’t have to walk around and it’s easier to look at them Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? More focus on content, they don’t have to be beautiful. I prefer lighter than darker background Are you going to check them online? Didn’t know they would be online, Yes I will

2. Female 37 (She went through all the screens- not very familiar with technology) Do you often attend conference? YES Do they have posters? YES Is it the first time you see e-poster? FIRST TIME Are you a poster author? NO Do you prefer e-posters from printed? YES Why? Easier to read. Don’t have to take papers Negative: No time to read them Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Are you going to check them online? Didn’t know you could check them online, I would check Comments: I would prefer the author to be present

3. Male 30 Do you often attend conference? First time Do they have posters? - Is it the first time you see e-poster? YES Are you a poster author? YES Do you prefer e-posters from printed? YES

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 110 Why? Just as good as printed, you save paper Negative: It would be nice to be able to change them yourself Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? More content but I would not read if it was too small or too messy Are you going to check them online? YES

4. Male 40 – Indian (browsing posters on his own spending time to check Do you often attend conference? YES Do they have posters? YES Is it the first time you see e-poster? YES Are you a poster author? NOT THIS TIME Do you prefer e-posters from printed? Electronic Why? It saves paper and its less of a hassle, I would spent the same time on printed and electronic Positive: You can flip back and forth. Sections are easier to look. They are all in one place, saves time from walking around Negative: Good to have a presenter and chairman to help and be next to posters Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Are you going to check them online? Yes will check, it’s easier to contact the author, just one click away

5. Male 35 – Has done both printed and e-posters, he has been looking on the poster but hasn’t interacted on the computers Do you often attend conference? YES Do they have posters? YES Is it the first time you see e-poster? NO Are you a poster author? YES Do you prefer e-posters from printed? Yes Why? They are collected in a smaller area so it’s doesn’t take space Negative: They switch too quickly, you have to wait for them to switch, and you can’t interact Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Not to read if it’s not nice Are you going to check them online? YES

6. Male 45 Do you often attend conference? YES Do they have posters? YES Is it the first time you see e-poster? YES

111 Are you a poster author? No Do you prefer e-posters from printed? E-posters, but I would spent the same time in front of a poster no matter if it’s printed or on screen Why? Better to read Negative: 2minutes not enough, you need a lot of time to see them all in front of a screen, and you can’t see all Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Content more important Are you going to check them online? Yes, contact the author a lot easier with one click

7. Male 40 Do you often attend conference? Second Do they have posters? No Is it the first time you see e-poster? First time to see posters Are you a poster author? Yes Do you prefer e-posters from printed? Yes Why? Better than printed Negative: Time not enough tm, to see all of them; Paper is there so you can read at your own pace, on screen you have to scan Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? No difference the aesthetics Are you going to check them online? Yes, contact the author easier

8. Male 50 Do you often attend conference? Yes Do they have posters? YES Is it the first time you see e-poster? No Are you a poster author? No Do you prefer e-posters from printed? Equally the same, stand and read take your time with posters Why? I don’t see any differences Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Content, if the topic is relevant you would look at the poster Are you going to check them online? Yes

9. Male 50 Do you often attend conference? Yes Do they have posters? Yes Is it the first time you see e-poster? Yes

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 112 Are you a poster author? No Do you prefer e-posters from printed? The same, nothing different from the usefulness perspective Why? – Negative: They change too fast Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Content but helps if they are aesthetically pleasant Are you going to check them online? Yes

10. Male 32 – went past 20 screens didn’t understand the topic, he interacted a bit with them on the iPad Do you often attend conference? Yes Do they have posters? Yes Is it the first time you see e-poster? No Are you a poster author? Yes Do you prefer e-posters from printed? Not preferred from a reading perspective but screens give more clarity Why? Because it’s difficult to know if you have seen them all Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Title and content more important than aesthetics Are you going to check them online? Just to have a look and if they are very interested in the same topic he would contact

11. Male 40 Do you often attend conference? Yes Do they have posters? Yes Is it the first time you see e-poster? Yes Are you a poster author? No Do you prefer e-posters from printed? Yes Why? Easier to read, better quality Negative: they move too fast Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Content more important, aesthetically pleasant a bonus Are you going to check them online? Yes, and contact the author if needed

12. Male 55 - Indian Do you often attend conference? Yes

113 Do they have posters? Yes Is it the first time you see e-poster? Yes Are you a poster author? No Do you prefer e-posters from printed? The same Why? E-posters look sharper, more presentable, and very clear Negative: When you are in the middle of the poster it changes, no time to read, time consuming to wait for the poster to rotate, printed give you the option of skipping things you don’t want to see Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Content more important Are you going to check them online? Probably not

13. Male 40 - US Do you often attend conference? Yes Do they have posters? Yes Is it the first time you see e-poster? No Are you a poster author? No Do you prefer e-posters from printed? E-poster Why? Better quality, equal in size, Rotating is good Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Content i Are you going to check them online? Yes, will not contact but wait for paper to come out

14. Male 40 - White Do you often attend conference? Yes Do they have posters? Yes Is it the first time you see e-poster? No Are you a poster author? Not today Do you prefer e-posters from printed? E-posters Why? Easier to read, Better quality, Better images, Small place reduced facilities Negative: on the content, not specific, too much text Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? You are attracted by the aesthetics and intrigued to read the rest Are you going to check them online? No, only see them at the event

15. Female 27 - student Do you often attend conference? Yes

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 114 Do they have posters? Yes Is it the first time you see e-poster? Yes Are you a poster author? No Do you prefer e-posters from printed? E-poster Why? Feels better. Like that the screen rotates; they look flashier but have the same usefulness as printed Negatives: Nothing really Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Combination Are you going to check them online? If it was interesting yes

16. Female 53 – not familiar with technology, wanted to have a book with the abstracts on the day, was waiting for a long time to publish the abstracts, preferred when the author was next to its poster, it’s not easy for authors to be there for 3 days Do you often attend conference? Yes Do they have posters? Yes Is it the first time you see e-poster? Yes Are you a poster author? No Do you prefer e-posters from printed? Nice but change too fast Why? I don’t have time to read Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Content Are you going to check them online? Will wait for them to get published

17. Female 36 English Do you often attend conference? Yes Do they have posters? Yes Is it the first time you see e-poster? No Are you a poster author? Yes Do you prefer e-posters from printed? Prefer printed Why? You can go around on your own pace, and you miss a lot if they are rotating, time consuming to wait for the next one to come Is it the content or the aesthetics you would focus more? Content Are you going to check them online? Yes spent time online, if they had poster sessions could work better

115 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Number of meetings 1963-2012, 5-year aggregated data ...... 21 Figure 1.2: Market share per region by number of meetings ...... 22 Figure 1.3: Estimated total number of participants ...... 23 Figure 1.4: Subject matters by relative number of meetings ...... 24 Figure 1.5: Conferences Segmentation ...... 25 Figure 2.1: Posters (rows A-H) in one of the nine poster sessions at Neuroscience 2009 ...... 35 Figure 2.2: Posters in rows U-HH at Neuroscience 2009...... 35 Figure 2.3: Posters in the Celebration of Research ...... 36 Figure 2.4: Posters in the Celebration of Research 2015 (E-posters on the back) ...... 36 Figure 2.5: Poster Session in the Celebration of Research 2015 ...... 37 Figure 2.6: Posters in IGARSS2014 ...... 37 Figure 2.7: Posters in TIPP 2014 ...... 38 Figure 2.8: Posters in the 35th American Indian Workshop ...... 38 Figure 2.9: Visual balance through the axis of symmetry ...... 46 Figure 2.10: Horizontal 4-column format ...... 47 Figure 2.11: Poster layout - Results arena ...... 48 Figure 2.12: Poster layout - Traditional results arena ...... 48 Figure 2.13: Poster layout - 4 column horizontal ...... 49 Figure 2.14: Poster layout - vertical ...... 49 Figure 2.15: Poster layout - vertical results arena...... 50 Figure 2.16: Overuse of background picture and matching clothes with the poster. Photograph Nicole Barker ...... 52 Figure 2.17: Study presenter in lavender-coloured blouse (chosen to coordinate with poster colour) and in rust-coloured blouse (chosen to clash with poster)...... 53 Figure 2.18: Colour models: RYB, CMYK, RGB ...... 54 Figure 2.19: Primary, secondary and tertiary colours in the RYB ...... 54 Figure 2.20: Differentiating colours problem. On the left, strawberries as they appear to a person with full-colour vision and on the right to a person who can't tell red from green. Source: www.vischeck.com ...... 56 Figure 2.22: View from the scene camera, with point of gaze (red circle) in this example directed at the poster conclusions. Schematic representation the gaze transitions between regions, across all observers and posters. Arrow size represents the relative frequency...... 58 Figure 3.1: Example of e-poster with QR Code and hyperlinks [104]...... 61 Figure 3.2: Screenshot of a digital interactive poster presentation [106]...... 62 Figure 3.3: How a ‘Media Poster’ is viewed ...... 63 Figure 3.4: Sample for ACSN 2010 e-poster submissions ...... 64

Pissaridi Maria Anastasia dpsd04041 116 Figure 3.5: An example of web-based e-poster from 2006 ...... 65 Figure 3.6: Life poster session, with the avatar of NCAT director Christopher Watts ...... 65 Figure 3.7: Mobile screens of the Elsevier mobile application ...... 67 Figure 3.8: Customised application with login details ...... 68 Figure 3.9: E-poster session during the ASA 2014 ...... 69 Figure 3.10: Delegates presenting medically challenging cases in ASA 2013 ...... 69 Figure 3.11: RCOG World Congress 2014 ...... 70 Figure 3.12: RCOG World Congress 2013 in action ...... 70 Figure 3.13: E-poster search page of a conference from pc ...... 71 Figure 3.14: E-poster with navigation buttons ...... 71 Figure 3.15: Scolars poster example ...... 72 Figure 3.16: Scolars poster example 2...... 72 Figure 3.17: Scolars poster example - enlarge pictures tool ...... 73 Figure 3.18: Delegates cluster around a poster station while author makes presentation .... 73 Figure 3.19: Delegates cluster around a poster station to hear simultaneous poster presentations ...... 74 Figure 3.20: Personal and group interaction with the e-poster on the conference ...... 75 Figure 3.21: Home screen of e-poster gallery with and without login details ...... 75 Figure 3.22: E-posters search screen ...... 76 Figure 3.23: E-posters results screen, search by author's name ...... 76 Figure 3.24: E-posters results screen, search by poster theme ...... 76 Figure 3.25: E-poster from Paperless Events ...... 77 Figure 3.26: Contact the author of the e-poster feature ...... 77 Figure 3.27: E-poster stations and search PC workstations ...... 78 Figure 3.28: E-poster screens in action ...... 79 Figure 3.29: E-poster with navigation and QR code ...... 79 Figure 3.30: E-poster session screen with upcoming presentations and time of session...... 80 Figure 3.31: E-poster during poster session where a timer takes the place of the QR code .. 80 Figure 3.32: Search screen by topic ...... 81 Figure 3.33: Search screen by poster number ...... 82 Figure 3.34: Screens of the 'Poster on the Go' application ...... 83 Figure 3.35: Screenshots of the e-poster database and example of the American Diabetes Association where poster have also audio material ...... 84 Figure 3.36: E-poster example of the APPRISOR product ...... 85 Figure 3.37: Home screen from the e-poster gallery of a conference ...... 87 Figure 3.38: Different search views: List only, thubnail and list, detailed list view, thubnail view, fullscreen view, all at once view ...... 87

117 Figure 3.39: Communication received regarding e-posters ...... 88 Figure 3.40: Knownledge of e-posters prior to arrival ...... 89 Figure 3.41: Knowledge of viewing e-posters on mobile devices ...... 89 Figure 3.42: Rate the instructions on viewing e-posters on mobile devices...... 90 Figure 3.43: How many viewed e-posters online ...... 90 Figure 3.44: Rate the ease of use of the online system ...... 91 Figure 3.45: Rate the clarity of viewing e-posters online ...... 91 Figure 3.46: How many will view e-posters online in the future ...... 92 Figure 3.47: Question of e-posters being open-access published online ...... 92 Figure 3.48: How many viewed e-posters on display screens ...... 93 Figure 3.49: Usefulness of the automated rotation ...... 93 Figure 3.50: Rate the visual experience ...... 94 Figure 3.51: Rate the audio experience ...... 94 Figure 3.52: How many submitted an e-poster ...... 95 Figure 3.53: Rate the experience of purchasing the submission code ...... 95 Figure 3.54: Rate the experience of submission online ...... 96 Figure 3.55: The R-PAT evaluation tool ...... 98 Figure 3.56: The R-PAT II evaluation tool ...... 99 Figure 3.57: E-poster screens at the Manchester Surgical Week Convention 2015 ...... 101 Figure 3.58: Manchester Surgical Week Convention 2015 ...... 102

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