Vol. 39, No. 1, January 2010
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History of Science Society
COMMITTEE ON MEETINGS AND PROGRAMS (CoMP)
GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING PROPOSALS
- In evaluating individual proposals for possible inclusion in general sessions created by the Program Chairs from “contributed papers” submissions:
- The principal criterion will be the quality of the proposal.
- A second factor of substantial weight will be the need to bring balance to the program.
- No person, but for the most exceptional circumstances (to be cleared with the chair of CoMP), may appear on the program twice (as presenter of a paper, commentator, discussant, or chair). A person may, however, serve more than one function in a single session—e.g., as chair and presenter or commentator or discussant or as a presenter in a panel. Also, a person is exempt from the stricture against duplication if he or she serves only as an organizer of another session or a presenter in a special gathering such as a workshop or plenary session.
- Priority will be given to people who did not appear on the two previous years’ program. Poster presenters in prior meetings are exempt from this provision.
(Note: The Program Chairs will reserve a block of sessions for “contributed papers,” primarily, but not solely, by graduate students. Graduate students are also encouraged to apply as participants in regular sessions.)
- The principal criterion will be the quality of the proposal.
- In evaluating sessions that organizers submit as wholes and whose proposals support unified themes:
- The principal criterion will be the importance of the topic and the perceived quality of the proposals and their integration into a meaningful and useful session.
- Another criterion will be the need for balance in the subjects covered on the program.
- Another factor will be sponsorship by an official HSS interest group or committee (one session only).
- An additional factor will be involvement of participants representing diversity of institutional affiliations.
- Priority will be given to people who did not appear on the previous year’s program.
(Note: For inclusion on the official program, the following activities require regular applications as sessions:- public forums or speakers sponsored by HSS interest groups and committees
- honorific sessions sponsored by members’ colleagues
- commemorations of historic events
- plenary sessions
- other special gatherings
- public forums or speakers sponsored by HSS interest groups and committees
- Program Chairs will judge these submissions along with other sessions on their merits. (Of course, official HSS interest groups and committees remain welcome to mount special programs in the time-slots normally allocated for their business meetings. Similarly, HSS members remain welcome to organize private activities independent of the official program.)
- The principal criterion will be the importance of the topic and the perceived quality of the proposals and their integration into a meaningful and useful session.
- In evaluating posters, which will be set up on 6’ x 2.5’ tables at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning with the authors present from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm,
- The principal criterion will be the quality of the proposal.
- Poster presentations should be principally “extra-textual.” These can be images, artifacts, even “experiments.” Displays must serve as the lynchpin for some kind of point (if not an argument) that can be conveyed in a short oral explication/demonstration.
- Another factor of substantial weight will be the need to bring balance to the program.
- No person, but for the most exceptional circumstances (to be cleared with the chair of CoMP), may appear on the program twice (as presenter of a paper, or poster, commentator, discussant, or chair). A person may, however, serve more than one function in a single session—e.g., as chair and presenter or commentator or discussant or as a presenter in a panel. Also, a person is exempt from the stricture against duplication if he or she serves only as an organizer of another session or a presenter in a special gathering such as a workshop or plenary session. To encourage poster submissions, CoMP voted in 2009 not to penalize those who presented a poster in a prior year when selecting papers. That is, if X presented a poster in 2009, then the program chairs should not have that enter into considerations when judging X’s paper for 2010.
While judging contributed paper submissions, program chairs should keep in mind whether or not the submission might make a good poster. Sometimes, worthy proposals are declined because they cannot be grouped with other papers to form a session.
- In evaluating workshops, field trips, or site visits:
- The principal criterion will be the activity’s relevance to the society’s collective goals.
- A related issue will be the activity’s logistical feasibility.
- Another factor of importance will be the need to bring balance to the program.
- A final aspect will be sponsorship by an official HSS interest group or committee, including the local arrangements committee.
(Note: The program chairs will reserve periods during Thursday afternoon and Friday evening for workshops, field trips, site visits, and related activities.)
- The principal criterion will be the activity’s relevance to the society’s collective goals.
- Audio Visual Needs: Those who propose a paper are asked to identify their a/v needs. Due to the high number of requests for LCD projectors (also known as beamers) and the difficulty in making selective assignment of these projectors, CoMP voted in 2008 to make LCD projectors available in all 10 breakout rooms.