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Life Support AAS2022, Deakin University 23-26 November

Information for participants

Download conference map

 

AAS membership

Convenors and presenters do not have to be members of the association. However, the AAS welcomes new members (more info on the association's membership page). Members can register for the conference at a discounted rate.

Registration

All those attending the conference, including convenors, authors, discussants and chairs, will need to register and pay to attend. Registration will open in September.

Timing within panels

Each panel/roundtable/lab session slot will be 105 minutes long, accommodating a maximum of 5 presenters. Convenors should allot each presenter a maximum of 15+5 mins for panels of 5 papers but 20+5 mins for panels of 4 papers.

Multiple roles in the conference

Each participant is permitted to present a paper once, convene once (in a panel, lab or roundtable), be a discussant once (in a panel, lab or roundtable), be a chair once (in a panel, lab, or roundtable). Please note that roundtable participants are considered discussants.

Using Cocoa to manage your panel

Convenors should login from the Log in link in the top right corner above to manage/mark-up paper proposals, state any specific timing requests for their panel, and place the papers in order. If an author emails to withdraw their paper, the paper should be marked as 'Withdrawn' in the login environment and the conference admin notified. The Cocoa panel page has a tool convenors can use to email authors their decisions (and keep in touch during the whole conference process).

Editing your paper

Paper authors can edit their papers in Cocoa. Use the Login link in the top right corner of this page to log in to your Cocoa account.

How to update your contact information

All conference participants can update their contact information in Cocoa. Use the Login link in the top right corner of this page to log in to your Cocoa account.

Communication between authors/convenors/delegates

Participant email addresses are not shown on the panel pages for privacy reasons, but there is an in-built secure email messaging system you can use on those pages. If you cannot work that, please email to obtain relevant email addresses.

Adding co-authors, co-convenors, chairs and discussants

If you did not specify colleagues when proposing the panel/paper, these will need adding manually by the conference administrators (as you cannot yet add these yourself in Cocoa). Please email the conference administrators with names and email addresses and role they’ll play, and we will email them a request to add their details so we can add them to your content. If you did specify contributors when you made your proposal but cannot see their on the website, please get in touch as well.

How to share your panel page with others

Click on the panel header to expand the panel details and then click on the circular share icon to find different options: email, Twitter, etc. Or watch this short video .

Pre-circulation of papers

AAS has no rule about this; however some convenors may be keen to pre-circulate completed papers. To facilitate this and save on email traffic, if requested by convenors, authors can upload PDFs of their papers within Cocoa, which will then show as a downloadable file beneath their abstract on the public panel page on this site. Please note that AAS2022 does not publish conference proceedings (the short abstracts of papers and panels are displayed in the online programme) nor does it facilitate deals with journals. Convenors and authors are of course welcome to pursue publishing possibilities on their own.

Accessibility

We'd ask participants to ensure maximum accessibility wherever possible. See our guidelines .

Anti-harassment policy

Safer Community is a free, confidential support service for staff and students who experience concerning, threatening, inappropriate or uncomfortable behaviour.

At this year’s conference a member of the Deakin University Safer Community team will be present onsite during the first two days of the conference (Wednesday and Thursday). Throughout the three days of the conference, the Safer Community team will be contactable via phone on 9244 3734 or email at safercommunity@deakin.edu.au between 9am and 4pm.

An online reporting mechanism is also available and can be used throughout the conference to confidentially report any problematic behaviour. All reports will be dealt with by in accordance with the Deakin Privacy Policy. No one at the AAS, NomadIT, or the Deakin conference committee will have access to disclosures.

Deakin University Campus Security is also available 24/7 for more immediate concerns, on 1800 062 579. In the event of an emergency please contact Triple Zero 000.

Covid conference procedure

The AAS conference is an in-person event that is happening in the context of the ongoing threat of Covid-19. While we acknowledge our need to do what we arguably do best - be social! - we do not want the conference to be a super-spreader event. We will do what we can to make this possible, but a lot of responsibility rests with delegates.

To put it in perspective, the road toll in Australia for the past three years has resulted in an average loss of 191 lives per year (TAC); almost twice as many lives were lost to Covid-19 in October 2022 alone (Aust.Govt.). People still wear seatbelts and, arguably, we should also still be wearing masks.

Please consider your own safety and the comfort of others:

  • Wear a well-fitted mask
  • Sanitise regularly
  • Social distance; be aware of the personal space of others
  • Facilitate and insist upon good ventilation (keep windows open as much as possible)

The venue is quite an open space and larger events like the dinner and the keynotes can be accommodated in outdoor and/or well-ventilated spaces (though weather will play a part!).

Sanitiser will be widely available.

Delegates are advised to bring enough masks for their personal use throughout the conference. It will be possible to purchase a limited number of N95 masks at the venue.

Delegates may also invest in a personal Co2 sensor to monitor the air quality of rooms. Here's some information about air quality and the spread of Covid: COVID Is Airborne. CO2 Sensor Can Help Stop It

These devices have come down a lot in price since the pandemic began and are now quite affordable. Something like this is quite affordable and - while not wildly accurate! - they do give a reasonable indication of fluctuations in PPM of Co2.

The following links are provided for your information:

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Victoria
Deakin COVIDSafe
Waurn Ponds Estate - Working Towards Our New Normal
The Conversation - Reducing COVID transmission by 20% could save 2,000 Australian lives this year

Childcare

The Childcare-Conference Conundrum

The AAS takes the challenges of childcare – and other caring responsibilities – seriously. Though we don’t have a comprehensive approach to tackling the issue we want to make sure this is something that stays on the agenda for future conferences.
From How to Tackle the Childcare-Conference Conundrum, by Rebecca M. Calisi et al (2018):

‘The bottom line is this: Primary caretakers of dependent children face inequitable hurdles to fully attending and participating in conference activities because of responsibilities related to pregnancy, breastfeeding, and caretaking. It’s a serious problem because it creates a culture of inequity for parents, with mothers generally experiencing greater disadvantages than fathers because of biological, prejudicial, and often socially driven childcare demands. With solutions seemingly elusive, many women, and occasionally men, make a calculated decision to forego conference attendance and suffer the career consequences.
‘Research reveals that this “baby penalty” (1) negatively affects women’s, but not men’s, career mobility, with even larger penalties for women of color. We and others (2) argue that collective and structural ideas for addressing the childcare–conference conundrum—going beyond measures that some conferences have taken thus far—could lead to more impactful, efficient, and equitable solutions that help women with children thrive in science’.

We would like to progress the AAS towards a more inclusive space in relation to the childcare-conference conundrum, recognising that this is not an issue we can fully address overnight. We draw on the CARE program (Childcare, Accommodate families, Resources, Establish social networks) outlined by Calisi et al. (2018) to offer the following:

  • 1. Children, particularly small children and babies, are welcome at our conference!
  • 2. Children and babies may be breastfed in all conference spaces without restriction.
  • 3. Nappy-change facilities (mats, wipes, etc.) and other items (strollers, port-a-cots) will be made available where possible (so carers aren’t required to carry so much) – please contact tanya.king(a)deakin.edu.au
  • 4. We ask that delegates register their plans to bring children, with or without carers. You can write these into the 'Special requirements' field on the conference registration form or email us .
  • 5. Dedicated carers (co-parents, grandparents, etc.) will be admitted and catered at no cost (excluding the conference dinner, for which separate tickets must be purchased). This is limited to one carer per delegate/family, unless by arrangement (e.g. for families with special needs).
  • 6. There will be a dedicated room available for breastfeeding and pumping. Equipment will be available for washing, as well as bottle and food warming and cooling (e.g. microwave, fridge). Parents, kids and carers are welcome to use this space to recharge or hang out.
  • 7. The grounds of the conference are expansive and inviting, and there is lots of room for children to run around and expend energy, away from busy roads. Balls and other outdoor toys will be available for use.
  • 8. Please note that the conference will also include a low-light, quiet room, for use by children and other delegates as a low-sensory retreat. Please feel free to use this space for children as necessary but please also keep in mind that the space should remain a silent and calm space for use by all delegates needing a little time out.
  • 9. All responsibility for the care of these children falls to the parent/guardian, and no liability is accepted by the conference venues (Waurn Ponds Estate and NIKERI), the Australian Anthropology Society, NomadIT or Deakin University.

Facebook Group

There is a private Facebook group that has been created for those planning to, or considering, attending the conference with children. The group is the Australian Anthropology Society Childcare-Conference Chat, and the description reads:

‘This site is for AAS conference delegates who are considering bringing, or planning to bring, children to the annual meeting. It's a space for sharing ideas, tips, concerns, feedback, planning meet-ups, childcare swaps, whatever. It's not managed by the AAS but is merely a site for coordinating delegate-led discussion. It's also a space where the AAS can learn more about the needs and challenges of caregivers who wish to attend the annual meeting.
‘AAS non-members are asked to contact tanya.king(a)deakin.edu.au directly to arrange admission to the group. Please be advised that you may be asked to nominate an AAS member to support your admission to this group.
‘Please be mindful and respectful of privacy, etc. particularly when it comes to children’.

Survey for all delegates

Everyone is invited to complete the following survey:
AAS Conference-childcare questionnaire (a survey for everyone!) about conference childcare arrangements:
https://researchsurveys.deakin.edu.au/jfe/form/SV_5p3Awh4dk3GECNMt
It is a survey of members and non-members about how our community feels about kids, caring, inclusivity and conferences. This survey will be used to inform future decisions about how the AAS can foster an inclusive space for delegates with caring responsibilities. Questions taken from 'Final Report of the Totally Uncontroversial Survey on Childcare at Sociolinguistic Conferences' (Belew et al. 2018)’.






If you have any questions, contact us via email: .