Abstracts

The abstract should be a precis of the material to be presented and must be emailed to Conference Solutions using: hydro18@con-sol.com, by the due date. Abstracts must not exceed 600 words. The abstract must include concise descriptive content that explains the value of the information. The selection of the oral presentations by the Program Committee will be based on your abstract. Oral presentations will be for fifteen minutes plus five minutes question time per paper, however longer periods may be allocated to some presentations at the discretion of the Committee. Authors whose abstracts are selected for oral presentation will be required to submit their paper by the due date of 2 September 2018.

Papers

Once your abstract has been accepted, you will need to prepare and submit your paper, which will be published in the conference proceedings to be distributed by mail or at the conference (if all papers have been submitted by the due date) in digital form (USB or CD) or hard-copy form. If your abstract is selected for presentation, remember that you will be talking to a diversely experienced, professional audience. Please ensure that you write your paper in a simple and easily understood manner.

Length

Ideally, papers will be approximately 10 A4 pages in length, including figures, images and tables. Conference proceedings will be published on CD and in hard copy (depending upon attending delegate requirements). Length restrictions will not be strictly enforced, but authors should bear in mind the ideal length has come from experience and bears in mind the interest and attention commitment of the reader.

Structure

Abstracts and papers are to be structured as follows:

1. Paper Title. The title should be succinct.
2. Author/s. This section should include the author’s name/s, their organisation/s and contact details (postal and email addresses).
3. Introduction. This section introduces the paper outlining the history or background and importance of the topic (This may be the abstract).
4. Body of the text. This can be structured to suit the author. As the topics vary from academic, commercial products, research projects to policy issues, we are happy to accept the structure the authors feel best represents his/her paper. You may use headings as appropriate, e.g. Materials & Methods, Results & Discussion. Figures, tables and pictures should only be included if absolutely necessary, and should be kept to a minimum. They should be numbered in sequence using numerals.
5. Major findings or recommendations. This section is to deliver the main message or recommendations of the topic.
6. Conclusion. The conclusion should be relatively brief, covering the main points of the paper and not introduce new ideas or concepts.
7. References. Use a simplified, brief form, using numerals in brackets in the text in order of appearance. List references only by authors’ names, year and source of publication.
8. Abstracts and papers should be saved as an MS Word document (.docx or other Microsoft Word compatible format), and an electronic copy be submitted by e-mail to hydro18@con-sol.com and swp@ahs.asn.au by the due dates.

Formatting – Abstracts and Papers

Please ensure that the following formatting instructions are adhered to, as reformatting for the conference proceedings will not be possible:

1. Margins:
   • Left and Right - 2.50 centimetres.
   • Top and Bottom - 2.50 centimetres.
2. Title. Bold and 16 point.
3. Author Details. Underline the name of the speaker if there is more than one author. Use superscripted numbers to identify different authors and their addresses. Font size 10.
4. Headings. Bold and upper case for the main heading only, bold and mixed lower and upper case for subheadings. All font size 12. Indent subheadings by one tab.
5. Justification. Full.
6. Font. Arial, 12 point.
7. Spell Check Language. Use English (Australian).
8. Page Numbers. Bottom of the page and centred, font size 10.
9. Paragraph Layout. Single line spacing. One return between paragraphs. One space should be inserted following full stops and colons.
10. Tables:
    • When typing tables, please ensure that they are set up using the table feature (or from Excel) and not typed using the space bar or tabs.
    • Please ensure that tables are numbered, labelled and inserted into the text (font size 10, centre the title and table).
11. Figures:
    • To be imported or created in the text (Excel format preferred).
    • To be labelled and numbered (font size 10, centre the title and figure).

Oral presentations - Effective Presentation Techniques

Here are some observations and suggestions that may help you in preparing and delivering your presentation:

1. Time your presentation beforehand. Untimed presentations always go longer than anticipated and there is nothing more off-putting than having to rush at the end.
2. Deep breathing before you go to the lectern is a great way to deal with nerves. Do not worry, as everyone is nervous before public speaking. Just remember that the audience is on your side – they want you to do well!
3. Avoid reading a speech with eyes glued to the lectern. Know your material and work from outlines – trust yourself.
4. You may need to speak a bit louder than normal and use larger gestures than you might usually feel comfortable with.
5. Get your audience’s attention by doing a quick survey (show of hands) or asking a rhetorical question.
6. State the program objectives at the beginning of the presentation. Tell them what you are going to tell them.
7. Make your presentation a dialogue. Use ‘you’ and ‘we’ a lot.
8. Include relevant examples and case studies.
9. Do not be afraid of pauses – they are better than lots of ‘umms’ and ‘ahhs’ and long pauses can help to emphasise words or statements.
10. Sum up at the end. Tell the audience what you have told them.
11. Unless you are an expert in your filed who is used to answering questions about your work, anticipate questions and prepare responses.

Here are some useful tips when it comes to slides:

1. Limit copy to the equivalent of eight (8) lines of type, double-spaced (absolute maximum). This means no more than six (6) bullet points per slide.
2. Limit lines of type to a maximum of 40 characters (letters and spaces).
3. The type size should be a minimum of 32 pt.
4. Use upper and lower case – even in titles – as it is easier to read.
5. Stay with the same typeface and type colour combinations throughout the presentation. Do not use decorative type styles.
6. Contrast between type and background is critical to slide legibility.
7. When using tables and charts, limit material to five columns across.
8. When using graphics, limit curves and lines to two or, at the most, three per graph.
9. Remember, a picture tells a thousand words.
10. Leave an ample border on all four sides of the slide.

When you have finished your slides, ask yourself:

1. Can I use fewer words?
2. Can I make any slides look less cluttered?
3. Are all my tables, graphs, flow charts and pictures clear and self-explanatory?
4. Will I have to apologise to the people at the back because they might not be able to read the detail on a slide?

Your slides are not your script! They are a visual aid to reinforce the points you are making – talk to the audience and not to the slides!

Enquiries:

Technical Content:
John Maschke
Mobile: +61 424 094 546
Email1: swp@ahs.asn.au
Email2: maschkejw@gmail.com

Administrative:

Conference Solutions Pty Ltd
as agent for AHS

PO Box 238
Deakin West ACT 2600 Australia
Tel: +61 2 6285 3000
Fax: +61 2 6285 3001
Email: hydro18@con-sol.com