Dear 2020 AAPA Meeting Authors and Participants,

The AAPA is excited to announce that we will soon be implementing the capacity to host electronic versions of presentations on both the AAPA meetings online program and meetings app. This will provide novel opportunities for our authors and participants, and we hope that this brings positive interactions, advances both your research, and the discipline.

Our goals are to provide authors ways to present the research that served as the basis for their abstracts (which have been published in the AJPA Supplement) and to have as many of the presentations as possible available by the scheduled time of that presentation (see below). We are hoping that this provides a way to share results and promote discussion, even though we are all unable to meet as an association in Los Angeles. Authors should keep an eye out for an e-mail from AAPA with information and directions.

Uploading these materials is optional. We assume that aspects of life and work beyond the meetings are your priorities right now. Therefore, authors should not feel compelled to submit their presentations at this time.

Guidelines for Electronic Presentations for the 2020 AAPA Meetings Website

General Procedures. Each first author of a presentation (podium or poster) will receive an e-mail containing information about uploading a PDF of their presentation, such as their slides or poster, and/or a link to a video version, to the AAPA website. You can submit a PDF, a video, both, or neither. We are only accepting PDFs, and YouTube and Vimeo links, because these minimize security risks. YouTube allows unlimited video uploads, but serves ads at the beginning. Vimeo does not serve ads, but limits the amount of content that can be uploaded for free.

Videos of podium presentations must not be longer than 15 minutes (the length of a podium presentation) and videos of poster presentations must not be longer than 5 minutes.

Once files are uploaded, PDFs and video links will appear on your abstract page in the online program. These files will also be accessible through the AAPA meetings app.

Deadline. We will close the portal for electronic presentations on June 30, 2020 at 11:59 pm Pacific Daylight Time. You should feel free to upload a presentation any time between now and then. While we recommend 24 hours prior to the scheduled presentation, you should work at your own pace.

Schedule. If you plan to upload your presentation, we would like your file or files to be available for viewing at your scheduled presentation time. The schedule is available through the link above, and through the 2020 AAPA meeting app. Specifically, we recommend that you use the e-mail link we send to you to upload a file or files at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled presentation date and time. You have received scheduling information via e-mail. In addition, the schedule is available through the link above, and through the 2020 AAPA meetings apps:

• Apple version

• Android version

Uploading files in time for your scheduled presentation date and time will allow interested readers to plan their meetings efficiently by providing a defined time slot for viewing presentations.

Uploads. Each author will receive only one e-mail to upload a presentation. There will be no second or third chances. Please check spam folders just in case your system is redirecting e-mails from our system.

Revisions and edits. We do not have the staffing capacity to allow revision of presentations once they are posted. You cannot make editorial changes to presentations once they are uploaded, nor can AAPA.

Make sure you present exactly what you want to say. We do not anticipate the capacity to respond to requests to delete presentations, beyond circumstances involving personal or public safety, security risks, or inappropriate content.


Communication and Interaction. We recommend that authors be available for some mode of electronic interaction during the time scheduled for their presentations (a 15-minute slot for podium presentations or the 1-hour slot scheduled for poster authors). Each abstract will also include a link to Disqus to promote discussion.

To promote discussion, we recommend that you provide your contact information, including preferred contact mode, along with your presentation. First author e-mail addresses are available in the app (click the “share” icon when viewing an abstract). If you are unable to be available during your presentation time, you could also indicate a time when you would be available to present the research electronically. Alternative dates and times must not conflict with any other meeting presentations as listed in the program. Keep in mind that these files will be publicly accessible, so be cautious about sharing personal information. Please review the AAPA’s privacy policy.

Authors are welcome to take the initiative to schedule electronic meetings (Zoom, Skype, Facetime, messaging, e-mail, etc.) with interested parties. The AAPA cannot arrange, facilitate, or monitor these meetings, given the scale of the meetings. We encourage attempts to make presentations and interactions accessible to all parties. It is critically important that your presentation times do not overlap with scheduled times for other presentations.

Security. File and link uploads such as this are prone to security risks for the host website (and beyond). We have minimized these by limiting the kinds of file and link uploads available (PDF, YouTube, Vimeo). Please do not request or submit additional file formats: we will not post them. It is also possible that we will need to remove a file if our system detects a risk. Please be sure that your computer is up-to-date regarding security measures.

Inappropriate Content. We will delete files and links that contain inappropriate content. Where necessary, we will report inappropriate content to local authorities.

Code of Conduct. Presentations, communications, and interactions are governed by the AAPA’s Code of Conduct. This applies universally to anyone seeking to participate in the meetings. Participants are also bound by their policies and procedures of their home institutions.

If you find that you are encountering behavior incompatible with the Code of Conduct, report incidents of concern here. You have the option to remain anonymous upon reporting.


Thank you for your remarkable contributions to the discipline, and for your patience and understanding as we deal with this unprecedented set of circumstances. We sincerely hope that you are coping with the situation as positively as possible. It is also important to thank Professor Ed Hagen, our webmaster, for remarkable efforts in implementing this system.

Sincerely,

Steve Leigh, PhD

Vice President and Program Chair, AAPA