SPNHC 2013 DemoCamp: Call for Demonstrations
Submissions of abstracts are solicited for DemoCamp session presentations at the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) conference in Rapid City, South Dakota, June 17-22, 2013. DemoCamp provides a venue for promotion of technological solutions to advance the field of museum curation and specimen digitization, with broad applications for biology, ecology, and biodiversity informatics. DemoCamp is sponsored in part this year by iDigBio, the National Resource for Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections (ADBC) funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Live demonstrations are welcomed in any technologies relevant to biologists, collections managers, or biodiversity information managers, as well as technologies that enable the broader use of data, or enable citizen scientist participation. Technologies demonstrated at past sessions have included collections/ transaction management software, georeferencing applications, robotic imaging equipment, automated label digitization tools, and programs for analysis of data/ images. DemoCamp presentations should feature the latest developments in currently available products/ software/ applications/ tools as well as ongoing research projects and prototypes. DemoCamp sessions also provide a venue for idea exchange and feedback from potential users.
Demonstration abstracts will appear in the conference proceedings and the SPNHC program book.
Format
The strictly-timed format of a DemoCamp gives each presenter 15 minutes to present the demo plus 5 minutes allowed for set-up and questions (20 minutes total). No PowerPoints or other “canned” presentations are allowed. Only live demonstrations of functional software, websites, tools, or applications may be presented. Under special circumstances (e.g., large and non-portable robotic imaging equipment) videos of demonstrated functionality may be allowed.
Demonstrators must provide their own laptops with all necessary software installed. A projector and internet connection will be provided.
Submissions
Demonstration proposals (abstracts) must be submitted by May 15, 2013. Abstracts should be prepared according to the guidelines defined on the conference website and must be submitted electronically following conference website instructions. Be sure to indicate your abstract submission is for a DemoCamp presentation. The submissions will undergo peer review. At least one author should register and attend the conference.
- The abstract should emphasize the purpose of the technology and the intended audience or users of the technology. What are the major components of the product? What is novel about the solution you present? Compare your technology with similar products if such exist. Is your product currently available to prospective users or still under development? Is your product proprietary or open source? Is it software or a web-based application?
In addition to the normal abstract submission requirements for SPNHC 2013, a COPY of your submitted abstract should be sent to the session organizer, Amanda Neill, at aneill@brit.org.
Accepted Abstracts
All submissions will be acknowledged within a few days. Proposals will be reviewed for relevance, innovation, technical quality, and greatest predicted appeal to the SPNHC audience. In the likely event of more submissions than available DemoCamp timeslots, final selection will be determined by subcommittee vote. Accepted abstracts will be required to provide a description of technical details (licensing, platforms supported, etc.) in a standard factsheet that will be included in the printed program. A factsheet template will be e-mailed with the notification of acceptance.
Further details on the date and time of the demonstration session(s) will be determined and provided at a later date. Please send any inquiries to the session organizer at aneill@brit.org.
Important Dates
- May 15, 2013 (Wednesday) Abstract submissions due
- May 24, 2013 (Friday) Notification of acceptance/ rejection
- May 31, 2013 (Friday) Factsheets for accepted demos due
- June 21, 2013 (Friday) DemoCamp session(s) at SPNHC conference
Organizer
Amanda K. Neill, Director of the Herbarium, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth TX USA
