Participant Information

49th Annual IACIS International Conference
September 30 – October 3, 2009
Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• General Conference Information (a description of each day's events)
• Hotel Reservation Information(rates, deadlines, directions for reserving your room at the conference rate)
• Conference Registration Information(rates, deadlines, directions for registering online)
• Conference Registration Cancellation Policy(deadlines for partial refunds, explanation of refund policy)
• Conference Presentation Guidelines(tips for making an effective presentation)
• Fun Night Information(description of the Fun Night activity; links to further information)

General Conference Information

Make plans to attend the 49th Annual IACIS International Conference held in the historical Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA! The program will include an array of paper sessions, round tables, and panel sessions. The IACIS program will provide an opportunity to grow professionally, visit with colleagues from around the world, and enjoy the fun and excitement surrounding the events and attractions located in Pittsburgh. The conference opens Wednesday evening, September 30, with a reception and registration. The program begins Thursday morning with a general session featuring a keynote speaker. Fun Night is scheduled for Thursday evening and will provide an opportunity to network with other conference participants during dinner. The business luncheon will be at noon on Friday, October 2, and will include a brief business meeting, presentation of the Ben Bauman Award for Excellence, the Computer Educator of the Year Award and other conference recognition awards. The conference will end on Saturday, October 3, at noon with a conference debriefing session.

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Hotel Reservation Information

The 49th Annual IACIS International Conference is being held at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel. The conference room rates are $162 for single or double occupancy. Hotel room rates are subject to applicable state and local taxes (currently 14%) in effect at the time of check in.  The hotel will extend the group rate 3 days pre/post the conference dates based on rate/space availability.

Making your Hotel Reservation by Phone

Conference attendees can make reservations directly with Marriott reservations at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel by calling 1-866-454-4400 and specifying the group code for the type of room you want to reserve.

• If you want to reserve a room with one bed (king or queen size), use group code INTINTA. 
• If you want to reserve a room with 2 queen beds in it, use group code INTINTH.

Making your Hotel Reservation Online

You may also make reservations via the Internet. Please select the link below that corresponds to the type of room you wish to reserve. 

• For a room with one bed (king or queen size), click on this link:  Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel
• For a room with 2 queen beds, click on this link:  Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel

When you click on one of the above links, you will be directed to the hotel’s home page with the group code already entered in the appropriate field for the type of room you want to reserve. All you need to do is enter the arrival and departure date to begin the reservation process. The IACIS group rate of $162 is available for 3 days prior and 3 days after the conference IF rooms are available, and the links should work for reservations within the time frame of September 27 to October 7.

The Hotel’s check-in/check-out times are as follows:

Check-in:         4:00 p.m.
Check-out:      12:00 Noon

Early arrivals may be requested. To guarantee an early arrival, the reservation must be secured for the night prior.

IMPORTANT: CUTOFF DATE FOR HOTEL RESERVATIONS

Hotel reservations must be completed on or before Friday, September 11, 2009, in order to receive the group rate of $162 per night. However, please remember that the hotel room block can sell out prior to September 11, and additional rooms at the group rate are not guaranteed to the group and may not be available. Therefore, it is important that you reserve your hotel room as soon as possible.

If you have any problems with hotel reservations, please contact Susan Behling (IACIS Treasurer and Director of Conference Arrangements) via E-mail at shaugen@uwec.edu or call her at 601-296-9784.

Airport-to-Hotel Transportation

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) is served by 13 major airlines and boasts reduced fares in comparison to other airport destinations.

The Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel is about 18 miles from the airport (see interactive map) and is accessible via taxi (estimated taxi fare: $45.00 USD for one-way travel) or the Express Shuttle (call 412-321-8147 for current rate—the rate in January was $20 one way and $35 round trip per person). The Express Shuttle is a walk-up service (i.e., no reservations required) for all downtown hotels. Their counter is located on the Baggage Claim level next to Alamo. They will make boarding announcements from that counter.

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Conference Registration

• Early registration (paid by August 1):  $350 (includes $50 for 2010 IACIS membership dues)
• Late registration (paid after August 1):  $400 (includes $50 for 2010 IACIS membership dues)
• Retired and full-time student registration:  $250 (includes $50 for 2010 IACIS membership dues)
• Guest registration WITHOUT the Business Luncheon:  $100 (which includes the Wednesday evening reception, continental breakfasts, networking breaks, Thursday fun night activity, but NOT the Friday business luncheon
• Guest registration WITH the Business Luncheon:  $125 (which includes the Wednesday evening reception, continental breakfasts, networking breaks, Thursday fun night activity, and the Friday business luncheon

Directions for Registering Online:

Online conference registration will be available at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=184682 starting June 1, 2009.

When you click on the link to register for the conference, you will be asked to choose an attendee type. Prior to August 1 you will have 4 options: “early registration,” “retired or student registration,” "guest registration without lunch," "guest registration with lunch."  After August 1 “early registration” will be replaced by “late registration.” You must complete a separate registration for each person attending (conference participant or guest).

Once you select the attendee type, it will take you to the first page of the registration system. Please read all pages of the online registration system carefully. Once you complete all pages of the registration process, you will receive an e-mail confirming your purchase. Please keep this confirmation e-mail as it is your receipt of fees paid for reimbursement purposes. There will NOT be any other receipt provided at the conference.

Payment for online registration will be via credit card only. Onsite registration may be by credit card, check or cash.

Authors! Plan to register by August 1 to have your accepted paper published in "Issues in Information Systems" or your accepted abstract published in the "Conference Proceedings." The early registration fee is available until midnight (PST) on August 1, 2009. Please plan accordingly.

Online registration will be available until midnight (PST) on Wednesday, September 24, 2009. On-site registration will be available in Pittsburgh.

Registration fees include a CD-ROM copy of Issues in Information Systems (a refereed publication), the Conference Proceedings, IACIS membership for the calendar year 2010, and participation in all IACIS-sponsored conference activities such as the reception, fun night, business luncheon, and refreshment breaks. Reduced registration rates are available for full-time students and retired individuals, as well as spouses/guests that may accompany you to the conference.

IACIS policy requires one unique author to be registered for each paper accepted for presentation and publication. If you are an author or co-author on more then one accepted paper, each paper must have one unique author registration to be accepted for conference presentation and publication. If multiple, same-single-author papers are submitted and accepted, only one will be scheduled for conference presentation and publication.

Conference Registration Cancellation Policy

We at IACIS recognize that at times unexpected events occur precipitating a change of plans. Upon receipt of a Conference registration, the funds are deposited to the Conference account. Included in the conference registration fee is $50 for payment of the annual IACIS dues for the coming year, and your membership file is initiated or updated. Should circumstances cause the need for a cancellation, the annual dues will be deducted from any registration refund, as membership for the year is already initiated. Conference planning includes providing hotels and printers with guarantees and deposits for food and services based on actual and anticipated registrations. Because of these commitments, refunds of paid registrations that are cancelled will be as follows:

• 60 days prior to the conference: Full refund less $50 dues
• 30 - 59 days prior to conference: Half refund less $50 dues
• less than 30 days prior to conference: No refund

Should you find it necessary to cancel and wish your paper to remain in Issues in Information Systems or the Proceedings, there will be no refund regardless of the notification date. Those receiving a full or partial refund will have their papers removed from Issues in Information Systems or the Proceedings and the Conference Program.

Please email Susan Behling at shaugen@uwec.edu if circumstances prevent you from attending the conference after you register, whether you request a refund or not. This will help Susan in her planning for conference activities.

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Conference Presentation Guidelines

To IACIS International Conference presenters:

Registration: Please register for the conference before the deadline noted in your manuscript acceptance letter to ensure the inclusion of your manuscript in Issues in Information Systems or your abstract in the Conference Proceedings and scheduling on the Conference Program.

Sessions: Please be in your assigned room at the start of the session, even if your presentation is not first on the schedule. Each presenter will be allowed 15 or 20 minutes for their paper depending on the session schedule. Plan on limiting quantity of slides to 7-9 to ensure sufficient time to cover your research results and field audience questions. If there are multiple authors, we recommend that you select one author for presentation of the paper. Presentations must be presented according to the scheduled order and time. No swapping should occur. This lets everyone move between sessions should they wish to hear a particular presentation. The printed program is the final session schedule unless the Conference Chair initiates a change. Any change will be posted in the registration area.

Session Chair: Each session will have a session chair responsible for introducing each presenter and keeping time. Please follow session chair instructions so that everyone will have their full time allocation. If you are interested in participating as a session chair, please log in to the IACIS Conference database (http://misnt2.cob.ohiou.edu/IACISConference/ ), select the "Create/Update Account" tab, and check the "Willing to serve as a Conference session chair" box. Please report any problems directly to Dr. Thom Luce  (luce@ohio.edu).

A/V Equipment: Each room is equipped with a laptop computer, LCD projector and screen. Please bring your presentation on either a USB Flash drive. Arrive 10 minutes prior to your scheduled presentation to load your presentation onto the computer. To ensure timely presentations and avoid configuration problems, please use the IACIS-provided computers rather than your own.

Guidelines for Visuals: To make your presentation more effective, we recommend that you consider the following guidelines when preparing your slides:

• Prepare only 1-2 slides per minute of presentation.
• Use no more than 6 lines of text per slide (32 point type).
• Use no more than 6 words per line.
• Use color for effect. Be careful of using yellow, as it is often difficult to see.
• Make sure each slide reflects only one idea.
• Do not use typed notes of complex charts as a slide.
• Use bullet points to reinforce key concepts.

(Download Presentation Guidelines in .rtf file format)

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IACIS Fun Night

Thursday, October 1
6:00-9:30 p.m.

Fun Night will be held at the Senator John Heinz History Center, which is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania and is also home to the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. Dinner will be served in the first floor Great Hall with live music for your dining and dancing pleasure. Dessert and coffee will be available in the fourth floor Campbell Gallery. Conference attendees and guests will be able to peruse the historical artifacts and exhibits throughout the museum.

The Senator John Heinz History Center is an extensive museum with exhibits for all ages. Children can participate in hands-on activities in both the Discovery Place and Kidsburgh, interactive playgrounds that encourage innovative exploration through history.

Adults may be very surprised by how many familiar products and discoveries they recognize in the Pittsburgh: A Tradition of Innovation exhibit—an exhibit dedicated to innovative designs and products created in the Pittsburgh area.

Of course, your trip to the Senator John Heinz History Center would be incomplete without a stop at the interactive Sports Museum. IACIS sports enthusiasts can throw footballs to famed receivers, hit home runs, listen to legendary play-by-play sportscasts, and watch in amazement as some of the greatest moments in sports are displayed on the two-story, five-screen multimedia screens. This is definitely a must experience!

Fun Night this year has something for everyone in your family. We hope you choose to make it a family event.

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