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TASA ’04 LOC Meeting19 March 2004
Minutes
Present: Katy Richmond (Convenor), Eileen Clark, Pauline Savy, Pam Wallace, Evan Willis
General conference matters
1.Conference registration fees
Conference registration fees cannot be set until (1)TASA ’03 financial statement is available and (2) full costs of the conference are finalised. We are hoping to get a set of registration fees drafted by the time of the LOC’s 19 April meeting, but it might be possible to finalise them earlier than that, before Easter. Registration fees will include the costs of catering, bus, insurance, AV hire and transport, AV technician (probably Paul from the A/W campus of LTU), conference bag and PCO’s charges.
2.Financial arrangements
Evan has set up an account at the Wodonga campus of LTU but registration fees will be paid into an account under the supervision of the PCO, who will provide a financial statement at the end of the conference period.
3.Publicity
Katy is to contact Heads of Schools of Sociology and Social Sciences. The forthcoming Nexus has a blurb about the conference, out soon. A web page on the conference is on the LTU Social Sciences web site. The getting up of the TASA website with conference details is urgent, but cannot be finalised until the registration fees are set.
4.Web matters
Katy has consulted Malcolm Alexander and Andrew Ellett, and has decided to use Sharon Wilson at LTU Beechworth as PCO. Sharon will provide a quotation for her costs, including web-based registration and financial reporting, shortly. Malcolm, Andrew and Katy together decided to request a modest improvement to the TASA web design concerning (1) edit capability for conference registrations (allowing both the PCO and Conference Convener to alter registration information, e.g. change of travel or accommodation plans, cancellation of registration etc – both PCO and Conference Convener will then be able to download absolutely up-to-date registration data at any time without needing to consult one another); (2) ability to link TASA profile with conference registrations (saving TASA members the necessity to repeat information about themselves which TASA already has on the web); and (3) linking paper submission with registration process through the use of ‘registration IDs’ and ‘submission IDs’ – this improvement will save delegates from having to repeat information already in the web system (and it won’t matter if they register first and then submit a paper or vice versa). The ‘submission ID’ will also allow the Convener to keep track of joint authors, paper referees, visiting speakers who might not be asked to pay a registration fee and chair people of sessions.
5.Conference CD of refereed papers
COMET at La Trobe Bundoora may be asked to do the CD and the labels for the CD (this may be cheap or even free since some promises were made in this direction by LTU’s Deputy Vice Chancellor). A quote will also be sought from Andrew Ellett, who will be consulted about pitfalls. The CD has to have an ISSN (ISSB?) number, and the label must state that the papers have been refereed according to the appropriate process in order to get a DEST point. There will be a standard format for the papers (margins, headings etc) and the referencing style will be that of the Journal of Sociology.
6.Catering
Katy gave Sharon a proposed list of meals and Sharon will return with quotations. There is no problem about vegetarian meals and special dietary requirements. Sharon says chefs at LTU Beechworth have recipes in constant use for a variety of foods for those with gluten intolerance problems and other health problems. Initial catering quotation is something like $45 for arrival coffee, morning and afternoon tea and lunch.
7.Residential Accommodation on LTU Beechworth campus
Katy consulted Sharon Wilson and Eric Visscher at LTU Beechworth, and a simplified guide to the accommodation costs and arrangements is being prepared. Accommodation prices will take account of the fact that one group of delegates receives breakfast as well as a room.
Total numbers on LTU Beechworth campus
The total number of people to be accommodated in the Conference Hotel is about 80 (depending on how many sleep in the twin- or queen-bed rooms), and more than 50 can be accommodated in the cottages (there are single, double and triple rooms).
Conference Hotel
Delegates in the Conference Hotel will receive a continental breakfast at Sambells (the conference restaurant housed in the International Hotel).A bathroom is shared between two rooms at the Conference Hotel. All rooms in the Conference Hotel have bar fridges, TV, tea & coffee making facilities, toiletries, telephone and dressing gowns (because of the shared bathrooms !).
Lodges and cottages (self-catering)
The lodges and cottages have full self-catering facilities including crockery, cutlery, cooking utensils, linen, a refrigerator, a microwave and a TV. The lodges have video machines. (The smaller cottages need names). Each lodge and cottage has a TV and a well furnished lounge. The lounge in the largest lodge - Kurrajong Lodge - will be nominated the Postgraduate Lounge. (The conference will provide tea, coffee, milk, sugar)
8.Disabled accommodation and access to buildings
Lifts and ramps allow access for the disabled throughout the conference venues, including residential accommodation.
9.Off-campus local accommodation
Conference delegates will book their own local off-campus accommodation. A full list will be provided on the web page with phone numbers but without prices. All local motels, B&Bs and farm stays have been put on ‘hold’ for conference delegates during 8-12 December period. Eric Visscher will obtain the last date by which these local accommodation proprietors are prepared to ‘hold’ rooms.
10.LTU Beechworth Conference Facilities
Conference rooms for sessions
There are five large rooms and some smaller rooms on the LTU Beechworth campus. The International Hotel has the largest and most modern room holding about 300, with a large side-room for tea and coffee. Another large room holding 50+ is also available nearby at that venue. The Conference Centre has two large rooms holding 50+. The Bijou Theatre holding 200+ is available. Finally the Education Centre has 4 ordinary-size seminar rooms holding 40+. Conference rooms will all be numbered and named.
AV & other facilities
Sharon Wilson will shortly provide Katy with a detailed Excel spreadsheet of the conference facilities, including overhead projector, air-conditioning, microphone and data projector availability, and whether the room is flat or has a raised platform. There are no blackboards and some whiteboards (but no moveable electronic whiteboard). The International and Conference Hotels both have a lapel microphone and a hand-held microphone, and there is a microphone in the Bijou Theatre. Hiring of microphones costs about $80.
TASA Executive room
TASA Executive meetings will be held in the Administration Conference Room which will not be utilised for other conference activities, meaning that it will be available to the TASA executive for smaller committee meetings as required.
11.Conference brochure
A brochure will be prepared along the model of the TASA ’03 conference. This hopefully will be available by early May. Question: how many should be printed?
12.Travel arrangements
Train and plane
Evan has prepared a full account of travel timetables, including trains to and from Melbourne and Sydney and air travel times. Evan has negotiated a deal with John Greenwood at Rex Airlines for ‘flexible’ fares (ie ones that can be changed) at the cheapest rate which is 30% off published fares. Single fares from Melbourneto Albury are $68, and Sydney to Albury $88. Rex Airlines could run extra flights if required and will also link in with Virgin Blue so that conference delegates can be provided with ‘seamless’ travel arrangements when they move from Virgin Blue flights to a Rex flight to Albury. Qantas Link is only available from Sydney to Albury, so was not considered.
Conference bus
A conference bus will be provided to all delegates from the Beechworth bus depot (for train travelers from Melbourne who must nominate Beechworth at the time of their train ticket purchase), Wodonga station (for train travelers from Sydney) and Albury airport on Tuesday evening, Wednesday and Thursday morning and evening. Departure buses will also be arranged. The bus will also tour the local motels morning and evening to provide delegates with transport to and from the conference venue. Cost of the bus will be built into the registration fee.
13.Conference Dinner
At this stage the Brown Brothers dinner has been abandoned because of cost (lovely though the thought of a dinner there would be) and Sharon Wilson is providing a quote to have the Conference Dinner on the LTU Beechworth site at the International Hotel. To make things a bit interesting for delegates, any BBQs held during the conference will be held away from that building – e.g. under the eaves near the Bijou Theatre. Ian Burke is being approached for the cost of a band called The Cruisers. The comedian, John Walker, may be booked.
14.Pre-conference tours
Evan has prepared three four-hour pre-conference tours for Tuesday 10 December. The idea of a ‘high country’ tour has been abandoned because of distance. The three tours will be (1) Gourmet Food around Milewa; (2) Vineyards around Rutherglen; and (3) an Albury-Wodonga Whitlamesque history tour (this last will be a probable tax deduction). Cost will be $40 per tour. Tours will include lunch at the delegate’s own expense. Each tour will allow conference delegates to be picked up if they come up on the Melbourne train (Tour 1 will pick up from the Wangaratta Beechworth bus, Tour 2 will pick up from Chiltern and Tour 3 will pick up from Wodonga station). A ‘host’ may or may not be needed for Tour 1 and Tour 2, but Professor Bruce Pennay will be the host for Tour 3. Tours will go ahead as each bus is filled, and there will be waiting list for cancellations. Each bus will have a microphone.
15.Conference insurance
Evan is negotiating conference insurance with Barry Blight, the LTU conference insurance officer. Cost of insurance is high and there are a number of quite significant difficulties. Insurance for data projectors is not possible because of the level of theft.
16.Sponsorship
Financial
Evan has obtained some financial sponsorship from the Dean of Social Sciences, from the Head of the Albury/Wodonga campus of LTU, from Deputy Vice Chancellor of LTU and from the Head of the School of Social Sciences.
Wine
Wine sponsorship has been arranged with Bill Chambers of Chambers Vineyard who has been asked to label special dozens of wine with a conference label. He will provide wine for the conference dinner and also will give a short talk accompanied by a wine tasting, perhaps before the conference dinner on Thursday.
IT ‘in kind’ support
Some ‘in kind’ support for the use of COMET personnel at LTU has also been arranged.
17.Publishers’ displays
Negotiations with publishers have been commenced, and email contact has been established with Pearson and with Allen and Unwin.Others to be contacted by Katy include OUP, CUP, Lippincott, Routledge, Sage, Prentice Hall (Elsevier) and also the qualitative methodology software engineering firm QSR (Lyn Richards). Publishers will have excellent (well above average) facilities for book displays at the Conference Centre where everyone will register, have tea, coffee and alcohol, and where two well-populated concurrent sessions will be held throughout each conference day. Publishers’ displays will be housed along the whole of a long elegant glassed-in verandah right at the doorway to the Conference Centre. TASA’s Sponsorship document will be used to set fees.
18.Book openings
Publishers will be asked to have at least one book launch at the Conference Centre, perhaps on Friday night, and this might include an author signing session. The fee for publishers’ displays will include a sum to run a book launch (perhaps).
19.Social events/entertainment
Apart from the conference dinner, a wine tasting is being organized with Bill Chambers (time and place to be decided) and a BBQ may be held on Wednesday or Friday evening or both. Sharon Wilson (LTU Beechworth PCO) has also good contacts with all the local restaurants and pubs, and she feels she can organize a meal at a restaurant for $45 or a pub ($35) with bus transport included – bus would drop people off until restaurant or pub was full and then go onto the next restaurant or pub. This might be the Friday night event. People would pay on registration. The first idea of calling it a Pot Luck Restaurant/Pub Night was rejected. Perhaps a Serendipity Night would be a better title? To be further discussed.
20.Bars
The conference will have two bars, and opening and closing times will be arranged by the conference convener, probably opening from lunchtime to midnight. One bar will probably be at the Conference Centre (where the book displays are, and where people register and have morning and afternoon tea) and the other bar will be at the International Hotel.
21.Internet café
The LTU Beechworth venue has an internet café which will be open more or less 7am to midnight each conference day and this is free to delegates.
22.Photocopying facilities
The International Hotel has photocopying facilities and a receptionist at the hotel will fill up the paper as it empties out. (Cost to delegates?)
23.Childcare
On site childcare costs $45 per day and the phone number will be on the conference website for delegates to make bookings themselves.
24.After hours baby-sitting
After hours baby-sitting can be arranged at $13 per hour, booked through the receptionist at the International Hotel.
25.Luggage room
For delegates arriving very early before rooms are made up (unlikely) or wanting to store luggage before departure late in the day, there is a luggage room.
26.Coffee Cart
Evan is exploring a coffee cart to be placed near the Rotunda and the Bijou Theatre (possibly).
27.T-Shirts and Sweat Shirts and maybe Caps
SAA(NZ) has pioneered the printing of Conference T-Shirts and Sweat Shirts and our conference might be able to find a mobile caravan-type entrepreneur to do this. Evan will explore this.
28.Conference bag
A cheap cotton bag will be purchased to house the conference material, and the TASA ’93 conference bag from the conference at Macquarie has been given to Sharon to use as a model. The conference bag will have the TASA logo and other information in quite small font.
29.Conference glass
There may be a conference glass to go with the conference wine.
30.Art displays
Sharon Wilson and Pauline Savy will investigate the possibility of local art being displayed in the Conference Centre (for purchase).
31.Local Music
Sharon Wilson will investigate the possibility of musicians being given a ‘spot’ at the commencement of a plenary session or a conference social event.
Conference program matters
32.Section convenors
Section conveners are still being arranged and the present list is incomplete. A letter has been drafted listing duties of the section convener and this will be sent out before Easter. These are section conveners’arrangements to date:
Pauline Savy (LTU Albury/Wodonga) / EmotionsEileen Clark (LTU Albury/Wodonga) / Health
Yola Collins (LTU Bendigo) / Rural/Environment
Pam Wallace (LTU Albury/Wodonga) / Work, Class
Johanna Wyn (University of Melbourne) / Youth
John Carroll (LTU Bundoora) / Theory
Kerreen Reiger Katy to contact (LTU Bundoora) / Gender/Sexuality
Wendy Mee (LTU Bundoora) / Cyberspace
Cathleen Farelly (LTU Bendigo) / Education
David de Vaus (LTU Bundoora) / Family/Life Course/Aged
Grazyna Zajdow (Deakin) / Deviance
? / Sport and Tourism
? / Migration
Ian Gray (CSU)Evan to contact
New lecturer at CSU Evan to contact
33.Overseas visiting speakers
TASA members will be canvassed via TASAweb for the names of overseas sociologists visiting in December.
34.Plenaries
Some planning of plenaries has taken place with Bob Connell and others. Other names include: Michael Pusey, Bryan Turner, Jack Barbalet, Madeleine Leonard. (Rosemary Pringle won’t be in Australia at conference time this year).
35.Conference program timetable
TASA AGM will be Friday 9-10.30am. TASA executive meetings are to be time-tabled to suit TASA executive. The Postgraduate Committee has asked that postgraduate papers be spread throughout the conference and not left until the last day.
36.Health Day
Health Day program is moving ahead. The Bijou Theatre will probably be the venue. Cost will be around $45 a head to cover morning and afternoon teas and lunch. Speakers have been invited including Tom Keating who wrote a PhD on the closure of Mayday Hills (as Beechworth Lunatic Asylum was called). A CD with working papers is being planned so that delegates can read the papers in advance (how will they get the CD in advance? what will be the cost of the CD and postage?) A special edition of Health Sociology Review will print the Health Day papers and Daphne Habibis will edit it (?). Nurse Ratchet tour of the old mental hospital is being planned. Time : probably 10.30am for 11am start, lunch 1-1.45, conclusion 3.30pm.