[vslist] CALL FOR PAPERS - International BiOptic Driving Conference, London

[BiOptic Driving Network]

CALL FOR PAPERS   -   International BiOptic Driving Conference, London July
4-6

INTRODUCTION
The program committee of the International BiOptic Driving Conference
invites your participation in this important international conference to be
held in London, England   July 4th - 6th, 2003. The conference is being
organized with the purpose of bringing international discussions to the
issue of driving with BiOptic telescopes for individuals with low vision.
It is also the intent of the program committee to provide the stimulus,
through research and clinical presentations, for more aggressive efforts
for rigorous research in this important area of visual functioning. Most
importantly this conference is also intended to raise public awareness of
driving and visual impairment issues.

The conference will have invited speakers covering the areas of personal
experiences of being a visually impaired driver, visual impairment and
clinical aspects of driving performance, instructional protocols with
behind-the-wheel experiences and legislation / standards for obtaining
licensure.

It is anticipated that this conference will attract both vision
professionals and consumers (adolescents and adults who are visually
impaired and who do not have a driver's license). The program committee
encourages abstracts for presentations to be submitted from vision
researchers, low vision clinicians, medical professionals, low vision
association members, driving instructors, orientation and mobility
specialists, licensing bureau officers, individuals who are visually
impaired with personal experience in this area they wish to share and
anyone else interested in the topic of BiOptics and driving. An abstract is
a short 500 word (or less) description / outline of what the applicant
intends to present to the group at the meeting.

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR ABSTRACTS
The abstracts are to be reviewed by the program committee. Applicants will
be notified of acceptance for their presentation   Presentations will be 20
minutes long with 10 minutes for questions.  All submissions must be
complete and submitted electronically (program@BiOpticDriving.org) by March
13, 2003.  Primary authors will be notified by email of their acceptance
and time of presentation of their paper by April 2, 2003.

Acceptance will be based on the following criteria:
1.        The abstract must be received by March 13, 2003.
2.        The abstract must contain sufficient detail for evaluation of its
quality and its relationship to the conference topic of BiOptic driving.
3.        The abstract may be on original research, literature review or
previously published material.
4.        The information conveyed must be of sufficient general interest
to vision professionals, consumers or licensing authorities.
5.        The abstract must clear, concise and well-written - for potential
incorporation into conference proceedings.
6.        The abstract, if research oriented must include background,
results and conclusion.
7.        The abstract, if case report oriented, must include background,
case summary and conclusion.
8.        Those submitting anecdotal experiences related to visual
impairment and driving must provide a description of the experiences and
relevance to the conference participants. Personal experiences in driving,
obtaining licensure, being denied licensure and such other experiences are
welcome.
For further information contact Dr. Randy Jose:  rjose@uh.edu   and visit
www.biopticdriving.org


Randall Jose, OD, FAAO, Head of Program Committee, Director, Center for
Sight Enhancement/University Eye Institute, University of Houston/College
of Optometry, 505 J. Davis Armistead Bldg. Houston, TX 77204-2020 USA  T:
713 743 0799  F: 713 743 0190