Puerto Rico Honey Bee and Evolution of Invasive Organisms on Islands.

Summary of participants evaluations.

The conference was attended by 170 people. Towards the end of the conference the attendees were asked to complete an online survey evaluating the conference. The survey was administered through the conference website, 92 surveys were completed.

The conference evaluation survey was made available in both Spanish and English and consisted of a question indicating the background of the participants (beekeeper, agronomist, researcher, student), a questions each about the age and gender of the participants, and 15 questions evaluating the conference (See survey in appendices and Table 1). Each of the evaluation questions were 5 level Likert questions in which the respondents rated statements from disagree to agree. The 15 questions were conceptually divided into 5 categories (see table 1).
Evaluation respondents consisted of 20 Agronomists; 31 Beekeeepers; 27 Researchers and 21 Students. Note that the background question allowed individuals to select multiple status categories.

Over 90% of respondents agreed or partially agreed that the presentations were clearly delivered, that the speakers showed command of their subject matter and the material was presented in an organized manner that facilitate understanding. If responses from Agronomist/Beekeepers and Researchers/Students are examined separately the previous values hold.

With regards to whether there was sufficient time to ask questions during the conference, Beekeepers/Agronomist tended to want more time to ask questions of speakers.

2) Respectful environment.

95% of all respondents agreed that the conference environment was respectful and cordial. There was a very small difference between female and male respondents (92% and 96% respectively). 97% of all respondents agreed that the speakers were respectful and cordial. As with the previous question there was a slight difference between females and males (100% and 95% respectively).

3) Beneficial Effect.

For all four questions in this category, as to whether the conference was viewed as beneficial by the attendees, over 90% agreed or partially agreed that the conference was beneficial. In addition 93% of the participants agreed with the statement that they were glad they attended the conference. No difference was seen between the Agronomists/Beekeepers and the Researchers/Students.

94% expressed that the information presented at the conference was relevant to them. This question received a slightly higher value amongst Agronomists/Beekeepers with 98%.

92% of all respondents reported that the conference allowed them to gain ideas and strategies relevant to their work. This value had a slightly higher percent for Agronomists/Beekeepers (96%).

92% felt that the group discussions were instructive with a slightly lower value for Agronomists/Beekeepers (90%).

98% of respondents related that they were glad to have attended the conference. If Agronomists/Beekeepers are examined separately they report a value of 100%.

4) Organization.

94% of respondents reported that the conference was well organized.

5) Location and Food.

94% of respondent related that the venue where the conference was held was conducive to learning and 98% said that the food served at the conference was appropriate.

Attendance by Respondent background

The conference was structured so that days 1 and 3

were dedicated to presentations and group discussions. Day 2 was organized to give Researchers and Students an opportunity to visit several apiaries in Puerto Rico (table 2).

The following are direct quotes of specific comments that were added to the “Other comments” section of the evaluation.

1. Presentations on line please.
2. This is a very well-organized conference. The organizers did a very good job to organize this conference.
3. Very productive conference. The presentations and exchanges with participants from diverse backgrounds were useful and instructive.
4. Thank you for the invitation.
5. Excellent conferences and resources. Thanks.
6. I was only able to attend half the conference on the first day because of travel commitments, so my answer for question #10 does not apply. Nevertheless many of my students participated and enjoyed the group discussions a lot. I received a lot of feedback about the talk from participants and the atmosphere was vibrant. It was amazing that organizers were able to put together such a good conference in such a short period of time.
7. Even if the conference was very good and instructive, different things should be improved according to me: the noise in the back of the local (because of people eating or taking coffee out of the breaks), the conference was sometimes not accessible for apicultors (problems: feeling out of science, feeling out of subject, speaking too much between each others, ...), the round-shaped tables were not comfortable to assist to the conferences, there should have 2 micros (one for the public and one for the speaker), not that much emphasis on the drawbacks of having too many colonies (impacts on native bee species). The plus: the translation English-Spanish, the variety of the subject (big data, ecology, management), the respect and cordiality of speakers (even when weird questions), the location, the discussion mixing speakers, apicultors, students and the share of the different point of views.
8. A great conference! I especially enjoyed the tours and see with my own eyes how gentle the bees are. They are very different (much gentler) from the Brazilian bees I have seen first hand.
9. The conference gave a good overview of questions relative to Porto Rican honeybees and opened them to other scientific topics.
10. The conference did not start on time, it is important to respect other people’s time. While the conference was very valuable, however if it is addressed to the general public it is important that the speakers are less technical in their delivery and language. Regarding the rest it was excellent.
11. The presentations were extremely filled with jargon. Some presentations were not meant for a general audience but for a more scientific meeting.
12. Thank you!
13. I hope that these activities will continue and that they will bring experts like those who attended this meeting.
14. For the next conference it would be good to have direct streaming translation in both English and Spanish. It would also be good to have more options of vegetarian food and fruits with the meal options.
15. Excellent initiative. My only concern was that the subjects presented were not at the level of beekeepers. More work needed to be done so that the information was more accessible to them.
16. In the next activity the field trips need better organization. It is important to consider that there are people that may not be fluent either in English or Spanish and it would be best to have a translator. Everything was interesting and informative.
17. Thank you for the invitation.
18. The conference should be repeated to raise awareness of the importance of honey bees.
19. Send the presentations.
20. We hope for a symposium on Apiculture.
21. Let it be repeated.
22. Please place the presentations on line if you can.
23. My personal opinion is that there were subjects related to our Africanized bee missing from the list of presentations. Also, we needed more beekeepers involved at the time of collecting samples and doing the research; I think that using data from a single location (Gurabo) does not indicate that the result will be the same across the island. Samples should be collected from all four cardinal points and the center of the island. I congratulate you because the best presentation was that of Dr. Ernesto Guzmán Novoa, he did address the subject of the Africanized bee from the beginning to the end of his presentation. In addition, you should have included as presenter some of the professors of the school of apiculture in the island. Also, there could have been activities to help the beekeeper, such as providing them with basic equipment (suits, tools, boxes, wax).
24. Excellent!!!!!
25. Excellent! I look forward to the next one!
26. Gracias!!!
27. Vegetarian option for the menu. In the future the translations need to be prepared better. Not all the slides had sufficient information for someone that did not understand either English or Spanish.
28. Excellent conference.
29. Excellent activity where a network was established at the national and international levels.
30. Is there a way to obtain some of the presentations?
31. I prefer saturday and Sunday because during the week I work.
32. I did not understand the presentations in English, I speak only Spanish.
33. The conference and the presentations should have been in a single language. The activity was useful.
34. It would have been possible to have fewer speakers with more time. All the presentations should have been on topics exclusively for honey bee subjects. The presentations should have been all in Spanish.
35. More advertisement was needed to increase the participation of beekeepers. Thank you for the invitation. I would like to participate in future activities.
36. There were too many speakers in a short period of time.
37. The field trip should have been possible for all participants. This was a very interesting activity. I would like to continue to participate in the future.
38. Subjects were very technical for beekeepers, it was very scientific.
39. I would like to see this repeated and have more participation of local beekeepers.
40. Thank you very much, excellent conference delivery and organization. I would like to participate in future activities.
41. Very technical for beekeepers. More practical information is needed. Difficulty with the English language. Excellent activity.
42. Excellent activity. Some of the information was lost because the majority of the audience did not understand English. Improve the system for translation.
43. Excellent, an environment where everyone was willing to share their knowledge. Super accessible. An experience that was highly motivating for me. I was able to make many personal connection with people with a lot of experience which will be key to the success of my apiary.

Conference Evaluation

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