I. Statement of Purpose
The purpose of the Association for Computational Linguistics
(ACL) Special Interest Group on Dialogue (SIGdial) shall be:
- To promote interest in
Dialogue Processing.
- To provide members of the ACL having a
special interest in Dialogue Processing with a means of
exchanging news of recent research developments and
other matters of interest in Dialogue Processing.
- To sponsor meetings and workshops
in Dialogue Processing that appear to be timely and worthwhile.
- To provide and make available resources relevant to
Dialogue Processing, including corpora, analysis tools, analysis
and generation software, research papers and generated
data.
SIGdial will operate within the framework of the ACL's general
guidelines for SIGs. Separate documents outline the history of
Dialogue Processing, the purposes of the field which SIGdial
represents, and current officers.
II. Elected Officers
The elected officers of the SIG shall consist of a President,
Vice
President, and a Secretary. The President, Vice President, and
Secretary shall be members in good standing of the ACL.
The term of all elected officers of the SIG shall be 2 years.
The duties of the President shall
be:
- To have primary executive authority
over actions and activities of the SIG.
- To prepare a written report on the activities
of the SIG for the Executive Committee of the ACL, for presentation
to the the ACL at its Annual Business Meeting.
- To designate a Liaison Representative for
the SIG, who shall be primarily responsible for communication
with members of the SIG, answering inquiries about the SIG, and
communication with the Executive Committee of the ACL.
- To designate such other officers as are appropriate
to the fulfillment of the goals of the SIG, including a returning
officer as specified in Sections III and V below.
- To appoint an international advisory committee
which together with the elected officers represents at least
four countries, at least one of which is in North America, one
in Europe and one in the Pacific Rim, and who shall be called
upon in relation to the planning and coordination of SIGdial
activities and the preparation and revision of SIGdial documents.
The duties of the Secretary shall
be
- To maintain a membership roster of
the SIG.
- To be responsible for any moneys awarded
to the SIG by the ACL; to collect and manage any dues that may
be required by the organization; and to present a written annual
report on the SIG finances to the Executive Committee of the
ACL.
- To maintain, in consultation with the advisory
committee, a document stating the aims of the group and the names
and affiliations of the current officers, suitable for sending
to prospective members and other inquirers.
III. Election of Officers
All officers of the SIG shall be elected by a vote of the
membership. Elections shall normally be carried out at least
one month, and at most two months, before the expiration of current
terms of office. In the event of a casual vacancy, an extraordinary
election shall be held for an officer to complete the current
term of office. Candidates must be nominated by two members,
must accept nomination, and must be members in good standing
of both ACL and SIGdial.
Votes may be entered by electronic or physical mail, and votes
arriving by the notified closing date will be counted by a returning
officer appointed by the President and agreed to by all candidates.
Nominations shall be called at least three months prior to the
election, and shall close two months prior to the election. All
members shall be notified of the election date and the nominations
at least four weeks prior to the close of voting, and results
shall be notified to the members within four weeks of the close
of voting.
Notification shall signify dispatch of
mail by the medium and to the address last notified to the
secretary.
IV. Dues
Dues may be charged by the SIG as
determined from time to time by the elected officers and
approved by the ACL Executive Committee. A scale of dues may be
charged which depends on the member's geographical location, and
the medium by which he receives mailings (e.g. electronic or
physical mail). No dues shall be assessed for 1997 or
1998.
V. Referenda
A change to this constitution, or a motion on any other matter,
may be initiated by five members (petitioners) in writing or
by agreement of the President, Vice President, and Secretary
(on the suggestion of a member or otherwise). The motions will
be put to the members within six months of receipt of a petition,
if the petitioners so request. Otherwise, constitutional amendments
and other motions will be put to the vote in conjunction with
the regular elections.
Members will be given notification at least three months in
advance of any referendum, and further motions or amendments
proposed by two members shall be accepted up to two months before
the close of voting. Votes may be entered by electronic or physical
mail, and votes arriving by the notified closing date will be
counted by a returning officer appointed by the President and
agreed to by all petitioners. All members shall be notified of
the date of the referendum and the proposed motions and amendments
at least four weeks prior to the close of voting, and results
shall be notified to the members within four weeks of the close
of voting.
Any change to this constitution requires a two-thirds majority
of those eligible to vote and is subject to approval by ACL.
Any other matter requires a simple majority of those actually
voting.
Notification shall signify dispatch of
mail by the medium and to the address last notified to the
secretary.
VI. Resource Management
In providing and making available any
resources as defined in Clause I, and especially any held and
distributed electronically, the SIG shall follow proper
procedures with respect to matters like copyright, registration
and data protection as is appropriate to each case. Furthermore,
where the SIG may be deemed the proprietor of a resource, as the
SIG is a subordinate body of the ACL it is understood that the
ACL is ultimate proprietor and therefore other members of the
ACL who are not members of the SIG may have access to the SIG's
resources and the ACL may itself make available such resources
even to non-members. The SIG shall not enter into any formal or
potentially legally binding contracts without the approval of
ACL Executive Committee (or the ACL Secretary-Treasurer acting
under delegated powers). The SIG shall not enter into any
financial commitments for such resources without ensuring that
the moneys required are available.
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