1. WG8.4 Conference on Three Continents
2. Plans for IFIP Congress '98
3. Who's Who: Toth and Grafendorfer
4. 36-Year Book Now On Line
5. New TC3 Journal
6. Publications Discussed in Bratislava
7. Message from IFIP Publisher
8. Davies Received Beckman Award
9. IFIP Awards
10. Council Meets in Bratislava
11. Term Limits for GA Representatives?
12. Calls for Papers
13. Future IFIP Meetings
14. IFIP Council
15. Technical Committee Chairmen
16. National Abbreviations
In October, the IFIP Working Group on Office Information Systems (WG8.4) will be holding a conference that will take place on three continents simultaneously, in order to simulate the 24-hours-a-day operations of a globally distributed organization. Recent developments in computing and telecommunication facilitate global business and have spawned new forms of electronic commerce, interorganizational systems, organization, business processes, and teamwork. In light of these developments, WG8.4 has organized a series of events, which will culminate with the running of the globally distributed working conference 2-4 October. The event will focus on Global Inc, a mythical organization that will enable researchers and practitioners with an interest in any aspect of the International Office of the Future (IOF) to share their research and experiences, while actually working for a short while in a globally distributed organization. Global Inc, in this, its first incarnation, will run continuously for some 50 hours in three countries: Australia, the Netherlands, and the U.S.A. The host sites are approximately eight hours apart, making possible continuing world-wide activity over the course of the conference. A virtual-organization environment will be created to support a variety of synchronous and asynchronous conference activities, which will be designed to systematically explore aspects of the IOF. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss and experience aspects of future office work in a globally distributed working environment.
Global Inc will
The overall conference theme, The International Office of The Future: Working Apart Together, will be looked at from multiple perspectives. Each site will run two tracks, each of which will focus on an IOF domain of interest, as follows:
at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia -- Electronic Commerce: C&CT-enabled (Computing & Communications Technologies) inter- and intra-organizational activities involving data, information, and image exchange among individuals, groups, and organizations. Organizational Aspects: Individual, group, or team organizational behavior; societal, professional, or national culture; and political aspects.
at the Delft University of Technology in Delft, the Netherlands -- Business Processes: Planning, developing, designing or redesigning, implementing, managing, and evaluating electronic-commerce-enabled systems and future office business processes and structures. Inter-organizational Systems: Centralized, de-centralized, regionalized, multi-national, and virtual organizational forms; value-added partnering; multi-partner, multidiscipline projects management; system compatibility; economic analysis; and national and international government regulation.
at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A. -- Computing & Communications Technologies: IS/T (Information Systems and Technology) strategies, architectures, and infrastructures; IT platform alternatives; global telecommunications; network management; innovative use of the Internet and WorldWide Web (WWW); development tools and languages. Distributed Teamwork: Different-time, different-place, different-culture, multi-disciplinary IS/T-supported teamwork.
The conference chairs are Prof. Henk Sol (NL), general chairman, Prof. Doug Vogel (USA), program chairman, and Dr. Bernard Glasson (AUS), organizing chairman. For further information, one may join the WG8.4 listserver by sending an e-mail message to
majordomo@iof.curtin.edu.au
with the body containing the following line:
subscribe IFIPwg84
To access the information repository as it evolves, see the WWW home page at
http://www.cmi.arizona.edu/globalinc
Inquiries should be directed to Prof. Vogel or Dr. Glasson, whose e-mail addresses are
vogel@bpa.arizona.edu
and
glassonb@cbs.curtin.edu.au,
respectively.
<The following description of the Congress does not correspond in all details to the material that was presented to the IFIP Council in March. Nevertheless, this version is presented here at the request of the Organizing Committee. -- Editor>
The 15th World Computer Congress (WCC '98), which will take place 31 August - 4 September 1998, will start in Vienna, Austria, and conclude in Budapest, Hungary. Like its predecessor, WCC '96, this Congress will comprise individual, independent conferences (seven for WCC '98) with common opening and closing sessions, keynote speakers, social events, and other special events, all at common venues. The day preceding and the day following the Congress (Sunday and Saturday, respectively) will be devoted to tutorials and workshops delivered by experts. A CD-ROM containing the proceedings of all the conferences will be given to each participant, along with the printed proceedings of the conference for which she or he registers. In addition, several social events will be included in the registration fee.
A unique feature of the Congress will be the travel day between Vienna and Budapest, in the middle of the Congress. Delegates are encouraged to take one of the ships provided by the Congress organizers, which will sail down the Danube River on Wednesday, 2 September. Those who prefer to do so may take a special train, also provided by the organizers.
The technical sessions will take place at the Vienna University of Technology and the Budapest University of Economic Sciences. The opening session, however, will be held in the Musikverein in Vienna, the famed concert hall from which New Year's Day concerts are broadcast around the world.
The Component Conferences
The individual conferences constituting WCC '98 are as follows:
SEC '98 -- 14th International Information Security Conference; co-chairs: G. Papp (H) and R. Posch (A). As the annual conference of the IFIP Technical Committee on Security and Protection in Information Processing Systems, SEC '98 will cover a wide range of security-related topics. It will emphasize both technical and commercial aspects of security. One of the special targets will be the security of electronic commerce in the Global Information Infrastructure.
ICCHP '98 -- 6th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs; chair: A. Edwards (GB), vice-chairs: A. Arato (H) and W. Zagler (A). This conference will be concerned with all aspects of the use of computers by people with disabilities. That includes both the adaptation of the human-computer interface to enable people to access the computer for everyday use and the development of computer-based aids to reduce the handicapping effect of the disability.
KnowRight '98 -- 2nd International Conference on Intellectual Property Rights; chair: K. Brunnstein (D), vice-chairs: G. Oberrecht (H), P. Randle (GB), and P.P. Sint (A). This conference will have an interdisciplinary and integrative approach, covering all aspects of the protection of intellectual property rights for specialized information and knowledge. It will provide a forum for discussion among computer experts, jurists, and other scientists.
Fundamentals -- Foundations of Computer Science; chair: K. Mehlhorn (D), vice-chairs: P. Kall (CH) and L. Lovasz (H). The papers will demonstrate the intellectual beauty as well as the practical relevance of various aspects of theoretical computer science, e.g., algorithms, logic, and cryptography.
IT & KNOWS -- Information Technology and Knowledge Systems; chair: J.J. Cuena (E), vice-chairs: A. Markus (H) and A.M. Tjoa (A). This conference will provide a forum on the role of explicit domain models in the development of software of all kinds. There will be special emphasis on the application of methodologies for domain modeling and the use of knowledge acquisition and knowledge representation techniques in general software engineering.
Teleteaching '98 -- Distance Learning, Training and Education; chair: J. Wibe (N), vice-chairs: T. Lajos (H) and E. Riedling (A). The conference will investigate the pedagogical use of communication and information technologies, both in classrooms and open, flexible, or distance learning. Special focus will be on the use of Internet services of all kinds, videoconferencing, and multimedia.
Telecooperation -- The Global Office, Teleworking, and Communication Tools; chair: R. Traunmueller (A), vice-chairs: A. Siegler (H) and D. Vogel (USA). Telecooperation will drastically change work in many aspects. The conference will cover relevant topics, such as technological infrastructure, systems for cooperation, innovative services, organizational forms, group decision-making, collaborative interaction, and legal frameworks.
Other Features
Other features of the Congress include the following:
Well-known keynote speakers from around the world, discussing general technical and sociological aspects of the future of information technology, will be a highlight of the program. (They will be announced in a future issue of the IFIP Newsletter.) Each Congress day will begin with a noted invited speaker highlighting major aspects of the specific conferences.
There will be an exhibition of systems, software, technical equipment, literature, and other material related to information processing at both Congress venues.
An effort is being made to attract young people.
The social program will include a welcome cocktail party, a reception by the Lord Mayor of Vienna, a visit to a "Heuriger" (typical Viennese wine tavern), a Hungarian-style reception, and a visit to the Gellerth spa.
The officials of the Congress are Dr. Walter Grafendorfer (A) and Mrs. Maria Toth (H), chairs of the Organizing Committee, and Prof. Egon Hoerbst (D) and Dr. Bruce Shriver (USA), chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the International Program Committee for the overall Congress.
In order to receive a call for papers for one of the conferences (please indicate which one) or for further information, one may contact
|
Additional information is also available on the Congress WorldWide Web pages:
http://www.ocg.or.at/ifip98.html or http://www.njszt.iif.hu/ifip98.html
Toth and Grafendorfer Head Organizing Committee for IFIP Congress '98
Mrs. Maria Toth (H) and Ing. Dr. Walter Grafendorfer (A) are co-chairs of the Organizing Committee for IFIP Congress '98, which will take place 31 August - 4 September next year.
Ing. Dr. Walter Grafendorfer
Born in Grieskirchen, Upper Austria, Dr. Grafendorfer attended Technical College, studying Radio, Television, and Communications Engineering and earning the "Ingenieur" degree in 1964. After further studies in physics and mathematics at the Vienna University, he received the Ph.D. degree in 1970.
He started his professional career in 1960, at the Vienna University computing center, working on a Burroughs 205 DATATRON, -- a computer with 1600 vacuum tubes, a magnetic drum memory with a capacity of 4080 44-bit words (decimal), and a speed of 1000 operations/second. A paper tape reader and a teletype unit were the only input/output devices. He served as Chief Executive of the Inter-university computing center in Vienna from 1976 to 1991, gaining expertise in benchmark measurements of mainframe computers. At the same time, he was lecturer in computer science at the Universities of Vienna and Linz and at other institutions. He has several publications in the field of Information Technology to his credit. In 1991, he moved from the University to the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research.
Dr. Grafendorfer is a founding member of the Austrian Computer Society (in 1975), and since then (with some interruptions) he has been Honorary Secretary General. He has been the representative of his society in CEPIS (Council of European Professional Informatics Societies) since 1993 and the CEPIS Honorary Treasurer since 1995.
He started his IFIP career in 1989 as representative of the Austrian Computer Society and became a trustee in 1993. From 1993 to 1995, he was chairman of the Marketing Committee, and since 1995, he has been chairman of the Activity Management Board.
His wife, Maria, is a school teacher, and his two sons, Thomas (30) and Georg (27), study Electrical Engineering and Electronics at the Vienna University of Technology. Dr. Grafendorfer enjoys traveling, sailing, and flying. He also sings and participates in the theater. Participants in the 1993 IFIP Council meeting may remember hearing him and Maria singing in the choir at the reception given by the Lord Mayor of Vienna.
Mrs. Maria Toth
Mrs. Toth was born in Budapest, Hungary. She attended and graduated from the Department of System Analysis at the Institution of Economics and Statistics in Moscow. In the first few years after graduation, she worked for the Hungarian Ministry of Internal Trade as an information expert. Later, she became the counsellor of an international coordination agency. Next, she edited the weekly magazine Information-Electronics, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Mrs. Toth became the Secretary of the John von Neumann Computer Society (NJSZT) in 1982 and has been its Secretary General and a member of its Board since 1990. Apart from coordinating the operation of the Society, including its financial affairs, she is also responsible for the national and international scientific events (conferences, workshops, exhibitions, etc.) organized by the NJSZT. In addition, she is the Hungarian member of the working groups of several international associations. The success of two major events in 1996 can be attributed to her efforts: the 8th International Olympiad in Informatics and the 12th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence.
The following statement was released in April:
The IFIP Secretariat proudly announces that "36 Years of IFIP" is now available on line at
http://www.ifip.or.at/36years/36years.html
We hope you will visit the WWW pages and go through the papers. Various aspects and viewpoints of IFIP and its activities are addressed. We are confident, as the Editor points out in the Preface, that the publication "can make each IFIP volunteer an activist, knowing more about his Federation, and so help him not only to know where he works but also to understand better what this framework means for his contributions."
by Mr. Brian Samways (GB)*
Starting a new journal is not an easy task, and encouraging authors to submit their latest work to review is difficult. IFIP has high standards in its publications, and to ensure that this continues, there must be rejections. But the journal of the IFIP Technical Committee on Education (TC3), Education and Information Technologies, now in its second year, has achieved a good "copy flow" and is publishing papers of a very high standard.
This new journal is designed to be of interest to experienced professionals as well as those relatively new to information technology. It is specifically intended for everyone with an interest in advancing knowledge and learning with information technology. It will appeal to people involved at all levels, from elementary and primary, through secondary to tertiary and vocational education.
To view a sample issue, one can access the following WorldWide Web page:
All personal subscribers have free on-line access to the journal's homepage, enabling them to download the full text and figures of individual papers before the paper version is published. The subscription rates are 53 pounds within the European Union, $61 in the U.S.A. and Canada, and 79 pounds in the rest of the world, but see below for special reduced rates for members of IFIP Member societies. (Library subscriptions are higher and do not include free on-line access.)
Looking back on the first year's issues, one would find it difficult to single out particular articles, as all deserve mention. As an example, however, one might consider, "How would you select software for today's school students?" Anne McDougall (AUS), in the June 1996 issue, tells us why we should reject the traditional checklist approach. Instead, she considers several software packages including Encarta and From Alice to Ocean, using different perspectives to generate issues that the purchaser should consider. In the same issue, Wing Ki (HK) tells us about computer network design and implementation, for the professional development of teachers.
In the September 1996 issue, Takashi Fuji (J) argues the effectiveness of collaborative learning over individual learning. He takes us through a group-learning system (CAMELOT) suitable for higher education or industry training and shows how learners come to a deeper understanding through discussion, tips from other learners, and examination of one another's individual work. His work should be compared with that of Margaret McManus (USA), whose paper "Teaching Collaborative Skills with a Group Leader Computer Tutor" appeared in the March 1996 issue.
Also in September 1996, Toni Downes (AUS) brings us a few surprises on the effect of computers in the home, and discusses issues such as equity, management of school computing, developing computer skills and developing home-school links. She concludes that certain issues need to be addressed within pre-service courses and that practising teachers need to encourage families in dialogue about ways to increase the educational potential of computers in homes. Phil Wild (GB), in the same issue, discusses the ways in which we might evaluate the use of information technology in educational management to the benefit of future implementation. He is particularly concerned that new systems learn from the mistakes of the past, something which he feels is not happening at present.
But there is another side to journal publishing. A new publication of this type has to encourage subscribers, and this task must fall on the shoulders of YOU the IFIP Newsletter reader. Every TC3 member has agreed to take a personal subscription, and all TC3 Working Group members are being encouraged to do likewise. Each IFIP Council member has been given the task of achieving a number of institutional subscriptions, and we need YOU, the reader, to achieve a similar target.
Chapman & Hall, the IFIP publisher, will gladly send you a sample copy of Education and Information Technologies. Should you, as an IFIP volunteer or as a member of an IFIP Member society, wish to subscribe, the personal rate to you is either 28 pounds or $43 for all 1997 issues (E-mail: stmsubs@itps.co.uk). Only with your initial support, will this new IFIP journal continue.
* TC3 chairman
Good Reports Heard in Several Areas
The IFIP publisher, Chapman & Hall (C&H) had good news to report to the IFIP Council in Bratislava in March. (See the article about the Council meeting on page _.) Thirty-four IFIP books were published in 1996, which should generate a royalty income of approximately 150 000 Swiss francs to IFIP. Revenue was up 30% from 1995, both for current books and for books published in previous years, and the publisher projects another substantial increase in 1997. The publisher cautions, however, that, "although substantial progress was made in 1996, margins still need to improve in order that the list becomes profitable by the end of 1997."
The publisher is working diligently to streamline the production of IFIP books. It has produced one book from text submitted electronically by authors. A major concern in this process is that the authors' text not be accidentally modified. At present, the entire book must be submitted in the format of a single word processor. A second book submitted electronically is in the works.
One area in which progress is slower than had been hoped is electronic publishing. At the time of the Council, plans were afoot for the publication on CD-ROM of a conference sponsored by Technical Committee (TC) 8; however, that project was subsequently abandoned, for a variety of reasons. In the meantime, C&H is planning to make the already printed proceedings of two conferences sponsored by TC3 (Education) available in the near future, at no charge, on the WorldWide Web (WWW). This will help to determine what might happen were C&H to make all IFIP proceedings available online. It is hoped that this experiment will have a positive effect on the sale of the printed books, as well as on the visibility of their contents.
C&H, in behalf of IFIP, has established the "IT & Applied Computing Resource Centre," a WWW site containing the IFIP guidelines for event organizers, editors, and contributors, a listing of all IFIP/C&H publications, and links to Web sites of IFIP conferences and Member societies. The URL of the site is www.IT-CH.com
With regard to marketing IFIP books from prior years, C&H is grouping them into related technical areas and offering discounts to purchasers of these collections of books. As for new books and "best sellers" of previous years, International Thomson Publishing, the parent company of C&H, is finding it more productive to direct its marketing activities toward libraries and technical institutions rather than individuals, which is reminiscent of the direction of the prior IFIP publisher.
A discussion in the Publications Committee (PC) dealt with comments by some IFIP proceedings editors concerning the publication process. Although the editors were generally pleased with the quality of the product and the timely delivery, some were unhappy with their interactions with C&H. Mr. Mark Hammond, the publisher's representative, reported that there had been some difficulties due to major restructuring in C&H that took place recently; however, the disruption is over, and work should proceed more smoothly in the future. The experience of editors of recent publications confirms this.
Other discussion in the PC concerned the problems that conference organizers have in ordering the right number of proceedings copies. Naturally, the order must be placed well in advance of the event. If the organizers order too many copies, they cannot return them to C&H for a refund (although they may sell the excess copies). If they order too few, the event participants may suffer. No immediate solution was offered.
Although both IFIP and C&H seem pleased with the present publishing contract, the IFIP Executive Board appointed Dr. Roger Johnson (GB), chairman of the PC, and Dr. Dipak Khakhar (S), the IFIP treasurer, to represent IFIP in the contract-review process.
Dr. Johnson reported that the PC is proceeding with the plan put forward last September at the Canberra General Assembly for publishing books that C&H does not wish to publish because they are estimated to have too low sales prospects. (See the article on page 11 of the December 1996 IFIP Newsletter.) The only significant change in the plan is that IFIP will be registered as a publisher. Another decision of the PC is that when special books (e.g., tutorials) are produced for which payment to the authors or editors is appropriate, the necessary monies will come from the corresponding TC fund -- not from IFIP general funds.
by Ms. Aileen Parlane (GB)*
Chapman & Hall have been publishing conference proceedings on behalf of IFIP since 1995 and have published 92 titles to date. Over this time, IFIP editors have seen several changes in staff, and we, at Chapman & Hall, have experienced much change within the company itself. The most prominent change is that the company name has changed to Thomson Science and Professional, although we will still be keeping the Chapman & Hall imprint and publishing IFIP books under that name. This change was part of a massive restructuring program, which involved both moves within the company and a general upgrade of its computer networks. All of this has been taking place over the last 18 months, and at last, we are pleased to announce, the change is complete and the company is pleased about the fresh start in 1997.
With respect to IFIP, the staff involved are Mark Hammond, as Publisher, and myself, Aileen Parlane, as Senior Production Editor. From the point that the book is accepted for publication, I am the main point of contact for all editors and authors, should they require assistance.
In addition to producing the actual books, my role involves liaising with the marketing department to give the IFIP books maximum promotion. This is only possible with the use of the Marketing Proposal Form that all IFIP book editors fill out. We greatly appreciate the effort editors put into supplying mailing lists and other information.
Chapman & Hall have started an e-mailing list to announce the publication of all new IFIP books. To subscribe, please send a note to
with the following in the main text of the e-mail message:
subscribe chall-ifipnewbooks@list.thomson.com
In January of this year, we launched the new IT & Applied Computing resource centre at
The site contains a catalogue of all the IFIP titles as well as access to the full Thomson catalogue, Chapman & Hall catalogue and the Journals database. Every month, we feature individual titles; in addition, we are building up a list of other useful sites of interest (on the Links page) and a calendar of current and future IFIP conferences. Our aim is to establish as many reciprocal links as possible, and we ask editors if they will set up links from their conference sites to the IT & Applied Computing site. The Comment Manager is now up and running, and we are keen to hear your opinion on any part of the IFIP book-publishing program. It is important to us to maintain continual communication with all editors and authors, and we look forward to a good relationship with you all in the future.
There is one more item: Chapman & Hall have increased their discount to members of IFIP Member societies from 30% to 35%.
* Senior Production Editor, Chapman & Hall
On 17 April, the IFIP Technical Committee on Security and Protection in Information Processing Systems (TC11) issued the following press release:
Yesterday, TC11 announced that the distinguished Kristian Beckman Award for 1997 has been granted to Prof. Donald Davies (GB), who was officially proposed by the British Computer Society. The Award was established in memory of Mr. Kristian Beckman (S), who had the original vision to propose the establishment of TC 11, and who became its first chairman.
Donald Davies has had a long and distinguished career in Information Technology and, in the last 12 years, in Information Security. His research and contributions in Information Security have been very important, especially in the financial environment.
TC11 and IFIP are privileged to honour Donald Davies in this way, and our congratulations go to him and his family. The Award Ceremony will take place during the 13th International Conference on Information Security, in Copenhagen in May 1997.
IFIP makes a number of awards -- both to members of the IFIP community for their service to IFIP, and to others for their accomplishments. Internal awards recognize the dedication of IFIP volunteers; external awards serve both to honor the recipients and make the public aware of the role IFIP plays in the international information-processing community.
Isaac L. Auerbach Award
The best known of the awards is the Isaac L. Auerbach Award, named in memory of the founder of IFIP, which is presented every other year (at the IFIP Congresses) for extraordinary support of IFIP in its mission. The recipients of this internal award are nominated by IFIP Full Member societies, and the selection is made by the IFIP Executive Board. A medallion and monetary award are conferred. The recipients have been Prof. Calvin Gottlieb (CDN) in 1994 and Prof. Dr. Lubomir Iliev (BG) in 1996 (see the article on page 3 of the September 1996 IFIP Newsletter).
Namur Award
Another major IFIP award, the Namur Award, is granted by the Working Group on Social Accountability (WG9.2) for an outstanding contribution to the creation of awareness of the social implications of information technology. It is presented biannually in Namur, Belgium. A commemorative plate and a certificate are given to the recipient. The award has been given to Prof. Joseph Wiezenbaum (USA) in 1991, Dr. Riccardo Petrella (Commission of the European Communities) in 1993, and AlterNex, IBASE, and Mr. Carlos Afonso (BR) in 1995 (page 3 of the June 1996 Newsletter).
Informatics Olympiad Trophy
The IFIP Technical Committee on Education (TC3) presents the IFIP Trophy to the participant with the highest score in the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). The IOI is an annual competition to foster problem-solving and programming skills and to promote international understanding and friendship among contestants from all over the world. The competition was initiated by Unesco in 1989 and is held in a different country every year. IOI'97 will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 30 November to 7 December (see
http://www.oldmutual.com/ioi97/
for more information). Participating countries select a maximum of four high school students to participate. Approximately 60 countries compete every year.
Beckman Award
IFIP TC11 on Security and Protection in Information Processing Systems presents the Kristian Beckman Award, named in honor of its founding chairman. See the article on page _ about this year's award.
Student Award in Learning Theory
In 1997, WG1.4 (Computational Learning Theory), in cooperation with TC1 (Foundations of Computer Science), decided to award a $500 (U.S.) prize for the best student paper from a "qualifying" country at each of the three main conferences in the area. The award is intended to assist students from economically disadvantaged countries by helping to defray travel costs to attend the conferences. The first award was made to Mr. Juris Smortrovs (LV) at the 3rd European Conference on Computational Learning Theory in March. The committee made the selection after close communication with the chair of the program committee for the conference. Other awards will be made at the upcoming Workshop on Computational Learning Theory in July and the Conference on Algorithmic Learning Theory in October.
Proposed TC6 Award
IFIP TC6 on Communication Systems is considering the creation of an award to be given during TC6 conferences. The program committees would select the winners from among the submitted papers. The awards, paid from TC6 funds, would be likely to increase the visibility of TC6 events.
Internal Awards
In addition, IFIP has two internal awards for service to IFIP, the Silver Core Award and the Outstanding Service Award (OSA). The former is conferred on those who have served IFIP as General Assembly (GA) members, committee officers, members of IFIP Congress Program Committees, and editors of proceedings of IFIP conferences. The required length of service varies with the role. The president of IFIP may also propose individuals who have given exceptional service to IFIP. (Those readers who have entered the field of information processing in recent years may not realize that the IFIP logo represents a magnetic core <a toroidal memory device that was once the most common type of computer memory> and its wires, with a globe superimposed. The award, first established in 1974, was named after this symbol of the computer technology of that time.) So far, 316 Silver Cores have been awarded. In order to make this award more than an acknowledgment that an individual has filled a position for the specified number of years, the Executive Board is considering enhancing the requirements.
The OSA, established in 1988, is given for services rendered to IFIP by TC and WG members, on recommendation of TC chairman and approval by the Internal Awards Committee. Eligible for nomination are TC and WG members not normally eligible for the Silver Core Award. So far, 49 OSAs have been awarded.
In 1988, a plan was approved by the IFIP GA to offer a pair of IFIP awards for outstanding contributions in the field of information processing, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for this field. One would be for fundamental achievements and the other for application-oriented achievements. The awards would be made at every IFIP Congress. It was felt that a sizeable monetary award (ca. $100 000 U.S.) should accompany such an award; however, the IFIP officers at that time were unable to locate donors for an endowment for this award, and the plan was dropped. Instead, IFIP resolved to support the creation of a Nobel Prize in information processing.
Much Good News Is Reported
The IFIP Council met in Bratislava, Slovakia, at the beginning of March and deliberated a number of important issues, including the very active IFIP technical program, IFIP Congresses, the happy status of IFIP publications, the gratifying state of IFIP finances, strategic planning, harmonization of standards for IT professionals, term limits for General Assembly (GA) representatives, and multiple memberships from one country. During the stay in Bratislava, the attendees were greeted by the Deputy Mayor, and there was press and TV coverage.
The Council was welcomed to Slovakia by Mr. Stefan Condik, President of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, whose greeting was followed by a description of the Slovak Society for Computer Science by its president, Dr. Igor Privara. Dr. Privara mentioned that the 1979 Council meeting had also been held in Bratislava -- at the same hotel. Prof. Kurt Bauknecht (CH), the president of IFIP, pointed out that during IFIP Congress '98, the delegates will be sailing on the Danube River past Bratislava, on their way from Vienna, Austria, to Budapest, Hungary, and that those of the delegates who attended this Council meeting will realize that all the good aspects of the Congress began in Bratislava.
Technical Activities
Dr. Walter Grafendorfer (A), chairman of the Activities Management Board, reported that the number of IFIP technical events scheduled for 1997 is showing a significant improvement over the number for last year.
The Council approved a proposal intended to increase the number of high-quality conferences run by IFIP. The possible benefits of this would be an increased level of IFIP activity, innovation, and visibility, wider participation in IFIP activities by individuals and Member societies, initiation of new areas of work for Technical Committees (TCs) and Working Groups (WGs), and increased income. IFIP will make known its willingness to support high-quality new ventures by a number of means. In order to carry out this activity, a group will be formed, which will seek advice from a panel of a dozen experienced IFIP workers. The group includes new positions: New Initiatives Manager and Event Innovator. So far, no appointments have been made to fill these posts.
Mrs. Patricia Glenn (CDN), chair of the task force on the Harmonization of IT Professional Standards, reported on its activities. The task force is interested in establishing harmonized international standards for the qualification of IT professionals. At present, the Task Force has 25 members. On her way to the Council meeting, Mrs. Glenn stopped in Geneva, Switzerland, to confer with representatives of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Although the WTO is not a standards-setting body, IFIP cooperation with the WTO might be valuable for both organizations in setting standards that will permit reduction of barriers to trade in services for the IT industry. Mrs. Glenn will also be submitting a proposal to the ISO for IFIP to become its standards-setting body. She will continue her dialog with the WTO and the ISO and recommend to the GA in September whether IFIP should cooperate with them or continue the project on its own. By that time, the task force will have prepared a report on accreditation qualifications with regard to education.
Among the other interesting activities discussed are the following:
Congresses
Despite the problems with IFIP Congress '96 in Canberra, Australia (see the article on page 4 of the December 1996 IFIP Newsletter), there was virtually no discussion of it at the Council. Just as was the case at the General Assembly in Canberra, neither the chairman of the Organizing Committee, Prof. Ashley Goldsworthy (AUS), nor the chairman of the International Program Committee (IPC), Prof. Egon Hoerbst (D), presented written reports to the Council. No accounting of the Congress attendance or finances have been presented to IFIP (finances are discussed below), nor have any conclusions of the IPC chair, who did not attend the Council meeting, been presented. Prof. Goldsworthy did make a suggestion for future Congress organizers: since 2/3 of the delegates will be "local" people and the remainder from around the world, it behooves the IPC to take this into account.
The program of Congress '98 is discussed in an article on page _. The total budget is approximately one million CHF. In order for the Congress to be profitable, 890 paid participants must attend; the organizers anticipate 1000. The organizers are also attempting to attract income from industrial sponsors. The income to be paid to IFIP is 50 CHF per paying registrant, with a minimum of 40 000 CHF. IFIP has made a loan of 100 000 CHF to the organizers to alleviate their current cash-flow problem. The contract for the Congress was signed in Bratislava by representatives of IFIP and both organizing committees (a photograph is on page 11).
During the Council meeting, opinions were expressed by chairs of some Technical Committees that they are reluctant to regularly organize their conferences as part of IFIP Congresses, since they lose the income they would otherwise receive. Another concern is that potential registrants may be unhappy with paying the Congress registration fee, which is significantly higher than the fee for many similar individual conferences, and with spending the time, which may be considerably longer than that for an individual conference.
Because some previous Congress Organizing Committees (OCs) have not paid their contracted debts to IFIP, it was suggested that for future Congresses, the minimum guaranteed payment to IFIP be placed in an escrow account by the organizers before the contract is signed with IFIP. In most cases, this is a small fraction of the total budget of the Congress (4% in the case of Congress '98). This will be discussed by the Executive Board.
The Council did debate the frequency of Congresses, since the GA in September will have to decide whether a Congress will be held in 2002. The Congress Committee, charged with recommending Congress sites and overseeing Congress preparations, had no recommendation. One participant at the Council debate suggested that the 1996 Congress had failed to achieve any of its goals: to provide a high-quality technical event with valuable proceedings, to enhance the image of IFIP, to service the local community and strengthen the relationship with the host Member society, or to provide income to IFIP. It is not clear that any future Congress will succeed, so perhaps Congresses should be discontinued after the one in 2000. A straw vote of Council indicated that a majority favored retaining the two-year cycle.
President Bauknecht announced the appointment of Dr. Bruce Shriver (USA) and Prof. Sha Zong (PRC) as chairs of the IPC and OC, respectively, for Congress '00. (Neither was present at the Council meeting.) Mr. Howard Funk (USA), an IFIP vice-president, will also play a role in the OC. Mr. Chris Guy (ZA), chairman of the Congress Committee, said that in all likelihood, there will be an exhibition, proceeds from which will enable the organizers to charge a lower than normal registration fee.
Finances
Dr. Dipak Khakhar (S), the IFIP treasurer, reported very good financial results for 1996: a surplus of 301 000 Swiss francs (301K CHF), the largest surplus on record. The total assets of IFIP now amount to 1400K CHF, over 4 times the annual expenses. Compared to 1995 figures, income increased 7%, helped greatly by a 17% increase in royalties, while expenses decreased 23%, primarily because of lower expenses of the Secretariat and administrative support. The TCs earning the largest amounts for their TC Funds in 1996 were TC6 (27K CHF), TC5 (11K), TC10 (8K), and TC8 (7K).
The picture, however, is not totally rosy. The income from IFIP's investments fell to 41% of its 1995 amount, despite the increase in the principal. The treasurer and the Finance Committee are planning to seek better investments. Also, the treasurer stated in his report, "Even though there were a number of reminders, no response was received from the organisers of WCC'96 <IFIP Congress '96>. A guarantee fee of 100K CHF is not yet paid to IFIP." Prof. Goldsworthy was not able to tell the Council when the amount guaranteed by his committee would be paid, or even if it would ever be paid. President Bauknecht said that there was a net loss on the Congress, so this amount cannot come from proceeds. The Australian Computer Society will look for other sources of income to pay this debt. Nevertheless, the bookkeepers require that the 100K CHF be accounted for as income in 1996, inflating the surplus by that amount. Also, the proceeds from TC events dropped to 44% of their 1995 value, and the 1995 value itself was unsatisfactory.
Another concern is the discrepancy between the budget for 1996 (a loss of 25K CHF) and the actual surplus. The treasurer pointed out the difficulty of predicting many factors when budgets are created. The failure of the Australian organizers of WCC'96 to pay their debt is just one example of this difficulty. The treasurer is constantly attempting to derive a realistic budget.
Other Activities
Last September, the GA in Canberra spent a significant amount of time "brainstorming" about strategic planning. A Strategic Planning Committee was established, chaired by Prof. Goldsworthy, to proceed with the "visions" developed in the brainstorming session. The Committee, which consisted of the Executive Board, met once and presented its suggestion to the Council in the form of a proposal to adopt "vision 1" -- that IFIP become the most desirable global body for all national computer societies. Following from this were three objectives that would lead to the fulfillment of the vision. Three small groups were assigned the task of elaborating on these objectives and reporting back with action plans within four weeks. Prof. Goldsworthy would then edit these action plans and place them on the IFIP WorldWide Web site: http://www.ifip.or.at/
This will have been done by the time this issue of the IFIP Newsletter is printed.
The TC chairs, finding that half a day had been taken from the schedule for the Technical Assembly (TA), the body at which issues of mutual concern to the TCs are normally discussed, decided to meet by themselves one afternoon, in order to discuss these issues. They decided that this meeting, called the TC Chairs Forum, should be a regular part of the meetings related to Council and GA. In the future, it will be held before the TC chairs meet with the Marketing Committee, the Publications Committee, and the TA. This first forum, "... resolved to ask the TA to begin exploring electronic meeting support options to enable the TA to be more responsive to new initiatives without requiring additional face-to-face meetings." In addition, the Forum expressed unhappiness with the current TC-review process (which was revised only last year) and asked that all reviews in progress be "frozen" until the next TA revises the process. An alternative to the present process was suggested, by which each TC would prepare a strategic plan and be measured according to this plan.
The deliberation about whether more than one organization in a country should be permitted to join IFIP as a Full Member continued. This was discussed in the December 1996 IFIP Newsletter (page 5) and in letters from the president last October, soliciting the viewpoints of all GA representatives and Member societies. Mr. Graham Morris (GB), secretary of IFIP, prepared a review paper for Council that included the following summary:
To date, there have been submissions from eighteen Members. Some of these are quite brief; others make thoughtful contributions to the debate. An overall view of the responses is
If the responses are treated as an opinion poll, there was a roughly even split between single and multiple memberships.
The Developing Countries Support Committee allocated 12K CHF to support attendance at two IFIP conferences by individuals from developing countries, to help support the attendance of an IFIP speaker, Prof. Robert Aiken (USA), at the national conference of the Brazilian Member society, and to help support another IFIP speaker at a Unesco conference in Tunisia. No initiatives other than disbursing these funds were taken by the Committee.
Prof. Gerald Quirchmayr (A), a member of the Steering Committee of the Secretariat's Telecommunications Project, described the project to Council. Using a variety of donated equipment, the team has provided services to the Secretariat in three areas: administration, WorldWide Web server, and telemeetings. The former two are very well established, and the third is in development.
Other significant aspects of the Council meetings include the following:
The Council was adjourned by President Bauknecht with many thanks to the hosts. Their hospitality was very generous, and the facilities provided were among the best in memory. Prof. Branislav Rovan, vice-president of the Slovak Society for Computer Science, thanked Council for coming.
The IFIP Council, at its September meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia (see the article on page _), rejected a proposal to limit the terms of General Assembly (GA) representatives. The original motivation of the proposal was the observation that national representatives who have served in the GA for many years frequently become "stale," losing contact with their national societies and becoming unable to nominate qualified representatives to IFIP Technical Committees and other bodies, unable to speak for their societies in the GA and unable to speak for IFIP in their societies. This is bad for the societies and bad for IFIP. New representatives are more likely to be in touch with their societies. By a regular replacement of GA representatives, IFIP could gain younger people with younger ideas.
If political or personal reasons should make it difficult to replace an ineffective representative, a term limit might help the society make a substitution. A term limit on GA representatives would also be consistent with the term limits IFIP currently imposes on other officers, such as vice-presidents, trustees, and TC chairs. (Also, many national governments impose term limits on their officials and representatives.) Naturally, means would have to be devised to preserve continuity in IFIP leadership (e.g., extending the term limits of GA representatives elected to the Council).
Arguments against the proposal include the following:
A counter-proposal was put forward, in which the TC representatives of each Member society would meet at regular intervals to elect one of themselves as the GA representative of the society. This approach would reflect the trend in IFIP toward being an organization performing technical work on an international basis rather than simply an international federation of national computer societies.
The original proposal suggested a six-year term limit (like those of TC chairs, vice-presidents, and others). The Executive Board recommended that a five-year term be considered standard for GA representatives, but that the term could be renewed (indefinitely) by the Member society. Council recommended, however, that the present practice not be changed.
Of course, if the proposal is not approved by the September GA in Gramado, Brazil, Member societies will still be free to adopt their own term limits.
15th IFIP World Computer Congress
31 Aug - 4 Sep 98,
Vienna, Austria, and Budapest, Hungary
papers due: 16 Jan 98
contact: http://www.ocg.or.at/ifip98
Will event organizers please send calls for papers to both the IFIP Secretariat and the Newsletter editor. Note that calls cannot be listed in this column until the events have been approved by IFIP.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND COUNCIL (AND RELATED MEETINGS)
GA 31 Aug - 4 Sep 97 (Sun.-Thurs.) Gramado, Brazil Council 1-5 Mar 98 (Sun.-Thurs.) Manchester, U.K. GA 5-8 Sep 98 (Sat.-Tues.) Budapest, Hungary GA (contiguous to IFIP Congress '00) Beijing, China
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE AND WORKING GROUP MEETINGS
WG1.1 autumn 98 Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
WG1.3 Jun 97 Rome, Italy
TC2 5-6 Jun 97 Konstanz, Germany
WG2.1 late 97 Oxford, U.K.
WG2.2 22-26 Sep 97 Graz, Austria
WG2.3 22-26 Sep 97 Alsace, France
WG2.4 22-26 Sep 97 Estes Park, CO, U.S.A.
Jun 98 Berlin, Germany
WG2.5 Oct 97 New Mexico, U.S.A.
WG2.6 2-4 Jun 97 Konstanz, Germany
7-10 Oct 97 Leysin, Switzerland
May 98 L' Aquila, Italy
15-18 Dec 98 New Zealand
WG2.8 2-6 Jun 97 York, England
WG2.9 Jan 98 West Indies
Jan 99 Dublin, Ireland
TC3 23-24 Aug 97 Harare, Zimbabwe
29-30 Aug 98 Vienna, Austria
WG3.1 25 Aug 97 Harare, Zimbabwe
WG3.2 Aug 97 Enschede, the Netherlands
WG3.4 27 Aug 97 Harare, Zimbabwe
WG3.5 26 Aug 97 Harare, Zimbabwe
WG3.6 Nov 97 Madrid, Spain
WG3.7 Jul 98 Maine, U.S.A.
TC5 4 Nov 97 Detroit, MI, U.S.A.
WG5.7 14 Sep 97 Ascona, Switzerland
WG5.10 Sep 97 Geneva, Switzerland
Jun 98 Hannover, Germany
WG5.12 3 Nov 97 Detroit, MI, U.S.A.
TC6 Oct 97 Sofia, Bulgaria
3-4 Apr 98 Stuttgart, Germany
TC7 22 Jul 97 Detroit, MI, U.S.A.
Jul 99 Cambridge, U.K.
WG7.3 Jun 97 Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
WG7.4 Jul 97 Detroit, MI, U.S.A.
TC8 27-29 Jun 97 Ambleside, U.K.
29-30 Aug 98 Vienna, Austria
99 Israel
WG8.1 17 Jun 97 (with CAISE) Spain Barcelona,
Nov 97 (with QSSE) Delhi, India
15-17 Jul 98 Beijing, China
WG8.2 Jun 97 Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
Dec 97 (with ICIS) Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
10-12 Dec 98 Helsinki, Finland
Jun 99 St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.
Aug 00 Jutland, Denmark
WG8.3 12-15 Jul 98 Bled, Slovenia
WG8.4 2-4 Oct 97 Perth, Australia; Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.;
and Delft, the Netherlands
WG8.6 Jun 97 Ambleside, U.K.
10-12 Dec 98 Helsinki, Finland
WG8.7 Dec 97 Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
TC10 Sep 97 Gramado, Brazil
Sep 98 Vienna, Austria, or Budapest, Hungary
Sep 99 Toulouse, France
WG10.4 28 Jun - 1 Jul 97 Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Jun 98 Munich, Germany
Jun 99 Madison, WI, U.S.A.
Jun 00 New York, NY, U.S.A.
TC11 Sep 98 Vienna, Austria, or Budapest, Hungary
TC12 25 Aug 97 (with IJCAI) Japan Nagoya,
TC13 13 Jul 97 Sydney, Australia
Executive Board
K. Bauknecht President CH 95-98 H.L. Funk Vice-Pres. USA 94-97 A.W. Goldsworthy Vice-Pres. AUS 95-98 W. Brauer Vice-Pres. D 95-98 G.R. Fairall Vice-Pres. ZW 96-99 G.J. Morris Secretary GB 96-99 D. Khakhar Treasurer S 96-99
Trustees
W. Grafendorfer A 95-98 P. Glenn CDN 94-97 M. Gottlieb IL 95-98 R. Johnson GB 95-98 C. Guy ZA 95-97 R. Reis BR 96-99 X. Yan PRC 96-99 J. Granado P 96-97
TC1: G. Ausiello I 97-99 TC2: R. Kurki-Suonio SF 95-97 TC3: B. Samways GB 97-99 TC5: G. Doumeingts F 96-99 TC6: O. Spaniol D 92-97 TC7: P. Kall CH 95-98 TC8: B. Glasson AUS 96-98 TC9: P. Jaervinen SF 96-98 TC10: J.-C. Laprie F 96-99 TC11: B. von Solms ZA 94-98 TC12: L. Carlucci-Aiello I 96-98 TC13: J. Hammond AUS 95-98
A Austria F France P Portugal
AUS Australia GB or UK United PL Poland
Kingdom
B Belgium GR Greece PRC China
BG Bulgaria H Hungary ROK Republic of Korea
BR Brazil HK Hong Kong S Sweden
CDN Canada I Italy SF or FIN Finland
CH Switzerland IL Israel SLO Slovenia
CZ The Czech J Japan USA U.S.A.
Republic
D Germany LV Latvia ZA South Africa
E Spain N Norway ZW Zimbabwe
EE Estonia NL The Netherlands