International Computer Archive of Modern and Medieval English (ICAME) Constitution
1 Name
The name of this organisation is “The International Computer Archive of Modern and Medieval English”, also known as “ICAME”. In the rest of this document it is referred to as “ICAME”.
2 Purpose and Scope of Activities
The main aims of ICAME are
(a) to promote English corpus linguistics (in particular the compilation and analysis of corpora of English), and applications of English corpus linguistics.
(b) to undertake or support the compilation of English text corpora in electronic form, and where possible to make this material, together with information on corpus-based research, available to researchers and institutions.
(c) to include in its remit corpus-based studies of other languages, where English is a major comparative element.
(d) to provide a forum for research and discussion on English corpus linguistics, by sponsoring an annual conference, publishing a journal currently named the ICAME Journal, and such other activities as may serve this purpose.
3 Membership
3.1 Membership of the association is open to any person who supports the aims of ICAME, and who is active in the field of corpus linguistics.
3.2 ICAME has no membership fee (excluding the subscription fee for the ICAME Journal). An individual may register for membership of ICAME by informing the secretary of the ICAME executive board of their name, their academic affiliation, their mailing address and their home address. A record of the current membership of ICAME shall be kept by the secretary of the executive board.
3.3 Members will cease to be members when they submit to the secretary their resignation in writing, or if they do not attend at least one of five consecutive annual conferences.
3.4 Honorary life membership of ICAME may be awarded to any person by a majority decision at an ICAME annual general meeting. Also, as a special case, honorary membership of ICAME has been awarded collectively to the Japan Association for English Corpus Studies, with no implication that individual members of the JAECS thereby become members of ICAME.
4 Organisation
4.1 ICAME shall hold an annual general meeting, normally at the annual ICAME conference. Notice of the annual general meeting shall be given not less than thirty days in advance of the meeting by email or a mailing to all members.
4.2 An executive board shall manage the affairs of ICAME between annual general meetings and may co-opt other members at its discretion. It may also set up sub-committees when it deems that they are required.
4.3 The executive board of ICAME shall have sixteen members, elected at annual general meetings of ICAME. Those members who have attended at least two previous conferences can participate in the vote. The term of office of each executive board member is four years. A member of the executive board can be re-elected for one further term of four years. Persons nominated to be members of the executive board must be members of ICAME with a record of participation in at least three ICAME conferences. Only members who have participated in at least three previous ICAME conferences (not necessarily consecutive) are entitled to nominate or second candidates for membership of the board. No more than one candidate can be nominated or seconded by a single member. Nominations for members of the executive board must reach the secretary of the board thirty days in advance of the beginning of the ICAME conference of that year.
4.4 The annual general meeting of ICAME shall elect a chairperson and a secretary of the executive board. These officers shall be elected for a period of three years, after which time they shall retire but shall be eligible for re-election for one further period of three years. The next election of a chairperson will take place in 2008. The next election of secretary will take place in 2007. An incoming chairperson shall assume office immediately after the conclusion of the annual general meeting.
4.5 The business of the annual general meeting shall where possible include a report from the executive board, proposed future conference venues, election and resignation of members of the executive board, a report on the ICAME Journal, a report from the technical secretary, and any other business.
4.6 A quorum at an annual general meeting shall be twenty members of ICAME. If a quorum is not present, the meeting shall be adjourned until the next annual conference.
4.7 The chairperson of the ICAME executive board shall chair the annual general meetings. If the chairperson is absent, then a member of the executive board shall be elected by the meeting to take the chair.
4.8 A quorum for meetings of the executive board shall be six.
4.9 If any position on the executive board should fall vacant, the executive board may appoint
another member of ICAME to fill that office until the next annual general meeting.
4.10 Notices of motion at meetings shall be forwarded to the secretary at least thirty days before the meeting is to take place. Any notice of motion presented after that time will be discussed at the meeting at the discretion of those present at the meeting.
4.11 Voting at all meetings shall normally be by show of hands. In the event of an equality of votes, the chairperson may make a casting vote.
4.12 The executive board may appoint named honorary officers of ICAME to undertake tasks or responsibilities for the benefit of ICAME.
The character of annual ICAME conferences has been as a gathering of experts in the field of English corpus linguistics. It has been considered to be important, since the first ICAME conference was held in 1979, that ICAME conferences provide opportunities for both experienced and younger scholars from many countries to participate. It is one of the responsibilities of the executive board to decide, preferably two years in advance, on the location of future conferences, in consultation with ICAME members who have offered to host those conferences. Conferences are normally held in late May, and should be advertised on the ICAME Website. Those interested in attending should contact the local organiser. The local organiser can consider other ways of advertising the forthcoming conference, and in negotiation with the executive board, can shape the character of the conference, including a possible theme, guest speakers, representatives of other organizations, and possible limitations on the size of the conference in view of available accommodation, and the expressed desire of members to preserve the collegiality offered by conferences of fewer than 200 participants.
The conference organisers are responsible for sending the list of the names of the persons that actually attended the conference to the secretary.
6 Finance
Because ICAME has no membership subscription and does not have any funds to be accounted for, there is no treasurer. Neither the executive board nor any member of ICAME shall have power to expend or borrow money in the name of ICAME. The only financial matters concern the organisation of conferences and the publication of ICAME Journal.
(a) Organisation of conferences
The local conference organiser or the institution to which he or she is affiliated is solely responsible for the financial management of the conference he or she organises, including meeting any shortfall. Costs should therefore be realistically budgeted for in the registration fee, though the conference is not intended to be a profit-making event per se. Within six months of the end of the annual conference, the organiser or organisers shall provide the executive board with a brief financial statement on the costs of running the conference, to enable the board to have as wide an understanding as possible of the scope and nature of ICAME activities.
(b) Publication of ICAME Journal
The production manager or institution to which the publication, printing and distribution of ICAME Journal is assigned by the executive board is solely responsible for the financial management of the journal, including meeting any shortfall from subscriptions to and purchases of the journal, and the disposal of any surpluses. The subscription of the ICAME Journal shall be decided by discussion between the editor or editors and the manager. Any change in subscription and distribution arrangements should be approved by the executive board.
7 Amendment of constitution
These rules may be amended at an annual general meeting when proposed and seconded by members who have participated in at least three previous ICAME conferences (not necessarily consecutive). Notice of a proposed amendment to the constitution must be sent to the secretary at least thirty days before the annual general meeting, for prior discussion by the executive board.
Drafted by:
Graeme Kennedy
Geoffrey Leech
Antoinette Renouf
Last updated by: Antoinette Renouf/Merja Kytö
Date: 25.06.07