Constitution

CONSTITUTION OF THE ISCA SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP ON CHINESE SPOKEN LANGUAGE PROCESSING

1.0 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The purpose of the International Speech Communication Association (ISCA) Special Interest Group on Chinese Spoken Language Processing (SIG-CSLP) shall be:

to promote research activities and research interests in Chinese Spoken Language Processing; to provide members of ISCA with special interests in Chinese Spoken Language Processing with a means of exchanging recent research developments and experiences; to sponsor meetings, workshops and other events in Chinese Spoken Language Processing; and when possible to make available resources relevant to research in Chinese Spoken Language Processing, including text and speech corpora, analysis tools, research papers and generated data.

2.0 MEMBERSHIP

2.1 Based on ISCA By-laws, a SIG shall have at least 25 members, the membership list shall be available to ISCA and all members, and the SIG members do not have to be ISCA members.

2.2 Based on ISCA By-laws, the SIG Officers as described below shall be ISCA members.

3.0  OFFICERS

3.1 The elected officers of the SIG shall consist of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and a Secretary. The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Secretary shall be members of ISCA.

3.2  The term of all elected officers of the SIG shall be two years.

3.3  The duties of the Chairperson shall be: to have primary leadership and executive authority over actions and activities of the SIG; to prepare an annual written report on the activities of the SIG for the ISCA Board before July 1st each year; to designate a Liaison Representative for the SIG.

3.4  The duties of the Vice-Chairperson shall be: to help the Chairperson perform any of the duties of the Chairperson; on behalf of the Chairperson to perform any of the duties of the Chairperson when the Chairperson is not able to do so.

3.5  The duties of the Secretary shall be: to maintain a Website of the SIG which include information of the SIG in English; to maintain a membership list of the SIG; to be responsible for handling any funds awarded to the SIG by the ISCA Board; to prepare a written annual report on the SIG finances to be submitted to the ISCA Board; to handle any matters relevant to the SIG under the instructions of the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson.

3.6  The Liaison Representative shall be responsible for communications
between the SIG and the ISCA Board.

4.0  ELECTION OF OFFICERS

4.1  All elected officers of the SIG shall be elected by a vote of the membership.
The vote shall be completed at least two months before the expiration of the terms of the officers to be elected. Nominations shall be called at least three months prior to the election, and shall close at least five weeks prior to the election. In the event of a casual vacancy, an extraordinary election shall be held for an officer to complete the current term of office, and the above requirements may not be met.

4.2  All SIG members are eligible to vote. Votes may be counted in a physically attended meeting, or entered by electronic or physical mail, and votes shall be counted by two SIG members appointed by the Chairperson and agreed to by all candidates.

5.0  REFERENDA

5.1  A change to this constitution, or a motion on any relevant matter, may be initiated by five members (petitioners) in writing or by agreement of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Secretary (on the suggestion of a member). The motions shall be put to the vote of the members within three months of receipt of a petition, if the petitioners so request. Otherwise, constitutional amendments and other motions may be put to the vote in conjunction with the regular elections.

5.2  Any change to this constitution requires a two-thirds majority of those eligible to vote and is subject to approval by the ISCA Board. Any other matter requires a simple majority of those actually voting.