CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 1
Section 1. This organization shall be known as the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT).
Section 2. The Society’s purposes shall be scientific,
technical, literary and educational in character. The Society shall strive for the application of science and technology
for the beneficial use of mankind humanity and
for the maintenance of high professional and ethical standards among its members,
all in consonance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the IEEE and with special
attention to such aims within the field of interest of the Society, as
hereinafter defined.
Section 3. The Society shall promote close cooperation and exchange of information pertinent to its field of interest among its members and others, and to this end shall hold meetings for the presentation of papers and their discussion, and shall study and provide for the needs of its members and affiliates.
Section 4. All provisions of the Society shall be in consonance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the IEEE.
Section 5. The IEEE SSIT supersedes the IEEE Committee
on Social Implications of Technology (CSIT) and shall assume its various
functions as appropriate, within the Bylaws of the Society, including
publication of TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY and responsibility for the Barus Award
for Outstanding Service in the Public Interest. The subscription list for TECHNOLOGY AND
SOCIETY will be used as an initial basis for membership in the Society in
consonance with the membership standards of the IEEE.
Section 6. IEEE SSIT, although interested in and
intending to publish scholarly articles on the subject of engineering ethics,
is not the IEEE body given the sole responsibility for the development of
ethical standards for electrical
and electronics engineers or for IEEE
members.
FIELD OF INTEREST
The field on interest of the Society shall be the impact of technology (as embodied by the fields of interest of IEEE) on society, including both positive and negative effects, the impact of society on the engineering profession, the history of the societal aspects of electrotechnology, and professional, social, ethical, and economic responsibility in the practice of engineering and its related technology.
MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. IEEE members in any grade may become members of the Society upon application and payment of fees as prescribed in the Society Bylaws.
Section 2. The Society may have Affiliates and Honorary Members as prescribed in the Society Bylaws.
Section 3. There may be special categories of membership with appropriate fees, as specified in the IEEE Bylaws.
FINANCES
Section 1. The Society shall establish fees for its members as prescribed in the Society Bylaws.
Section 2. The Society may make registration charges at
its Society meetings, symposia, conferences and conventions. The registration fee for nonmembers of the
IEEE shall be higher than for IEEE Members or Affiliates shall be no
higher than for nonmembers of the IEEE.
Section 3. The Society may raise revenues by other
means, such as advertising, shows and requests for contributions, provided such
means are consistent with applicable rules and
regulations policy and procedures of the IEEE, and do
not encroach on revenue fields previously established by other Groups,
Societies, or Sections. Any new revenue
means not explicitly covered by IEEE rules and
regulations policy and procedures must be approved by the
General Manager Executive
Director of IEEE before being adopted by the Society.
ADMINISTRATION
Section 1. The Society shall be managed by an
Administrative Committee (AdCom) Board of Governors (BOG) with
the following composition:
1.1
Divisional Members:
Each IEEE
Divisional Director (currently there
are 7) shall appoint a representative to serve a two year term on
the Society’s AdCom BOG.
Such appointment shall be made effective coincident with the start of
that Director’s term of service on TAB.
Preferably, such appointments should be made from among the members of
the Society, but, in any event, all AdCom
BOG members
must be members of the Society while in office.
1.2 Elected Members: 9 Society members, elected at large by the
members of the Society for 3 year
terms, no more than 2 of which may be consecutive. (Eligibility is restored after a lapse of one year.) Terms of 3 elected members shall elapse
every year. (Special
arrangements to achieve this effect will be made during the initial election of
officers. Nine will be elected, with
the 3 receiving the most votes serving 3 year terms, the 3 with the next
largest vote totals serving 2 year terms, and the remaining 2 serving one year terms.)
1.3 The Society Officers, if they are not members by provision 1.1, 1.2, or 1.4.
1.31.4 The
immediate past SSIT President shall serve on the AdCom
BOG. until
replaced by
a successor. (This post shall remain
vacant until the second President takes office.)
1.5 The Chairman
of the Publications Committee Board, as
defined in the Bylaws.
1.6 The Chapter coordinator, as defined in
the Bylaws
Section 2. The Officers of the Society shall be the
President, the Vice President, the Secretary and the Treasurer. The offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be
combined and held by one individual as Secretary/Treasurere.
Section 3. All categories of AdCom BOG member
defined in Section 1 shall have full voting privileges,. which
may be delegated to otherwise nonvoting alternates.
Section 4. Each Officer and AdCom
BOG member
must be a member of the Society during his that individual’s term of
office.
Section 5. Organizational entities subordinate to the AdCom
BOG may
be formed as prescribed in the Society Bylaws.
Section 6. The President and Vice President of the
Society shall each be elected annually by the AdCom BOG for a
one-year term. Each may be re-elected
but no more than 2 terms shall be consecutive.
Section 7. To qualify for the positions of President or
Vice President, a person must have served at least one year on the AdCom
BOG during
the past 6 years. (This
provision shall not be effective until the Society has been in operation for 3
years.) In order to help keep the AdCom
at a manageable size, the Vice President shall be chosen from among those
already designated as AdCom members by virtue of provisions 1.1, 1.2 or
1.4. The President may or may not be in
this category.
Section 8. The newly elected AdCom
BOG members,
President and Vice President shall assume office on the first day of January following their
election.
Section 9. A The Secretary
shall be appointed from among the AdCom
BOG members
by the President with the advice and consent of the AdCom
BOG for
a term of one year, and may be reappointed.
Section 10. A The Treasurer
(or Secretray/Treasurer; if this option is chosen
then Section 10 above is void) shall be appointed by the President
with the advice and consent of the AdCom BOG for a term of one year and may be
reappointed without limit. This Officer
need not have current or prior tenure as an AdCom
BOG member. Because of the complexities of budgeting and
fiscal interfaces with IEEE, some continuity in the office of Treasurer is
desirable.
Section 11. The following, if not members of the AdCom
BOG in
other capacities, shall be Associate Members of the AdCom
BOG having no vote:
11.1. Liaison members appointed by other organizational units of the IEEE. Presidents of
other IEEE Societies, or Groups, by Chairmen of standing committees of the
Technical Activities Board (TAB), by the Chairman of the United States
Activities Board (USAB), or by the the Chairman of the Member Conduct Committee
(MCC)
11.2. Chairsmen
of Society committees
11.3.
Special appointees Individuals designated
by the President with the advice and consent of AdCom BOG. The number of
these shall be kept to a minimum.
Section 12. Duties and responsibilities of the
Officers shall be as defined hereinunder and in the Society Bylaws and as
delineated by the AdCom BOG.
Section 13. The President, under the direction of the
AdCom BOG, shall have general supervision of the
affairs of the Society. He or she
shall preside at meetings of the AdCom BOG, at
general meetings of the Society, and have such other powers and perform such
other duties as may be provided in the Society Bylaws, or as may be delegated to
him by the AdCom BOG.
Section 14. The President shall be an ex officio
member of all committees of the Society.
He or
she is a member of the IEEE Technical Activities Board and when notified
of a meeting of said Board, he
shall ensure representation of the Society at such meeting. by
himself or by an alternate. If an
alternate cannot be found, the President shall present the views of the Society
by a letter of proxy. If the
President is unable to attend, the Society will be represented by the Immediate
Past President of the Society. If both
the President and the Immediate Past President are unable to attend, the
Society will be represented by the Vice President of the Society.
Secction 15. The AdCom may establish standing or ad hoc
committees as prescribed in the Society
Bylaws, including both functional committees (e.g. Awards, Chapters,
Membership, Nominations) and technical committees. Technical committees within the Society may be established as
needed to develop specific areas of interest.
All appointments to committee and similar posts will be for a term not
to exceed one year. Committee
reappointment can be made without limit.
In the event that reappointments are not made, and the affected
committees and/or similar posts are not formally
dissolved, past appointments shall continue until successors are appointed and
take office or until the committees and/or similar posts are dissolved.
Section 16. The AdCom BOG may
establish Local Chapters where appropriate, in
conformance with TAB regulations Policy and
Procedures..
Section 17. The AdCom
BOG may utilize the services of Headquarters the IEEE as bursar for all or part of the Society
funds. If any part of the Society funds
is received and deposited separately, the terms and conditions shall be in
accordance with IEEE policies Policy and
Procedures and subject to the provisions of the Society Bylaws and to any
special limitations imposed by the AdCom BOG.
Section 18. Neither the Society nor any Officer or representative thereof shall have any authority to contract debts for, pledge the credit of, or in any way bind the IEEE except within prior approved budgets.
Section 1. The nominating procedure for Elected
Members of AdCom BOG shall
include provision for petition by Society Members to place a name on the
ballot. The election procedure shall be
prescribed in the Society Bylaws.
Section 2. Vacancies on the AdCom
BOG may
shall be
filled by appointments as prescribed in the Society Bylaws.
MEETINGS
Section 1. The Society may hold meetings, conferences,
symposia or conventions, either alone or in cooperation with Sectional,
Regional or National Convention Committees
organizational
units of the IEEE, or other technical or scholarly organizations, subject
to IEEE rules and regulations policy and
procedures.
Section 2. Meetings and conferences of the Society shall be open on an equal basis to all members of the IEEE. The Society may not sponsor or cosponsor a meeting which is subject to security clearance.
Section 3. The AdCom
BOG shall
hold at least 2 meetings each year, one of which shall be designated the Annual
Meeting, at a time specified in the Society Bylaws. Other meetings of the AdCom
BOG shall
be held at such times as are found necessary and/or convenient. Special meetings of the AdCom
BOG may be called by the President of
the Society at his or her own discretion or upon request of 3
at least 6 other
members of the AdCom BOG, with at least 30 days’ notice.
Section 4. A quorum of the AdCom
BOG shall
be a majority of those members having voting rights provided that at
least five are those elected by the membership (V.1.2).
Section 5. A majority of the valid votes cast (not
including abstentions) by those members of the AdCom
BOG attending
a meeting shall be necessary for the conduct of its business except as
otherwise specified in this constitution.
Section 6. Business of the AdCom
BOG may
be handled by correspondence mail,
telephone, or telegraph email as
appropriate in the opinion of the Officer concerned. When such business involves actions not having the prior approval
by majority vote of the AdCom BOG, or
is outside its normal policy, approval by majority vote of the BOG
is necessary, unless otherwise provided.
Telephone actions are to be confirmed promptly in writing (either by
surface mail or email).
PUBLICATIONS
Section 1. Publications undertaken by the Society shall
be subject ot IEEE policies and to any further guidance or controls prescribed
by the AdCom BOG or its
duly appointed committees and boards.
The Society shall be responsible for the financial aspects of its
publication program.
Section 2. The President, with the advice and consent
of the Adcom BOG shall
appoint such editors as may be required to implement the publication
program. The duties and benefits of
an editor, and his compensation,
if any, shall be prescribed in the Society Bylaws.
Section 3. The Publications Committee Board of
SSIT shall have liaison representation from
with all
the major approporiate IEEE Boards and Committees.
BYLAWS
Section 1. Bylaws governing the conduct of the affairs
of the Society shall be in consonance with the IEEE
Constitution, Bylaws and Policy and Procedures.governing laws
and policies of IEEE and the constitution. They may be adopted and
amended at an AdCom
BOG meeting
by a two-third majority of the valid votes cast (not including
abstentions).
Section 2. A complete statement of a proposed Bylaw or
amendment and the reasons for its proposal shall be given to all AdCom
BOG and
Society members at least 30 days before the voted is to be tallied. Inclusion in a Society publication
circulated to all Society members shall be considered adequate notice to
Society members.
Section 3. A new bBylaw or
amendment shall become effective only after a copy has been deposited with the
Chairman and Secretary of the IEEE Technical
Activities Board.
Section 4. A vote on adoption or amendment of the
Bylaws may be taken in at an AdCom
BOG meeting or by letter or email ballot
of AdCom BOG members at the option of the
Society President.
Section 5. If the vote is taken in meeting, AdCom
members may vote in person or by duly delegated alternate, as provided in the
Society Bylaws.
Section 65. If a letter or email ballot
is selected, at least 30 days shall be allowed for response.
CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Amendments to this Constitution may be initialed initiated
by petition submitted to the President by a minimum of 40 members of the
Society or by two-thirds majority vote of valid AdCom BOG votes
cast (not counting abstentions). Each
proposed amendment shall be transmitted for administrative approval to the IEEE
Technical Activities Board (TAB) and to the Executive Committee of the
IEEE. If approved by TAB and the
Executive Committee, the proposed amendment shall be published in a Society
publication distributed to all Society members with notice that it goes into
effect unless 40 or more Society members object in writing within 30 days. If such objections are received, a copy of
the proposed amendment shall be mailed with a ballot to all members of the
Society at least 30 days before the date appointed for return of the ballots,
and the ballots shall carry a statement of the time limit for their return to
the IEEE office. Approval of the
amendment by at least two-thirds of the valid ballots (not counting
abstentions) shall be necessary for its enactment. For each petition submitted, the AdCom
BOG shall
prepare summary statements for and against the proposed amendment and a
recommendation in the form of a vote of the AdCom BOG concerning its adoption. The summary statements and recommendations
shall be transmitted along with the proposed amendment when the latter is
published for Society consideration.
Section 2. All amendments to the Constitution shall become effective 30 days after all necessary approvals and notifications, unless a later date has been specified at the time the vote is taken.
June 1981 Approved by the
SSIT ADCOMM March 31, 2001
Corrected Version Prepared 4/2/01