ISCA Special Interest Groups

ISCA SIG list
ISCA SIG - What's new ?

ISCA SIG last meeting (minutes)
What is an ISCA Special Interest Group
How To Propose an ISCA Special Interest Group
ISCA by-laws on Special Interest Groups
Model Constitution for ISCA SIGs
Questions about SIGs
Former SIGs

ISCA SIG list

ISCA has the following Special Interest Groups, established since 1998:

• Speech Synthesis - SynSig
• Audio Visual Speech - AVISA
• Speech And Language Technology for MInority Languages - SALTMIL
• SPeaker and Language Characterization - SpLC
• Speech Prosody - SProSIG
• Dialogue Processing - SigDial
• SIG on Chinese Spoken Language Processing - SIG-CSLP
• Association Francophone de la Communication Parlée - AFCP
• Associazione Italiana di Scienze della Voce - AISV
  
• SIG on Iberian Languages - SIG-IL
• Indian Language Speech Processing - SIG-ILSP
• Speech and Language Technology in Education - SLATE
• ISCA SIG on Russian Speech Analysis - SIGRU
  
  
  
  Please notice that some of these URLs are temporary addresses.

ISCA SIG last meeting (Minutes)

What is an ISCA Special Interest Group

The field of speech communication field is growing rapidly and specific areas in speech communication now consist of significant groups of interested individuals. It is also noticed that with the increasing interest in speech communication in general, there is a wish to get organised on a regional basis or around a certain language. Finally, specific parts of the membership of ISCA, notably students, may wish to organise themselves.

For all these purposes ISCA has the possibility to start ISCA Special Interest Groups (ISCA-SIGs). The function of a Special Interest Group will be to encourage interest and activity in (specific areas within) the broad field of the Association - including links with related areas - by means such as (specialist) workshops, special conference sessions, dedicated web pages and other schemes that might be proposed.

The ISCA Board therefore invites any group that has an interest in becoming an ISCA SIG to submit a written proposal to the ISCA Secretariat. The proposal should satisfy relevant articles from the by-laws or provide sufficient assurance that this will likely be the case within one year. The proposal should (a) state explicitly why it would be desirable for ISCA to support the existence of the proposed SIG, (b) list interested people (preferably already 25), which need not all to be ISCA members, (c) identify a liaison representative and (d) provide a draft constitution.

The ISCA Board will approve a SIG which satisfies ISCA's requirement for an initial term of one year, during which it is expected that the SIG would take steps to organise itself effectively. To support the start of a SIG, ISCA will provide a grant of 1000 Euro to be used for promotional activities. After one year, the ISCA board will make a final decision on the continuation of the SIG.

The ISCA Board believes that SIGs will strengthen the Association and will serve the interests of our members. The Board is looking forward to proposals.

How To Propose an ISCA Special Interest Group

A group interested in becoming an ISCA-SIG should submit a written proposal to the ISCA Secretariat for consideration by the ISCA Board. The proposal should satisfy relevant articles from the by-laws on SIGs, or provide sufficient assurance that this will likely be the case within one year. The proposal should:

• state explicitly why it would be desirable for ISCA to support the existence of the proposed SIG;
• list interested people (preferably already 25), which need not all to be ISCA members;
• identify a liaison representative;
• provide a draft constitution (for reference, see model constitution)

ISCA by-laws on Special Interest Groups

1. The function of a Special Interest Group is to encourage interest and activity (in specific areas) within the broad field of the Association - including links with related areas - by means such as (specialist) workshops, special conference sessions, dedicated web pages and other schemes that might be proposed. A SIG can have a single scientific focus, but could also have a wider scope and relate to language, region, or member status.
2. The establishment of a SIG shall be approved by the Board.
3. A candidate SIG is given one-year before final approval in which to organise itself and to meet the requirements of the by-laws.
4. Each SIG shall have a statement of purpose and constitution approved by the Board, and shall be designated as an "ISCA Special Interest Group on " or "ISCA Regional Branch / Language Branch", or "ISCA Member Section".
5. A SIG shall have a committee of at least two elected officers - Chairperson and Secretary - and elections shall be held for these positions every two years. These two officers must be members of ISCA. Re-election is possible but consecutive appointments are limited to four successive terms. The election procedure must be specified in the constitution.
6. Each SIG shall appoint a Liaison Representative (who may be one of the officers) who shall be responsible for communication with members of the SIG and with the ISCA Board.
7. Each SIG committee shall provide a written annual report to the Board before 1st July each year.
8. A SIG's statement of purpose, current officer information, and annual report shall be published on the web pages of the Association.
9. Each SIG may have access to the membership list of the Association, and SIG announcements may be included in normal publicity of the Association.
10. A SIG must have at least twenty-five members, and it shall maintain a list of its members and supply this to the Board along with its annual report. It is not obligatory for a member of an ISCA SIG to be member of ISCA. However, membership of ISCA (and its corresponding benefits) should be encouraged by the SIG.
11. A SIG may hold workshops in conjunction with conferences of the Association (independent of other workshops it may hold).
12. All participants in an event organised by a SIG should be or become a member of the Association. It is up to the SIG whether associate membership or full membership is required.
13. ISCA will not provide any automatic financial support for a SIG. Each SIG must cover its own running costs, and any significant proposed expenditures must be approved by the ISCA Board. A SIG may apply to the Board for an annual budget - not to subsidise events, but as an advance on costs.
14. A SIG is not required to solicit subscriptions from its members. Any proposal to support a SIG via membership subscriptions must be explicitly approved by the ISCA Board.
15. Profits from any activity organised by a SIG will be shared in equal parts by the organisers, the SIG, and the Association.
16. A SIG must request Board approval for any activities sponsored jointly with any other non-ISCA organisation(s).
17. The Board can approve the establishment of a SIG jointly with other organisations. In that case, at least two members of the SIG committee should be member of the Association, one of which as Liaison Representative. All by-law articles on an ISCA SIG should apply for the joint SIG. Participants in SIG activities should be member of at least one of the organisations that established the SIG.
18. The ISCA Board may choose to close a SIG at any time on grounds such as failure to adhere to the required procedures, inactivity over a period of years, or divergence from the interests of the Association.

Model Constitution for ISCA SIGs

This model follows from the ISCA by-laws on SIGs. It is intended to cover the main requirements, without being too heavy-handed, and may be modified to suit the circumstances of any individual SIG. However, each SIG's constitution must be approved by the ISCA Board, as part of the general process of acceptance for a SIG.

CONSTITUTION OF THE ISCA SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP ON TOPIC / REGIONAL BRANCH FOR REGION

1. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE (for Special Interest Groups on TOPIC)

   The purpose of the International Speech Communication Association (ISCA) Special Interest Group on TOPIC (the SIG) shall be to promote interest in TOPIC; to provide members of ISCA with a special interest in TOPIC with a means of exchanging news of recent research developments and other matters of interest in TOPIC; to sponsor meetings and workshops in TOPIC that appear to be timely and worthwile, operating within the framework of ISCA's by-laws for SIGs; and to provide and make available resources relevant to TOPIC, including text and speech corpora, analysis tools, analysis and generation software, research papers and generated data.

   STATEMENT OF PURPOSE (for Regional Branches)

   The purpose of the International Speech Communication Association (ISCA) Regional Branch for REGION (the RB) shall be to promote interest in Speech Communication in that particular region; to provide members of ISCA in REGION with a means of exchanging news of recent research developments and other matters of interest in Speech Communication; to sponsor meetings and workshops in Speech Communication that appear to be timely and worthwile, operating within the framework of ISCA's by-laws for SIGs; and to provide and make available resources relevant to Speech Communication, including text and speech corpora, analysis tools, analysis and generation software, research papers and generated data.

   (Replace SIG with RB in the following articles)

   Back to top of model constitution

2. ELECTED OFFICERS

   The elected officers of the SIG shall consist of a Chairperson, a Secretary and [any such other officers as the organizers of the group may deem advisable to carry out the duties of the organization - fill in specifics here]. The Chairperson and Secretary shall be members in good standing of ISCA.

   The term of all elected officers of the SIG shall be two years. They can be re-elected but consecutive appointments are limited to four successive terms.

   The duties of the Chairperson shall be:

   • to have primary 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.

   The duties of the Secretary shall be:

   • to maintain a membership list of the SIG;
   • to be responsible for any funds awarded to the SIG by the ISCA Board;
   • to collect and manage any dues that may be required by the organization;
   • to present a written annual report on the SIG finances to the ISCA Board.

   The Liaison Representative shall be primarily responsible for communication with members of the SIG, answering enquiries about the SIG, and communication with the ISCA Board.

   Back to top of model constitution

3. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

   All officers of the SIG shall be elected by a vote of the membership. The vote shall take place at least [time period] before the expiration of the terms of the officers to be elected, with at least 4 weeks notice of nominations to SIG members.

   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 ISCA.

   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 Chairperson 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.

   [Each SIG can establish procedures for conducting elections, subject to approval by the executive committee. The main idea is to come up with something definite that is fair, reaches all the members, and is reasonably easy to administer, and to write it down here.]

   Back to top of model constitution

4. DUES

   [Not all SIGs may want to charge them. However, if it is desired that the SIG produce mailings, a newsletter, etc. it may be necessary to charge some amount to defray expenses.]

   Subject to the approval of the ISCA Board the SIG may levy annual membership dues, where the rate is determined by [state the means here: small SIGs may make this a matter for their Chairperson and Secretary, others may want to put it to a vote; there is flexibility here].

   Back to top of model constitution

5. 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 Chairperson, 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 Chairperson 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 the ISCA Board. 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.

   Back to top of model constitution

6. 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 ISCA it is understood that ISCA is ultimate proprietor and therefore other members of ISCA who are not members of the SIG may have access to the SIG's resources and the ISCA Board 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 the ISCA Board (or the ISCA 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.

Questions about SIGs

Any questions about SIGs should be addressed to Eva HAJICOVA

Former SIGs

These organizations used to be ISCA SIGs but are no longer active.

- Education in the Field of Speech Communication - EduSIG
- Integration of Speech Technology in (Language) Learning - InSTIL