Pacific Rim International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (PRICAI) Series

(An Unregistered Association)

Revised and approved by the Steering Committee on August 31^st, 2010

Table of Contents

• Purpose of PRICAI
• The Steering Committee
  • Composition of the Steering Committee.
  • Resignation or Removal from Office of member of the Steering Committee.
  • Vacancies on the Steering Committee.
  • Delegation of Powers of the Steering Committee.
• Selection of Conference Officials
• Constituting a Conference
• General Chair(s) and the Organizing Committee
• Program Chair(s) and the Program Committee
• Funds and Account
• PRICAI Home Page
• Sponsorship and Other Issues

Purpose of PRICAI

The objective of the Pacific Rim International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (PRICAI) series is to promote research and development of artificial intelligence in Pacific Rim countries by:

• providing a forum for the introduction and discussion of new research results, concepts, and technologies;
• providing practicing engineers exposure to and an evaluation of evolving research, tools, and practices;
• providing the research community exposure to the problems of practical applications of artificial intelligence; and
• encouraging the exchange of artificial intelligence technologies and experience specifically within Pacific Rim countries and internationally in general.

This conference attempts to meet the needs of a large and diverse constituency, which includes practitioners, researchers, educators, and users. The focus of the conference is on areas of artificial intelligence that of particular importance in Pacific Rim countries.

The conference is managed by a Steering Committee, an Organizing Committee, and a Program Committee. The functions of each committee are described in the following sections.

The Steering Committee

To oversee the long-term planning and success of this conference, a Steering Committee plans for future conferences, evaluates how well each conference has achieved the objectives stated above, and implements improvements to better meet these objectives.

The purpose of the Steering Committee is to

• provide a continuing committee to represent artificial-intelligence interests in Pacific Rim countries,
• improve future PRICAI meetings,
• obtain feedback about PRICAI for the purpose of improving the conference,
• invite bids for future PRICAI meetings and select the best one at the meeting during each conference (or as practical as possible),
• appoint the General co-Chair and the Program co-Chair usually external to the host country,
• select the sites and dates for future PRICAI meetings, which may be in response to submitted proposals,
• assist in the appointment of other chair positions in the Organizing Committee, and
• ensure collaboration with other National and International Artificial Intelligence organizations.

The Steering Committee has the final authority on every aspect related to the organization and management of PRICAI.

Composition of the Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee is composed of

• A chairperson,
• a secretary
  • a treasurer
  • a web coordinator
• honorary members
• other members (usually appointed by the Steering Committee as representatives from various countries from the Pacific Region)
• representatives from the current PRICAI xxxx and the previous PRICAI xxxx-2 (the term for these representatives will be normally two conferences)
• representatives from affiliated events.

The number of Steering Committee members is to be no less than five.

Chair of the Steering Committee

The Chair of the Steering Committee shall be elected from among the Steering Committee members for a term of 4 years. The same Chair may be elected for one additional term. However, after these two terms the Chair must step down from this role. The Chair has a responsibility to call for Steering Committee meetings, prepare an agenda in consultation with other members, represent PRICAI series at other AI related bodies, and maintain active links with PRICAI xxxx General Chair(s) and PC Chair(s).

Secretary

The Secretary of the Steering Committee shall be appointed/ elected from among the Steering Committee members for a term of 4 years. The same Secretary can be appointed/ elected for one additional term of 4 years, and must leave this role for a minimum of 2 years before becoming eligible to serve again for the same role. The Secretary’s role is to work with Chair and coordinate with treasurer and web coordinator to put in place up-to-date information on PRICAI and related activities on the home page. The secretary should also help potential organisers for preparing future PRICAI conference bids.

The Treasurer is the custodian of the PRICAI funds, and usually from the organisation that is holding and managing PRICAI funds. All expenses must be carried out in accordance with the directives of the Steering Committee. The Treasurer must submit a written report at each PRICAI SC meeting.

The Web coordinator must supervise the development of PRICAI home page in consultations with the Chair, Secretary and other Steering Committee members.

Steering Committee Members

New members of the Steering Committee are selected/ appointed by the current Steering Committee members in a Steering Committee meeting held during each PRICAI. The committee is open to suggestions from all participants of the conference.

Honorary Membership

The Steering Committee members who have been committed for a long time to the goals of PRICAI, and served Steering Committee members for 10 years or more, and continue to contribute to various aspects of PRICAI series, may join as honorary members. These members are expected to attend PRICAI Steering Committee meetings and share their experience and participate in the discussions on regular basis to guide the future generations of PRICAI Steering Committee members. This is life membership.

Steering Committee Meetings

A Steering Committee meeting must be held in each PRICAI. If necessary, interim meetings can be called by the Steering Committee Chair through electronic mail or by other means. For example, at each IJCAI if there is at least 5 Steering Committee members present, the Steering Committee meeting may be called to discuss the progress of the upcoming PRICAI and other relevant issues.

Steering Committee members are expected to attend the Steering Committee meeting in each PRICAI. Members who missed two consecutive meetings are considered withdrawn from the Committee.

Proxies

During meetings of the Steering Committee, each member shall have one vote. General proxy voting shall not be permitted, but on specific issues proxy voting shall be permitted if the Steering Committee Chair is informed beforehand of the intended vote by the absent member. Steering Committee members are to be informed sufficiently in advance of any known motions to be voted on during a forthcoming meeting.

PRICAI Distinguished Contribution Award

The Steering Committee should form a sub-committee chaired by the Steering Committee Chair or a senior Steering Committee member to deliberate on nominations for distinguished award. This committee will set up guidelines for nominations, and criteria for assessing the nominations. It is expected that the nominations for this award would be invited about a year before the PRICAI xxxx is being held. This will give sufficient time to make appropriate decision.

The sub-committee’s recommendation for the award must be approved by the Steering Committee.

Resignation or Removal from Office of member of the Steering Committee

1. Any member of the Steering Committee may resign from membership of the Committee at any time by giving notice in writing to the Chair or the Secretary, but such resignation shall take effect at the time such notice is received by the Chair or Secretary unless a later date is specified in the notice when it shall take effect on that later date or such member may be removed from office at a steering committee meeting of the PRICAI where the member shall be given the opportunity to fully present the member's case.
2. The question of removal shall be determined by the vote of the members present at such a Steering Committee meeting.
3. There is no right of appeal against a member's removal from office under this section.

Vacancies on Steering Committee

The Steering Committee Chair shall have power at any time to appoint any member to the committee to fill up any casual vacancy on the committee until its biennial meeting at the next PRICAI Conference.

Delegation of Powers of Steering Committee

1. The Steering Committee may delegate any of its powers to a sub-committee consisting of such members of the Steering Committee as the Committee thinks fit.
2. Any sub-committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers delegated conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the Steering Committee.
3. A sub-committee may elect a chairperson of its meetings.

Selection of Conference Officials

1. The General Chair of PRICAI is selected by the Steering Committee and shall normally go to a new individual each time. This individual should be highly respected for his/her work in artificial intelligence and his/her participation in activities in Pacific Rim countries. In addition, he/she should have significant experience in organizing international conferences (e.g., as program committee members or program chairs of previous PRICAIs).
2. The name of the person recommended as the General Chair shall be part of the proposal. This person shall be from the country hosting the conference. The Steering Committee shall be free to accept or reject any recommended names for General Chair in order to best promote the conference. The Steering Committee may also appoint a general co-Chair from other than the host country, usually a senior person who has extensive experience on organizing conferences, and in good position to assist the Organizing Committee.
3. The Program Chair(s) are chosen by the Steering Committee. It is especially important that the Program Chair(s) be active in the field, have published frequently in artificial intelligence journals and/or conferences and are active in Pacific Rim countries. It is normally expected that the Program Chair shall be selected from outside the country which is hosting the conference. If the Program Chair is from within the host country, the Steering Committee will appoint a Program co-Chair from outside the host country. The Program Chair(s) select the program committee members with the guidance of the Steering Committee.

Constituting a Conference

The Steering Committee obtains, through open and informal solicitations, suggestions for any or all of the following: possible conference locations, names of individuals who are suitable to serve as General Chair, and individuals who are suitable to serve as Program Chair(s). An individual or institution interested to propose and organize a future PRICAI should follow the steps listed below.

1. Written proposals for conference locations should be sent to the Chair of the Steering Committee significantly before the proposed conference date. The location of the conference will generally be determined at least 18 months before the proposed date.
2. Proposals shall list facilities, venue, proposed management, financial arrangements, a brief summary of the conference structure, and any other information required by the Steering Committee. In particular, the scheduling of any other potentially conflicting artificial intelligence meetings in that region within several months before or after the proposed meeting date must be evaluated as part of the proposal. Further, written commitments of financial support from sponsoring societies or institutions should be submitted in the proposal.
3. Those wishing to host a future PRICAI Conference should make their intentions known sufficiently in advance of the proposal date so that any information required by the Steering Committee can be obtained in a timely manner, and other activities can be integrated into a program of interest to all.
4. The Steering Committee seeks proposals for programs with broad appeal. In particular, proposals can include tutorials, vendor displays, interesting and dynamic invited speakers, reports on workshops, and controversial panel discussions.

General Chair(s) and the Organizing Committee

In each conference, the General Chair(s), the Program Chair(s), and other selected chairs (for example, Tutorial Chair) form the Conference Organizing Committee for that conference and are charged with the planning, running, and oversight of that conference to ensure that it meets the objectives stated in earlier sections.

The General Chair(s) are responsible for the overall running of the conference, and serve as the Chair(s) of the Organizing Committee. This Chair proposes the Organizing Committee plan, which must be approved by the Steering Committee.

The Organizing Committee approves all major decisions concerning the conference. The General Chair is responsible for the finances of the conference and for coordinating local arrangements. To these ends, the General Chair will appoint a Treasurer, and a Local Arrangements Chair. The General Chair may also appoint a Publicity Chair, Publications Chair, Registration Chair and other positions as necessary.

The General Chair(s) or the appointed Publicity Chair is responsible for publicity of the conference. All notices requesting papers, panels, tutorials and tool demonstrations as well as the program announcement and registration material shall be widely distributed in a timely manner. These include announcements in professional and research journals, the trade press, and separate mailings to individuals on mailing lists of interested or participating organizations, and distribution in electronic bulletin boards. The goal is to allow full participation in all facets of the conference by the world-wide artificial intelligence communities.

The General Chair(s) are responsible for obtaining all necessary approvals and financial supports from conference sponsors.

Program Chair(s) and the Program Committee

The Program Chair(s) shall be appointed no later than 18 months before the scheduled date of the conference. The Program Chair(s) are responsible for planning the technical program of the conference.

Program Committee

The Program Chair(s) will appoint individuals to serve in the program committee (with the advice and consent of the General Chair(s) and the Steering Committee). The Program Committee should be diversified in terms of expertise, geographical distribution, race, and gender. Program Committee members shall be chosen on the basis of their technical qualifications and experience, and should include individuals with expertise in artificial intelligence. The Program Chair(s) should promote continuity by keeping committee members from the previous conferences (e.g., members from past Organizing, Steering and Program Committees).

Program Committee Meetings

At least one-half of the program committee members should attend program committee meetings. At the discretion of the Program Committee Chair, these meetings may be conducted via telephone or electronic mail.

Call For Papers

The Program Chair(s) will prepare the Call For Papers (with the Publicity Chair), send out notification of acceptance and rejection of submitted papers, and send out information to authors for submitting their final papers. The call for papers as well as individuals on the Program Committee shall encourage the submission of high quality papers, including reports on practical experiences with or evaluation of advanced technologies.

Reviews of Submitted Papers

The Program Committee shall be responsible for reviewing all submitted papers, for submitting timely, informative reviews that provide authors with feedback about their papers, and for attending program committee meetings. The Program Chair(s) will determine the procedures for reviewing and accepting papers for the program. They shall distribute the papers for review, and arrange information so the papers can be discussed by knowledgeable reviewers during the program committee meeting. Program committee members can seek expert advice from external reviewers, but they shall be responsible for having reviewed the papers themselves. Each paper shall be reviewed by at least three reviewers and each paper shall be discussed at the program committee meeting.

The conference shall require full papers for review. Papers shall be reviewed by the program committee members. Direct discussion provides other committee members who might be familiar with the work an opportunity to contribute useful information that might affect the outcome of the review process. If consensus can not be formed or there are additional concerns raised about a paper, additional information or reviews should be obtained.

Usually those papers that have received very poor reviews or very strong reviews can be discussed briefly, but an open discussion of all papers is required. It is important that the Program Committee consider all papers fairly.

If a committee member (Program, Organizing, or Steering Committee) of a forthcoming PRICAI submits papers, care must be taken that his/her papers be reviewed at least as stringently as other submitted papers. Committee members shall leave the room during the discussion of their submitted papers or for any paper where he/she might have a conflict of interest.

All discussion about a paper shall remain in confidence. The names of reviewers are not to be revealed to authors. Reviewers, however, shall be free to identify themselves to an author if they so wish.

It is recognized that English may not be the native language of many of the authors of contributed papers. It is still expected, however, that all papers will be reasonably presented and written in acceptable English. It is strongly recommended that authors whose native language is not English to seek professional help in polishing the writing in their papers.

Best Paper Awards

The Program Chair(s) together with some senior Program Committee members should form a sub-committee to deliberate on best student paper or best paper or poster awards. The committee should rigorously deliberate and ensure that award worthy papers/posters have distinguished contributions to the field. The committee may recommend no award if it is not possible to identify any award worthy paper/poster.

Funds and Account

1. The funds of the PRICAI must be kept in the name of the PRICAI (an unregistered association) in a financial institution decided by the Steering Committee.
2. Proper books and accounts shall be kept and maintained either in written or printed form in English, showing correctly the financial affairs of the PRICAI and the particulars usually shown in books of a like nature.
3. All amounts shall be paid by cheque signed by the Chair and/or Secretary-Treasurer or any other member authorised from time to time by the Steering Committee. Or it has to go through an Institutional Finance and Accounting system. It was decided in PRICAI 2006 SC meeting that PRICAI finance should be maintained at Griffith University under the custodianship of Prof Abdul Sattar (Treasurer).
4. All expenditures shall be approved or ratified at a Steering Committee meeting biennially at each PRICAI.

Contributions to PRICAI funds

It is expected that each PRICAI xxxx makes a substantial financial contribution from its surplus to the PRICAI series funds. This fund is critical to maintain ongoing expenses and to start new initiatives such as distinguished service award, etc. A general guideline is that local organising body keeps 50% of the surplus and pass 50% of the surplus to PRICAI, unless other agreements were made between the PRICAI SC and the host organisation.

PRICAI Home Page

PRICAI Home Page should be maintained by the Web Coordinator with consultation with the Chair, Secretary and other members of the Steering Committee. It should have a secured online access for the bylaws, minutes of the meetings and other material related to the conference which the Steering Committee members may like to access.

Sponsorship and other issues

1. The members of the Steering Committee may approach to Government and/or private organisations or individuals to obtain cash or in-kind sponsorship to sustain activities of PRICAI.
2. Seed Grant: The Steering Committee shall provide a revolving seed grant to the PRICAI'XX organisers to assist in establishment of the conference; it is an expectation that the seed money will be returned to the PRICAI with a top-up if the conference generates a surplus, or a deficit if the conference in deficit. The general chair of the PRICAI'XX and the Secretary-Treasurer of PRICAI shall negotiate terms and conditions of this seed grant.
3. Non-Profit Clause: The assets and income of the PRICAI shall be applied solely in furtherance of its objectives as mentioned in this document, and no portion shall be distributed directly or indirectly to the members of the Steering Committee except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the PRICAI.
4. Winding-up Clause: In the event of the PRICAI dissolved, the amount which remains after such dissolution and the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall transferred to any organisation which has similar objectives and exempt from income tax.
5. Amalgamation Clause: Where it furthers the objectives of the PRICAI to amalgamate with any one or more other organisations having similar objectives, the other organisation(s) must have rules prohibiting the distribution of its (their) assets and income to members, and must be exempt from income tax.
6. Amendments: Amendments to this Charter for the Pacific Rim International Conference on Artificial Intelligence require approval by two thirds of the members of the Steering Committee.