SIGCHI NZ

This organization shall be called the New Zealand Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction, also known as the ACM SIGCHI_NZ. In these bylaws it is referred to as the Chapter; the Association for Computing Machinery is referred to as the ACM.

The scope of the Chapter is same as ACM SIGCHI.

The Chapter will support activities complimentary to ACM SIGCHI, the ACM, and other ACM activities in the New Zealand area.

The Chapter is organized and will be operated exclusively for educational and scientific purposes within New Zealand to promote the following:

• To promote increased knowledge of and greater interest in the science, design, development and applications of modern computing in computer-human interaction.
• A means of communication between persons having an interest in computing.

The activities of this Chapter will include the following:

• Collecting and disseminating information through a website, expertise database, newsletter, and other publications.
• Sponsoring meetings, discussion groups, seminars, and workshops.
• Working with other ACM units on activities such as lectures, professional development seminars and technical briefings.

The Chapter is chartered by the ACM. It is formed and will operate under the sponsorship of the ACM, the Membership Activities Board, and the SIG Board.

Membership in the Chapter shall be open to all ACM members and nonmembers, upon request and payment of local dues (or upon waiver of dues in lieu of foreseeable accountable activities for SIGCHI_NZ).

Voting membership in the Chapter shall be granted to all ACM members and ACM SIG members in the locality served by the chapter.

Student membership shall be open to all full-time students. Student membership dues shall not exceed 75 percent of regular member dues.

The officers of this Chapter shall be: Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. The position of Treasurer may be combined with any of the other three positions.

At least 3 officers of the Chapter must be voting members of the ACM and/or members of the ACM SIGCHI.

The officers shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast at the annual election meeting. They shall take office on 1st of following month and serve for two years.

No member may serve in the office of Chair or Vice Chair for more than six consecutive years.

Vacant positions due to resignations within term period can be filled by appointment by the Chair for the rest of the term.

The Chair is the principal officer and is responsible for leading the Chapter and managing its activities in accordance with the policies and procedures of the ACM and these bylaws. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the chapter and of its Executive Council.

With the advise of the Chapter’s Executive Council, the Chair shall appoint all members of committees of this Chapter and all Committee Chairs.

The Vice Chair shall preside at meetings in the absence of the Chair, assist the Chair in the management of the Chapter, and perform other duties that may be assigned by the Chair.

The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all Chapter and Executive Council meetings. Other duties of the Secretary include:

• Preparation of the annual report for presentation at the election meeting.
• Preparation of the Chapter’s activity report and officer contact information, and submission of these to ACM headquarters.
• Submission of any proposed amendment to these bylaws to the Chair of the Membership Activities Board. Proposed amendments must be approved before they can be submitted to the Chapter’s membership for a vote.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Chair.

The Treasurer shall collect dues, pay all bills, and maintain the Chapter’s financial records. Duties of the Treasurer shall also include:

• Preparation of the Chapter’s annual financial report for presentation to the Chapter at the annual election meeting.
• Completion and submission of the financial report to ACM headquarters.
• Performance of other duties as assigned by the Chair.

The set of officers will serve as an Executive Council. The Chair would be the presiding officer.

The Executive Council shall consist of the Chapter officers, the immediate past Chair, and chairs of the Chapter’s standing committees.

The term of the members of the Executive Council shall be coincident with the terms of the officers. They shall take office on 1st of following month and serve for two years.

The standing committees of the Chapter shall be Program, Publicity, Student Liaison and Industry Liaison..

The Program Committee shall plan and make arrangements for the technical programs of the Chapter’s meetings in accordance with the membership’s interests and the aims of the Chapter as set forth in Article II.

The Publicity Committee shall maintain a mailing list and publish and distribute all notices and publicity for and to the members of the Chapter.

Student liaison committee shall organise and maintain various activities for students and shall liase with ‘Academic institute liaison officers’ at various New Zealand universities/colleges.

Industry liaison committee shall organise and maintain various activities for professionals and shall locate prospective industry members.

With the advice of the Chapter’s Executive Council, the Chair may appoint such temporary committees as appropriate.

A Nominating Committee, consisting of at least three voting members of the Chapter, at least two of whom shall not be member of the Executive Council, shall be appointed by the Chapter Chair at least two months prior to the Election Meeting. This committee will exist only when a Past Chair is not available to do this job.

An Audit Committee shall be appointed by the Chapter Chair at the close of the fiscal year to assure the accuracy of the accounting of the Chapters funds for the year. This Committee should also verify the accuracy of the Financial Report prepared by the Treasurer for submission to ACM headquarters.

Meetings shall be held as planned by the Program Committee. The Chapter shall hold meetings only in places that are open and accessible to all members of the Association. If feasible for ALL participants, such meetings may also be held electronically using synchronous and/or asynchronous means.

The Annual Business Meeting should be held at the last meeting of the program year. At this meeting, the Secretary and Treasurer each shall present the required reports. Also, the election of officers shall be held.

Notices of all meetings shall be distributed to all members at least one week prior to any meeting either in written or email form.

Disbursements from the Treasury for Chapter expenditures shall be made by the Treasurer with authorization of the Executive Council and shall be included in the minutes of its meetings.

Dues shall be fixed annually by the Executive Council.

All proposed changes to these Chapter Bylaws shall be approved by the Chairs of the Membership Activities Board and the ACM Constitution and Bylaws Committee before being presented to the Chapter membership for a vote.

No official business of the Chapter shall be conducted unless a quorum is present. A quorum of the Chapter shall be defined as 15 percent of the voting membership of the Chapter.

A simple majority of the voting members present shall be required to carry a motion.

Officers will be elected by a plurality of votes cast. If the election is conducted by mail, email or web-based ballot, sufficient ballots must be returned to have constituted a quorum. For mail ballot, ballots will be dispatched to the voting members at least one month before the election. Members would be able to return the ballots in a way that they reach to Chapter headquarter by 5 PM on due date. For email and web-based ballots, members shall be informed either in written or by email at least 15 days before the election. The members can cast their vote by 5 PM on due date.

“No addition to or alteration of the charitable objects, personal benefit clause or the winding up clause shall be approved without the Inland Revenue Department’s approval.

The provisions and effect of this clause shall not be removed from this document and shall be included and implied into any document replacing this document.”

Dissolution of this Chapter by consent of the members shall consist of unanimous agreement of all its officers together with a majority vote at a meeting which has been publicized in advance to all members of the Chapter for the purpose of taking this vote.

Should this Chapter be dissolved, its assets and liabilities shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the organisation but shall be transferred to some other charitable organisation or body having objects similar to the objects of the Chapter – or for some other charitable purpose – within New Zealand. The process will be supervised by ACM through the Membership Activities Board.