International Computer Archive of Modern and Medieval English (ICAME) Constitution
1 Name
The name of this organisation is “The International Computer Archive of Modern and Medieval English”, also known as “ICAME”. In the rest of this document it is referred to as “ICAME”.
2 Purpose and Scope of Activities
The main aim and scope of ICAME are
(a) to promote all branches of English corpus linguistics, in particular the compilation and analysis of corpora of English and applications of English corpus linguistics.
(b) to undertake or support the compilation of English text corpora in electronic form, and where possible to make this material, together with information on corpuslinguistic research, available to researchers and institutions.
(c) to include in its remit corpus-based studies of other languages, where English is a major comparative element.
(d) to provide a forum for research and discussion on English corpus linguistics, by sponsoring an annual conference (through the offices of the ICAME member who serves as host), publishing a peer-reviewed journal (named the “ICAME Journal”), maintaining an ICAME website, and such other activities as may serve this purpose.
3 Membership and Membership Fee
3.1 Membership of the association is open to any person who supports the aims of ICAME, and who is active in the field of corpus linguistics.
3.2 ICAME has no membership fee. The production and printing costs for the ICAME Journal are included in the registration fee for the annual ICAME conference. One hard copy of the ICAME Journal is available to registered ICAME conference participants free of additional charge; the online version is currently available free of charge to anyone interested, on an open-access basis.
3.3 Honorary life membership of ICAME may be awarded to any person by a majority decision at an ICAME Annual General Meeting on recommendation of the Executive Board. Honorary life membership shall be awarded on grounds of outstanding service to the field, outstanding scholarship and/or dedication to the creation of corpus material. Candidates will have already retired or are close to their retirement.
4 Organisation
4.1 ICAME shall hold an Annual General Meeting, normally at the annual ICAME conference. Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be given not less than thirty days in advance by email or a mailing to all members.
4.2 An Executive Board shall manage the affairs of ICAME between Annual General Meetings and may co-opt other members at its discretion. It may appoint a Technical Secretary for the management of technical tasks such as the maintenance of the ICAME website. It may also set up sub-committees when it deems that they are required. The Executive Board may appoint named honorary officers of ICAME to undertake certain tasks or responsibilities for the benefit of ICAME. The ICAME membership shall be informed about decisions of the Executive Board in appropriate ways.
4.3 The Executive Board of ICAME shall have sixteen members, elected at Annual General Meetings of ICAME. Those members who have attended at least two previous conferences (not necessarily consecutive) can participate in the vote. Up to four of the sixteen seats of the Executive Board are up for (re-)election every year. The term of office of each Executive Board member is four years. A member of the Executive Board can be re-elected for one further term of four years. After two consecutive terms of office, former Board members can be proposed for re-election after a lapse of four years. Candidates nominated to be members of the Executive Board must be members of ICAME with a record of participation in at least three ICAME conferences (not necessarily consecutive). Only members who have participated in at least three previous ICAME conferences (not necessarily consecutive) are entitled to nominate or second candidates for membership of the Executive Board. No more than one candidate can be nominated or seconded by a single member. Nominations for members of the Executive Board must reach the Chair and the Secretary of the Executive Board thirty days in advance of the Annual General Meeting.
4.4 Members of the Executive Board shall represent a range of regions, specialisations and areas of expertise.
4.5 The quorum for meetings of the Executive Board shall be six members. It shall be left to the Executive Board’s discretion how to ensure an appropriate representation of the members of the Executive Board at board meetings, including remote participation by electronic communication.
4.6 If any position on the Executive Board should fall vacant, the Executive Board may appoint another member of ICAME to fill that office until the next Annual General Meeting. If the Chair is absent, then a member of the Executive Board shall be elected by the Executive Board to take the chair.
4.7 Notices of motion at the meetings of the Executive Board shall be forwarded to the Chair and the Secretary at least thirty days before the meeting is to take place. Any notice of motion presented after that time will be discussed at the meeting of the Executive Board at the discretion of those present at the meeting.
4.8 The Annual General Meeting of ICAME shall elect a Chair, who must be a member of the Executive Board at the time of election, and a Secretary of the Executive Board. The Chair shall be elected for a period of three years, after which time he/she shall retire but shall be eligible for re-election for one further period of three years. The term of office of the Chair shall continue even after his/her term of office as elected member of the Executive Board has ended. The Secretary shall be elected for a period of three years on the recommendation of the Chair; re-election of the Secretary is possible. An incoming Chair shall assume office immediately after the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting.
4.9 The business of the Annual General Meeting shall include a report from the Executive Board, proposed future conference venues, election and resignation of members of the Executive Board, a report on the ICAME Journal, a report from the Technical Secretary, and any other business.
4.10 The quorum at an Annual General Meeting shall be twenty-five members of ICAME. If the quorum is not present, the meeting shall be adjourned.
4.11 The Chair of the ICAME Executive Board shall chair the Annual General Meeting. If the Chair is absent, then a member of the Executive Board shall be elected by the Executive Board to take the chair.
4.12 Voting at all meetings (Annual General Meetings and the meetings of the Executive Board) shall normally be by show of hands. In the event of an equality of votes, the Chair may make a casting vote. Elections shall take place by secret ballot.
5 ICAME Conferences
5.1 The annual ICAME conference provides a forum for experts from all branches of English corpus linguistics, providing opportunities for both experienced scholars and early-career researchers from many countries to participate.
5.2 The Executive Board decides, preferably two years in advance, on the location of future conferences, in consultation with ICAME members who have offered to host those conferences (“local organiser”).
5.3 The local organiser is responsible for the conference budget. He/she can shape, in negotiation with the Executive Board, the character of the conference, including a possible theme, plenary speakers, representatives of other organisations, workshop formats etc. The local organiser is also responsible for advertising the conference and for having all submitted abstracts peer-reviewed.
5.4 In order to preserve the collegiality typical of ICAME conferences, the number of participants should not exceed 200, and there should be no more than three parallel sessions. ICAME Conferences are normally held between mid-May and mid-June.
5.5 To honour the scholarly achievement of John Sinclair, a bursary (“John Sinclair Bursary”) will be awarded to an early-career ICAMEr who delivers the best singleauthored paper at each conference (excluding workshop papers). Papers co-authored by two or more early-career ICAMErs shall also be eligible. Candidates must make clear to the local organiser that they wish to be considered, and the local organiser, in consultation with the Chair and the Secretary of the Executive Board, will undertake to have the paper audited appropriately. For the John Sinclair Bursary, the local organiser will reserve 300 EUR in the conference budget.
5.6 To honour the outstanding contribution to the field of corpus linguistics of Stig Johansson, a bursary (“Stig Johansson Bursary”) will be awarded to the author(s) of the best poster presentation at each conference. All poster presentations shall be eligible with the exception of posters (co-)authored by individual or several members of the Executive Board. The local organiser, in consultation with the Chair and Secretary of the Executive Board, will undertake to have the poster presentation audited appropriately. For the Stig Johansson Bursary, the local organiser will reserve 150 EUR in the conference budget.
6 Finance
ICAME has no funds to be accounted for. Neither the Executive Board nor any member of ICAME shall have power to expend or borrow money in the name of ICAME. The only financial matters concern the organisation of conferences and the publication of the ICAME Journal.
(a) Organisation of conferences
The local conference organiser or the institution to which he or she is affiliated is solely responsible for the financial management of the conference he or she organises, including meeting any shortfall.
(b) Publication of the ICAME Journal
It is up to the Executive Board to decide on the mode of publication and all other matters concerning the ICAME Journal in consultation with the editor(s) of the ICAME Journal. The editor(s) of the ICAME Journal shall provide the Executive Board with an annual report on all journal-related matters.
7 Amendment of Constitution
The Constitution may be amended at an Annual General Meeting when proposed and seconded by members who have participated in at least three previous ICAME conferences (not necessarily consecutive). Notice of a proposed amendment to the Constitution must be sent to the Chair and the Secretary at least ninety days before the Annual General Meeting, for prior discussion by the Executive Board.
Constitution passed by AGM: 27 May, 2017
Last amended on: –
[This version of the constitution is provided for your convenience. The PDF version is the legally binding document and takes precedence in case of mismatch.]