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SIGCASComputers and Society

Executive Committee:Flo Appel, Chair

Diana Burley, Vice Chair

Mark Perry, Member at large

Tom Jewett, Past Chair

Information Director: Chris Harr2010 Program Review

Our mission is to provide a forum to discuss, debate and research all issues pertaining to the social implications of computing, including ethical and philosophical concerns, for the computing profession.

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Financials

• Fund balance as of June 2009 - $58,496– Reflects DL benefits and savings due to online-

only publication

• Membership– Currently 477 – (gradual 12% decline since ‘06)– Very interdisciplinary– Last call for nominations (2008) resulted in ~20

responses

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Member Benefits

• Online newsletter Computers & Society – For past two years, supported by 6-member editorial

board; editorial responsibilities rotate (see challenges…)

– Scholarly articles, conference announcements & reviews, interviews, essay contest winners

– Special issues

• Website– Recently redesigned

• In-cooperation conference benefits– Nine conferences in 2009– Four to date for 2010

SIGCAS Awards• Award recipients reflect the highly interdisciplinary

nature of our membership & community• Making A Difference

– 2009: Cem Kaner– Recent recipients:

• Jim Thatcher, Barbara Simon, Simon Rogerson

• Outstanding Service– 2009: Flo Appel– Recent recipients:

• Herman Tavani, Keith Miller, Chuck Huff

• Past award recipients were recognized in interviews in the 40th Anniversary issue of Computers & Society

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Community Involvement• SIGCAS strives to contribute to policy decisions relating to the

social & ethical impact of computing, and to support their implementations

• Service to ACM– Education Council

• Carol Spradling, SIGCAS liaison – Wrote social/ethical impact of computing curriculum guidelines in IT & IS

– Invited to contribute to ontology project

– IFIP TC9 (Technical Committee on Computers & Society) ACM/SIGCAS representative

• Don Gotterbarn

– USACM leadership & liaison• Gene Spafford, Chair & Alan Rea, Council member (elected positions)

• Collaborations

– SIGCSE – rewrote keywords regarding social/ethical impact & professional practice, BOFs, Special Session on SIGCAS 40th

– INSEIT / CEPE – biennial publication of selected CEPE works

– CCSC regional computer ethics workshops

– In-cooperation agreements

Challenges & Future Plans• Challenge #1: Membership/community is very diffuse; difficult to establish

and maintain an organizational focus/agenda for a majority of members

– Most members are over-committed to other organizations

– Collaborations with kindred & related organizations are extremely important

What to do? – Pursue collaboration with IEEE SSIT (much overlap in membership); possibly co-sponsor

ISTAS (overture made by SSIT)

– We must cultivate a healthy mixture of younger & “more seasoned” members; we need more continuity at the leadership level

• Challenge #2: Newsletter is not peer-reviewed, making it unattractive as a publication venue for younger, non-tenured faculty What to do?

– Face-to-face meeting of editorial board to designate an editor-in-chief

• Discuss proposed changes to the publication – consider a mixture of invited, reviewed & other contributed articles

– Sponsor a student essay contest – could address both challenges: increase involvement & add to newsletter content

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