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Since the publication of the last Newsletter, the ExCo has been busy forming IAPR’s standing committees. This implies the solicitation of a significant number of members in the pattern recognition community. Despite the additional workload that comes with the participation in such committees, the response has been excellent and almost all standing committees are now complete. The composition of the committees is available on the IAPR Web page. The ballot for the Nominating Committee and the K.S. Fu Prize Committee is complete and these results will also be posted at www.iapr.org. This issue is an important milestone in the Newsletter’s history since, as approved by the GB at the last meeting in Cambridge in August, 2004, it is the first one to be published electronically. The ExCo would like to express its sincere thanks to the Newsletter Editor, Larry O’Gorman, for taking care of this task and for making a smooth transition between the paper edition mode and the e-newsletter mode. We hope that, in addition to saving money for the IAPR, this way of circulating the newsletter will provide a better service to the IAPR community. The ExCo would also like to thank GB representatives for providing the address to which the newsletter should be dispatched by the Editor. Members’ comments and suggestions on this new format for the newsletter are welcome and should be sent to the IAPR secretary, Denis Laurendeau, who will compile them and send them to the Editor. The ExCo has also contacted the IFIP to identify the potential for developing a closer relationship between the IPAR and the IFIP. The Task Force on Scientific Quality has started thinking about possible means of measuring the scientific quality of papers published in IAPR sponsored conferences. It is well known that obtaining tenure track or full professorship positions in universities strongly depends on the applicant’s scientific productivity which is measured in terms of papers published in highly ranked journals. Conference papers are often not counted. However, for researchers working in disciplines such as computer science and engineering, publishing a journal paper involves an enormous amount of work, compared to traditional disciplines, since it implies that a complex system is designed, built, and tested in addition to the writing of the paper. This work of the Task Force stems from discussions that first took place within TC-11. A document entitled “Measuring Scientific Quality in the IAPR” (author L. Schomaker) emanated from these discussions and will serve as a basis for a wider discussion within the IAPR. It is not an easy subject and views on how to assess the quality of conference/workshop papers may vary but, as one contributor to the discussion within TC-11 wisely said: “If quality isn’t discussed, it will only be attained by chance”. This discussion on scientific quality of IAPR conference papers must be considered in the perspective of events that have occurred recently. Indeed, recently, the ExCo has faced a rather unexpected yet worrying situation: a member reported to the ExCo that he had found the announcement of ICPR 2005 on the Web!!! An investigation was conducted and it was found that ICPR’s name was “borrowed” by another event that has nothing to do with IAPR. A letter was sent to the conference organizers urging them to change the name of their event. They complied with the request, and the name of the event is no longer ICPR. Nevertheless, it was also discovered that some conference organizers did not know that they were on the organizing committee of this “fake” ICPR. Consequently, we ask IAPR members to be alert and to report any similar situation to the ExCo so the quality standards and reputation of ICPR can be preserved…as well as the quality of the papers that are published in ICPR proceedings. By the time you receive this newsletter, it is certainly timely for us to wish you a very successful and happy new year 2005. |