ASCII Version of the IFIP Newsletter of June 1993. New Format for IFIP Congress '94 by Dr. Ron Uhlig (USA)* A year and a half before its opening, IFIP's 13th World Computer Congress is evolving, with a new concept and fresh design. Under its title, "Computing and Communications Evo- lution: The Driving Forces," this Congress, to be held in Hamburg, Germany August 28-September 2, 1994, will present and discuss likely developments in information and communi- cation technologies and their applications, impact, and foundations. Of even greater interest, interactions and feedback among these areas will be discussed in some depth, and "action agendas" for future progress will be presented to the computer and communications community in a message summarizing the findings of IFIP Congress '94. In its first part, the Congress will offer technical dis- cussions in 4 tracks on specific themes. On the first day, Monday, Experts Day, keynote speakers will present their views on "The Impact of Investment Strategies on Computer and Communications Utilization," from the perspectives of national strategies in the U.S.A., Japan, and Europe, in- cluding the role of computers and communications in economic development and international relations. The tracks will begin later in the day with specific state-of-the-art pres- entations by experts in their fields. In approximately 25 "meet-the-experts" sessions, each participant will have 11/2 hours to meet with one expert for a small group dis- cussion (a maximum of 50 persons per expert). On Tuesday and on Wednesday morning, Specialist Days, the tracks will continue with invited and submitted contributions. The tracks (most with 2 parallel streams) are as follows: o Hardware, Software, and Communications Technology o Computer and Communications Applications o Impact (the role of computers and communications in solving major world problems) o Foundations o A special subtrack will be devoted to the role of informa- tion and communication technologies for developing coun- tries. Linkages among Tracks In an innovative design, the second part of Congress '94 will stimulate feedback among the tracks. On Wednesday aft- ernoon and Thursday morning, Linkage Day, joint sessions be- tween pairs of tracks will address serious questions/issues related to both areas. To generate interest and contrib- utions for this unprecedented approach, the International Program Committee has formulated several stimulating "key" questions, to focus the feedback discussions: Link 1: Technology <--> Applications What should we build? How much application knowledge should a technologist have? Link 2: Technology <--> Impact When virtual reality becomes real Utopia? or chaos? How should we control technology develop- ment? Link 3: Technology <--> Foundations How much is safety worth? Should we invest in intellectual elegance or computer power? Link 4: Applications <--> Impact Who is in control: user? or application system? Is application development focused on real problems? Link 5: Developing Countries <--> Technology, Applications, and Impact Is technology transfer the answer? On Thursday afternoon, every Congress participant will have the opportunity to participate in working groups that will develop preliminary "action agendas" for these nine questions/issues. On Friday, Message Day, the preliminary action agendas de- veloped by the working groups will be presented to all Con- gress participants in a plenary session. This will be the Congress "Message to the Computer and Communications Commu- nity" about desirable directions to be taken by individual professionals, industry, government, and the academic world. Work on some or all of the action agendas will continue af- ter the Congress, by those who are interested, culminating in their publication as the Congress '94 Message. The deadline for submission of papers is January 14, 1994. In addition to regular papers, there will be special ses- sions for informal presentations. The informal presenta- tions may be in the form of posters, videos, or non-commercial demonstrations. Other Activities IFIP Congress '94 will offer much more, including a major exhibition, tutorials, a social program with an excursion Friday afternoon, and programs for accompanying persons, as well as pre- and post-conference tours. Many more details are available in the call for papers, which is available from the IFIP Secretariat, IFIP Member societies, and the Organizing Committee. Other information, may be obtained from Conference Secretariat -- IFIP '94 c/o Congress Centrum Hamburg Congress Organisation P.O. Box 30 24 80 W-2000 Hamburg 36, Germany te+49 40 /35 69 - 22 42 fa+49 40 /35 69 - 23 43 telex: +212 609 *chairman of the International Program Committee for IFIP Congress '94, president of the International Council for Computer Communication (ICCC) /********************************************************************/ IFIP Council Meets in Vienna Abbreviated Meeting Accomplishes a Great Deal The IFIP Council met 3-4 March in Vienna, preceded by two days of meetings of other IFIP bodies. All Council mem- bers were present, and all but two of the Technical Commit- tee and Specialist Group chairmen (TC2 and SG14) were present. The president of the Austrian Computer Society, Prof. Dr. Guenter Haring, welcomed Council and stressed the importance of national professional societies' maintaining their contact with international organizations like IFIP and with societies in other countries, organizing conferences, and supporting young people in the profession. Highlights of the Council included discussions of the future of IFIP's publication activities, categories of membership, IFIP Congress '94, financial concerns, the relationship with the &cepis (CEPIS), and new technical activities. Most of these topics are covered in separate articles in this IFIP Newsletter. Technical Work IFIP's technical work, as tabulated by the Activity Manage- ment Board, proceeded at a brisk pace. Some 80 events (con- ferences, workshops, seminars, and similar activities) were sponsored by IFIP in 1992. IFIP was the sole or main spon- sor (having total or significant control of the program) of 62 of these events. When one compares 62 with 53 such events for 1991 and 46 for 1990, one sees that the number of IFIP events is growing at a healthy rate. This active schedule prompted a discussion of whether IFIP is holding too many events and whether the Federation should be engag- ing in other sorts of activities (e.g., standards, tutori- als). Prof. Kurt Bauknecht (CH), chairman of the Technical Assembly (TA), promised a major discussion of this matter at the next TA meeting, in September. One of the major decisions taken by Council was the forma- tion of a provisional Specialist Group on Fractals, pending presentation of a satisfactory document on Aims and Scopes to the IFIP General Assembly in September. A second IFIP conference on fractals will be held in September, near London. TC Reports Some of the significant activities reported by Technical Committee (TC) chairmen to TA and Council were the follow- ing: cooperation between Unesco and TC3 (Education) and possible participation of TC3 in the judging of the Interna- tional Olympiads in Informatics; planning for discussion of software (or system) quality at IFIP Congress '96, to be co- ordinated by Mr. Marco Tomljanovich (I), chairman of TC5 (Computer Applications in Technology); the success of TC6 (Communication Systems) in earning royalties and event pro- ceeds -- head and shoulders above all other TCs; plans by TC8 (Information Systems) for a conference on technology transfer, in response to the discussion at the Madrid TA in September 1992. Other significant work included progress in drafting a "framework" IFIP code of ethics by TC9 (Relationship between Computers and Society); plans for a Working Group in TC12 (Artificial Intelligence) on Knowledge Based Systems Appli- cations; consideration of a role for IFIP in the "Global Re- search Network on Sustainable Development," an organization devoted to "developing our world in such a way that the needs of the current generation can be satisfied, without jeopardizing the resource base of future generations," which was brought to the attention of Council by Prof. Robert Meersman (NL), chairman of TC12; and a revision of the ob- jectives of IFIP's Affiliate Member ICCC (International Council for Computer Communication) to place more emphasis on applications of computer communication and on policy is- sues, and less emphasis on technology. Other Actions A list of IFIP lecturers, specialists willing to deliver lectures in their fields of expertise free of charge to IFIP Member societies, has been created by Dr. Dipak Khakhar (S), an IFIP trustee. The list is available from the IFIP Secretariat and in the on-line IFIP databases (see the arti- cle on page 10 of the March IFIP Newsletter). Experts will- ing to volunteer their services as lecturers may contact Dr. Khakhar as follows: Dr. Dipak Khakhar IB-ADB University of Lund Soelvegatan 14A S-223 62 Lund, Sweden te46 (46) 108026 or 460256 fa46 (46) 104528 e-madbdk@seldc52 (Bitnet) dipak.khakhar@ibadb.lu.se (Internet) telex: 33533 luniver s Further details of the program will be printed in the next Newsletter. Several other actions were taken during the Council meeting. Dr. Prem Gupta (IND) was named chairman of the International Program Committee for IFIP Congress '96 (Canberra); his bi- ography will be printed in a future Newsletter. IFIP's president, Prof. Asbjørn Rolstada%s (N), named Prof. Dr. Heinz Zemanek (A), a former IFIP president, IFIP Historian and charged him with updating the history of IFIP since A Quarter Century of IFIP was published in 1986. The on-line IFIP databases (see page _), created by Mr. Howard Funk (USA), an IFIP vice-president, were praised by several par- ticipants in the Council meeting. Dr. Khakhar will contact all Member societies to solicit standard information about the societies, which will be printed and distributed by IFIP as well as placed in the on-line IFIP databases. (Letters have already been written. Any Member society that has not responded is urged to send the requested information to the IFIP Secretariat.) Also, the Executive Board recommended a new structure for the IFIP Annual Report. Council discussed how to attract more people from industry to IFIP, how to recruit new active members to TCs and Working Groups, and how to make IFIP more visible to members of Member societies. A proposal was made to perform an overall review of IFIP, similar to the reviews of TCs that are made every six years. Congresses Discussed Dr. Ronald Uhlig (USA), chairman of the International Pro- gram Committee for IFIP Congress '94, presented the exciting new Congress format to Council (described in an article on page _). The report of the Organizing Committee was pre- sented by its chairman, Prof. Karl Kaiser (D). In order for expenses to be covered by registration fees, attendance would have to be over 3300. Should 1500 delegates attend, a more realistic number, it is planned that the deficit will be covered by grants from certain German agencies and spon- sors, and by proceeds of tutorials and the exhibition. Be- cause of the current fiscal difficulties in Germany, due to reunification and new taxes, there is uncertainty whether these funds will be obtained. Furthermore, although the Congress will be treated as the annual conference of Gesellschaft fuer Informatik (GI), the German Member society of IFIP, recent attendance at GI conferences has been much lower than the peak attendance of a few years back. Prof. Kaiser talked of the possible need for a loan from IFIP. Everyone agreed that IFIP Member societies must promote at- tendance at the Congress. Mr. Jose Boixo, representing the Spanish Organizing Commit- tee for IFIP Congress '92, gave a final report to Council. Only 850 delegates registered, and registration fees covered less than 2/3 of the gross expense. After the guaranteed payment of 30 000 Swiss francs (30K CHF) was made to IFIP, the net loss was 260K CHF, contributed by the Spanish gov- ernment, three corporations, and the component societies of FESI, the Spanish Member of IFIP. Council recognized this significant financial contribution. Because of suggestions by several TC chairmen at previous Councils, this Council meeting was compressed from the normal 21/2 days to 11/2 days (plus the two prior days of meetings). Reports of TC chairmen were abbreviated, and some decisions taken by the Executive Board were reported but not discussed in the Council. As a result of these condensations, Council was able to accomplish its work comfortably in one less day than usual. President Rolstada%s closed the Council meeting with thanks to the Austrian Computer Society, especially its represen- tative to IFIP, Dr. Walter Grafendorfer, for excellent or- ganization. Next year's Council meeting is scheduled to take place in Bru&sqbul.uring the first week of March. /********************************************************************/ Conference on High-Performance Networking by Prof. Andre Danthine (B)* and Prof. Otto Spaniol (D)** The Fourth International Conference on High Performance Networking (HPN92) took place in Liege, Belgium, from the 16th to the 18th of December 1992, sponsored by the IFIP Technical Committee on Communication Systems (TC6) and its Working Group on Local and Metropolitan Communication Sys- tems (WG6.4). After the High Speed Local Area Networks Workshops in Aachen, Germany, in February 1987 and in Lie>ge in April 1988, the Conference on High Speed Networking was held in Berlin in March 1991. Its success was a strong in- centive to hold a new event about 18 months later. By stressing network performance instead of speed, the International Program Committee (IPC) wanted to focus on the increase in performance of the networked equipment made pos- sible by the new communication support, rather than on the raw data rates of the networks. The response to the call for papers was excellent, with 80 papers submitted from 18 countries. On the basis of 248 reports provided by 119 re- viewers, the IPC selected 28 contributions to compose the core of the conference. All of them were presented. The keynote address, "The Networked Computer in the 21st Century -- Bigger Is Better," was delivered by Prof. David Farber (USA). The advent of gigabit per second network technology has inspired a rethinking of the structure of networked computers, operating systems, and protocol struc- tures, among other things, and this rethinking led the speaker to the conclusion that a globally distributed com- puter represents one of the best applications of this new technology. One panel, chaired by Andre< Danthine (B), was on the topic "FDDI Networks and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Switches in the Local Area." The last-minute withdrawal of an invited speaker was a great concern for the IPC, but it was possible to organise, on the spot, a second panel, dedicated to "The Pace of ATM Deployment." An analysis of the contributions of the Conference pro- ceedings, edited by Danthine and Otto Spaniol (D) and pub- lished by Elsevier/North-Holland, reveals that most of the papers are related to three main directions: o multimedia communication systems and, in particular, the distributed system aspects. o enhanced network and transport services and protocols to support the changing application environment and to exploit new networks already available or soon to be. o the search for efficient implementations and for high- performance systems. The attendance of 170 people, coming from 20 countries, has confirmed that the high-performance networking area is of great interest and that a new event should be organised by TC6/WG6.4 in abou&sqbul.nths. *HPN92 program co-chairman **HPN92rprogram co-chairman and TC6 chairman /********************************************************************/ Conference on Formal Description Techniques IFIP's Working Group on Architecture and Protocols for Computer Networks (WG6.1) is sponsoring the Sixth Interna- tional Conference on Formal Description Techniques (FORTE'93), which will be held in Boston 26-29 October. FORTE'93 will address formal techniques and testing method- ologies applicable to distributed systems and protocols. The conference will be a forum for presentation of the state of the art in theory, application, and tools of formal tech- niques and will provide an excellent orientation for newcom- ers. Research papers, industrial usage reports, tutorials, and tool demonstrations on formal techniques will be pre- sented. The Conference proceedings, Formal Description Techniques VI, will be published by Elsevier/North-Holland. For further information, please contact Richard L. Tenney Math & Computer Science University of Massachusetts Boston, MA 02125-3393, U.S.A. e-mail: rlt@cs.umb.edu /********************************************************************/ Conference on LANs and Open Systems by Dr. Bernard Glasson (AUS)* Over the last decade or so, there has been a rapid expansion in the use of and reliance on Local Area Networks (LANs). They represent a significant investment for an or- ganization, yet they can result in direct productivity in- creases and other less tangible benefits for the enterprise. Perhaps the most common application associated with a LAN is e-mail. In addition, however, organizational benefits may accrue from software to facilitate project management, dis- tributed group (decision) support systems, real-time tele- conferencing, group writing tools, imaging, document management, "calendaring," and other applications. Better LAN Utilisation Researchers and practitioners are beginning to ask how in- stalled office LANs can be better utilized to enable organ- izations to capitalise further on their LAN investments. In this regard, open system architecture offers many prospects and a number of challenges. An open system may be regarded as one in which intermediate software acts to enable differ- ent kinds of proprietary software to behave similarly, from the perspective of the end user, regardless of the specific hardware, operating system or communications software em- ployed. Theoretically, this enables end users to have ac- cess to, and to contribute to, a central pool of information from any number of different types of machines. The question remains, however, as to how soon, or indeed whether, these benefits might be enjoyed, given the avail- able technology and current levels of knowledge within the profession. Too often, information systems professionals report that vendors' claims of connectivity are not always matched by the performance of systems in organizational en- vironments. In addition, progress towards industry-wide standards for hardware, software and communications remains chequered and problematic. The Conference In order to provide a forum in which researchers and practi- tioners are able to debate these and other related issues, IFIP's Working Group on Office Information Systems (WG8.4) is holding a conference, The Open Systems Future: Leveraging the LAN, in Perth, Australia, 29 August-2 September 1993, in conjunction with Curtin University of Technology and the Australian Computer Society. Since many organizations have office LANs in place with spare capacity, the question that can be posed is: What ad- ditional applications would allow such organizations to bet- ter capitalize on their investment? Hence, "Leveraging the LAN" is one part of the conference title. Another question that may be posed is: What impact will the promised open systems era have on the office LAN? Hence, "The Open Sys- tems Future" is the other part of the conference title. The conference hopes to attract an audience of both re- searchers and practitioners interested in promoting the more effective utilisation of LAN technology. While specialised tracks will be of particular interest to one group or the other, the main aim is to bring together researchers who are interested in the implementation of new LAN-based systems and software, and inquisitive practitioners who are keen to explore new ways of exploiting the LAN technology they have in place. Prof. Alex Verrijn-Stuart (NL), former chairman of WG8.4, is general chair of the Conference, Prof. Douglas Vogel (USA) and Peter Marshall (AUS) are program chairs, and Dr. Bernard Glasson (AUS) is organizing chair. The proceedings, pub- lished by Elsevier/North-Holland, will be edited by the four chairmen. For further information, one may contact IFIP WG 8.4 Conference School of Information Systems Curtin University GPO Box U 1987 Perth 6001 Western Australia fa+61-9-351-3076 te+61-9-351-7685 e-mail: lanconf@BA1.curtin.edu.au (Please use e-mail if possible.) *Organizing Chair of the Conference, vice-chairman of IFIP.'s TC8 /********************************************************************/ Leaders of IFIP and CEPIS Meet in Vienna by Mr. Graham Morris (GB)* CEPIS (the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies) is an association of twenty member societies from seventeen European countries. (See the article on page 6 of the September 1991 IFIP Newsletter.) In the great ma- jority of cases, those societies are also Member societies of IFIP. A meeting of the CEPIS Council was held in Vienna on March 5 and 6, immediately after the IFIP Council meeting, and ad- vantage was taken of this to hold a joint meeting to review the roles and activities of the two organisations. The meeting, chaired by Prof. Guenter Haring, President of the Austrian Computer Society, was addressed by IFIP's presi- dent, Prof. Asbjorn Rolstadas (N), on behalf of IFIP and Prof. Maurice Elzas (NL) for CEPIS. There was general agreement that the two organizations have different missions; however, their objectives are similar. IFIP is world-wide in its activities and directs a signif- icant part of its efforts towards research and development. Most of those participating in IFIP events are scientists, many from universities, who work at the leading edge of technology and applications. CEPIS, on the other hand, was formed four years ago to represent its members on issues re- lated to the movement towards the unification of Europe, and specifically to interface with the European Commission in Brussels on matters of concern in proposed legislation. It was clear to the participants of the IFIP/CEPIS meeting that, in view of the almost complete overlap in membership, any major clash of interests was unlikely unless it were to happen as a result of poor communication. An open and frank discussion concluded that both organisations would work to strengthen cooperation. They would also exchange informa- tion on their activities and seek to cooperate through joint activities for mutual benefit. * IFIP trustee /********************************************************************/ Who's Who in IFIP: PROF. ROBERT MEERSMAN Prof. Dr. Robert Meersman, chairman of IFIP's Technical Committee on Artificial Intelligence (TC12), was born in Antwerp, Belgium. He performed his undergraduate studies in Antwerp and Brussels and obtained his Ph.D. degree in Com- puter Science from the Free University of Brussels in 1976, based on research performed at Brussels University and Carnegie Mellon University (in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). Following this, he worked as an academic staff member at Antwerp University until 1978, when he joined the Data Man- agement Research Laboratory of Control Data Corporation in Brussels, where he was part of the team that developed the NIAM methodology for database and information system design and built its first implementation in commercial production software. He was also the leader of the RIDL* Conceptual Language Project and a Senior Consultant and lecturer for CDC at many companies in Europe and North-America. In 1980 he began teaching teach courses on database and in- formation systems at Brussels University, and in 1983 he was appointed Professor of Computer Science at Limburg Univer- sity in Belgium, where he founded and directed the INFOLAB laboratory for software techniques for system development. The resulting product is called RIDL, a high-level state-of- the-art workstation environment for NIAM-based conceptual modeling and relational database design. Since October 1986, Prof. Meersman has held the Chair of Computer Science at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. He is also Co-director of the Institute on Language and Knowledge Technology of the University. He has consulted on and given seminars about database engi- neering and the extended NIAM method and its tools world- wide. He is the author, co-author and/or editor of numerous articles, papers, and proceedings on a variety of subjects, including numerical analysis, formal languages, theory and practice of information systems, methodologies, expert sys- tems, and applications of artificial intelligence. In 1991, he was the keynote speaker at the 17th Very Large Data Base Conference in Barcelona. He is the founder and Chairman of the Board of IntelliBase NV in Belgium, a company specializ- ing in the production and marketing of the NIAM/EER CASE techniques and the tool set RIDL. In 1981, Prof. Meersman joined IFIP's Working Group on Data- base (WG2.6), and he served as its chairman from 1983 to 1992. He is also a member of and contributor to several working groups of the ISO/TC97/SC21 on Open System Intercon- nection (OSI) and collaborated on the "Orange Book," Report ISO TC97-N695 on "Concepts and Terminology for Conceptual Schema and Information Base." In 1989, he was appointed as the founding chairman of the IFIP Technical Committee on Ar- tificial Intelligence. Prof. Meersman lives in Antwerp and commutes to his job in the Netherlands. His wife, Rada, is from Bosnia. Thus, he considers himself "a true Eurocitizen." He enjoys golf and also "playing" with his PC. He and his wife have two sons, ages 11 and 13. * (TM) IntelliBase /********************************************************************/ Council Considers IFIP Membership Categories Recommends that SEARCC Be Admitted as Affiliate Member The March IFIP Council, meeting in Vienna, recommended that the General Assembly admit the South East Asia Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC) as an Affiliate Member; the Executive Board made several recommendations to the Statutes and Bylaws Committee related to categories of membership in IFIP; increased Central European participation was encour- aged; and membership of two national societies was termi- nated. SEARCC, the first regional Full Member of IFIP, resigned in 1992. It has since applied for admission as an Affiliate Member (AM). The IFIP AMs are international organizations specializing in different aspects of information processing (e.g., the International Council for Computer Communication [ICCC]). AMs are voting members of the IFIP Technical As- sembly, they report to Council and General Assembly (GA) and sit as observers at their meetings, and they pay no dues to IFIP. Nonetheless, the IFIP statutes simply state, "Any interna- tional organization, professional or governmental, having interest in the Information Processing field and willingness to cooperate and coordinate its activities with the Feder- ation, may become an Affiliate Member of the Federation." Because IFIP wishes to maintain ties with SEARCC and its 11 members, Council recommended that the September IFIP GA, to meet in Tokyo, admit SEARCC as an AM but that prior to the GA vote, SEARCC should present a statement indicating in what way it might contribute to IFIP more as an AM than as a Full Member. The Admissions Committee, however, expressed opposition to the admission as an AM. Other Regional Members Have Difficulties Because of financial difficulties, Centro Latinoamericano de Estudios Informatica (CLEI), another regional Full Member, indicated its desire to withdraw from IFIP and apply for ad- mission as an Associate Member or Corresponding Member. Council voted against recommending to the GA that CLEI be offered AM status. IFIP's other regional Full Members are also experiencing financial problems. (Not only does mem- bership in IFIP require payment of dues, albeit minimal dues for developing countries, but to send representatives to meetings of the GA and Technical Committees can be quite ex- pensive.) The recommendations regarding membership that were made by the Executive Board for consideration by the Statutes and Bylaws Committee and subsequent presentation to the GA are o Institutions in territories (not necessarily independent nations) should be permitted to become Full Members. o Regions should be permitted to become Corresponding Mem- bers. o Full Members that resign should not be permitted to rejoin as Associate Members until 3 years have elapsed. o AM status should be available to any international organ- ization in information processing -- not just those inter- ested in specialized technical fields (as discussed above with regard to SEARCC). In addition, the Executive Board appointed an ad hoc commit- tee to promote IFIP membership for the newly emerging coun- tries of Central Europe. Acad. Blagovest Sendov (BG), past-president of IFIP, was named chairman of that commit- tee. Finally, it was noted with regret that the memberships of Brazil and Cuba have been terminated because of failure to pay past dues. /********************************************************************/ Finances Discussed by Council IFIP's treasurer, Mr. Aage Melbye (DK), reported his concerns to IFIP's Technical Assembly and Council during their March meetings in Vienna. The year 1992 was charac- terized as "a less satisfactory year for IFIP financially," and prospects for 1993 look no better. The provisional (un- audited) financial result was a deficit of 56 000 Swiss francs (56K CHF). However, a significant part of this, 39K CHF, represented writing off the loan to the Organizing Com- mittee of IFIP Congress '86 (Dublin) as a bad debt. The ma- jor reasons for the negative result were decreased proceeds from events and decreased royalties. Income from invest- ments, on the other hand, was better than expected. The biggest cause for concern was proceeds of Technical- Committee-sponsored events, which dropped in 1992 to 21% of the 1991 level. No explanation was offered for this drastic downturn, other than the world-wide recession. So far, sur- plus monies had been received from only 3 events held in 1992. This situation supported the institution of an IFIP sponsorship fee, to be paid to IFIP by event organizers in return for the services and expertise provided by IFIP, re- gardless of the ultimate financial results of the events. (The fee is discussed on page 3 of the December 1992 IFIP Newsletter.) 1993 Budget Adjusted Because the 1993 result would likely have been worse than budgeted if no adjustments had been made, Council modified the 1993 budget to include more realistic estimates of in- come and to reduce expenditures: the IFIP Information Bul- letin will not be printed in 1993 (although updates to names and addresses will be available from the Secretariat), some standing committee budgets will be smaller, and an attempt will be made to reduce Secretariat expenses. On the other hand, increased funds are being made available to the Devel- oping Countries Support Committee, in order to encourage greater IFIP activity in developing countries. Even with these adjustments, the revised 1993 budget projects a loss of 50K CHF. This was alleviated when receipts from IFIP Congress '92 (Madrid) were received: 30K CHF. Mr. Melbye pointed out that IFIP is still healthy, with as- sets equal to more than two times the annual expenditure, and that improvement in the world's economy should help IFIP. &sqbul. /********************************************************************/ IFIP to Review Publication Policy Elsevier/North-Holland Will not Renew Present Contract "It is time for IFIP to review totally its publication policy, starting from scratch -- not merely to try to im- prove what we've been doing all along," said Prof. Ashley Goldsworthy (AUS), a vice-president and former president of IFIP. This was part of the instructions given to the IFIP Publications Committee (PC) by the Council during the March Council meeting in Vienna. The impetus for these in- structions was the decision taken by IFIP's primary pub- lisher, Elsevier/North-Holland, not to renew its current contract with IFIP but to propose alternative plans. Elsevier believes that the present arrangement for publica- tion of IFIP books "is not meeting the current marketing needs nor meeting the internal financial criteria of Elsevier." The number of subscriptions to the IFIP Trans- actions (the new series of publications that includes the proceedings of almost all IFIP conferences) has been lower than anticipated, and Elsevier's book sales (as well as the sales of other publishers) are down. Royalties to IFIP for book sales in 1993 are expected to continue the decline that has been experienced in recent years. (The royalties for 1992, however, showed an improvement because of unusual ad- justments to the printing schedule.) A year ago, another IFIP publisher, Springer-Verlag, cancelled the IFIP Lecture Notes in Engineering series. Although the present publica- tion contract, which commenced in July 1991, permits either party to cancel, with 18 months' advance notice, Elsevier gave IFIP 22 months' notice. The contract will terminate at the end of 1994. Elsevier's first IFIP book was the proceedings of IFIP Con- gress '62, and there will have been nearly 500 others by the end of this year. Over the years, the relationship has been cordial and fruitful. Mrs. Stephanie Smit of Elsevier has been involved in managing the IFIP publications since 1974, and since 1981 has attended Council and General Assembly meetings and other IFIP events and offered immeasurable as- sistance to IFIP. Her help was applauded by the Vienna Council. Significant Questions The review of the IFIP publication policy will give IFIP the opportunity to revise its practices and determine what and how it will publish in the 21st century. Many questions are being asked: How can the excellent work presented at IFIP conferences be given the widest possible exposure in the technical community? How can IFIP insure the highest qual- ity in its publications? What can be done to make IFIP books as inexpensive as possible? Is printing books on pa- per the optimum publication technique, or should IFIP be producing its works on CD ROMs or other electronic forms? Should IFIP continue to publish the proceedings of almost all of its conferences? Should every paper presented at a conference be published in its proceedings? How can IFIP profit from its publications? The PC has been addressing these questions and others. IFIP's president, Prof. Asbjørn Rolstada%s (N), urged the PC to prepare a report on its study well in advance of the Sep- tember 1993 General Assembly in Tokyo, so that a fruitful discussion can be held at that time and decisions taken as early as possible. Change May Be Difficult The problems associated with changing publication procedures are well recognized. During the 31 years of cooperation with Elsevier, routines have been developed for simplifying the publication process. Many factors must be considered, including advertising, distributing, printing, coordinating, and editing. Plans are already under way for some IFIP books due to be published in 1995. Thus, the PC has a mam- moth job ahead of it: considering all these issues and helping IFIP reach a decision in time to avoid a disruption of the normally smooth flow of IFIP's publications. On the other hand, the end of the current contract in 1994 may not bring an end to the Elsevier-IFIP collaboration. Elsevier suggested the possibility of a renewed relationship in a letter to President Rolstadas that included the fol- lowing: +++ It goes without saying that, in view of the long coop- eration between Elsevier/North-Holland and IFIP, we are working on some alternative proposals which we would like to put forward for consideration by IFIP within the next few months. We thank you and everyone at IFIP for the good working re- lationships we have had and trust that we can find a mutu- ally workable solution for the future. +++ Those present during the discussions that preceded the nego- tiations for the current contract recall that several alter- natives to publishing with Elsevier were considered at that time, but the agreement with Elsevier was selected over the others. Suggestions Are Solicited Soliciting views on how IFIP might publish in the future, Mr. Graham Morris (GB), chairman of the PC and an IFIP trus- tee, wrote in April to selected IFIP Member societies and to some international organizations with significant publishing activities. He hopes that they will produce practical sug- gestions that will contribute to the PC report to the GA. The views of Newsletter readers will also be welcome and should be sent, as soon as possible, to Mr. Graham J. Morris 43 Pewley Hill Guildford, Surrey GU1 3SW United Kingdom tel: [44] (483) /********************************************************************/ IMIA Continues Tradition of Innovation and Activity by Dr. Marion Ball (USA)* The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), an Affiliate Member of IFIP, sponsored its seventh triennial World Congress on Medical Informatics in Geneva, Switzerland, September 6-10, 1992. The meeting, MedInfo 92, drew l580 attendees. The Organizing Committee was headed by Jean-Raoul Scherrer (CH). As at past MedInfos, the scientific program was extensive. Under the direction of the Scientific Program Committee, chaired by Salah Mandil of the World Health Organization, the program included 354 scientific papers, 40 scientific demonstrations, and 33 workshops. Topics covered were wide- reaching, with heavy emphasis on medical decision support (65 papers) and health information systems (61). Other areas of interest were computer systems technology (29), image and signal analysis (20), statistical techniques and modelling (23), nursing informatics (23), education and training (21), and standards in medical informatics (20). Proceedings of MedInfo 92 were published by Elsevier, with K.C. Lun (SGP) heading up the Editorial Committee. At the closing ceremonies in Geneva, Jos Willems (B) stepped down from the presidency, and IMIA welcomed Marion J. Ball (USA) as its new president. Dr. Ball has the distinction of being IMIA's first American, first non-physician, and first woman president. Vice-President for Information Services at the University of Maryland at Baltimore, she has been active in IMIA since the 1970s and will serve as president through MedInfo 95 in San Paulo, Brazil. With the support of the IMIA Board and its Strategic Issues Committee, headed by Hans Peterson (S), Dr. Ball is working to strengthen IMIA's role as a bridge organization across national, professional, and disciplinary boundaries. As part of this initiative, IMIA has created a new institu- tional membership category, which encompasses universities, health centers, vendors, and governmental agencies. A one- day event is planned for institutional members in Kyoto, Japan, in conjunction with the IMIA General Assembly Meeting in September 1993. IMIA was formed in 1967 as IFIP's Technical Committee on Health Care and Biomedical Research (TC4). In 1978, it evolved into a Special Interest Group, having semi- autonomous status and taking the name IMIA. In 1988, IMIA became totally independent and changed status to that of an IFIP Affiliate Member. As in the past, IMIA is continuing its tradition of sponsor- ing working conferences and regional meetings. One of these, Health Informatics in Africa (HELINA'93), held in April in Nigeria, was organized in cooperation with IFIP. In Geneva, IMIA released a new product, the 1992 Yearbook of Medical Informatics: Advances in an Interdisciplinary Sci- ence. Edited by Jan van Bemmel (NL) and Alexa McCray (USA) and published by Schattauer, the Yearbook contains informa- tion on IMIA, national informatics societies, several ven- dors, and IMIA working groups, along with selected articles authored by medical informaticians worldwide. The 1993 Yearbook is now being prepared; IMIA envisions this publica- tion as the "yellow pages" of medical informatics. Preparations for MedInfo 95 (September 10-14 in Sao Paulo) are under way. Preconference workshops in Rio de Janeiro are also being planned. For more information about IMIA, please contact IMIA President's Office Attention: Marion J. Ball Internet: MJB@UMAB.UMD.EDU Bitnet: MJB@UMAB fax: 1 (410) 706-8459 The IFIP Secretariat, which serves as the IMIA Secretariat, can also provide &sqbul.tion. *president of IMIA /********************************************************************/ IFIP Joins Network for Availability of Scientific Publica- tions by Mr. Plamen Nedkov (BG)* During the 1990 General Assembly of ICSU (International Council of Scientific Unions) in Sofia, an open forum was held concerning a project for an international network to enhance the availability and distribution of science lit- erature to Third World countries. Soon afterwards, ICSU undertook concrete action to establish a cooperative network of organizations involved in the distribution, publication, exchange, and donation of books, journals, and related mate- rials to institutions, primarily in developing countries, but also in Central and Eastern Europe. The result of this project, the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP), is a program of the Publishing Service of ICSU in collaboration with the European Commission, Unesco, and the Third World Academy of Sciences. In 1992, a Network office was estab- lished in London. The INASP database of donor organizations presently incorporates over 140 national and international organizations. IFIP is one of these. For many years, IFIP and its primary publisher, Elsevier/North-Holland, have donated IFIP publications to IFIP Member societies from developing countries. Naturally, ICSU's initiative attracted IFIP's attention, and in 1992 IFIP joined INASP by offering 34 different IFIP books. As a result, in November 1992, IFIP publications were donated to universities and research organizations in Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Indonesia, Peru, Bolivia, Mozambique, and other countries. For further information about INASP and its programs, inter- ested societies may contact the INASP Director, Ms. Carol Priestly, at the following address: INASP P.O. Box 2564 London W5 1ZD, England te44 (81) 997 3274 fa44 (81) 810 9795 e-mail: inasp@geo2.geonet.de * IFIP's Contracts Officer /********************************************************************/ Sendov Cites Old Bulgarian Sayings In September, during IFIP Congress '92 in Madrid and during the subsequent meeting of the IFIP General Assembly in Toledo, Acad. Blagovest Sendov (BG), president of IFIP at that time, amused the participants by quoting several old Bulgarian sayings: "Too much good is no good" was said in relationship to the situation in which the increasing number of information processing professionals in the world leads to decreased at- tendance at generalist computer conferences. "Count your chickens in September -- not in May" was re- phrased as "Count your Congress delegates at the welcoming cocktail party -- not at the official opening ceremony." "Everything has an end but the sausage, which has two ends, and you never know which is the start and which is the fin- ish" was said at the closing ceremony of the Congress, since the end of one IFIP Congress marks the start of the cycle for the following Congress. "The shoemaker always has the worst shoes" was applied to IFIP during the discussion of an IFIP Code of Ethics. Al- though many of the IFIP Member societies have codes of eth- ics, IFIP is still struggling to formulate its international code (a much more difficult task, of course). /********************************************************************/ Uhlig Now ICCC President Other IFIP People Also Hold ICCC Offices Dr. Ronald Uhlig (USA), chairman of the International Program Committee for IFIP Congress '94 (to be held in Hamburg), was elected president of the International Council for Computer Communication (ICCC), an Affiliate Member of IFIP, at the ICCC Board of Governors meeting in September 1992. He succeeds Dr. Prem Gupta (IND), who is chairman of the International Program Committee for IFIP Congress '96 (Canberra). Dr. Uhlig also served as chairman of the IFIP Technical Committee on Communication Systems (TC6) from 1986 to 1992. Dr. Dipak Khakhar (S), an IFIP trustee, was elected ICCC vice-president, as was Mr. Trevor Housley (AUS), TC6 vice- chairman. Dr. Farouk Kamoun, Tunisian representative to the IFIP General Assembly, was named chairman of the ICCC Devel- oping Countries Committee, and Dr. Einar Fredriksson (NL), former representative to IFIP from Elsevier/North-Holland, was elected Deputy Secretary General. /********************************************************************/ CALLS FOR PAPERS IFIP WG5.3 &IW The Design of Information Infrastructure Sys- tems for Manufacturing 8-10 Nov 93, Tokyo Papers due: 1 Jun 93 Contact: DIISM 93 c/o Yoshikawa Laboratory The Univ. of Tokyo Dept. of Precision Machinery Engineering 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113, JAPAN e-mail: jago@zzz.pe.u-tokyo.ac.jp fax: +81-3-3812-8849 +81-3-3812-2111, ext. 6481 Fourth IFIP WG10.4 Working Conference Dependable Computing for Critical Applications -- DCCA-4 4-6 Jan 94, San Diego, California Papers due: 30 Jun 93 Contact: Dr. Gerard Le Lann INRIA - Projet REFLECS BP 105 78153 Le Chesnay Cedex, France tel: +(33) 1 39 63 53 64 fax: +(33) 1 39 63 53 30 e-mail: gerard.le_lann@inria.fr IFIP WG5.7 Working Conference Evaluation of Production Man- agement Methods 21-24 Mar 94, Porto Alegre/Gramado, Brazil extended abstracts due: 1 Jul 93 Contact: Prof. Dr. C. Walter Pos-Graduaca-o em Engenharia de Produca-o Escola de Engenharia -- UFRGS Av. Oswaldo Aranha, 99 sala 205 90210 Porto Alegre RS, Brazil +55:51 228 1633, ext. 3491 e-mail: ifipwg5794@vortex.ufrgs.br IFIP WG8.2 Working Conference Information Technology and New Emergent Forms of Organizations 13-15 Aug 94, Ann Arbor, Michigan Papers due: 30 Oct 93 Contact: Richard Baskerville School of Management Binghamton Univ. Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, U.S.A. or Steve Smithson London School of Economics Houghton St. London WC2A 2AE, U.K. IFIP Working Conference Upper Layer Protocols, Architectures and Applications -- ULPAA 1-3 Jun 94, Barcelona Papers due: 1 Nov 93 Contact: Dr. Nathaniel S. Borenstein Room MRE 2D 296 Bellcore Morristown, NJ 07962-1910, U.S.A. +1l(201) 829 4270, fax: +1 (201) 829 5963 Internet: nsb@thumper.bellcore.com or Dr. Manuel Medina Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya Gran Capitan, s/n. - D6.207 Dept. Arquit. Comput. ES-08071-BARCELONA, SPAIN tel: +34 3 401 6984, fax: +34 3 401 7055 Internet: medina@ac.upc.es Third IFIP WG7.6 Working Conference Optimization-Based Computer-Aided Modelling and Design 24-26 May 94, Prague extended abstracts due: 15 Nov 93 Contact: IFIP'94 Working Conference Institue of Information Theory and Automation P.O.B. 18 Pod vod.in 3mmrenskou vezi 4 182 08 Prague, Czech Republic tel: +42 2 847042, fax: +42 2 847452 e-mail: ifip@utia.cas.cs IFIP Working Conference Programming Concepts, Methods and Calculi 6-10 Jun 94, San Miniato, Italy Papers due: 1 Dec 93 Contact: Prof. Dr. E.-R. Olderog FB Informatik Univ. Oldenburg Postfach 2503 D-2900 Oldenburg, Germany Thirteenth World Computer Congress: IFIP Congress '94 28 Aug-2 Sep 94, Hamburg Papers due: 14 Jan 94 Contact: IFIP '94 c/o Congress Centrum Hamburg Congress Organisation P.O. Box 30 24 80 W-2000 Hamburg 36, Germany tel: +49 40/35 69-22 42 fax: +49 40/35 69-23 43 telex: +212 609 IFIP WG9.3 Working Conference Home-Oriented Informatics, Telematics and Automatics: Reconstituting Oikos 27 Jun-1 Jul 94, Copenhagen Papers due: 15 Jan 94 Contact: Kresten Bjerg or Bjørn Nake Psychological Laboratory Univ. of Copenhagen 88 Njalsgade DK 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark tel: +45 31 54 18 56, fax: +45 32 96 31 38 e-mail: kresten@vax.psl.ku.dk Sixth World Conf. on Computers in Education 23-28 Jul 95, Birmingham, U.K. Papers due: 31 Jul 94 Contact: WCCE/95 Margaret St. Birmingham B3 3BW, U.K. tel: 44+(0)21-428 1258 fax: 44+(0)21-428 2246 /********************************************************************/ CHANGES IN IFIP NEW APPOINTMENTS TC and WG OFFICERS TC10 chairman: Prof. Dr. Egon Hoerbst Siemens AG Otto Hahn Ring 6 D-8000 Muenchen, Germany +49-896363354, fax: +49-8963641288 (succeeding Prof. G.L. Reijns) WG7.5 chairman: Prof. R. Rackwitz Technical University of Munich Arcisstrasse 21 D-8000 MUNICH 2, Germany +49:89 2105 3050, fax: +49 89 2105 3057 (succeeding Prof. P. Thoft-Christensen) WG7.5 vice-chairman: Prof. A.S. Nowak 2370 G.G. Brown, Civil Eng. University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109, U.S.A. (succeeding P. Bjerager) TC and WG MEMBERS: TC5: R.A. Earnshaw (GB) WG5.4 M. Azuma (J)H. Hakalahti (SF) M. d'Amore (J.C. Laprie (F) V.R. Basili B.SLepape (B) R. Ciampoli M.)Maiocchi (I) A. CombellesP.FMeseguer (E) F. CopigneauZ.(Pendic (YU) T. Flynn (IRM. Pivka (SLO) C. Fruhauf (A.)Preece (CDN) J. Gorski (PF.N. Svendsen (DK) M. Grisoni (GB) TC6: F. Kiwan (SYR) M. Mwale (Z) R. Posch (A) WG7.5: L. Esteva (MEX) H. Ishikawa (J) P. Sniady (PL) TC9: J.A.N. Lee (USA) TC10: E. Hoerbst (A) TC11: G. Papp (H) H. Pohl (D) R. Posch (A) TC12: B. Neumann (D) J. Glasgow (CDN) WG12.4: J.D. Pustejovsky (USA) M. Palmer (SGP) ADDRESS AND OTHER CHANGES IFIP trustee and GA rep. of Finland: Prof. Martti M. Tienari Univ. of Helsinki Dept. of Computer Science P.O. Box 26 SF-00014 HELSINKI, Finland e-mail: Martti.Tienari@cs.Helsinki.FI IFIP trustee and GA rep. of Zimbabwe: Mr. Geoff Fairall e-mail: fairall@zimbix.uz.zw GA rep. of Belgium and national society: Fed. des Associations Informatiques de Belgique - FAIB/FBVI c/o I.S.E. SA Jean E.D. Navez Square de Biarritz, 3/10 B-1050 BRUSSELS, Belgium tel. & fax : +32 2 6460 013 GA rep. of Malaysia: Prof. Lee Poh Aun Dept. of Mathematics Universiti Malaya Lembah Pantai 59100 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia tel: +603 755 5466, fax +603 255 2919 GA rep. of South Africa: Mr. Christopher Guy tel: +27 11 224 2490, fax: +27 11 224 4911 e-mail: CHRISGUY@JOHIC1.VNET.IBM.com TC2 chairman: Prof. P. Poole e-mail: pcp@bu.oz.au WG2.1 chairman: Prof. Dr. H.A. Partsch Fakultaet f. Informatik Universitaet Ulm Oberer Eselsberg D-W-7900 ULM, Germany tel: +49 731 502 4160, fax: +49 731 502 4142 WG2.2 chairman and WG2.6 vice-chairman: Prof. Dr. E. Neuhold GMD - IPSI Dolivostrasse 15 P.O. Box 104326 D-64293 DARMSTADT, Germany (effective 1 July 1993) WG6.6 chairman: Mr. W. Zimmer GMD-FIRST Rudower Chaussee 5/G13.7 D-1199 Berlin-Adlershof, Germany tel: +49 30 6704 2652, fax: +49 30 6704 5610 e-mail: zimmer@first.gmd.de WG9.1 chairman: Prof. Dr. I. Wagner e-mail: IWAGNER@email.tuwien.ac.at WG9.3 chairman: Mr. F. van Rijn University of Amsterdam Dept. of Communication Oude Hoogstraat 24 NL-1012 CE AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands tel: +31 20 525 3589 (Univ.) +31 20 550 1746 (Polytech.) +31 20 664 1342 (home) fax: +31 20 525 2179 (Univ.) +31 20 638 2319 (Polytech.) +31 20 676 3507 (home) e-mail: felix_van_Rijn@sara.nl WG9.4 chairman: Dr. M. Odedra e-mail: odedra@iscs.nus.sg WG9.5 secretary: Mr. G. Cyranek TA Informatik Auf der Mauer 3 CH 8001 Zurich, Switzerland tel: +41 (01) 252 02 74, fax: +41 (01) 252 02 74 WG12.4 chairman: Prof. Dr. H.C. Bunt fax: +31 13 662537 SG14 chairman: Prof. J. Gruska e-mail: gruska@informatik.uni-hamburg.de /********************************************************************/ GA 6-10 Sep 93 Tokyo 28uFeb-3 Mar 94 (tentative dates) Brussels (contiguous to IFIP Congress '94) Hamburg (contiguous to IFIP Congress '96) Canberra, Australia TECHNICAL COMMITTEE AND WORKING GROUP MEETINGS* WG2.1 28 Jun-2 Jul 93 Hamilton, Ontario (organized jointly with WG2.2 and WG2.3) WG2.2 same WG2.3 same WG2.4 4-7 Oct 93 Monterey, California WG2.5 17-20 Sep 93 Toronto WG2.7 Sep 93 New Jersey 11-13 Jun 93 (with FPCA'93 conf.) Copenhagen mid 94 Calgary, Alberta TC3 28-29 Aug 93 Birmingham, U.K. 26-27 Aug 94 Hamburg 22-29 Jul 95 Birmingham, U.K. 7-11 Jun 93 (with conf.) Gmunden, Austria 12-16 Jul 93 (with conf.) Soest, Germany 13-17 Sep 93 (with conf.) Phoenix, Arizona 12-16 Sep 93 (with conf.) Phoenix, Arizona 28-30 Sep 93 (with APMS'93 conf.) Athens Jun-2 Jul 93 (with conf.) Genova, Italy TC6 15-16 Oct 93 Sofia 23-24 May 94 Porto Santo Island, Portugal 4-6 Oct 94 (with SEACOMM conf.) Malaysia TC76 Jul 93 (with conf.) Compie>gne, France TC8 8-9 May 94 Queensland, Australia W1-31Sep 93 (with conf.) Como, Italy TC9 31 Jul-1 Aug 93 Farnham, U.K. Aug/Sep 94 Hamburg WG9.2 15-16 Jan 94 Namur, Belgium 20-242Sep 93 (with conf.) Hamburg 22-244Jun 93 (with conf.) Toulouse, France 29-30 Aug 93 (with conf.) Chambe