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1. NAME :
The Society shall
be called The Australian Society of Rheology. It shall take over the activities,
powers and responsibilities, the property and membership of the "British
Society of Rheology Australian Branch". The latter body shall
cease to exist with the formation of The Australian Society of Rheology.
Hereafter, the words The Society shall be deemed to mean The
Australian Society of Rheology.
2. OBJECTS :
The objects of The
Society shall be the promotion of inquiry and the dissemination of knowledge
connected with the advancement of Rheology, defined as the science of
the deformation and flow of matter.
3. MEMBERSHIP :
(a) Any person interested
in Rheology shall be eligible for membership of The Society. { There
are no formal requirements for membership }.
(b) In order to become
a member, an applicant must apply in writing, with support in writing
by a member of The Society, in a manner to be approved from time to time
by The Council (see Section 5). { The Council is currently waiving
this requirement for sponsorship }. A person whose application
is approved by a majority of the Council shall be enrolled as a member
on receipt of the joining fee and the subscription for the current year.
(c) The Council shall
have the power to elect to Honorary Membership any person who has attained
distinction through achievement in the field of Rheology or by reason
of service to The Society or its predecessors. { See the associated
document at the end }.
(d) Any member may
resign membership by giving notice in writing and shall be eligible to
rejoin as under Clause 3(b).
(e) If The Council
considers the conduct of a member to be prejudicial to the interests of
The Society, it shall give the member the opportunity to explain such
conduct and thereupon may, by a majority of two thirds, decide to terminate
that persons membership.
4. SUBSCRIPTION :
(a) A joining fee
shall be paid by any new member of The Society. { Currently, this
is nil }. Foundation Members of The Society who at the time of
its formation are members of "The British Society of Rheology are
exempted from paying the joining fee unless they cease to be members and
reapply. The amount of the joining fee shall be determined from time to
time by an Annual or Special General Meeting of members (Section 8). The
Council has the right to waive the joining fee for members of kindred
bodies.
(b) An annual subscription
of such amount as The Annual General Meeting may decide shall be paid
by each member. All subscriptions shall be due either from the date of
The Annual General Meeting or from a date set by that meeting. {
Currently, Full membership is $40 and (fulltime) Student membership is
$20 }.
5. COUNCIL and
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS :
(a) The affairs of
The Society shall be managed by a Council of nine members which shall
include the President, the President of the previous year, a Vice-President,
a Secretary and a Treasurer. The Council shall include a representative
from each State in which at least ten members of The Society reside.
(b) The Council of
The Society shall be elected every year at The Annual General Meeting
from amongst members of The Society to serve from that Annual General
Meeting to the next. Candidates shall be proposed and seconded by members
of The Society before The Annual General Meeting. Elections shall be held
by secret ballot.
(c) Any member of
The Council shall be eligible for re-election except that (i) a member
shall not be eligible for the office of President for more than two consecutive
years and (ii) a member may not serve for more than four consecutive years
without portfolio.
(d) The Council shall
have the power to appoint any member of The Society to fill a casual vacancy
until the next General Meeting.
(e) The Council shall
have the power to appoint from its ranks officers with specific duties,
eg. an assistant secretary or a Council sub-committee.
(f) The Council shall
have the power to appoint from the general membership of The Society members
who will join a Council sub-committee to undertake specific duties, such
as organizing conferences etc. Such members may, at the discretion of
the Chairman, participate in council meetings but shall have no voting
rights.
(g) The Council shall
have the power to appoint from the general membership of the Society members
who, individually or as an auxiliary group, advise on specific matters
or carry out specific tasks under The Councils direction. One representative
of such an auxiliary group shall participate in Council discussion of
matters relevant to such tasks. Others may also be invited at the Chairmans
discretion.
6. DUTIES of EXECUTIVE OFFICERS and COUNCIL :
(a) The Council shall
manage the funds and affairs of The Society and take such actions as may
appear necessary or desirable for carrying into effect the objects of
The Society and the resolutions of The General Meetings.
(b) The President
shall take the chair at all General Meetings of The Society and at all
Council meetings unless absent. The President shall be the spokesperson
on behalf of The Society unless this task is delegated to another Council
Member. The President shall sign the adopted minutes of meetings chaired
by him/her self.
(c) The President
of the previous year shall advise Council on the reasons for past policy
decisions and brief the president and Council when continuity and earlier
experience is relevant.
(d) The Vice-President
shall deputise for The President, during the Presidents absence.
If both President and Vice-President are absent from a meeting, the members
present shall choose a chairman for that meeting.
(e) The Secretary
shall be responsible for the general conduct of The Societys correspondence
and business except financial and membership. The Secretary shall prepare
the agenda for each meeting of The Society and of The Council, give notice
of meetings, invite nominations for any election and act as Returning
Officer unless a Returning Officer is appointed. The Secretary shall record
the minutes of each meeting and prepare a report for The Annual General
Meeting. The Secretary may be assisted in any of these tasks by an Assistant
Secretary.
(f) The Treasurer
shall receive all monies due to The Society, transact all its financial
affairs and keep a proper account of receipts, payments, credits and liabilities.
The Treasurer shall keep a record of members and their financial status.
The Treasurer may be assisted in any of these tasks by an assistant Treasurer.
The Treasurer shall present an interim financial statement to each Council
meeting and an audited Annual report and Balance Sheet to The Annual General
Meeting.
The Treasurer shall
be one of the council members authorized to sign withdrawals from The
Societys accounts. Withdrawals shall require more than one signature.
7. AUDITOR :
The accounts of The
Society shall be audited by an auditor who shall be elected and whose
remuneration shall be fixed by The Annual General Meeting.
8. MEETINGS :
(a) The Council shall
meet at least four times a year. Five members of The Council shall constitute
a quorum. Council Members unable to attend may authorise a proxy in writing
to cast a vote on their behalf. If voting at Council Meetings is tied,
The President or the presiding chairman shall have a casting second vote.
(b) An Annual General
Meeting of The Society shall be held at a date, time and venue to be fixed
by The Council, subject to any directive from a previous General Meeting.
At least one months notice shall be given of such a meeting. The
meeting may be attended by members and observers but only financial members
shall have voting rights. Ten members shall constitute a quorum. If a
quorum is not reached , The Council shall convene a deferred Annual General
Meeting giving at least three weeks notice. Such a deferred Annual
General Meeting shall proceed with a quorum of five members unless objections
to the time and venue are received in writing from no fewer than five
members.
The Annual General
Meeting shall confirm the Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting
and receive and adopt reports by The Secretary and The Treasurer. The
Meeting shall elect Council Members and an Auditor for the ensuing year.
It shall discuss matters listed on the agenda and other Society business
raised at the meeting. The President or the Chairman of the meeting shall
have the power to declare any item out of order or irrelevant unless overruled
by The Meeting.
Decisions other than
Amendments to The Constitution, shall be made by a simple majority of
members voting. Elections to The Council shall be held by secret ballot,
other decisions shall be made by a show of hands unless a majority of
members present request a secret ballot. A member unable to attend may
authorise in writing a proxy to vote on his/her behalf.
(c) At the request
of five Council Members or ten members of The Society, The Secretary shall
call a Special General Meeting within two months of receiving such a request.
A notice convening a Special General Meeting shall be sent to all members
not less than three weeks before the meeting and it shall specify the
matters to be dealt with. Such a meeting shall have the authority of an
Annual General Meeting but shall consider only the business for which
it was called. The requirements for a quorum shall be the same as for
an Annual General Meeting.
9. CHAPTERS :
Any group of members
of The Society may form a Chapter to represent their area. Internal organisation
of the Chapter is the concern of its members provided the rules and activities
of the Chapter are consistent with those of The Society. Operation of
a Chapter shall be confined to local activities. A Chapter may request
representation on The Council and The Council shall grant such a request
if it considers the chapter to be viable.
10. LIABILITY :
The Society shall
not be liable for any damage or loss to the persons or the property of
members howsoever caused, provided nevertheless that The Council may in
its absolute discretion make an ex-gratia payment out of The Societys
funds in respect of any such damage or loss if it thinks that such payment
is appropriate.
11. ALTERATION
OF THE CONSTITUTION :
This Constitution
may be amended by a resolution at any Annual or Special General Meeting.
Proposed amendments must be sent to all members at least one month prior
to the Meeting upon which they are to be voted. An amendment shall be
carried by a two-thirds majority of the members voting (including proxies)
provided that at least ten members voting are in favour of the amendment.
12. INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION :
The Council shall
appoint a member to liaise with The International Rheology Committee.
It may also appoint one or more delegates to international meetings.
13. DISSOLUTION :
A resolution for the
dissolution of The Society may be proposed at an Annual or Special General
Meeting provided at least one months notice has been given to members.
A motion to dissolve The Society shall be carried by a two-thirds majority
of those voting (including proxies) provided members in favour of the
motion number at least ten percent of The Societys membership.
Unless the meeting
at which The Society is dissolved specifies otherwise, the property of
The Society, after discharge of all liabilities, shall be transferred
to a scientific body with an active interest in Rheology.
The { notations
} written in italic bold script parenthesis have been added subsequently
to the original wording of the text.
Issued 1983
Re-issued Nov. 2000.
ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS
THE A.S.R. MEDALLION
1. A Sub-Committee comprising The President, Vice-President and Immediate
Past President of The Society will meet at least annually to discuss possible
nominations for the award.
2. The Sub-Committee
may co-opt other members of The Society onto their number with the approval
of The Council.
3. A Recommendation
will take the form of a written testimonial, which will include a c.v.,
justifying the individual concerned.
4. The recipient of
an Award must meet the following criteria :
(a) They must be permanently
resident in Australia, although discretion may be exercised over matters
of temporary secondment (or sabbatical leave) overseas.
(b) They must be
a financial member of The Australian Society of Rheology.
(c) They must be
internationally recognised as having made an outstanding and meritorious
contribution to the science and technology of Rheology. Whilst service
to The Society may be taken into account, it will not be the major factor
that remains that of scientific achievement.
5. The decision as
to whether or not an award will be made in any one year shall be taken
by the Sub-Committee and ratified by The Council.
6. The recipient will
be formally notified of the nomination and invited to accept the Award.
7. The presentation
of an Award will normally be made at the appropriate National Conference
of The Society.
8. The documentation
of the Award will be kept in The Societys records.
9. Any change to the
wording of this memorandum must have the unanimous support of The Council.
Issued June 1992.
A.S.R. HONORARY
MEMBERSHIP
1. Any Member of Council may submit the proposed name of a candidate to
a Council Meeting.
2. Council may vote
on the candidature there and then or form a sub-committee to resolve any
factual details.
3. The criteria are
primarily based on service to the A.S.R; the interpretation of which rests
with The Council.
(a) The individual
will have provided significant service to The Society (usually over a
considerable period of time).
(b) The individual
has been a financial member of the A.S.R. for either the whole, or at
least the major part of the time being considered.
(c) Normally, the
individual will have retired from professional life.
4. A unanimous vote
of The Council is required.
5. The individual
will be notified and invited to accept the Award (a framed and duly signed
certificate) at a mutually agreed time and place.
6. The documentation
of the Award will be kept in The Societys records.
7. Any change to the
wording of this memorandum must have the unanimous support of The Council.
Issued Aug. 1997
Re-issued Feb. 1999
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