Australian Computer Society (ACS) - Community Affairs Board (CAB)

This page was last updated on:
September 2005.

Director, Community Affairs Board
Rathika Suresh rsuresh@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Deputy Director, Community Affairs Board
Associate Professor Anne McDougall - a.mcdougall@edfac.unimelb.edu.au.

Terms of Reference

The Community Affairs Board (CAB) coordinates the activities of ACS which concern the relationships of the Society with the wider community. Areas explicitly included within the Board's jurisdiction:
    Economic, legal and social implications of information technology;
    Education, at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.
    Work/Life balance

    Applications of ICT in health care.

    ICT for disadvantaged/disabled

Task forces of one or more people are assigned to address particular issues within the Board's jurisdiction. The creation, terms of reference, appointment and removal of Conveners, and disestablishment of Task Groups requires the Director's approval. Subject to their terms of reference, Task Group Convenors may co-opt members. Where appropriate, and particularly in relation to matters affecting a single State, Task Forces are formed from Branch SIGs or their Chairs.

Liaison is maintained with relevant National and Branch SIGs, other professional bodies, community bodies, industry bodies, and the corresponding committees of information technology professional bodies in other countries.

 In addition, other matters which concern the Society's relationship with the wider community are included within the Board's jurisdiction. This Board has a close relationship with the ACS-W Board, the Economic &Industry Policy Board and the YIT Board.

Community Affairs Board (CAB) Committees

The Board contains a number of  national committees and nominated representatives for international committees.
 National committees of the Community Affairs Board are:
* Committee on Computer Ethics (CCE)
* Economic, Legal and Social Implications Committee (ELSIC);
* National Computers in Education Committee (NCEC) -
* Health Informatics Committee ( HIC) - composed of the members of the national board of the Health Informatics Society of Australia ( HISA) and any others appointed by the Director, CAB and/or the Chair, HIC;

ACS members are invited to volunteer for committees. If you wish to participate, please contact  R. Suresh.

Committee on Computer Ethics (CCE)

Chair- Oliver Burmeister, MACS, Swinburne University of Technology oburmeister@swin.edu.au

Deputy Chair - Prof. John Weckert jweckert@csu.edu.au

Economic, Legal and Social Implications Committee (ELSIC)

Chair - Philip Argy FACS, philip.argy@mallesons.com

Partner, Mallesons Stephen Jaques
Philip Argy is also an alternative ACS delegate to IFIP Technical Committee TC9.
 

Deputy Chair - Assoc. Prof. John Weckert - jweckert@csu.edu.au
John is  Professor in Information Technology, School of information Studies, Charles Sturt University. and is the Chair of the ELSIC Computer Ethics Taskforce (CET). He is the Australian national representative on IFIP TC9 WG9.2 SIG9.2.2 (Computer ethics). John was appointed a Deputy Chair of ELSIC in November 1999.

Deputy Chair - Anthony Willis - willis@sydney.phillipsfox.com.au .
Anthony is a Partner in Phillips Fox, Solicitors (in the Canberra, Australia branch).
Anthony Willis is a Partner in the Canberra Office of Phillips Fox and leader of the Government and Commercial Group in that Office. He advises on major Government related commercial transactions, with special emphasis in the areas of IT, internet and intellectual property. In addition to advising local, national and international government and private sector clients, he is a frequent speaker and writer on issues concerning IT, internet and e-commerce.

National Computer Education Committee (NCEC)

Chair - Assoc. Prof. Anne McDougall a.mcdougall@unimelb.edu.au

Anne McDougall is also the ACS delegate to IFIP TC3. Anne McDougall also represents the ACS on the Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE), the national council of which is ex-officio members of the NCEC. The NCEC is made up the national Council of the ACCE, ACS Branch representatives, and a number of other individual members who are normally members of the ACS and eminent and/or highly active in the area of computers in education.

Deputy Chair - Ralph Leonard - rleonard@nereus.com.au  He was appointed Deputy Chair of the NCEC in 2003 and is Principal Policy Officer in the Department of Further Education Employment Science and Technology in the Government of South Australia. He is also president of the Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE) of which ACS is a member. ACCE is the national umbrella association of computer education groups in states and territories. Its role is to undertake national projects as well as advocate for the issues of members of state groups who are teachers using learning technologies in education.

Health Informatics Committee(HIC)

Chair - Assoc. Prof. Evelyn J.S. Hovenga RN PhD e.hovenga@cqu.edu.au
Evelyn's is the ACS contact person with the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA).

 

Deputy Chair - Dr Peter Adkins who in 1999 was also Chair of HISA mailto:padkins@ozemail.com.au

For general inquiries about health informatics and HISA contact Joan Edgecumbe, Executive Officer, HISA hisa@hisa.org.au
Telephone: (03) 9388 0555 or Fax: (03) 9388 2086
HISA is affiliated with the ACS. The national board of HISA is ex-officio part of HIC.

Technical Committees

ACS is affiliated with the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). The Board is also responsible for Society representation on Informational Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Technical Committees. More details on the ACS and its IFIP links are at:
http://www.acs.org.au/national/ifip.htm

TC3 (Education)

The Chair of the NCEC is normally also Australia's national representative to the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Technical Committee 3 ( TC3 - Education). Currently Assoc. Prof. Anne McDougall a.mcdougall@unimelb.edu.au is the ACS representative to the TC3 Technical Committee.

TC9 (Relationship between Computers and Society).

The Chair or a Deputy Chairs of ELSIC is normally the ACS delegate to IFIP Technical Committee 9 (TC9) which relates to 'The relationship between Computers and Society'. TC9 includes a number of Working Groups. Currently Assoc. Prof. John Weckert - jweckert@csu.edu.au who is also the Deputy chair of ELSIC is the ACS delegate to TC9.

The Australian ACS annual report to TC9 is available from http://www.acs.org.au/boards/cab/tc9gm.html

Feedback

Rathika Suresh, Director, Community Affairs Board, rsuresh@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au