Guidelines
The guidelines recorded here are meant to facilitate various procedures regularly undertaken by the officers and members of the ISNR Board according to the Constitution. They can be used by successive Boards for consistency and also may be changed or added to, as situations differ in time. Such changes can be simply made by Board consensus, unlike the content and By-Laws in the Constitution, which must be passed by a majority vote. All changes should be recorded as dated amendments.
The initial procedures written here are:
- Election of Officers and other Board members
- Application for hosting WCNR and ITMNR (to be sent to candidates)
- Selection of the Chair and Location of the following WCNR
- Nomination of Honorary Members
- ISNR Membership Form
1. Election of Officers and Board members
Reference: Constitution of ISNR, esp. Sections 4, 5; By-Laws 3, 4, 5
Steps (to be undertaken simultaneously with the selection of the Chair and WCNR location. They are written here separately for clarity only as the steps should coincide.)
- More than two months before the next WCNR: The Secretary requests, via email, from the ISNR members nominations for willing candidates for three Officers (President, Vice President, Secretary), excluding the immediate Past President, and up to ten Board members. Note By-Law 3: Members may nominate another member or put forward their name.
- Two months before the next WCNR: The Secretary closes the nominations.
- At least one month before the next WCNR: The Secretary reviews all nominations, prepares the slate of candidates, emails them to the Board members for review. After receiving comments, the Secretary prepares the ballots for all positions to be elected or acclaimed at the next WCNR.
- The Secretary will also send membership forms to the WCNR organiser to be available at Registration for those attendees not ISNR members, but wish to become members and participate in the voting later in the week. The Secretary will then provide the Board with these applications at the first Board meeting at that WCNR for their vote. Attendees not ISNR members will be informed of their ineligibility before the vote is held.
- At the first Board meeting at the WCNR: The Board will review the nominations and note if the positions of President and Chair of the next WCNR will involve more than one candidate.
- No later than the second last full day of the WCNR: The President conducts the voting by the membership. He/she will announce the candidates, indicating the open positions for election, any acclaimed positions automatically filled, and if there are more than one candidate for the President of ISNR and Chair for the next WCNR. Note By-Law 4: The Secretary will receive and tabulate the ballots with one other Board member present and any observer. If any member handling the ballots is a candidate for re-election, other members will be asked to perform these tasks.
- No later than the last full day of the WCNR: The President will announce the results of the election of the next Board as well as the Chair of the next WCNR, who may or may not be the same person as the President. The locations of the next WCNR will be announced as well as of the next ITMNR, if not already known. The outgoing President will ask the incoming President to introduce the new Board.
2. Application for Hosting World Conference on Neutron Radiography (WCNR) and International Topical Meeting on Neutron Radiography (ITMNR)
Reference: Constitution of ISNR, esp. By-Law 6
1. General
The International Society for Neutron Radiology (ISNR) was formed to foster and promote actively the field of neutron radiology. The Society is operated by a Board consisting of a President, Past President, Vice President, Secretary and up to ten Board members. Elections for the Board are held at each WCNR by the ISNR members present, with the nominal four-year term lasting until the end of the next WCNR. The incoming President may also be the Chair hosting the next WCNR.
The Society's main activities, held nominally every 4 years, are the World Conference on Neutron Radiography (WCNR), as a broad, inclusive conference, and the International Topical Meeting on Neutron Radiography (ITMNR), which is focused on particular topics, with a two-year interval in between.
Both are hosted by interested ISNR members belonging to organisations or consortia who are selected as stipulated by the ISNR Constitution. Details of the application and selection process are found in this application document. The host for the next WCNR (in 4 years) is chosen by membership election by the end of the present WCNR and the host for the next ITMNR (in 2 years) may be chosen from Board meetings at either the previous ITMNR or the present WCNR.
2. WCNR and ITMNR Formats
The formats for both meetings are similar in terms of activities and duration, but different in numbers of attendees in favour of the WCNR. Typically, they run from a Sunday to a Thursday, with a tour of nearby facilities on the Friday. During the WCNR, there is a general election of the next Board followed on the last day by a presentation of the new Board, the President and the next WCNR location. For a WCNR, there is usually a neutron radiography school for local and other interested attendees on the preceding Saturday and Sunday. There may also be a pre-conference and/or a post-conference tour of the local or nearby area on the adjoining weekends. The Board attempts to diversify the locale and expertise geographically for the benefit of the attendees. These formats have proven to be successful.
Typically, there is a meeting of the Board on the previous Sunday afternoon, followed by a welcome reception on the Sunday evening. There is also a need for the Board to meet several times during the week. Full paper and poster sessions for all of the audience are usual, with parallel sessions only if required. The signage should follow the general formats of the WCNR and ITMNR with some local input.
Most authors submit their presentations, either oral or poster, for peer review and publication as a peer-reviewed conference paper. The host is responsible for the review and publication.
For prospective hosts, attendance at the previous WCNR or ITMNR will provide the best knowledge of the details of organising either meeting, followed by contact with the previous host and the ISNR Board.
3. Application Procedure
The following is the procedure for applying and being selected as a host:
- For hosting the next WCNR (in 4 y), the Board will make a public call about 5 months before the present WCNR and decide by a membership vote by the end of the present WCNR, giving the host 4 years for preparation. As noted above, the ISNR member applying as Chair to host the next WCNR is also to be a candidate for the Presidency of ISNR. For hosting the next ITMNR (in 4 y), the Board will make a public call before the present ITMNR. The Board will endeavour to select the next ITMNR host at the present ITMNR and no later than at the present WCNR, giving the host 2 to 4 years for preparation.
- Details for applying are found in Section 4, Application Form, below. The application procedure is in two stages. First, each applicant completes this form and returns it to the Secretary of the Board along with a signed letter of intent from the designated member, organisation or consortia by two months before the upcoming WCNR. The Board will review the completed form from each applicant and inform the applicants before this WCNR. Each applicant should nominate a candidate for President as well. Next, at this WCNR, the candidate or his/her representative for each applicant will make a short presentation (e.g. PowerPoint) to the membership, not exceeding 5 minutes and not including films. Note that a final, hard copy of the presentation, not exceeding two pages, is to be delivered to the Registration desk on the first day of the conference. Later in the week, the membership votes for the Chair of the next WCNR and for President from the candidate and anyone else vying for this position. If, in the next four years, the Chair and/or the President leaves, a new representative has to be approved by the Board. Towards the end of the WCNR, the outgoing President announces the results of the voting for the Chair to host the next WCNR, the incoming President (who may also be the Chair) and the remaining Board members.
4. Application Form
In order for the Board to have sufficient information for a fair assessment of each applicant, the following details must be provided in these numbered sections (max. 2 pages each):
- Name and contact details of the representative for the applicant
- Name and contact details of the designated member(s), organisation(s) or consortia, if different from 1), and information on the applicant(s)
- Indication of the reasons for applying, e.g. strength of neutron radiography activity, previous meetings organised, support from national or commercial organisations, etc.
- Details of the venue, local area and accommodation facilities, need for local transportation to the venue, access to international transportatio
- Status of plans for organising the meeting, school, &/or pre- &/or post conference tours; status of any approvals, budget or costs, schedule, etc.
- Any impediments foreseen that would affect the successful planning, organisation and operation of the meeting
- Any final comments on the benefit of the meeting for ISNR members and for students, engineers, scientists, and users
3. Selection of the Chair and Location of the following WCNR
Reference: Constitution of ISNR, esp. By-Law 6, ISNR Application Form for WCNR and ITMNR
Steps (to be undertaken simultaneously with the election of the Officers and Board members. They are written here separately for clarity only as the steps should coincide.)
- About 5 months before the next WCNR: The Secretary requests, via email, nominations from the ISNR members for willing candidates to host and organise the following WCNR, using Ref. 2.
- Two months before the next WCNR: The Secretary closes the nominations.
- At least one month before the next WCNR: The Secretary reviews all nominations and emails them to the Board members for review. After receiving comments and if there is more than one nomination, the Secretary prepares the ballots for the next WCNR Chair and location to be elected by the members.
- At the start of the next WCNR: The Secretary will arrange to receive from the registration desk hard copies of the presentations from all candidates.
- At the first Board meeting at the WCNR: The Board will review the nominations from their completed Application forms and their hard copies of their presentations, delete any candidates if deemed unsuitable, and note if the positions of President and Chair of the next WCNR will involve more than one candidate
- No later than the second last full day of the WCNR: The President first conducts the presentations by the candidates and then the voting by the membership for the Chair of the next WCNR, the President (who might be the same person as the Chair), and the other Officers and members of the Board.
- No later than the last full day of the WCNR: The President will announce the results of the selection of the Chair and location of the next WCNR and ask the incoming Chair to invite the membership to attend.
4. Nomination of Honorary Members
Reference: 1. Constitution of ISNR, By-Law 2
Steps
- More than two months before the next ITMNR: The Secretary asks via email to all ISNR members for nominations, which should include their reasons for the nomination along with a CV of the candidate concentrating on his or her contributions to neutron radiology and to the Society.
- One month before the ITMNR Board meetings: The Secretary receives the nominations and passes them to the Board for evaluation. If delays occur or no candidates are put forward, the Secretary may request that the Board decision be delayed until after this ITMNR and closer to the next WCNR. The Secretary will then pass the nominations and conduct the voting by email before the next WCNR.
- Before the next WCNR and before the close of registration: The President or Secretary will contact the nominated person(s) that he or she will be honoured at the next WCNR.
- At the next WCNR: The President will conduct the ceremony and present the new Honorary Members to the ISNR membership present.