xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF DYNAMIC GAMES E-LETTER, issue No. 24, 12 December 1996 Edited by Raimo P. Hamalainen and Harri Ehtamo Systems Analysis Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology ISDG@HUT.FI xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Dear Dynamic Game Theorist, This is the twentyfourth issue of the Society's electronic newsletter. The basic minimum work principle in editing this e-letter is that the READERS send important notes and information about symposia, conferences and workshops of dynamic games, as well as abstracts of Ph.D. theses, papers and books, which they want to be included in the newsletter. The format is described below. We hope that no retyping will be needed so please follow the instructions and sample shown below carefully. The news should be concise to keep the newsletter readable. Requests for more complete information about any news item should be directed to its contributor. We appreciate any comments and suggestions that you may have on this e-letter. Looking forward to receiving your news contributions. Raimo P. Hamalainen and Harri Ehtamo xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Contributed by the Editors Dec 12 MODEL FOR NEWS SUBMISSIONS Maximum line length is 72 characters. Place the text between two lines of x:ses. The first line should state "Contributed by" and followed by the contributor's name, in brackets and the date. Then there should be a title line and the text. This info block should be sent to ISDG at HUT.FI xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Contributed by Raimo P. Hamalainen Dec 12 ISDG Joins the Web ISDG now has a home page in the World Wide Web at http://www.hut.fi/HUT/Systems.Analysis/isdg Currently the pages contain a short description of the society, a list of members, and copies of the past issues of ISDG News. Let us know if you have a homepage of your own so we can link you to the ISDG pages. Have a look at the pages of Systems Analysis Laboratory, too: http://www.hut.fi/HUT/Systems Analysis/ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Contributed by Alain Haurie November 21 Dear participant: WELLCOME TO THE 7TH DG SYMPOSIUM DEC 16-18 SHONAN VILLAGE CENTER, JAPAN (Take this Newsletter with when coming!) There will be a GENERAL ASSEMBLY of the Society, Tuesday December 17 at 5:10 pm. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the proposed bylaws of the Society. The first file below is a short history of the ISDG. In the second file there are the proposed statutes to be discussed in the GENERAL ASSEMBLY. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Dear ISDG member: Two years ago I have been designated by the executive committee as President of our Society. In my acceptance speech I promised to propose a set of bylaws and statutes that would make our Society even more dynamic and adapted to the scientific needs of its members. In Japan we shall organize a general assembly meeting where I will propose the statutes of the ISDG. This proposal comes after a long process of discussions and exchanges with EC members and other active members of the Society. Before exposing the precise set of bylaws that are proposed, let me present the fundamental motivations for such a move. 1. A short history of the ISDG The ISDG has been created in Helsinki in 1990. Then a group of persons who had been active in the organization of a series of meetings on Differential and Dynamic Games decided to give a name to the Society, to run a Newsletter and to start a publication in its name. Tamer Basar was selected as our first President. The formats of the newsletter and of the publication were decided: The newsletter should be electronic and distributed by email to every interested person providing his/her electronic address. The Systems Analysis group in Helsinki offered to manage the newsletter and has done it very competently, thanks to Harri and Raimo, with the recent addition of a web page where all past issues of the newsletter can be found. The subscription to the Newsletter (a free service) became then the definition of membership to the Society. Regarding the official publication of the Society, we decided that it should be a yearly book instead of a journal, containing fully refereed papers selected from those presented at the biannual meeting of the Society or solicited on a special issue topic. Shortly after, Tamer Basar negotiated with Birkhauser the launching of the series of Annals of the International Society of Dynamic Games. Three volumes in this series have been already been published, with a high standard of quality. We also decided at the time that a biannual meeting be organized on a regular basis. This December will see the third official meeting of the ISDG (1992 in Grimentz, Switzerland, 1994 in St-Jovite, Canada, 1996 in Shonan Village, Japan). The number of papers presented in these meetings is relatively steady at about 80. 2. Opportunities for the ISDG With some EC members I share the belief in a good growth opportunity for the Society. There are many reasons for that: 2.1. There is no other organized society dedicated to game theory (there are journals but no formal Society). 2.2. The scientific societies oriented toward the field of dynamic systems (SIAM, IEEE, typically) are devoting less effort to the coverage of progress in the domain of dynamic games. 2.3. Dynamic games are gaining more acceptance as a valid paradigm in many scientific domains, in economics indeed, but also in Political sciences, marketing, finance, environmental management, biology, etc... 2.4. Game theory is taught in many graduate curricula in Business schools economics, and even several engineering departments, thus increasing the potential number of student members for the Society. 3. Stable membership Despite the opportunities for growth indicated above, our membership has not increased significantly over the years. Indeed, the e-mail list for the Newsletter distribution is not changing much over the years. We are not penetrating very much the political science or management science "markets". 4. A strategy for development of the Society The strategy I propose to implement should be such that it preserves what constitutes currently our strengths: (i) high scientific standards; (ii) open-minded scientific attitude (we have no a prioris concerning the scientific approach to the study of dynamic games); (iii) a tight and consistent core membership with a good international distribution; (iv) an easy access to the Society through the modern electronic supports. It should also correct or alleviate our current weaknesses: (i) insufficient exposure in our largest growth potential domains (management science, economics, political sciences); (ii) lack of a precise definition of the services offered by the Society; (iii) initiatives coming always from the same subgroup (founding fathers syndrome...); no financial leverage (the Society has no revenue and cannot support any activity that involves some expenditures). It will be a three-pronged strategy: 4.1 Promoting the membership by a better definition of the services and opportunities offered by the ISDG. The two privileged instruments for that will be the "Annals" and an improved "Newsletter". 4.2 Getting more involvement of the membership in the running of the Society so that "new blood" arrives at the top. The main instrument for this is a clarification of the way the officers of the Society are chosen, their responsibilities, the way some local chapters could take initiatives, the way quality is controlled, etc... 4.3 Obtaining some minimal financial means. With some revenues, the Society could improve the services to the members and increase the dissemination of scientific output in the community. The membership dues and some margins obtained from the organization of conferences and seminars would provide the main sources of revenue. \end{verbatim} xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The proposed ISDG statutes to be discussed in General Assembly. Article 1: Name of the Society These statutes define the objectives, activities and rules of administration of the International Society of Dynamic Games, hereafter called ISDG or the Society. Article 2: Aims of ISDG The objectives of ISDG are: 1. To promote and foster the development and applications of the Theory of Dynamic Games. A Dynamic Game is defined as a paradigm for a decision, competitive or conflict process that involves several agents or decision makers in dynamic interaction. 2. To disseminate scientific information through all conveniently adapted support- services: conferences, workshops, journals, books, electronic mail and servers, www, etc. 3. To establish links with the international scientific community and in particular with other societies dealing with optimization, decision analysis and dynamical systems. Article 3: Duration ISDG is created for an unlimited duration. Article 4: Location The office of ISDG is located at the organization that also provides the support for the secretariat services. This location can therefore be changed by decision of the executive committee endorsed by the General Assembly (GA). Article 5: Members ISDG is composed of: regular members, who pay the full fee and receive all the services provided by the Society; associate members, who pay no fee and have access to a reduced list of information services; honorary members, who are designated by the executive committee with the approval of the GA by virtue of their recognized contributions to the field or to the Society. Article 6: Membership/Dues A person who wishes to become a member of ISDG must address a written request to the Society. Such a request implies the acceptance of the present statutes and payment of membership dues (for regular members). The membership request must be accepted by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is authorized to change (increase or decrease) the annual membership dues. Honorary members and associate members are not subject to the payment of membership dues. Article 7: Executive Committee ISDG is administered by an Executive Committee (EC) composed of 6 to 12 members. The precise number of committee members is stipulated in the Internal Rules of the Society. Article 8: Election of the Executive Committee The members of the EC are elected for a period of four (4) years by the General Assembly. They are chosen from among the members of this Assembly. To provide continuity, one half (1/2) of the members of the EC will be elected every other year. A random draw determines the members who will leave the Executive Committee at the first renewal period. Members of the EC whose terms have expired may be reelected. In the case of a vacancy, EC can tentatively replace its members. The final replacement will take place at the next meeting of the General Assembly. Terms of the members so elected obey those of the members they replace. Article 9: Officers The Executive Committee elects, among its members, through a secret ballot, the following Officers of the Society: - The President - One or several Vice-Presidents - A Secretary - A Treasurer The mandate of these officers and length of tenure are determined by the Internal Rules of the Society. Article 10: President The President represents the Society in all acts of civil life. He/she controls the expenditures. He/she can delegate his/her powers under the conditions fixed by the Internal Rules of the Society. Article 11: Meetings of the Executive Committee The Executive Committee meets at least once a year. The meeting time and location are decided by the President. A group consisting of at least one fourth (1/4) of the members of the Executive Committee may ask for an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee. The President has then the obligation to call for a meeting of the Committee. An absent member may ask to be represented by another member (proxy). A present member can represent only one absent member. A quorum of half the total number of members is necessary to validate the decisions taken during a meeting of the Executive Committee. Decisions are taken by a simple majority of present members and proxies. In case of a split decision, the President rules. Article 12: General Assembly The General Assembly is composed of the regular members and honorary members of the Society. The Assembly meets every other year, usually at the site of the biannual Symposium of the Society. A group consisting of at least one fourth (1/4) of the members of the General Assembly may ask for an unscheduled meeting of the General Assembly. An absent member may ask to be represented by another member. A present member can represent at most three (3) absent members. Decisions are taken by a simple majority of present members. Article 13: Modification of the Statutes The statutes of the Society can only be amended by the General Assembly following a proposition of the Executive Committee or a proposition endorsed by at least one fourth (1/4) of the members of the General Assembly. In either case, the proposed amendments will be placed on the Agenda of the next General Assembly. This Agenda must be sent to all regular members of the Society. A quorum of one third (1/3) of the members of the General Assembly must be reached to validate the decisions. If this quorum is not reached, the General Assembly will be convocated again, after at least six (6) months. No quorum is needed at this second meeting of the General Assembly. In all circumstances, the statutes can only be modified by a majority of two thirds (2/3) of the present or duly represented members. Article 14: Extraordinary Assembly The Executive Committee or one third (1/3) of the members may call for an Extraordinary Assembly meeting. At this meeting, absent members may request to be represented by another member. A present member can represent at most three (3) absent member. A quorum of one half (1/2) of the members of the General Assembly must be reached to validate the decisions. If this quorum is not reached, the Extraordinary Assembly will be called again, after at least six (6) months. No quorum will be needed at this second meeting of the Extraordinary Assembly. The Agenda will be the same for the two meetings. Article 15: Role of the Extraordinary Assembly The Extraordinary Assembly is only able to decide on the dissolution of the Society, its fusion or merger with another Society pursuing similar goals. Decisions of the Extraordinary Assembly must be taken by a majority of two thirds (2/3) of the present or duly represented members. In case of dissolution, the Extraordinary Assembly designates one or several officers to liquidate the resource balance left in the accounts of the Society, in accordance with the conditions set by the Assembly. Article 16: Internal Rules Internal Rules are established by the Executive Committee and must be approved by the General Assembly. This set of rules interprets and completes the statutes. The Internal Rules can be amended by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Executive Committee. Internal Rules IR1: Resources of the Society The resources of the Society are: - collected membership fees; - the possible grants obtained from various sources; - the possible positive balance of the revenues minus expenses of the workshops and conferences organized by the Society. IR2: Local Chapters Local chapters of the Society can be formed by authorization of the Executive Committee to pursue local activities in conformity with the objectives of the Society. The Executive Committee determines the administrative rules governing these local chapters. IR3: Annals of ISDG The Annals of the International Society of Dynamic Games (hereafter called "the Annals" constitute one of the official publications of the Society. The Annals publish archival quality fully refereed scientific papers dealing with topics of interest to the Society. The Annals is run by a Series Editor, who may designate associate editors to assist him in the editorial management. In the case of vacancy in this position, EC nominates a new Series Editor, to be confirmed by the General Assembly. The first editor of the Annals is Tamer Basar. IR4: Services provided to regular and honorary members - Preferential subscription rate to the Annals; - Lower registration rate at the symposia organized by the Society; - Possible participation in the Best Paper Awards competition; - Electronic mailing list and Newsletter. IR5: Services provided to associate members - Possible participation in the Best Paper Awards competition; - Electronic mailing list and Newsletter. IR6: Best Paper Awards At the occasion of its biannual symposium. the Society organizes two competitions for: - The best regular paper award; - The best student paper award. A prize and a publication right in a special section of the Annals are associated with the awards. IR7: The secretariat The secretariat of the Society is located with an organization (University, firm,...) that can provide the necessary services (Newsletter editing, Web server, etc...). The secretary of the Society runs the secretariat and should therefore be with the same organization. IR8: Treasurer The Treasurer of the Society manages all the accounts necessary for the running of the Society. The Treasurer should therefore be located in a country with minimum restrictions on international money transfers. IR9: Payment of dues The basic fee should be the same for all regular members coming from OECD countries. The fee is to be paid in US dollars. For members coming from countries with low capital income, a reduced fee will be available. For countries where it is difficult to obtain US funds, members can pay their fees in local currency to a local Chapter of the Society. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx End of ISDG E-LETTER issue No. 24, 12 December 1996