Secretary’s General report
June 2002
José M. Prieto
Four years have elapsed since we met in
This period has been very active as a consequence of
the fact that 57 out of 59 members in the Executive Committee have been in the
mailing list and it has allowed us to exchange information and discuss specific
questions and matters on a regular basis. It has introduced a fast way of
approaching issues by sharing views via e-mail and by obtaining feedback or
assistance in the decision making process.
The main innovation has been the
availability online of the IAAP directory in the server http://copsa.cop.es/iaap/ that may be
reached through a link from http://www.iaapsy.org/,
that is our homepage. This directory is
updated every three months, as soon as we received the right file from
Blackwell. The directory may be searched typing the name of a person, for
instance, and the output is individual records. Also corrections may be
introduced and send directly to Blackwell staff to have changes added to the
IAAP database. The online directory is
protected and cannot be copied illegally.
This is a quite advanced service that only a few psychological
associations do have all around the world. Jose Ramon Correas has supplied
technical assistance in the background as system administrator.
Another related innovation has been the
electronic application form to become a member of the IAAP. An average of 150
people have submitted their application electronically and a copy was sent to
Blackwell secretariat and another was kept in our homepage for control
purposes. Again Jose Ramon Correas has supplied technical
assistance in the background as programmer.
Another related innovation has been the
availability of two email addresses, iaap@psi.ucm.es
and iaap@correo.cop.es where email
messages received were answered at least every week and very often every two
days. Each year an student was recruited, evidencing
a good profile in English and NICT. They devoted time and efforts and provided
regular service to IAAP members and correspondents. Their names have been
Fernando Rambla, Araceli Sánchez and Daniel Pérez. As an average about 20-30 email messages have been answered every
week during the last four years.
Another related innovation has been the online
availability of the electronic version of the IAAP newsletter during the last
four year. As soon as the document was sent to print by Ingrid Lunt and
electronic file was sent to the IAAP secretariat and the file has been
transformed to HTML format and made available online in the homepage of the
IAAP. It meant that the electronic version aof each newsletter has been at the
disposal of our member about 3-4 weeks before it was distributed in printed
format.
The main important change has been the transition from
Psychology Press to Blackwell that occurred by the fall 1999 and the spring
2000. Membership-related issues became an unexpected trap solved parsimoniously
a few weeks before our last EC meeting in
In San Francisco the IAAP fee structure moved from a 3
level to a sliding scale depending on the salary and in Stockholm we decide to
return to a 3 level structure, standard (60 US$), reduced (40 US$) and
subsidized (20 US$) fee. During the last two years 1 out of 3 members get the
benefit of the subsidized fee category. Comparative analysis with psychological
societies which have strong presence in low income countries or regions show they
use the standard and reduced fee categories for the same amount but the
category of subsidized fee is conspicuously absent. A lesson to be learned
stresses that fee structures must remain as simple as possible because sliding
scales generate rather expensive administrative problems.
Six out of fourteen divisions came online and sponsor
a homepage devoted to making available online divisional information concerning
plans and activities and keep independent URL address located in several
universities’ servers:
·
Division 1: Work and
Organizational Psychology
·
Division
4: of Environmental Psychology
·
Division5:
Educational, Instructional & School Psychology
·
Division 8: Health
Psychology
·
Division 13:
Traffic Psychology
·
Division
14. Applied Cognitive Psychology
The
program Action 100 was launched in
During these four years the IAAP has co-sponsored at
two regional congresses, plus two Interamerican and two European congresses of
Psychology. During this same period several divisions have organized specific
congresses or summer schools, running it by themselves or in correspondence
with related associations in the field. In my understanding the IAAP was not
actively involved and I consider that the officers or the EC should back
actively, even advancing some financial support, this kind of academic and
professional activities where the divisions keep a leading role, paying special
attention to increasing the visibility of the weakest divisions in specific
fields of expertise.
Three psychological societies announced their
intention of submitting a bid to host the 2010 ICAP. However, only the
Australian Psychological Society has submitted a bid-pack in due time, that is
early May 2002 and made available an electronic version on request. The other
two societies had not yet submitted formally a congress bid pack when this
report was written. A deadline for the submission of congress bids and their online
availability must be included in the present guidelines that will be discussed
later in this EC meeting.
Great controversy came to the floor in the spring of
the years 2000 and 2002. The critical topics were the same, congress fees for
participants from low income countries and some kind of sponsorship for invited
keynote speakers in ICAP. The issue of a special fee for students comes
immediately afterwards. This is a new
kind of catch 22 because congress organizers do not get so many external subsidies
or sponsorship to cover or counterbalance reduced fees and running costs of
scientific and professional events are expensive as soon as the quality of
living standards in the convention sites goes parallel to average living
standards in the country were the congress is organized. This is a delicate
issue that will be discussed later in this meeting. A contemporary example
makes sense and supplies a frame of reference. During the Football Soccer World
Championship held in
Every semester the list of each division members has
been supplied electronically or printed to division presidents. Also during the
last 9 months such lists have been used by past presidents and secretaries of
divisions to proceed in the election process of each division officers for the
2002-2006 term after the guidelines produced by the IAAP officers and
distributed to division presidents and secretaries last October 2001. A set of
11 instructions were left to the discretion of past division president or
division president in office. Now these set of instructions will be revised in
this EC meeting.
Nine out fourteen divisions have ended the election on
due time, that is, by June 1st as was requested in the guidelines distributed among division
presidents and secretaries. The following divisions have made public the
results of the election in our homepage:
·
Division
1: Organizational Psychology
· President:
Virginia E. Schein, US
· Past President:
Miriam Erez,
· President
Elect: José M. Peiro,
· Secretary:
· Treasurer:
·
Division
2: Psychological Assessment & Evaluation
· President: Fons
van de Vijver, The Netherlands
· Past President:
Ronald K.
· President
Elect: Dave Bartram,
· Secretary:
Norbert Tanzer (
· Treasurer:
Maria Victoria del Barrio (
·
Division
4: Environmental Psychology
· President:
David Canter,
· President
Elect: Robert Gifford,
· Past President:
Tommy Garling,
· Secretary:
Terry Hartig,
· Treasurer:
·
Division
5: Educational & School Psychology
· President: Paul
Pintrich,
· President
Elect: Simone Volet,
· Past President:
Monique Boekaerts, The
· Secretary /
Treasurer: Faradeh Salili,
·
Division
6: Clinical & Community Psychology
·
President: Juan José Sánchez Sosa, Mexico
· President Elect: Lynn
Rehm,
· Past President: Donald
Routh,
· Secretary: Susan
Frauenglass,
· Treasurer: Gloria
Gottsegen
·
Division
7: Applied Gerontology
· President: Rocio
Fernández-Ballesteros,
· President
elect:
· Past President:
Frances M. Culbertson,
· Secretary and
Treasurer: Christine Schwarzer,
·
Division
9: Economic Psychology
· President: Dr.
Christine Roland-Levy,
· President
Elect: Pr. Tadeusz Tyska,
· Past President:
Fred van Raaij,
· Secretary and
Treasurer: Erich Kirchler,
·
Division
10: Psychology and Law
· President:
·
Past President: Ray Bull,
· Secretary and
Treasurer: Frans W. Winkel, The
·
Division
14: Applied Cognitive Psychology
· President: Alan
· Past President:
Boris Velichkovsky,
· Secretary and
Treasurer: Fred Zijlstra,
The following divisions have not
yet made public the results of the election process and they are kindly
requested to inform the Secretary General about the results as soon as it might
be available:
·
Division
3: Psychology & National Development,
·
Division
8: Health Psychology
·
Division
11: Political Psychology
·
Division
12: Sport Psychology
·
Division
13: Traffic Psychology
It is a matter of realism to mention
that Prof. Fred van Raaij, president of
division 9, Economic Psychology has been an almost permanently “missing
president” during the last four years. It makes no sense to accept a second
term as division president in SF and afterwards failing to provide a reasonable
level of care for the division visibility at least in the scientific programs
of the 2002 ICAP. I have had to contact
Prof. Christine Roland Levy and ask her to take care of division 9 affairs,
what she has efficiently and cooperatively during the last year. I express my gratitude to her.
It has been a little bit difficult to take care and
follow up nomination and support letters for the election of officers and EC
members. The deadlines were clear both for officers and for EC nominations, but
support messages have arrived via email for a long time since there was not a
fixed deadline for this kind of messages. Sometimes the “subject” section of
the heading did not mention the name of the nominated person, but another
heading derived from a “reply” action. Printed versions of documents and
messages receive are available in this meeting room and I hope the mistakes are
reduced to a minimum. I have double checked everything before my
departure.