Posted by Steve Price on January 12, 1999 at 07:48:40:
In Reply to: Re: Conferences - Fees: Some observations posted by Wendel Swan on January 12, 1999 at 07:19:54:
Dear Wendel,
I do belong to several professional societies, and have been involved in organizing conferences from time to time. Without exception, these societies make detailed reports of their financial situations and the financial matters relating to their conferences. These reports are generally distributed to all members of the society, and are easily available to anybody in the general public who cares to see them. The "closed books" approach in the rug world is not at all typical of what goes on in academics, at least not in basic biomedical sciences.
Obviously, secrecy doesn't necessarily imply that something important is being hidden, but it generates that suspicion. My mention of ICOC was not intended to single that group out, and I apologize to anyone associated with it whom I offended by doing so.
Regards,
Steve Price