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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Well, I am pretty dismayed by the reaction of many SCMS
members. The burden of additional precautions at the personal level was
surely manageable. I'm sorry for those whose careers are
affected.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Even if I wanted to cancel my flight, I don't think this
would be grounds for claiming on a personal insurance. </FONT><FONT
face=Arial>Presumably, the sub-set of SCMS members who are either already in
Japan, or have other commitments in Japan with family, friends and colleagues,
is more strongly represented on this list ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Are there circumstances in which we can meet
?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Roger</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=mroberts37@mail-central.com
href="mailto:mroberts37@mail-central.com">Mark Roberts</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, May 13, 2009 3:57
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> FYI: [SCMSL] URGENT -- SCMS
CONFERENCE CANCELLATION</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Very unfortunate news.<BR>
<DIV><BR>
<DIV>Begin forwarded message:</DIV><BR class=Apple-interchange-newline>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">
<DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Helvetica; COLOR: #000000"
face=Helvetica color=#000000 size=4><B>From: </B></FONT><FONT
style="FONT: 14px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=4>SCMS Membership List
<<A
href="mailto:scmsl@lists-cmstudies.org">scmsl@lists-cmstudies.org</A>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Helvetica; COLOR: #000000"
face=Helvetica color=#000000 size=4><B>Date: </B></FONT><FONT
style="FONT: 14px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=4>May 13, 2009 11:36:39 AM
JST</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Helvetica; COLOR: #000000"
face=Helvetica color=#000000 size=4><B>To: </B></FONT><FONT
style="FONT: 14px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=4>"<A
href="mailto:scmsl@lists-cmstudies.org">scmsl@lists-cmstudies.org</A>"
<<A
href="mailto:scmsl@lists-cmstudies.org">scmsl@lists-cmstudies.org</A>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Helvetica; COLOR: #000000"
face=Helvetica color=#000000 size=4><B>Subject: </B></FONT><FONT
style="FONT: 14px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=4><B>[SCMSL] URGENT -- SCMS
CONFERENCE CANCELLATION</B></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Helvetica; COLOR: #000000"
face=Helvetica color=#000000 size=4><B>Reply-To: </B></FONT><FONT
style="FONT: 14px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=4><A
href="mailto:scmsl@lists-cmstudies.org">scmsl@lists-cmstudies.org</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px"><BR></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dear Colleagues:<BR><BR>It is with a very great
regret that we are announcing the cancellation of the SCMS conference in
Tokyo scheduled for May 21-24, 2009.<BR><BR>Late last week we learned that
the Government of Japan and the Chiyoda District Government had requested
that Josai International University cancel the conference due to concerns
about containing the H1N1 ("Swine Flu") virus. That request, and the
conditions that were subsequently imposed under which the conference might
occur, resulted in daily discussions among the officers of SCMS, members of
the Board of Directors, the Society's legal counsel, and representatives of
Josai.<BR><BR>We have determined that proceeding with the conference under
the conditions ordered by the government presents too many risks for our
members and the Society. These include the personal risks to
individual members (including possible quarantine, additional expense, and
considerable stress), potential liability to SCMS, as well as pressures on
the Society's small infrastructure. Moreover, the survey conducted
yesterday (564 of 748 registrants replied) indicated that almost one-third
of those responding chose to withdraw from the conference. Many of
those who said that they would still attend indicated that they would do so
out of a sense of obligation or said that they would spend minimal time at
the conference. It was also clear that some registrants who did not
respond to the survey, but who communicated in other ways, were waiting for
more information before making a decision.<BR><BR>We are extremely grateful
for the efforts of JIU, on behalf of SCMS, for negotiating with the national
and local governments to create conditions under which the conference could
move forward. But it is clear that members felt that those conditions
would not be conducive to a satisfactory conference experience. The
high cancellation rate - with more likely - presented us with a depleted
program rather than the robust intellectual and social experience our
members have come to expect of the SCMS
conference.<BR><BR> * You are urged to cancel your
hotel reservations and flights immediately, unless you plan to travel to
Japan for pleasure. You should contact your airline to arrange for
credit on your airfare. We will be working with Japan Travel Bureau to
reduce or eliminate hotel cancellation
penalties.<BR> * Conference fees will be refunded, or
individuals may request that their registration fee be used for the 2010
conference in Los Angeles. More details will
follow.<BR> * We are working on plans to retain as
much of the Tokyo conference as possible as a part of our Los Angeles
conference. We will provide more information as soon as possible.
<BR> * We will be creating a forum on the
SCMS website for individuals to register their
comments.<BR> * If you have already arrived in Japan
and need assistance, please contact the SCMS office staff as soon as
possible. Others can expect their e-mail messages and phone calls to
be answered in the order that are received as soon as the staff can
respond.<BR><BR>This has been a severe trial for the SCMS leadership, and we
realize that the uncertainty caused by this global health situation has
created great confusion and anxiety among our members.<BR><BR>We are
extremely disappointed that we have had to make this decision, especially in
light of the tremendous amount of planning and work that our members, the
SCMS staff, and our exhibitors committed to this conference. Again, we
offer our heartfelt gratitude to the Chancellor of Josai and Josai
International Universities, Dean En Fukuyuki, Shinozaki Kayo and the rest of
the staff at JIU who generously offered his or her services above and beyond
any duties, responsibilities, or obligations and on top of their already
considerable responsibilities at JIU.<BR><BR>We are saddened that we will
not be able to meet in Tokyo, but when the dust settles, we look forward to
a combined Tokyo/Los Angeles conference to celebrate our fiftieth
anniversary, which will represent the very best of who we are and what we
do.<BR><BR>Sincerely,<BR><BR>Patrice Petro, President<BR>Anne Friedberg,
President-Elect<BR>Stephen Prince, Past-President<BR>Eric Schaefer,
Secretary<BR>Paula Massood, Treasurer<BR>Scott Curtis, Member of the
Board<BR>F. Hollis Griffin, Graduate Student Representative<BR>Michele
Hilmes, Member of the Board<BR>Priya Jaikumar, Member of the
Board<BR>Victoria Johnson, Member of the Board<BR>Charles Wolfe, Member of
the Board<BR>Michael Zryd, Member of the Board
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>_______________________________________________<BR>SCMSL
mailing list<BR><A
href="mailto:SCMSL@lists-cmstudies.org">SCMSL@lists-cmstudies.org</A><BR>http://lists-cmstudies.org/mailman/listinfo/scmsl_lists-cmstudies.org<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>