COUCH CENTER NOTES
The E-Newsletter of the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research
June, 2005
Table of Contents
1. FROM THE COUCH CENTER DIRECTOR
2. 2005 CHRISTIANS AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT
3. 2005 MAINES AWARD CALL
4. 2005 SAXTON AWARD CALL
5. 2005 HALL ONLINE GIFT FORUM TO SPOTLIGHT SEARCH ENGINES
6. JONES LECTURE SERIES TO FEATURE HENRY JENKINS
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FROM THE COUCH CENTER DIRECTOR…
The Couch continues strong and steady growth. One indication of growth is that
Midwest Sociological Society (MSS) has proposed providing partial funding to
the Peter M. Hall Lecture Series, which is presented the MSS annual meeting.
The Society recognizes and appreciates the outstanding programs that this lecture
series has contributed to the annual meetings. At their September meeting, the
Board of the Midwest Sociological Society will vote on a budget line to help
finance this annual lecture. The Couch Center is grateful for this ongoing partnership
with MSS.
The Couch Center also appreciates its continuing relationship with the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR). First, second and third place winners of Carl Couch Internet Research Award – an award program for undergraduate and graduate students – will once again have the opportunity to present their papers at the AoIR conference in Chicago this fall. Building bridges across disciplines with these sorts of relationships with professional organizations is an import part of the Center’s work.
An additional indication of growth is the establishing of the Bruce E. Gronbeck
Political Communication Award to be initiated this fall. The Center has supported
an ambitious award program from its inception. The Board anticipates that this
will be the final addition to our list of awards for the foreseeable future.
It is fitting, however, that as Professor Gronbeck concludes his illustrious
career this year at the University of Iowa, that his friendship with Carl Couch
and his contributions to the field should be recognized in this way. Watch for
more information in the near future.
However, growth does not come without costs. Now that the Center has been granted
tax exempt status by the IRS, a fund raising campaign is appropriate. Thus far,
the Center has had no dues and no formal membership. We have appreciated the
generosity of those who have supported the Center’s work spontaneously. In the
fall of 2005 the Board will be asking all friends of the Carl Couch Center to
make their friendship tangible. Please get your checkbook ready for a positive
response!
--- Mark D. Johns, Communication Studies, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa
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2005 CLIFFORD G. CHRISTIANS ETHICS RESEARCH AWARD WINNER ANNOUNCED
The Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research (CCCSIR) is pleased to announce the winner of 2005 Clifford G. Christians Ethics Research Award.
Professor Michael Bugeja of Iowa State University won the 2005 Christians Award
with his book, Interpersonal Divide: The Search for Community in a Technological
Age
(Oxford, 2005). In his award winning book, Prof. Bugeja analyzes the “interpersonal
divide”—the void that develops between people spending too much time in virtual
rather than in real communities—and makes a case for face-to-face communication
in a technological world.
The Christians Award will be presented in the Media Ethics Division Business Meeting, during the Annual Convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), August 10-13, 2005, in San Antonio, Texas.
The Carl Couch Center would like to thank all that applied for the 2005 Christians Award. Special thanks goes to members of the Review Committee of the Christians Award--Lee Wilkins (University of Missouri), Robert Fortner (Calvin College), Deni Elliott (University of Montana), and Ronald Arnett (Duquesne University).
Christians Award is an annual competition established by the Couch Center to recognize outstanding ethics research that interpret or address important theoretical issues in the areas of ethics, mass communication theory, and the relationship between media and technology and culture, interpret and apply concepts employed in Christians' work in new and insightful ways. Submissions are evaluated based on the quality of (1) mastery of Christians’ approaches and concepts, (2) originality, (3) organization, (4) presentation, and (5) advancement of knowledge. For more information about Christians Award please contact Shing-Ling Chen at chen@cccsir.org , or visit the Couch Center website at www.cccsir.org.
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CALL FOR AWARD APPLICATIONS
David R. Maines Narrative Research Award
Sponsored by
Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research
http://www.cccsir.org/
The Carl Couch Center issues an annual call for research papers and published
works (i.e., books or articles) to be considered for David R. Maines Narrative
Research Award. The Couch Center welcomes submissions that (1) interpret or
address Maines’ pragmatist approaches, (2) apply Maines’ narrative concepts
to a social/communication event, (3) develop aspects of Maines’ scholarship
in new directions, or (4) integrate the humanistic development of narrative
and Maines' pragmatist conceptual and theoretical direction. Submisions will
be evaluated by a Review Committee of four:
Dr. William Rawlins, Ohio University
Dr. Jim Thomas, Northern Illinois University
Dr. Jeff Ulmer, Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Elaine Jenks, West Chester University
Both single and co-authored works are accepted. The winner will receive the Maines Award to be presented at the 2005 annual convention of the National Communication Association (NCA) Convention or at the 2006 annual meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society.
Those interested please submit a copy of their works electronically to Shing-Ling Chen at chen@cccsir.org in plain text, Microsoft Word, or Corel WordPerfect format. If the work submitted is a paper, a 100-word abstract needs to be included. Paper length is limited to 30 pages plus references. If a book is submitted, a copy of the table of contents and one chapter are sufficient. Publication date should be within the last two calendar years of application. The application deadline is August 1, 2005. Notification of award application will be sent out by October 1, 2005.
Questions and comments about Maines Award, please contact:
Shing-Ling S. Chen
Dept. of Communication Studies
Univ. of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614
Tel: 319-273-6021
E-mail: chen@cccsir.org
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CALL FOR AWARD APPLICATIONS
Stanley L. Saxton Applied Research Award
Sponsored by
Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research
http://www.cccsir.org/
The Carl Couch Center issues an annual call for papers to be considered for
Stanley L. Saxton Applied Research Award. The Couch Center welcomes papers that
focus on how theory, research, and/or practice contribute to addressing real,
pragmatic, social problems. Papers may be theoretical, methodological, or empirical
in nature. Papers will be evaluated by a Review Committee of four:
Dr. Michael Katovich, Texas Christian University
Dr. Dan Miller, University of Dayton
Dr. Steven Buban, Monmouth College
Dr. Robert Hintz, Jr., Foundation 2
Both single and co-authored works are accepted. Works that are published or accepted for publication are not eligible for award consideration. The top paper will receive the Saxton Award to be presented in 2005 NCA Convention/2006 Midwest Sociological Meetings.
Those interested should send a copy of their paper with a 100-word abstract, electronically to Shing-Ling Chen at chen@cccsir.org. Paper length is limited to 30 pages plus references. Application deadline is September 1, 2005. Notification of award application will be sent out by November 1, 2005.
Questions and comments about Saxton Award application, please contact:
Shing-Ling S. Chen
Dept. of Communication Studies
Univ. of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614
Tel: 319-273-6021
E-mail: chen@cccsir.org
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HALL ONLINE GIFT FORUM TO SPOTLIGHT ONLINE SEARCH ENGINES
G. Jon Hall Online GIFT Forum to be presented in the 2005 annual convention of the Iowa Communication Association in Cedar Fall, September 16-17, 2005 will spotlight the discussion of online search engines. Prof. Chris Neuhaus is the speaker of this year’s forum. The title of Prof. Neuhaus’ presentation is “Too Much of a Good Thing? How to Thrive or at Least Survive on the Internet.” This is a presentation designed for high school classroom teachers and teachers in the speech disciplines (IE Coaches, Debate Coaches, Theater and Media teachers…etc.) and college instructors as well about how to better utilize search engines to help their students find needed information online. The presentation includes a demonstration and a Q & A session with the audience.
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JONES LECTURE SERIES TO FEATURE HENRY JENKINS
Steve Jones Internet Research Lecture Series: The Internet as Culture, to be presented in the 2005 annual convention of the National Communication Association, November 17-20, in Boston, will feature Prof. Henry Jenkins (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), a leader in Education Arcade. Prof. Jenkins’ lecture is entitled, “Spoiling Survivor: Anatomy of a Knowledge Culture.” In this lecture, Prof. Jenkins asks the audience to imagine Survivor as informational warfare-- a giant cat and mouse game played between the producers and the audience. The most hardcore fans, a contingent known as the "spoilers," know Survivor inside out, and they are determined to use every resource of our information society to figure it out—together—before the producers reveal what happened. Prof. Jenkins is the Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT.
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