FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- June 13, 2014 Contact: Dr. Mark D. Johns, Executive Director Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research c/o Department of Communication Studies Luther College, Decorah, Iowa USA 52101 Tel: (563) 387-1347 email: mjohns@luther.edu DeWolf Winner of Couch Award DECORAH, Iowa -- Ralf De Wolf, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Media and Communication Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, is the winner of the 2014 Carl J. Couch Internet Research Award. The Couch Award is presented annually by the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research (www.cccsir.com) and recognizes excellent student-authored papers. De Wolf's paper, "Intergroup Boundary Coordination and Privacy Rules: Using a Remix Approach for Studying Offline and Online Privacy in Youth Organizations" uses the concept of the "remix" to analyze how youth organizations negotiate their offline and online privacy. His work reveals how spatial, temporal, and social boundaries are lengthened and translated online to maintain privacy. However, explicit privacy rules adopted by youth organizations for offline environments create tension between individual and group privacy concerns. The Couch Award was established in 2002 as the centerpiece of an extensive awards program. Competition is open to graduate or undergraduate students of all disciplines, and winners are selected by a committee of university professors. The winner will receives a cash award as well as the opportunity to present the paper at the international conference of the Association of Internet Researchers in October. The Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research is a non-profit organization established to promote the scholarship of the late Carl J. Couch and his academic associates. The Center provides networking opportunities for students and scholars who conduct social and Internet research inspired by Couch's work. - 30 -