CALL FOR AWARD APPLICATIONS Carl J. Couch Internet Research Award Sponsored by the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research (http://www.cccsir.org/) The Carl Couch Center issues an annual call for student-authored papers to be considered for Carl J. Couch Internet Research Award. The Couch Center welcomes both theoretical and empirical papers that (1) apply symbolic interactionist approaches to Internet studies, (2) demonstrate interactive relationships between social interaction and communication technologies as advocated by Couch, and/or (3) develop symbolic interactionist concepts in new directions. Papers will be evaluated based on the quality of (1) mastery of Symbolic Interactionist approaches and concepts and Couch's theses, (2) originality, (3) organization, (4) presentation, and (5) advancement of knowledge. Competition is open to graduate or undergraduate students of all disciplines. Works that are published or accepted for publication are not eligible for award consideration. The top three papers will receive Couch Awards to be presented at the 2006 meeting of the National Communication Association (NCA) in San Antonio, Texas. The top paper will be awarded a certificate and a cash prize of $300 US, runner up will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $200 US, and a third paper will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $100 US. All three authors will be invited to present their work at a session of the NCA conference, November 16-19, 2006. Those interested should send a copy of their paper, with a 100-word abstract, electronically to Mark Johns at johnsmar@luther.edu Submission deadline is May 1, 2006. Notification of award will be sent by June 15. Those with questions or comments about Couch Award application, please contact: Mark D. Johns Dept. of Communication Studies Luther College Decorah, IA 52101 Tel: (563) 387-1347 E-mail: johnsmar@luther.edu