Positive Technology Journal

For a presentation of outstanding research quality

at the CyberTherapy 2005 conference

The aim of this prize is to reward the presentation of strong methodological
studies at the Cybertherapy conference. The recipient has to be a researcher
who is new to the field of cyberpsychology. It is open to both oral or poster
presentations and to researchers from all countries and disciplines.

For more information about the CyberTherapy conference and deadlines for
posters and oral presentations, see
http://www.interactivemediainstitute.com/conference2005.org/index.htm .

The award is delivered by Stéphane Bouchard, chairholder of the Canada
Research Chair in Clinical Cyberpsychology. It includes a certificate and a
check of 1 000 $ US.


Rules of attributions:

The first criterion to assess the submissions is the scientific merit of the
study. Rigorous designs, reliable measurements, adequate sample sizes,
appropriate statistical analyses and strong control conditions are all
significant assets. The scientific quality of the content of the presentation
will also contribute (i.e., clear and replicable descriptions of the
methodology), but not the graphic quality of the presentation (e.g., nice
images or videos).

The recipient must be the first author of the presentation, have the oral /
poster accepted for the conference, submit the presentation in time for the
award, pay the registration dues and personally attend to the conference. His
or her intellectual contribution must be significant (e.g., not the main
results of a funded study planned and conducted by a senior researcher in the
field but presented at the conference by a student). In case of doubt, please
explain the situation in writing when submitting your presentation to the
award.

A new investigator in the field is defined by meeting one the criteria below.
The applicant must stated in writing which criteria are met when sending the
submission:

- currently a university student;

- currently a post-doc researcher;

- currently an autonomous researcher but not having published as first
author more than five peer-reviewed papers on VR or cyberpsychology since the
end of the Ph.D. or the post-doc;

- currently an autonomous researcher but not having received more than
two major research grants on VR or cyberpsychology.

The content of the presentation must be submitted no later than two weeks
ahead of the conference to stephane.bouchard@uqo.ca
. Evaluation of the submissions will be
conducted during the days prior to the conference, based only on this
document. The recipient will be informed publicly during the conference.

All reviews will be made by Stéphane Bouchard, excepted for presentations
involving collaborators to the Chair (e.g., students, co-investigators). The
best submissions will be selected and ranked-ordered by Stéphane Bouchard
according to their scientific merit. Submission from collaborators to the
Chair will be reviewed by an independent reviewer (this year, Brenda
Wiederhold), compared to those rank-ordered and placed accordingly in the
ranks. To maximise impartiality, the decision of the independent reviewer will
be final.

If you have any question about this award, please contact Stéphane Bouchard by
e-mail or by phone (819-595-3900-ext. 2360).

The creation of this award is made possible by a Canada Research Chair (CRC)
grant (www.chairs.gc.ca ) awarded to Stéphane
Bouchard for the CRC in Clinical Cyberpsychology. It is not awarded by the CRC
program or by the Cybertherapy organisation committee.