2008 Symposium Student Paper Contest

The RMS is pleased to announce a student paper contest for the 2008 RMS Symposium. The contest is designed to increase interest in river management topics among graduate students and allow them to share their research with RMS professionals. The winner of the competition will receive a $500 cash award plus registration fee waiver to attend and present his or her paper at the May 2008 RMS Symposium in Portland, Maine. The cash award is contingent upon presenting the paper at the symposium.

Potential topic areas: Papers should address relevant river management issues. Suggested topics include (but are not limited to): use capacity or visitor impacts, river conflicts, instream flow needs for recreation, facility design, river inventory and monitoring, urban river/greenway planning, economics of river recreation, river survey research, river restoration, fisheries management, hydrology and river geomorphology, river planning and public involvement, wild and scenic river management, allocation and permitting.

Paper format options: Papers should follow a traditional "introduction-methods-results-discussion format," although alternative formats will be considered. Papers providing a review of a topic area should propose new conceptual development or conclusions about the state of knowledge as well as suggest options for future work.

Evaluation criteria: All papers will be judged by a panel of five RMS members on four criteria (see below). Panelists will award up to five points for each criteria (20 points total). The sum of ratings from all five panelists (100 points total) will be used to select the winner.

1) Significance of topic. Does the paper address topics important to river managers? Is the paper relevant to national or regional river professionals or is it more site-specific and of interest to a more local audience?

2) Methodological rigor. If the paper is data-based, was the data collected and analyzed appropriately? If the paper is a review, is it comprehensive and in sufficient depth?

3) Content. Does the paper provide new information or innovative discussion rather than affirm existing knowledge? Do conclusions follow from the information provided? Does the paper provide a balanced view of a topic area and avoid advocacy positions?

4) Overall presentation. Is the paper well-written and concise? Are graphs, tables, or photos easily understood and linked to text in the paper? Is the paper organized coherently to highlight important ideas and issues? Were spelling, grammar, or reference errors noticeable?

Eligibility: The competition is open to graduate students currently enrolled (2007) in a masters or doctorate program related to river management at an accredited North American college or university. Students do not have to be members of the RMS. Collaboration with a major professor or other professionals is acceptable, but students must certify they are the first author (responsible for the majority of analysis and writing) and enrolled as a graduate student in 2007. They must also certify that content of the paper is original (not presented at any previous conference or currently being considered for publication in another journal).

Paper requirements: Papers must not exceed 25 pages (double-spaced, 12 point type), including tables, graphs, photos, and references. It should be written using standard manuscript guidelines and must be available electronically in Microsoft Word. The paper must be accompanied by a signed letter certifying that it has not been previously published, the student did the majority of the analysis and writing, and he or she is (or was) enrolled in a natural resources graduate program in 2007.

Closing date: Papers must be submitted electronically to rms@river-management.org by Friday, January 4, 2008. A hard copy letter certifying that the paper is original work needs to arrive by January 4, 2008 as well; send this to:

River Management Society
PO Box 9048
Missoula, MT 59807-9048

Award:
- $500 cash award upon presenting the paper at the symposium
- Student membership in RMS for one year
- Waived registration fees
- Free entrance to the RMS Symposium awards banquet
(Note: Award does not cover field trip or other costs during the symposium.)

Paper review period: January 4 - February 8, 2008

Award announcement: February 11, 2008

2008 Symposium: May 12-15, 2008, Portland, Maine

Additional notes: If the author of the highest rated paper is unable to attend the RMS Symposium, the award will be offered to the author of the next highest rated paper. If that person can not attend, it will be offered to the author of the next highest rated paper and so on.

The winning paper will be published by the RMS in the 2008 Symposium Proceedings and may be made available in other RMS publications.

The winning author will also be required to provide a summary article about the paper for the RMS newsletter (3 to 5 pages double spaced).

With permission from the authors, other (non-winning) high quality papers submitted to the contest will be considered for publication on the RMS website. RMS may also seek to publish abstracts or have authors summarize their work for the RMS newsletter or symposium proceedings.

The award will be presented at the 2008 Symposium during the Annual RMS award ceremony.