Broadband environmental sustainability challenge

[Although the competition is being held in Australia it is open to all -- BSA]

The Eckermann-TJA Prize is for the best paper offered to the Telecommunications Journal of Australia on the theme of applying broadband telecommunications to deliver significant benefits to environmental sustainability.

Conditions

1. Entries are invited for the Eckermann-TJA Prize for the best paper offered to the Telecommunications Journal of Australia on the theme of applying broadband telecommunications to deliver significant benefits to environmental sustainability. The deadline for submissions is 14 September 2007.
2. Entries will be judged on the extent to which they either:
1. demonstrate the benefits that an existing use of broadband technology is delivering in terms of environmental sustainability; or
2. propose innovative new uses of broadband technology that could deliver significant benefits in terms of environmental sustainability.
3. For the purposes of the Challenge, the following definitions apply:
1. broadband will be defined as communications network access connectivity that is “always on” and operates in excess of 256 kbps user bandwidth in each direction; and
2. environmental sustainability means any measure that conserves natural resources, reduces energy consumption or limits the impact of human habitation on the natural environment.
4. The paper judged best overall will be awarded a prize of $8,000, and the best paper that demonstrates benefits specifically in the area of water conservation will be awarded a prize of $2,000. The same paper may be awarded both prizes. The judging panel will reserve the right to split the $8,000 prize money if two or more papers are found to be of equal merit, or to postpone awarding either prize to the following year if no paper is found to have sufficient merit this year.
5. Prize winners are responsible for any tax liability that may be associated with the award of prize money.
6. Copyright and any intellectual property vested in entries will remain the property of the party submitting the entry. However, it is a condition of the Challenge that the Telecommunication Society of Australia (TSA) be granted permission to publish any or all entries in the Telecommunications Journal of Australia and/or on the TSA web site. It is the responsibility of the entrant to take such measures as are appropriate to safeguard their intellectual property against any risks that this form of publication may expose.
7. Entries should comprise the following elements:
1. a title (maximum 10 words);
2. a brief Abstract (maximum 100 words) that provides an overview of the entry; such Abstracts would be used in citations, and with links on a web-site to help interested parties identify entries that may be of particular interest;
3. an Extended Summary (700-1000 words) that could be published as a stand-alone document to describe the key concepts, benefits etc;
4. the body of the entry (maximum 8,000 words) setting out more detailed explanations, supporting information, calculations and any other material pertinent to the entry, in a format complying with the TJA Guide to Authors.
8. Entries should be submitted electronically by email to editor.tsa@bigpond.com in both PDF and Microsoft Word document format. In publishing any entry, the TSA reserves the right to adjust the layout of the entry and include an endorsement such as: “This paper was an entry in the 2007 Eckermann-TJA Challenge, a competition conducted under the auspices of the Telecommunication Society of Australia. The challenge was conceived by Robin Eckermann and the prize is sponsored by Alcatel-Lucent, Water for Rivers, Multimedia Victoria, Greg Crew and Robin Eckermann.”
9. Entries will be judged by a Panel of not less than three persons appointed by the Telecommunication Society of Australia, including the Editor-in-Chief of TJA or his nominee. The judging panel reserves the right to reject any paper that it deems to be non-compliant with the rules of the competition, in bad taste or otherwise inappropriate given the theme and objectives of the Challenge. Any decisions made by the judging panel will be final / not subject to appeal.
10. Close relatives of members of the judging panel or any individual sponsors, officials of the TSA and employees of any corporate sponsor are not eligible to enter the Challenge.
11. In the event that no acceptable entries are received, the sponsors of the prize kitty may in their sole discretion decide to repeat the Challenge in 2008 or withdraw their sponsorship.
12. Entries may be lodged from 1st September 2007 and must be lodged by 14th September 2006.
13. A decision will be made and winner(s) notified by 15th November 2007. Prizes will be awarded at an appropriate TSA event on a date to be determined following notification.