Category: CFPs

CFPs, CfPs for Editors

2nd CfP: Editors for Hardware Special Issue

2nd Call for Editors:
Real Virtual Hardware

We are looking for a Prime Editor and 1-2 co-editors (you can join as a group) to lead this “Real Virtual Hardware” issue due to be published 2015Q3. If you have an interest and background in the field, as well as experience in academic editing, please send us your CV and a cover letter explaining why you are the perfect person to the task. Email the lot to [email protected].

These days’ news is all about technology: Apple Watch; Samsung’s Gear VR headset for smartphones; Oculus Rift acquisition by Facebook; and more. This period is therefore a timely occasion to examine the importance of Virtual Reality hardware and its current and future presence in the market.

Virtual worlds are now being augmented with hardware that includes:

We are looking for research papers on and not limited to:

  • •    Description of current and new hardware
  • •    Research on new interfaces
  • •    New market analyses that stem from new hardware
  • •    Users perception & insights
  • •    Market impacts
  • •    …
  • •    …
  • •    And more

Final decision about the editor will be made by end of October or earlier based on the information we get.

For more details about editors’ role and requirements see JVWR site –> About JVWR –> For Editors
Publication is planned for Q3 of 2015.
Potential authors are invited to think about these subjects. An official call will be placed by the issue editor, once selected.

Further Information:

The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://www.jvwresearch.org/) is an online, open access academic journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship and welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect virtual worlds’ research. The field of virtual worlds’ research is a continuously evolving area of study that spans across many disciplines and the JVWR editorial team looks forward to engaging a wide range of creative and scholarly work.

For any further inquiry regarding this call, please contact: tzafnat.shpak AT jvwresearch DOT org

  • Past issues are available on our website’s special All Issues view page.

We are looking forward to your proposals for an intriguing new issue,

Prof. Yesha Y. Sivan                  Tzafnat Shpak
Editor In-Chief                            Coordinating Editor

#JVWR – The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research
http://jvwresearch.org

CFPs, Topical Issues CfPs

CfP: 3D3C Virtual Worlds – Topical Lantern Review

Call for papers

Published: March 22, 2013

Versions:

  • 07 March 2013: Save the date & a preliminary call.
  • 22 March 2013: First call. Added editors, updated name.
  • 05 May 2013: Second call.
  • 09 May 2013: Split issue call and the event call.

Deadlines and Timeline

  • March 23, 2013 – Call published
  • May 19, 2013 – Authors submit proposed extended abstract or initial papers
  • June 3, 2013 – Editors make decisions about proposals
  • August 4, 2013 – Authors submit the full paper
  • September 2, 2013 – Editors return review reports and initial decisions
  • September 29, 2013 – Authors submit the revised papers
  • November 3, 2013 – Editors return final comments and decisions
  • December 15, 2013 – ICIS JVWR workshop (Milan, Italy)
  • January 12, 2014 – Authors final submit, based on comments, directly to JVWR coordinator
  • February 16, 2014 – Publication: Q1 2014

Editors

Yesha Y. Sivan, Metaverse-Labs and The Academic College of Tel-Aviv Yaffo School of Management and Economics, Israel.

Maged N. Kamel Boulos, University of Plymouth’s Health Informatics, Devon, UK.

David Gefen, Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Abhishek Kathuria, Hong Kong University’s School of Business, Hong Kong, China.

* Lantern – see at the end of this call why we chose this image.

Motivation and Scope

The first thematic issue of our 7th year (next year) will focus on a literature review of 3D3C worlds according to specific topics. The issue will connect with our JVWR workshop in Milan, Italy, on December, 15 (as part of AIS ICIS 2013). (Submitted papers for this issue will also be invited to submit an extended chapter for  the 3D3C Handbook, to be published by Springer in 2014.)

For this issue, “topical review” means a review of corpus of knowledge on one aspect of virtual worlds. It can be a classic literature review, a more formal statistical meta-analysis or other forms suggested by authors.

For this issue, “3D3C Worlds” is defined as a combination of four factors:

  • 3D as in the three-dimensional representation of worlds as seen in Google Earth, Augmented Reality, 3D printing and the like;
  • Community as in the collection of people work, play and act together. Consider Facebook and Twitter as one example, and enhance it by the dynamics of World of Warcraft guilds;
  • Creation is the ability to create new artifacts, as seen for example in Second Life or in Open Source movement;
  • Commerce is the ability to harness these previous factors to gain monetary real value (consider Bitcoin, exchanges, etc.)

The issue will include three sections: Applications, Technologies, and Policies, each includes several papers:

  • Applications: Medical, Commerce, Defense etc.
  • Technologies: 3D, AR, Money, etc.
  • Policies: Standards, Privacy, Taxation, Legal, etc.

We have initial submissions in the following topics:

  • Collaboration
  • Medicine
  • Learning
  • ART
  • Taxation

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

Applications

  • Defense-related virtual worlds
  • Relations and Love and virtual worlds
  • Ambient Life
  • Music and virtual worlds
  • Virtual Worlds for Sales

Technologies

  • The state of GPU
  • Measuring virtual worlds
  • Sensors
  • Robotics
  • Virtual Worlds and mobile
  • Virtual worlds and the web  (HTML5)
  • 3D Printing

Policies

  • Economics and Virtual Worlds
  • Privacy
  • Avatar rights
  • Legal rights
  • Standards (open vs. close)

Submission Instructions

Interested authors should submit a two-page extended abstract by the deadline indicated below. Authors will then be invited to submit original scholarly papers of up to 7500 words including footnotes, references, and appendices. All submissions (abstracts and papers) should be made via the JVWR publishing system (see www.jvwresearch.org > About JVWR > For Authors). All submissions will be reviewed under our double open policy http://jvwresearch.org/index.php/2011-07-30-02-51-41/for-authors.

Accepted papers will be published in Volume 7, Number 2 (2014) of the Journal (subject to change).

Questions? email us to: info AT jvwresearch DOT org

More about JVWR

The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://www.jvwresearch.org/) is an online, open access academic journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship. JVWR welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect with virtual worlds research. Virtual worlds ignite a continuously evolving area of study that spans multiple disciplines. The JVWR editorial team looks forward to engaging a wide range of creative and scholarly research.

Connection with 2013 International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2013)

Authors with accepted and conditional accepted papers will be invited to the JVWR yearly workshop at ICIS 2013 in Milan Italy where we will meet with the editors, fellow authors, and other JVWR community members.

p.s. Why Lantern?

The field of virtual worlds is vast, interconnected and expanding. In this issue, we take a review lantern and shed some light on some of the fields’ sides. Clearly, we will not cover everything. We will often see shadows and not the full image. Ultimately, we hope to encourage further exploring of the field.

CFPs, Topical Issues CfPs

CfP: JVWR Special Issue on Arts and Virtual Worlds

Call for Papers

Published: February 4, 2013

To be edited by:

Celeste Guichard, Savannah College of Art and Design, GA, USA

Laura Salciuviene, Lancaster University Management School, UK

Gary Hardee, the University of Texas at Dallas, TX, USA

Motivation and Scope

At the end of the year (2012) we looked at all past submissions to find the best papers for the Assembled issue. We had more than 50 submissions.

Apparently, we had several unique papers connecting virtual worlds and the arts. Thus we have decided to make a special issue about “Arts and Virtual Worlds” as Volume 6 No 2 (due for publication around June 2013 — this year!)

So…

  1. We are looking for 1-2 co-editors for this issue — if you have an interest and background in the field as well as experience in academic editing please let us know by sending your CV and cover letter to [email protected].
  2. Current authors who have already submitted relevant papers will be notified, as their papers will start the review process.
  3. Also: if you have a ready FULL paper that you think may fit this issue please submit it ASAP (deadline: 20-Feb-2013).

New authors are invited to submit papers that are innovative, original, and contribute to the advancement of understanding of arts as it applies to virtual worlds. Papers will be considered by the Guest Editorial Board and reviewed by expert referees using our double -open policy. Double-open policy means that in general, authors do not need to anonymize their papers, and reviewers identity is also known to authors. For more details about it see JVWR site –> About JVWR –> For Authors –> Our double-Open Policy.

Submission Instructions

Authors are invited to submit full papers  via the JVWR publishing system (see www.jvwr.net> about > for authors). Accepted papers will be published online in Volume 6, Number 2 of the Journal, 2013.

Deadlines and Timeline

Please use the Journal publishing system (login at the top right of the journal site, state that your submission is for the Arts issue.)

Tentative Deadlines: (updated)

  • Authors submit full paper: 20 February, 2013
  • Editors send Reviewers’ feedback on the paper, and an indication of acceptance or rejection: 20 March 2013
  • Submission of revised paper (if necessary): 5 April 2013
  • Editors’ decision and comments for accepted papers: 20 April 2013
  • Authors Submission of final version: 5 May 2013
  • Staff editors & authors work till planned Publication Date: 15 June 2013

Further Information

The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://www.jvwresearch.org/) is an online, open access academic journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship and welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect virtual worlds research. The field of virtual worlds research is a continuously evolving area of study that spans across many disciplines and the JVWR editorial team looks forward to engaging a wide range of creative and scholarly work.

Please contact:

Tzafnat Shpak, Coordinating Editor

[email protected]

CFPs, Topical Issues CfPs

CFP: Enterprises Welcome Virtual Worlds

CFP: Journal of Virtual Worlds Issue on Enterprises Welcome Virtual Worlds

Call for papers on “Enterprises Welcome Virtual Worlds” in the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research.

 

A special issue edited by: Imed Boughzala, Telecom Business School, Institut Mines-Telecom, France; Gert-Jan de Vreede, The Center for Collaboration Science, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA and Moez Limayem, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, USA.

The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research – JVWR  is happy to announce this call for a special Issue number 3 of Volume 6 to be published on Q3/ 2013.

JVWR (http://jvwresearch.org) is an online, open access academic journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship and welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect with virtual world research.

Motivation and Scope

Virtual worlds provide a visual window to a persistent and synthetic world inhabited by avatars that are deeply involved in social interactions, along with economic, organizational and commercial activities. They present challenges and opportunities for enterprises. Enterprises have to overcome limitations originating from sharing different physical space and opportunities while virtual worlds offer possibilities that are sometimes impossible in the real world. Today’s virtual worlds bring a variety of opportunities with respect to team collaboration, virtual project management, immersive virtual education, product marketing, simulation and design. Several companies are already using virtual worlds but others are hesitating to jump in for different reasons: technology readiness or investment, evidence of proof of value and proof of use in the field.

This special issue on “Enterprises Welcome Virtual Worlds” will highlight research that makes a significant and novel contribution in theory and practice about virtual worlds in the enterprise field domain.  We are looking for papers that provide new directions for research by examining organizational, individual/group, design, and/or social perspectives of virtual worlds in intra or inter organizational and business activities and environments. We especially welcome innovative and creative research that enables our audience to see the opportunities and obstacles offered by virtual worlds.

Authors are invited to submit original manuscripts that will make significant contributions to the advancement of our understanding of enterprise applications with virtual worlds (experiments, case studies, action research, design science, empirical investigation, comparative research, prototyping and experimental engineering emphasizing technical and methodological dimensions of virtual worlds). There are no preferred methodological stances for this special issue: it is open to qualitative and quantitative research, to research from a positivist, interpretivist, or critical perspective, to studies from the lab, from the field, or developmental in nature.

Themes and Topics of Relevance Include, but are not limited to:

– The impact of virtual world on organizational and business performance

– Success factors of virtual worlds applications

– Change management using virtual worlds

– Factors influencing virtual world adoption, adaptation, and diffusion in the field

– Introducing virtual world technologies and processes in organizations and cross organizational collaborations

– Facilitation, management and leadership styles in virtual worlds

– Skills, knowledge, and abilities to successfully work, play and learn in virtual worlds

– Creativity and innovation in virtual worlds

– Approaches and processes for repeatable tasks in virtual worlds

– Best practices, collaboration techniques, and pattern languages for virtual world processes

– Theories, guidelines and strategies for designing virtual world processes, technologies and systems

– Policies, risks and phenomena in virtual worlds

– Enhancing robustness, flexibility, and longevity of virtual world applications, processes, and technologies

– Modeling techniques and frameworks to support virtual world processes and applications

– Embedded technologies for virtual worlds

– Information access, processing, and dissemination in virtual worlds

– Collaboration and co-creation styles in virtual worlds

– Cultural perspectives on virtual worlds

– Approaches to training virtual world skills

– Serious games and Mobile learning applications

– Knowledge management through virtual worlds

– Knowledge transfer from virtual to real world

– Ethical issues surrounding virtual worlds

Submission Instructions

Authors are invited to submit original scholarly papers of up to 6000 words including footnotes, references, and appendices. Interested authors should submit a two-page extended abstract by the deadline indicated below. All submissions (abstracts and papers) should be made via the JVWR publishing system. All submissions will be reviewed in accordance with JVWR double-open policy. See details on the Journal’s site in About JVWR> For-Authors. Accepted papers will be published online in Volume 6, Number 3 (2013) of the Journal.

Deadlines and Timeline

Authors submit abstract: September 15, 2012

Editors return comments on abstracts: September 30, 2012

Authors submit full paper: March 1, 2013

Editors return review report and initial decision: May 1, 2013

Authors submit revised paper: June 1, 2013

Editors return final comments and decision: July 1, 2013

Authors submit final version: September 15, 2013

Publication: November 1, 2013

HICSS46 logo

Connection with HICSS 46: 7-10 January 2013, Grand Wailea, Maui, Hawaii

Interested authors are welcome but not required to submit papers to the  “Enterprises Welcome Virtual Worlds” minitrack at HICSS. This is a good opportunity to receive feedback and comments to enhance your paper. See original call here (PDF) or http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu.

Please Contact:

Imed Boughzala: imed.boughzala AT telecom-em.eu

Gert-Jan de Vreede: gdevreede AT mail.unomaha.edu

Moez Limayem: MLimayem AT walton.uark.edu

Visit us on Facebook – search the “Journal of Virtual Worlds Research”.

Assembled & General CfPs, CFPs

CFP: SLACTIONS 2011 & Assembled (2012)

CFP: SLACTIONS 2011 & A Special Assembled Issue

This special issue will attempt to move beyond a narrow focus on specific instances of using a virtual world (Second Life) to achieve measurable results to include questions about the general effect the engagement with the virtual metaverse has on human interactions.

A part of the special issue might be devoted to papers presented at SLACTIONS 2011 on November 18, 2011. The presenters were sent the following email:

I would like to invite you now to submit a revised version of your paper for possible inclusion in an issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://jvwresearch.org/). If you are interested, please consider the following points during your revision:
1. Broaden the scope of your paper
Most presentations at SLACTIONS 2011 had a very narrow and largely technical focus, without considering wider implications for virtual worlds, theorizing about them, or human engagement with virtual worlds. For publication in a journal, the narrow studies of the papers have to be embedded in the wider discourses. Questions to address include ‘Why was this study conducted?’ (‘We wanted to see whether …. was possible’ is NOT enough), what was the theoretical thinking behind the study, what implications do the outcomes have for human engagement with the metaverse?
2. Lengthen the paper substantially
The papers as they were submitted are far too short. For your re-submission you will need 5000-7500 words. Please follow the journal’s requirements:
– 5000-7500 words total
– APA Style (see http://www.docstyles.com/apacrib.htm or http://www.docstyles.com/archive/apacrib.pdf)
– Complete bibliography
– Abstract (no more than 300 words) and keywords (a minimum of 3)
– Peer review requires the cover page with name and affiliation of the author(s) and the paper be submitted as separate documents.
– Only .doc or .rtf formats.
– Single-spaced
3. Write for a general audience
Users of virtual worlds have a wide variety of backgrounds. They might be interested in the points you are making, but will NOT read your paper if it contains too much technical jargon or requires detailed knowledge of e.g. physics, programming, maths, etc. Please, bear this in mind.
4. Write for the journal
Please look at the past issues and published articles of the journal. To fit into the journal, you article should be similar in style. This does NOT mean that you should copy them, BUT your article should read ‘as if it belongs’ in the journal.
5. Submission does NOT equal publication
After you submit your paper, it will undergo a blind review process. Acceptance for publication will depend on this review process, and IS NOT AUTOMATIC.
 
DEADLINE for submission of your revised paper is Monday, January 16, 2012.  –  LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Please submit your revised paper to the Chair of the organizing committee for SLACTIONS 2011, David Herold (ssherold AT inet DOT polyu DOT edu DOT hk) as an email attachment.
I’m looking forward to reading your revised papers.
SLACTIONS2011-banner

Call For Papers – November 17-20 2011

SLACTIONS 2011 is an international conference held for the third time simultaneously online, and in countries around the world to engage in exchanges on the digital metaverse.

The conference focuses on the development of and human activities in the metaverse, and invites discussion of platforms as diverse as Second Life, OpenSim, World of Warcraft, Open Croquet,  Activeworlds, Sony Home, Habbo Hotel, IMVU, There, Project Wonderland, 3D web, etc., providing a forum for the user community to present and discuss innovative approaches, applications, techniques, processes, experiences and research results.

The introduction of Metaverse platforms into education, business, entertainment, etc. has come under intense scrutiny, and many articles and books have been published advocating their use. SLACTIONS 2011 is hoping to move beyond a focus on the introduction of Metaverse platforms, to a discussion of the integration and daily use of the Metaverse in offline activities, with particular regard to the effects this has on individual humans and their identity, agency, sense of community, integration into society, etc.

Scope

We are looking forward to presenting a program of presentations, videos, and posters based on the results of extensive and intensive research that conference participants can adapt to their own requirements and re-purpose for application in their own practice.

We are calling for paper and panel proposals from the full spectrum of intellectual disciplines and technological endeavours in which metaverse platforms are currently being used.

Topics covered may include but are not limited to:

– Accessibility in metaverse platforms
– Advanced scientific visualization in metaverse platforms
– Automatic content generation
– Behavioral studies in the metaverse
– Blended environments: Metaverse mixes, or the metaverse and offline society

– Combination of metaverse platforms with external systems (e-learning, ebusiness, etc.)
– Communicational paradigms in the metaverse
– Content management
– Course / materials management and the metaverses, e.g. MOODLE & SLOODLE
– Creativity, design, and arts on the metaverse
– Cultural and media study in the metaverses
– E-business and e-commerce applications
– Educational research, applications, and case studies
– Embodiment in metaverses and Gender Studies
– Formative and Summative assessment in the metaverses
– Game-based learning in the metaverse
– GIS/metaverse mash-ups
– Integration between metaverse platforms
– Language learning in the metaverses
– Machinima in the metaverse
– Nonprofit activities and fundraising
– Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies
– Social Sciences studies in or through metaverse platforms
– Space representation, use, and management in metaverses
– Using metaverse platforms for cooperation

Submissions

Authors are invited to submit an abstract of 500-600 words via the conference website (http://www.slactions.org/) including their name, contact address, and affiliation. Additionally, authors should include a note indicating what type of presentation they intend to give:

– A full paper presentation
– A shorter “work in progress” presentation

– A panel of 3-4 grouped papers (please provide a short abstract for EACH paper)
– A Poster presentation
– A Video
– A virtual workshop
 

All submissions will be subject to a double blind reviewing process. Authors of accepted abstracts are required to submit a full paper of up to 7,000 words, which will be made available to conference participants. Full papers should follow the publication guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA 6th).

Publication Venues

All accepted, full papers will be made available to registered conference participants. Journal and/or edited volume publication will be subject to an additional rigorous blind reviewing process. The Scientific Committee will invite authors of selected full papers to provide revised and expanded versions for publication in the special issues of affiliated journals* and/or (an) edited volume(s) published with an academic publisher*.

* Negotiations with selected journals and publishers are currently underway.

Please check http://www.slactions.org regularly for further information and developments.

CFPs, Topical Issues CfPs

CFP: MPEG-V and Other Standards

CFP: MPEG-V and Other Standards

Call for Papers on “Standards for Virtual Worlds” in The Journal of Virtual World Research

A special Issue edited by Jean H.A. Gelissen, Philips Research, Netherlands, Marius Preda, Institut TELECOM, France, Samuel Cruz-Lara, LORIA / INRIA Nancy Grand Est, France, Yesha Sivan, Metaverse Labs and the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Israel.

The Journal of Virtual World Research http://www.jvwresearch.org/ is an online, open access academic journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship and welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect virtual worlds research. The field of virtual world research is a continuously evolving area of study that spans across many disciplines and the JVWR editorial team looks forward to engaging a wide range of creative and scholarly work.

While the notion of virtual worlds in an evolving concept, to provide a base to build upon, we consider virtual worlds to be computer-based simulated environment where users interact with other users through graphic or textual representations of themselves utilizing textual chat, voice, video or other forms of communication. The term virtual worlds includes, is similar to, or is synonymous to the terms of virtual reality, virtual space, data-scape, metaverse, virtual environment, massively multiplayer online games, collaborative virtual environments, and immersive virtual environments.

After several issues addressing the technological, societal and economic aspects of Virtual Worlds, JVWR is calling for contributions related to standards, “formalized by standardization bodies” or “de facto ones”, that have or may have an impact in the large deployment of VW services, applications and products. Recent examples are the MPEG-V standard (http://wg11.sc29.org/mpeg-v/), published by ISO in 2011 and addressing interoperability of virtual objects and avatars and Web3D technologies for Real-Time 3D Communication (http://www.web3d.org).

Authors are invited to submit their work, under the form of short paper for blind reviewed by the international Program Committee. The papers must be innovative, original, and contribute to the advancement of understanding virtual worlds related standard technologies. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

  • User Interfaces to access and manipulate objects in virtual worlds
  • Money and solutions for virtual trading with real economical impact
  • User Identity
  • Scalability with respect to the number of concomitant users and complexity of virtual worlds
  • Dependency
  • Communication protocols and interchange media formats
  • Cross-platform and multi-platform access to virtual worlds
  • Multilinguality and e-inclusion

Submission instructions

Authors are invited to submit papers of up to 5 pages in PDF format via the JVWR Submission Site. Upon acceptance, the final revised paper is required also in electronic form. Accepted papers will be published online in the Volume 4, Number 2 of the Journal.

Deadlines

  • 30 March: submission of one page abstract
  • 15 April: reviewers’ feedback on the abstract
  • 30 May: deadline for full paper
  • 15 June: reviewers’ decision and comments for accepted papers
  • 30 June: submission of final version
  • 15 July: publication
CFPs, Topical Issues CfPs

CFP: Consumer Behavior in Virtual Worlds

CFP JVWR Issue on Consumer Behavior in Virtual Worlds

A Special Issue edited by:

Caja Thimm, University of Bonn, Germany
Natalie Wood, Saint Joseph’s University, USA

The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://www.jvwresearch.org/) is an online, open access academic journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship and welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect virtual worlds research. The field of virtual worlds research is a continuously evolving area of study that spans across many disciplines and the JVWR editorial team looks forward to engaging a wide range of creative and scholarly work.

Motivation and Scope

Virtual worlds such as Second Life, IMVU, OpenSim and Google Lively are no longer the preserve of the stereotypical geek, nor are they just technical curiosities which companies, consumers, and other stakeholders in the marketplace can ignore. Gartner, Inc. (2007) estimates that by 2011, 80 percent of active Internet users, including Fortune 500 enterprises, will have a “second life” in some form of virtual world environment. It also seems clear, however, that virtual worlds, in whatever form, will be an expansive system of economic activity and will require an examination in the way in which users are engaged as consumers of both information and products.
 

Virtual worlds offer rich visual interfaces and real-time communication with other residents. Consumers enter these worlds in the form of avatars – online digital persona that they create. Participation rates are staggering:

  • Habbo Hotel targets 13 -18 year olds and boasts over 92 million registered users and over 8.5 million unique users each month (Sulake Corporation 2008).
  • Gaia Online attracts more than 2 million unique visitors each month with 300,000 of their members logging in for an average of two hours per day (Gaia Interactive Inc 2008).
  • Many Fortune 500 companies including GM, Dell, Sony, IBM and Wells Fargo are staking their claim to online real estate in worlds such as Second Life, There.com and Entropia Universe.
  • In the past 18 months alone approximately $1.5 billion has been invested in companies developing technologies for virtual worlds.
  • Management Consulting Company McKinsey & Company predicts that “Virtual worlds such as Second Life will become an indispensable business tool and vital to the strategy of any company intent on reaching out to the video-game generation” (Richards, 2008)

As individuals effortlessly move back and forth between their real and virtual environments we can only imagine the ramifications for identity formation and the impact these environments will have on consumer behavior.

Submission Instructions

The second issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research is dedicated to exploring topics related to consumer behavior in general and social identity in particular. We encourage participation from across the disciplinary spectrum from such fields as marketing, consumer psychology, cognitive studies, computer science, information and knowledge management, business and management, sociology, economics, and communications. We strongly encourage submissions that illustrate key findings with examples and case studies; experimental research; innovations; and best practices for the integration of virtual worlds technologies into the day-to-day lives of users.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Avatars, the self and attitude change
  • Consumer motivation and involvement
  • Marketing communication in virtual worlds
  • Social identity in virtual worlds
  • Effective uses of virtual worlds for engaging users
  • Innovative uses and tools in virtual worlds
  • Branding in virtual worlds
  • Ethical practices in virtual worlds
  • Public policy, governance and virtual worlds
  • Taxation and virtual worlds
  • Virtual influence and decision making
  • Economies in virtual worlds
  • Engaging the digital native
  • Cognitive connect in virtual worlds
  • Serious gaming and business
  • Gender and sexuality issues in virtual worlds
  • Sex economy and virtual prostitution
  • Virtual real estate
  • Leadership training and virtual worlds
  • Limitations and/or advantages of consumer activities in virtual worlds
  • Development of new tools and techniques for sales and marketing in virtual worlds
  • Best practices, lessons learned, best innovations tested in virtual world markets

The term “virtual worlds” referred to herein is built upon the definitions explored by numerous authors in the first edition of the Journal. It encompasses online, graphical spaces such as: Second Life, Vside, Active Worlds, HiPiHi, Kaneva, Entropia Universe, Webkinz, Neopets, Club Penguin, Habbo, Whyville, TyGirlz, RuneScape, Cyworld, there.com, and Forterra Systems, as well as, numerous developing and open source platforms.

For Clarification: Full research papers should not be oriented towards an examination of future possibilities in virtual worlds. The Journal offers the formats of monographs, essays, and “think-pieces” that provide the opportunity for the exploration of concepts and possibilities with fewer restrictions than full research papers.

We welcome submissions in the form of full research papers, research-in-brief papers, “think-pieces”, essays, monographs, interactive online exhibits with accompanying detailed descriptions, and other forms of scholarship.

For specific submission instructions and detailed descriptions of the different submission formats visit: http://jvwresearch.org

Deadlines and Timeline

  • Abstract – August 20, 2008
  • Full manuscript – September 1, 2008
  • Publication: October 15, 2008

Further Information

Please contact:

Caja Thimm, University of Bonn, Germany, cth AT ifk.uni-bonn DOT de
Natalie Wood, Saint Joseph’s University, USA, nwood AT sju DOT edu

CFPs, Topical Issues CfPs

CFP: Research – Past, Present & Future

CFP: JVWR 1st Issue on Research – Past, Present & Future

We are pleased to announce the open call for papers for the first issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (JVWR), an open-access, peer-reviewed, transdisciplinary, international academic journal.

Founded and edited by: Jeremiah Spence, University of Texas at Austin, USA

Issue #1 JVW Research

Motivation and Scope

The objective of the JVWR is to provide a forum for researchers across the academic spectrum to publish cutting edge scholarship and to engage the academic and creative communities in discourse on the wide variety of topic areas that are involved in virtual worlds research, including history of virtual worlds, cultural and social theory, quantitative research, qualitative research, virtual ethnography, pedagogy, education and virtual worlds, development, experimentation, ideas and the intersection of virtual worlds and society.  The field of virtual worlds research is a continually evolving area of study that spans across many disciplines and the JVWR editorial team looks forward to engaging a wide range of creative and scholarly work.

We would like to take this opportunity to invite collaborators, reviewers and contributors to participate in the development of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research. We are thrilled to announce our first open call for papers and a specific call for contributions to the inaugural edition of the journal, which will build on the theme of: “Virtual Worlds Research: Past, Present and Future”.

We invite original research, essays, interactive online exhibits with accompanying detailed descriptions, and other forms of scholarship to be submitted for both the inaugural edition of the JVWR and consideration for publication in future issues of the journal.

We look forward to your collaboration and contributions. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments.

Yours,
Jeremiah Spence
Founding co-editor,
Journal of Virtual Worlds Research

Joseph Lopez
Founding co-editor,
Journal of Virtual Worlds Research

Sponsors include:

  • University of Texas Virtual Worlds Working Group, UT-Austin
  • Advanced Communications Technologies Laboratory (ACTlab), UT-Austin
  • Eduverse, A Virtual Education Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Reviewers include:

  • Allucquére Rosanne “Sandy” Stone, ACTlab/UT-Austin, USA
  • Jorge Peña, Communication Studies/UT-Austin, USA
  • Robert Shephard, Eduverse Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Suely Fragosa, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
  • Edward Castranova, Synthetic Worlds Initiative, UIndiana (not yet confirmed), USA
CFPs, Topical Issues CfPs

CFP: Law and Virtual Worlds

CFP Journal of Virtual Worlds Issue on Law and Virtual Worlds

A Special Issue edited by:

Melissa de Zwart, Adelaide Law School, Australia

Greg Lastowka, Rutgers School of Law-Camden, USA

Dan Hunter, New York Law School. USA

created by nyx breen for the faculty of law uwa
 
The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://www.jvwresearch.org/) is an online, open access academic journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship and welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect virtual worlds research. The field of virtual worlds research is a continuously evolving area of study that spans across many disciplines and the JVWR editorial team looks forward to engaging a wide range of creative and scholarly work.

Motivation and Scope

This special issue will focus on legal questions generated by the creation, regulation and participation in virtual worlds. We are looking for papers that explore beyond the basics of ‘the magic circle’ (asserting that virtual worlds are immune from external laws and norms) and consider emerging legal issues that may encourage or inhibit the uptake of virtual worlds. In particular, we are interested in papers that adopt a multi-jurisdictional focus and which propose new ways that the legal issues may be approached by developers and regulators. Innovative and creative papers are encouraged.

Given the audience and nature of the JVWR we are looking for papers which are accessible to a non-legal readership. They should demonstrate a good awareness of the nature of virtual worlds.

Authors are invited to submit papers that are innovative, original, and contribute to the advancement of understanding of law as it applies to virtual worlds. Papers will be considered by the Guest Editorial Board and reviewed by expert referees using our double -open policy. Double-open policy means that in general, authors do not need to anonymize their papers, and reviewers identity is also known to authors. For more details about see JVWR site –> About JVWR –> For Authors –> Our double-Open Policy.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Jurisdiction and rule-making
  • Governance and community management
  • Player rights
  • Virtual property
  • Dispute resolution
  • Intellectual property, modding, user-generated content
  • Privacy, identity and data collection
  • Security and hacking
  • Crime
  • Freedom of speech, freedom of expression, discrimination, access and hate speech

Submission Instructions

Authors are invited to submit papers of up to 6000 words (including footnotes and references) via the JVWR publishing system (see www.jvwreserach.org> about > for authors). Accepted papers will be published online in the Volume 6, Number 2 of the Journal, 2013.

Deadlines and Timeline

Authors can submit a 600 word abstract as of the publication of the call.

Please use the Journal publishing system (login at the top right of the journal site, state that your submission is for the Legal issue.)

Abstract submission will give authors quick feedback on the relevance and appropriateness of their topic and allow editors to identify reviewers as soon as possible.

  • Final deadline for Authors to submit abstracts for Editors’ comments: 30 June 2012
  • Editors submit comments on the Abstracts to Authors: 30 Aug 2012
  • Authors submit full paper: 30 Dec 2012
  • Editors send Reviewers’ feedback on the paper, and indication of acceptance or rejection: 15 February 2013
  • Submission of revised paper (if necessary): 30 April 2013
  • Editors’ decision and comments for accepted papers: 20 May 2013
  • Authors Submission of final version: 15 June 2013
  • Staff editors & authors work till planned Publication Date: 15 July 2013

Further Information

Please contact:

Melissa de Zwart, Adelaide Law School, melissadez AT gmail.com

Greg Lastowka, Rutgers School of Law-Camden, lastowka AT camden.rutgers.edu

Dan Hunter, New York Law School, USA

CFPs, Topical Issues CfPs

CFP: Real Virtual Worlds and Serious Games

CFP MCIS 2012 Track on Real Virtual Worlds and Serious Games

At the 7th Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (MCIS 2012)
September 2012, Guimarães, Portugal

MCIS 2012 logo AIS logo

Track Chairs

Ruti Gafni, Tel-Aviv Yaffo Academic College, Israel. rutigafn AT mta.ac.il
Nitza Geri, The Open University of Israel. nitzage AT openu.ac.il
Yesha Sivan, Tel-Aviv Yaffo Academic College, Israel. yesha.sivan AT mta.ac.il

About MCIS 2012

Adopting emergent knowledge and technologies to develop innovative Information Systems (CloudWisdom)
Guimarães, Portugal – September 8-10, 2012 http://www.mcis2012.org

The Conference will address the design of web services, along with their business models, as well as the development and implementation of information systems that enhance the use and application of knowledge and expertise in a global scale, with the aim of supporting co-creation and the development of innovative solutions to the economic and social challenges that the World faces today.

MCIS 2012 aims to:

  • Inspire innovative and informative IS research that promotes smart, sustainable and inclusive growth of the Mediterranean Region.
  • Foster ground breaking IS research to improve the quality of life in the Mediterranean Region through enacting the distributed intelligence of Mediterranean populations and promoting the value of knowledge assets they produce.
  • Raise the visibility of IS-related research, education, policy, and practice carried out in the Mediterranean Region.

Fast-Tracking

Authors of selected high-quality papers will be invited to submit their work to a special issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research. See http://jvwresearch.org.

More about MCIS 2012 Tracks can be found here.

Track Information

Interest in virtual worlds has increased in the last years (For example: Wasko, Teigland, Leidner, and Jarvenpaa, 2011). These artificial environments, which emerged from the gaming and role-play world, have developed to serious applications suitable for various domain such as general business, traveling, teaching (Baker, Wentz, and Woods, 2009), and more. Inexpensive commodity-based products, such as computers and high-speed internet, help making sophisticated simulation technologies affordable and more accessible. Virtual Worlds are 3D, immersive graphical environments representing realistic or imaginary worlds. A “Real Virtual World” is defined as a combination of 3D – 3C: a three- dimensional world in which Communities of real people interact, creating Content, stuff and services, and producing real economic value through e-Commerce (Sivan, Bloomfield, and Gelissen, 2009). Simulations in a virtual world have a number of advantages, for example: the possibility to simulate expensive real-world resources, performing collaborative tasks without meeting physically, and training people in risky activities that would be dangerous in the real world. Moreover, the activities are committed in a “gaming” like interaction, which motivates people to perform even routine and annoying activities.

The aim of this track is to examine the opportunities and challenges that such developments pose to organizations, and their potential impacts on competitive, organizational, and legal issues. This track will be of interest to researchers, students,
educators, virtual world users, and anyone interested in the potential implications of virtual worlds to organizations, businesses, and individuals.

Track Submission Instructions

Researchers are cordially invited to submit their full research papers (7-12 pages), research-in-progress papers or extended abstracts (3-7 pages). Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • The business value of virtual worlds
  • Deploying virtual worlds in the workplace
  • Business gaming
  • Virtual worlds through mobile devices
  • Training and evaluation in virtual worlds
  • Case studies of experimental projects
  • Traditional vs. virtual organizations
  • Serious games
  • Virtual Reality
  • Augmented Reality
  • Work-related learning in virtual worlds
  • New business models and strategies in virtual worlds
  • Virtual worlds as disruptive innovation for organizations
  • Products and services suitable for virtual worlds
  • Business activities suitable for virtual worlds (recruiting, research, development, marketing, sales, etc)
  • Security issues in virtual worlds

All submissions must be in English and will be blind reviewed by at least two referees.

Important Dates

Paper submission deadline: March 9, 2012
Notification of acceptance: May 11, 2012
Final paper submission: June 1, 2012

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to e-mail the track co-chairs.

Bibliography

Baker, S. C., Wentz, R. K., and Woods, M. M. (2009). Using Virtual Worlds in Education: Second Life® as an Educational Tool. Teaching of Psychology, 36(1), 59- 64.
Sivan, Y., Bloomfield, R., and Gelissen, J. (2009). Special Issue on Technology, Economy and Standards in Virtual Worlds. The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 2(3). ISSN: 1941-8477.
Wasko, M., Teigland, R., Leidner, D., and Jarvenpaa, S. (2011). Stepping into the internet: New ventures in virtual worlds. MIS Quarterly, 35 (3), 645-652.