[Air-L] cfp: Virtual Worlds as Information Systems

[jeremy hunsinger]

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Information Systems Journal (ISJ)
 
Virtual Worlds as Information Systems
A Special Issue of ISJ on Virtual World Technology and Information Systems
 

Special Issue Guest Editors:
Ross Brown, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Andrew Hardin, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA
David Kreps, University of Salford, UK
Jan Recker, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

 
Virtual worlds have garnered unprecedented profile in both the media and academic research. Many IS Managers in their thirties have gained experience with 3D environments via gaming, and the appearance of game ready commodity hardware means that virtual worlds are now feasible as an Enterprise-wide Information System rollout.  3D virtual world interfaces are now increasingly used across a company as complementary information spaces, to web-based and other system services. 
This strong momentum in IS practice, however, has not yet been matched by an intense academic focus. In particular, what is lacking is an in depth analysis of these worlds as potential business information systems interfaces, and their relevant design and use consequences.
The aim of this special issue is to provide a forum to present and discuss the emerging role of virtual world technology in the information systems community. The special issue explicitly advocates multi-disciplinary approaches that expand and integrate the current isolated research efforts in this exciting new area of IS research.
The special issue specifically aims at reporting on and discussing empirical and theoretical research in the use of Virtual World technology in Information Systems. In particular, we hope to provide a picture of the present state of international research with regards to how virtual worlds can shape the design, analysis, use, or management of information systems in organizations. 
We encourage submissions that report on the use of research methods including experiments, surveys, case studies, focus groups and/or other empirical methods for the discovery of insights in the deployment, uptake, use, success or failure of Virtual World technologies in enterprises. Research contributed may range through various aspects of virtual world information systems, from development and integration, to impact studies on users.
We especially would like to encourage submissions on atypical usage of such worlds for Information System domains, in order that new and novel research may be brought to the attention of the international IS research community. In addition, we welcome papers that present, introduce or discuss novel approaches to emerging virtual world research, as this new domain will inspire different investigative approaches.
Contributed papers may deal with, but are not limited to:
-      Social networking and communication in virtual worlds
-      Virtual teams, collective cognition, and group performance, in virtual worlds
-      Entrepreneurship in virtual worlds
-      Virtual World technology and Interactive Systems Design
-      System demonstrations and simulations
-      In-world Information System modeling
-      Human Computer Interaction
-      Interfacing and integration of virtual world technology with other Information Systems
-      Representations of Information Systems as virtual services
-      Virtual world technology in IS education and training
-      Adoption of Virtual World technologies and systems in corporate practice
-      Diffusion of Virtual World technologies in social networking systems
-      Virtual World technologies and co-creation of IT value
 
Submission Guidelines
Manuscripts should not normally exceed 7000 words and should be submitted online athttp://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/isj. Authors will have to select Special Issue Submission as the manuscript type. Author guidelines are available at ‘author guidelines’ at http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journals/isj/.
All submissions will be peer-reviewed following the double-blind review process of ISJ. The objective is to apply very high standards of acceptance while ensuring fair, timely and efficient review cycles.

Timeline
Full initial paper submission deadline:                        30 August 2010
First Review deadline:                                                30 November 2010
Revised paper submission deadline: (if required)            30 January 2011
Second Review deadline:                                                15 March 2011
Camera-ready paper submission deadline:                        30 April 2011
Publication of special issue:                                                mid-2011

Guest Editors:
 
Dr Ross Brown 
Information Systems Discipline
Queensland University of Technology
Office 508 / 126 Margaret Street
Tel: +61 7 3138 9481
Fax: +61 7 3138 9390
Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia
Email r.brown at qut.edu.au
Webpage http://www.bpmve.org

Dr Andrew Hardin 
College of Business
Department of Management Information Systems
4505 Maryland Parkway Box 456034
Tel: (702) 895-0447
Fax: (702) 895-0802
Las Vegas, NV 89154-6034
Email andrew.hardin at unlv.edu <mailto:andrew.hardin at unlv.edu> 
Webpage http://faculty.unlv.edu/ahardin/ <http://faculty.unlv.edu/ahardin/> 
 
Dr David Kreps
Salford Business School 
University of Salford 
43 The Crescent
Tel: +44 (0) 161 295 5884
Fax: +44 (0) 161 295 5999
Manchester, M5 4WT, United Kingdom
Email D.G.Kreps at salford.ac.uk
Webpage http://www.business.salford.ac.uk/staff/davidkreps
 
Dr Jan Recker
Information Systems Discipline
Queensland University of Technology
Office 510 / 126 Margaret Street
Tel: +61 7 3138 9479
Fax: +61 7 3138 9390
Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia
Email j.recker at qut.edu.au <mailto:j.recker at qut.edu.au> 
Webpage http://sky.scitech.qut.edu.au/~recker/
Jeremy Hunsinger
Center for Digital Discourse and Culture
Virginia Tech
Information Ethics Fellow, Center for Information Policy Research, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (www.cipr.uwm.edu)

Words are things; and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. --Byron