[AISWorld] HICSS 47, 2014 - CFP: Working and Gaming in 3D Virtual environments Minitrack

[Imed Boughzala]

HICSS-47 Call for papers for the minitrack on:
"WORKING AND GAMING IN 3D VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS"

Part of the Collaboration Systems and Technology Track
of the Forty-Seven Annual Hawai'i International Conference on Systems Sciences (HICSS)
January 6-9, 2014, Hilton Waikoloa, Big Island

http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu

Papers are invited for the minitrack on "WORKING AND GAMING IN 3D VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS" as part of the Collaboration Systems and Technology Track at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). 

Virtual worlds and environments provide a visual window to a persistent and synthetic world inhabited by avatars that are deeply involved in social interactions, along with economic and commercial activities. They are immersive by nature and reinvent the notions of “being together” and awareness for distributed teams. Virtual worlds and metaverses present challenges and opportunities for individuals and groups working, playing and learning, together: challenges as groups using virtual worlds have to overcome limitations originating from not sharing the same physical space and opportunities as virtual worlds offer possibilities that are impossible in the real world. To address these challenges and opportunities, this minitrack invites theoretical and empirical research that investigates how individuals and teams within and between organizations use virtual worlds and metaverses to coordinate tasks, share information, simulate processes, solve problems, make decisions, create and manipulate objects, innovate, play, learn, and create value.

This minitrack provides one of the key international platforms on which the following issues can be discussed:
1.	Theoretical foundations and practical approaches to understand, model, and design virtual worlds and metaverses.
2.	The use of virtual worlds to collaborate, to learn, to recreate, and to innovate, and to co-create organizational and individual value.
3.	The impact of virtual world characteristics on individual and team behavior.
4.	Methods, techniques, patterns, and best practices to support productive (a)synchronous collaboration, communication, and coordination between individuals and groups using virtual worlds.
5.	The design, application, and evaluation of virtual world environments and applications such as serious games.

There are no preferred methodological stances for this minitrack: this minitrack is open to both 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 to this minitrack include, but are not limited to (related topics not listed are especially welcome):

Organizational perspectives on virtual worlds
•	The impact of virtual world collaborations on organizational performance
•	Change management using virtual world environments
•	Success factors for virtual worlds and serious games usage
•	Factors influencing virtual world adoption, adaptation, and diffusion
•	Introducing virtual world technologies and processes in organizations and groups

Individual and group perspectives on virtual worlds
•	Management and leadership styles in virtual worlds
•	Motivation for individual and team performance in virtual worlds
•	Skills, knowledge, and abilities to successfully work,play and learn in virtual worlds
•	Personality characteristics and traits and their influence on virtual world collaboration 
•	Team size and composition in virtual worlds

Work and process perspectives concerning virtual worlds
•	Different tasks and task types in virtual worlds
•	Creativity and innovation in virtual worlds
•	Approaches and processes for repeatable tasks in virtual worlds, e.g. focus groups, recruitment, strategy planning, and requirements specification & analysis
•	Identifying, measuring, and evaluating patterns of virtual world collaboration, e.g. generation, reduction, clarification, organization, evaluation, and commitment building.
•	Best practices, collaboration techniques, and pattern languages for virtual world processes

Design perspectives on virtual worlds
•	Theories, guidelines and strategies for designing virtual world processes, technologies and systems
•	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

Social issues concerning virtual worlds
•	Facilitation in virtual world environments
•	Collaboration and co-creation styles in virtual worlds
•	Cultural perspectives on virtual worlds
•	Approaches to training virtual world skills
•	Ethical issues surrounding virtual worlds

MINITRACK CHAIRS:

Gert-Jan de Vreede (primary contact)
University of Nebraska at Omaha & Delft University of Technology
Department of Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis
e-mail: gdevreede at unomaha.edu

Moez Limayem
Sam M. Walton College of Business
University of Arkansas
e-mail: MLimayem at walton.uark.edu

Imed Boughzala
Department of Information Systems
Telecom Business School
email: imed.boughzala at it-sudparis.eu  

The purpose of HICSS is to provide a forum for the interchange of ideas, research results, development activities, and applications among academicians and practitioners in computer-based systems sciences. The conference consists of tutorials, advanced seminars, presentations of accepted papers, open forum, tasks forces, and plenary and distinguished guest lectures. There is a high degree of interaction and discussion among the conference participants because the conference is conducted in a workshop-like setting.

Instructions for submitting papers:
1.	Submit an electronic copy of the full paper, 10 pages including title page, abstract, references and diagrams using the review system available at the HICSS site, make sure that the authors’ names and affiliation information has been removed to ensure an anonymous review.
2.	Do not submit the paper to more than one minitrack. The paper should contain original material and not be previously published or currently submitted for consideration elsewhere.
3.	Provide the required information to the review system such as title, full name of all authors, and their complete addresses including affiliation(s), telephone number(s) and e-mail address(es).
4.	The first page of the paper should include the title and a (max) 300-word abstract.

DEADLINES:
•	Any time:                 Optional abstracts may be submitted to Minitrack Chairs for guidance, indication of appropriate content and to receive instructions on submitting a full paper.
•	June 15:                   Full papers uploaded in the directory of the appropriate minitrack.
•	August 15:               Notification of accepted papers mailed to authors.
•	September 15:          Accepted manuscripts, camera-ready, uploaded; author(s) must register by this time.

Send all correspondence related to this minitrack to:

Gert-Jan de Vreede (primary contact)
University of Nebraska at Omaha & Delft University of Technology
The Center for Collaboration Science
e-mail: gdevreede at unomaha.edu