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<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><b>Final Call For Papers</b></font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><b> </b></font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">18<sup>th</sup> Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) 2012 to be held August 9-12, 2012, in Seattle, Washington.<br>
</font><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><b>Track:</b> Virtual Communities and Virtual Worlds</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><b>Minitrack:</b> Education and Training in Virtual Worlds<br>
<b><br>
Description</b><br>
Virtual worlds present new platforms for enhancing education and training. With abilities to simulate the physical world or build entirely new worlds, new approaches to learning abound. The rich environment lends itself to providing interactive experiences
such that hands-on learning activities can be conducted and a constructive learning approach taken. Also, the essence of a shared space opens up new avenues for collaborative and social learning. Educators and organizations are expanding their traditional
approaches to training, learning, and knowledge transfer to capitalize on the new opportunities and the unique aspects that abound with virtual worlds.</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span>
<div><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">Hence, this minitrack seeks to explore the opportunities as well as the issues associated with education and training in virtual world environments. We encourage
paper submissions that study the development, use, and assessment of virtual worlds in education and training contexts, both from the instructor’s and the learner’s perspective. We welcome papers that study the application of virtual worlds in this context
as well as challenge such applications. This minitrack is open to both theoretical and empirical studies, and is open to all research methods (e.g., survey, field study, case study, experimentation).</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><b><br>
Potential topics may include (but are not limited to):<br>
</b></font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "></span>
<ul style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<li><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Development of frameworks for evaluating educational and training applications in virtual world environments</font></li><li><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Theoretical models describing the development, use, and assessment of virtual world technologies in educational and training contexts</font></li><li><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Research on novel, innovative uses of virtual world technologies for pedagogical and training purposes</font></li><li><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Examinations of implementations, adoptions, and outcomes of virtual world technologies in education and training along with factors influencing these activities</font></li><li><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Meta-analyses and meta-syntheses of virtual world research and the implications for education and training</font></li><li><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Issues, limitations, and barriers surrounding virtual worlds in education and training</font></li></ul>
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><b>Minitrack Co-Chairs:</b><br>
<br>
Brenda Eschenbrenner</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">Department of Accounting and Finance</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">University of Nebraska at Kearney</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">Kearney, NE 68849, USA</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<a href="mailto:eschenbrenbl@unk.edu" target="_blank" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><font size="3" color="blue" face="Times New Roman"><u>eschenbrenbl@unk.edu</u></font></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" color="blue" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><u> </u></font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">Xiaofeng Chen</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">Department of Management</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">University of Nebraska-Lincoln</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">Lincoln, NE 68588, USA</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<a href="mailto:xchen3@unl.edu" target="_blank" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><font size="3" color="blue" face="Times New Roman"><u>xchen3@unl.edu</u></font></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">Keng Siau</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">Department of Management</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">University of Nebraska-Lincoln</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">Lincoln, NE 68588, USA</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<a href="mailto:fnah2@unl.edu" target="_blank" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><font size="3" color="blue" face="Times New Roman"><u>ksiau@unlnotes.unl.edu</u></font></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><b><br>
Submission Process</b>:<br>
Full paper submissions must be made electronically through Manuscript Central Submission Site</font><font size="3" color="#5f5f5f" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </font><a href="http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/amcis2012" target="_blank" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><font size="3" color="#800080" face="Times New Roman"><u>http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/amcis2012</u></font></a><font size="3" color="#5f5f5f" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">.</font><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> Papers
will be peer reviewed using a double-blind system.<br>
<b><br>
Important Dates:</b></font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Symbol" style="font-size: medium; ">· </font><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">January 3, 2012: Manuscript Central Opens for Paper Submissions</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Symbol" style="font-size: medium; ">· </font><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">March 1, 2012: Submissions Due</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Symbol" style="font-size: medium; ">· </font><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">April 6, 2012: Author Notification of Acceptance</font><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> </span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">
<font size="3" face="Symbol" style="font-size: medium; ">· </font><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">April 25, 2012: Camera-Ready Copy Due<br>
<br>
More information is available at </font><a href="http://amcis2012.aisnet.org/" target="_blank" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><font size="3" color="#800080" face="Times New Roman"><u>http://amcis2012.aisnet.org/</u></font></a><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "> or
by contacting the minitrack co-chairs.</font></div>
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