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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Call for Papers</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><br>
<br>
19<sup>th</sup> Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS’13) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">August 15-17, 2013
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Chicago, Illinois<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Track:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Virtual Communities and Virtual Worlds<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Minitrack:</span></b><span style="font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Education and Training in Virtual Worlds<br>
<br>
<b>Description:<br>
</b>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif"">Hence, this mini-track 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 mini-track is open to both theoretical and empirical studies, and is open to all research methods (e.g., survey, field study, case study, experimentation).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif""><br>
<b>Potential topics</b> <b>may include (but are not limited to):<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top:0in" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Development of frameworks for evaluating educational and training applications in virtual world environments<o:p></o:p></span>
</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Theoretical models describing the development, use, and assessment of virtual world technologies in educational and training contexts<o:p></o:p></span>
</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Research on novel, innovative uses of virtual world technologies for pedagogical and training purposes
<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Examinations of implementations, adoptions, and outcomes of virtual world technologies in education and training along with factors influencing
these activities<o:p></o:p></span> </li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meta-analyses and meta-syntheses of virtual world research and the implications for education and training<o:p></o:p></span>
</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issues, limitations, and barriers surrounding virtual worlds in education and training<o:p></o:p></span>
</li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Submission Process:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif""><br>
Full paper submissions must be made electronically through AMCIS 2013 Manuscript Submission Site </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#646464;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"><a href="http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2013/" target="_blank">http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2013/</a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#646464;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Papers will be peer reviewed using a double-blind system.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><br>
<b>Important Dates:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">January 4, 2013: Bepress Opens for Paper Submissions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 22, 2013: Submissions Due<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 22, 2013: Author Notification of Acceptance<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 9, 2013: Camera-Ready Copy Due<br>
<br>
More information is available at </span><a href="http://amcis2013.aisnet.org/" target="_blank"><font size="3" face="Arial">http://amcis2013.aisnet.org/</font></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> or by contacting the minitrack
co-chairs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><br>
<b>Minitrack Co-Chairs:</b><br>
<br>
Brenda Eschenbrenner<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Department of Accounting and Finance<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">University of Nebraska at Kearney<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kearney, NE 68849, USA<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="mailto:eschenbrenbl@unk.edu"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">eschenbrenbl@unk.edu</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Xiaofeng Chen<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Department of Management<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">University of Nebraska-Lincoln<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lincoln, NE 68588, USA<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="mailto:xchen3@unl.edu"><span style="font-size:
12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun">xchen3@unl.edu</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Keng Siau<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Department of Business & Information Technology<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Missouri University of Science & Technology<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Rolla, MO 65409-0320<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="mailto:siauk@mst.edu">siauk@mst.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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