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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>
20<sup>th</sup> Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS’14) <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 7-10, 2014
<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"">Savannah, Georgia<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"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Minitrack:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Virtual Education and Training<br>
<br>
<b>Description:<br>
</b>Virtual environments, such as virtual reality and virtual worlds (e.g., Second Life), can provide new approaches and opportunities for education and training. Activities can become more learner-centered through instant feedback as well as enhancements
in adaptability and customization. Education and training can be more readily accessible and available to learners who are geographical dispersed. Virtual technologies can provide platforms to simulate elements of the physical world to enhance the learning
experience. A virtual 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 in virtual communities 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 are associated with virtual
education and training.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hence, this mini-track seeks to explore the opportunities as well as the issues associated with virtual education and training. We encourage
paper submissions that study the development, use, and assessment of virtual education and training, both from the instructor’s and the learner’s perspective. We welcome papers that study the application of virtual technologies 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>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif""><b><br>
</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"></p>
<ul style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Development of frameworks for evaluating virtual educational and training</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Theoretical models describing the development, use, and assessment of virtual education and training</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Research on novel, innovative uses of virtual technologies for pedagogical and training purposes</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Examinations of implementations, adoptions, and outcomes of virtual education and training along with factors influencing these activities</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Meta-analyses and meta-syntheses of research and the implications for virtual education and training</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Issues, limitations, and barriers surrounding virtual education and training</span></li></ul>
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</span></font></div>
<p></p>
<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 2014 Manuscript Submission Site http://amcis2014.aisnet.org/index.php/call-for-papers</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.<br>
<br>
<b>Important Dates:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 1, 2014: 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 4, 2014: 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"">April 18, 2014: Author Revisions 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 25, 2014: Camera-Ready Copy Due<br>
<br>
More information is available at http://amcis2014.aisnet.org/ or by contacting the minitrack co-chairs.<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""><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;"><a href="mailto:eschenbrenbl@unk.edu"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">eschenbrenbl@unk.edu</span></a><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;"><a href="mailto:xchen3@unl.edu"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun">xchen3@unl.edu</span></a><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>
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><a href="mailto:siauk@mst.edu"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">siauk@mst.edu</span></a></span></div>
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