CFP: Encyclopedia of Virtual Worlds and Environments

CFP: Encyclopedia of Virtual Worlds and Environments

We would like to invite you to consider contributing your expertise to a forthcoming book edited by me and Prof. Harrison Yang of the State University of New York at Oswego, entitled Encyclopedia of Virtual Worlds and Environments. This encyclopedia will include a variety of contexts and cover anthropological, psychological, pedagogical, sociological, and so forth approaches from both empirical and theoretical works on virtual worlds and environments. It will serve as a research reference, a pedagogical/informational guide, and a primary source in the area of virtual environments.

The coverage topics include, but are NOT limited to, the following:

Conceptual and Theoretical Perspective (issues and trends of virtual environment theories; chronicle reviews; modeling, design and strategies; etc.).

Types of Virtual Worlds and Environments (Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) and/or Multiuser Virtual Environments (MUVEs); Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs); Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MORPGs); Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) and/or Massively Multiplayer Online [Games] (MMOs); Multiuser Domains (MUDs); and MUD Object Oriented (MOOs); etc.).

Platforms/Sites/Products of Virtual Worlds and Environments (Active Worlds; Barbie Girls; Club Penguin; Forterra Systems; Gaia Online; Habbo Hotel, Kaneva; Neopets; Second Life; The Sims Online; Teen Second Life; There; Whyville Zwinktopia; etc.).

Interface and Hardware Aspect (visual; tracking; auditory; primary use input (such as glove, body suit, exoskeleton, track ball, and 3-D mouse inputs, etc.); tactile; kinesthetic; full-body motion; and olfactory interface technologies; etc.).

Virtual Communities (behavioral, psychological, and cognitive issues of online users; community of practice; personal relationships; social interaction and exchange; legal and ethical considerations; etc.).

Virtual Learning Environments and Worlds (asynchronous and synchronous activities; e-learning, m-learning and e-commerce programs; fully online and blended approaches; research and practices on ANGEL Learning, Apex Learning, ATutor, Blackboard/WebCT, Claroline, CyberExtension, Desire21Learn, Dokeos, eCollege, eFront, FirstClass, Frog, Fronter, Glow Learn, ILIAS, iWebfolio, LAMS - the Learning Activity Management System, Moodle, Pass-port, Sakai, SharePointLMS, TK20, WebEx, and new features in virtual learning environments including wikis, blogs, games, RSS, 3-D virtual learning spaces, etc.).

Best Practices and Case Studies (evaluation and implementation in multidisciplinary; applications and training; personal experiences; creativity and innovation of projects; anthropological, psychological, pedagogical, sociological works on virtual worlds and environments; etc.)

Global Virtual Worlds and Environments Development and Management (model, technologies, programs, issues).

Trends of Virtual Worlds and Environments.

All Other Related Issues in Virtual Worlds and Environments.

In addition, the Possible List of Topics/Categories for the Encyclopedia of Virtual Worlds and Environments is provided for consideration. For more information about the encyclopedia and the recommended topics, please visit the website at: http://book.yuen.us

Should you accept this invitation, we would like to kindly ask that, on or before November 30, 2009, you submit via e-mail a 2-3 page article proposal clearly explaining the mission and concern of your proposed article. Should your proposal be accepted, you will be notified by December 31, 2009. Full articles of 1,500-3,500 words are expected to be submitted by February 28, 2010. Authors are required to follow the Full Article Submission Instructions when preparing their full articles. All submitted articles will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this encyclopedia. The book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global, www.igi-global.com, publisher of the IGI Publishing, Information Science Publishing, IRM Press, CyberTech Publishing, Information Science Reference, and Medical Information Science Reference imprints.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We appreciate your consideration of this invitation and hope to hear from you soon!

Best wishes,

Dr. Harrison Yang
Professor
State University of New York at Oswego
hyang2@oswego.edu

Dr. Steve C. Yuen
Professor
The University of Southern Mississippi
Steve.Yuen@usm.edu

Call for Papers: Virtual Worlds, Libraries Education and Museums

Call for Papers: Virtual Worlds, Libraries Education and Museums

“Virtual Worlds: Libraries, Education, and Museums”

Saturday, March 8, 2008 in Second Life

Proposal Deadline: February 11, 2008

Purpose of the Conference:

To provide a gathering place for librarians, information professionals, educators, museologists, and others to learn about and discuss the educational, informational, and cultural opportunities of virtual worlds.

Please note: Although the conference will be held in the virtual world Second Life, presentation and paper proposals about LEM developments in other virtual worlds are encouraged.

Possible Topics for Presentations, Papers, and Participatory Events:

· Virtual world events and exhibits as the drivers of attendance and engagement
· Immersive learning environments
· Reference service possibilities and practicalities in virtual worlds
· Corporate and special librarianship in virtual worlds
· Educational tools and resources
· Enterprise uses of virtual worlds
· Tours of LEM locations in Second Life
· Gaming and virtual worlds
· VW LEM opportunities for children, tweens, and teens
· Dreams and visions for LEM activities in virtual worlds
· Assessing LEM initiatives in virtual worlds
· Sustainability issues and opportunities for LEM activities in virtual worlds
· Other topics pertinent to the broad topic of LEM activities in virtual worlds are welcome! Send us your innovative proposals!

Proposal Guidelines and Deadlines:

· Each session will be 45 minutes long.
· All sessions will begin on the hour.
· All proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. SLT on Monday, February 11, 2008.
· Please send proposals to Tom Peters (tpeters@tapinformation.com) with “VW LEM proposal” in the subject line.
· For presentations, please send a paragraph about your proposed presentation, the intended audience, and any pertinent URLs or SLURLs.
· For papers, please send an abstract of your paper.
· Notification of acceptance will be received by Friday, February 15, 2008.
· The 25 USD registration fee will be waived for all presenters.
· Proposals from students and general citizens are welcome. You do not need to be a member of the LEM professions to present at this conference.

Conference Schedule (tentative):

(Note: Because Second Life and other virtual worlds attract citizens from all over the world, we plan to have two clusters of conference sessions. Some presenters may be asked to present twice on Saturday, March 8, 2008.)

· Friday, March 7, 2008, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. SLT (Pacific Time): Pre-conference social gathering at Club Java on the Sun Microsystems SIM in Second Life.

· Saturday, March 8, 2008 from 8:00 a.m. to noon SLT (Pacific Time): First Cluster of Conference Sessions:

8:00 to 8:45 a.m.: Keynote Panel (no conflict)
9:00 to 9:45 a.m.: First group of sessions
10:00 to 10:45 a.m.: Second group of sessions
11:00 to 11:45 a.m.: Third group of sessions

· Saturday, March 8, 2008 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. SLT (Pacific Time): Second Cluster of Conference Sessions:

5:00 to 5:45 p.m.: Keynote Panel (no conflict)
6:00 to 6:45 p.m.: First group of sessions
7:00 to 7:45 p.m.: Second group of sessions
8:00 to 8:45 p.m.: Third group of sessions

· Note: Pre- and Post-Conference conversations, announcements, and documents will be available in the “Virtual Words: Libraries, Education and Museums” group in Facebook.

Conference Sponsors:

· Alliance Library System (http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/)
· IBM (http://www.ibm.com)
· Sun Microsystems (http://www.sun.com/)
· TAP Information Services (http://www.tapinformation.com)
· Virtual Worlds Library Association
(http://groups.google.com/group/virtualworldlibraries)

Conference Organizers:

· Lori Bell (Lorelei Junot in Second Life): lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com
· Doug McDavid (Doug Mandelbrot in Second Life): mcdavid@us.ibm.com
· Christy Confetti Higgins (Violet Portola in Second Life):
Christy.Confetti@sun.com
· John Howard (Corwin Howlett in Second Life):
jhoward@alliancelibrarysystem.com
· Craig Anderson (Draconius Merlin in Second Life): cjanders@kean.edu
· Tom Peters (Maxito Ricardo in Second Life): tpeters@tapinformation.com