27 August 2011

Virtual Communities and Virtual Worlds

Track chair: Shu Schiller, Wright State University, shu.schiller@wright.edu

Track Co-chair: Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, fnah@unlnotes.unl.edu

Track Co-chair: Brian Mennecke, Iowa State University, mennecke@iastate.edu

Track Summary:  The goal of this track is to further existing knowledge and understanding of virtual communities and virtual worlds, and offer implications for research and practice.  Virtual communities are collective groups of individuals who utilize computer-mediated environments to interact and pursue mutual goals.  A virtual world is a computer-generated three-dimensional space where users interact with one another and with objects in the environment through their avatars.  Virtual communities and virtual worlds are growing in importance and are used for various purposes – from information sharing to collective decision-making to collaborative work in both educational and business contexts.  This track aims to extend our understanding of virtual communities and virtual worlds to enhance the theoretical foundation for future research and to provide guidance to practitioners.

Mini tracks/ suggested topics:

•             The design, use, development, and evaluation of virtual communities and virtual worlds in business and educational settings

•             Individual and group behaviors in virtual communities and virtual worlds

•             Collaboration among and between virtual community and virtual world members, the interplay between virtual communities and virtual worlds, and the impact of these environments on participants and communities

•             Individual and group behaviors, processes, and governance mechanisms in virtual communities and virtual worlds

•             The role of individual attitudes and characteristics on behaviors, processes and outcomes in virtual communities and virtual worlds

•             Ethics, privacy, security, and trust issues in virtual communities and virtual worlds

•             Intra- and inter-organizational communication and collaboration and cultural issues in virtual communities and virtual worlds

•             Business and economic models of virtual communities and virtual worlds

•             Power and political issues related to individual, group, organizational, and societal behaviors in virtual communities and virtual worlds

•             Impacts of social networking in virtual communities and virtual worlds

•             Novel and innovative applications of virtual communities and virtual worlds