ENGL 680M: New Media

Information about a special edition of _Technical
Communication_ that will focus on virtual worlds. Full CFP below the break.

Call for Proposals:
Special Issue on Virtual Worlds in Technical Communication

Technical communication is pleased to announce a special issue on the
use, design, possibilities, and research ques-tions of virtual worlds as
they are and might be employed in technical communication contexts. This
special issue will be published in November 2008, and the guest editors
are Sean D. Williams and Jan Rune Holmevik, both of Clemson University.

DESCRIPTION
Virtual worlds, those online spaces where users navigate, collaborate,
and socialize in three dimensions using ava-tars, have joined mainstream
media, like the World Wide Web, as a method for delivering technical
information to users. For example, on May 15, 2007, IBM opened a
"business center" in the virtual world Second Life that is staffed
around the clock by employees from different countries who offer
technical support to users, enable collaborations, and provide sales
information. Similarly, in late May the Swedish government opened a
virtual embassy in Second Life to provide information on the country as
well as information on real world consular services. Since large-scale
use of virtual worlds for instrumental, non-gaming purposes is still in
its infancy, technical communicators have an opportunity to influence
how their organizations develop and deploy virtual worlds.

This special edition of Technical Communication will ex-amine the
implications of virtual worlds, including mas-sively-multiplayer games,
as a new method of delivering information to users and building user
communities. This special edition will investigate how these spaces
should be constructed, what new research questions arise from
pre-senting information in virtual worlds, and how virtual spaces change
the relationships of users to each other and to the information they
seek.

POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR THIS SPECIAL ISSUE
Ideas this special issue wishes to examine for virtual worlds include:
u New models for information design
u Navigation complications and way-finding
u Social networking and informal communication networks as a
method of information delivery
u Massively-multiplayer games as informational and instructional
spaces
u Usability and user-centered design issues
u Expanded roles for experience and sensorial design models
u Methods for testing, validating, and ensuring user sa-tisfaction

u Patterns and styles of virtual collaboration
u Ethical issues associated with operating in virtual worlds

To that end, we welcome proposals for articles addressing these or
related topics.

TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS
We welcome original research related to virtual worlds and
massively-multiplayer games; case studies and reports on experiences;
experiments of assessment methodologies; theoretical investigations;
opinion pieces; literature reviews and annotated bibliographies; and
tips or best practices for implementing virtual worlds in instrumental
contexts.

SCHEDULE
The schedule for the special issue is as follows:

15 October 2007 500-word proposal
15 December 2008 Draft manuscript
15 March 2008 Final manuscript
August 2008 Publication date

Send proposals by e-mail to sean@clemson.edu. All pro-posals and papers
will be peer-reviewed.

CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions about a proposal idea or if you wish to be
considered as a proposal or a manuscript reviewer for this special
issue, please contact Sean Williams at the email address above, by phone
at 864.656.2156, by instant message sdw8892, or in Second Life, "Omalley
Qinan."