SLACTIONS 2009 First Call : Life, Imagination, and work using metaverse platforms

SLACTIONS 2009 Research conference in the Second Life® world
Life, Imagination, and work using metaverse platforms

When: September 24-26, 2009

** Scope and call for papers **

The metaverse is emerging, through the increasing use of virtual world technologies that act as platforms for end-users to create, develop, and interact, expanding the realm of human cooperation, interaction, and creativity. The conference focus is scientific research on applications and developments of these metaverse platforms: Second Life, OpenSim, Open Croquet, Activeworlds, Open Source Metaverse, Project Wonderland, and others, providing a forum for the research community to present and discuss innovative approaches, techniques, processes, and research results.

Whereas metaverses are no longer a novel topic, they still pose challenges for the adaption of conventional instructional and business practices, research methodologies, and communication practices. We are looking forward to presenting a program of research results, case studies, panel discussions, and demonstrations that scholars, educators, and businesses can port to their own environments and apply in their research, teaching, and business strategy. We will accept papers from the full spectrum of intellectual disciplines and technological endeavours in which metaverse platforms are currently being used: from Education to Business, Sociology to Social Sciences, Media Production to Technology Development, Architecture and Urban Planning to the Arts.

Topics covered may include but are not limited to:

• Accessibility in metaverse platforms
  
• Advanced scientific visualization in metaverse platforms
  
• Automatic content generation
  
• Behavioral studies in the metaverse
  
• Combination of metaverse platforms with external systems (e-learning, e-business, etc.)
  
• Communicational paradigms in the metaverse
  
• Content management
  
• Creativity, design, and arts on the metaverse
  
• E-business and e-commerce applications
  
• Educational research, applications, and case studies
  
• Embodiment in metaverses and Gender Studies
  
• GIS/metaverse mash-ups
  
• Integration between metaverse platforms
  
• Nonprofit activities and fundraising
  
• Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies
  
• Social Sciences studies in or through metaverse platforms
  
• Space representation, use, and management in metaverses
  
• Using metaverse platforms for cooperation
  

Conference format

SLACTIONS 09 is the first international conference held simultaneously in several countries on the topic of metaverses. SLACTIONS 09 aims at covering most areas currently enabled by metaverse platforms, from educational research to content production, from gender studies to media distribution, and from metaverse-based branding, advertising, and fundraising to emerging mash-ups and technology applications. SLACTIONS 09 is unique in its format too, as a one-of-a kind event conducted both in a metaverse platform (Second Life) and on-site in multiple countries in Europe and in North and South America. SLACTIONS will thus contribute to the current redefinition of the way we think about hybrid online and on-site scholarly collaborations.

All paper presentations and talks will be performed via avatars, either using text-based or voice-based communications.

Submissions

Authors are invited to submit:
A full paper of eight to ten pages for oral presentation

• A Flickr image or
  
• YouTube video, tagged as “slactions 09” for poster presentations 'in-world’ or presentation in SL using a creative format

All submissions are subject to a double blind review process and should be professionally proofread before submission.

All manuscripts should be formatted according to the ASIS&T proceedings template.

No manuscripts will be accepted that do not meet the required format.

(Disclaimer: SLACTIONS 2009 is not associated with ASIS&T.)

All accepted papers will be published on-line and in an ISBN-registered
CD-ROM/DVD-ROM of proceedings.

The Scientific Committee will invite authors of selected full papers to provide revised and expanded versions for publication in an ISBN-registered book.

The authors of the best papers will be invited to provide revised and expanded versions for publications in special editions of journals or as single contributions to theme-specific journals.

Check out www.slactions.org regularly for more information and developments on the book publisher & series, and journal venues for best papers.

Technology setup

We want participants to fully follow the conference.
Each regional pole will meet in a room with a projector and at least one microphone so that participants can ask their questions online. However, each participant can also bring a laptop, equipped with WiFi connection and a microphone, and interact in-world via avatar, while still meeting locally.


What you will need to follow the conference at your local pole:

Option 1: Participating “in-world”

This means you have your own avatar in SL. At the time of the conference you login and teleport to the conference location. Here's your setup:

• Your Computer. See the detailed system requirements at the Second Life site. Second Life is very RAM demanding so make sure this is the only application you will have opened, besides an occasional browser window in the flat Web, if you are checking a URL suggested by speakers or participants.
  
• Your Internet connection. Wired connection is preferable to wireless connections, particularly if using it from crowded locations. The latter is possible but you may lose audio or video.
  
• Your Voice setup. In your client application (the software you install in your computer when installed Second Life), choose Edit -> Preferences, then the Voice Chat tab. Allow your voice to be heard only when you press the "talk" button (bottom right of your screen once you’re in SL). That way, background noises at your location will not be heard by others, something that can cause a confusing cacophony into the virtual setting.
  See the Voice FAQ for more information.
  
• Your Audio setup. If chatting with voice (prior item), use earphones, as sound from the speakers can enter your microphone, resulting in a bad echo heard by other participants.
  
• Turn multimedia full capabilities on. As stated previously we will encourage speakers to make full used of the wide range of capacities in SL so make sure that, under Edit > Preferences, you select the Audio/Video tab, and make the necessary selections to play streaming video and music.
  
• Ask for Help. Prior to the conference, test all these setting with colleagues or any residents in SL. If you run into problems e-mail the organization for help.
  

Option 2: Participating physically at a regional chapter

You'll travel to one of the regional nodes, where you'll have the opportunity to interact face-to-face with other participants at the same location. You will watch the conference on the big screen; and you may ask in-world speakers questions by transmitting them to your regional chair, who will enter them by textual chat or provide a microphone for you to ask questions directly.

In this case you do not need to bring your laptop, but you may do so to participate also as an avatar. If you do so, please turn off audio, voice, and multimedia, and rely instead on the audio provided by the organization. This will ensure all local participants have more bandwidth available and a better experience.

Physical chapters

The following regional chapters will be held in physical locations. Participants participating via a physical chapter will be able to take part in social events taking place locally, enjoy broadband communications and physical networking opportunities. New physical chapters are being considered.

• Belgium - Ghent University
  
• Brazil/Rio Grande do Sul - Unisinos (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos)
  
• Brazil/Minas Gerais - Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora
  
• Israel/ H.I.T-Holon Institute of Technology
• Portugal/North - Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Universidade do Minho, Universidade de Aveiro, Universidade do Porto
  
• USA/Texas - University of Texas-Austin
  
• USA/West Coast - University of California-Berkeley
  

NOTE: if you believe your institution can hold a physical chapter in an as-yet unsupported region, please contact the organization (see "Contacts", below).

Important dates

February 28th, 2009 - Deadline for paper submissions

March 31st, 2009 - Submission results provided to authors

June 30th, 2009 - Deadline for early registration

July 31st, 2009 - Deadline for print-ready versions of accepted papers

September 24-26th, 2009 - Conference

Contacts

Organization: infoslactions.org

Programme committee

Adriana Bruno, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Ana Boa-Ventura, University of Texas-Austin, USA
António Ramires Fernandes, Universidade do Minho, Portugal
Augusto Abade, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
Carlos Santos, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Daniel Gonçalves, Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
Dor Abrahamson, University of California-Berkeley, USA
Ederson Locatelli, Unisinos - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brazil
Eliane Schlemmer, Unisinos (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos), Brazil
Hanan Gazit, H.I.T-Holon Institute of Technology, Israel
João Barroso, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
Leonel Morgado, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
Lucia Pesce, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, Brazil
Luís Pedro, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Lynn Alves, Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Brazil
Martin Leidl, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
Martin Valcke, Ghent University, Belgium
Miltiadis Lytras, Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece
Nelson Zagalo, Universidade do Minho, Portugal
Niall Winters, London Knowledge Lab, UK
Paulo Frias, Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Pedro Almeida, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Pedro Sequeira, Escola Superior de Desporto de Rio Maior, Portugal
Pilar Lacasa, Universidad de Alcalá, Spain
Sneha Veeragoudar Harrell,University of California-Berkeley, USA
Stefan Göbel, ZGDV, Germany
Teresa Bettencourt, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Tim Savage, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Organization

Ana Boa-Ventura, University of Texas-Austin, USA

Leonel Morgado, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal

Nelson Zagalo, Universidade do Minho, Portugal