-------- Original-Nachricht -------- Betreff: [isworld] Call for Participation - Mardi Gras Conference on Virtual Worlds Datum: Fri, 9 Jan 2009 23:15:45 -0600 Von: Andrew Schwarz aschwarz@lsu.edu Antwort an: Andrew Schwarz aschwarz@lsu.edu An: AISWORLD Information Systems World Network isworld@lyris.isworld.org

On behalf of the LSU Center for Computation & Technology (CCT), we invite you to participate in the 16th annual Mardi Gras Conference on "Virtual Worlds: New Realms for Culture, Creativity, Commerce, Computation and Communication," which will take place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana February 19-21, 2009.

Although the concept of virtual worlds has deep roots within the world of networked computing, it is only within the past few years that virtual worlds have captured the imagination of so many in such diverse fields as art, music, business, philosophy, psychology, sociology and mass communication. Moreover, there have been very few events that have tried to organize a broad interdisciplinary perspective around virtual worlds, their adoption by various constituencies, and their use by artists, musicians, historians, designers, educators, archivists, computer scientists, gamers, businesses and entrepreneurs.

The 2009 Mardi Gras Conference will bring together individuals working in this broad area in an attempt to foster information exchange, enable community building and project future trends across the multitude of disciplines that have engaged this technology. This event can be seen as a follow-on to the Emory University workshop in February 2008 on "Virtual Worlds and New Realities in Commerce, Politics, and Society." The 2009 Mardi Gras Conference will feature workshops on the various technologies, panels, posters and papers in addition to several invited keynote speakers.

Keynote speakers for the conference include the following:

Nosher Contractor, Northwestern University: From Disasters to WoW: Understanding & Enabling Networks in the 21st Century Tony O'Driscoll, Duke University: Avoiding the Routinization Trap: Leveraging Virtual Worlds for Strategic Differentiation Benjamin Duranske, IT Attorney & Author: Virtual Law for Non-Lawyers: Justice on the New Frontier Eric Call, ECMedia and Machinima, Xulu Entertainment: Improving Aesthetics in Virtual Worlds

Seven sessions of academic papers will be presented, discussing the following themes:

* Education and Health in Virtual Worlds * Music in Virtual Worlds * Leadership and Collaboration in Virtual Worlds * Social Behavior in Virtual Worlds * Visualization in Virtual Worlds * Adoption Issues of Virtual Worlds * Presence in Virtual Worlds

The full program is available on the Mardi Gras website: http://www.mardigrasconference.org/schedule.pdf

** Registration Information **

Early bird registration has been extended to January 16. Details are available on the Mardi Gras website: https://www.mardigrasconference.org/mardigras.php

We look forward to seeing you in Baton Rouge!

Andrew Schwarz On Behalf of the Mardi Gras Program Chairs

Program co-chairs

Stephen David Beck, Louisiana State University Rudy Hirschheim, Louisiana State University Blake Ives, University of Houston Lance Porter, Louisiana State University Andrew Schwarz, Louisiana State University

Program Committee

Allison Clark, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Leigh Clemmons, Louisiana State University Dorothy Leidner, Baylor University Monica Postelnicu, Louisiana State University Ulrike Schultze, Southern Methodist University Leiser Silva, University of Houston Ken Walsh, University of New Orleans

-------------------------------- Dr. Andrew Schwarz Assistant Professor of Information Systems Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/drandrewschwarz

Vice President of Technology, Association for Information Systems

Associate Editor, European Journal of Information Systems Senior Editor, DATABASE

E. J. Ourso College of Business Louisiana State University 225.578.9075 (Phone) 225.578.2511 (Fax) aschwarz@lsu.edu --------------------------------

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