CFP: Journal of Virtual Worlds Research Special Issue

CALL FOR PAPERS

Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://jvwresearch.org/)
Special issue, Vol. 3 (3), 2010: Virtual Worlds for Kids
Abstract Deadline: 20 October 2009

Guest Editors:
Sun Sun LIM, National University of Singapore, sunlim@nus.edu.sg
Lynn Schofield Clark, University of Denver, Lynn.Clark@du.edu

While virtual worlds for young adults have received considerable
research attention, virtual worlds for young children - from
preschoolers to preteens - have not been studied as extensively. Yet
statistics indicate that children worldwide are using the Internet at
younger and younger ages, and are exploring a wide range of online
environments including virtual worlds such as Neopets, Habbo Hotel, Club
Penguin, Webkinz, BarbieGirls.com, MoshiMonsters etc. Participation in
such virtual worlds have been found to aid in the development of
children's social, linguistic and technological skills, and to offer
them enriching learning experiences, outlets for creative expression and
opportunities for identity exploration. At the same time however,
concerns about the potentially adverse impact of such virtual worlds
prevail, be it moral panics about sexual grooming, fears of online
addiction or more mundane worries about exposure to online advertising.
While research on children's participation in virtual worlds is growing,
clearly more light needs to be shed on the benefits and harms of
children's participation in these engaging and increasingly popular
multimedia environments.

This special issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research will
explore children's participation in online virtual worlds, and focus
specifically on the preschool to preteen group, from about 3 to 14 years
of age. We welcome participation from a broad range of academic
researchers and practitioners using a variety of theoretical and
methodological approaches from such fields as communications,
psychology, education, computer science, sociology, anthropology and
marketing. Topics of interest are (but not limited to):
* typologies of children's virtual worlds
* ethnographies of children's use of virtual worlds
* avatar building, identity exploration and peer dynamics
* educational uses of children's virtual worlds
* lifestage analyses comparing experiences of children of
different ages
* supervisory strategies of parents, guardians, teachers
* joint online activities of siblings and other family members
* family online activities in virtual worlds
* policy and public education responses
* industry self-regulation measures
* advertising and marketing to children in virtual worlds
* research methods and ethical issues

Please submit a 500 word abstract to the guest editors as an e-mail
attachment no later than 20 October, 2009. The five best abstracts will
also be submitted as a panel for consideration by the Children,
Adolescents and the Media interest group of the International
Communication Association 2010 conference (held from 22 - 26 June 2010
in Singapore). Please include full contact information and a
biographical note (up to 75 words) on each of the authors and indicate
whether you wish to be considered for the ICA panel submission. Authors
of accepted abstracts will be notified by 10 November, 2009 and will
then be invited to submit a full paper to the guest editors. Manuscripts
should be no more than 8,000 words, including notes and references,
conform to APA style, and submitted by 31 March , 2010. All papers will
be subject to anonymous peer review following submission.

We also welcome submissions in the form of think pieces and interactive
online exhibits with accompanying detailed descriptions, and other forms
of scholarship.

Important dates
20 October 2009: Deadline for abstract submission
10 November 2009: Announcement of results
31 March 2010: Submission of full papers
22-26 June 2010: ICA conference in Singapore
September 2010: Publication of special issue