CFP: Online Social Networks to Support Community Collaboration - Workshop

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ComTech

Online Social Networks to Support Community Collaboration Workshop – Call for Papers

June 25 - 27

 

 

Organizers

Connie White, Jacksonville State University, USA - connie.m.white@gmail.com
Linda Plotnick, New Jersey Institute of Tech, USA - linda.plotnick@gmail.com
Jane Kushma, Jacksonville State University, USA - jkushma@jsu.edu

 

Workshop URL: http://sites.google.com/site/comtechworkshop/

Conference URL: http://cct2009.ist.psu.edu/

 

Summary

The aim of this workshop is to examine the possibilities and potential applications Online Social Networking Sites have for communities in a variety of complex problem domains. Online Social Networking Sites (SNS) are being created to fulfill a multitude of social communicative needs and are fostering productive group dynamics. Social Networks have existed and been studied, but how communities can transfer their needs to an online environment is underexplored and is the scope of this workshop. Through this workshop we will discuss how communities and organizations are using these networks to replace and augment traditional avenues of communication, the types of communities that may benefit the most, and what untapped functionalities may exist. What does the future hold for SNS?  Will SNS change the way we work in the future?

Objectives of Workshop

Online social networks have the potential to aid communities of practice in a variety of domains and promote cross-organizational communication and effectiveness. This is a nascent area of study. A goal of this workshop is to develop an understanding of how these network services can be used, what functionality would be required, and what issues (and how to overcome them) exist that can impede their use. An additional focus is to explore the potential use of Online Social Networking Sites to support more complex entities in the future and forecast what potential they hold for domains and uses not yet envisioned. A few highly creative and insightful papers will be selected for discussion. The session will end with participants engaging in a visioning session using Delphi methods to capture important insights, challenges, and design/development needs.

 

Organization

Full day workshop

Brief introduction by Workshop Keynote Speaker

Objectives

Presentations

Feedback and Group Discussion

Group participation on Delphi: Future Uses of Social Networking Sites and Services. 

Discussion, Delphi Results, and Conclusion of Workshop

 

Submission details

Since it is a workshop you can submit a paper even if it has been submitted elsewhere as the idea of the workshop is to give and receive feedback and comments about current research.   Position papers should contain a brief overview (max. 5000 words) of key ideas of the presentation and some information on the background of the submitter. Position papers should be sent to connie.m.white@gmail.com. Position paper submissions: April 30, 2009. Notification of acceptance: May 18.  

 

Background of Organizers with current SNS publications attached.

Connie White is a doctoral candidate in Information Systems at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.  She presently holds a position with Emergency Management at Jacksonville State University.  Her current work explores how Web 2.0 technologies can be leveraged in the emergency domain.  Her dissertation, A Dynamic Delphi System to Support Decision Making by Large Groups of Crisis Management Experts, focuses on the creation of a crisis management system that is used by large groups dispersed geographically where decisions must be made under uncertainty and among domain driven subgroups.  Her research interests include Social Networking, Decision Making, Thurstone's Law of Comparative Judgment, Artificial Intelligence and Emergency Management. Homepage: http://sites.google.com/site/conniemwhite/

 

Linda Plotnick is a doctoral candidate in Information Systems at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.  Her dissertation work is on Leadership in Partially Distributed Teams engaged in software development of an EMIS.  She also conducts research in the emergency domain including threat rigidity, Web 2.0 (e.g., SNS) and the emergency domain, and the development of a unified emergency scale. Homepage: http://sites.google.com/site/lindaplotnick/

 

Jane Kushma, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Emergency Management at Jacksonville State University in Alabama.  She has been involved in emergency management teaching, research and practice since 1981.  Her current interests include the use of online social networking tools to aid in the management of disasters.