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International Journal of e-Collaboration
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Call for Papers: Special Issue on

Collaborative Usage and Development of Models and other Visualizations (CollabViz)
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Guest Editors:
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* Michael Prilla, Ruhr University of Bochum, Germany
* Alexander Nolte, Ruhr University of Bochum, Germany
* Thomas Herrmann, Ruhr University of Bochum, Germany
* Stephan Lukosch, TU Delft, Netherlands
* Gwendolyn Kolfschoten, TU Delft, Netherlands

IJeC editor:
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Ned Kock, Texas A&M International University, USA

Important Dates:
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* Submissions due on January 6, 2012
* Special Issue out in Winter/Spring 2012/2013

Links:
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* IJeC: http://www.igi-global.com/journal/international-journal-collaboration-ijec/1090
* Topic of Special Issue: http://www.imtm-iaw.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/events/ecscw/index.html.en

Theme and Topics:
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Graphical representations are commonly used tools in many organizations, ranging form process models to conceptual models and mind maps. They are used to support multiple tasks such as software development, design and engineering, process optimization and reengineering, knowledge explication and transfer as well as marketing, strategic development and cooperation planning. These representations should not only be used by single users for special purposes, but rather to support a wide range of users and organizational issues such as shared understanding of work practices. This accounts for their development and their usage for everyday tasks. However, in practice they are hardly used by or available for non-experts – even if they are created collaboratively they still have little impact on actual work in these processes.

Today, we only know little about the interaction of non-expert users with models, that is, how people can make use of them in practice and interact with them. Supporting such interaction needs insights on means for increasing the usage and availability of models after their creation and on suitable tools and modes of interaction with models for people who are not modeling professionals. Also, there is a lack of knowledge on collaborative development of graphical representations, including processes of cooperation and settings for such development. Fostering the collaborative development of models and including non-expert users into this process needs ways to enable users to contribute actively to creation and maintenance, whether they are co-located or dislocated, synchronous or asynchronous in time or possess different levels of expertise in modeling.

This special issue intends to shed light on the collaborative usage and development of graphical representations such as models. For this, we welcome submissions dealing with theoretical frameworks, empirical and case study research as well as applications in the context of this area. Examples of topics for submissions include, but are not limited to the following:

* Designing means and functionality for user interaction with models and visualizations, e.g. contributing to models (formally and informally) and using them in daily work.
* Supporting work and collaboration with models and visualizations, e.g. communicating about models, using them for learning, reflection, documentation or knowledge transfer as well as collaborative design and engineering.
* Supporting collaborative development of models and visualizations, e.g. tools supporting collaborative modeling in collocated and remote settings, typical settings and roles in collaborative modeling.
* The influence of users on models (e.g. collaborative modeling participants’ influence on model outcomes) and the influence of models on users (e.g. users discussing a model and behavior changes)

Additional information:
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Additional information, news, updates and the extended Call for Papers on the Special Issue can be found on the CollabViz website: http://www.imtm-iaw.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/events/ecscw/index.html.en

Submission:
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All submissions must be in English, and should represent the original work of the authors. Improved versions of papers previously published in conference proceedings are welcome, provided that no copyright limitations exist. Submissions must be made electronically via e-mail to the guest editors (collabviz@iaw.rub.de). The manuscript should be included as an attachment in MS Word format. Further information on submission format etc. can be found in the extended Call for Papers available from the CollabViz website.

Contact
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The editors of the Special Issue can be contacted via collabviz@iaw.rub.de