CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS Proposal Submission Deadline: March 1, 2011 Virtual Work and Human Interaction Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches A book edited by Dr. Shawn D. Long, M.P.A., Ph.D. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte Introduction Virtual Work is an emerging feature of contemporary organizational life. As organizations shift their work space from more traditional tethered locations to geographically dispersed spaces, understanding how humans communicate, behave and navigate in this new domain is of great importance. To be clear, organizations are not decreasing their efforts toward electronic work, but rather they are expanding their efforts to increase virtual working as the costs of doing work physically (e.g. increases in real estate, utility usage and travel costs) steadily climbs. Additionally, organizations are experiencing higher levels of worker productivity at the same time employees are opting to work from home for a variety of reasons. Understanding the virtual work phenomenon through humanistic and social scientific inquiry is critical as more humans traffic in this new domain. In my recent book, Communication, Relationships and Practices in Virtual Work (2010), I advanced the term virtual work from a social scientific perspective and defined it as a complex organizational phenomenon that is not easily defined and not solely bounded to task-related considerations. There are inherent objective and subjective components associated with virtual work. Virtual work is a value-laden, politically rich, nuanced form of organizational functioning that has significant ecological considerations and implications. Virtual work is complicated by the constant attention given to tasks, social concerns, informal and formal communication, labor (emotional, psychological and physical), impression management, face-saving techniques, virtual dramaturgy, motivating virtual workers, surveillance, mentoring, rewarding and punishing virtual work behaviors, decision-making, socializing virtual workers, organizational change, diversity issues associated with virtual work, leading a virtual work team/group, etc. In essence, virtual work is indeed work! Additionally, virtual work is structurally complex due to the minimal physical contact cues (e.g. nonverbal) that are heavily relied upon and taken for granted in traditional face-to-face work arrangements. Objective of the Book This book will serve as an authoritative scholarly publication on qualitative and quantitative approaches in studying virtual work. By centralizing the study of human communication and behavior in virtual work, this book narrows the research site to electronic-only habitants and activities and offers new and fresh opportunities for researchers to explore ways to better understanding the human work condition operating virtually. As more individuals traffic in online domains, it is critical that social, humanist and behavioral scientists simultaneously and systematically study this environment to better understand the socio-technical conditions of working virtually. This book will offer both qualitative and quantitative research approaches from an interdisciplinary perspective for readers interested in studying virtual work and the workers that populate this emerging domain. More importantly, this book seeks to offer best research practices for understanding particular communication and behavioral phenomenon in the virtual work sphere. This publication will focus on mainstream methodologies, as well as unique approaches that are germane to the virtual work environment. Target Audience The target audience of this book will be composed of researchers, professionals and advanced students working in the fields of communication, information and knowledge management, information technology, computer science, management information science, management, sociology, industrial/organizational psychology, and a host of other related disciplines. Moreover, the book will provide insights and support researchers concerned with studying individuals and organizations in the virtual work environment. Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following: Quantitative Methods in Virtual Work Experimental research in virtual work Survey research in virtual work Content Analysis in virtual work Qualitative Research in Virtual Work Ethnographic research in virtual work Virtual Research Interviews Virtual Focus Groups Virtual work Phenomenology Virtual Work Discourse Analysis Narrative Research in Virtual Work Virtual Work Auto-ethnographic research Grounded Theory Research in Virtual Work Dramaturgical Research in Virtual Work Virtual Work Diary/Journal Research Research Software in Virtual Work Submission Procedure Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before March 1, 2011, a 2-3 page chapter proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of her/his proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by March 15, 2011 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by May 11, 2011. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Publisher This book is scheduled to be published in 2012 by IGI Global, publisher of the "Information Science Reference", "Medical Information Science Reference, "Business Science Reference, "and "Engineering Science Reference" imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com. Important Dates March 1, 2011 Proposal Submission Deadline March 15, 2011 Notification of Acceptance May 11, 2011 Full Chapter Submission August 30, 2011 Final Chapter Submission Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) or by mail to: Dr. Shawn D. Long Department of Communication Studies The University of North Carolina at Charlotte 9201 University City Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28223 Shawn.long@uncc.edu Tel: 704-687-3900
