Introduction
The Virtual Communities theme is an emergent field of research and applications. Several real life projects have already been implemented in several fields, though a lot of challenges have not yet been fully addressed (e.g. trust, security, societal aspects). The new emergent technologies, such as ambient intelligence and pervasive computing and usability, promise a considerable leap in the way people may use Virtual Communities and suggest new innovative applications. For these reasons, we believe that there is a need for a book that depicts the building blocks of Virtual communities in the Information Society, adopting a holistic approach, covering technologies, application, and societal aspects.

Objective of the Book
This book will aim to provide relevant theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings in the area. It will be written for professionals who want to improve their understanding of the strategic role of Virtual Communities in the Information Society at different levels and in different domains. It provides state of the art holistic coverage of virtual communities that discuss different facets, such as technology, knowledge modeling, Mobility security and trust, as well as the social impact and applications.

Target Audience
The target audience of this book will be composed of professionals and researchers working in the field of virtual communities, information systems, computer science, knowledge management, software engineering, health informatics, and other disciplines, e.g. healthcare, business, management, information and communication sciences, education, sociology. Moreover, the book will provide insights for managers looking to exploit the virtual community paradigm to create new applications and opportunities in the different domains.

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
Infrastructures
Content modeling
- Semantics and Interoperability
- Knowledge and Information Modeling
Content Management
- Data, Document and Knowledge
Context Awareness and Ambient intelligence
Web services
Multi-Agent Systems
Usability
Mobility
- Wearable and pervasive/ubiquitous computing
Security
Trust
Platforms and Frameworks
Applications and business models
- Community of Practice (CoP)
- Community of Interest
- Healthcare, tourism, citizen oriented, etc.
Social Dimension
- Ethical, legal, cultural and psychological aspects

Submission Procedure
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before April 10, 2010, a 2-3 page chapter proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by May 10, 2010 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by July 1, 2010. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.

Publisher
This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group 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. This publication is scheduled to be released in 2011.

Important Dates
April 10, 2010: Proposal Submission Deadline
May 10, 2010: Notification of Acceptance
July 1, 2010: Full Chapter Submission
September 15, 2010: Review Results Returned
November 15, 2010: Final Chapter Submission
December 30, 2010: Final Deadline

Editorial Advisory Board
Sabah Mohammed : Lakehead university, Canada
Ioannis Apostolakis, Natinoal School of Public Health, Greece
Harry Halpin, W3C, UK
Olivier Boissier, Ecole des Mines de Saint Etienne, France
Jacques Calmet, Karlsruhe Intitute of Technology, Germany
Xavier Boucher, Ecole des Mines de Saint Etienne, France
Philip Robinson, SAP Research, UK
Bert-Jan van Beijnum, University of Twente, Netherlands
Rajendra Akerkar, Western Norway Research Institute, Norway
Jörn ALTMANN, Seoul National University, Korea
Cécile Bothorel, Institut Telecom Bretagne, France
Fabien Gandon, INRIA Sophia Antipolis, France

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