Innovative Advisory Services in the Virtual World : An Empowerment Perspective

Online-Ressource (X, 67 p. 29 illus, online resource)

Description based upon print version of record

Preface; Acknowledgments; Contents; 1 Introduction; References; 2 Virtual Advisors in the Virtual World; 2.1 Virtual Advisors and Social Presence; 2.2 Virtual Advisors and Online Trust; 2.3 Virtual Advisors and the IT Empowerment Framework for Advisory Services; References; 3 Virtual Advisors in Various Application Domains; 3.1 Commercial Advisors: Shopping Assistant for Improved Customer Experience in the Virtual World; 3.1.1 Existing Practices; 3.1.2 What is Happening in Research Laboratories; 3.1.3 Future Extensions to Online Shopping Assistants in the Virtual World

3.2 Health Advisors: Virtual-World Systems to Provide Patient Education and Treatment3.2.1 Existing Practices; 3.2.2 Future Trends as Predicted by the Literature; 3.3 Virtual Counsellors: Preliminary Diagnoses and Suggestions to Serve the Community; 3.3.1 Existing Practices; 3.3.2 What is Happening in Research Laboratories; 3.4 Travel Advisors: Helping Users to Explore the Real and Virtual Worlds; 3.4.1 Existing Practices; 3.4.2 Future Trends; 3.5 Academic Advisors: Learning and Collaboration in the Virtual World; 3.5.1 Existing Practices; 3.5.2 What Is Happening in Research Laboratories

3.5.3 Future Trends for Educational Advice in Virtual-World Environments3.6 Ethical Advisors: Do They have a Future?; 3.6.1 Existing Practices; 3.6.2 The Future of Virtual Ethical Advisors; References; 4 Preliminary Data Collections on User Opinions About Virtual Advisors; 4.1 Exploring Users' Preferences for the Design of Virtual Advisors; 4.2 Results of Preliminary Experiments; References; 5 Discussion and Implications; References; 6 Conclusions; Appendix I Interview Protocols for Semi-structured and In-depth Interviews

10.1007/978-3-642-41112-0 [DOI]

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