As the new semester begins I'd like to bring your attention to a new
website:
http://www.ifsm.umbc.edu/onlinecommunities/, which contains
links and resources for those teaching Online Communities, HCI, Social
Informatics and
classes about CyberCulture.  The site is developed to support my new
book: 'Online Communities: Designing usability, supporting sociability',
which is
published by John Wiley and Sons, Chichester: UK.

The website contains the first chapter of 'Online Communities' and its table
of contents.
The book introduces the reader to a variety of online communities, reviews
research
in Psychology and Sociology that underpins our understanding of social
interaction in
cyberspace. The second half of the book provides a methodology for
developing
online communities with examples and guidelines. The last chapter looks
towards
the future and proposes a research agenda.


Jennifer Preece, Prof. & Chair
Information Systems Dept.
University of Maryland Baltimore County
1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250

Tel (410) 455 6238 (3795 Office) (1217 Fax)
http://www.ifsm.umbc.edu/~preece
book: http://www.ifsm.umbc.edu/onlinecommunities