31 August 2008

Call for papers: Innovation Management

Call for papers: Innovation Management

A special issue of International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management

Innovation management is an important concept for the 21st century. An organisation’s competitive advantage depends on the ability of its people and systems to manage innovation and seek sustainability. Innovation management and sustainable strategic management appear to go together in practice, a link especially important in dynamic environments. For an organisation to achieve sustainability, its people should be innovative. Likewise, the organisation should support a culture of innovation.

Innovation management research involves interdisciplinary dialogue and scholarship on the management of innovation from a variety of perspectives, including behavioural, managerial, operational, and strategic issues. The goal of this special issue is to address and publish the latest articles on a variety of topics related to innovation management and sustainable strategic management. Special interest is innovations in the medical field.

Topics include but are not limited to:
  • Innovative practices in e-commerce
  • The management of innovation processes & process technologies
  • Research and development for sustainability
  • Innovation development and diffusion
  • Intellectual capital and sustainable strategic management
  • Sustainable product development strategies
  • Behaviors and characteristics of technical professionals that support innovation
  • Case studies related to innovation management and sustainability

Important Dates
Early submission deadline [*]: 1 January 2009
Full paper deadline: 15 March 2009
Notification of status & acceptance of paper: 1 May 2009
Final version of paper: 1 June 2009.

[*] Completed manuscripts that meet the early submission deadline will be provided an opportunity for revision. If the revision is completed by the full paper deadline, these manuscripts will be entered into a second round of peer review.

Call for papers: Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape

Call for papers: Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape

A special issue of International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management

Crisis management seeks to prevent unfortunate events that occur to organisations and the natural environment. When such events do occur, crisis management strategies seek to mitigate their impacts. Although a crisis can negatively impact efforts at sustainable development at both the organisational and national levels, there is little research that bridges the gulf between these two disciplines.

This issue seeks to address this schism between crisis management and sustainable development by publishing relevant papers that bridge the gap.

The subject coverage of this special issue includes, but is not limited to:
  • New methods of scanning the environment for crisis threats
  • The relationship between strategic planning and crisis management
  • New technological interventions in crisis management
  • The role of crisis management in sustainable development
  • Research agendas that integrate sustainable development and crisis management
  • The interplay of national culture, sustainable development, and crisis occurrence
  • Identifying governments that tend to be the most successful at planning for crises and sustainable development efforts
  • How the politics of disaster help or hurt sustainable development progress
  • How organisations have reinvented themselves to support sustainable development after facing a crisis
  • Identifying standards can organisations use to evaluate their success or failure in crisis management and sustainable development
  • How governments hinder and help efforts at sustainable development.
Important Dates
Early submission deadline [*]: 1 February 2009
Full paper deadline: 15 May 2009
Notification of status & acceptance of paper: 1 July 2009
Final version of paper: 1 August 2009.

[*] Completed manuscripts that meet the early submission deadline will be provided an opportunity for revision. If the revision is completed by the full paper deadline, these manuscripts will be entered into a second round of peer review.

First issue: International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism

International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism encourages multidisciplinary discussion and research on the adoption of information and communication technologies in the contexts of culture and tourism. Its key objective is to be the leading scholarly scientific journal for all those interested in, researching and contributing to the cultivation of a regional and global vision for the management of cultural content and tourism.

There is a free download of the papers from this first issue.

Special issue: Spoofing issues and anti-spoofing

International Journal of Biometrics 1(2) 2008
  • Local binary pattern and wavelet-based spoof fingerprint detection
  • Hybrid fingerprint authentication using artifact-metrics
  • A user authentication based on human reflexes using blind spot and saccade response
  • A novel wavelet packet-based anti-spoofing technique to secure ECG data
  • Personal authentication based on buying history applying classification method
  • Robust face recognition using wavelet transform and autoassociative neural network

Special issue: Modelling languages for agent systems

International Journal of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering 2(4) 2008
  • MAS-ML: a multiagent system modelling language
  • Automated testing sequences generation from AUML diagrams: a formal verification of agents' interaction protocols
  • Formally specifying and verifying mobile agents – model checking mobility: the MobiOZ approach

Special issue: Advanced control systems in automotive applications

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control 3(3) 2008
  • Simplified extended Kalman filter for automotive state estimation
  • Compensation of vehicle dynamic induced navigation errors with dual antenna GPS attitude measurements
  • Power split strategy for hybrid power system with capacitive energy buffer
  • Emission reduction during TWC warm-up: control synthesis and hardware-in-the-loop verification
  • Robust output fuzzy control for vehicle lateral dynamic stability improvement
  • Modelling, simulation and predictive control of a spark ignition engine
  • A robust automotive controller design
  • Second-order sliding mode control of a platoon of vehicles
  • The Empact CVT: modelling, simulation and experiments
  • Fuzzy control of a turbocharged diesel engine
  • Alterable fuzzy sets in automotive control applications
  • Transient lean burn air-fuel ratio linear parameter-varying control using input shaping
  • Torque modelling for optimising fuel economy in variable compression engines

28 August 2008

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Remanufacturing

International Journal of Remanufacturing - to begin publication in 2009 - will deal with remanufacturing in all its guises from products to buildings. It aims for the first time to bring together the broad spectrum of knowledge, practice and research in remanufacturing in order to facilitate a holistic understanding of remanufacturing across all the disciplines concerned. It will address remanufacturing from all aspects of sustainability, namely environment, economic and societal perspectives.

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics

International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics - to begin publication in 2009 - will encourage a new discipline called Intelligent Engineering Informatics, which is dedicated to interdisciplinary research on artificial intelligence, cognitive science, knowledge engineering, information technology, and engineering management. Intelligent Engineering Informatics can be seen as an emerging science supporting engineering management activities using intelligent information processing and knowledge reasoning techniques

Call for papers: Surface Science and Engineering in Tribology

Call for papers: Surface Science and Engineering in Tribology

A special issue of International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering

Tribology is a highly interdisciplinary subject involving mechanics, chemistry, physics, material science and engineering. Different surface morphology and mechanical properties greatly affect tribological properties. Various technologies such as surface coating, surface texturing, along with different surface characterization and evaluation are used to control and enhance the tribological performances. Both the processing technology and the fundamental problems of how the different surface morphology and surface mechanical properties affect friction and wear of materials are very important for the tribology community.

The goal of the special issue is to present to researchers and engineers in this technical community a state-of-the-art development of tribology research in surface science and engineering. The introduction of novel techniques for surface texturing, surface characterization and evaluation, as well as their functional applications in different areas, will be presented.

Papers fall into, but are not limited to, the following areas:
  • Tribology of coatings
  • Tribology of surface and interface
  • Friction and wear
  • Micro/nano tribology
  • Tribo-chemistry
  • Industrial tribology
Important Date
Deadline for submission of manuscripts: 31 March 2009

Call for papers: Recent Advances in Differential Evolution

Call for papers: Recent Advances in Differential Evolution

A special issue of International Journal of Bio-Inspired Computation

Differential evolution (DE) is a method of mathematical optimization of multi- dimensional functions and belongs to the class of evolution strategy optimizers. DE finds the global minimum of a multidimensional, multimodal (i.e. exhibiting more than one minimum) function with good probability. The crucial idea behind DE is a scheme for generating trial parameter vectors. DE adds the weighted difference between two population vectors to a third vector. In this way, no separate probability distribution has to be used, which makes the scheme completely self-organizing.

The objective of this special issue is to bring researchers from academia and industry together to report and review the latest progresses in this field, and to explore future directions.

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Theoretical advances in differential evolution methodology
  • Differential evolution n for complex constrained optimisation problems
  • Differential evolution for multi-objective optimisation problems
  • Differential evolution for dynamic environment optimisation
  • Hybrid methods combined with other optimisation techniques
  • Learning and search strategies in differential evolution
  • Applications of differential evolution, such as bio-informatics and chem-informatics, computational biology, etc.
  • Future directions of differential evolution
Important Dates
Submission Deadline: 1 November, 2008
Acceptance Notification: 1 February,2009
Final Manuscript Submission: 1 March,2009

Call for papers: Islamic Banking and Finance

Call for papers: Islamic Banking and Finance

A special issue of International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance

Interest in Islamic banking has grown considerably during the last decade. The main issues of concern are the conceptual framework and viability of interest-free banking, and the assessment of its performance and future. The aim of this special issue is to provide a central platform and communication channel for researcher, academics, business leaders, industry practitioners and policymakers relating to Islamic banking. The special issue will address the innovations and challenges within the Islamic finance industry and the long-term impact, scope and authenticity of these notions in an Islamic community and way of life.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
  • The Shari'ah requirements in Islamic banking
  • Islamic financial products and its likeness in conventional banks
  • Islamic banking techniques and their conformity with the Islamic Shari'ah
  • Financial innovation and Islamic banking
  • The impact of the Basel II Capital Accord on Islamic banking
  • Islamic banking and corporate governance
  • Islamic banking and securitisation
  • Risk management in Islamic finance
Important Date
Deadline for receipt of manuscripts is: April 30th 2009

Call for papers: Technology and Model Applications in Tourism Management

Call for papers: Technology and Model Applications in Tourism Management

A special issue of International Journal of Services Technology and Management

Technology and model applications play an increasing role in contributing to the development of tourism research. Effective technology and models are desired in all sectors to resolve multi-stage, multi-player, and multi-objective tourism management problems.

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of tourism management, this special issue’s strategies are to invite and encourage techniques and models from various disciplines that include ecology, environment, informatics, economics, management, psychology, and sociology to resolve tourism management issues. The special issue aims to establish an effective channel of communication between decision makers and academics, and thus to expand frontiers of knowledge in and contribute to the literature on tourism management and to meet the needs of accelerating technological change and changes in the global economy.

This special issue will be international in scope and authors are encouraged to submit both theoretical and applied articles addressing the theme of the special issue.

Topics of papers to be covered include, but are not limited to:
  • Application of environmental and ecological techniques in tourism management
  • Eco-design and eco-efficiency in tourism management
  • Evaluation methodology of tourism resources (nature or culture resources )
  • Evaluation methodology of tourism service quality
  • Evaluation methodology of destination competitiveness
  • Interest equilibrium method of multi-stakeholders in tourism management
  • Econometrics modelling and analysis in tourism economy
  • Risk decision making in tourism management
  • Emergency tourism management
  • Application of mathematical and statistical techniques in tourism management
  • Application of information technology in tourism management
  • E-services in tourism management
  • Conflict models for tourism and heterogeneous industry
  • Strategy and operation and innovation in tourism management
  • Tourism value chain and operational research
  • Other issues related technology and model applications of ecology, environment, informatics, economics, management, psychology, and sociology approaches to resolving tourism management issues.
Important Dates
Deadline for submission of manuscripts: 1 December, 2008
Notification of acceptance/rejection to authors: 1 February 2009
Final acceptance of manuscript: 30 March 2009

Call for papers: Non-Technological and Non-Economic Innovations and Their Impact on Economy

Call for papers: Non-Technological and Non-Economic Innovations and Their Impact on Economy

A special issue of International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development

Discourses on innovation are characterised by contradictory concepts: the label innovation qualifies products or processes as well as their market entry; and both intra-organisational change and new forms of inter-organisational co-operation are said to be (open) innovation. At the same time, the immense scale of concepts cover just a narrow scope of research interests: mostly, innovation is about technology. Thus, we do not so far know much about non-technical innovations (NTI), or non-technical sources of technical innovations.

Additionally, we find that this bias is flanked by an economy bias, which is even more surprising against the background of the multi-dimensional reality of innovation:
  • The regionalisation of national innovation regimes is accompanied by the installation of more negotiation-based innovation systems. In the course of this transformation, both the number and the diversity of involved actors and their practices have been increasing. Meanwhile, studies on contemporary knowledge societies, on the MODE 2 of science, and on the triple-helix of innovation all indicate that the design of robust innovation is, to a great extent, about the finding a well-tempered balance between political, scientific, and economic forms of interests.
  • For decades, private companies have been understood as part of the economy. Due to increasing insights in the relevance of intangible resources, organisational learning, and multi-stakeholder approaches, current organizations are said to be in need of a more polyphonic self-concept. Meanwhile, even banks and insurance companies seem to follow the idea that they produce much more than just economic values.
  • If we are in need of commodities, machines, and financial resources, then we go to the market. If we are in need of human resources, intercultural competence, and social capital, then we also go. In both cases, the term market means the economic market, which raises issues as it is hard to imagine that we can buy cultural or social capital on economic markets. Thus, currently, we are experiencing an increasing popularity of theories and concepts of the social embeddedness of markets, or even of the existence of non-economic markets.
Nonetheless, most concepts, indicators, and databases focus only on the economic dimensions of innovation. That is, most researchers and practitioners focus on just a narrow range of dimensions when they discuss on the multi-dimensional phenomenon called innovation.

The contradiction between the most polyphonic realities and the rather one-dimensional concepts of innovation provokes the central questions of this special issue.

Papers should address research questions in the field, including but not limited to the following questions and topics:
  • Why do we know so little about NTI and non-economic innovations (NEI), so far? What impact does this lack have on public understanding of innovation in general and economic performance in particular?
  • Which forms and dimensions of NTI and NEI can be found both in literature and empirically? What impact do these findings have either on current theorising about innovation, on regulatory practices in this field or on the concrete performance of innovating systems?
  • Are there innovations without an NTI or NEI dimension, that is, is there something like pure TI or EI innovation? How good are current indicators of innovation? What could adequate indicators for NTI or NEI look like? How could they complement current indicators for TI and EI?
  • Are there further biases in innovation? How do these (often hidden or self-evident) biases influence public understanding of innovation? How can they be identified and studied?
  • Which paradoxes and conflicts are emerging in the context of management and the efforts to balance economic and non-economic dimensions of innovation?
  • How do polyphonic organisations identify, balance, and anticipate relevant resources, competences, and market structures? What relationships between reflexivity of organisations and their organisational pattern can be identified?
  • How can we measure the innovativeness or changeability of organisations?
  • What does an adequate concept of the diffusion of innovation in(to) non-economic markets look like? What kind of innovation barriers are we to be expecting in the context of non-economic innovations?
  • Is open innovation a case of (trans-)economic innovation?
Important Dates
Manuscript due: 31 December, 2008
Acceptance notification: 28 February, 2008
Final manuscript due: 30 April, 2009

Special issue: Quality in multi-channel services employing virtual channels

International Journal of Internet and Enterprise Management 5(4) 2008
  • Perceived quality, satisfaction and customer loyalty: an empirical study in the mobile phones sector in Brazil
  • Application of quality methodologies to the development of a website
  • Instrumentation and measurement of multi-channel services systems
Additional Papers
  • IT-enablement of Knowledge Management: the modelling of enablers
  • User involvement to enhance expertise in system development

Special issue: Managing for making a difference: transactions on information and knowledge in new product development.

International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning 4(3) 2008
  • Capturing tacit knowledge in New Product Development: a study of Post-Project Reviews
  • Innovation projects need resilience
  • Exploring the connectedness of New Product Development decision-making levels
  • Product Development in SMEs: a literature review
  • Knowledge-based New Product Development: fostering innovation through knowledge co-creation
  • Proactive knowledge management: an independent enabler of New Product Development success?
  • Epilogue: Acquiring information and integrating knowledge in New Product Development projects

Special issue: Multifunctionality of agriculture and rural areas: from trade negotiations to contributing to sustainable development

International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology 7(4/5) 2008

This Special Issue is based on some results of MULTAGRI, a European research project: Capitalisation of research on multifunctionality of agriculture and rural areas.
  • Multifunctionality: refocusing a spreading, loose and fashionable concept for looking at sustainability?
  • Multifunctionality: epistemic diversity and concept oriented research clusters
  • Farm models and economic valuation in the context of multifunctionality: a review of approaches from France, Germany, The Netherlands and Portugal
  • Multifunctionality of agricultural activities, changing rural identities and new institutional arrangements
  • Review of studies on the establishment and management of policies for multifunctionality
  • Evaluation of policies in terms of the multifunctionality of agriculture and rural space: more integrative conceptual and analytical frameworks needed
  • Conclusion: Which perspectives for future research on multifunctionality of agriculture and rural areas?

Special issue: The economics of illegal financial markets

Global Business and Economics Review 10(3) 2008
  • Worldwide anti-money laundering regulation: estimating the costs and benefits
  • Illegal finance, interest rates and bank lending: the missing supply side of usury
  • Implementing the new anti-money laundering directive in Europe: legal and enforcement issues; the Italian case
  • Money laundering and financial means of organised crime: some preliminary empirical findings
  • Competing for criminal money
  • International standards in anti-money laundering and combating the terrorist financing regulation: compliance and strategy changes

Special issue: Efficiency and productivity analysis: theoretical issues and practical concerns in the international perspective

International Journal of Business Performance Management 10(4) 2008

Papers from the inaugural conference of the UK Efficiency and Productivity Analysis Network (UKEPAN) held in February 2006 in Leicester, UK.
  • Country-level business performance and policy asymmetries in the UK
  • Deregulation and productivity growth: a study of the Indian commercial banking industry
  • Parametric and nonparametric Malmquist productivity decomposition: a case study of European commercial banks
  • Measuring productivity under different incentive structures
  • Global productivity growth from 1980–2000: a regional view using the Malmquist total factor productivity index
  • Productivity growth and structural changes in a partially liberalised market: a distance function approach
  • The perceived fairness and efficiency of used car markets

Special issue: The globalisation of Chinese brands

International Journal of Chinese Culture and Management 1(4) 2008
The special issue has its roots in a two-day research symposium for invited guests, held at Rollins College, Orlando, Florida, USA, in December 2006,
  • The collapse of the work enterprise system and the expansion of moral involvement in urban China
  • An institutional and organisational learning perspective on the content of strategic formation choices of international joint ventures in China
  • Chinese companies going global: the operational strategies and communication challenges
  • Market performance and the corporate governance structure: the implications for China
  • Chinese brands: the build or buy considerations
  • The US consumer perceptions of imported automobiles: the challenges for emerging market country manufacturers
  • Understanding the growth models of Chinese multinational corporations
  • A Chinese multinational corporation's manufacturing internationalisation process
  • Geely motors: a Chinese automaker enters international markets

27 August 2008

Special issue: Global value chains and innovation networks: prospects for industrial upgrading in developing countries. Part 1

International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development 1(3) 2008
  • Mapping integrative trade: conceptualising and measuring global value chains
  • Inter-firm relationships in global value chains: trends in chain governance and their policy implications
  • Value chain analysis: a tool for enhancing export supply policies
  • Innovation offshoring and outsourcing: what are the implications for industrial policy?
  • Measuring international production fragmentation: where do we stand?
  • Fuelling the global value chains: what role for logistics capabilities?
  • From clusters to cluster-based economic development
  • Regional innovation systems: origin of the species
  • Beyond interoperability to digital ecosystems: regional innovation and socio-economic development led by SMEs
  • Linking to global logistics value chains: an imperative for developing countries

Special issue: Exploring the role of knowledge management technologies in PLM

International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management 3(1) 2008
  • Practitioner requirements for integrated Knowledge-Based Engineering in Product Lifecycle Management
  • Discontinuity in organisations: identifying business environments affecting efficiency of knowledge flows in Product Lifecycle Management
  • PLM, process, practice and provenance: knowledge provenance in support of business practices in Product Lifecycle Management
  • How closed-loop PLM improves Knowledge Management over the complete product lifecycle and enables the factory of the future
Additional Paper
  • Integrated reliability and optimal maintenance schedule design: a Life Cycle Cost based approach

Special issue: Data warehousing in web, mobile, and wireless environments

International Journal of Web Engineering and Technology 4(4) 2008
  • Warehousing complex data from the web
  • Web services-oriented architectures for mobile SOLAP applications
  • A web-based architecture for Temporal OLAP
  • Integrating XML data in the TARGIT OLAP system
  • Quantity comparison of concurrency control methods for XML database systems based on DOM API

Special issue: International branding and marketing communications

Journal for Global Business Advancement 1(4) 2008
  • Motivators and critical factors in mobile banking communications: the case of Kuwait
  • Are net surfers ready for audio banners?
  • International celebrities: worldwide surrogate salesforce?
  • Implicit prices of product characteristics in the milk and cheese market
  • Website development as a means of communication: a case study for the Kolossi Grand Hotel, Cyprus
  • The marketing implications of the 'undesired self'; the case of Chinese Y-generation
  • Evaluation of the Khula enterprise in the promotion of SMMEs in South Africa
  • The impact of culture in TV advertising behaviour: an exploratory study in Southeast Asia
  • Consumer self-construal and cross-cultural marketing communications: theory and implications
  • Gathering perceptions of Soweto small business owners on advertising in black townships in South Africa

First issue: International Journal of Society Systems Science

The objectives of International Journal of Society Systems Science are to deal with the interdisciplinary principles, architectures, techniques, methodologies, models and appropriate strategies that can solve society-related dilemmas, such as pollution, poverty, terrorism, crime, disease and starvation.

There is a free download of the papers from this first issue.

First issue: International Journal of Sustainable Economy

A sustainable economy is one characterised by development decisions, policies and practices that accelerate the need to do more with less by making better use of resources, increase investment, promote stability and competition, develop skills and reward work and respect the cultural experiences of societies. Sustainable development requires us to take a long term view of the economy, rather than adopting short term fixes. International Journal of Sustainable Economy addresses these issues.
There is a free download of the papers from this first issue.

First issue: International Journal of Project Organisation and Management

Project management has perhaps become the preserve mainly of specialised professions such as engineering and architecture. By taking a broader organisational perspective and by covering a wider range of industries and professions, International Journal of Project Organisation and Management will appeal to a wider readership which includes not only those with an interest in mainstream management topics but also practitioners engaged in an unlimited variety of projects.
There is a free download of the papers from this first issue.

First issue: International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences

International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences emphasises the presentation and distribution of ground-breaking and original theories and concepts which can shape future directions of research. It supports discussions on how information systems can promote decision making, and also in turn, how the advances brought about by these decision making practices can affect the growth in, and future application of, information technology. All models (normative, descriptive, cognitive, and prescriptive) are encouraged.
There is a free download of the papers from this first issue.

First issue: International Journal of Data Analysis Techniques and Strategies

Many current data analysis techniques are beyond the reach of most managers and practitioners. International Journal of Data Analysis Techniques and Strategies bridges the gaps between the academic ivory tower and the real world; quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques ; and a specific technique and an overall strategy.
There is a free download of the papers from this first issue

First issue: International Journal of Applied Management Science

International Journal of Applied Management Science promotes applied management sciences and stimulate discussions, deliberations and debates on different management science strategies, principles, models, methodologies, techniques, applications in the field of business, commerce, industry, and government. The two main management science schools of thought, in terms of "hard" decision models and "soft" ones, can intersect, interchange, and integrate their ideas.

There is a free download of the papers from this first issue.

16 August 2008

Special issue: Human health, life and radiation

International Journal of Low Radiation 5(2) 2008
  • The study of radon levels and absorbed dose in the staff and visitors of Alisadr Cave
  • The investigation and measurement of the radon gas working level inside buildings in Rafsanjan
  • An evaluation of the fraction of survivor cells and cell death after exposure to accelerated heavy ions
  • Radiation exposure and evolutionary perspectives with special references to neutral theory
  • The Monte Carlo simulation of the TLD response function: scattered radiation field application
  • Cytogenetic bio-indicators and their implications in biomonitoring individuals exposed to chronic and low doses of ionising radiation
  • The paradigm that failed
  • The novel mechanism of metastasis inhibition by low-dose whole-body irradiation with gamma-rays
  • Calculation of radiation doses to human organs from consumption of marine fish

Special issue: Research methods in emergency management

International Journal of Emergency Management 5(1/2) 2008

Most of the contributions in this issue expand upon methodologically innovative or focused papers from the 2007 Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management Conference (ISCRAM).
  • Preference elicitation and sensitivity analysis in multicriteria group decision support for industrial risk and emergency management
  • A conceptual model of disasters encompassing multiple stakeholder domains
  • The Borsele files: the challenge of acquiring usable data under chaotic circumstances
  • Brokerage roles in disaster response: organisational mediation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
  • Causality, covariates and consensus in ISCRAM research: towards a more robust study design in a transdisciplinary community
  • An automated online crisis dispatcher
  • Making the future palpable: notes from a major incidents future laboratory
  • A formal method to analyse human reasoning and interpretation in incident management

15 August 2008

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Structural Engineering

International Journal of Structural Engineering - to begin publication in 2009 - aims to provide an international forum for research in structural engineering. Particularly welcome are the latest development in the theory, experimental and design methods relating to engineering structures such as buildings, bridges, offshore platforms, etc.

Product Lifecycle Management Summit North America 2008

International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management is a media partner for the PLM Summit North America 2008 to be held at The World Golf Village, St Augustine, Florida on 13-14 October 2008. |

14 August 2008

First issue: American Journal of Finance and Accounting

American Journal of Finance and Accounting is an interdisciplinary journal for finance and accounting professionals in academia, governmental, and other organisations and will enhance research outlets for the finance and accounting disciplines in North America.
There is a free download of the papers from this first issue.

First issue: International Journal of Arts and Technology

International Journal of Arts and Technology is concerned with research and artworks that advance state-of-the-art contributions in the area of the arts and new technologies. The focus is on the multi-disciplinary emerging area of computational art, including the use of intelligent devices, sensors and ambient intelligent/ubiquitous systems.
There is a free download of the papers from this first issue

Special issue: The Indo–US Civil Nuclear Cooperation

Atoms for Peace: an International Journal 2(1) 2008
  • Editorial: The Indo–US Civil Nuclear Cooperation
  • Why does India require uranium through the 123 Agreement?
  • Nuclear technology and its challenges in India
  • The May 1998 Pokhran tests: scientific aspects
  • Economics of nuclear power in the Indian context
  • Nuclear energy and India
  • Alternative matrices for India's future power demands
  • Strategy for combining fast growth in electricity generation capacity with the early introduction of the thorium cycle in India
  • Historical, regulatory and safety aspects of nuclear energy in India

13 August 2008

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems

International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems - to begin publication in 2009 - will publish papers related to the theory, simulation and practice of all aspects of UWB communications, signal processing, networking and systems.

Call for papers: Human Adaptive Mechatronics (HAM)

Call for papers: Human Adaptive Mechatronics (HAM)

A special issue of International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems

Human adaptive mechatronics (HAM) is a topic that addresses intelligent electrical-mechanical systems that are able to adapt themselves to a human’s skill in various environments, and provide assistance in improving the skill and overall operation of the combined human-machine system to achieve improved performance. It is clear that humans have strong and extremely adaptive natural mechanisms that are able to accommodate external environmental disturbances under which internal life cycle operations can still be regulated very effectively. It has been of great interest to human beings to apply similar biologically-inspired mechanisms to man-made systems such as “mechatronically” built robots, unmanned air vehicles, airplanes, auto pilot steering systems, engineering ergonomics, and numerous examples encountered in autonomous systems. It aims to study automata from an engineering perspective and to serve the purpose of controlling advanced engineering systems. The improvement in human-machine interfaces has made advanced intelligent machines possible without special education and training.

This special issue aims to provide a current perspective of Human Adaptive Mechatronics including fundamental aspects of its theory, illustrative applications and associated technologies.

Papers on the following topics are welcome but not limited to:
  • Fundamental theory of human adaptive mechatronics
  • Modelling and control methodologies
  • Identification of human behaviour and operation
  • Human intelligence, learning, and understanding including cognition
  • Assistive robotics and mechatronics
  • Human-machine, computer and mechatronics interaction and coordination
  • Medical applications of human adaptive mechatronics
  • Sensors and actuators in human adaptive mechatronics
  • Service, healthcare and surgical robots
Important Date
Submission deadline: 15 January 2009

Call for papers: Quality Assurance in Education Management

Call for papers: Quality Assurance in Education Management

A special issue of International Journal of Management in Education

The general theme of this Special Issue focuses on quality assurance. Since the 1980s, crossborder higher education through the mobility of students, academic staff, programmes / institutions and professionals has grown considerably. In parallel, new delivery modes have appeared, such as campuses abroad, electronic delivery of higher education and for-profit providers. These new forms of higher education offer increased opportunities for improving the skills and competencies of individual students but also present new challenges in ensuring quality – developing appropriate procedures and systems in order to maximise the benefits and limit the potential drawbacks of the internationalisation of higher education on quality.

The establishment of appropriate quality assurance systems has become a necessity, not only for monitoring quality in higher education delivered within the country, but also for engaging in delivery of higher education internationally. This Special Issue aims to provide a venue for high quality papers focusing on the analytical and empirical study of quality assurance processes in private and public sector organisations - including cases and action research.


Subject Coverage

Papers are solicited that address these issues from an empirical and/or conceptual point of view. Possible topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
  • Policies and procedures for quality assurance.
  • Approval, monitoring and periodic review of programs and awards.
  • Assessment of students.
  • Quality assurance of teaching staff.
  • Learning resources and student support.
  • Information systems.
  • Use of internal quality assurance procedures.
  • Development of external quality assurance processes.
  • Quality assurance criteria for decisions
  • Quality assurance process and fit with the institutions purpose.
  • Quality assurance reporting.
  • Periodic quality reviews.
  • Use of external quality assurance procedures.
  • Analysis of political, economic, social, legal and cultural environment in which educational organisations work
  • Autonomy, professionalism and decision policies
  • Case studies from schools in different countries
  • Change management and education quality
  • Classroom management
  • Computers in educational administration
  • Differing cultural perceptions of management in education
  • Distance education and multimedia environments
  • Education economics
  • Educational leadership
  • Educational systems planning/strategic planning
  • Equity and education
  • Finance and accountability
  • Globalisation and education
  • Individual professional learning portfolio
  • Information systems for education and training support
  • Knowledge and education
  • Leadership in education
  • Lifelong learning and development of competences
  • Management in higher education
  • Management of e-education
  • Managing the curriculum
  • Marketing in education
  • Mobile learning: policy and management
  • Organisations as learning communities
  • Policy analysis and evaluation of institutions and study programmes
  • Professional development of teaching staff
  • Public policies management
  • Research methods in education
  • School and school system improvement
  • Transactional education, student and teaching mobility
  • Other relevant topic areas
Important Dates
Abstract Submission: 1 December, 2008
Final Paper Submission: 1 February, 2009

Special issue: Prospects for nuclear energy in the 21st Century

International Journal of Global Energy Issues 30(1/2/3/4) 2008
  • Prospects for nuclear power in the 21st century: a world tour
  • Long-term performance targets for nuclear energy. Part 1: The global scenario context
  • Long-term performance targets for nuclear energy. Part 2: Markets and learning rates
  • Prospects for nuclear energy in Europe
  • Prospects for nuclear energy in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus
  • Prospects for nuclear power development in the Russian Federation and Central Asian countries
  • Prospects for nuclear energy in West Asia and North Africa
  • Prospects for nuclear power in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 21st century
  • Prospects of nuclear energy in the 21st century in Southwest Asia: an assessment for Pakistan and Afghanistan
  • Prospects for nuclear energy in South Asia in the 21st century
  • South-East Asian prospects for nuclear power
  • The prospects for nuclear energy in the East Asian region: focusing on China
  • Prospects for nuclear energy in the 21st century: The East-Asian perspective
  • Prospects for nuclear power in Australia and New Zealand
  • Prospects for nuclear energy in Canada, the USA and Mexico
  • Prospects for nuclear energy in Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Nuclear knowledge management: a crucial bridge to the global nuclear renaissance
  • Proliferation resistance and the nuclear renaissance
  • Advanced plants to meet rising expectations for nuclear power

11 August 2008

Special issue: The role of enabling technologies in optimising supply chain activities (Part 1)

International Journal of Value Chain Management 2(4) 2008
  • Modelling a CRM Markov chain process using system dynamics
  • Development and integration of a simulation-based repair and overhaul execution strategy in ERP systems
  • Towards e-business and supply chain operations: an empirical study of Hong Kong's trading industry
  • Design of a knowledge-based virtual asset management system in dispersed manufacturing
  • A model for supply chain networks
  • An RFID implementation study in inventory management

Call for papers: Technological Entrepreneurship: Opportunity for High Growth Firms

Call for papers: Technological Entrepreneurship: Opportunity for High Growth Firms

A special issue of International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing

This special issue spotlights technological entrepreneurship as an opportunity for promoting the development of high growth firms. The principal motivation for SMEs’ growth is the search for a minimum scale of efficiency that allows survival. The alternative sources of growth deserve further research, especially the role played by the R&D effort and other categories of intangible assets in explaining the growth of SME’s in high-tech industries.

As a consequence of the high level of risk associated with innovating activities which could be incompatible with small companies, it is necessary to wait some time for the desired positive effect of R&D expenditure on SMEs’ growth to appear. Thus, public policies for fostering high growth firms are needed, given the various needs associated with the greater growth in high tech industries compared to more traditional sectors, as a consequence of a minimum scale of efficiency corresponding to greater size compared to more traditional sectors.

The issue will therefore draw attention ways in which technological entrepreneurship is an effective opportunity for contributing to more rapid and efficient growth. The strategic bet on high growth firms should be supported by public policies oriented for reinforcing entrepreneurial growth, in order to overcome recessive scenarios and to reinforce the competitiveness of national economies, on a microeconomic basis. As we acknowledge that technological entrepreneurship is an eclectic topic, papers that address entrepreneurship and growth from multiple levels of analysis are welcome.

Topics of interest to this IJEV focus issue include, but are not limited to:
  • Entrepreneurship opportunities in high-tech emerging industries
  • Institutional framework and gazelles
  • Intangible assets and growth in high-tech industries
  • Public policies for fostering high growth firms
  • Regional disparities of high-tech entrepreneurship
  • Serial entrepreneurship in high-tech industries
  • Spin-offs firms and gazelles from universities
  • Survival and growth of innovation and technology based firms
  • Technological entrepreneurship and marketing
  • Technology, innovation and organisational change
Important Date
Paper Submission Deadline: 28 February, 2009

10 August 2008

Special issue: Nanotechnology in Canada

International Journal of Nanotechnology 5(9/10/11/12) 2008
  • Carbon nanotube surface science
  • Towards ferroelectric and multiferroic nanostructures and their characterisation
  • Growth and properties of the dilute bismide semiconductor GaAs1−xBix a complementary alloy to the dilute nitrides
  • Structure and luminescence of silicon nanocrystals embedded in SiO2
  • Nanolines on silicon surfaces
  • Nanoholes in metals with applications to sensors and spectroscopy
  • The Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy: a national facility for ultrahigh resolution electron microscopy
  • Theory of nonequilibrium transient transport in nanostructures
  • Solidification of viscous melts: the interplay of nano- and macroscopic phenomena
  • Characterisation of molecular orientation in organic nanomaterials by X-ray Linear Dichroism Microscopy
  • Molecular nanoscience and engineering on surfaces
  • Nanoparticles and nanowires: synchrotron spectroscopy studies
  • Organics on silicon; single molecules, nanostructures and monolayers
  • Magnetic nanocarriers: from material design to magnetic manipulation
  • Lanthanide-doped fluoride nanoparticles: luminescence, upconversion, and biological applications
  • X-ray analysis of strain, composition and elastic energy in Ge islands on Si(001)
  • Nanostructured phospholipid membranes

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing (formerly International Journal of Opportunity, Growth and Value Creation)

The previously announced forthcoming title International Journal of Opportunity Growth and Value Creation has been renamed International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing reflecting the concept of The Entrepreneurial Venture (W. A. Sahlman and others, 2nd ed 1999), i.e. entrepreneurship not only being limited to new ventures and start-ups, but being understood further as the concentration of opportunity, growth and value creation regardless of company size, age or kind.
The title is due for publication in early 2009.

9 August 2008

Atoms for Peace prize laureate awarded to Yasuhiro Nakasone

The Atoms for Peace Prize laureate has been presented to Yasuhiro Nakasone, Prime Minister of Japan from 1982 to 1987. The Prize is awarded annually by the Inderscience journal Atoms for peace for contributions to promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in laying down the foundations of world wide sustainable peace. The Award Ceremony was on the 9th August in Nagasaki, after the mourning ceremony which remembered the atomic bombing of the city in 1945

6 August 2008

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Innovation in Education

International Journal of Innovation in Education - to begin publication in 2009 - will reflect a broad understanding of innovation in education in order to provide a wide platform for academic and practitioner discussion to create knowledge and exchange ideas on this important issue. In particular, it will explore and examine the diversity in the current and future education landscape worldwide and will show how innovation and diversity may be an integral part of a coherent and powerful classroom, school or education system strategy. It will consider the dilemmas and tensions faced in pursuing innovation while maintaining quality assurance in education at the same time.

Call for papers: Advances in Market Entry Mode Theory Development

Call for papers: Advances in Market Entry Mode Theory Development

A special issue of International Journal of Trade and Global Markets

For significant advances in market entry mode theory to be achieved, a more integrated approach needs to be taken to the conceptualisation, development and measurement of the different constructs impacting the performance of the different market entry modes. A fundamental part of such an approach is the refinement and validation of measurement scales across different national settings. The validation of measurement scales plays an important role in advancing market entry mode theory by establishing reliable scales that can be used in more than one country. As such, international researchers would be encouraged to use similar measurement instruments and compare findings across different national settings, leading eventually to a more systematic development of market entry mode theory. Market entry modes for this special issue can include anything from international Joint ventures, exporting, franchising, wholly-owned subsidiaries, turnkey operations, portfolio investment, mergers and acquisitions, greenfield investments etc.

Another important issue regarding the current body of market entry mode literature is that limited attention has been given to the developing countries in the Asia Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. The performance measures used in previous studies often reflect the unique emphasis that different countries place on entry mode performance. Given the paucity of studies in the developing countries of the Asia Pacific Region and Eastern Europe, this special issue’s focus is to further market entry mode knowledge in developing countries, especially in the Asia Pacific Region and Eastern Europe, through conceptual studies, empirical investigations and state of the art reviews on issues that are specifically relevant to different types of businesses and markets in developing countries.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
  • Market entry mode decision-making and strategic planning in the Asia Pacific Region and Eastern Europe.
  • Implementation of market entry mode strategies in different developing country markets and industry contexts.
  • Antecedents of performance for the different market entry modes.
  • The development of market entry mode competencies and skills.
  • Market entry mode knowledge management that facilitates market learning.
  • The role of management of the different market entry modes in determining performance and/or strategic goals for firms conducting business in developing countries.
  • The relationship between the different market entry modes and other functions within the organisation.
  • The role of market entry mode decision making in the internationalisation of businesses.
  • Barriers to internationalisation and their role as antecedents of performance and goal attainment.
  • The significance of exporter-importer or distributor relationships in developing countries.
  • Partnerships and networking in developing countries.
  • The role of the Internet in market entry mode choice when conducting business in developing countries.
  • Specific market entry mode strategies for the different stages of business cycles.
Important Date
Deadline for receipt of manuscripts is: 31 January, 2009

Call for papers: Security and Privacy in RFID Systems

Call for papers: Security and Privacy in RFID Systems

A special issue of International Journal of Security and Networks

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technology for automated identification of objects and people with neither physical nor visual contact. RFID systems are already widely applied in industry supporting supply chain management and inventory control. The identification method relies on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. A tag is a small microchip which is used for wireless data transmission between the tag and a reader. Tags only offer weak computation and storage capacities. While increased applications of RFID systems in our daily life continue, this also creates new security and privacy problems to both individuals and organisations because of their limitations. Examples of security issues are: cloning an RFID tag, impersonation of a tag to obtain access permission and forging an e-passport for international travel.

This special issue will bring together those leading researchers and developers in security and privacy fields to study the particular problems and challenges of RFID systems. Its purpose is therefore to foster communication between various communities, including security and privacy communities, and distributed systems and information systems communities. The objective is to evaluate the expectations of security and privacy concerning RFID and to establish a common infrastructure of the discipline. The special issue will identify fundamental theory, techniques, applications and practical experiences in a variety of topics in privacy and security and also provide a common ground for advanced research and development in security and privacy, concentrating on the special challenges of RFID systems. The issue will to publish the most recent results in security and privacy aspects of RFID systems.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

RFID system security:
  • Intrusion detection
  • Secure RFID operating systems
  • Database security
  • Security infrastructures
  • Security evaluation
Network security:
  • RFID network security
  • Security agents
  • Protocols
  • Anti-virus and anti-hacker measures
RFID applications:
  • Electronic commerce
  • Government
  • Health
  • Biology
  • Telecommunications
Foundations:
  • Privacy
  • Access control
  • Authentication
  • Identification
  • Cryptography
Important Dates
Manuscript due: 28 February, 2009
Acceptance/rejection notification: 31 May, 2009
Final manuscript due: 31 July, 2009

3 August 2008

Special issue: Revenue management in practice: the execution of optimal solutions

International Journal of Revenue Management 2(2) 2008
  • Share shift and airport substitution in origin-destination markets with low-cost entrants
  • Application of fuzzy AHP method in measuring and prioritising perceived value in hospital ERs
  • Evolutionary multiobjective decision making in supply chain revenue management: a literature review
  • Global airline alliances, value propositions, and strategic misdirection at Swissair, a clinical study: 1994–2001
  • When does grey market occur? A Cournot duopoly model of intrabrand competition