30 March 2011

Special issue: Advances in waste engineering and management: Part two

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management 14(1-4) 2011

For Part 1 see International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management 13(3/4) 2010
  • Research experiences in microwave-assisted chemical oxygen demand determination
  • Modelling resorcinol adsorption in water environment using artificial neural network
  • Recycling of Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) sludge in iron and steel works
  • Phytoremediation of chromium(VI)-laden waste by Eichhornia crassipes
  • Physical methods in wastewater treatment
  • Effect of microwave temperature, intensity and moisture content on solubilisation of organic fraction of municipal solid waste
  • Assessment of treatment capabilities of Varthur Lake, Bangalore, India
  • Constructed wetland system for treating wastewater of scattered small industries: a case study of fermented fish production industry in Phayao City, Thailand
  • Adsorption of emulsified oil from spent metalworking fluid using agro-waste of Cajanus cajan
  • Biosorbent-assisted ceramic microfiltration process for treatment of herbal pharmaceutical wastewater with high organic loading
  • Accumulation and mobility of heavy metals in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graceum L.) and tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) grown in the field amended with urban wastes, and their composts and vermicomposts
  • Water quality improvement of industrial shrimp ponds
  • Carbon credit from composting of municipal solid waste
  • Swiss blue dye sequestration by adsorption using Acacia nilotica sawdust
  • Comparative assessment of anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste at mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures
  • Effect of cycle period and substrate composition on phosphorous removal potential of a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor
  • Predicting the site water balance of a phytocapped landfill using HYDRUS 1D
  • Biosorptive uptake of cationic dyes from aqueous phase using immobilised dead macro fungal biomass
  • A model for assessment of energy utilisation within an urban centre
  • Solid waste management in Patna – analyses of ambient air and ground water pollution
  • Kinetic evaluation for aerobic biodegradation of resorcinol in a batch reactor
  • Review on potential for waste recycled based bioenergy for marine system
  • Utilisation of waste in integrated sugar distillery industry with special reference to bio-energy generation: a case study

Special issue: Multimedia information security

International Journal of Multimedia Intelligence and Security 1(4) 2010
  • Fingerprint images encryption process based on a chaotic true random bits generator
  • An improved reversible steganography scheme based on dual cover images
  • Transcoding resistant robust watermarking technique using entropy-based selective spread spectrum
  • Fast subscriber identification based on the zero knowledge principle for multimedia content distribution
  • Estimating strength of DDoS attack using various regression models
  • Adaptive background subtraction using fuzzy logic
  • A highly metamorphic virus generator
  • Future security challenges in cloud computing

26 March 2011

Call for Papers: Global Leadership

A special issue of European Journal of International Management

The construct of global leadership was born out of the need for corporations in the 1990s to adopt global strategies, expand internationally, and compete in the global marketplace ( Black, Morrison & Gregersen, 1999; Mendenhall, 2008; Osland et al., 2006). Corporations realised that their managerial cadres were not prepared for operation in a global business environment and that people with global capabilities were needed to develop and implement new strategic initiatives.

As a result, they created company-specific global leadership models to guide their management development efforts . Following firms’ needs, scholars began to conduct research in this area; the rate of publication throughout the 1990s dramatically increased and this trend has continued to the present.

Since global leadership is a young field of study, no rigorous or collectively accepted definition of global leadership has yet emerged (Osland, 2008). Much progress has been made in the field, yet much research remains to be done. For example, there is a need to clarify the construct of global leadership, test existing models of global leadership empirically, and to develop more robust measures of the various dimensions that constitute the multi-dimensional nature of the global leadership phenomenon.

To influence the practice of global leadership, we must develop richer developmental models of global leadership, continue to capture insights from expert global leaders (“positive deviants”), and integrate more nuanced insights from these experts into current models. The field must also delineate the relationship between corporate responsibility and leadership in the global context, to address issues of overlapping constructs and ambiguity in these areas.

The aim of this special issue is to be a conduit for scholars who wish to explore the above and related issues in the field. The editors are especially interested in papers that apply unique perspectives and analyses to the phenomenon. Qualitative and quantitative approaches are encouraged, as well as papers that integrate findings in other fields in the social sciences with various aspects of the global leadership phenomenon.

In preparation for the special issue, a pre-publication conference will be held at IMD (Lausanne, Switzerland) on November 11-12, 2011 . The editors invite you to submit proposals for papers for the special issue as a prerequisite for conference attendance. The purpose of the conference is to collectively explore the ideas of the final papers submitted for the conference in order to provide authors with useful ideas and guidance when fine tuning their papers for submission to the special issue. Global leaders from industry will also attend the conference to provide their perspective on our research efforts. After the conference, authors will revise their papers and submit their manuscripts to the editors as final paper submissions.

It is not necessary to attend the conference in order to submit papers for the Special Issue. Authors who cannot attend the conference may submit full papers directly to the editors by the final submission deadline (see below).

References:

Black, J.S., Morrison, A., & Gregersen, H.B. (1999). Global explorers: The next generation of leaders. New York : Routledge.

Mendenhall , M.E. (2008). Leadership and the birth of global leadership in Mendenhall , M.E. , Osland, J.S., Bird, A., Oddou, G.R., & Maznevski, M.L. (2008). Global leadership: Research, practice, and development. London : Routledge.

Osland, J.S. (2008) Overview of the global leadership literature in Mendenhall , M.E. , Osland, J.S., Bird, A., Oddou, G.R., & Maznevski, M.L. (2008). Global leadership: Research, practice, and development. London : Routledge, 34-63.

Osland, J. S, Bird, A., Mendenhall , M.E. , & Osland, A. (2006) Developing global leadership capabilities and global mindset: a review in Stahl, G.K. & Bjorkman, I (eds) Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management. Cheltenham , UK : Edward Elgar, 197-222.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Definition, clarification and operationalisation of the construct of global leadership
  • Psychometric and qualitative assessment and measurement of global leadership
  • Global leadership competencies
  • The relationship between global leadership and global talent management
  • Global leadership needs analysis projections across nations, governments and industries
  • Inductive methodologies aimed at surfacing global leadership knowledge from “expert” global leaders
  • Corporate social responsibility and its connection to global leadership: “responsible global leadership”
  • Theoretical, conceptual and empirical investigations of the development process of global leadership expertise
  • The influence of corporate culture on global leadership within a firm’s managerial cadre
  • Ana lyses of best practices of global leadership development programmes
  • Leading global teams
  • The role of global leaders in cross-border alliances, mergers and acquisitions
  • New theoretical models of global leadership or extensions of existing theories
  • Cross-national perceptions of global leadership
  • The role of higher education in developing global leaders
  • Effectiveness of external-to-firm programmes in developing global leaders (executive education, executive MBA, custom-programmes).
Important Dates
Paper proposal submission deadline: 20 May, 2011
Notification of proposal acceptance for conference: 20 June, 2011
Full drafts of papers for the conference submission deadline: 1 October, 2011
Prepublication conference at IMD in Switzerland : 11-12 November, 2011
Final full paper submission deadline for special issue: 15 February, 2012
First reviews completed and papers conditionally selected for special issue: 1 May, 2012
Authors’ revisions (final papers) submitted: 1 August, 2012
Final confirmation of publication: 15 August, 2012

Call for Papers: Transformation in a Connected World

A special issue of International Journal of Electronic Business

The Internet and the Web are continuously evolving. Their changing incarnations such as Web 2.0, e-services and service-oriented architectures, and cloud computing and convergence with mobile Internet are transforming the way traditional activities are undertaken, and are having a dramatic impact on many aspects of modern society.

Companies, governments and users are continuously challenged to catch up and take advantage of the potential benefits and power of digital technologies. Successful transformation to meet new challenges and opportunities is a multi-faceted problem, involving many technological, managerial, economic, organisational and legal issues.

In this special issue we shall explore the many facets of internet applications and technologies, with a focus on technological, managerial and organisational issues. Original and interdisciplinary approaches to these problems are highly encouraged. Authors focusing on technological aspects are encouraged to highlight the managerial, economic or organisational implications of their work. Conversely, authors focusing on managerial, economic or organisational aspects are encouraged to highlight the technological dimension. Papers will be evaluated on the basis of their originality, presentation and impact.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

Mobile internet and social web
  • Web 2.0 and social media
  • Internet-based collaborative work
  • Business models and ecosystems
  • eBusiness (B2B, B2C, B2M)
  • eHealth, eEducation and eGovernment
  • Telecommunication services
Methods
  • Organisational transformation
  • Process modelling languages (syntax, semantics, validation)
  • Process adaptation (methods, tools)
Clouds
  • Service composition
  • Open APIs and mashups
  • Methodologies and tools
  • Ubiquity management
Architectures
  • Novel deployment technologies
  • Distributed transactions
  • Recovery
  • Network management
Trust
  • Requirements
  • Legal issues
  • Privacy and data protection
  • Identity theft
Important Dates
Submission of papers: 1 July, 2011
Notification of acceptance: 1 October, 2011

Special issue: Global economic trends

Global Business and Economics Review 13(1) 2011
  • Inflation and US music mechanicals, 1976-2010
  • Positive feedback trading: evidence from futures markets
  • Some issues about the application of the analytic hierarchy process to R&D project selection
  • Time-varying beta risk, volatility persistence and the asymmetric impact of news: evidence from industry portfolios
  • New panel data evidence of human development convergence from 1975 to 2005
  • How was the Heisei depression in Japan caused?
  • Effects of foreign reserve stock in Asian countries
  • On the multifractal properties and the local multifractality sensitivity index of euro to Japanese yen foreign currency exchange rates

Special issue: Advanced simulation in biomedicine and bioengineering

International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology 5(2/3) 2011
  • Influence of the fluid-structure interaction in biomechanics: application to parametric modal analysis and dynamics of the aorta under a shock
  • Coupled models technology in multi-scale computational haemodynamics
  • Computational haemodynamic model for study of calculated mitral valve area
  • Recent innovative advances in telemedicine: standard-based designs for personal health
  • Advancement of lung tissue engineering: an overview
  • Boundary element simulation of bone tissue
  • Comparison of in vivo contact positions for PS and PCR TKA implants using Lowest Point and full-contact techniques
  • Multivariate ECG analysis for apnoea–bradycardia detection and characterisation in preterm infants
  • Micro and nanotechnologies for bioengineering regenerative medicine scaffolds
  • Evaluation of forced expiratory volume prediction in spirometric test using Principal Component Analysis

Special issue: Selected Papers from IEEE BIBM 2009

International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics 5(2) 2011

The 3rd IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine was held in Washington DC, USA, 1-4 November 2009.
  • Predicting disease phenotypes based on the molecular networks with Condition-Responsive Correlation
  • Integrated analysis of pharmacologic, clinical and SNP microarray data using Projection Onto the Most Interesting Statistical Evidence with Adaptive Permutation Testing
  • Semi-automatic 3D segmentation of brain structures from MRI
  • Predictions of flexible C-terminal tethers of bacterial proteins with the FLEXTAIL bioinformatics pipeline
  • Improving accuracy of microarray classification by a simple multi-task feature selection filter
  • Modelling gene and protein regulatory networks with Answer Set Programming

23 March 2011

First issue: International Journal of Mechatronics and Automation

Reporting the latest developments from interdisciplinary theoretical studies, computational algorithm development and practical applications, International Journal of Mechatronics and Automation particularly welcomes those emerging methodologies and techniques which bridge theoretical studies and applications and have significant potential for real-world applications.

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

Newly announced title: African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance

To begin publication in 2012 African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance will provide a forum for exploring African research on current and future issues in business and beyond. It brings together interested faculty, professionals, policy makers, accounting, auditing and finance students and others concerned with professional and regulatory matters in the corporate, university, schools of business, government, and financial sectors.

Special issue: Innovation: a key to improve business processes

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management 22(3) 2011

Papers from symposiums of the European Research on Innovation and Management (ERIMA) network.
  • Continuous improvement processes in manufacturing enterprises as an enabler of process innovation
  • An information system to support problems definition based on technological frames and organisational routines
  • The TRIZ-CBR synergy: a knowledge based innovation process
  • CoCa: a tool for analysing collaborative practices to improve design process management
  • A second look at the complex innovation phenomenon through a 'dialogical' principle
  • A model for cultural change
Additional Paper
  • Manufacturing competencies in high-tech NPD: on the impact of vertical integration and coordination

Call for Papers: European Marine Affairs after World Economic Crisis

A special issue of International Journal of Ocean Systems Management

This special issue aims to highlight recent research, developments and applications in the marine and sea affairs of the twenty-seven member countries of the European Union, and in related aspects of marine economics.

The Law of the Sea was published in 1973, adopted in 1982, ratified by sixty nations and has been in force since 16th November 1994. Under the terms of this law, coastal nations have exclusive rights to the economic exploitation of marine resources within two hundred nautical miles of their coast, in an area called the EEZ. This gave birth to a new science called ‘Marine Economics’, which is broader than, but includes, shipping and maritime economics (shipping, shipbuilding and ports).

This important extension of national limits produced new breakthroughs in the development of the natural wealth of the sea, in oil and gas fields, sea bed mining and renewable energy from the sea, but attention was also focused on the preservation of the marine environment. A key issue was to take economic lessons learned from the land, where land resources have been over-exploited and exhausted, and to apply them to the sea. Particularly in times of crisis, such as the energy crisis of 1973 and the present crisis in Libya, it has been clear that there are limits to growth.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • European logistics and transport (shipping, inland shipping/navigation, ports/canals, port-related industry, stevedores and warehouses); the European fleet; climate change and port/coastal land; surveys of the state of the art in gas pipeline transport and in oil flows in the Dardanelles/Bosphorus straits; pipelines in Turkey/Burgas/Alexandroupolis/Russia; prospects for Caspian oil flows
  • European maritime clusters: review and past/future trends
  • European shipbuilding (metal handling and working, marine equipment, machinery) compared with Far East competitors; stress on the European competitive advantage in specialised construction
  • State of the art offshore energy in the North Sea and prospects elsewhere (e.g. Aegean Sea); gas and oil fields in Arctic/Russian territory; the future of European nuclear power after Japan
  • Fishing (fish production and processing); European production
  • Yachting (recreation); tourism industry; crisis patterns
  • Dredging (construction); impact of climate change on rising sea levels
  • Maritime support services; service industry; shipping-related companies
Important Dates
Optional submission of extended abstracts of no more than 500 words: 31 May, 2011
Manuscript submission: 31 August, 2011
Acceptance: 31 October, 2011
Revised final manuscript: 30 November, 2011

19 March 2011

Special issue: Gaining from partnership: transfer technology – issues and challenges in transitional economies

International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation 10(2) 2011
  • Developing entrepreneurial universities to enhance technology transfer in transition economies
  • Does Croatian national innovation system (NIS) follow the path towards knowledge economy?
  • Exploring technology licensing in the South African manufacturing industry
  • Business and technology incubators in Autonomous Province of Vojvodina: from feasibility studies to evaluation of performance – case study of Business Incubator Zrenjanin
  • Acquiring external technology or building indigenous capability? Partnership strategy with MNCs in China
  • Factors influencing NPD process type: analysis of leading Croatian enterprises
  • Management of technology transfer: an overview of Thailand Science Park

Special issue: Advances and challenges in global software development

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology 40(3) 2011
  • A novel approach to global software development for chartered enterprises
  • Process modelling, delegation and control in global software development
  • Employee competency maturity model and its application in global software outsourcing
  • Get a grip on your distributed software development with application lifecycle management
  • Global software development using the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory paradigm
  • Exploring the communication behaviour among global software development learners
  • A review of non-technical issues in global software development

18 March 2011

Special issue: Insight into the uptake, trafficking, and compartmentalisation of botulinum neurotoxins

The Botulinum Journal 1(4) 2010

Review Article
  • Structure and trafficking potentials of Botulinum Neurotoxin in drug delivery
Research Articles
  • Lipid rafts: inhibitors of endocytosis of botulinum neurotoxin
  • Differential entry of Botulinum Neurotoxin A into neuronal and intestinal cells: an ultrastructural approach
  • Hydrodynamic models for the diffusivity of type A botulinum neurotoxin
  • Investigation of 'CRATKML' derived peptides as antidotes for the in vivo and in vitro paralytic effect of botulinum neurotoxin A
  • The inveterate botulinum neurotoxin A ushers in exo-endocytic crypts
  • Near-infrared imaging of balb/c mice injected with a detoxified botulinum neurotoxin A
  • Simultaneous or sequential administration of botulinum neurotoxin E does not reduce the duration of paralysis caused by botulinum neurotoxin A in rat EDL muscle

Special issue: Recent research and development of environmental science and engineering in China

International Journal of Environment and Pollution 45(1-3) 2011
  • Simultaneous removal of parathion and methyl parathion by genetically engineered Escherichia coli in a biofilter treating polluted air
  • Study on enhanced biological phosphorus removal using membrane bioreactor at different sludge retention times
  • Porous structure and spatial characteristics of aerobic granules
  • Modelling of sediment nutrient fluxes for a pulsed organic load
  • Formation of granules with filamentous microorganisms abundant in anaerobic sequencing batch reactor
  • Adsorption kinetics of nitrate from aqueous solutions onto modified corn residue
  • Effects of dissolved organic matter in landfill leachate on photodegradation of environmental endocrine disruptors
  • Anaerobic batch co-digestion of Spartina alterniflora and potato
  • A modelling system for wastewater treatment process evaluation and screening: methodology and case study
  • Uptake and translocation of lead and pyrene by ryegrass cultivated in aged spiked soil
  • Adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics of anionic dyes onto sewage sludge derived activated carbon
  • Release of phosphorus in sediments from a tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir (China) with phosphate-solubilising bacteria
  • A strategy for sustainable livestock husbandry wastewater treatment in China
  • Research on applying a water-lifting aerator to inhibit the growth of algae in a source-water reservoir
  • Remediation technology of groundwater contaminated by perchloroethylene
  • Domestic wastewater treatment with CEPT-wetlands process
  • Winter exposure assessment of copper, zinc and arsenic in drinking water of inhabitants in Beijing, China
  • Error analysis for river water quality prediction using back propagation modelling
  • Biodegradation of bisphenol A, 17 β-estradiol, and 17 α-ethynylestradiol in river water
  • Understanding energy saving and CO2 reduction in wastewater treatment plants
  • Analysis of the net water loss in the main reach of the Yellow River
  • Investigation of indoor/outdoor air pollutants at the shopping malls in Wuhan
  • Coagulation behaviour of polyaluminium chloride with different aluminium speciation

First issue: International Journal of Space-Based and Situated Computing

The journal coverage extends the pervasive computing vision of everyday objects communicating and collaborating to provide intelligent and context-aware information and services to users in larger geographical spaces. International Journal of Space-Based and Situated Computing reflects the ultimate goal to build context-aware global smart space and location-based service applications that integrate information from independent systems (such as sensor, actuator or mobile information systems), which autonomously and securely support human activities.

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

Call for Papers: Machining of Aerospace Materials

A special issue of International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials

The use of composite materials in the aerospace fields is increasing. In commercial aircraft such as the A380 and Boeing 787, these composite parts are arranged in the shape of monolithic or sandwich panels such as CFRP, CFRP/CFRP, CFRP/Aluminium, etc. However, their machinability poses several problems. The major problems observed are delamination, thermal degradation, tool wear, composite erosion by continuous chips of metallic materials, built up edge, etc.

In order to understand and avoid such damages, reduce the time of machining and improve the quality of surface finish and tool life, various machining processes have been used in the aeronautical fields. Among them are the CNC machine, one shot drilling and assembly and water jet machining. Nevertheless, the quality of machining is affected not only by the machining parameters, but also by the process of machining (CNC machine, water jet, etc) and the manufacturing process of the composite parts (autoclave, RTM, etc).

This special issue invites the submission of high quality research articles related to the machining of aerospace materials.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Machining of titanium, composite and aluminium alloys
  • Drilling of composite materials and hybrid materials (CFRP, CFRP/Al, CFRP/Ti, etc)
  • Trimming of composite materials
  • Water jet cutting and machining of composites
  • Machining of super alloys
  • Non-traditional machining of aerospace materials
  • Quality of machining
  • Tool wear
  • Numerical modelling of the machining
Important Dates
Manuscript submission: 31 December, 2011

Call for Papers: Bioimaging Informatics

A special issue of International Journal of Computational Biology and Drug Design

In recent years, microscopic bioimaging has played an increasingly vital role in many biological research studies such as pathway analysis, target identification, drug discovery and systems biology. Driven by these applications, computerised analysis of bioimages has been actively studied in recent years.

In general, bioimaging applications are very diverse. Differences in the underlying biological questions, species, tissue types, cell types, imaging equipments or imaging parameters all contribute to the diversity of bioimage informatics.

Due to this tremendous diversity, there is no single algorithm or computational pipeline that can be used to solve all bioimage computing problems. Biological experiments are now generating a tremendous amount of bioimage data with high complexity and multiple scales. Computerised extraction and quantitative characterisation of the most relevant biological information from these bioimages can become a bottleneck of scientific discovery.

Despite tremendous progress in the development of computational algorithms and software tools from the bioimaging informatics community in recent years, there are still many issues that need to be addressed urgently and adequately. For instance, bioimaging informatics software systems that are capable of adding new data analysis and management capabilities quickly and easily are much needed, and software tools with user-friendly interfaces that are accessible to average biologists without confining their full power to more experienced users are also in urgent need.

This special issue aims to take a snapshot of recent efforts in the development of computational algorithms and software tools from the bioimaging informatics community, in order to address the major challenges in the fast-growing field of bioimaging. We hope that the issue will facilitate development, validation and dissemination of novel methodologies and applications in the bioimaging informatics field.

Topics include but are not limited to:
  • Novel algorithms for bioimage segmentation, registration, shape analysis, tracking and object quantification
  • High-content or high-throughput phenotype screening through bioimage analysis
  • Software tools for bioimage management and visualisation
  • Open source software architecture and systems design
  • Novel hardware and applicants, e.g. iPad-based bioimage informatics
  • Validation methodology for algorithms and software systems
  • Benchmark datasets and algorithm evaluation
  • Novel applications, e.g. zebrafish screening for biomarker discovery
Important Dates
Submission deadline: 1 July, 2011
Notification of acceptance: 1 September, 2011

Call for Papers: Arab Contribution to Human Civilization and Civilization Studies

A special issue of International Journal of Arab Culture, Management and Sustainable Development

With globalisation and regional shifts in economy and governance taking place all over the world, the Arab world is witnessing great changes and the resurrection of its intellectual and social dynamic activism.

There is a need to re-examine the role of Arab intellectuals and scientists from the beginning of Arab/Islamic civilization to modern times. This landscape of intellectuality provides a firm foundation for the future, and is restoring West-East interactive dialogue as it previously existed for the benefit of humanity.

This special issue solicits papers related to the contributions of Arab intellectuals and scientists to humanity, and also papers which discuss Arab/Muslim critiques and studies on civilization issues. It is to provide a compelling forum for researchers and practitioners to present their results and to track state-of-the-art research that is particularly inspired by revolutionary changes in the Arab world in all areas, including political, intellectual, cultural or societal.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Contributions of Arabs through history to science and technology
  • Contributions of Arabs to human sciences
  • Contributions of Arabs to civilization studies
  • Contributions of Arabs to critiques of modernity and post-modernity
  • Arabic/Islamic philosophical studies
Important Dates
Manuscript submission: 15 April, 2011
Acceptance notification: 1 June, 2011
Final manuscript: 1 July, 2011

16 March 2011

Special issue: Mash-up personal learning environments

International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning 3(1) 2011

Papers from workshops at the European Conference on Technology-Enhanced Learning (ECTEL) in 2008, 2009 and 2010
  • Augmenting the VLE using widget technologies
  • Model-driven mashup personal learning environments
  • Introducing qualitative dimensions to analyse the usefulness of Web 2.0 platforms as PLEs
  • Using tag-clouds for supporting reflection in self-organised learning
  • User identity issues in mashups for learning experiences using IMS Learning Design
  • Infusing reflective practice in eLearning courses – can widgets help?

Call for Papers: Adaptation and Clustering in Mobile Networks

A special issue of International Journal of Mobile Network Design and Innovation

Rapid adaptation to highly dynamic changes in node topology, application load, power level, etc. is becoming an increasingly important performance issue in mobile networks. In addition to maintaining quality of service criteria, highly dynamic scalability becomes a critical factor in mobile network configuration and performance management.

Correspondingly, adaptive management of mobile networks brings up a new challenge of adaptive nodal clustering; the end-to-end network performance becomes highly dependent on the efficiency of nodal clustering. Novel adaptive clustering algorithms, which take into consideration different aspects of traffic distribution, node group mobility, data aggregation and load balancing, are required.

Suitable contributions include but are not limited to articles relevant to theory of wireless adaptive clustering or its application in the following areas:
  • Hierarchical routing protocols
  • Routing scalability
  • Bandwidth adaptation and reservation
  • Accommodation of non-stationary traffic distributions
  • Group mobility pattern recognition
  • Clustering in highly dynamic environments
  • Network modelling and performance evaluation
  • Data aggregation in sensor networks
  • Topology control in ad-hoc networks
  • Dynamic load balancing
Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 12 August, 2011
Reviews back to authors: 12 October, 2011
Revised manuscript submission: 12 December, 2011

Call for Papers: Total Quality Management in Logistics Services for Effective Supply Chains to Manage Challenges of Logistics Economics & Globalisatio

A special issue of International Journal of Data Analysis Techniques and Strategies

Industry continually strives to provide value added products and services with increased customer satisfaction. Value addition and customer satisfaction become strategic missions as they drive businesses’ market shares in the local and global marketplace. Logistics services play a significant role in establishing value addition and customer satisfaction through customised services. Logistics outsourcing is also seen as a strategic move towards accomplishing core values by delivering products and services to the right place at the right time and cost.

Fierce competition in various sectors including logistics warrants the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) system in logistics services for the improvement of supply chains at local and global levels. Companies looking for logistics economics may undergo ongoing improvement in their services cost-effectively through efficient use of information system and teamwork.

TQM in product and service management plays an important role in achieving value addition and customer satisfaction by initiating positive changes in managing limited ‘7M’ (men, machines, materials, methods management, money, matrix and motherland). Resources are optimised and used in the most effective manner both qualitatively and qualitatively, thus offering better returns for management. TQM also refines management’s cultural values, thereby helping to achieve excellence in overall corporate governance. Thus TQM is the ultimate strategic tool for accruing comprehensive benefits in manufacturing and service industries.

The key areas of focus regarding TQM in logistics services for effective supply chains to manage the challenges of logistics economics and globalisation are:
  • TQM in logistics services management: excellence models in logistics management for local and global logistics management.
  • TQM in logistics management decisions: various Decision Support System (DSS), Multi-Criteria Decision Models (MCDM) and models based on soft computing to aid logistics managers in decision making.
  • TQM implementation in logistics services: frameworks related to TQM implementation in logistics services.
  • TQM benefits in logistics: TQM benefits derived in terms of higher market share, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, etc.
  • Cost control and service improvement: rapid and constant change are rocking this traditionally stable area and management must to adapt for growth.
Suitable topics include but are not limited to Total Quality Management in the following areas:
  • Logistics information systems
  • Logistics economics
  • Logistics and distribution networks
  • Transportation management
  • Warehouse management
  • Purchasing and procurement
  • Logistics and transportation optimisation
  • Third party logistics
  • Reverse logistics
  • Global logistical networks
  • Emerging, mobile and connective technology for logistics performance
  • RFID and EDI
  • Data mining in a globalised supply chain
  • Logistics network security
  • Real-time logistical operations
  • Web-based logistics systems
  • Uncertainty and risk in a globalised supply networks
  • Supplier relationship management
  • Customer relationship management
  • Outsourcing and off-shoring
Important Dates
Manuscript submission: 30 November, 2011
Notification of initial decision: 31 January, 2012
Submission of revised manuscript: 30 March, 2012
Notification of final acceptance: 15 April, 2012
Submission of final manuscript: 30 May, 2012

13 March 2011

Special issue: Advanced computer and information technology

International Journal of Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications 10(2) 2011

Papers from the 8th IEEE International Conference on Computer and Information Technology (CIT2008) held in Sydney, Australia, 8 - 11 July 2008.
  • A K-mixture connective-strength-based approach to automatic text summarisation
  • The analysis of research fields of Chinese natural science fund based on text classification
  • An embedded compression algorithm integrated with Motion JPEG2000 system for reduction of off-chip video memory bandwidth
  • Locating facial landmarks by support vector machine-based active shape model
  • A shape-based camera angle-invariant retrieval scheme for 3D objects
  • A system for licence plate recognition using a hierarchically combined classifier
  • A handwritten Bangla numeral recognition scheme based on expanded two-layer SOM
  • Association rule mining for mobile map personalisation

Special issue: Reconfigurable and multi-core embedded systems

International Journal of Embedded Systems 4(3/4) 2010
  • From reconfigurable architectures to self-adaptive autonomic systems
  • A framework of embedded reconfigurable systems based on re-locatable virtual components
  • Multi-objective placement of reconfigurable hardware tasks in real-time system
  • Targeting reconfigurable FPGA based SoCs using the UML MARTE profile: from high abstraction levels to code generation
  • Architecture synthesis methodology for cost-effective run-time reconfigurable systems
  • Real-time reconfigurable cache for low-power embedded systems
  • Reconfigurable hardware implementation of a modified chaotic filter bank scheme
  • Programming model and tools for embedded multicore systems
  • Design and implementation of hybrid multicore simulators
Additional Papers
  • Run-time mapping for dynamic reconfiguration management in embedded systems
  • Stand-alone portable digital body sound data acquisition device

Call for papers: Sustainable Development in the Mineral Industry

A special issue of International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering

The aim of this special issue is to provide an international forum for academics, industrialists and policy makers to exchange novel ideas and disseminate knowledge covering the full range of activities related to sustainable development and sustainability reporting in the mineral industry.

We invite original research and review papers that address sustainable development in mining, and sustainability reporting in the mineral industry. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
  • Sustainability assessment
  • Sustainability reporting
  • Sustainable mining methods
  • Life cycle assessment
  • Energy and sustainability in mining
Important Date
Submission of paper: 1 September, 2011

Call for Papers: Business Model Innovation

A special issue of International Journal of Product Development

Managers frequently rely on innovation to drive profitable growth. In many industries new products and services are fundamental. However, although product and service innovations have been important to firms for decades, increased competitive pressure has pushed business model innovation higher up the priority list.

Recently, the business model has been receiving substantial attention from practitioners and academics. The business model describes how a firm creates and appropriates value (Chesbrough and Rosenbloom, 2002; Björkdahl, 2009). Firms may offer products or services, but their offerings are embedded in a system of activities and relationships that comprise their firms’ business models. Thus, the business model shapes the products and services the firm will develop and launch.

Although the business model can be interpreted in different ways, and more research is needed in this area, even less is known about business model innovation and little research has been directed towards the innovation aspect of the business model.

A product or service innovation is the introduction of a product or service that is new or significantly improved for a firm or for the world with respect to its characteristics or intended uses. Firms can gain competitive advantage by introducing new products or services, which increase demand and markup. A business model innovation, in contrast, may not involve a new product or service, but may redefine an existing product or service, its delivery to the customer and/or how the firm profits from the customer offering, and thus can create strong competitive advantage. Although product or service offerings may be technologically similar they can render radically different performance (Chesbrough, 2009). The reason why business model innovation has become so important to firms is that it usually has a stronger impact on profit margins than product and service innovations (IBM, 2006).

The effects of business model innovation have been underestimated and firms often find them difficult to manage. There is a wide range of business model innovations, such as those of IKEA, Southwest Airlines and Wal-Mart, which have reshaped entire industries. The Fortune 500 list of companies reveals that many recent entrants have transformed established industries or created completely new ones (Johnson et al., 2008). Business model innovation seems to be more difficult for established firms, and most have created new products and services without changing the logic of how they conduct their business.

For decades, many successful firms have employed a single, dominant business model that represents their key choices. They have likely integrated manufacturing, in-house R&D and product sales based on per-unit prices. Since the 1990s, however, this pattern has been changing, with external collaborations and outsourcing, for example, becoming more important to firms. At the same time, firms are employing more extensive repertoires than ever before to appropriate value. They are offering financing, solutions, value sharing, downstream participation in the value chain, licensing and so on. We need, therefore, to know more about business model innovation.

This call for papers is to solicit contributions that fill the gap between business models and business model innovations, to describe what business model innovations consist of and the role that they play.

We are looking in particular for theoretical contributions that add to our theoretical and conceptual understanding of business model innovation. Suitable topics could include, but are not limited to:
  • Business model innovations - what are they and what are they not?
  • Why should we care about business model innovations?
  • What is new in business model innovations, what has changed and why, and how can these changes be explained?
  • What concepts, models, frameworks and theories do we need to explain business model innovations, and why?
  • Which business model innovations can we expect to be successful and why?
  • What role do business model innovations play in industry disruptions?
  • Business models and business model innovations are normally applied to manufacturing and e-commerce. What is a business model innovation in project-based industries and how useful is the business model innovation concept?
  • What is the relation between product innovation or any type of new offer, and business model innovation?
Important Date
Full paper submission (max 8,000 words): 1 October, 2011

Call for Papers: Functional Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications

A special issue of International Journal of Biomedical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Biomaterials are generally substances other than food or drugs contained in therapeutic or diagnostic systems that are in contact with tissue or biological fluids. Bioactive materials and their design technology enable an extensive range of applications in medicine and related fields. The goal in this field is to develop novel materials that can provide specific bioactive signals to control the biological environment around them during the process of materials integration and wound healing. In addition, materials have been developed that can respond to changes in their environment, such as changes in pH or cell-associated enzymatic activity.

Novel functional nanomaterials are the basis of newly emerging nanotechnologies for various applications. Nanomaterials possess unique optical, electronic, magnetic, mechanical and chemical properties. These properties can be attributed solely to their special size and shape. As the size of the material decreases, its surface-to-volume ratio increases. The manipulation and structuring of materials at the nanoscale opens up the possibility for revolutionary new applications in biology and medicine. The most critical part of nanomaterials that makes them special is their surface. Furthermore, nanomaterials can be very easily functionalised on the surface with synthetic ligands to effect significant change in properties for biomedical applications. It is the surface that makes the nanomaterials significantly more useful.

There are several different categories of nanomaterials. Not surprisingly, the field of nanomaterials is quite vast, diverse and evolving rapidly as tremendous amounts of research are being conducted in this burgeoning area. This special issue focuses exclusively on classes of nanomaterials that are biomedically important.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Synthesis of functional nanomaterials for biomedical applications
  • Characterisation of functional nanomaterials
  • Functional nanomaterials applications in biology and biomedicine
  • Magnetic nanomaterials and their biomedical applications
  • Metal nanostructures in biomedical applications
  • Quantum dots in biomedical applications
  • Carbon nanostructure in biomedical applications
Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 31 July, 2011
Communication of peer reviews to authors: 31 October, 2011
Submission of revised manuscripts: 31 December, 2011

9 March 2011

Special issue: Emerging issues in services and operations for global businesses

International Journal of Services and Operations Management 8(3) 2011

Papers from the third International Symposium and Workshop on Global Supply Chains held in Coimbatore, India, 7-9 January 2009
  • Insights into integration for supply chain redesign in service and product-focused firms
  • Green Supply Chain Management orientation and firm performance: evidence from South Korea
  • Self-Service Technologies (SSTs): determinants of adoption and its post-usage outcomes from a focal company perspective
  • Classification of mass customisation: a Socio-Technical System perspective
  • Effective implementation of Communities of Practices (CoPs) in a knowledge habitat: a case study of Samsung Electronics
  • High-speed surface transportation corridor: a conceptual framework
  • Total Quality Management implementation in Research and Development organisations: a comparative study of South Korea and Taiwan
  • Process architecture impact: a comparative study of two glass industries

Special issue: Autonomous decentralised systems in web computing

International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems 2(1) 2011
  • Autonomous decentralised systems in web computing environment
  • A mission-critical certification authority architecture for high reliability and response time
  • Sybil attack detection based on signature vectors in VANETs
  • A constant-time method for TCP/IP socket I/O multiplexing
  • Improvement of TCP/UDP performance using adaptive transmission power control for hierarchical MANET routing
  • A design of policy-based composite web services QoS monitoring system
  • Autonomous demand-oriented streaming system architecture and fault-tolerant technology for service continuity

Special issue: Perspectives on resilience from the West Point Critical Infrastructure Symposium

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures 7(1) 2011

The first annual West Point Critical Infrastructure Symposium held at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York on 29-30 April 2010.
  • Engineering of societal systems
  • Rapid restoration of critical infrastructures: an all-hazards paradigm for fusion centres
  • Identifying drinking water and water treatment systems vulnerabilities using the CARVER matrix method
  • The banking and finance sector: new paradigms of resiliency and risk
  • Regional critical infrastructure assessment: Kansas City
Additional Paper
  • An impact-based approach for the analysis of cascading effects in critical infrastructures

Special issue: Innovation in the food chain: strategies, tactics and practices

International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development 3(2) 2011
  • Innovation capacity of food chains: a novel approach
  • Using sustainable value chain analysis as a catalyst for co-innovation in regional development: a case study of South Australian wine from the Riverland
  • The impact of transaction specific investments on partnership performance
  • Identifying innovation strategies: insights from the Greek food manufacturing sector
  • Incremental innovation: a way to handle friction?
  • Government support for the development of regional food clusters: evidence from Alberta, Canada

Special issue: Assessment methods in social systems science

International Journal of Society Systems Science 3(1/2) 2011
  • Technology leverage and a sustainable society: a call for technology forecasting that anticipates innovation
  • Optimal emission-dependent production policy with stochastic demand
  • Inter-institutional relationships and emergency management
  • Developing country efficiency assessment by means of a comprehensive model based on data envelopment analysis
  • Maturity assessment models: a design science research approach
  • Service quality improvement strategies and tools for university libraries
  • Mutual funds return and risk decomposition evaluation based on quadratic-constrained DEA models
  • Interpreting interactions of ordinal or continuous variables in moderated regression using the zero slope comparison: tutorial, new extensions, and cancer symptom applications
  • An urban model using complex constrained cellular automata: long-term urban form prediction for Beijing
  • Daily price and volatility behaviour in soybean oil market
  • Performance and benchmarks of participating nations in Beijing Olympics using the DEA approach

Call for Papers: Narratives of Risk, Security and Disaster Issues in Tourism and Hospitality

A special issue of International Journal of Tourism Anthropology

This special issue invites submissions with a focus and emphasis on narratives of risk, hazard and security issues in the fields of tourism and hospitality.

The world’s tourism industry has experienced a dramatic growth over the last thirty years. The economic impact of tourism together with its proximal causes has rendered the tourism industry into a highly significant and integral part of almost every national economy. As a result, national governments are concentrating on the continuous development of their tourism industries, and are capitalising on their efforts for higher quality and service standards.

Tourism is an integral part of society, both for individuals within the society and for the society as a whole. However, despite the attention that has been given to the tourism industry and the emphasis on continuous development and improvement, there are some factors that are uncontrollable which can exert a considerable and sometimes severe and adverse impact on the tourism industry.

In the last fifty years, tourism has been adversely affected by a wide range of problems – natural disasters, serious social conflicts, wars, economic crises and terrorism. The effects of these events have underlined that the symbiotic relationship between risks/security issues and tourism needs to be understood and acted upon, not just in terms of the fluctuation in tourism statistics but also in a broader interdisciplinary framework. This will ultimately allow the expansion of the current understanding of the anthropological and sociological nature of risk. In the aftermath of the attacks to World Trade Center in 2001, numerous and valuable studies have certainly emphasised risk as a primary concern and topic, but their quantitative perspective do not focus on the narrative of risk or “discourse of risk”.

From the contributions of Mary Douglas and Aaron Wildawski onwards, specialists in anthropology and ethnology have devoted considerable efforts to providing an all- encompassing framework that helps scholars to comprehend the nature of risk. As a social construct and something other than a probability, every culture elaborates its own conception of security and risk.

Following Malinowski´s contributions, security corresponds with a grounding function of culture which can be decoded to allow us to understand how a society is organised. For that reason, risk engenders its own narratives enrooted in the cultural values, expectations and frustrations of every society. Depending on the perspective, travelling is not only a form of entertainment but also a fertile source for panic and concern. This happens simply because travellers temporarily lose their epicenter of ontological security, thus feeling more vulnerable.

We consider ethnography as a suitable method of investigation for two main reasons. Firstly, it encompasses the complexity of emotions to understand the untangled net of discourses that risk encourages, ranging from fear to ethnocentrism. Secondly, there is a huge gap between what people manifest and what they do. This merits opening a new channel for the investigation of risk perception and security issues wherein anthropology and ethnology have much to say, in complement with other quantitative methods and disciplines.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Studies related to comparative cross-cultural perceptions of risk and threat
  • Natural and human-caused disasters
  • Post-disaster recovery strategies in tourism and hospitality
  • Terror movies and tourism
  • Aviation safety and security
  • Crime and security issues in tourism and hospitality
  • Political instability, terrorism and tourism
  • Thanatourism
  • War on terror and tourism.
  • The effects of global warming on tourism destinations
  • Innovative quantitative/qualitative methods for the study of risk and security issues in tourism and hospitality
  • Virus outbreaks and tourism Mobility
  • Disasters, trauma and tourism
  • Apocalyptic theories and tourism as a form of entertainment
Important Dates
Full paper due: 15 July 2011
Notification of acceptance/rejection to authors: 15 August 2011
Submission of revised manuscript: 15 October 2011
Final acceptance of manuscript: 15 November 2011

Call for papers: Coordinate Metrology

A special issue of International Journal of Precision Technology

Coordinate metrology is now a key area in the measurements of geometrical quantities. This science is growing very rapidly, as evidenced by the construction of new measuring systems such as CMMs, measuring arms, laser trackers, optical systems, and increasingly important CMMs used to measure in micro and nano scale.

In many metrological research centres, new methods of calibration, new metrological standards and new concepts of measurement accuracy assessment are being developed. A lasignificant role in this process is played by research centres directed by producers of metrological equipment. It is therefore important to transfer this knowledge to the metrologists in calibration laboratories, research laboratories, and to industrial metrologists so that they can order and implement new systems and methods.

We would like to present the range of research and scientific problems that the metrologists from around the world have to face, so that the exchange of information can serve to develop coordinate metrology and the creation of new research teams. This would spread new ideas, methods and constructions and would reach researchers and, most importantly, the users and technologists, designers and managers of industry.

New ideas are followed by creation of new international teams of researchers carrying out joint projects on a global scale. We are intent on the presentation of achievements of as many centres as possible so that the information could facilitate the integration of the work of various coordinate metrologists.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • New constructions and improvements of accuracy of coordinate measuring systems (coordinate measuring machines, laser trackers, articulated arms, coordinate optical systems)
  • Nano and micro 3D measurements and systems
  • Computed tomography
  • Large scale coordinate metrology
  • Traceability and calibration of coordinate systems
  • Coordinate measurements in practice
  • Gear measurements
  • Freeform coordinate measurements
  • Coordinate measurements in reverse engineering
  • 3D surface measurements
Important Dates
Deadline for submission of proposals/abstracts: 30 June, 2011
Notification of initial acceptance: 15 September, 2011
Full paper submission deadline: 14 November, 2011
Notification of acceptance with reviewers' comments: 9 January, 2012
Final revised manuscript due: 23 January, 2012

6 March 2011

Special issue: Does customer satisfaction drive tourism marketing?

International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing 2(2) 2011
  • Satisfaction level of adventure tourists in India: an empirical study of perception of tourists and other stakeholders
  • Analysis of attributes creating customer value and loyalty in hospitality industry
  • The impact of tourism service quality on customer satisfaction: the case of five-star hotels in Jordan
  • Service quality as a key driver of medical tourism: the case of Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand
  • Comparison of Division I and Division III intercollegiate spectators: motives and constraints
  • Tourism forecasting using SARIMA models in Chilean regions

Special issue: Innovative university programs in technology business incubation

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management 13(2) 2011
  • University's involvement in technology business incubation: what theory and practice tell us?
  • Technology incubators: facilitating technology transfer or creating regional wealth?
  • Entrepreneurial universities and support mechanisms: a Spanish case study
  • The venture creation approach: integrating entrepreneurial education and incubation at the university
  • Creating a university technology commercialisation programme: confronting conflicts between learning, discovery and commercialisation goals
  • Technology parks and knowledge-based development in Mexico: Tecnologico de Monterrey CIT² experience
  • The co-evolution of the University of Central Florida's technology incubator and the entrepreneurial infrastructure in Central Florida

Special issue: Innovation and entrepreneurship: the effect of location and context

International Journal of Technology Management 54(1) 2011
  • Innovation and firm performance: an application of determinants in Taiwan
  • R&D investment and entrepreneurial technological capabilities: existing capabilities as determinants of new capabilities
  • The entrepreneurial growth of firms located in clusters: a cross-case study
  • The heterogeneity of services and the differential effects on business and territorial innovation
  • The role of regional location in innovativeness
  • Innovation and location in the multinational firm

Special issue: Open-source innovation for developing new business models

International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences 3(1) 2011
  • At the core of innovation: network reconfiguration during radical and incremental innovation episodes in an open source software project
  • A comparative study of proprietary ERP and open source ERP modules on the value chain
  • How companies capture value from open design
  • Electronic word of mouth systems and acceptance of user-generated contents
  • Web 2.0 business models and value creation
Additional Paper
  • Understanding the role of stakeholders during business intelligence implementations: an actor-network theory perspective

Special issue: Aerodynamics for land vehicles

International Journal of Aerodynamics 1(3/4) 2011

Flow Control
  • IEMN/LEMAC magneto-mechanical microjets and micro-hotwires and aerodynamic active flow control
  • Drag reduction of a 3D bluff body using plasma actuators
  • Drag reduction by pulsed jets on strongly unstructured wake: towards the square back control
  • Active procedures to control the flow past the Ahmed body with a 25° rear window
  • Transient growth of coherent streaks for control of turbulent flow separation
Aeroacoustics
  • Investigation of near wall wake induced aeroacoustic noise by simultaneous use of particle image velocimetry, microphones and wall pressure sensors
  • Spatio-temporal analysis of wall pressure fluctuations on several automotive side-glasses
Complex Aerodynamic Behaviour
  • On the transient aerodynamic forces induced on heavy and light vehicles in overtaking processes
  • Flow in the engine compartment: analysis and optimisation
Aerodynamics Education
  • Wind turbine aerodynamics: analysis and design

3 March 2011

Special issue: Aerodynamics of high speed flows from transonic to hypersonic

International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation 3(1/2) 2011

Papers from the 2010 Applied Aerodynamics Conference of the Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de France held in Marseille, France.

Numerical Methods
  • Multiblock residual-based compact schemes for the computation of complex turbomachinery flows
  • Hybrid upwind splitting scheme by combining the approaches of Roe and AUFS for compressible flow problems
Laminarity and Transition
  • Compressibility effects on laminar-turbulent boundary layer transition
  • Transition prediction in transonic turbine configurations using a correlation-based transport equation model
Shock-Wave/Boundary Layer Interaction and Its Control
  • Numerical study of shock-turbulent boundary layer interactions with incipient and complete separation
  • The structure of turbulence in transonic shock wave/boundary layer interaction
  • Application of the passive control of shock wave to the reduction of high-speed impulsive noise
High Mach Number Flows
  • Overview of activities at the ISL hypersonic shock tunnels
  • Side loads and thermal loads in rocket nozzles. Overview of the CNES-ONERA ATAC programme

Special issue: The behavioural factors affecting firms’ life-cycle financing and listing decisions

International Journal of Behavioural Accounting and Finance 2(1) 2011
  • Fairness norms and self-interest in venture capital/entrepreneur contracting and performance
  • Experiential learning from entrepreneurial failure
  • The impact of cognitive biases on fraudulent behaviour: the Leeson case
  • Price discovery with and without trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
  • Momentum returns: market, seasonal and aging considerations

Call for Papers: Electronic Human Resource Management in an International Context

A special issue of European Journal of International Management

Electronic human resource management (e-HRM) is an umbrella term covering all possible mechanisms and interactions between human resource management (HRM) and information technologies (IT), aiming at creating value within and across organisations for targeted employees and management. As a research field, e-HRM is maturing as scholars have worked hard to understand the phenomenon of e-HRM and its multi-level implications within and across organisations.

However, an important characteristic of the current state of the field is the lack of comparative international studies. Traditionally, e-HRM studies have concentrated mainly on Europe and the USA, perhaps due to the relatively high adoption rates of e-HRM applications in North American and European organisations. More recently, some empirical research has come from Asian and South American countries and Australia and New Zealand. However, researchers still perform their empirical research in a country without paying attention to the cultural context; they concentrate on determining the status quo of e-HRM or a particular e-HRM activity in the country of interest.

This issue aims at pushing e-HRM research into ‘going international’, in order to deepen our understanding of the e-HRM phenomenon. The global financial crisis has clearly shown that we live in a global economy, that economies all over the world are intertwined, and that doing business is a global activity, even at the small and medium-sized level. This has serious consequences for e-HRM. There is a clear need for a better understanding of cross-boundary and cross-cultural issues related to e-HRM deployment and outcomes. Especially for multinational and global corporations, the key players in today’s global economy, these are emerging issues.

This issue on e-HRM in an international context will publish research papers on the intersection between HRM and IT with a cross-national or cross-cultural focus. The papers will all use a clear theoretical basis, which creates a framework that will help to explain cross-national and cross-cultural similarities and differences. This aspect is very important and new to e-HRM research, which has had a scarce cross-national or cross-cultural focus to date.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • e-HRM and differences in implementation, adoption and outcomes between countries or cultures (in Europe, or between Western Europe , Central Europe and Eastern Europe)
  • Standardisation and localisation of HRM policies and practices related to e-HRM implementation and adoption
  • e-HRM and HRM transformation in multinational and global corporations
  • Headquarter and subsidiary tensions related to HRM policy and practices and e-HRM
  • Differences and similarities between multinational and global corporations in e-HRM deployment
  • Organisational forms and cultures in multinational and global corporations and e-HRM strategies
  • Language and e-HRM application usage in multinational and global corporations
  • Access to e-HRM applications for different employee groups in multinational and global corporations
Important Dates
Extended abstract submission: 31 December, 2011
Paper submission: 1 April, 2012