30 May 2012

Special issue: Construction of online courses in the context of China

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning 22(1/2) 2012
  • Investigating and analysing the construction of national quality curricula
  • Investigating the web-based courses of newly established universities
  • Studying the present situation of web-based English learning in business English schools
  • A framework for developing web-based courses and learning tools
  • The four-stage evaluation model for the construction of excellent quality online courses
  • Research on online learner participation in a web-based course
  • Does reticence disappear on CMC? A case study of Chinese students' interaction on a bulletin board system
  • A web-based course on Android programming for higher vocational students
  • A survey and analysis on learning strategies under a web-based learning environment
  • Research on applying the network-based learning model into public PE courses in a university
  • Design and evaluation of a network-based course
  • Development of a multi-disciplinary graduate course on consequence-based earthquake risk management
  • Identifying and understanding the graduate attributes learning outcomes in a case study of community service experiential learning project

Special issue: Emerging multinationals

European Journal of International Management 6(3) 2012
  • Emerging multinationals: globalisation paths and management styles
  • Challenges for Brazilian MNCs' international human resources management
  • Between unity and diversity: historical and cultural foundations of Brazilian management
  • Knowledge transfer into a developing country: HRM practice in an Iranian hotel chain
  • Emerging Indian pharma multinationals: latecomer catch-up strategies in a globalised high-tech industry
  • Emerging Russian multinational companies: managerial and corporate challenges
  • Learning and lobbying: emerging market firms and corporate political activity in Europe


27 May 2012

Special issue: Ubiquitous multimedia computing: systems, networking, and applications

International Journal of Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing 9(4) 2012
  • Open framework for distributed context management in ubiquitous environments
  • Seamless integration of MANET and the internet with terminal mobility supported by SIP
  • Ubiquitous fair bandwidth allocation for multimedia traffic on a WiMAX mesh network with multi-channels
  • Low-complexity adaptive error-control schemes for real-time scalable video transmission over WLANs
  • A centralised Transmission Tree Scheduling algorithm for IEEE 802.16 mesh networks
  • Distributed Video Coding: an overview of basics, research issues and solutions

23 May 2012

EV Battery Tech USA media partnership

Inderscience will be a media partner for EV Battery Tech USA to be held on 25-26 September 2012 in Detroit, Michigan.

Special issue: Business case for sustainability: rhetoric or reality?

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development 6(2) 2012
  • Business cases for sustainability: the role of business model innovation for corporate sustainability
  • Environmental paradigms and organisations with an environmental mission
  • The role of human factors in the adoption of sustainable design criteria in business: evidence from Belgian and Dutch case studies
  • A problem-solving perspective on strategies for appropriating environmental value – some implications from considering institutional solutions to social dilemmas
  • Sustainability reporting in the German banking sector during the financial crisis
  • Linking stakeholders and corporate reputation towards corporate sustainability

Special issue: MCDM for technology and innovation

International Journal of Multicriteria Decision Making 2(2) 2012

Papers from the  7th Multicriteria Decision Analysis meeting held in Orestiada, Greece, 30 September - 2 October 2010.
  • Application of a synergy of MACBETH and MAUT multicriteria methods to portfolio selection in Athens stock exchange
  • Redesigning university courses based on generic skills via multicriteria analysis methods
  • STORM-RM: a collaborative and multicriteria risk management methodology
  • Comparing heuristic and evolutionary approaches for minimising the number of tardy jobs and maximum earliness on a single machine
Additional Paper
  • A multi-criteria decision-making process for project risk management method selection


Special issue: Simulation and intelligent computing tools in disaster management

International Journal of Advanced Intelligence Paradigms 4(1) 2012
  • A research-based approach to simulation in disaster management
  • Agent-based micro-simulation of staged evacuations
  • Architecture of a discrete-event and agent-based crisis response simulation model
  • A parametric emergency response project management system
  • Traffic modelling and simulation for regional multimodal evacuation analysis
  • A hybrid modelling framework to simulate disaster response decisions

18 May 2012

Call for Papers: Uncovering Nonconscious Meanings and Motivations in the Stories Tourists Tell of Trip and Destination Experiences

A special issue of International Journal of Tourism Anthropology

This special issue invites unique contributions sharing advanced concepts and tools immediately applicable to theory and practice in tourist travel and destination experiences.

Naturalistic drama enactments enable tourists as storytellers to experience powerful myths in actual destination settings (might the sites themselves, for historical reasons, be imbued with mythical qualities?). Tourists’ stories provide intimate tourist travel insights regarding destinations as well as the enactments they engender for tourists. Such insights offer material for guidelines for tourist-destination relationship engagement.

This special issue aims to contribute to developing a comprehensive understanding of nonconscious-influence paths that impact tourist-destination behaviours and experiences.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Nonconscious-to-nonconscious conversations with self and significant others in pre-trip planning and decision making
  • Influence of destination stories consumers tell on decision making in tourism
  • Future of travel information search and unconscious (nonconscious?) drives of tourists
  • Cognitive task analysis of consumers travelling to destinations
  • The psychodynamics of social media sites and destination planning
  • New qualitative analysis research techniques for uncovering tourist behaviours travelling to and within destinations
  • Destination marketing organisations' use of dramaturgy in training tourism officials and planning tourism experiences
  • Sharing mental representations of group visits to tourist 'fairy tale' landmarks and destinations
  • Reflective topical autobiographies of behaviour of travellers
  • Emergent patterns and themes in informant thick description trip reports
  • Interplay of myths and tourist activities in stories tourists tell about destinations
  • Confirmable (true) unstated motivations of tourists visiting destinations
  • Methods and tools for decoding tourists' stories
  • Deriving site management value and engagement from visitors' stories
  • Virtual travel: its value as a concept and its possible role in information search for destination decision-making
  • The role of fiction in fuelling and shaping tourists' own elaborations of destination involvement
Important Dates
Abstract (150 words) due: 5 September, 2012 (by email)
Full paper due: 25 December, 2012 (online submission)
Notification of acceptance/rejection: 5 February, 2013
Submission of revised manuscript: 1 April, 2013
Final acceptance of manuscript: 1 June, 2013

Special issue: Solar/renewable energy, technology, policy and management

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management 12(2/3) 2012
  • Dynamic growth in a photovoltaic market
  • The constraints in managing a transition towards clean energy technologies in developing nations: reflections on energy governance and alternative policy options
  • Solar eclipse: The rise and 'dusk' of the Dutch PV innovation system
  • The role of microalgae in the deployment of biofuels: contrasting algae and solar technologies
  • Forecasting a change in technology: are Dye-sensitised Solar Cells a source of ubiquitous energy?
  • Management of the Photovoltaic Supply Chain
  • Renewable energy and smart grid principles integration into campus-wide energy strategy at the University of New Mexico
  • Solar and wind energy portfolios and real-time pricing
  • Technology transfer: solar power and distributed rural electrification
  • Methods for intensifying parabolic trough receivers operation

17 May 2012

Call for Papers: Advances in Low-Carbon Logistics Management

A special issue of International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics

It has become the consensus that we must reduce carbon dioxide emissions to mitigate global warming. Low-carbon development has become the national development strategy in many countries.

As we know, the carbon emissions from transportation and logistics are very large. According to IEA, transportation accounts for about 25% of the total emissions. Therefore, to investigate how to reduce carbon emissions in logistics and transportation is a committed step to achieving low-carbon development.

This special issue aims at collecting recent original work related to low-carbon transportation, low carbon logistics. It will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the 2012 International Conference on Low-carbon Transportation and Logistics, and Green Buildings (LTLGB 2012), but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the conference to submit papers for this call.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Measuring the carbon footprint of logistics operations
  • CO2-reducing measures in logistics
  • Adapting logistics systems to climate change
  • Government policy in low-carbon logistics
  • Low-carbon logistics through supply chain design and coordination
  • Low-carbon logistics through optimisation
  • Low-carbon logistics models
  • Low-carbon logistics system design
  • Case studies of low-carbon logistics
Important Date
Submission deadline: 1 March, 2013

Call for Papers: Innovation for Financial Services

A special issue of International Journal of Business Innovation and Research

Financial services play a dominant role in economies and besides their own significance, their proper functioning is essential for the well-being of the entire economy. Financial services face a paradox: they are simultaneously considered a mature industry with few innovation opportunities and yet they display particularly dynamic innovative behaviour.

In financial services, innovation takes the shape of new products and services (e.g. new securities, new payment instruments, online brokerage services), new processes (e.g. credit scoring models, electronic money processing, implementation of SEPA – Single Euro Payments Area), new forms of organisations (e.g. branchless banks, alliances with telecommunications providers and mobile network operators, internal improvement projects, such as lean and six sigma projects for financial services), and new ways of interacting with customers (e.g. Internet banking, use of social networks and smart phone applications).

This special issue focuses on the various forms, extents and distinctive features of innovation, both as processes and as outcomes, in and for financial services. What are the key challenges facing financial services? How can innovation be defined, measured and fostered in financial services? What role may regulation and new technologies play in supporting innovation in this major industry? How can innovation help the simultaneous achievement of long and short term performance goals? Is open innovation the next frontier in financial services?

We invite quality contributions for this issue. Papers can be purely theoretical or theory-driven, or can be empirical work, either qualitative or quantitative. Submissions from academics, consultants and managers exploring innovation in and for financial services are strongly encouraged.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • New business models
  • Role of leadership and culture for innovation in financial services
  • Open and collaborative innovation
  • ICT-enabled innovations
  • Regulation: innovation catalyst or hampering factor?
  • Chief innovation officers in financial services: role, competencies
  • Monetary and non-monetary incentives for innovation
  • Knowledge generation and exploitation
  • Role of intellectual property and informal protection mechanisms
  • Challenges and hampering factors for innovation
  • Metrics for innovation performance
  • Customer-driven innovation
  • Organisational structures and challenges for innovation
  • New service development
  • Innovation intermediaries
  • Social networks
  • Crowdfunding
  • Resources for innovation
Papers addressing the following contexts are especially welcome:
  • Mobile banking and mobile payment systems
  • New and emerging business models in financial services
  • Sustainability in finance
  • The future of financial services
Important Dates
Paper submission: 1 September, 2012
Reviewers' comments: 15 October, 2012

Revised paper submission: 1 December, 2012


First issue: International Journal of Portfolio Analysis and Management


Reflecting a need for research to improve financial portfolio management (PM) methods and tools, International Journal of Portfolio Analysis and Management will focus on excellence in developing PM methodologies, models and techniques to deal with major economic and financial decision making problems and provide insights relative to the latest PM developments.

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

Special issue: Entrepreneurship research in Asia

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business 16(1) 2012
  • Changing severity of impediments for entrepreneurs in India: an empirical analysis
  • Growth plans of small business in India: individual influences
  • The emergence of traditional Indonesian herbal medicine (jamu) for cosmetic use: new avenues for the revitalisation of Javanese health and cosmetic traditions through gender entrepreneurship?
  • Examining the impact of new policy facilitating SME succession in Japan: from a viewpoint of risk management in family business
  • The retention of trained production workers in a small manufacturing company in Malaysia
  • Factors influencing entrepreneurship in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) among residents in Sarawak Malaysia
  • Microfinance for women micro and small-scale entrepreneurs in Yemen: achievements and challenges

Special issue: Using innovation to achieve long-term sustainable positions in market

International Journal of Technology Marketing 7(2) 2012

Papers from the XXII ISPIM Conference in Hamburg, Germany, 12–15 June 2011 and the 4th ISPIM Innovation Symposium held in Wellington, New Zealand, 29 November -  2 December 2011.
  • Service innovation: the challenge of management in hypercompetitive markets
  • IP and open innovation: theory and practice
  • Overcoming the pitfalls in external technology commercialisation: a managerial guide
  • Application development in supplier-customer collaborations: success factors for firms in the process industries
  • How does environmental information impact product purchase intent?
  • Social media's opportunities in business-to-business customer interaction in innovation process
  • Cloud-enabled business transformation: a proposed framework


14 May 2012

Special issue: New perspectives on global auto shifts and development and policy responses: Part Two

International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management 12(2) 2012

For Part One see: International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management 11(2) 2011
  • Re-examining the BMW-Rover affair: a case study of corporate, strategic and government failure?
  • Phoenix from the ashes: can low carbon vehicles ensure the long-term viability of the West Midlands automotive cluster?
  • Diverse regional sustainability strategies: template for the future or squandered resources?
  • Localisation of product development based on competitive advantage of location and government policies: a case study of car makers in Brazil
  • Learning across policy regimes: a case study of the Indian automobile industry

13 May 2012

Call for Papers: An Innovative IT and Management Approach Using Gamification

A special issue of International Journal of Information Technology and Management

Gamification is the use of game mechanics, dynamics and aesthetics to attract desired human behaviours in the fields of commercial marketing, government policy, operation management, healthcare and education. This approach is more useful for Generation Y, who are more familiar with gamified environments than others.

The concept was defined in January 2011 at the Gamification Summit, San Francisco. On the strength of tremendously growing use of social network services, tablets and smart phones, the approach of gamification has been widely proliferating for a year. There are several cases of gamified systems which are applied to scientific problem solving, training of engineering professionals, human resource management, decongestion management, and procurement of public goods.

This special issue aims to solve the difficult problems that organisations tend to face in business environments when they carry out a gamification of business systems by providing scientific and practical research results.

Topics include but are not limited to:
  • Game mechanics and dynamics for gamification
  • Gamification methodology and processes
  • Strategies and tools for gamification
  • Decision factors for gamification
  • Innovation cases using gamification
  • Governmental and non-profit sector cases using gamification
  • Cost and benefits of gamification cases
  • Human cognition and performance related to gamification
  • Gamified learning and training
  • Legal and ethical issues of gamification
Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 31 December, 2012
Notification to authors: 31 March, 2013
Final versions due: 30 April, 2013

Special issue: Characterisation of surfaces in materials processing

International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering 6(1/2) 2012

Papers from the 14th InternationalConference on Advances in Materials and Processing Technologies (AMPT 2011) held in Istanbul, Turkey, 13–16 July 2011.
  • Optimal experiment design for plasma thermal spray parameters at bending loads
  • Microstructure and wear properties of Fe-Cr-C and Fe-Cr-Nb-C clads on carbon steel by TIG surfacing process
  • The effect of substrate and processing conditions on the properties of sol-gel derived Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films
  • A new approach for surface state modelling using charge pumping technique in submicron TMOS
  • Selection of advanced coating on a milling cutter used for manufacturing saw teeth
  • Fabricating microstructures on CVD diamond film
  • Microstructure and wear properties of the surface alloyed AZ31 magnesium alloy with aluminium
  • An analysis of curved tubes finishing by magnetic abrasive finishing
  • Preparation and characterisation of electrodeposited Ni-Cr/Al2O3 nanocomposite coatings from a trivalent chromium-based bath
  • Biomachining rates of various metals by Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans
  • Tool life prediction model of uncoated carbide tool in high speed drilling of Al-Si alloy using response surface methodology
  • Experimental and numerical investigations of temperature measurement of St12 friction stir welded butt joints
  • Numerical and experimental study of residual stress induced by machining process
  • Characterisation of magnesium matrix composite reinforced with SiC particulates manufactured by powder metallurgy method
  • Investigation into mechanical properties of high strength steel plates welded with low temperature transformation (LTT) electrodes

Inderscience media partnerships for automotive conferences

Inderscience is a media partner for:

The Fuel Efficient Engine Summit
30-31 July 30 2012 - Detroit, Michigan

Global Automotive Lightweight Materials Detroit 2012
21-22 August 2012 - Detroit Marriott Troy, Troy, Michigan

5th Advanced Lightweight Materials for Automotive
27-28 August 2012 - Detroit, Michigan

10 May 2012

Special issue: Industrial case studies of demand-supply chain management

International Journal of Manufacturing Research 7(2) 2012
  • Two sides of a token: coordinating demand and supply at furniture wholesaler
  • Supply Chain Management practices in the electro-electronics sector in Brazil: evolutionary approach, information technology adoption and management actions
  • New concepts for demand-supply chain synchronisation
  • Supply Chain Management in SMEs: a case study
  • Matching supply chain strategy with business strategy and the results of a mismatch
  • Demand-supply chain management: systems implications in an SME packaging business in the UK
  • Demand chain excellence: a case study of HUL vis-a-vis P&G India


Special issue: Intelligent data analysis

International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management 4(2) 2012

Papers from  IDEAL 2010, the 11th International Conference on Intelligent Data Engineering and Automated Learning held in Paisley, Scotland, 1-3 September 2010.
  • Approximating the covariance matrix of GMMs with low-rank perturbations
  • Abstraction through clustering: complexity reduction in automated planning domains
  • Towards a hybrid NMF-based neural approach for face recognition on GPUs
  • An efficient randomised sphere cover classifier
  • A generalisation of independence in statistical models for categorical distribution
  • Dual stream data exploration


Call for papers: International Forum on Innovation Oriented Economics

Inderscience will be publishing papers from the International Forum on Innovation Oriented Economics to be held in Chongqing, China, 14 September 2012. Details of the call are on the forum website - scroll down for the English version.

9 May 2012

Newly announced title: Asian Journal of Management Science and Applications

Beginning publication in 2013, Asian Journal of Management Science and Applications  will cover the broad area of management science and its applications in industry and business. It is particularly receptive to research relevant to the practice of management within the Asian region and its effects beyond. It will include studies on how management work is done (descriptive) and/or should be done (normative) in diverse organisational forms.

Call for Papers: Advancing Logistics Systems and Management in the Current Market

A special issue of International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management

Due to the global market becoming increasingly dynamic and competitive as well as experiencing the recent economic downtown, the logistics industry is experiencing a tough time in reducing operating costs and enhancing operational efficiency. Enterprises in this industry are exploring different ways to achieve competitive advantage in their industry. Within the last decade, active sourcing from low cost economies has taken place and this has led to the logistics network becoming globalised and complex. Adding on the uncertainty in the market due to the turbulent economy, some existing operations may have become obsolete or less efficient in coping with the market.

In academic papers and business articles, a wide range of works can be found focusing on different aspects in enhancing logistics operations. However, it can be seen that these publications are rather segregated with respect to their real impact on businesses as a whole and their potential to cope with existing market needs. This segregation forms the purpose of this Special Issue, which is to gather innovative and high impact research papers focusing on the right scope and areas in logistics operations to enhance their complete competitiveness in the current market.

The issue aims to bring to light the impact of work that matters to industrial practitioners and to identify the great potential of the domains that will inspire academics for their future research direction.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Inventory planning and control
  • Inventory management
  • Warehouse process optimisation
  • Warehouse management
  • Warehouse improvement (including plant layout, storage systems, material handling systems)
  • Distribution network/route design and optimisation
  • Distribution management
  • Transport/fleet management
  • Logistics systems design and optimisation
  • Logistics modelling, analysis and simulation
  • Logistics information systems, identification and communication (e.g. radio-frequency identification technology)
  • E-logistics
  • Automation in logistics
  • Green logistics
  • Global logistics
  • Reliability and maintenance of logistics systems
  • Financial and economic modelling of logistics
  • Reverse logistics, recycling and waste management
  • Logistics outsourcing
Important Dates
Deadline for submission: 1 December 2012
First review due: 15 February 2013
Revised manuscript due: 31 March 2013

Final manuscript acceptance: 30 April 2013

6 May 2012

Call for Papers: Human Resource Management and Firm Innovativeness in a European Context

A thematic issue of European Journal of International Management 

A key component in the success of most companies today is their ability to innovate and sustain innovativeness. By innovativeness, we refer to the capacity of a firm to create and implement new or improved products (goods and/or services). It is one of the most important factors that impacts business performance. Human resources are crucial in the creation of innovation proficiency, and human resource management (HRM) is therefore an important factor in sustaining innovativeness.

 European countries are among the most innovative in the world, but there are big differences between them in terms of their innovativeness. Although European firms perform relatively well in this respect, it is crucial to sustain innovativeness in today’s global economy with increasing competition from emerging markets. This requires European countries and firms to use human resources proficiently, and calls for a better understanding of the relationship between HRM and innovation.

 Research into the interface between HRM and firm innovativeness has not received extensive attention, and much of it focuses on the United States as a context. Some studies claim that the HRM function, if implemented correctly, has the potential to support organisational innovativeness and to facilitate product innovation. This indicates that HRM, if used proficiently, has the potential to influence the innovativeness of firms (both directly and indirectly). Extant research has largely failed to scrutinise the relationship between HRM and innovation, and to elaborate on how, more specifically, HRM should be organised within the firm and managed to support innovativeness.

 As the institutional context in European countries differs between each country, from the United States and from many of the emerging markets, it may be expected that this contextual factor plays a role in the relationship between HRM and innovation in the European context.

 There is therefore a need to better understand how practices in the HR function relate to innovativeness in the European context. This special issue aims to address this need. The ambition is to support research and practice in two ways. Firstly, it will support senior management and researchers with an understanding of how to use HRM to achieve and sustain innovativeness. Secondly, it will support HRM professionals and researchers with an understanding of how HR competences and processes should be developed to support innovation.

 The issue will publish papers on the interface between HRM and innovation. Papers should use a clear theoretical basis which creates a framework that will help to explain if and how HRM can support innovation.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • The institutional context and the relationship between HRM and innovation
  • HRM strategy and innovation in European firms
  • Staffing organisations to increase the ability to achieve both incremental and radical innovation simultaneously
  • Aligning recruitment systems with the innovation strengths and weaknesses of organisations
  • Training and developing employees to increase the ability to achieve both incremental and radical innovation simultaneously
  • Early training of new employees (induction activities), conforming or challenging, and its effect on innovativeness
  • Different performance measurements, incentives and feedback systems in European firms for radical and incremental innovation
  • Recognition and monetary rewards in European firms and their impact on the abilities of firms to explore future possibilities and to exploit previous investments
  • The relationship between talent management and innovativeness and the challenges for Europe
  • HRM issues relevant to the formulation and implementation of an innovation strategy
Important Dates
Extended abstract (2-3 pages) submission deadline: 1 October, 2012
Paper submission deadline: 1 February, 2013

Call for Papers: Converged Networks, Technologies and Applications

A special issue of International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering

By observing the success of the Internet and packet-switched networks, recent initiatives such as NGN (next generation networks) and IMS (IP multimedia subsystems) have been undertaken to provide a seamless architecture for various access technologies.

 Besides other innovative approaches, by integrating different technologies – SDP (service delivery platforms) and IMS, for example – easy service delivery, execution and management are now possible. Other issues such as point-to-point and broadcasting communications, data and multimedia oriented services, mobile and cellular systems, fast fiber and mobility remain challenging tasks and, to say the least, the end-to-end picture is still unclear.

 On the other hand, there are efforts such as 6LoWPAN, which tries to connect resource-constrained sensor networks to the Internet to provide a ubiquitous environment, supporting the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) in some way. This leads to a highly distributed network of devices communicating with human beings as well as with other devices. With the increase of heterogeneity, it becomes very difficult to ensure proper interactions among devices in a unified manner.

 To summarise, we can say that even though the recent advances in network convergence offer new realities, there are several research challenges and issues that need to be addressed. For example, the heterogeneity of networks imposes difficulties and challenges in ensuring network security, QoS provisioning, route optimisation and so on. Applications relying on underlying mechanisms could perform well or satisfactorily when the underlying mechanisms can meet the expected standard levels of their operations.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Next generation networks
  • IMS and related technologies
  • Integration of IMS and SDP
  • IPTV architectures and standards
  • Security issues in future networks
  • IPTV/IMS management.
  • QoS and QoE provisioning
  • 3P and 4P service provisioning
  • Accounting and billing
  • Regulatory issues
  • Streaming services over wired/wireless access networks
  • 6LoWPAN architectures and standards
  • Mobility issues in 6LoWPAN
  • Route optimisation
Important Dates
Submission deadline: 20 November, 2012
Acceptance notification: 20 February, 2013
Final paper due: 20 March, 2013

Call for Papers: Multi-criteria Decision Aid and Artificial Intelligence

A special issue of International Journal of Multicriteria Decision Making

The objective of this special issue is to publish recent advances and applications related to the combination of methods from MCDA (multi-criteria decision aid) and AI (artificial intelligence). MCDA and AI have evolved significantly over the past two decades as two separate fields. Nevertheless, there are similarities between them, especially in the areas of learning, decision and prediction from data. The development of hybrid models and methods can take advantages from both approaches.

Although we strongly encourage authors who presented work in these areas at the 75th Meeting of the European Working Group on MCDA (held in Tarragona from April 12th to 14th, 2012) to submit their manuscripts, this Call is also open to the entire community of academics and practitioners and we welcome all suitable submissions on the topics below.

The main topics for this special issue include but are not limited to (both theoretical and applied papers are accepted):
  • Intelligent decision support systems
  • Recommender systems using MCDA techniques
  • Uncertainty models in decision making (e.g. probabilistic, fuzzy, rough sets, etc)
  • Representation and management of linguistic information
  • Decisions in the Semantic Web
  • AI techniques for user profile representation and exploitation
  • Preference learning: machine learning and statistical learning
  • AI methods revised to include the user's preferences (e.g. clustering or classification)
  • Knowledge-based MCDA
  • Aggregation operators and information fusion
  • Group decision making (e.g. social choice, consensus measures, etc)
  • Optimisation methods in AI
Important Date
Submissions deadline: 30th October, 2012

Special issue: Advanced machining processes

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management 24(1-4) 2011

Papers from 3rd International and 24th All India Manufacturing Technology, Design and Research Conference-2010 (AIMTDR-2010) held at Vishakhapatnam, India, 13-15 December 2010.
  • Optimisation of multiple performance characteristics in abrasive jet machining using grey relational analysis
  • Parametric analysis and a soft computing approach on material removal rate in electrochemical discharge machining
  • Experimental investigation on dry EDM using helium gas dielectric
  • Some anomalies in the experimental results of EDM
  • Investigation on the effect of spark gap in dry µ-electro discharge machining of SiC-10BN nano-composite
  • Parametric optimisation of surface roughness on wire-EDM using Taguchi method
  • Optimisation of cut qualities during pulsed Nd:YAG laser cutting of SUPERNI 718 thin sheet for straight profile
  • Parametric analysis of Nd:YAG laser marking on ceramics
  • A methodology for measuring product innovation: a case study for a manufacturing system
  • A comprehensive framework for physical evaluation of manual material handling tasks
  • Maximising return on investment (ROI) for pharmaceutical production
  • Occupational health hazards in small scale steel manufacturing industries: a case study

Special issue: Nanotechnology in the Czech Republic

International Journal of Nanotechnology 9(8/9) 2012
  • Ultrafast laser spectroscopy of semiconductor nanocrystals
  • Nanomaterials based on carbon and Ti(IV) oxides: some aspects of their electrochemistry
  • Nanoporous Ptn+–CeOx catalyst films grown on carbon substrates
  • Very low energy scanning electron microscopy in nanotechnology
  • Silicon nanocrystals as light sources: stable, efficient and fast photoluminescence with suitable passivation
  • Thermal conversion and epitaxial overgrowth of nanopores etched in InP and GaAs
  • Nanotechnologies for society. New designs and applications of nanosensors and nanobiosensors in medicine and environmental analysis
  • Depth and material sensitivity in magneto-optic nanostructures
  • Mn doped GaN thin films and nanoparticles
  • E-beam lithography processing of Au-nanowire contacts for development of gas sensors based on tungsten-oxide nanorods self-assembled on mica
  • Recent advances in nanofibre technology: needleless electrospinning

4 May 2012

Newly announced journal : Middle East Journal of Management

Beginning publication in 2013, Middle East Journal of Management will encourage the application of research methods to solve specific business-related problems in the Middle East. It seeks to highlight the best practice and research of developed and rapidly growing countries in the Middle East region and contributes to the development of solutions for contemporary management challenges.

Special issue: Climate change: what is at stake?

Atoms for Peace: an International Journal 3(3) 2012
  • Preface – Climate change: what is at stake?
  • Man and the course of the spaceship Earth
  • Climate, a crossroads negotiation
  • Limiting greenhouse gas emissions: is the Cancun agreement enough?
  • Climate negotiations from 1992 to 2011: changing issues and new stakes
  • Climate change as a global political issue
  • The origins of integrated models of climate change

Special issue: Security, privacy and trust in cloud systems

International Journal of Cloud Computing 1(2/3) 2012
  • Editorial
  • Semantic-based policy management for cloud computing environments
  • A novel methodology for secured c-governance using Hadamard coding
  • RSA-based dynamic public audit service for integrity verification of data storage in cloud computing using Sobol sequence
  • A flexible cryptographic approach for secure data storage in the cloud using role-based access control
  • Trust modelling and analysis in peer-to-peer clouds
  • Accountability services for verifying compliance in the cloud
Additional Paper
  • Intrusion detection system in cloud computing environment

Special issue: Healthcare and assisting technologies

International Journal of Behavioural and Healthcare Research 3(2) 2012
  • Assistive technologies in nursing and healthcare: cost factor and/or economic driver?
  • Health satellite account: the first step
  • The importance of health capital in an ageing population: a QALY approach
  • The demand for assisting technologies in nursing and medical care: some comments
  • Out-of-pocket payments and their effects on the expenditure structure of private households

Special issue: Polyhedra and combinatorial optimisation

International Journal of Mathematics in Operational Research 4(3) 2012
  • A procedure-based heuristic for 0-1 Multiple Knapsack Problems
  • Composition of graphs and the Hop-constrained Path Problem
  • Dantzig-Wolfe and Lagrangian decompositions in integer linear programming
  • Polynomial time computability of some graph parameters for superclasses of perfect graphs
  • A gradient-based randomised heuristic for the maximum cut problem
  • Approximating the asymmetric profitable tour
  • Efficient cuts for generating the non-dominated vectors for Multiple Objective Integer Linear Programming

Special issue: Industrial engineering and operations management

International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering 11(1/2) 2012

Papers from the First International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM 2010) held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 9–10 January 2010.
  • Selection of industrial robots using compromise ranking method
  • Decision making for facility location selection using PROMETHEE II method
  • Productivity improvement through balancing process using multi-skilled manpower in apparel industries
  • An industrial application of DMECA approach to management process analysis
  • Developing a model for preventive maintenance management system and application database software
  • Modelling, simulation and feasibility analysis of bus rapid transit system in Pune, India
  • The application of quality function deployment to improve the teaching techniques in higher education
  • A new hybrid algorithm for multi-depot vehicle routing problem with time windows and split delivery
  • Implementation of total quality management in Bangladesh power generating sector: progress and problems
  • A Bayesian approach to forecast intermittent demand for seasonal products
  • Deriving the cost function of an integrated dyadic supply chain with uncertainty in the supply
  • Pricing model for eliminating productivity concerns of outsourced software maintenance services
  • Kanban supplier system as a standardisation method and WIP reduction
  • Effects of degraded operation modes on reliability and performance of manufacturing cells

Special Issue: Closing the chain: from knowledge creation to innovation – selected papers from ISPIM conferences and symposia

International Journal of Technology Management 58(3/4) 2012

Papers from 21st ISPIM Conference 2010 held in Bilbao, Spain, and the 2nd ISPIM Innovation Symposium 2009 held in New York City, USA,
  • Why and how do academics bridge the gap between invention and innovation?
  • Proactive versus reactive motivations for patenting and their impact on patent production at universities
  • The knowledge value chain as an SME innovation policy instrument framework: an analytical exploration of SMEs public innovation support in OECD countries
  • Knowledge management practices and innovation propensity: a firm-level analysis for Luxembourg
  • User knowledge in innovation in high technologies: an empirical analysis of semiconductors

2 May 2012

Call for Papers: Models and Methods for Sustaining Organisational Competitive Advantage in the Application of Management Techniques

A special issue of International Journal of Logistics Economics and Globalisation

In today’s management world, quite a few changes have replaced traditional methods in previous management strategies followed by various organisations. Previously, the focus of organisations was on manufacturing and production; however, this perspective has changed to a focus on knowledge and intellectual capital.

 Recent development shows how these changes have introduced a competitive landscape for organisations to develop and establish through sustainable development. This in turn affects how companies develop their resources and capabilities, fostering organisational persistence along with sustainability and competitive advantages. At present, the application of management in academic and industry perspectives and the changes that affect new approaches to business models are represented by sustainable development triggered by the sustainability of competitive advantage. Competitive advantages have become competitive necessities of today’s world.

 Competitive advantage in an industry can be strongly enhanced by the interrelationships between businesses units and by the inter-relationships within organisations. These intra-relationships are the principal means by which a diversified firm creates value and thus provide the underpinnings for corporate strategy and corporate development.

 Therefore, the need for a broad view and study of organisational domain functions and modalities, along with an inclusive approach to managerial practices that requires contributions from people across all functions of an organisation – such as supply chain management, scheduling, human resources, marketing, finance, corporate affairs and research and development – is important. The collective strength of these functionaries determines the ability of firms to earn and flourish, but the concept of sustainable development and competitive advantages are researched widely in isolated and discipline-specific arenas.

 Moreover, intangible characteristics of organisations – such as knowledge, social capital, culture, market orientation, customer relationships, organisational learning, etc. – in particular industries have not been studied copiously in the area of sustainable competitive advantage. Research development frontiers have to take a conglomerated approach, bringing in paradigms and modalities prescribed in various managerial functions so as to provide a holistic and cumulative approach to sustainability in competitive advantage. This would be the backbone of effective management practice in today’s world.

 The main focus of this special issue is on advancing our theoretical and empirical understanding of models and methods of strategic operations, research methods and practical underpinnings that are critical in the development of economy in different industries and managerial functions. Theoretical, methodological and/or empirical research papers are invited.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Strategic effectiveness
  • Operations efficiency
  • HR efficacy
  • Marketing efficacy
  • Customer relationship building
  • Value positioning and strategy for competitive advantage
  • Competitive advantage in service and manufacturing industries
  • Scheduling in manufacturing industries
  • Supply chain management
  • Sustainability and competitive advantage in healthcare
  • Perspectives of value
  • Customer value models
  • Value-based organisations
  • Core competencies, core capabilities, processes and assets profiles
  • Balanced scorecards
  • Peer learning
Important Dates
Manuscript submission: 1 December, 2012
Notification of initial decision: 30 March, 2013
Submission of revised manuscript: 30 May, 2013
Notification of final acceptance: 30 June, 2013
Submission of final revised paper: 30 July, 2013

Call for Papers: Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Integrated Sustainability

A special issue of International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development

Innovation is viewed as a process of value creation, both for businesses and entire nations and regions. It has been explored and treated as one of the most important key drivers towards economic growth and sustainability.

However, multiple interpretations and practices can be found in the scope of sustainable development. According the economic theory, it is related to increases in income and production, always involving drastic changes in institutional, social and administrative structures, sometimes even in individual and collective beliefs. Sometimes, it can be seen as a process of expanding the real freedoms of human beings, as argued by Amartya Sen, the winner of the Nobel Prize in economics in 1998.

The boundaries of development are vague and their vectors are linked to multilateral cause-effect chains. This intrinsic paradox appears in current literature as an unresolved paradigm. It allows companies and economic agents to identify its structure and to establish a systematic and dynamic framework for its integrated analysis. Companies and countries should monitor and report their innovation cycles in order to increase their turnovers. Thus, innovation and entrepreneurship emerge, in a two-way cause-effect linkage, as key structural blocks for macro and micro sustainability. These pillars are embodied in complex learning processes and dynamic networks that drive economic growth, development and social welfare. The actual economic paradigms require new insights to reinforce that innovation and entrepreneurship are continuous key drivers for sustainable development.

This special issue is based on the topics under discussion during the 7th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ECIE 2012), Santarém, Portugal. Submissions based on the topics under discussion during the conference are particularly welcome, and the issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the event. But we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the conference to submit papers for this call. We encourage all submitting academics and practitioners to identify new insights and developments that drive innovation and entrepreneurship towards sustainability.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Innovation drivers and sustainability
  • Innovation and intellectual property
  • Macro and micro economic approaches for sustainability
  • Innovation and policy making
  • Communities of practice for innovation
  • Innovation and regional development
  • Case studies on innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Enterprise and university alliances for innovation
  • Innovation networks
  • Organisational learning towards innovative processes
  • Entrepreneurial learning for sustainability
  • Social sustainability
  • Information systems for innovation and sustainability
  • Public sector practices in innovation and entrepreneurship
Important Dates
Deadline for submission of manuscripts: 30 November, 2012
Notification of acceptance/rejection to authors: 31 January, 2013
Submission of final manuscript: 31 March, 2013

Call for Papers: Frontiers in Computer Science and Technology

A special issue  of International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering

This special issue is mainly intended to facilitate effective communications and exchanges among researchers, faculties and practitioners in computer science and technology, reflecting not only the significant progress that is currently being made in computer science and technology, but also a powerful and unique forum for discussing innovative, cutting-edge advances in topics of computer science and technology being envisioned in academia, government and corporate institutions all over the world.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the 7th International Conference on Frontier of Computer Science and Technology (FCST-12); but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the conference to submit papers for this call.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Parallel and distributed computing
  • Trust, security and privacy
  • Multimedia systems and networks
  • Embedded computing and systems
  • Emerging software techniques
Important Dates

Manuscript due date: 31 January, 2013
First round notification: 28 February, 2013
Revised papers due: 15 March, 2013
Notification of acceptance: 31 March, 2013