31 January 2013

Call for papers: "Rechargeable Vehicles and Electric Grids"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Powertrains.

Rechargeable vehicles, known as electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), would have significant impacts on electric grids in terms of load leverage, online storage and peak shaving capabilities, or when considered as potential assets to sell demand response services by either delivering electricity into the grid or by throttling charging rate.

Rechargeable vehicles can provide a backup for home owners with battery storage during power outages. High capacity vehicle batteries also provide a large buffer for renewable grid resources. At the same time, rechargeable vehicles bring risks to electric grids in stability control, generation capacity, recharging losses and battery degradations.

This special issue is aimed at disseminating the results of research on the applications of rechargeable vehicles in electric grids that relates to vehicle-to-grid (V2G), grid operation, operation standards and policies.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Vehicle-to-grid applications
  • Vehicle-to-home applications
  • Impacts of rechargeable vehicles on grid stability
  • Impacts of rechargeable vehicles on economical operation of grid systems
  • Integration of rechargeable vehicles with renewable energy sources
  • Recharge optimisation
  • Development of smart grids
  • Grid ancillary services and demand response applications with vehicle batteries
Important Dates
Manuscript submission deadline: 31 May, 2013
Completion of first review: 31 July, 2013
Submission of revised papers: 31 August, 2013
Completion of final review: 30 September, 2013
Final manuscript submission: 31 October, 2013

30 January 2013

First issue: International Journal of Space Science and Engineering (free sample issue available)

The International Journal of Space Science and Engineering  publishes original and multidisciplinary research papers in all areas of space activities with special emphasis on space and planetary exploration, earth observation, mission analysis, spacecraft and payload design, navigation and control and related space technology. Subject areas include all the current fields of interest related to the above mentioned areas.

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

Call for papers: "Evidence- and User-based Technology Enhanced Learning"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning.

The design of accessible, usable and pedagogically effective technology enhanced learning (TEL) products requires solid empirical evidence and the involvement of real users. This special issue seeks contributions that describe how existing empirical evidence or the involvement of real users in the design process allows TEL researchers to produce accessible, usable and pedagogically effective TEL products.

For instance, the issue seeks contributions that describe TEL interventions, the efficacy of which rests on empirical evidence analysed by domain experts, as well as contributions that report on accessible and usable TEL solutions designed with and for specific types of users, e.g. users with special needs.

Particularly welcome are contributions that use design methodologies from evidence-based design (EBD) as well as human-computer interaction (HCI), which focus on empirical evidence and involve real users in the design process.

The issue will bring together contributions concerning TEL systems with success stories and best practices that educators, education stakeholders or education psychologists can use to improve their students' learning experience, specifically including work with students with special needs (e.g. poor/slow readers, students living in impoverished communities or families).

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the 2nd International Workshop on evidenced-based Technology Enhanced Learning, but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the workshop to submit articles for this call.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Evidence- and user-based personalisation, user modelling and adaptation in TEL
  • Evidence- and user-based games and game learning for TEL
  • Knowledge representation and reasoning for evidence-based TEL
  • Knowledge management and evidence and user-based TEL
  • Natural language processing and evidence- and user-based TEL
  • Semantic web and evidence- and user-based TEL
  • Web 2.0 and social learning environments for evidence- and user-based TEL
  • Sharing and interoperability between evidence- and user-based TEL systems
  • Effective teaching techniques and strategies for learning
  • Evidence- and user-based design case studies;
  • Evaluation guidelines, methodologies and methods for evidence- and user-based TEL
  • Usability guidelines, methodologies and methods for evidence- and user-based TEL
  • Accessibility guidelines, methodologies and methods for evidence- and user-based TEL
  • Evidence- and user-based TEL for users with special needs
Important Dates
Deadline for paper submission: 15 July, 2013
Completion of first review: 15 September, 2013
Revisions due (first round): 15 October, 2013
Final decision notification: 30 October, 2013

Call for papers: "Advances in Big Data Processing via Convergence of Emerging Techniques"

For a special issue of the International Journal of High Performance Computing and Networking.

Today data comes from everywhere, for example from individual archives, lab experiments, simulations, sensors, etc., with all kinds of scales and formats. This phenomenon reveals that we are now in the midst of the “big data” revolution, and are driven to process, manage, analyse and understand the data. This process is often in real-time.

In synergy with moving towards a data-driven world, we also face a critical change in the way hardware systems, such as massive multi-core processing systems, very large main memory systems, fast networking components, big computing clusters and large data centres, are evolving. Such rapid expansion is accelerated by the dramatic increase in acceptance of social media and networking applications.

Furthermore, it can be foreseen that Internet of things (IoT) applications will raise the scale of data to an unprecedented level. People and devices, from coffee machines to cars, to buses, railway stations and airports, are all loosely connected but tightly related. Trillions of such connected components will generate a huge data ocean, and valuable information must be discovered from the data to help improve quality of life and make our world a better place.

Thus the concept of convergence, which refers to a potential integration of heterogeneous approaches, techniques and considerations from interdisciplinary fields, plays a key role in the coming era. It is envisioned to increase the ability to sense data, learn and reason from data, enhance adaptability to various unpredictable changes, and improve experiences. Despite a wide body of research efforts, how convergence can be achieved remains a challenging issue.

This special issue calls for high quality and state-of-the-art research and results concerning emerging solutions for the growing amount of data (or Big Data). In particular, the special issue aims to showcase the most recent achievements and developments in the realm of big data processing and its associated techniques. Original and research articles of all types are solicited, including theoretical studies, practical applications, new communication technology and experimental prototypes. All submitted papers will be peer-reviewed and selected on the basis of both their quality and their relevance to the theme of this issue.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the 2012 International Conference on Active Media Technology (4-7 December 2012, Macau), but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the conference to submit articles for this call.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Interoperability issues regarding data sharing, management and analysis
  • New computing architecture for data processing
  • New methods for data processing and visualisation
  • New programming models for large data
  • Data filtering techniques for internet of things
  • Big data mining using cloud computing
  • Big data applications in social science, climate science, earth science and other science domains
  • Large-scale analytical methodologies and algorithms
  • Mobile cloud data management and resource sharing
  • Scalable and distributed algorithms
  • Efficient big data processing techniques towards energy harvesting, storage and recycling
  • System issues related to large datasets
  • Other applications and practices
Important Dates
Paper submission: 1 August, 2013 (extended)
1st round review notification: 1 October, 2013
1st revision due: 1 November, 2013
2nd round review notification: 20 Novemeber, 2013

Special issue: "Social Media for Mentoring and Life-Long Learning"

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning 23(1) 2013
  • The change from weblogs to social networks to develop lifelong learners
  • Mentoring 2.0: how PR educators use social media to create and maintain relationships with students
  • Student-teacher relationship in the Facebook era: the student perspective
  • Using social networks as a catalyst for change in global higher education marketing and recruiting
  • Challenges facing higher education: faculty's concerns about technologies of social media
  • Affective tutoring systems in a learning social network

Special issue: "Application of Foresight Process on Innovation Strategy Planning"

International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy 9(1) 2013
  • Objective, methodology and subject area of technology foresight based on bibliometric analysis
  • Sectoral foresight in Poland: thematic and methodological analysis
  • Technological trajectories and sustainability: trends in Brazilian subsidiaries of Swedish multinational corporations
  • Scenario-based vision building of nuclear energy
  • The Greek National Technology Foresight Programme: success is in the eye of the beholder

29 January 2013

Call for papers: "Advances in Information and Communication Security"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology.

Information and communication technologies which enable users to access, store, transmit and manipulate information are used everywhere. Information and communication security covers some of the latest advances in fundamentals, cryptography, intrusion detection, access control, networking, software, etc.
 
Information and communication security provides integrity, authentication, confidentiality and non-repudiation for network computing and cloud computing, and increased intranet and internet security. Research on it will promote the security of both providers and users. For this purpose, this special issue will report on the security of information and communication in the areas listed below.
 
Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Channel coding
  • Coding theory and practice
  • Communication theory
  • Complexity and computation theory
  • Cryptography and security
  • Compression and source coding
  • Emerging applications of information theory
  • Information theory and statistics
  • Network coding
  • Network communication theory
  • Multi-terminal information theory
  • Quantum information theory
  • Shannon theory
  • Signal processing
Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 15 October, 2013
Notification to authors: 15 November, 2013
Final versions due: 15 December, 2013

Special issue: "e-Business Research from the Chinese Perspective"

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations 12(1) 2013

Expanded versions of papers from the 11th Wuhan International Conference on E-Business.
  • Impact of corporate culture on resources sharing between enterprises
  • Incentive strategies in user community of online trading platform - bilateral market uncertainty perspective
  • Review of green supply chain management
  • Performance benchmarking for building best practice in business competitiveness and case study
  • A typology of net-enabled organisational capabilities for digital competitive advantage: the case study of travel and hospitality industry in China
Additional Paper
  • Secure local algorithm for establishing a virtual backbone in 3D ad hoc network

Special issue: "Multiple Criteria Decision Making"

International Journal of Data Analysis Techniques and Strategies 5(1) 2013

Expanded versions of papers from the 7th Meeting of Multicriteria Decision Analysis.
  • Structuring a multicriteria strategic decision problem for publishing decision support via facilitated modelling
  • Multicriteria decision analysis in programme management: evaluation of education infrastructure projects using the AHP
  • Evaluation of artificial neural networks as a model for forecasting consumption of wood products
  • Service innovation strategies in Greek hotel sector: an exploratory study using the statistical method of multidimensional analysis
  • A tourist satisfaction measurement model based on multiple criteria: application to the case of Skopelos Island
  • Evaluating port efficiency in the Mediterranean
  • Combining the priority rankings of DEA and AHP methodologies: a case study on an ICT industry
  • Book review: Categorical Data Analysis using SAS (Third Edition), by Maura E. Stokes, Charles S. Davis and Gary G. Koch (SAS Institute Inc.)

Special issue: "Advanced Knowledge-Intensive Approaches in Support for Social Networks and Learning Systems"

International Journal of Knowledge and Learning 8(3/4) 2012

Includes expanded versions of papers from the 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems (INCoS 2011).
  • Linked open data for learning object discovery in adaptive e-learning systems
  • Design of an emotion aware e-learning system
  • Kindergarten children's motivation and collaboration being triggered via computers while creating digital stories: a case study
  • Diffusion of information and phase transition in the Fisher market
  • Evaluation of knowledge-based competency in Iranian universities: a practical model
Additional Papers
  • Knowledge management through learning model in industrial projects
  • Knowledge management and e-learning in higher education: a research study based on students' perceptions
  • Modelling and benchmarking organisations' memory capabilities

Special issue: "Enacted Entrepreneurship in Education"

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing 5(1) 2013
  • Entrepreneurship education in policy and practice
  • Fostering the competence of science students in identifying business opportunities: a design research approach
  • The making of an intercultural learning context for entrepreneuring
  • Effectuation and causation in entrepreneurship education
  • The relationship between firm start-up rates and the local development of an entrepreneurship education system


Dr. Namit Jaiswal appointed as editor of the International Journal of Petroleum Engineering

Dr. Namit Jaiswal has been appointed to edit the International Journal of Petroleum Engineering. Dr. Jaiswal is from the Shell Oil Co. in Houston, Texas.

Call for papers: "Disruptive Demographics: Ageing, Socio-Economic Change, Challenges and Potentialities"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Work Innovation.

Across the globe the 21 st century has witnessed the growing phenomenon of ageing and its impact on social and work life. The percentage of people over 60 years of age in the world is growing rapidly, with one report estimating that by mid-century the number of people over 60 will triple to nearly two billion people (Coughlin, 2010). In Africa, for example, “the number of people over 60 living in Africa” will increase by 400 percent to 200 million people by 2050 – “with profound implications for society, influencing people’s social, economic and political lives” (http://www.global-ageing.eu/agafrica.html). Similar research agendas have focused on detailing the potential problems and challenges of aging in Arab countries (Abdulrahim, Ajrouch, Jammal, & Antonucci, 2012), Latin America (Wong, Peláez, Palloni, & Markides, 2006), Asia (Hermalin, 2001), Australasia (McCormack, 2000), Europe (Davoudi, Wishardt, & Strange, 2010) and North America (Duvergne Smith, 2011). This global phenomenon has led one commentator to refer to ageing as “disruptive demographics” (Coughlin, 2010).

The growth of aging populations in North America, Europe and other so-called developed countries have led researchers to study the impact of age on such things as stereotypes of the aging worker (Hedge et al., 2006; Brought et al., 2011), workplace efficiency, career development, retirement policies, experience (Kanfer and Ackerman 2004), training needs, etc (Ilmarinen, 2006). In other regions of the world the issue of aging is often viewed from a different perspective. In Latin America, for example, is has been predicted that, due to outstanding health issues, aging “will not proceed along known paths already followed by more developed countries” (Palloni & McEniry, 2007).

Asian cultures usually value ageing more than Western societies (Leung, 2000). However, in Western organisational contexts, ambivalence concerning the value of ageing employees is common. On one hand, it is recognised that `old age’ may bring valuable expertise and wisdom, so-called crystallised intelligence (Kanfer and Ackerman 2004). While on the other hand, stereotypes related to older employees include being viewed as less productive, less healthy and less able to cope with changes (Hedge et al., 2006; Brought et al., 2011). In either case the association of age with innovation and change is problematic. Experience and wisdom, although perceived positively can nonetheless suggest sedimented and established qualities rather than an ability to respond in new and innovative ways. Although recent research has shown that the assumption of a general decline with age is simplistic and incorrect, stereotypical assumptions concerning an older worker’s abilities and job performance continue to influence Western organisations’ understandings of age (Brought et al., 2011). In any event, innovation and change is not normally viewed as a potential quality of older employees. Issues usually focus on compensating for a supposed loss of skills and abilities through such things as training and reevaluations of the types of work that aging employees are expected to undertake (Ilmarinen, 2001).

The growing interest in research into aging and work raises questions about a range of issues linked to the supposed dichotomy between the needs of organisations to retain organisational memory and experience while balancing concerns about the supposed loss of skills of older workers. Western societies emphasise the need for workers to stay in work life longer, but ageing employees are frequently the main victims of downsizing or restructuring (Buyens et al., 2009). Nonetheless, in the context of specific labour shortages, it has, in recent years, been recognised that something must be done to stop older employees from leaving the work place and to raise the employment level of ageing employees, particularly in European countries (Henkens et al., 2008; Walker, 2005; Parry & Tyson, 2009,). In short, the focus has been on different kinds of management practices of older workforce, including leadership and human resource management that consider age.

Throughout the various recent debates on ageing and work, little or no attention has been focused on such issues as the discursive nature of age and aging – which clearly differs across regions of the world, and has implications not simply for organisational managers but also for the fundamental human aspects of being understood as aged or aging. Nor has the role of age and work been adequately accounted for in issues of discriminatory practices and theories of discrimination and intersectionality (Bendl, Bleijenbergh, Henttonen, & Mills, 2014).

The discourse of aging and work is growing and opens a highly relevant theoretical space for discussion of the issues involved. In this special issue we encourage reflections on this space from a number of directions.

References
Abdulrahim, Sawsan, Ajrouch, Kristine J., Jammal, Alice, & Antonucci, Toni C. (2012). Survey Methods and Aging Research in an Arab Sociocultural Context—A Case Study from Beirut, Lebanon.The Journals of Gerentology: Series B, 67(6), 775-782.
Bendl, Regine, Bleijenbergh, Inge, Henttonen, Elina, & Mills, Albert J. (Eds.). (2014).The Oxford Handbook of Diversity in Organizations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Buyens, D., Van Dijk, H., Dewilde T. and De Vos, A. (2009), “The ageing workforce: perceptions of career ending”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 24, No. 2, 102-117.
Brough, P., Johnson, G., Drummond, S. & Timms, C. 2011. Comparisons of cognitive ability and job attitudes of older and younger workers. Equality Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal 30 ( 2), 105-126.
Coughlin, Joseph F. (2010). Blended Futures of Again & Busines Innovation. Retrieved 30 Oct, 2012
Davoudi, Simin, Wishardt, Michelle, & Strange, Ian. (2010). The ageing of Europe: Demographic scenarios of Europe's futures.Futures, 42(8), 794-803.
Duvergne Smith, Nancy. (2011). Disruptive Demographics: Aging and Innovation.Slice of MIT.April 7. Retrieved 30 October, 2012
Hedge, J.W., Borman, W.C. and Lammlein, S.E. (2006), The Ageing Workforce. Realities, Myths, and Implications for Organisations, American Psychological Association, Washington.
Henkens K., Remery C. & Chippers J. (2008) Shortage in ageing labour market: an analysis of employers' behaviour. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 19 (7), 1314-1329.
Hermalin, Albert I. (2001). Ageing in Asia: Facing the Crossroads.Hallym International Journal of Aging, 3(2), 133-167.
Ilmarinen, J. (2001), “Ageing employees”, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 58, No. 8, pp. 546.
Ilmarinen, J. (2006). Towards a longer worklife – Ageing and the quality of worklife in the European Union. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki.
Kanfer, R., and Ackerman, P.L. (2004). “Aging, adult development, and work motivation”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 29, pp. 440-458.
Leung, (2000).
McCormack, John. (2000). Looking back and moving forward? Ageing in Australia 2000.Ageing and Society, 20(05), 623-631.
Palloni, Alberto, & McEniry, Mary. (2007). Aging and Health Status of Elderly in Latin America and the Caribbean: Preliminary Findings.Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerentology, 22(3), 263-285.
Parry, E. and Tyson, S. (2009), “Organizational reactions to UK age discrimination legislation”, Employee Relations, Vol. 31, No. 5, 471-488.
Walker, A. (2005), “The Emergence of Age Management in Europe”, International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, Vol. 10, No.1, pp. 685-697.
Wong, Rebeca, Peláez, Martha, Palloni, Alberto, & Markides, Kyriakos. (2006). Journal of Aging Health.Aging and Health, 18(2), 157-179.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Aging and work as a discursive set of ideas and practices
  • Organisational challenges and potentialities of an ageing ‘workforce’
  • Aging employees and knowledge work
  • Gender and aging at work
  • Employment markets, innovation and ageing
  • Organisational entrepreneurship and older workforces
  • Cross-cultural knowledge on ageing and work
  • Management of the ageing workforce
  • Cross-cultural issues of ageing
Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 7 May, 2014

Call for papers: "Contemporary Human Capital Management: New Thinking and Practices in Asia"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Management Practice.

There is no doubt that the human capital of an organisation is becoming increasingly important in achieving organisational goals. Human capital management has therefore become a key specialist function, and human capital managers are crucial to modern organisations.

Furthermore, ever-increasing change in the environment has triggered the development of new techniques in human capital management. The function and role of human capital management have to continuously evolve to align with the advancement of technology, globalisation, changes in employment legislation, and the increasing demand for human capital development. Continuous research is therefore essential to developing insights into current and future trends so that both practitioners and academics can be informed in a timely manner.

This special issue aims to offer new perspectives on human capital management. It aims to encourage those researching the specific area of human capital management to bring forth new thinking and views on how managers can reaffirm their leadership and exert influence in the working environment. The content is anticipated to cover a range of topics concerning the growing complexity of modern workforces and the challenges arising from the global economy.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Key global trends in human capital management
  • Human capital management models
  • Outcomes of human capital management practices
  • Comparative analysis of human capital management practices
  • Human capital management best practices
  • Managerial issues of human capital management
  • Desirable human capital management practices
  • Green human capital management practices
  • Equity ownership and human capital management practices
  • Diversity and human capital management practices
  • Technology innovation and human capital management practices
  • Globalisation and human capital management practices
  • Employment legislation and human capital management practices
  • Learning organisation and human capital management practices
  • Case studies or reviews of specific human capital management practices
Important Dates
1-2 page abstract: 31 March, 2013
Confirmation of interest: 15 April, 2013
Submission of manuscripts: 31 July, 2013
Notification to authors: 30 September, 2013
Final versions due: 30 November, 2013

Call for papers: "Software Life Cycle Management Focusing on Validation in Software Applications"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology.

Software applications are day by day becoming very complex. These applications include desktop applications, web applications or mobile-compatible applications. These days, normal applications are desired to be mobile-compatible and thus provide benefits to billions of mobile users. Testing software applications is quite challenging. Effort is required to create good quality test cases, minimal effort debugging, effortless regression test case selection or prioritisation, etc. The testing of mobile applications would add to the complexities of the testing process.
 
The aim of this special issue is to provide a research platform for researchers and practitioners to discuss various ideas, challenges and solutions related to improving the testing of software applications, which includes analysis, design and structure of empirical studies, and their results, varying from controlled experiments to field studies for developing, validating and maintaining software systems. Papers based on the mathematical work highlighting or validating solution strategies using mathematical tools are also invited.
 
Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Model-driven development and testing
  • Regression testing of software applications
  • Automatisation and parallelisation of testing techniques
  • Validation and verification
  • Agile/iterative/incremental software testing
  • Software testing with open source tools and third party software
  • Software mutation testing
  • Automatic test case generation
  • Software testing case studies and surveys
  • Testing concurrent software
  • Domain-specific testing (security testing/web-service testing/database testing/embedded software testing)
  • Testing in globally-distributed organisations
  • Requirement engineering aspects related to testing
  • Automated learning of test models
  • Testing of timed and randomised models
  • Formal methods for testing
Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 19 June, 2013
Notification to authors:19 August, 2013
Final versions due: 19 September, 2013

28 January 2013

Special issue: "Commercial Diplomacy and International Business"

International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy 1(2) 2012
  • Commercial diplomacy: an integrative framework
  • Value for money: a network approach to Dutch economic and commercial diplomacy in the USA
  • What are the effects of economic diplomacy on the margins of trade?
  • Commercial diplomacy in action to ensure a micro-state's international competitiveness during years of economic and political turmoil: the case of Andorra
  • African commercial diplomacy and its challenges in the context of globalisation

Special issue: "Intelligent Techniques and Constructive Approaches in Computing and Information Technology"

International Journal of Reasoning-based Intelligent Systems 4(4) 2012

Expanded versions of papers from the Second Conference on  Computer and Information Technology (CCIT 2012).
  • An evolutionary tic-tac-toe player
  • SLMS: a smart library management system based on an RFID technology
  • Adaptive hybrid ARQ for mode switching receiver in wireless cellular networks
  • Implementation strategy for real-time kernel (RTDM)
  • Analytical study of GUI model for e-learning solutions
  • Genetic algorithm application to analog integrated circuit design
  • Real-time white noise generation using the TMS320C6713 DSP starter kit
  • Improved scatter search for 4-colour mapping problem
  • Using intelligent water drops algorithm for optimisation routing protocol in mobile ad-hoc networks
  • Privacy preserving distributed knowledge discovery: survey and future directions
  • New algorithm for colour image segmentation using hybrid k-means clustering
  • A survey of botnet crimeware life cycle
  • A new design leads to efficient bit-serial FPGA implementation for the biorthogonal 5/3 DWT filter bank


Special issue: "Nanomaterials, Nanodevices and Nanobiotechnology"

International Journal of Nano and Biomaterials 4(3/4) 2012

Expanded versions of papers presented at the 2nd International Conference on Nanotechnology: Fundamentals and Applications (ICNFA2011).
  • Nanoindentation characterisation of GaN films and Se nanotubes
  • Conductive nanowires coated with a semiconductive shell as the photoanode in dye-sensitised solar cells
  • Microstructural characterisation of Cr/CrN nano-multilayers produced by unbalanced magnetron sputtering
  • Functionalised silica nanoparticles stable in serum-containing medium efficiently deliver siRNA targeting HIV-1 co-receptor CXCR4 in mammalian cells
  • Fate of SiC and TiC nanoparticle dispersions in human reconstituted gastric fluid
  • The synthesis and use of steric-stabilised titania nanoparticles in Pickering-emulsion preparation
  • Structural stability and cohesive energy of FCC and BCC metallic nanocrystals
  • Antibacterial properties of pure titanium coated with silver nanoparticles

Special issue: "Evaluating Technologies for the Environmental and Sustainability Impacts: Management of Technological Innovation in the Energy Sector"

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development 12(1) 2013

Expanded versions of papers from the Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology 2011.
  • A policy dimension required for technology roadmapping: learning from the emergence of Chinese wind turbine industry
  • Effects of government funding on R&D performance leading to commercialisation
  • New energy vehicle development in China
  • Exploring the possibility of change in the US utilities' market orientation towards more renewable energy
  • The moment of serendipity in technology companies: study by participant observation
  • Assessing community-based environmental management: coordination, motivation, and performance


Special issue: "Emerging Economy Multinationals: Firm Capabilities and Economic Development"

International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development 6(1/2) 2013
  • Introduction: Outward foreign direct investment from emerging economies and national development strategies: three regimes
  • The importance of human capital in the early internationalisation of Indian knowledge-intensive service firms
  • Nishant Kumar
  • International entrepreneurial capability as a driver of the born global firm - a case study from India
  • Home-country specific advantages and foreign investment of Russian oil and gas companies: a network approach
  • Internationalisation of small and medium software firms from India
  • Innovation patterns, limits to learning and the pathway of neoliberal globalisation: evidence from Indian pharmaceutical multinationals
  • Chinese foreign direct investment in Indonesia: trends, drivers and impacts
  • Chinese and Indian trade and investment links with Sub-Saharan Africa: institutions, capabilities and competitive advantage
  • Chinese overseas M&A: overcoming cultural and organisational divides

Special issue: "Advances in RFID Technology: Applications, Business Models, Challenges and Future"

International Journal of Information Technology and Management 12(1/2) 2013
  • Enhancing competitive advantage with radio-frequency identification (RFID) enabled returnable transport equipment (RTE)
  • A feasibility study of a RFID traceability system in municipal solid waste management
  • Context-aware web services for security control and privacy preservation in an RFID supply chain
  • Application of RFID on equipment parts readiness management system of semiconductor packaging plant
  • An RFID-based manufacture process control and supply chain management in the semiconductor industry
  • A closed-loop feedback simulation for RFID-based manufacturing planning and control system
  • Economic analysis of RFID investments for construction project management using ANFIS

Lane-swapping autonomous cars avoid collisions

Autonomous, driverless vehicles look set to hit the streets in the near future and become increasingly common, so UK researchers have investigated algorithms that could help developers include escape manoeuvres to allow such vehicles to quickly and safely switch lanes to avoid collisions with other road users.


Writing in the aptly named International Journal of Vehicle Autonomous Systems, Matthew Best of the Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering at Loughborough University, in Leicestershire, discusses the optimisation of a vehicle’s standard brake, acceleration and steering control inputs in the context of avoiding collisions. He has devised a computer simulation that allows all those parameters to be optimised concurrently during a safety manoeuvre and to show how speed reduction and swapping lanes might be carried out by an autonomous vehicle.


The optimal rapid lane-change would inevitably be an aggressive, high “g” manoeuvre that would destabilise the vehicle, and additional computing power would be needed to act quickly to correct under steer and other issues that arise during and after such a vehicle movement. The high-speed lane switch would likely be rarely used in a real-world autonomous drive, but could, in exceptional circumstances, allow driverless or robot vehicles to be safer on roads that which they share with other such vehicles and vehicles with human drivers.


Best points out that simulations at 70 mph (the UK national speed limit on motorways) reveal that braking alone would not lead to a safe outcome in many situations, so a lane swap would almost certainly be needed, assuming there were an empty lane for a vehicle to move into. A lane-change would in the best circumstances move the vehicle to safety in half the distance as braking at that speed.


The researchers concede that at present the limitations of on-board computing power in autonomous vehicles and the need for high-speed data streams measuring real tyre friction coefficients and more means that his algorithm is limited to the simulation at present. However, it paves the way for developing more powerful, safety aware driving systems for such vehicles.


Optimisation of high-speed crash avoidance in autonomous vehicles” in Int. J. Vehicle Autonomous Systems, vol 10, issue 4, pp 337-354


Lane-swapping autonomous cars avoid collisions is a post from: David Bradley's Science Spot






via Science Spot » Inderscience http://sciencespot.co.uk/lane-swapping-helps-autonomous-vehicles-avoid-collisions.html

25 January 2013

Call for papers: "The Role of and Changes in National Commercial Diplomacy in the Time of the Current Economic Crisis"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy.

The turbulent times which we have faced from 2008 onwards have raised once again the question of the troubled relationship between “states” and “markets”,1 which has been – because of the stable economic development of the international community – (more or less) ignored for the last twenty years. Furthermore, the result of the current crisis is not only the reopening of the debate on the “states” vs. “markets” relationship, but also the growing expectation of what “states” should do to help “markets” to perform better. In this framework, commercial diplomacy2 is becoming one of the constitutive elements of international economic relations.

However, this role of commercial diplomacy is not a novelty. Starting long before 1945, history offers us many examples of how commercial diplomacy was understood as an important issue for conducting inter-“state” economic relations; in some cases it also offered grounds for establishing peaceful relations among “nations”. Although the role and the aim of commercial diplomacy have changed through centuries, its focus still remains the same: being a tool for granting economic prosperity and citizens’ welfare. Some historical cases (such as the Cobden-Chevalier Agreement, 1860) are prime examples how the role of commercial diplomacy was crucial for the economic development of nations in that time.

The instabilities of the first half of the 20th century were the basis for the establishment of post-WWII world order, in which commercial diplomacy (officially) had no domicile. The liberal structure introduced by the Bretton Woods system formally abandoned the role of the state (i.e. commercial diplomacy as an instrument of state) and replaced it with market liberalisation. But the reality differed from theoretical presumptions. Even though the liberal economic order opted for non-intervention and the free market as a warrantor of economic prosperity, states – in their international economic relations – continued to use the instrument of commercial diplomacy, as it had been proved that it is an effective and invisible tool for enhancement of international trade.

After the dissolution of the Communist Bloc, commercial diplomacy became an even more relevant instrument, as the markets of the ex-communist countries applying economic and non-economic barriers were uncompetitive and under-developed. Western/capitalist countries used commercial diplomacy in two ways: as a market-entry strategy and as an instrument for facilitating their activities in ex-communist markets. This period lasted for almost twenty years and was interrupted by the onset of the current economic crisis, when the idea of markets’ liberalisation was replaced by the idea of protectionism of national economies.

After the outbreak of the current economic crisis, the debate on the role and possibilities of commercial diplomacy re-emerged. Within these debates, economic and political stakeholders advocated that “now is the time” to start using commercial diplomacy, and that commercial diplomacy should apply its tools to roll back the tide of rising protectionism. However, at the same time, when enterprises are advocating increased use of commercial diplomacy in most of the states, austerity measures call for decrease/shutdown of certain public sector activities. In some cases these measures have also been applied in the field of commercial diplomacy, diminishing its human and financial resources potential. On the other hand there are some examples of when national governments have opted for the strengthening of national commercial diplomacy.

Footnotes
1 By “states” we mean the official decision-making and power executing activities of public dominance, while “markets” are a synonym for private/entrepreneurship activities for private profits.
2 We define commercial diplomacy as “using diplomatic tools to help domestic enterprises in foreign markets” (see Udovič, 2011: 359). For more on the topic, see: Bayne and Woolcock (2012); Coolsaet (2004); De la Carriere (1998); Justinek (2009; 2011, 2012); Kostecki and Naray (2007); Lee and Hudson (2004); Lee and Ruël (2012); Naray (2008); Naray (2009); Naray (2010); Naray (2011); Okano-Heijmans (2011); Rana (2002); Ruël and Zuidema (2012); Saner, Yiu and Søndergaard (2000); Saner and Yiu (2003); Strange and Stopford (1991); Strange (1992); Udovič (2007; 2009).

Theoretical, research and case study papers are welcome. The purpose of this special issue is to explore and analyse changes:

  • occurred/ing in the time of the current economic crisis or because of it in the structure of national commercial diplomacy
  • in public debate about national commercial diplomacy, its responsibilities, capabilities, activities and presence to achieve economic gains or welfare in the time of the current economic crisis
  • in regard of cost-effectiveness and efficiency of national commercial diplomacy (the relationship between inputs for commercial diplomacy and its outputs) in the time of the current economic crisis
  • in the field of work of national commercial diplomacy (changes in industrial policy, export or FDI promotion, etc.) during the time of the current economic crisis
  • in the geographic orientation of national commercial diplomacy due to the current economic crisis
  • in the segmentation of markets and the types of activities performed in different markets due to the current economic crisis

Important Dates
Submission of one page abstracts by email (max. 500 words): 1 April, 2013
Notification of acceptance of abstracts: 15 May, 2013
Submission (online) of full papers following acceptance of abstracts: 1 October, 2013
Notification of acceptance, refusal or revisions required for full papers: 15 November, 2013
Submission of accepted and revised final papers: 15 December, 2013

First issue: International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments (free sample issue available)

The use of social media has drawn significant attention from educators in recent years. An increasing number of practitioners have started using social media in their teaching. The International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments proposes and fosters discussion on the affordances of social media (social networking sites) for teaching and learning, with emphasis on the potential ways and concerns of using social media in the educational context and implications for designing interactive and collaborative learning environments.

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

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control to publish expanded CEIT’13 papers

Expanded versions of papers presented at the International Conference on Control, Engineering & Information Technology (CEIT’13) (4-7 June 2013, Sousse, Tunisia) will be published by the International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control.

International Journal of Auditing Technology call for papers: "Compliance in Italy"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Auditing Technology.

The primary objective of this special issue is to present research and disseminate information on compliance in Italy. It also aims to acquaint readers with various compliance rules and regulations, control procedures, emerging methods, tools and techniques for assessment and other issues applicable to a variety of types of compliance in Italy and organisational approaches.
Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Ontology of compliance
  • Compliance and national laws
  • Securities and exchange commission compliance
  • Information systems and compliance
  • Technology management and compliance
  • Regulatory bodies and compliance
  • Money laundering compliance rules
  • InfoSec compliance (ISO 27001 ISO/IEC 17799)
  • PCI compliance
  • SOX compliance
  • COBIT compliance
Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 25 February, 2013
Notification to authors: 8 April, 2013
Revised submissions: 25 April, 2013
Final versions: 5 May, 2013

24 January 2013

Inderscience is media partner for Global Automotive Lightweight Materials 2013

Inderscience is a media partner for Global Automotive Lightweight Materials 2013 (24-25 April 2013, London, UK).

The journals involved are:

Special issue:"Protecting Complex Cyber-Physical Systems"

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures 9(1/2) 2013

Expanded versions of papers from the 6th International Conference on Critical Information Infrastructures Security (CRITIS 2011).
  • Nineteen national cyber security strategies
  • Locating subverted processes using random packet comparison in SCADA systems
  • Topological protection from the next generation malware: a survey
  • Aware online interdependency modelling via evidence theory
  • Assessing n-order dependencies between critical infrastructures
  • DNS as critical infrastructure, the energy system case study
  • Enhancing resilience: implementing resilience building policies against major industrial accidents 
  • Using complex event processing for modelling and simulation of cyber-physical systems

Call for papers: "Branding in Transportation Logistics Networks"

For a special issue of the World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research.

Outsourcing and vertical integration of logistics functions are examples of recent developments that have altered the transportation logistics environment. Due to outsourcing, in the present day building, maintaining and protecting brands is no longer the duty of any individual organisation, logistics service provider or transportation company only; for instance, co-branding along with alliance branding and brand co-creation have become widely known forms of branding in transportation logistics networks.
 
In vertical integration, on its part, organisations have adapted new logistics functions, and this may have required different types of rebranding efforts. Still, we assume that dynamic systems such as transportation logistics networks may yet contain unidentified forms of branding.
 
This special issue is devoted to examining branding in transportation logistics networks, especially within various types of intermodal transportation contexts. We are interested in studies covering different areas of branding, including: rebranding, co-branding, brand co-creation, brand architecture, brand communication and brand equity, to name just a few.
 
We aim to especially emphasise the viewpoints of service, corporate/company and network branding. Both quantitative and qualitative studies from various perspectives (e.g. logistics outsourcing organisations (including, for example, business, non-profit and government), logistics service providers (LSPs), transportation providers, end customers, supply chains, the entire transportation networks) are welcome.
 
Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Impact of transportation logistics outsourcing on branding
  • Brand architecture in transportation logistics networks
  • Network branding in transportation logistics
  • New forms of co-branding/re-branding in transportation logistics networks and/or their impact on organisations (e.g. growth, profitability, incomes, transaction costs, external economies)
  • Brand co-creation in transportation logistics networks
  • New models of brand communications in transportation logistics networks
  • Brand equity in transportation logistics networks
  • Global/local challenges of branding in transportation logistics networks
Important Dates
Full papers due: 1 July, 2013
Notification of acceptance: 15 September, 2013
Final versions of the papers due: 15 November, 2013

23 January 2013

Media partner for the Connected In-Vehicle Infotainment Global Summit California 2013

Inderscience is a media partner for Connected In-Vehicle Infotainment Global Summit California 2013 (12-13 February 2013, San Francisco, USA).

The journals involved are:

Inderscience journals to publish expanded EuroMed Conference papers

Expanded versions of papers presented at the 6th Annual EuroMed Conference (23-24 September 2013, Estoril, Lisbon, Portugal) will be published by the following journals:

Special Issue: "Digital Human Modelling for Vehicle Design and Manufacturing"

International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation 3(3/4) 2012
  • Joint discomfort human performance measure for driver posture prediction: some insights
  • Sitting posture in design position of automotive interiors
  • Comparing hip joint centre location methods in an automotive driving position
  • Dynamic human shape description and characterisation
  • User-centred interior design of a small electric vehicle using RAMSIS
  • FE-model CASIMIR enhanced muscle tissue approach
  • Three-dimensional vibration transmission through the upper limb when performing reaching movements in vehicle
  • The contribution of seat components to seat hardness and the interface between human occupant and a driver seat
  • Ergonomic assessment of automotive assembly tasks with digital human modelling and the 'ergonomics assessment worksheet' (EAWS)

Special issue: "Adaptive and Advanced Control Systems"

International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems 4(3/4) 2012

Expanded versions of papers from the 2011 International Conference on Advanced Mechatronic Systems (ICAMechS 2011).
  • Adaptive control of MI-MO systems with input saturations
  • Design of a multiple linear models-based PID controller
  • Performance-driven adaptive output feedback control system with a PFC designed via FRIT approach
  • Exponential stability analysis for the switched stochastic Hopfield neural networks with time-varying delays
  • A novel adaptive controller in switched reluctance generator system
  • Comparative investigation on the dynamic behaviours of SRD operated under PI control strategies
  • Photovoltaic module temperature prediction with Gaussian process
  • High precision adaptive control for piezo-actuated stage

Special issue: "East Meets West: the Choice of Optimal Socio-Economic and Business Models for Emerging Economies in the Early 21st Century"

International Journal of Trade and Global Markets 6(1) 2013
  • Assessing India
  • Inclusive healthcare at base of the pyramid (BoP) in India
  • Economic policy implications for socio-economic development in a fast-growing economy: the case of Malaysia
  • Market entry decisions in emerging economies: the choice of local intermediaries as key determinant of competitive sustainability. Examining the case of a leading MNC entering the Maghreb region
  • Global demand, regional business dynamics and local firm growth
  • Notes on Islamic economics and finance

Knobbly knees competition for fingerprint status

Forget digital fingerprints, iris recognition and voice identification, the next big thing in biometrics could be your knobbly knees. Just as a fingerprints and other body parts are unique to us as individuals and so can be used to prove who we are, so too are our kneecaps. Computer scientist Lior Shamir of Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan, has now demonstrated how a knee scan could be used to single us out.


The approach based on MRI could be used to quickly register and identify people in a moving queue as they approach passport control at airports for instance or as they walk through the entrance to an office block or other building.


Shamir has tested the approach and achieved accuracy of around 93 percent, this coupled with other factors such as possession of the correct passport, being in the right place at the right time or tied to other biometrics such as iris recognition and signature analysis could be used to prevent deception and fraud. Contact lenses can be used to dupe iris recognition systems, passports can be forged.


“Deceptive manipulation requires an invasive and complicated medical procedure, and therefore it is more resistant to spoofing compared to methods such as face, fingerprints, or iris,” Shamir points out. It would be almost impossible to fake one’s internal body parts including the kneecaps. Of course, kneecaps are a renowned target of irreversible and deleterious adjustment in the criminal world, but even then shattered kneecaps are likely to be unique to the victim in any case.


MRI scanning avoids health risk of scanning with ionising radiation, such as X-rays, it would also avoid some of the privacy issues that have arisen with terahertz scanners that can “see” beneath a person’s clothing, whereas MRI goes more than skin deep. There is a distinct problem with the implementation of MRI scanning in a security setting in that MRI scanners are very large machines and take a long time to acquire an image of even a small body part such as the kneecap. However, developments in MRI technology are fast moving and it is likely that within the medium term more portable and faster equipment will emerge that could fulfil the security role.


“Further studies will develop the concept of internal biometrics, and will lead to automatic identification methods that are highly resistant to spoofing,” concludes Shamir.


“MRI-based knee image for personal identification” in Int. J. Biometrics, 2013, 5, 113-125


Knobbly knees competition for fingerprint status is a post from: David Bradley's Science Spot






via Science Spot » Inderscience http://sciencespot.co.uk/knobbly-knees-compete-with-fingerprints-for-id.html

22 January 2013

Call for papers: "Teaching Entrepreneurship through Multipreneurship Case Studies"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies.

Entrepreneurship emerges as a way out of economic crises for almost every part of the world. It is a frequently discussed theme in addressing development and sustainability. Entrepreneurship is widely accepted as the primary force that can assist in self-sufficiency, social inclusion, job creation, capital formation and skills acquisition, to name a few.

With the threat to job stability in today’s economies, entrepreneurship is expected to trigger latent entrepreneurship that could lead to re-investment of social capital to generate financial capital. Cash today might not be the main value-added commodity. In an information society some of the basic ingredients of a successful entrepreneur, such as confidence and social capital, might be equally important.

While the general attitude in today’s economy may be negative about SME diversification, the ability to run a group of businesses as a profit ecosystem rather than business units might prove to be beneficial in volatile economic times. If conditions improve one can always focus on growth of the most profitable and promising units. Yet in unstable economic times, falling to backup alternatives away from the mainstream business of organisations might be a solution to sustainable development.

This special issue aims to shed light onto the multipreneurship/parallel diversification perspective by presenting cases from around the world to highlight the success factors of diversifying at different levels of businesses, and the personal and professional entrepreneurial attributes that lead to successful and sustainable ventures. Using these cases as teaching material will hopefully shed light and alert students on the characteristics of entrepreneurs and the vital role they play in advancing their local and global economy.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Frameworks and theoretical foundations
  • Financial considerations
  • Public policies
  • Low income multipreneurs
  • Technology multipreneurs
  • Immigrant multipreneurs
Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 1 June, 2013
Notification to authors: 1 September, 2013
Final versions due: 1 October, 2013

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies

The International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies addresses key issues on gender studies in developing societies, including: the place of women in society; government policies to improve/empower women in developing societies; improvements to women's lives in post-independence developing societies during the last fifty years; the role of donor countries, international organisations and non-governmental agencies in the improvement/empowerment of women in developing societies. The interdisciplinary perspective of the journal acknowledges the complexity of the study of gender issues and encourages a reflective analysis of the human experience.

Media partner for the 2nd Annual Smart Water Systems Conference

Inderscience is a media partner for the 2nd Annual Smart Water Systems Conference (8-9 May 2013, London, UK).

The journals involved are:

Media partner for the M2M for the Oil and Gas Industry conference

Inderscience is a media partner for the M2M for the Oil and Gas Industry conference (8-9 July 2013, London, UK).

The journals involved are:

21 January 2013

Media partner for the M2M for Security conference

Inderscience is a media partner for the M2M for Security 2013 conference (8-9 May 2013, London, UK).

The journals involved are:



Media partner for the 2013 Contactless Payments conference

Inderscience is a media partner for the 2013 Contactless Payments conference (3-4 June 2013, London, UK).

The journals involved are:


Call for papers: "Applications of AHP and ANP in Emerging Markets’ Business Firms"

For a special issue of the Journal for Global Business Advancement.

Making sound decisions is vital for the accomplishment of business firm’s visions, missions and goals. An organisation’s success depends substantially on its managers’ decision making expertise and abilities.

Often, organisations’ decisions involve conflicting objectives that could be resolved using quantitative and qualitative criteria such as the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the analytic network process (ANP), both of which are widely popular decision making methods that have been successfully deployed by distinguished managers in different business settings across the world.

This special issue will present the applications of AHP/ANP across emerging market settings with a focus on any of the areas below.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Banking and Finance
  • Business education
  • Decision support systems
  • Economic development
  • Forecasting and prediction
  • Foreign direct investment
  • Group decision making in business
  • Heathcare
  • Hospitality
  • Human resource management
  • Performance measurement
  • Total quality management
  • Resource management
  • Risk/uncertainty
  • Strategic management
  • Supply chain management
Important Dates
Submission deadline: 30 August, 2013

Call for papers: "Applications of AHP and ANP in International Business and Entrepreneurship"

For a special issue of the Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development.

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and analytic network process (ANP) pioneered by Professor Thomas L. Saaty (University of Pittsburgh, USA), have revolutionised the way decisions are made in business organisations. Scholarly papers examining the applications of AHP/ANP processes in business settings have been published widely in world-class business journals.

Both methods can deal effectively with quantitative as well as qualitative criteria in the decision making process. The main objective of this special issue is to encourage applications of AHP/ANP in emerging market settings with the goal of enhancing viable and informed decision making, with a focus on any of the areas below.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Cross-cultural management
  • E-commerce
  • Entrepreneurship
  • International business
  • International entrepreneurship
  • International healthcare management
  • International human resource management
  • International marketing
  • International strategic management
  • International supply chain management
  • International trade
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Small business management
  • Venture capital
  • Women entrepreneurship
Important Dates
Submission deadline: 30 August, 2013

Special issue: "Electronic Systems – Part II"

International Journal of Signal and Imaging Systems Engineering 6(1) 2013
  • Design and study of high bit-rate free-space optical communication system employing QPSK modulation
  • ACS fed Koch fractal antenna for wide-band applications
  • An efficient sparse 8 × 8 orthogonal transform matrix for colour image compression
  • Analysing ION/IOFF in ultradeep-submicron CMOS devices using grooved nMOSFETs for low-power applications
  • A broadband Sierpinski gasket-shaped triangular dielectric resonator antenna for X-band
  • Encryption by Hill cipher and by a novel method using Chinese remainder theorem in Galois field
  • Planar ultrawideband fractal antenna with 3.4/5.5 GHz dual band-notched characteristics
  • A correlation based stochastic partitional algorithm for accurate cluster analysis
  • Deformed Ω for realisation of LH characteristics

Special issue: "Clusters, System of Innovation and Intangible for Fostering Growth: Finding the Keys for SMEs in Transitional and Developing Economies"

International Journal of Transitions and Innovation Systems 2(3/4) 2012
  • The cluster model: whether and what developing countries should learn from advanced countries
  • Innovation and intellectual capital (risk) management in small and medium-sized enterprises
  • How to catch mutual effects in clusters: comparative study of transitional and developed economies
  • Critical intangible factors for SME multi-location strategy in China
  • Key drivers of technological innovation: intellectual capital view approach
  • A case for information security awareness (ISA) programmes to protect global information, innovation and knowledge resources

Special issue: "Spanish Accounting"

International Journal of Critical Accounting 4(5/6) 2012
  • Auditing standards and the expectations gap: evidence from Spain
  • Revisiting the regulation of auditor independence: Spanish evidence on different perceptions
  • Generating knowledge in management accounting for the EHEA: using a simulation to learn about the balanced scorecard
  • Adopting IPSAS to improve governmental accountability in Spain: an empirical study
  • Coexistence and potential convergence between national accounting standards and IFRS: some Spanish evidence
  • Effects of the crisis in Spanish municipalities' financial condition: an empirical evidence (2005-2008)
  • Accounting, new public management and performance measurement: the Spanish versus the Anglo-Saxon experience
  • The Valencia Port Authority (VPA): environmental information in the annual report
  • Improvement of motivation, non-technical skills and content learning: a longitudinal analysis in management accounting for tourism organisations using empirical-based case studies
  • Corporate income tax accounting in Spain: an empirical study
  • Foucault: His influence over accounting and management research. Building of a map of Foucault's approach

18 January 2013

Media Partnership for Plant Genomics Congress

Inderscience is a media partner for the Plant Genomics Congress (13-14 May 2013, London Heathow, UK).

The journals involved are:

Media partner for IACCM Europe Forum 2013

Inderscience is a media partner for IACCM Europe Forum 2013 (15-17 April 2013, Cortona, Italy).

The journals involved are:

Int. J. of Renewable Energy Technology to publish expanded IRSEC'13 papers

Expanded versions of papers presented at the The International Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference (IRSEC'13) (7-9 March 2013, Ouarzazate, Morocco) will be published by the International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology.

Call for papers: "Multi-Echelon Inventory Modelling"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Inventory Research.

Multi-echelon inventory systems consist of two or more echelons where locations at upper echelons act as suppliers to locations at lower echelons. Multi-echelon inventory systems form the backbone of retail supply chains, military weapon system resupply networks and spare part logistics systems.

Research on multi-echelon inventory systems has been an active area for decades and continues to mo-tivate innovative applications of operations research techniques. This special issue is interested in all aspects of multi-echelon inventory modelling: stochastic performance modelling, simulation, optimisation, heuristics, etc.

A key theme of the special issue is new methods for handling the computational issues related to the simulation and optimisation of large-scale multi-echelon inventory networks. In addition, methods for ap-proximating demand during lead time models and other stochastic processes within these systems are of interest.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Demand modelling and forecasting methods within multi-echelon systems
  • Stochastic multi-echelon inventory network modelling
  • Approximations and bounds for performance modelling in multi-echelon inventory systems
  • Simulation methods for large-scale multi-echelon inventory networks
  • Optimisation methods for multi-echelon inventory networks
  • Innovative methods for handling large-scale multi-echelon systems such as grouping meth-ods, clustering, etc.
  • Comprehensive literature reviews of multi-echelon inventory system research
In summary, any paper involving one or more inventory issues is invited if it has as a focus on method-ologies or applications that appear within the management of multi-echelon logistics systems.

Important Dates
Submission deadline: 31 July, 2013

Call for papers: "Big Data Management, Mining and Security"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology.

The amount of data in both the private and public domain is experiencing exponential growth. The volume of information is not only increasing in size, but is also increasing in its rate of creation and consumption. Mobile devices, sensors, audio and video feeds, other data sources and what has become known as “The Internet of Things” are all contributing to this increase in variety, volume and velocity of information expansion.

Managing large quantities of information could be viewed as nothing but a storage problem. However, when that information is interrogated using advanced analytic techniques, it presents an exceptional opportunity for disruptive IT innovation. These phenomena, collectively known as “big data,” have already enabled disruptive business models.

In recent years, “big data” has become a new ubiquitous term. Big data is transforming science, engineering, medicine, healthcare, finance, business and ultimately society itself.

We solicit high-quality original research papers (including significant works-in-progress) in any aspect of big data: big data foundations, big data infrastructure, big data management, big data searching and mining, and big data applications.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Big data infrastructure:
  • Cloud/grid/stream computing for big data
  • High performance/parallel computing platforms for big data
  • Autonomic computing, cyber-infrastructure, system architectures, design and deployment
  • Energy-efficient computing for big data
  • Programming models and environments for cluster, cloud, and grid computing to support big data
  • Software techniques and architectures in cloud/grid/stream computing
  • Big data open platforms
  • New programming models for big data beyond Hadoop/MapReduce, STORM
  • Software systems to support big data computing
  • Big data management:
  • Advanced database and web applications
  • Novel data models and databases for emerging hardware
  • Data preservation
  • Data p rovenance‎
  • Interfaces to database systems and analytics software systems
  • Data protection, integrity and privacy standards and policies
  • Information integration and heterogeneous and multi-structured data integration
  • Data management for mobile and pervasive computing
  • Data management in the social web
  • Crowdsourcing
  • Spatiotemporal and stream data management
  • Scientific data management
  • Workflow optimisation
  • Database management challenges: architecture, storage, user interfaces
  • Big data search and mining:
  • Social web search and mining
  • Web search
  • Algorithms and systems for big data search
  • Distributed and peer-to-peer search
  • Big data search architectures, scalability and efficiency
  • Data acquisition, integration, cleaning and best practices
  • Visualisation analytics for big data
  • Computational modelling and data integration
  • Large-scale recommendation systems and social media systems
  • Cloud/grid/stream data mining – big velocity data
  • Link and graph mining
  • Semantic-based data mining and data pre-processing
  • Mobility and big data
  • Multimedia and multi-structured data – big variety data
  • Big data security and privacy:
  • Intrusion detection for gigabit networks
  • Anomaly and APT detection in very large scale systems
  • High performance cryptography
  • Visualising large scale security data
  • Threat detection using big data analytics
  • Privacy threats of big data
  • Privacy preserving big data collection/analytics
  • HCI challenges for big data security and privacy
  • User studies for any of the above
  • Sociological aspects of big data privacy
Important Dates
Manuscript submission: 31 May, 2013
Notification of acceptance: 31 July, 2013
Revised final manuscript submission: 30 September, 2013

Call for papers: "Emerging Issues and Methodological Challenges in Organisational Management: Cases, Experiences and Propositions"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management.

Organisational management pratices began to evolve with the Taylor approach, which was based upon theories of time and methods. Labour costs played a large role in total product cost, as is still the case today in some older sectors of the economy. Nevertheless, it became clear that businesses needed to extend organisational management into other areas, such as materials control (planning and production control, layout, quality) and financial aspects (costs, inventory, savings).

In the more advanced areas of today’s industrial sector, labour costs do not exceed 10% of total costs. The management of contemporary organisations can be seen as a scale with two balances. On one side: cost reduction; on the other: the increase in value. Traditional firms normally invest in the former, while modern, competitive firms attempt to increase the value of their products and services.

The increase in value is associated with technological innovation and the development of new products and services. Added value can also be achieved via transport systems that carry goods from places where they are abundant to places where they are scarce and then, of course, charging a higher price for those goods.

The principal goal of an organisational management strategy is to create efficiency within the enterprise. In order to improve competitiveness in today’s world, it is necessary to improve upon certain factors that were considered fixed parameters under the previous paradigm. These factors include product design, a mastery of technological development, improving marketing and logistics, improving stakeholder relations, good corporate governance, transparency, meeting profit targets, and social and environmental responsibility.

Today, competitiveness is principally determined by: the development of new materials and processes; the automatisation of production; logistics and marketing; the development of a good reputation; risk management for the continuity of business; adequate financing of production and distribution; and currency considerations in cross-border trade. It will continue to be necessary to invest in these areas in the coming decades. The absence of stimulus measures designed to improve competitiveness caused an accelerated process of deindustrialization in many countries beginning in the 1980s. Correcting this problem requires a broadening of the scope of activities of the operations manager.

The purpose of this special issue is to offer present high-quality contemporary research articles addressing innovation and the development of organisational management in the current context, taking into consideration some specifically described conditions. In particular, we are looking to publish articles of empirical research with a clear theoretical contribution based on qualitative and/or quantitative data. The theoretical base for the submitted articles must be up-to-date and relevant in order to add value to the development of the science of organisational management.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Social responsibility and the enterprise
  • Risk management and the environment
  • Urbanism and sustainable construction
  • Energy efficiency
  • Waste management
  • Environmental economics
  • Environmental economics training
  • Environmental education
  • Environmental management
  • Clean production
  • Project management
  • Strategic management of people
  • Total quality management
  • Information systems
  • Marketing and products
  • Strategy and competitiveness
  • Corporate finance
  • Process management
  • Knowledge management
  • Ergonomics
  • Safety and occupational health management
  • Quality of life at work
  • Management of socially friendly projects
Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 5 August, 2013
Notification to authors: 7 October, 2013
Final versions due: 9 December, 2013

Newly announced journal: Latin American Journal of Management for Sustainable Development

The Latin America region has experienced rapid industrial, political and economic change over the past few decades. The challenges for managers and researchers from the Latin America area are often different to those experienced in other parts of the world. Considering that the major challenge for Latin America is to contribute to a more sustainable world, the Latin American Journal of Management for Sustainable Development offers an international forum for a better understanding of the state-of-the-art and best practices of management focusing on sustainable development in Latin American organisations.

Pollution makes Europeans unhappy

Researchers in Canada have found a correlation between air pollution and people’s happiness. Their deep analysis, reported in the latest issue of the International Journal of Green Economics, suggests that air pollution may lead to unhappiness while the converse is also true, the unhappier the citizens of a country the more air pollution.


Economists at Trent University in Ontario, Canada, have taken an outside view of fourteen European countries to see whether or not there is a causal link between levels of air pollution and the happiness of citizens of those countries. Byron Lew and Mak Arvin explain that their research is not about the determinants of life satisfaction or air pollution but the primary goal is to focus on the causal relationships between these two factors.


The researchers looked at recorded data on pollution levels in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain and the UK. They analysed per capita carbon dioxide emissions as a proxy for overall pollution given that its main source is the burning of fossil fuels and looked for causality using a statistical formula, the Granger causality test, with citizen happiness as determined from survey data.


The findings do not offer a mechanism by which air pollution levels cause unhappiness and vice versa. However, they do suggest that policy changes that encourage less pollution will have a positive effect. “A stronger case can be made for further regulation of the state of the environment in general and air quality in particular,” the team says. “Cleaner air will elevate the level of happiness of citizens in Europe and we suspect in other regions around the globe.” The researchers add that measures ought to be taken by policy makers to improve their citizens degree of life satisfaction, such as improved healthcare and education, social safety nets for those in the poverty trap and efforts to reduce workplace stress might in turn lead to a reduction in air pollution.


“Happiness and air pollution: evidence from 14 European countries” in Int. J. Green Economics, vol 6, 331-345


Pollution makes Europeans unhappy is a post from: David Bradley's Science Spot






via Science Spot » Inderscience http://sciencespot.co.uk/pollution-makes-europeans-unhappy.html

16 January 2013

Call for papers: "Intelligent and Knowledge-based Systems Using Semantic Technology"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Computational Vision and Robotics.

Intelligent and knowledge-based systems and semantic technology have been two of the areas most rapidly gaining interest in information technology. The former refers to software systems dealing with “intelligence” and “knowledge”. “Intelligence” is capable of flexible autonomous action to meet its designed objectives, e.g. the ability to learn, to make a plan or decision. The latter refers to knowledge-based techniques providing means for information to be collected, organised, shared, searched and utilised, which support human decision-making, learning and action.
Semantic technologies play an important role in intelligent and knowledge-based systems, and make systems able to share/exchange knowledge. The systems may also use available semantic data on the Internet to archive their designed objectives. Moreover, intelligent and knowledge-based systems with semantic technologies are being recognised in a variety of fields such as information retrieval and filtering, decision support, collaboration, knowledge management, simulation, eGovernment, eEnvironment, eCommerce, eMobility and eHealth.
The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at several special sessions including CIST 2012  in ICCCI 2012,  IARST 2012  in IEEE SMC 2012,  IAST 2013  in KES AMSTA 2013 and  ADMSW 2013  in ACIIDS 2013 , but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in these events to submit articles for this call.
Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Intelligent systems with semantic technology:
  • Intelligent agents
  • Semantic web with augmented reality
  • Smart TV and augmented reality
  • Augmented reality with ontology and linking open data
  • Semantic video annotation
  • Visualisation, information visualisation of semantic web data and linked data
  • Semantics-aware intelligent agents and web services
  • Semantic technologies and agents for eGovernment, eCommerce, eMobility or eHealth
  • Semantic technologies and agents for intelligent simulation and collaboration
  • Ontology-based robotic agents, mobile agents, information agents, learning agents
  • Intelligent applications in business
  • Intelligent decision support systems
  • Distributed intelligent systems
  • Trust, privacy and security in semantic web
  • Intelligent web applications
  • Knowledge-based systems:
  • Knowledge representation, ontology, ontology integration (merging, alignment and matching)
  • Expert systems, rule-based systems, ontology-based systems
  • Social networks with augmented reality
  • Knowledge management with augmented reality
  • Neural networks, ANFIS
  • Fuzzy knowledge systems, fuzzy inference systems, fuzzy ontology reasoning
  • Intelligent formal techniques
  • Knowledge discovery and data Mining
  • Scalable data discovery, access, query, and search 
Important Dates:
Manuscript submission: 20 June, 2013 (extended)