30 June 2016

Special issue published: "Towards Efficient and High-Quality Shipping Management"

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 8(4) 2016

Extended versions of papers presented at the International Forum on Shipping, Ports and Airports 2014.
  • Impact of different factors on the risk perceptions of employees in container shipping companies: a case study of Taiwan
  • An evaluation of the success factors for ship management companies using fuzzy evaluation method
  • The impact of information sharing and risk pooling on bullwhip effect avoiding in container shipping markets
  • An empirical study of the acceptance of electronic chart displays and information systems in the shipping industry
  • A structural equation analysis of vessel traffic controllers' fatigue factors
  • Service quality improvement strategies for liner-carrier-based global logistics companies
  • Exploring risk-return relations in dry bulk shipping

Inderscience is media partner for Air Missile Defence Technology 2016

Inderscience is a media partner for Air Missile Defence Technology (24-25 October 2016, Prague, Czech Republic).

The journals involved are:

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Smart Grid and Green Communications

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Smart Grid and Green Communications are now available here for free:
  • A relationship-based approach for energy aware secure routing in MANETs
  • Energy aware cross layer-based connection admission control mechanism for wireless mesh networks
  • A capacity-aware MIMO-beamforming approach for cognitive radio enabled smart grid systems
  • Region-based group and hierarchical key management for secure smart grid communications
  • An auxiliary study of the smart grid deployment in India. Philosophy and key drivers
  • Identified improvements of wireless sensor networks in smart grid: issues, requirements and challenges
 


Special issue published: "Recent Trends in Process Modelling, Simulation and Control"

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling 11(2) 2016

Extended versions of papers presented at the Second International Conference on Automation, Control, Engineering and Computer Science (ACECS-2015).
  • Modelling and simulation of predictive handover control mechanisms for fast moving mobile nodes in wireless networks
  • Comparison of subspace and prediction error methods of system identification for cement grinding process
  • Sensorless speed control of IM pumping system fed by solar power generation 
  • Solar photovoltaic energy system-based shunt active filter for electrical energy quality improvement 
  • Route to chaos and bifurcation analysis in a multi-cell DC/DC buck converter, modelling and simulation
  • Real-time simulation of DEVS models in CD++
  • Energy optimisation of single train operation based on tabu search

29 June 2016

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation are now available here for free:
  • Multi-objective optimisation of single point incremental sheet forming using Taguchi-based grey relational analysis
  • An experimental design and theoretical analysis of squeeze casting parameters for 2017A aluminium alloy
  • Synthesis of hierarchical nano-crystalline zeolite beta using biomass-derived hard templates
  • Damping studies on fibre-reinforced epoxy polymer concrete using Taguchi design of experiments
  • The fabrication of solid state dye-sensitised solar cells with I2 doped CuI as the hole conductors
  • Synthesis of iron-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles by simple heating: influence of precursor composition and temperature
  • Nanozeolite produced by wet milling at different milling time
  • Electron beam irradiation of EPDM/PVC blend

Inderscience is media partner for Global Automotive Lightweight Materials Detroit 2016

Inderscience is a media partner for Global Automotive Lightweight Materials Detroit 2016 (23-25 August 2016, Detroit, USA).

The journals involved are:

First issue: International Journal of Smart Grid and Green Communications (free sample issue available)

Smart grid and green communications (SGGC) focus on promoting new ideas that support the development of computing and communication systems. Smart grids are expected to meet the challenges of demand and supply of power, energy management and secure communications. SGGC bring data communications and utility systems together to establish effective energy delivery networks with a focus on enabling new products, services and technologies. The International Journal of Smart Grid and Green Communications highlights cutting-edge research and development of new strategies, techniques and technologies for developing smart grid systems.

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

28 June 2016

Call for papers: "Embracing the ASEAN Economic Community in Indonesia: the Convergence of Management and Technology"

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

The important roles that the countries in the South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region have played in the past two decades have demonstrated a remarkable transition from being an individual player at a regional level, to being a network of global value chain for a popular investment destination of many multinational companies. Enabled by the benefits from a geographical proximity, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) officially commenced at the end of 2015 to foster collaboration and cooperation activities amongst the member countries in many areas. The key characteristic of the AEC is a single market and production-base, conceived to prepare the entire region to integrate into the global economy.

Although initially intended to establish a strong foundation for a fair economic development where each member can thrive, the AEC has indeed turned ASEAN into a highly competitive economic region; and ASEAN members are now at a crossroads. Whilst some member countries have been able to tap into the institutional stability, democracy and economic stability, others are still catching up with their counterparts. In order to succeed, each ASEAN nation must therefore develop new and knowledge-based trajectories to ensure the sustainable economic development.

This special issue is proposed to stimulate further debate and discussion on the potentials and opportunities in embracing the AEC, and ultimately to disseminate the scientific and the knowledge-based research. We invite contributions from International researchers carrying out research about, or related to, Indonesia. We hope to collate the variety of significant contributions highlighting various endeavours particularly in developing the Indonesia’s capacity in terms of social, economic and technology, regionally and internationally.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited, to the following:
  • International business management and strategic management
  • Human resources development
  • Infrastructure and communications connectivity
  • Global manufacturing and supply chain
  • New and renewable energy generation
  • Integrated product-service offerings
  • Services technology, management and technology management: policy, strategic and operational issues

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 30 September, 2016

Inderscience is media partner for Cold Chain Distribution 2016

Inderscience is a media partner for Cold Chain Distribution (12-13 December 2016, London, UK).

The journals involved are:
More information on this event is available here.


Call for papers: "Methods and Tools for Assurance of Critical Infrastructure Protection"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems.

Modern society relies on large, heterogeneous, and complex software intensive systems to support all kinds of daily activities. Services such as urban transportation, logistics, healthcare, data communication, railway, aerospace, and power distribution, among others, are becoming heavily dependent on the availability of such infrastructures. Any discontinuity of service may lead to serious problems, from severe financial losses to fatalities or injuries. Discontinuity causes may have different natures, from human error or unexpected acts of nature to intentional attacks like sabotage or terrorism. Safety and security (S&S) assessments in critical infrastructures measure how these disruptions are handled and quantify the impact suffered by the critical infrastructure under abnormal operation. These assessments are normally performed using analytical or simulation based techniques often addressing one single specific aspect at a time rather than studying these infrastructures in a holistic manner.

This special issue aims at bringing together contributions by scientists and practitioners to shed light on the advancements on assurance methods and techniques for critical infrastructure protection. We invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that assemble visions, ideas, experiences, and research advancement in this area.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the 1st International Workshop on Safety & Security aSSurance for Critical Infrastructures Protection (S4CIP 2016), 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 the following:
  • Methods and methodologies: threat, vulnerability and risk assessment; model based penetration testing; security metrics definition and evaluation; RAMSS analysis; crisis and emergency management; unifying modelling methodologies for cyber and physical security; resilience engineering.
  • Modelling: stochastic modelling; formal methods; domain specific languages and model driven engineering; multi level hierarchical modelling; multi paradigm modelling.
  • Analysis: quantitative and qualitative evaluation; interconnections among non-functional aspects (e.g. reliability vs. Safety, Security vs. Performance); multisolution processes; resilience analysis
  • Domains: cyber physical systems; critical infrastructure protection; scada and control systems security; homeland security; transportations, manufacturing, energy, health and banking applications; computer networks and cloud infrastructures.

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 20 December, 2016
Notification to authors: 20 February, 2017
Revised paper: 10 April, 2017
Final Decision: 30 April, 2017
Final versions due: 31 May, 2017

27 June 2016

Special issue published: "Sustainability Economics and Missing Points in the Sustainability Dialogue"

International Journal of Sustainable Development 19(2) 2016

Extended versions of papers presented at the 2012 online Sustainability Conference of the World Economics Association.
  • The flawed paradigms of economics and sustainable development
  • The world we see shapes the world we create: how the underlying worldviews lead to different recommendations from environmental and ecological economics - the green economy example 
  • Mainstream and alternative theorising of the conditions and policies of sustainable development 
  • Better is better than more: investigations into qualitative growth
  • Contrasting values in the sustainability debate: limitations of economic valuations and their role in decision-making
  • In search of possibilities for action

Special issue published: "Loyalty, Flaming, Reputation and Symmetry in Web Based Communities"

International Journal of Web Based Communities 12(2) 2016
  • Developing a loyal community: an empirical analysis evaluating antecedents to loyalty in social networking
  • Enforcing community guidelines in web-based communities: the case of flame comments on YouTube
  • Engagement in a newly launched online support community for complex regional pain syndrome: membership growth, header analysis and introductory messages
  • Investigating preferred relationship through fuzzy sets in social networking sites
  • Virtual health communities of practice success factors: towards taxonomy and a framework
  • Exploring cognitive processing and behavioural patterns in a seamless online learning integrated discussion environment: a progressive sequential analysis

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Aerospace System Science and Engineering

The International Journal of Aerospace System Science and Engineering provides an international, peer-reviewed forum which focuses on system-level research and development regarding astronautics and aeronautics. The journal emphasises the unique role and increasing importance of informatics on aerospace. It fills a gap in current publishing coverage between outer space vehicles and atmospheric vehicles by highlighting interdisciplinary techniques, presenting systematic mechanisms and assembly integration and verification (AIV) techniques from a bionic point of view.

Special issue published: "Multi-Faceted Analyses on Emerging Economies' Sustainable Development"

International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies 9(2) 2016

Extended versions of papers presented at the SIBR-Thammasat 2014 Conference on Interdisciplinary Business and Economic Research.
  • Financial development and economic growth: the cases of Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines
  • An assessment of competitiveness in emerging Asian economies with special reference to India
  • 'Bakulan Rt 36', web media for supporting women's economic empowerment in Yogyakarta
  • Comparative study on regulatory requirements on corporate social responsibility in Australia and Thailand
  • Evaluation of the reproduction processes in farms in Poland in context of the environmental and economic sustainability
  • The role of public sector expenditure on local economic development 

26 June 2016

Special issue published: "Lifting Barriers to Empower the Future of Information Law and Ethics"

International Journal of Technology Policy and Law 2(2/3/4) 2016

Extended versions of papers presented at the 6th International Conference on Information Law and Ethics.
  • Information and democracy: reflections on a complex relationship
  • Digitalisation and information law as part of the developing global health law system 
  • A bipolar system of copyright in the internet environment
  • Calibrating intellectual property: let's not get lost in metaphysics
  • Collecting data for quality improvement and research in Swedish healthcare, and the individual patient's right and ability to protect their privacy
  • Children online and the future EU data protection framework: empirical evidences and legal analysis
  • Freedom of teaching in Greek college education: the role of the OERs according to academia's perspective
  • Libel tourism in Australia: evaluating the jurisdiction of Australian courts
  • Data protection and law reform in Africa: a systematic or flawed process?
  • An economic analysis on internet regulation in China and proposals to policy and law makers

Special issue published: "Innovation and Competitiveness: Enterprise, Industry and Country Perspectives" (includes free OA paper)

International Journal of Transitions and Innovation Systems 4(3/4) 2015

Extended versions of papers presented at the World Economy Research Institute Conference on ‘New forms of innovation and their impact on competitiveness: enterprise, industry and country perspective’.
  • Determinants of competitiveness in European regions: a test of the emerald model
  • A multidimensional approach to the environment for entrepreneurship in selected CE countries
  • Innovation and sustainable competitiveness: evidence from Poland
  • Collaboration, co-production, coopetition and coordination: a case study of European 'bridge organisations' in Silicon Valley
  • A model of collaboration and innovation for economic and social development: the case of Puebla, México 
  • Economic development of peripheral/lagging zones through smart innovation
Additional paper
  • Aligning policy and practice in science, technology and innovation to deliver the intended socio-economic results: the case of assistive technology [free Open Access paper]

25 June 2016

International Journal of Complexity in Applied Science and Technology to publish expanded papers from ICCC 2017

Extended versions of papers presented at the 1st International Conference on Climate Change 2017 (16-17 February 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka) will be published by the International Journal of Complexity in Applied Science and Technology.

Free sample articles newly available from Middle East Journal of Management

The following sample articles from the Middle East Journal of Management are now available here for free:
  • Corporate financial reporting in Qatar: a study of individual investors' assessment of annual reports
  • Proposing the balanced scorecard framework for competency identification: an Iranian case study in software support industry
  • Archaeological tourism in the Middle East: a community-based resource management model
  • Work efficiency of winch in skidding operation in seri-I of Ezdarak Forestry Plan in Lajim area in the north of Iran
  • Task complexity and non-Arab expatriates' wasta performance in Arab markets

Call for papers: "Developments in 3D Food Printing for People with Special Dietary Needs"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing.

3D food printing is emerging as a high-resolution computer-aided-design and additive-manufacturing approach for producing food products. The benefits offered by 3D food printing include custom design and production of visually appealing foods, making foods for people with special mealtime needs, a reduction in design and fabrication time and cost, and a decrease in the dependency on skilled personnel among others.

While a host of 3D food printing research work has been published, the majority of the current work has been focused on technology development and experimenting with printing food samples. Thus so far, only a few efforts have been spent on tailoring 3D food printing for satisfying the dietary requirements of specific groups of people.

Particularly, there exist several groups of people who have requirements for foods with specific composition and handling process including: babies and toddlers, elderly people, pregnant women, people with swallowing difficulty, people with a weakened immune system, people on diets people with food allergies, people with gluten sensitivity, and athletes.

3D food printing can be used to address the special dietary requirements of these groups of people by automating the design and production of food, improving the consistency and repeatability of food characteristics including texture and moisture, enhancing the taste sensory experiences in the meal, and producing visually attractive food.

This special issue seeks research contributions that describe the achievements in building 3D printers for producing food, and will report on the exercises in 3D printing of food products for people with special dietary requirements. We invite contributions from the engineering, materials, exercise and nutrition, and medical researchers and relevant industries, and welcomes both fundamental as well as applied research contributions.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited, to the following:
  • Construction of 3D food printers
  • Design of hardware for 3D food printers
  • Design of software for 3D food printers
  • Design of food fabrication techniques
  • Formulation of multi-material food printing
  • Investigation of materials for 3D food printers
  • Integration of all preparation, printing, and cooking processes
  • Optimisation of 3D food printing time and cost
  • 3D printed food for babies and toddlers
  • 3D printed food for elderly people
  • 3D printed food for pregnant women
  • 3D printed food for people with swallowing difficulties
  • 3D printed food for people with a weakened immune system
  • 3D printed food for people on diets
  • 3D printed food for people with food allergies
  • 3D printed food for people with gluten sensitivity
  • 3D printed food for athletes
  • Overview of technologies, development, and applications of 3D food printers
  • Health and safety aspects of 3D food printing
  • Ethical aspects of 3D food printing
  • Consumer views of 3D printed food

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 31 December, 2016
Notification to authors: 31 March, 2017
Final versions due: 31 May, 2017

Special issue published: "Environment, Health and Business Management: Linking Efficiency and Effectiveness to Viable Sustainability – Part 1"

International Journal of Environment and Health 7(4) 2015
  • The European agro-food system in the outlook of the adoption of transatlantic trade and investment partnership
  • The sharing city as a platform for a more sustainable city environment?
  • Firm and territory: in searching for a sustainable relation. Four cases study from Italian secular firms
  • Supply chain management in textile sector: the case of the Italian T-fashion traceability system
  • Open innovation in the food and beverage industry: green supply chain and green innovation
  • Beyond CSR: the virtues-based approach to corporate responsibility and sustainability in Italian SMEs

24 June 2016

Call for papers: "Recent Advances in the Evaluation of Vehicle Fuel Economy and its Application to Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicle Systems"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Vehicle Performance.

Recent events in the automotive industry worldwide has brought the analysis and evaluation of fuel economy for conventional and hybrid vehicles alike into the spotlight. Current methods generally employed in industry and by academia use weighted averages of standardised driving cycles to estimate fuel consumption and compare them against benchmarks.

These traditional methodologies are often described as being an inadequate representation of real world driver experiences and are treated with a degree of scepticism by consumers. On-going developments in electric and hybrid electric vehicle platforms (particularly plug-in vehicles) make the use of traditional standardised evaluation techniques less applicable, further confusing the results, negatively impacting the consumer perception of these technologies.

This issue will present current advancements in the evaluation of vehicle fuel economy, novel techniques for the evaluation of real world fuel economy and their application to a range of vehicle platforms. The primary objective is to therefore provide a platform for the dissemination of novel estimation techniques and measurement methodologies for the evaluation of fuel economy and its implementation to conventional, electric and hybrid electric (including plug-in hybrid) vehicles. It aims to bring together an international array of scientists, engineers and experts to explore the current issues surrounding the evaluation, estimation and application of fuel economy and related metrics to conventional and new energy vehicle technologies.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Fuel economy evaluation methodologies
  • Driving cycle development and evaluation
  • Driver behaviour evaluation for impact on fuel economy
  • Alternative techniques for evaluating fuel economy and driving performance in electric and hybrid electric vehicles
  • Real world evaluation of fuel/energy economy for conventional and electric/hybrid vehicles
  • Modelling and control of electric and hybrid vehicle systems
  • Optimisation of hybrid electric vehicle systems
  • Social, economic and environmental issues in relation to EVs/HEVs

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 30 November, 2016
Notification to authors: 30 January, 2017
Final versions due: 30 March, 2017

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Vehicle Safety

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Vehicle Safety are now available here for free:
  • Effects of ground impact on traumatic brain injury in a fender vault pedestrian crash
  • Further development of the RED method to vehicle structural performance: assessment of crash compatibility
  • Model of resisting additional yaw torque after tyre blowout on a vehicle
  • Toward designing pedestrian-friendly vehicles
  • Biomechanical response and injury effects on occupant's thorax-abdomen under seat belt loading

Special issue published: "Emerging Biometric Modalities"

International Journal of Biometrics 8(1) 2016
  • Overview and challenges of palm vein biometric system
  • Multi-resolution elongated CS-LDP with Gabor feature for face recognition
  • Multimodal biometric cryptosystem based on fusion of wavelet and curvelet features in robust security application
  • Two-level dimensionality reduced local directional pattern for face recognition
Additional paper
  • Novel ear-assisted 3D face recognition under expression variations

Call for papers: "Success through Synergy: Academics, Businesses, Communities and Government"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to discuss the importance of smart collaboration for businesses, particularly the role of academics, business, government, and society to create overall growth and sustainability of many countries. It is expected to provide the basis for symbiotic (Dana et al 2008) or smart collaboration for business to serve society and the environment in a better way. By exchanging ideas and sharing experiences in business at all levels with academics and practitioners, it aims to enhance the depth of understanding on these issues.

Innovations in information technology are presenting new opportunities and challenges to the way policy makers and organisations harness technological capability to support economic growth in tandem with societal well-being. The pervasive impact of innovations in information technology is reflected by numerous technology-enabled solutions ranging from smart health, cloud technology, big data and analytics, collaborative and communication platforms (e.g., supply chain management), e-government, energy and infrastructure management to smart cities. Although technology continues to provide the basis for organisations to enhance business efficiency and performance, recent technology advances capable of boundary spanning, integrate disparate activities and diverse functions in sustainable smart business collaborations. People, devices, organisations and products are increasingly connected and embedded in broader systems through smart collaboration and connectivity (Porter and Heppelmann, 2015). This has implications for policy makers and managers in terms of understanding the holistic and synergistic role of information technology.

In the context of general management, knowledge of mechanisms for smart collaboration through information technology can help businesses achieve their economic goals as well as to gain societal and environmental benefits beyond firm boundaries. In particular, smart collaboration recognises sustainability concerning long-term consequences of effective resource utilisation, whereby companies focus on resource sharing rather than ownership (Landel, 2015). In an Internet era, technology provides an open platform for smart collaboration eliminating geographical boundaries and integrating actors at different levels such as in a networked economy (Eng, 2007). A survey published by the McKinsey Quarterly highlights the impact of participatory Web 2.0 technologies (such as social networks, wikis, and microblogs) on management and performance by creating networked organisations to enhance innovative collaboration among employees, customers, and business partners, is highly correlated with market share gains (Jacques et al., 2010).

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at Smart Collaborations for Businesses in Technology and Information Industries (SCBTII) 2016 but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the conference to submit articles for this call.

We welcome qualitative as well as quantitative and mixed methodologies, as long as they are well grounded in the literature. Please see the following articles:
  • Dana, L.P. & Dumez, H. (2015) “Qualitative Research Revisited: Epistemology of a Comprehensive Approach,” International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Small Business 26 (2), October 2015, pp. 154-170.
  • Dana, L.P. & Dana, T.E. (2005) “Expanding the Scope of Methodologies Used in Entrepreneurship Research,” International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Small Business 2 (1), 2005, pp. 79-88.
Suitable topics include, but are not limited, to the following:
  • Smart commerce, including: sociopreneurship, ecopreneurship, business models, ICT for business, product and service, production in business, operation in business, marketing in business, e-marketing in business, online trading, content for business, analytic for big data, digital behaviour, ethics for business, transportation/delivery for business, resources for business, collaboration for business, policy for business, government regulation for business, intellectual property rights
  • Smart finance and accounting: finance in business, risk trading, information system in accounting, control (audit) in business, payment (digital money) in business, e-tax, e-banking
  • Smart education: content for learning, approach for learning, resources for learning, processes for learning, thinking in business, managing creative people, managing diversity, corporate entrepreneurship, social networks for business, evaluation for business performance, learning organisation, CSR and sustainability, talent and leadership development, entrepreneurial competencies for business, psychological aspect for business
  • Other related Issues
Papers may include one or more of the listed sub-topics. Unlisted but related sub-topics are also acceptable, provided that they fit into one of the main topic areas. Papers exploring other themes within the theme will be considered. As a practitioner-oriented journal, the guest editors encourage empirical research through systematic inquiry that provides clear practitioner and managerial contributions.

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 15 October, 2016
Notification to authors: 1 December, 2016
Final versions due: 1 March, 2017

References:
Dana, L., H. Etemad, and R. W. Wright 2008. Toward a Paradigm of Symbiotic Entrepreneurship,International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business 5 (2), 2008, pp. 109-126,
Eng, T.Y. 2004. Implications of the Internet for knowledge creation and dissemination in clusters of high-technology firms. European Management Journal, 22(1), February, 87-98. ISBN 0263 2373 doi:10.1016/j.emj.2003.11.011
Eng, T.Y. 2007. An investigation of Internet coordination mechanisms in network organizations. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 21(4), Autumn, 21-35. ISSN 1094-9968 doi: 10.1002/dir.20088
Jacques, B., Chui, M., and Manyika, J. 2010. Clouds, big data, and smart assets: Ten tech-enabled business trends to watch. http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/clouds-big-data-and-smart-assets-ten-tech-enabled-business-trends-to-watch, April 12th, 2016 .
Ingram, P. and Torfason, M.T. 2010. Organizing the in-between: The population dynamics of network-weaving organisations in the global interstate network. Administrative Science Quarterly, 55, 577-605.
Krebs, V. and Holley, J. 2006. Building smart communities through network weaving. Working paper. OrgNet.com
Landel, M. 2015. How we did it… Sodexo’s CEO on smart diversification. Harvard Business Review, March, 41-44.
Porter, M.E. and Heppelmann, J.E. 2015. How smart, connected products are transforming companies. Harvard Business Review, October, 95-114.

23 June 2016

Inderscience journals to publish expanded papers from Critical Accounting Society's Symposium Issues on African Studies and Research

Extended versions of papers presented at the Critical Accounting Society's Symposium Issues on African Studies and Research (6-7 January 2017, New York, USA) will be published by the following journals:

Special issue published: "Networked Agents of Complex Online Organisations"

International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies 5(2) 2016
  • The predictive role of prejudice: a computational model for using categories
  • A community-based multi-agent solution for social influence maximisation
  • Do birds of a feather work better together? The impact of a match in personality between humans and virtual agents on a shared mental model during collaboration
  • Integration of knowledge management systems and business processes using multi-agent systems
  • Proposal for using analysis of software agents usability in organisations

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing are now available here for free:
  • Segmenting youth tourists to cultural heritage destinations: motivational determinants and experiential characteristics
  • Wine consumption in new and expert consumers: the case of Mexico
  • Small restaurant businesses and the importance of knowledge of cost management: an exploratory study
  • The impact of cultural event on city image: an evaluation of the 2008 European capital of culture, Liverpool
  • Gastro-tourism as destination branding in emerging markets

Call for papers: "Advances in Green Economy and Sustainability"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development.

The environment is changing in a dynamic way. Sustainable development consists of both natural environmental changes as well as changes caused by humans. At present, environmental changes occur more often and much quicker and these changes challenge ecosystems and human societies. The aim of this special issue is to address the achievement of sustainable development by addressing the current issues of concern. Specifically, the green economy concept is an important term in international agendas. Together with the current economic crisis and the view that policies to attain sustainability cannot be put into operation efficiently, policy makers anticipate a solution from the greening of the economy. To this effort various problems are associated with the aims and strategies associated with this concept. Green growth, more energy efficiency, cleaner energy technologies and sustainable development are regularly considered as harmonising goals by international policymakers.

The applied theoretical and analytical contributions are expected to provide guidance to policy-makers and government officials in designing new policy scenarios for the investigation of green economy and sustainability. The empirical contributions should provide evidence to support and inform current policy debates.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the 4th PanHellenic Conference in Economics of Environment and Natural Resources (ENVECON), 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 the following:
  • Green economy, sustainability, innovation
  • Enterprises and sustainable development
  • Trade and the environment
  • Sustainable transportation
  • Sustainable tourism
  • Firm environmental efficiency and productivity analysis
  • Technology, industry and the environment
  • Environmental policy and technological change
  • Firm incentives to promote technological change in pollution control
  • Environmental and technology policies for climate mitigation

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 30 November, 2016
Notification to authors: 31 January, 2017
Final versions due: 31 March, 2017

22 June 2016

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Biometrics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Biometrics are now available here for free:
  • Face recognition based on 2D and 3D data fusion
  • Implementation of modified polar complex moments-based fingerprint orientation estimation for effective segmentation
  • Face verification using local binary patterns and generic model adaptation
  • Palmprint identification and verification based on wide principal lines through dynamic ROI

Inderscience is media partner for Project Financing in Oil and Gas 2016

Inderscience is a media partner for Project Financing in Oil and Gas (21-22 November 2016, London, UK).

Special issue: 3rd International DNTAC Symposium on Nano Technology

International Journal of Nanotechnology 13(4/5/6) 2016

Extended versions of papers presented at the 3rd International DNTAC Symposium on Nano Technology.
  • Preparation and characterisation of field-responsive nanofibres by coaxial electrospinning
  • Strengthening of borosilicate glass by ion exchange for advanced ballistic impact behaviour
  • Effect of Co addition on deformation-induced martensitic transformation in Cu-Zr alloy
  • Design method for compensating lateral beam shift of ground-plane cloak
  • Broadband polarisation-independent metamaterial based on modified ELC structure
  • Design of a wideband polarisation-independent metamaterial with arbitrary relative permittivity based on the dielectric mixing theory
  • Synthesis and characterisation of poly(3-hexyl thiophene)-grafted graphene oxide sheets by click chemistry
  • Increase in the corrosion resistance of stainless steel bipolar plates by the formation of thermally-induced Cr-nitride
  • Effect of processing parameters on photovoltaic properties of Sb2S3 quantum dot-sensitised inorganic-organic heterojunction solar cells
  • Enhancing Bi2S3 sensitised mesoporous TiO2 solar cells by co-sensitisation with Bi2S3/CdS quantum dots
  • Enhanced electron lifetime in dye-sensitised solar cells via suppression of electron-hole recombination
  • High performance thermal conduction of silver microparticles thermos-compressed in three-dimensionally interconnected polystyrene beads
  • Effect of doping level on high-temperature operation of InAs/GaAs quantum dot infrared photodetectors
  • Suppression of surface leakage current in InSb photodiode by ZnS passivation
  • Immunoassays based on Pt nanoparticles with peroxidase activity
  • Identification of diagnostic biomarkers for early detection of anthrax from human aortic endothelial cells
  • Effect of salt removal and heat-pressing treatments on mechanical properties of electrospun meta-aramid nanofibres
  • The effects of conducting pathways to ground on the growth of carbon nanotubes on carbon fibre substrates
  • Effect of thermal treatment on the textural properties and thermal stability of surface modified zirconia aerogel powders
  • Effect of Pt doping in mesoporous TiO2 thin films on their electrical property



Call for papers: "Advances in Environmental Management: Economic-Based Policy Instruments"

For a special issue of Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal.

Environmental problems are among the important reasons for government intervention in markets. Efficient allocations are expected in cases where property rights are well defined and valid while government interventions in markets is necessary in order to increase social benefits by demanding polluters to take into consideration the effects of their activities. This special issue will pay attention to the complexity of the environmental problems and the ways governments and policy makers may address these problems, the basic tools available to be applied like command and control regulations, alternative of market-based incentives and what is appropriate and cost-effective to be used for internalising the externalities imposed by the polluters.

The applied theoretical and analytical contributions are expected to provide guidance to policy-makers and government officials in designing new policy scenarios for the investigation of advances in Environmental Management and the use of economic-based policy instruments. The empirical contributions should provide evidence to support and inform current policy debates.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the 4th PanHellenic Conference in Economics of Environment and Natural Resources (ENVECON), 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 the following:
  • Policy instruments for environmental and natural resource management
  • Environmental quality, environmental policy and institutional policies
  • Environmental efficiency and productivity
  • Instrument choice in environmental policy
  • First and second best solutions in environmental policies
  • Uncertainty in environmental economics
  • Environmental policy for developing countries
  • Management-based regulation: private management to achieve public goals
  • Differential impact of environmental policy instruments on technological change
  • Market-based instruments and environmental policy
  • Dynamic incentives by environmental policy instruments

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 30 November, 2016
Notification to authors: 31 January, 2017
Final versions due: 31 March, 2017

21 June 2016

Call for papers: "Strategic Cultural Intelligence and Intentional Action"

For a special issue of the European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence and Management.

An impressive broad range of literature relating to ‘cultural intelligence’ (Earley & Ang (2003), i.e. the capacity individuals need to have in order to be able to effectively communicate and act across cultures and to be able to integrate into new cultural contexts. For an overview of the literature see David Thomas et al. (2015) and Ilan Alon et al. (2016).

However, new perspectives and issues are emerging due to the current wave of refugees and the observation that within numerous societies there is a widening gap between those who have some education and a workaday culture that fits labour market requirements, and others who don't.
The pressing issue therefore is: What can and should be done if significantly large groups of the population - for whatever reason - simply do not have developed ‘cultural intelligence’?

We suggest that a promising response considers that there is a need of counterparts who are willing and able to guide and to support the development of ‘cultural intelligence’ and can set adequate intentional actions which foster integration processes. Thus, there is a need of ‘strategic cultural intelligence’ devised by organisations, groups or individuals, who are well embedded into the higher order social system into which foreigners and locally marginalised groups might want to be integrated: into a society, into a corporation, into a university, or into a small scale enterprise whose owner is in search of appropriately educated young people for a job as an apprentice.

We therefore see at least four important contexts open to empirical research in this Special issue:
  • Integration of migrants
  • Integration of staff of acquired firms
  • Integration of university students
  • Integration of unemployable individuals 
From our point of view the theory of ‘positive scholarship’ (Stahl & Tung 2014) offers promising perspectives for this context. We only add that there is a need to devise cross-cultural strategies which emerge from the value system of a ‘higher order’ social system and to help to define goals, which might be reached, as well as to devise intentional action on how these goals can effectively be reached.

In a university context Spencer-Oatey and Dauber (2015) identified the need for a strategic agenda for integration, which includes an intercultural component, i.e. supporting those who need or want to integrate. This means that there seems to be at least one important key to successful integration - institutional support.

From a theoretical agency theory perspective, Fink, Yolles and Dauber (2013) identified a new theoretical construct, which they called 'cultural figurative intelligence' (see also Yolles & Fink, 2015) and that also points at the importance of institutional support and the goals which are to be pursued with that institutional support, and finally, on practical measures, types of behaviour that materialise the goals. The generic nature of the theory allows an application in different contexts, where a 'higher order' agency (an institution) is guiding a 'lower order' agency in the adaptation process; in view of the four contexts that we have named we would like to indicate a few non-exhaustive series of interaction chains from ‘higher order’ to ‘lower order’ examples of interacting social sub-systems:

a) From university to students:
  University, study abroad centre, departments, professors, volunteers and students
b) From acquiring firm to acquired firm:
  Management levels: top, middle, low, and staff/specialised departments: marketing, production lines, sales, supply, finance and accounting
c) From society to migrants:
  Political parties, government, institutions, corporations, NGOs, groups and individuals among residents, classes of migrants or refugees
d) From society to non-employable individuals:
  Political parties, government, labour market management, institutions, corporations, small scale firms, NGOs, parents of unqualified young people, groups and individual residents.

In all four contexts it is important to enable individuals to build positive social bonds with their peers, and in particular with those who have something to tell and teach.
We therefore also invite theory development papers which highlight the interaction between teaching (or training), learning (or adaptation), motivation for (or resistance to) effective transfer of cultural knowledge.

Thus, the call for papers is directed at scholars who perceive themselves as teachers, trainers, volunteers, or politicians, who want to contribute to a better world. The editors also hope that the same kind of people will be interested in reading about others' experiences and theoretical thought.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited, to the following:
  • Cultural intelligence
  • Teaching and learning cultural intelligence
  • Contextual intelligence
  • Motivation and resistance in culture learning processes
  • Cross-cultural communication
  • Cultural variation (e.g. among internal and external stakeholders)
  • Individual, organisational and national identity
  • Organisational culture
  • Positive cross-cultural scholarship
  • Cultural synergies

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 19 December, 2016


References:
Ilan Alon, Michele Boulanger, Julie Ann Elston, Eleanna Galanaki, Carlos Martínez de Ibarreta, Judith Meyers, Marta Muñiz-Ferrer & Andres Velez-Calle (2016). Business Cultural Intelligence Quotient: A Five-Country Study. Thunderbird International Business Review (forthcoming).
Ang, S., Dyne, L. Van, & Koh, C. (2006). Personality Correlates of the Four-Factor Model of Cultural Intelligence. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 100–123. http://doi.org/10.1177/1059601105275267
Ang, S., Dyne, L. Van, Koh, C., Ng, K. Y., Templer, K. J., Tay, C., & Chandrasekar, N. A. (2007). Cultural Intelligence?: Its Measurement and Effects on Cultural Judgment and Decision Making , Cultural Adaptation and Task Performance. Management and Organization Review, 3(3), 335–371. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8784.2007.00082.x
Ang, S., & Inkpen, A. C. (2008). Cultural intelligence and offshore outsourcing success: A framework of firm-level intercultural capability. Decision Sciences, 39(3), 337–358. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.2008.00195.x
Bird, A., Mendenhall, M., Stevens, M. J., & Oddou, G. (2010). Defining the content domain of intercultural competence for global leaders. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 25(8), 810–828. http://doi.org/10.1108/02683941011089107
Brewer, M. B. (1996). When contact is not enough: Social Identity and Intergroup Cooperation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 20(3/4), 291–303.
Deardorff, D. K. (2004). The identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization at institutions of higher education in the United States. PhD Proposal. North Carolinga State University.
Earley, C., & Mosakowski, E. (2004). Cultural Intelligence. Harvard Business Review, 1–9.
Earley, P. C., & Ang, S. (2003). Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions across Cultures. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Fink, G., Yolles, M., & Dauber, D. (2013). Managerial Intelligence and Efficacy. In IACCM 2013 Conference. http://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004
Fitzsimmons, S. R. (2013). Multicultural Employees: A Framework for Understanding How They Contribute to Organizations. Academy of Management Review, 38(4), 525–549. http://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2011.0234
Grossmann, R., Thayer, A. L., Shuffler, M. L., Burge, C. S., & Salas, E. (2014). Critical social thinking: A conceptual model and insights for training. Organizational Psychology Review, 5(2), 99–125.
Jemielniak, D. (2016). Cross-cultural management and digital societies. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 29(1), 108–115. http://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-11-2015-0220
Kolb, D. A., & Boyatzis, R. E. (2001). Experiential Learning Theory: Previous Research and New Directions. In R. J. S. and L. F. Zhang (Ed.), Perspectives on cognitive, learning, and thinking styles (Educationa, pp. 227–248). New York: Routledge.
Mak, A. S., Barker, M., Woods, P., & Daly, A. (2012). Developing Intercultural Capability in Business Faculty Members and their Students. The International Journal of Organizational Diversity, 12(4).
Mak, A. S., Barker, M., Woods, P., & Daly, A. (2013). Developing intercultural capability in business faculty members and their students. International Journal of Organizational Diversity, 12(1), 49–59.
McSweeney, B. (2016). Collective cultural mind programming: escaping from the cage. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 29(1), 68–80. http://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-12-2015-0229
Günter K. Stahl & Rosalie L. Tung (2014). Towards a more balanced treatment of culture in international business studies: The need for positive cross-cultural scholarship. Journal of International Business Studies (2014), 1–24. © 2014 Academy of International Business
Szkudlarek, B., & Romani, L. (2016). Professionalization through dispersed institutional entrepreneurship. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 29(1), 93–107. http://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-11-2015-0224
David C. Thomas, Yuan Liao, Zeynep Aycan, Jean-Luc Cerdin, Andre A. Pekerti, Elizabeth C. Ravlin , Günter K. Stahl, Mila B. Lazarova, Henry Fock, Denni Arli, Miriam Moeller, Tyler G. Okimoto & Fons van de Vijver (2015) Cultural intelligence: A theory-based, short form measure. Journal of International Business Studies (2015), 1–20. © 2015 Academy of International Business.
UNFPA. (2016). United Nations Population Fund. Retrieved March 12, 2016, from http://www.unfpa.org/migration
UNHCR. (2016). Mid-Year Trends 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2016, from http://www.unhcr.de/no_cache/service/zahlen-und-statistiken.html?cid=12025&did=10690&sechash=2dd66ba3
Wankel, C. (2016). Developing cross-cultural managerial skills through social media. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 29(1), 116–124. http://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-11-2015-0225
WHO. (2016). Trade, foreign policy, diplomacy and health. Retrieved March 12, 2016, from http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story043/en/
Yamazaki, Y., & Kayes, D. C. (2004). An Experiential Approach to Cross-Cultural Learning: A Review and Integration of Competencies for Successful Expatriate Adaptation. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 3(4), 362–379. http://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004
Maurice Yolles & Gerhard Fink (2015). The changing organisation: an agency modelling approach. Int. J. Markets and Business Systems, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2015 .

First issue: International Journal of Soft Computing and Networking (free sample issue available)

The International Journal of Soft Computing and Networking addresses the interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary nature of two of the most promising and rapidly expanding fields of computation: soft computing and networking. IJSCN helps promote the further integration and fusion of both disciplines within practical applications and fosters discussion on theoretical advances of such integration. It addresses state-of-the-art contributions within both fields, acknowledging the complexity of present-day communication networks as well as related abstractions, virtualisations, algorithm design and improvement, thus meeting the challenge of achieving efficiency, sustainability and optimality.

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

Call for papers: "Web Communities for Giving"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Web Based Communities.

In general, fundraising is more than a social activity in which the wealthier are asked to donate part of their wealth to the benefit of other physical or social entities. Fundraising has become (consciously or not) a complementary socio-political approach by which individuals, groups or corporations develop strategies to approach and remedy specific and/or general problems in the sectors of poverty, health, education, development, demographic unbalance, migration and so on. The professionalism of fundraisers and their understanding of the reasons that lie behind the success or failure of their raising money strategies dictate not only the support dimension to the final beneficiaries of their campaigns but also the survival of the fundraising organisations themselves.

Despite a fundraising world yearly turnover that has surpassed half a trillion dollars, the need for investments and intervention remains high. Non-government organisations (NGOs) have been encouraged by governments and super-state international organisations into taking an active role to tackle poverty, support health care and assist in human migrations and dislocations. The potentiality that the web possess to enable fundraisers and NGOs to reach people, provide services, collect and organise resources has recently put a focus on the empowering means for the web-communities for giving.

The potential communication role that the web has proven to play for the communities has attracted the interests of both raising as consolidating fundraising organisations. In attempts to become e-based efficient magnets for givers, efforts and resources have been invested into creating attractive motivational web sites. Failures and short-coming results have highlighted the need for studies and deep insights to attempt defining some sort of sectorial guidelines to the use of researchers, fundraisers, non-profit organisations and governmental officers. As an attempt to creating an objective analysis and perspective considerations of the web-communities for giving we endeavour gathering top scientist and sector representatives’ know-how and shed light on this crucial issue.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited, to the following:
  • Social planning and web design
  • The psychology of representation data
  • Strategic investment in social media
  • Web architectures for fundraisers
  • Web architectures and simplification
  • Graphic representations and tools for interactivity
  • Network revolutions and interacting services
  • Reality through virtual reality
  • Cognition in online giving
  • Monitoring trends in social media
  • Collaborative technologies for strategy planning
  • Design of online systems for motivational giving
  • E-learning, behaviours and cognition in online giving
  • Emotional behavior and design of web interfaces
  • Innovating assistive technologies for the web
  • Transparent NGOs for stakeholders
  • Safety and e-commerce for cooperative communities
  • The power of individuals in web giving communities

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 30 September, 2016
Review notification: 30 November, 2016
Submission of revised papers: 30 January, 2017
Notification of final review results: 15 February, 2017

New Editor for International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining

Dr. Mahardhika Pratama from La Trobe University in Australia has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining.

20 June 2016

Call for papers: "Data Analytics"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Data Science.

This special issue aims to bring together recent research and experience of computer scientists, professionals, industrial practitioners and applied mathematicians working in the area of data analytics applied to engineering, business and scientific domains.

Data analytics is the science of examining raw data with the purpose of drawing conclusions from the information. It integrates theories and methods from computer science and engineering, mathematics, statistics and information science. Data analytics deal with four major areas: nature and quality of the data, information extraction from data, data-intensive computing theory, and managing big data.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the International Conference on Data Science and Engineering 2017, 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 the following:
  • Algorithms for large data sets
  • Data-centric programming
  • Statistical computing
  • Machine learning and computational intelligence
  • Big data mining and analytics
  • Big data visualisation
  • Big data curation and management
  • Security, privacy, trust and legal issues for big data
  • NoSQL data stores and DB scalability
  • Storage and computation management of big data
  • Mobility and big data
  • Knowledge engineering
  • Infoscience and computational informatics
  • Web databases and information systems
  • Parallel, distributed and cloud-based high-performance data mining
  • Opinion mining and sentiment analysis
  • High-performance scientific/engineering/commercial applications

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 20 February, 2017
Notification to authors: 30 April, 2017
Final versions due: 30 June, 2017

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Mechanisms and Robotic Systems

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Mechanisms and Robotic Systems are now available here for free:
  • Smart sensing of damage in flexible plates through MEMS
  • Simulation results of operation of a new biped mechanism
  • Miniature endoscope manipulator for minimally invasive surgery
  • Mathematical model and attitude estimation using Kalman filter technique for low earth orbit satellite
  • Power efficient design of an amplifier using submicron technology

Special issue published: "Pricing and Revenue Management in the International Hospitality Industry"

International Journal of Revenue Management 9(2/3) 2016
  • Hotel strategic pricing in Europe: a 10-year exploration of competition
  • Relationship between hotel rate increases and discounts and consumers' willingness-to-purchase: a prospect theory perspective
  • Hotel flash sales consumers: Who are they?
  • Revenue management, hedonic pricing models and the effects of operational attributes
Research notes
  • Dynamic pricing in hospitality: overview and opportunities
  • An examination of popular pricing and price framing techniques in the hospitality industry and directions for future research
  • Behavioural pricing opportunities in tourism destinations: a collaborative approach

Call for papers: "Smart Tourism: Linking Service and Digital Ecosystems"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing.

The challenging and vibrant scenario that is emerging as a consequence of social and economic dynamics is prompting both researchers and practioners to identify more efficient, effective and suitable managerial approaches (Jansen, 2000; Barile & Polese, 2010; Barile & Saviano, 2010; Golinelli et al., 2012). Among the different sectors and domains interested in the evolution of users’ and providers’ lifestyles and behaviours, tourism appears to be an interesting area of reflections (Buhalis, 1998; Weaver, 2000; Ryan, 2002).

In its core essence, tourism combines local resources with human competences and capabilities using the tools offered by information and communication technology (ICT) as ways to collect, understand and satisfy markets’ needs (McKercher et al., 2002; Trunfio et al., 2006; Zang et al., 2009).

In this vein, some relevant dimensions appear to be strictly related to the domain of smart tourism, such as relationships, services, ICT and ecosystems (Buhalis, 2003; Wöber, 2003; Beech & Chadwick, 2006). Therefore, the real challenge is to identify a suitable pathway to combining all these different concepts in a common and sharing interpretive and conceptual framework able to support a better approach to smart tourism management.

Building upon these reflections, this special issue aims to collect both theoretical and empirical contributions able to offer relevant advancements in knowledge in the management of smart tourism.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the International Conferences on Tourism (ICOT 2016), 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 the following:
  • Smart tourism and service ecosystems
  • Smart tourism challenges: linking theory and practice
  • Institutions, people and processes in the smart tourism domain
  • The contributions of ICT to smart tourism
  • Theoretical contributions to and empirical observations on smart tourism
  • The role of information sharing and digital platforms in the emergence of smart tourism
  • Smart tourism and open innovation
  • Meanings, processes and implications of smart tourism

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 18 October, 2016
Notification to authors: 18 January, 2017
Final versions due: 20 March, 2017

19 June 2016

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Manufacturing Research

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Manufacturing Research are now available here for free:
  • A wavelet-based index for fault detection and its application in condition monitoring of helicopter drive-train components
  • Numerical and experimental study on influence of tool plunging force and shoulder size on thermal history of friction stir welding
  • Effect of EDM parameters on hole quality characteristics in deep hole drilling of Inconel 718 superalloy
  • Streamlining virtual manufacturing cell modelling by behaviour modules
  • A combined approach to tool path generation for flank milling of impeller blades with non-developable ruled surfaces

18 June 2016

17 June 2016

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Financial Markets and Derivatives

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Financial Markets and Derivatives are now available here for free:
  • Financial market contagion during the global financial crisis: evidence from the Moroccan stock market
  • On the pricing of regular premium variable annuities using options
  • Pricing American options when there is short-lived arbitrage
  • Multiple warrant issues: are issue premiums important?
  • Is the jump-diffusion model a good solution for credit risk modelling? The case of convertible bonds

New Editor for International Journal of Convergence Computing

Dr. Adel El Shahat from Georgia Southern University in the USA has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Convergence Computing.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Applied Pattern Recognition

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Applied Pattern Recognition are now available here for free:
  • Spectral and prosodic features-based speech pattern classification
  • Classification of image using a genetic general neural decision tree
  • Texture vs. multiresolution analysis of facial expressions: application to emotion recognition
  • Analysis and evaluation of regression-based methods for facial pose classification
  • Statistical validation of multiple classifiers over multiple datasets in the field of pattern recognition

16 June 2016

Sidestep redirection spam with fuzzy logic

Web browsers might soon use fuzzy logic to spot redirection spam and save users from being scammed, phished or opening malicious sites unwittingly, according to researchers in India writing in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics.

Redirection spam occurs when a user opens a link in an email that leads to an unexpected and often malicious page, or when they open a page that has been hacked or injected with malware, which then redirects to a malicious page. Often the redirection occurs instantaneously and transparently without the user being aware until it is too late and login details or credit card number have been divulged to the criminal third party. Frequently, there will be a malware payload that infects the user’s computer at the same time.

According to Kanchan Hans of Amity University, in Noida, India, and colleagues, legitimate web page redirections are a ubiquitous part of the web used for server load balancing, link logging and URL rewriting and shortening. Detection of illicit redirections is a difficult task as blocking them would block legitimate redirections too. Nevertheless, while redirection spam was originally little more than a “switch and bait” black hat search engine optimization (SEO) technique, today it interferes with the performance of search engines, leads to wastage of network bandwidth and disrupts user trust, as well as leading to fraudulent activity, identity theft and the spread of malware.

Most modern web browsers have security tools in place that will alert the user to the presence of malware on a site they attempt to visit. Unfortunately, this relies on the developers of the browser having access to a continuously updated database of flagged sites. If a site has not yet been flagged as malicious, the unwary user may stumble on to a page and be the victim of a wide range of scams and problems. Hans and colleagues have developed a system that could be used in conjunction with such conventional alert systems and provide an extra layer of security against redirection spam.

The team’s detection system analyses the characteristics of a given web address based on known spammy links and applies fuzzy logic to add a layer of probability to whether or not the suspicious link is likely to be a problem. Various different criteria are applied in terms of whether the link to be followed might be spam including the number of redirection hops that would take place after the user clicks or enters an address, the presence of a refresh delay, whether or not there are JavaScript redirects on the page, whether there is a meta tag redirection in place. All such characteristics are exploited by spammers to mask the true destination of a link from anti-malware and other security tools used by browsers and the search engines and so avoid the true destination site being detected and flagged as malware.

The application of fuzzy logic allows a probability to be calculated with looser rules based on the different criteria, so that a confidence level can be assigned to a given link as to whether it is safe or spam. In an actual browser implementation this might give users a red, amber or green signal to let them know whether they should proceed to visit a site. In practice, only red and amber sites would generate an alert, sites given the green light could be set to open and so reduce the need for users to make a decision when a site is almost certainly safe to visit, but give them a chance to think twice before visit a putatively hazardous page. Tests on the system show a high level of accuracy in flagging safe and spam sites from a known database without significant false positives or negatives, the team reports.


Hans, K., Ahuja, L. and Muttoo, S.K. (2016) ‘A fuzzy logic approach for detecting redirection spam’, Int. J. Electronic Security and Digital Forensics, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp.191–204.
via Inderscience – Science Spot http://ift.tt/1UXn5fG

15 June 2016

Research Picks Extra – June 2016

Stitching together a HEMS
Researchers in Canada and China are stitching together an intelligent home energy management system (HEMS) that reduces the number of sensors needed to monitor the domestic environment. Their MinNet system uses convenient plug-in power sensors to construct a wireless sensor network for data collection and establish an analytical framework based on the power model of appliances, the team reports. It can then be used to monitor the status of individual home appliances using the minimum number of power sensors and also estimate occupancy of a given room or the house as a whole using with inference intelligence and so optimise electrical and energy efficiency in terms of lighting, heating, air conditioning.
Tang, J.Y., Tang, G.M. and Wu, K. (2016) ‘MinNet: toward more intelligent smart home energy management systems with fewer sensors’, Int. J. Sensor Networks, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp.252–263.

When your car talks back
Engineers at the Hyundai Motor Company in Gyeongg-Do, South Korea, and colleagues are investigating how drivers might respond to voice alerts from their vehicle’s automated braking systems. Their simulations suggest that drivers are much happier when their car tells them of its automated actions rather than simply carrying out those actions for the benefit of driver and passenger safety. “Car makers should also focus on the human–machine interaction, i.e., on how the car announces its ‘intentions’ to act,” the team reports. The work provides insights into how the transition between fully driver-controlled cars and self-driving cars might take place. “Voice warnings can significantly alleviate anxiety, increase alertness and give back the sense of control to drivers by appropriately providing information about the car’s operating status,” the team says. They suggest that drivers feel safer with the voice alert system activated than when it is disabled.
Koo, J., Shin, D., Steinert, M. and Leifer, L. (2016) ‘Understanding driver responses to voice alerts of autonomous car operations’, Int. J. Vehicle Design, Vol. 70, No. 4, pp.377–392

IT for ADHD at Uni
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is thought to affect more than 1 in 10 of students at university. Now, researchers from Australia and Saudi Arabia have assessed the possibility of using information communication technology (ICT) solution to help with the current treatment and management of the condition. The focus of their work and case study involves the use of ICT systems as an effective alternative to standard pharmaceutical interventions.
Binhadyan, B. and Wickramasinghe, N. (2016) ‘An investigation of the benefit of using IT in the context of university students with ADHD’, Int. J. Networking and Virtual Organisations, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp.204–220.

Gene selection
Researchers in India have developed a new approach to analysing cancer genetic data that allows them to extract the most important genes from complex arrays and to put them into rank order. Accurate sample class prediction of gene expression profiles is of great importance in the field of medical data mining to improve the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the team points out. Their classification approach involves “dimensionality” reduction which allows meaningful information to be extracted more effectively and quickly. In order to In order to develop their rule-based algorithm, they overcame various problems using rough set theory, decision tree algorithm, database technology, and other mathematical and statistical approaches.
Das, S. and Das, A.K. (2016) ‘Gene selection and decision tree based classification for cancerous sample detection’, Int. J. Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp.1–14.


via Inderscience – Science Spot http://ift.tt/1Xok2n1

13 June 2016

Call for papers: "Fibre-Composite-based Multi-Material and Hybrid Systems for Structural Applications: Challenges of the Product Development Process, Numerical Simulation and Optimisation, Manufacturing and Testing"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Automotive Composites.

Automotive manufacturers have to meet a wide range of requirements. Governmental regulations (e.g. recycling rates or emission standards) have an influence on future product strategies. Furthermore, customer demands (e.g. safety, comfort or driving characteristics) should be observed in order to place a successful product on the market. In this field of tension, different approaches to automotive lightweight design have become more and more important in recent years. Automotive suppliers and manufacturers have focused on metal materials with improved mechanical performance. New materials such as high-strength aluminum alloys or new processes such as the hot-forming of manganese-boron steels have been developed. For premium or motorsport applications, composite materials are also used. However, for large-scale products, the lightweight gains have been compromised by high material and production costs in most fields of application.

At this point, combinations of different materials could be identified as a promising approach for optimised lightweight design. The combination can be realised at the component level, where structures made of different materials are combined by adequate bonding technologies. Hybrid structures are characterised by a combination of different materials at a material level, i.e. at least one component is available as a semi-finished product just before the final production stage. Examples of hybrid systems can be found in prepreg-press-technology or in the forming of organic sheets, when composite materials are directly formed into a sheet metal structure. Other hybrid processes are intrinsic manufacturing processes. Here, the combination of different materials is realised in a single production step.

The combination of different materials with varying characteristics is a challenging approach. It affects the product development process, the simulation and optimisation of materials and products by numerical methods, the manufacturing processes and the testing of material systems and components. This special issue aims to address these challenges, which result from the combination of materials with different characteristics, behaviours and processing properties. The issue’s objective is to present answers and solutions in order to give researchers, scientists and engineers extensive technical guidance.

Because of the very specific theme of this special issue, authors are not encouraged to submit manuscripts covering typical topics on composites. However, authors are highly encouraged to submit topics addressing the following aspects of fibre-composite-based multi-material and hybrid systems for structural applications: the product development process, the simulation and optimisation of materials and products by numerical methods, the manufacturing processes and the testing of material systems and components.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Product development processes, which address the high complexity of material combinations
  • Guidelines and technical instructions for the design of multi-material and hybrid components
  • Integration of multi-material and hybrid approaches into existing manufacturing infrastructures
  • Integration of multi-material and hybrid components into state-of-the-art assemblies/body-in-whites
  • Material models for heterogeneous materials
  • Design of multi-material and hybrid structures
  • Optimisation of products in order to realise multi-material designs
  • Numerical analysis of mechanical properties, e.g. under crash loads
  • Mechanical characterisation of material systems
  • Bonding technologies: mechanical, adhesive, hybrid and direct bonding approaches
  • Large-scale manufacturing processes for multi-material and hybrid structures
  • Intrinsic manufacturing approaches
  • Improved mechanical properties by optimised manufacturing processes, process routes and process control
  • Quality assurance and management of multi-material and hybrid components
  • Detection of failures: destructive and non-destructive test methods
  • (High-)dynamic material analysis
  • Component tests under quasistatic or crash loads

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 31 August, 2016
Notification to authors: 30 November, 2016
Revised versions due: 31 January, 2017
Final versions due: 28 February, 2017

International Journal of Computational Vision and Robotics to publish expanded papers from 2nd International Conference on Pattern Analysis and Intelligent Systems

Extended versions of papers presented at the 2nd International Conference on Pattern Analysis and Intelligent Systems (16-17 November 2016, Khenchela, Algeria) will be published by the International Journal of Computational Vision and Robotics.


12 June 2016

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Strategic Engineering Asset Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Strategic Engineering Asset Management are now available here for free:
  • Availability and performability analysis for a service degradation process with condition-based preventive maintenance II - estimation and simulation
  • Availability and performability analysis for a service degradation process with condition-based preventive maintenance I - formulation and optimisation
  • Condition-based maintenance of wind power generation systems considering different turbine types and lead times
  • Selective maintenance considering two types of failure modes
  • Condition monitoring and remaining useful life prediction using switching Kalman filters
  • A low-cost and effective automobile engine fault diagnosis using instantaneous angular velocity evaluation

Inderscience journals to publish expanded papers from 14th IEEE International Symposium on Parallel and Distributed Processing with Applications

Extended versions of papers presented at the 14th IEEE International Symposium on Parallel and Distributed Processing with Applications (23-26 August 2016, Tianjin, China) will be published by the following journals:

11 June 2016

Call for papers: "User Modelling and Learning Analytics"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Innovation and Learning.

With the rapid development of massive online open courses (MOOCs), web 2.0 online communities, social media and mobile technologies in the big data era, there is a fast proliferation of learning resources such as online learning communities, open course videos and learning materials and multimedia textbooks (e.g. webpages, animations and documents).

When faced with such a large volume of data, it is essential to have effective and efficient ways to organise information. To achieve this goal, we need not only versatile user models but also powerful learning analytic approaches. Such user models and learning analytic approaches can be exploited and applied in various web-based learning applications such as personalised learning path discovery, learning resource recommendations, course opinions and sentiment analysis.

This special issue aims to present the latest research and developments in user modelling and learning analytics. The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the 1st International Workshop on User Modeling for Web-based Learning , the 14th International Conference on Web-based Learning and the 1st International Technology Enhanced Language Learning Workshop, 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, the following:
  • Learner and learning resource modelling
  • Learning style and preference identification
  • Learner profiling and personalisation
  • User log mining and analytics for e-learning
  • Learning context modelling for users
  • Cognitive-based learner modelling
  • Learning assessment modelling
  • Knowledge management and learning strategies
  • Knowledge construction in e-learning
  • Web-based learning and knowledge communities
  • Learning and knowledge portals
  • Making sense of learning analytics
  • Learning analytic systems
  • Case studies of learning analytic implementations
  • Evaluation and assessment
  • MOOCs and learning analytics

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 12 August, 2016

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Services and Standards

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Services and Standards are now available here for free:
  • Healthcare management: do quality and standards vary based on national culture
  • Healthcare and motivation-medicine: a critical examination of health, the medical profession and the future of cell research
  • A sensemaking approach to a discursive ethical skill in healthcare management: the case of an oncopaediatric service
  • Cost savings of diabetes outcomes: impact of nurse practitioner practice regulatory policy
  • Systematic literature review of quality management in healthcare organisations: exploring and organising extant research using nVivo

Inderscience journals to publish expanded papers from 10th International Conference on Big Data Science and Engineering

Extended versions of papers presented at the 10th International Conference on Big Data Science and Engineering (23-26 August 2016, Tianjin, China) will be published by the following journals:

10 June 2016

Call for papers: "Soft Computing Techniques for Bio-Medical Signal and Image Processing"

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

Bio medical signals have high significance towards a lot of applications. In recent decades, soft computing has emerged as a potential candidate for solving complex and intricate global optimisation problems, which are otherwise difficult to solve by traditional methods. At present image processing, signal processing, industrial optimisation, control system applications and power system application fields provide challenging results to be interpreted by researchers.

They are applying soft computing techniques for solving such problems. Some popular soft computing techniques for global optimisation includes genetic algorithms (GA), differential evolution (DE), ant colony optimisation (ACO), particle swarm optimisation (PSO), artificial bee colony (ABC), firefly algorithm (FFA) algorithm etc. These methods have been successfully applied to a wide range of benchmarks and real-world application problems. This special issue seeks to bring forward and highlight applications of soft computing for real world problems especially bio-medical signal and image processing. Authors are invited to submit their original and unpublished work to this special issue.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at IEEE Sponsored International Conference on Engineering and Technology, 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, the following:
  • 1D and 2D signal enhancement
  • 1D and 2D signal filtering
  • 2D signal clustering
  • 2D signal denoising
  • 2D signal encryption
  • 2D signal restoration
  • Adaptive, self-tuning and learning control systems
  • Artificial Intelligence and expert systems
  • Artificial neural networks in control
  • Audio and video processing systems
  • Biological learning control systems
  • Biomedical signal and image processing
  • Deep learning for recognition
  • Design and implementation of signal processing techniques
  • Distributed/decentralised intelligent control
  • DSP models of human perception
  • Evolutionary computation in control
  • Intelligent control-based on neuro-fuzzy models
  • Mathematical modelling and simulation
  • Numerical solution based problem solving techniques
  • Optimisation techniques for signal processing and multimedia
  • Optimisation techniques of signal and multimedia
  • Real-time intelligent control
  • Remote sensing multimedia analysis
  • Signal feature extraction
  • Soft computing based digital filter design and implementation
  • Soft computing based image and video processing
  • Soft computing method for signal processing
  • Soft computing methods for multimedia
  • Supervised and unsupervised clustering
  • Swarm intelligence, learning and control

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 30 May, 2017