Pocket pedagogy – understanding developments in mobile learning

A bibliometric analysis of mobile learning research published between 2017 and 2026 shows a sharp expansion in output. There was a big surge between 2020 and 2022 associated with pandemic-driven shifts in higher education. Mobile learning (m-learning), defined as the use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to support educational activity, has grown alongside global device penetration and intensive daily usage among students, according to the study published in the International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation.

The researchers looked at more than 2,500 papers indexed in Web of Science, using bibliometric spreadsheet techniques and the network-mapping tool VOSviewer. This allowed them to identify patterns in authorship, citations, and research themes through statistical analysis of the academic publications.

China, Taiwan, and the USA emerged as the most active contributors, with the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology identified as the leading institution. Influential work in the field is strongly associated with scholars such as Gwo-Jen Hwang.

The team’s thematic mapping indicates a shift away from early emphasis on technology adoption towards more integrated approaches to teaching. It focuses on how mobile tools can shape teaching and learning design. The analysis also highlights increasing collaboration across regions, with growing scholarly influence from East Asia and Latin America.

The team suggests that future research might take into account the advent of readily available artificial intelligence (AI) tools for learning support as well as immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). They suggest that these developments are expected to expand interactive and contextual learning experiences in higher education.

Shambare, B. and Jita, T. (2026) ‘Charting the landscape of mobile learning in higher education: a bibliometric mapping of research trends and organisational contexts’, Int. J. Mobile Learning and Organisation, Vol. 20, No. 5, pp.1–27.

Free Open Access issue published by International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets

The International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets has published an Open Access issue. All of the issue’s papers can be downloaded via the full-text links available here.

• When negative news fails to deter: the emotional shielding effect of brand attachment on perceived risk
• Marketing effectiveness in emerging Mekong markets: an fsQCA of influencer-led sustainable branding

New Open Access article available: "Charting the landscape of mobile learning in higher education: a bibliometric mapping of research trends and organisational contexts"

The following International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation article, "Charting the landscape of mobile learning in higher education: a bibliometric mapping of research trends and organisational contexts", is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Dynamical Systems and Differential Equations

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Dynamical Systems and Differential Equations are now available here for free:

• Dynamics of superattracting skew products on the attracting basins: Böttcher coordinates and plurisubharmonic functions
• Improvements and application of normal cloud positive regression model
• An advanced fractal optimisation method for network energy and power based on cellular massive MIMO based on photovoltaic technology
• Technical evaluation on improved Hough transform for monitoring traffic sign images under depth algorithm
• Intelligent optimisation of self-healing strategy of distribution network based on differential evolution and advanced fractal
• Nonlinear programming differential equation method for architectural landscape spatial structure engineering in dynamics systems
• A high-precision broadband low-cost multiplier topology for electric energy measurement
• Fractional calculus in dynamic analysis of truck frame: a special focus on finite element modelling

New Open Access article available: "Integration of computational algorithms in enhancing geological modelling and drilling efficiency in coal mine exploration"

The following International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology article, "Integration of computational algorithms in enhancing geological modelling and drilling efficiency in coal mine exploration", is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.

International Journal of Systems, Control and Communications is now an open access-only journal

We are pleased to announce that the International Journal of Systems, Control and Communications is now an Open Access-only journal. All accepted articles submitted from 1 July 2026 onwards will be Open Access, and will require an article processing charge of EUR €1700.

New Open Access article available: "Forms and innovative applications of fine arts factors in the design of literary and artistic products"

The following International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation article, "Forms and innovative applications of fine arts factors in the design of literary and artistic products", is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.

American Journal of Finance and Accounting accepted by Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers

Inderscience's Editorial Office is delighted to announce that the American Journal of Finance and Accounting has been listed by the Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers.

The journal's Editor in Chief, Dr. Mark Tampuri, has made the following comment on the achievement:

"The inclusion of the American Journal of Finance and Accounting in the Norwegian Register marks an important milestone in the journal’s international standing. It reflects the sustained commitment and collective efforts of our editorial board, reviewers and contributors in maintaining high-quality scholarship and impactful research across key areas of contemporary finance and accounting. As Editor in Chief, I see this recognition as a strong endorsement of the journal’s direction and a foundation for further strengthening its global visibility, academic rigor and contribution to both theory and practice."

Research pick: Smart clothing for blind travellers - "Research on intelligent clothing design integrating visual communication and embedded system – taking the blind safety clothing as an example"

Researchers have developed a prototype of intelligent, or “smart”, clothing designed to improve the safety of blind and visually impaired people by combining embedded electronics with sensors that detect hazards, falls, and emergencies. Details of the system are reported in the International Journal of Computational Systems Engineering.

The garment integrates an embedded system, computer components built directly into the material, with sensors that monitor the surrounding environment and trigger warnings. Tests found the warning system remained effective at distances of up to 30 metres in complete darkness, while a dedicated fall-detection module identified incidents in less than half a second, leaving sufficient time for an integrated airbag protection system to deploy.

The study also highlights the potential of smart clothing to provide monitoring, feedback, and automated responses while remaining wearable in everyday life. The work thus addresses a gap in existing assistive technologies. While white canes and handheld guidance devices focus on obstacle avoidance and navigation, the researchers argue that less attention has been paid to accident detection, emergency alerts, and impact protection.

The researchers explain that there are some obstacles that need to be removed for widespread adoption of the technology to be possible. Embedded components reduce comfort, the durability of some hardware has yet to be tested over long periods, and manufacturing quality could vary at scale. They also identify cybersecurity, data privacy, and regulation as areas requiring further development.

Sun, Z. (2026) ‘Research on intelligent clothing design integrating visual communication and embedded system – taking the blind safety clothing as an example’, Int. J. Computational Systems Engineering, Vol. 10, No. 10, pp.1–9.

Research pick: Green supply matters - "Green procurement in practice: how buyer-supplier interaction differs across product categories"

Companies hoping to reduce the environmental impact of their purchasing should tailor relationships with suppliers to different types of products, rather than relying on a single procurement strategy, according to research in the International Journal of Procurement Management.

The study used interviews with procurement staff and suppliers in the international energy sector. The results were supported by internal company documents. The research argues that environmental targets can be undermined when organisations treat all supplier relationships alike, despite differences in supply risk and technical complexity.

Indeed, the research found that green procurement, the integration of environmental considerations into purchasing decisions, depends not only on how the products are sourced but also on how buyers and suppliers work together to reduce carbon emissions, resource use, and overall environmental impact.

The researchers found that companies do not use the same approach for every purchase. Complex products require close collaboration with suppliers to improve environmental performance, while routine purchases are more likely to rely on suppliers meeting agreed environmental standards. Products that fall between these extremes require buyers to translate environmental goals into detailed technical specifications.

The findings also suggest that certification alone may not be enough to improve environmental performance. Rather, firms need different levels of collaboration, monitoring and resource sharing with suppliers depending on the product category. This is particularly important as environmental and supply-chain reporting requirements become more demanding.

Edgal, E., Holma, A-M. and Taheriruh, M. (2026) ‘Green procurement in practice: how buyer-supplier interaction differs across product categories’, Int. J. Procurement Management, Vol. 25, No. 6, pp.1–30.

Free Open Access issue published by International Journal of Information and Communication Technology

The International Journal of Information and Communication Technology has published an Open Access issue. All of the issue’s papers can be downloaded via the full-text links available here.

• Recurrent neural network-based analysis of influencing factors on sports event communication effectiveness from the intelligent media perspective
• Dynamic optimisation algorithm for online learning intervention based on cognitive-emotional multimodal fusion
• Dynamic optimisation of visitor diversion in smart scenic areas using deep reinforcement learning
• Large language model-driven student career knowledge graph and interpretable adaptive reasoning
• A big data-driven personalised learning framework for education with adaptive content delivery

Research pick: What comes around, comes around - "A survey on skills and education needs for the industrial circular economy transition"

A lack of trained workers may be one of the biggest obstacles to adopting circular economy practices, according to a survey of more than 100 industry experts involved in sustainability initiatives published in the International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management.

The study found that companies face not only technological and financial challenges, but also skills shortages among their staff. The researchers say this has implications for education providers as businesses seek workers capable of managing environmental and digital transformation.

The concept of the circular economy aims to keep products and materials in use for longer through repair, reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling. This ultimately reduces waste and resource consumption. Increasingly, these activities rely on fairly novel technologies, such as advanced data analysis, internet of things devices, and even artificial intelligence (AI). These all feed into “circular” product design and product lifecycle management.

The findings highlight the demands of a shift towards greener business models in parallel with greater digitalisation. The researchers argue this requires teams combining technical expertise with communication, negotiation, and strategic decision-making skills. As such, universities and vocational training providers need to align their programmes more closely with labour market needs to close the skills gap.

Trevisan, A.H., Acerbi, F., Pellucchi, I., Dukovska-Popovska, I., Mossa, G., Terzi, S. and Sassanelli, C. (2026) ‘A survey on skills and education needs for the industrial circular economy transition’, Int. J. Product Lifecycle Management, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp.218–251.

New Open Access article available: "Green procurement in practice: how buyer-supplier interaction differs across product categories"

The following International Journal of Procurement Management article, "Green procurement in practice: how buyer-supplier interaction differs across product categories", is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.

New Open Access article available: "Power distance and intercultural communication in higher education: a three-pathway systematic review"

The following International Journal of Knowledge and Learning article, "Power distance and intercultural communication in higher education: a three-pathway systematic review", is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.

Free Open Access issue published by International Journal of Information and Communication Technology

The International Journal of Information and Communication Technology has published an Open Access issue. All of the issue’s papers can be downloaded via the full-text links available here.

• Intelligent assessment and teaching optimisation of college Russian translation based on transformer multimodal representation learning
• Adaptive crawling strategies and quality-aware cleansing for Korean teaching resources
• Keyword association mining and topic evolution analysis algorithm for knowledge graph in the energy field
• Deep learning-based multimodal vocal emotion recognition
• A multimodal generative AI dialogue system for real-time intervention in English learning anxiety

Research pick: Integration, the key to computational thinking - "Unlocking computational thinking: immersive technologies for solving complex problems"

Training in computational thinking can improve a student’s ability to tackle complex problems, according to research in the International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, which examined both student perception of their own skills and their demonstrated performance. The findings come at a time when higher education faces increased pressure to equip students with transferable skills for the changing workplace.

Computational thinking is a structured approach to problem-solving that involves breaking problems into smaller parts, identifying patterns, focusing on essential information through abstraction, and designing step-by-step procedures known as algorithms to find a solution. Although often associated with computer science, the researchers argue that these skills are relevant across all disciplines. Previous research has linked computational thinking to critical thinking, creativity and innovation.

The study found that participants improved their ability to identify patterns, break down problems, and construct logical solutions. Students from one institution initially outperformed their peers, but with training, those differences were largely eliminated, the team found. In addition, improvements in abstraction, pattern recognition, and algorithm design appeared to reinforce each other. This finding supports the view that these skills develop most effectively when taught together as part of an overarching approach to problem-solving.

George-Reyes, C.E., Oliva-Córdova, L.M. and Bustamante-Ruiz, S.P. (2026) ‘Unlocking computational thinking: immersive technologies for solving complex problems’, Int. J. Technology Enhanced Learning, Vol. 18, No. 5, pp.1–24.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Vehicle Noise and Vibration

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Vehicle Noise and Vibration are now available here for free:

• Machine learning based progressive crack fault monitoring on spur gear using vibration analysis
• Preview control of the random response of a full car vehicle model traversing a rough road
• Assessing the efficiency of TPI-NSI and NSI-TPI in isolating the vibration of driver's seat
• Kinematic simulations and design of a steering upright for a single seater electric car
• Intelligent fault detection of spark plugs using vibration signal analysis and artificial neural networks

Free Open Access issue published by International Journal of Information and Communication Technology

The International Journal of Information and Communication Technology has published an Open Access issue. All of the issue’s papers can be downloaded via the full-text links available here.

• Optimisation analysis of unmanned coordination path considering line crossing and various disturbance factors
• Semantic analysis-integrated LSTM neural network: a novel spelling correction approach for academic English translation
• Generative adversarial network and parametric design algorithm for public art form generation
• A sustainable community user experience generation framework integrating the generative adversarial network and visual attention model
• Real-time image/surveillance waste sorting via MatMul-free-based encoder-decoder learning structure

Research pick: Don’t let the landslide bring the power down - "Change detection framework for power facilities in disaster scenarios"

Artificial intelligence (AI) can identify landslides and other geological changes that threaten electricity transmission towers, potentially helping operators intervene before infrastructure fails, according to research in the International Journal of Power and Energy Conversion.

The researchers focused on change detection, a remote-sensing technique that compares images of the same location taken at different times to identify disturbances in the landscape. While widely used in environmental monitoring and disaster assessment, such systems have not historically worked well with landslides, because disaster datasets are limited.

The new model analyses satellite or drone images captured before and after a disaster using a twin-network architecture, in which two linked AI systems process and compare images from different periods. It also uses a visual foundation model, a large AI system pre-trained on remote-sensing imagery, to provide broader information about terrain and landscape features.

A key component of the approach is an attention-based alignment module, which allows the AI to focus on relevant information. Here, the module filters out irrelevant differences, such as seasonal vegetation changes or lighting variations, while highlighting structural changes linked to hazards.

Tests on a real disaster dataset showed the system outperformed several recent change-detection methods.

Wu, J., Tang, H., Cen, G. and Wang, K. (2026) ‘Change detection framework for power facilities in disaster scenarios’, Int. J. Power and Energy Conversion, Vol. 17, No. 5, pp.1–20.

Free Open Access issue published by International Journal of Information and Communication Technology

The International Journal of Information and Communication Technology has published an Open Access issue. All of the issue’s papers can be downloaded via the full-text links available here.

• A case study on vision-based intelligent inspection for surface defect detection in CNC machining using YOLOv7 and transfer learning
• Zero-sample accounting standards migration framework empowered by meta-learning
• Multimodal knowledge fusion and intelligent generation model in decision support systems for energy industry
• A utility-aware scheduling model for online learning tasks based on dynamic psychological cognitive load perception
• Lightweighting and end-side deployment of multi-modal large model based on cross-modal attention distillation

Research pick: Colour feels - "Evaluating the impact of colour congruence on marketing effectiveness within Instagram campaigns"

Brands seeking attention on social media outlets, such as Instagram, may benefit from keeping the colours in their posts visually consistent, according to research in the International Journal of Mobile Communications.

The research analysed 365 responses from Instagram users. It found that they were more positively engaged with a post and its associated brand when the background colours of a post matched the main visual elements of the image. The team suggests that this effect is due to processing fluency, the ease with which people understand and interpret information.

Using a controlled experiment based on Instagram-style brand content, researchers compared posts with congruent colour schemes against those with contrasting colours. Participants exposed to the former reported stronger brand attitudes and greater intentions to revisit the brand’s Instagram page and purchase its products than those seeing the more conflicting colour schemes.

The findings suggest that colour does more than attract attention. In crowded digital environments, consumers often rely on visual cues to form rapid judgements about a brand. Consistent colour schemes appeared to reduce the mental effort required to interpret a post, allowing viewers to focus more on its message.

Chen, C-C. and Chiu, Y-P. (2026) ‘Evaluating the impact of colour congruence on marketing effectiveness within Instagram campaigns’, Int. J. Mobile Communications, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp.417–434.

New Open Access article available: "A survey on skills and education needs for the industrial circular economy transition"

The following International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management article, "A survey on skills and education needs for the industrial circular economy transition", is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.