31 May 2009

Special issue: Game theory applications in operations research and management science

International Journal of Operational Research 6(1) 2009
  • Equilibrium in a two-agent Assignment Problem
  • Incentive compatible mechanisms for decentralised Supply Chain Formation
  • Computing the Nash solution for scheduling bargaining problems
  • Optimal auctions for multi-unit procurement with volume discount bids
  • Bundling and pricing of product with after-sale services
  • Coordination in vendor-buyer inventory systems: on price discounts, Stackelberg game and joint optimisation
  • A new formulation of strategic interactions in a fluctuating market
  • A contest among distributors over who is a better newsvendor

Special issue: Agricultural metadata and semantics

International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies 4(1/2) 2009
  • Assessment of classification and indexing of an agricultural journal based on metadata in AGRIS and CAB Abstracts databases
  • The LOM application profile for agricultural learning resources of the CGIAR
  • Ontology learning from domain specific web documents
  • A service-oriented framework for controlling invasive species in agriculture
  • Modelling and simulating work practices in agriculture
  • Developing rules and criteria for rice ontology construction
  • Towards a novel content organisation in agriculture using semantic technologies: a study with topic maps as a tool
  • An ontology-driven system architecture for precision agriculture applications
  • A mediator-based approach to ontology generation and querying of molecular and phenotypic cereals data
  • Using XML data integration and ontology reuse to share agricultural data
  • TrAgLor, an implementation of IEEE LOM draft standard in agriculture and life sciences
  • A framework for semantic annotation of geospatial data for agriculture
  • Applying an agricultural ontology to web-based applications

30 May 2009

Special issue: Rurality and sustainability

International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology 8(2-4) 2009
  • Multitasking in the rural world: technological change and sustainability
  • Mapping rurality: analysis of rural structure in Turkey
  • Organic agriculture as a new player in sustainable regional development? Case studies of rural areas in Eastern Germany
  • Rural restructuring and local/regional governance in the Baltic States after 1990
  • Rural development programmes and strategic environmental assessment: towards a sustainable rural territory
  • The innovation of policy making in rural areas: the Milan case study
  • Assessing the impacts of local and imported produce on the public and the environment
  • Role of multicriteria decision-aid (MCDA) to promote sustainable agriculture: heterogeneous data and different kinds of actors in a decision process
  • Building a static farm level spatial microsimulation model for rural development and agricultural policy analysis in Ireland
  • Decoupling and agricultural investment with disinvestment flexibility: a case study
  • Food security and sustainability policy in Asia
  • Characteristics of rural smallholder communities in northern Vietnam, with particular emphasis on dairy farming

Special issue: Learning, learning organisation and the global enterprise

International Journal of Learning and Change 3(4) 2009
  • Learning, learning organisations and the global enterprise
  • Cultural differences in business management programmes – implications for teaching and learning
  • Looking through the critical lens: the global learning organisation model
  • Cage Painting within the fifth discipline of learning organisations
  • Organisational learning and leadership: on metaphor, meaning making, liminality and intercultural communication
  • Deep stakeholders – reading cultures

29 May 2009

Call for papers: Engineering Design At All Scales

Call for papers: Engineering Design At All Scales

A special issue of International Journal of Design Engineering

Recent developments in hybrid intelligent machines, mechatronics, MEMS and nano devices has led to engineering design being reviewed at all scales.

The availability of dedicated and advanced simulation tools which are possibly sufficiently accurate to design and predict novel systems and processes could be key to achieve a leap in the way new systems at all scales are designed, especially if high order phenomena appearing at small scales are taken into consideration for micro and nanoscale.

In order to fully understand the variance of the design methodologies and procedures from large to small scales, it becomes crucial to highlight the aspects that may constitute key difference when downscaling a system. “System” here is taken to mean a machine, a machine element or a mechatronic device.

Design experiences and case studies within education or industry on a variety of systems at various scales are welcome in this special issue. It is fundamental to highlight design methodologies and/or procedures that were considered as being dependant on the scale.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Design methodologies at all scales
  • Standard machines
  • Large scale systems: telescopes, VLTI, space applications.
  • Micromachines
  • MEMS
  • Mechatronics
  • Nanoscale systems
  • Interdisciplinary design
  • Integrated design
  • Intelligent systems
  • Functional systems
Important Dates
Submission of papers: 15 October, 2009
First decision notification: 15 November, 2009
Submission of revised papers: 15 December, 2009
Final decision notification: 15 January, 2010

Call for papers: The Impact of Global Recession on Financial Markets

Call for papers: The Impact of Global Recession on Financial Markets

A special issue of Afro-Asian Journal of Finance and Accounting

The theme of this special issue is to assess the impact of the current global recession on financial markets. Its primary objective is to enrich our understanding of those complex inter-relationships that exist between real and financial markets within the context of global recession and financial market crises.

Given the extensive breadth and depth of the current global financial crisis, it is likely that the impact of the ensuing global recession on financial markets will be relatively severe and long-lasting. While developed, emerging, and frontier markets are all impacted by the present crisis, the immediate and longer-term effects are expected to vary given the differing characteristics of these markets.

In particular, we wish to focus attention on the impact of the crisis upon the Afro-Asian and Asia Pacific regions in the light of the specific features of this area. These features include important differences in
  • the nature and development of economic systems;
  • market structures, including scope of regulation and financial instruments;
  • institutional frameworks; etc.
Such differences should produce substantial variation in the degree and extent to which the global recession and financial crisis affects financial markets.

Potential topics include but are not restricted to:
  • Analysis of linkages between real markets and financial markets, e.g. investigating the extent to which financial market prices (i) reflect and/or anticipate actual business conditions; (ii) represent or distort asset values in the real economy, before and during periods of crisis, etc.
  • Analysis of linkages among financial markets, within and across countries, e.g. information efficiency of prices; financial contagion; market decoupling; flight-to-quality effects; transmission of return and volatility news across markets, etc.
  • Cross-comparative studies that identify important differences between the Afro-Asian region and elsewhere relative to the causes and effects of observed linkages among markets.
  • Impact of the crisis on diversification benefits; arbitrage opportunities; limits to arbitrage, etc.
  • Impact of government responses to the crisis, e.g. large increases in the levels of government debt; stimulation packages; government bailouts and guarantees of financial institutions; changing regulation of financial institutions, including limits to short selling; interest rate policy, etc.
  • Role of the crisis as a catalyst for major changes in economies and financial markets, e.g. fundamental change in industry composition; re-assessment of investment strategies by governments, superannuation funds, etc.
Important Date
Submission deadline: 31 December, 2009

Special issue: The northern dimension of European logistics

World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research 2(4) 2009
  • Transit traffic route selection – a comparison of the transit routes to Russia from a company viewpoint
  • Finnish-Russian transport and business expectations
  • The emergence and significance of dry ports: the case of the Port of Goteborg
  • The intermodal and noncontainerised supply chain connecting Northern Europe to North America
  • Impacts of the ISPS code on port activities: a case study on Swedish ports
  • A cross-disciplinary approach to minimising the risks of maritime transport in the Gulf of Finland
  • External economies and strategic cooperation: structural equation modelling with Finnish data
  • From standard 3PL provider to service developer: a case study from the Swedish furniture industry

28 May 2009

Call for papers: Advances in Multi-Axis Machining and Machine Tool Control

Call for papers: Advances in Multi-Axis Machining and Machine Tool Control

A special issue of International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems

Multi-axis machining is an umbrella term that covers several different machining concepts. The traditional "multi-axis" unit is a three-axis milling machine with two additional rotational axes, located either in the spindle head or on the machine table. Nowadays, however, any configurable combination of linear and rotational axes can be employed. Broader multi-axis concept includes robots and hexapod machines, which offer higher speeds, higher accelerations, and better stiffness at lower cost. Modern multi-axis complete machining refers to a machine concept that can perform both turning and five-axis milling.

This special issue invites the submission of high quality research articles related to advances in multi-axis machining and machine tool control systems.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Advanced control algorithms and strategies
  • Multi-axis electrical discharge machining
  • Multi-axis non-traditional machining
  • Multi-axis turning/milling
  • Multitask machines and machining
  • Novel CNC designs for multi-axis machine tool control
  • Open-architecture machine tool control systems
  • Optimisation for high-performance machining
  • Sensor-assisted machining
  • Simulation of machining systems
  • Workpiece and tool handling in multi-axis machining
Important Date
Submission: 31 December 2009

Call for papers: Advances in Robotics and Biomechatronics

Call for papers: Advances in Robotics and Biomechatronics

A special issue of International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems

Biomechatronics is an applied interdisciplinary field encompassing biology, neurosciences, mechanics, mechanical elements, electronics and robotics. This special issue will cover state-of-the-art technologies that enable sensory and motor interaction between biological-human and artificial-mechatronic systems. It invites the submission of high quality research articles related to advances in robotics and biomechatronics systems.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Biologically inspired robotics and mechatronics designs
  • Biomaterials and materials processing for biomechatronics
  • Assistive and rehabilitating mechatronics devices for humans
  • Wearable robotics and sensors
  • Bipedal walking robots
  • Muscle-based actuators for robotic and prosthetic applications
  • Hybrid mechatronics devices containing both living tissue and synthetic components
Important Date
Submission of manuscripts: 30 September 2009

Call for papers: Hospitality and Tourism Management

Call for papers: Hospitality and Tourism Management

A special issue of International Journal of Revenue Management

Revenue management or yield management is a scientific technique that combines operations research, statistics, and customer relationship management. Revenue management is an increasingly common strategy to maximize revenue (and profits) in the hospitality and tourism industry. This special issue aims to provide an international forum for the communication with the complex role of revenue management in hospitality and tourism management. Its objectives are to secure creative, innovative concepts, strategies, theories and methodologies from policy makers, government agencies, academic and research institutions and persons concerned with this important topic and its related issues.

The special issue seeks papers that attempt to address some of the key challenges of hospitality and tourism management, including (but not limited to) the following themes:
  • Yield or revenue management in the hospitality Industry
  • Hospitality management
  • Tourism management
  • Marketing and segmentation
  • Consumer behaviour
  • Risk and investment strategies
  • Sustainability and green issues
  • Customer relationship management
  • Knowledge management and value creation
  • Branding, segmentation, and channel management
  • E-commerce/e-business
  • Production and operations management
  • Business processes and management
  • Forecasting
  • Pricing/dynamic pricing/option pricing
  • Economics of revenue management
  • Human resource management
  • Accounting and finance
  • Performance measure and evaluation
Important Dates
Full paper due: 30 November, 2009
Notification of status of paper: 31 December, 2009
Notification of acceptance and Review Results: 31 March, 2010
Final version of paper due: 30 April, 2010

Special issue: Design space exploration and optimisation in product development

International Journal of Product Development 9(1-3) 2009
  • The hyper-radial visualisation method for multi-attribute decision-making under uncertainty
  • Case studies in concept exploration and selection with s-Pareto frontiers
  • Functional design and optimisation of parametric CAD models in a knowledge-based PLM environment
  • Matrix-based decomposition algorithms for engineering applications: the survey and generic framework
  • Automating morphological chart exploration: a multi-objective genetic algorithm to address compatibility and uncertainty
  • Dimensioning a product in preliminary design through different exploration techniques
  • Approximated unimodal region elimination-based global optimisation method for engineering design
  • Multi-objective design optimisation using multiple adaptive spatially distributed surrogates
  • A preference-performance hybrid method for surrogate model updating in engineering design optimisation
  • Intelligent sampling-based adaptive space-mapping response surface method for sheet metal forming optimisation
  • Design space exploration in embodiment design: an application to the design of aircraft air conditioners

27 May 2009

Call for papers: Development of Embedded Systems: Modelling, Verification, Scheduling, Implementation and Reconfiguration

Call for papers: Development of Embedded Systems: Modelling, Verification, Scheduling, Implementation and Reconfiguration

A special issue of International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control

The development of mechatronic and embedded systems (MES) is not an easy activity because they have to satisfy user requirements in addition to their time-to-market that has to be ever shorter these days. Nowadays in academia and also in industry, several rich and interesting research works have been carried out to optimise the development process of such systems in order to accelerate their deployment. This special issue is interested in optimal models, architectures, verifications, implementations and reconfigurations of embedded systems.

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Component-based development
  • Modelling and verification
  • Real-time systems
  • Real-time scheduling
  • Low-power scheduling
  • Code generation
  • Simulation of embedded systems
  • Static and dynamic reconfigurations
  • Industrial case studies
  • Computational intelligence
  • Power and performance evaluation of embedded systems
  • Security for industrial applications
  • Automated manufacturing systems
  • Intelligent robots and systems
  • Reliability and safety of industrial systems
  • Software engineering in industry
  • IEC standards
  • Industrial control
  • Discrete event systems
  • Industrial communication systems
  • Networked embedded systems
Important Date
Submission deadline: 15 December, 2009

Special issue: Supply chain management: a strategic factor for competitiveness

International Journal of Procurement Management 2(4) 2009

Papers from the First Conference on Logistics and Supply Chain Management held in Zaragoza, Spain, 12 September 2007.
  • Implementing a reverse logistics system: a case study
  • Logistics management systems: an approach for the evaluation, integration and improvement of logistics processes
  • Determining elasticities in discrete choice models
  • Analysis of trans-Pyrenean railway bottlenecks
  • Collaboration stimulation through supply chain simulation
Additional paper
  • Public procurement corruption and its implications on effective service delivery in Uganda: an empirical study

Special issue: Robotics and manufacturing automation

International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems 2(3) 2009
  • RI-MACS: an innovative approach for future automation systems
  • Study and integration of microtechnologies for smart assembly of hybrid micro-products
  • Fault tolerance in robotics
  • Active vibration suppression techniques of a very flexible robot manipulator
  • Equipping legacy robots with vision: performance, availability and accuracy considerations
  • Development of homogeneous mobile robots for box-pushing problem
  • Intelligent mapping and outdoor localisation for mobile robots by using algorithmic DGPS and Kalman filtering
  • Design and control of a mobile manipulator with stereo vision guidance
  • Estimation and control of Automatic Guided Vehicle

26 May 2009

Call for papers: Energy Policies and Sustainable Energy Solutions

Call for papers: Energy Policies and Sustainable Energy Solutions

A special issue of Global Business and Economics Review

Climate change is becoming increasingly one of the most important global challenges of this century. The Nobel Peace Prize 2007 for Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has more or less concluded a long debate on the issue of man-made climate change. Despite the increasingly worldwide recognition of the problem of climate change and the urging importance to combat global warming, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts world primary energy demand to expand by 45% between 2006 and 2030.

To solve this tension, several energy solutions have been suggested over the last decades, going from more efficient fossil-fuelled power generation, energy-saving building design, nuclear power, over water, wind and solar energy, to the use of biofuels (biomass), carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, a hydrogen economy or even fusion. The key question is which of the above approaches will turn out to offer the most effective and efficient solution to handle the challenge of the increased demand for energy within the context of the climate change.

This special issue covers economical, political, regulatory and business aspects of sustainable energy innovations; questions addressed include but are not limited to.
  • What are sustainable solutions for this global phenomenon which surpasses national boundaries, political ideologies, and economic systems?
  • What are the economic effects of global warming?
  • Which sustainable solutions also provide a sound business case?
  • How do policy makers have an impact on economic choices?
  • How can we foster innovation in this sector?
  • How can we handle the vast amount of uncertainties?
We welcome quantitative empirical studies covering the economic impact and solutions of global warming, conceptual papers as well as policy-related papers on sustainable energy solutions.

Important Date
The deadline for submissions is: August, 1st 2009.

Special issue: Critical issues in financial information systems in a networked business economy

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations 6(4) 2009

Papers from the Sixth Wuhan International Conference on E-Business which was held in Wuhan, China, 26–27 May 2007
  • Factors that influence the exports of Pakistan
  • Research on cost allocation for interorganisational systems
  • Using networks to access international internship opportunities
  • Financial intermediations, underwriter reputations and underwriting risks in China's stock market
  • The dynamic relationship between spot and futures prices of the soybean futures market in China
  • An empirical examination of the corporate social performance – the financial performance relationship in China based on the different measures perspective
  • The measure of intrinsic value and bubble: application of an improved Ohlson LIM model to Chinese A-stock
  • SAD effect on the return volatility and dynamic relevance analysis among the unexpected returns in China's market indices
Additional paper
  • A survey on network neutrality: a new form of discrimination based on network profiling

Special issue: Biosecurity research and strategy: responding to evolving threats and challenges

International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management 12(2-4) 2009

  • The meaning and practice of biosecurity
  • Biosecurity from the ecologist's perspective: developing a more comprehensive approach
  • Terrorism, biosecurity and endogenous risk
  • Risk assessment and management of animal disease-related biosecurity
  • Pathogen security: the illusion of security in foreign policy and biodefence
  • The bug and the bomb: medical readiness as a national strategic priority
  • The future of biosecurity
  • Societal stability, public health and primary care as three pillars of defence in biosecurity
  • Enhancing biosecurity through early recognition and reporting of public health risks: meeting the challenges of the revised international health regulations
  • Simulation to assess the efficacy of US airport entry screening of passengers for pandemic influenza
  • Facility location and multi-modality mass dispensing strategies and emergency response for biodefence and infectious disease outbreaks
  • Biosecurity, international trade and invasive species: improving US capacity to assess risk
  • Material control and accountability for laboratory biosecurity
Submitted papers
  • Strategies to improve the communication of probability information in risk analyses
  • A test of the relationship between self-classified financial risk-tolerance and investment risk-taking behaviour

Media partner for three vehicle conferences

Inderscience will be a media partner for three forthcoming vehicle conferences:

Military Vehicles Exhibition & Conference
- Detroit, 11-12 August 2009
2nd Annual Heavy Vehicles Summit - Washington DC, September 2009
2nd Annual Military Vehicle Maintenance Summit – December 2009

The journals involved are:

International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management
International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems
International Journal of Vehicle Autonomous Systems
International Journal of Vehicle Design
International Journal of Vehicle Information and Communication Systems
International Journal of Vehicle Noise and Vibration
International Journal of Vehicle Safety
International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing

25 May 2009

First issue: International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies

International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies focuses on experimental, theoretical and application aspects of computational intelligence. Particular emphasis is given to latest techniques in the fields of image processing, pattern recognition, and signal processing in general.

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

First issue: International Journal of Industrial Electronics and Drives

International Journal of Industrial Electronics and Drives presents state-of-the-art research work in the area of industrial electronics, power converters and drives with an emphasis on those investigations which have significant potential for industrial applications. The journal highlights new topologies and control methodologies and reports on the limitations faced by existing industrial drives and converter units.

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

First issue: International Journal of Critical Accounting

International Journal of Critical Accounting is concerned with theoretical and empirical aspects of critical accounting and related issues and is intended for academia and the professional accounting community. Papers examine emerging trends in critical accounting and fast-changing concerns faced by corporations, government and regulators from a comprehensive range of areas.

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

Special issue: Modelling and simulation education

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling 5(1) 2009
  • A model for multidisciplinary graduate education in modelling and simulation
  • Embedding simulation education into the engineering management body of knowledge
  • Simulation: Art or science? How to teach it?
  • Learning to build network-oriented epidemic simulation models in epidemiology education
  • Learning Operations Research online: benefits, challenges, and experiences
Submitted papers
  • A holistic approach to manufacturing systems modelling
  • An integrated simulation modelling framework for decision aids in enterprise software development process

Special issue:Medical technology in developing countries

International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management 10(3) 2009
  • International differences in cancer survival rates: the role of new drug launches
  • Improving care – improving access: the use of electronic decision support with AIDS patients in South Africa
  • Treatments, outcomes, and costs for AMI patients in Taiwan
  • India's medical device imports: 1987–2003
Submitted paper
  • The use of knowledge management in telemedicine and perceived effects on patient care activities

Special issue: Entrepreneurship and regional development

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business 8(4) 2009
  • Ethnic entrepreneurship in a multicultural context: regional development and the unintended lock-in effects
  • The phenomenon of information technology for small community-based businesses
  • Enterprise in deprived areas: what role for start-ups?
  • Promoting knowledge transfer to Czech SMEs: the role of human resource development in increasing absorptive capacity
  • Innovation among SMEs: evidence from the Yorkshire and Humber region
  • Strategy formulation in SMEs: indications from a longitudinal study
  • The impact of R&D strategy and firm size on the returns to innovation

Special issue: High performance computing in parallel and distributed systems

International Journal of High Performance Computing and Networking 5(5/6) 2008

Papers from 11th IEEE International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Systems (ICPADS-2005) held in Fukuoka, Japan, 20–22 July, 2005
  • Autonomous topology optimisation for unstructured Peer-To-Peer networks
  • Load balancing based concurrent execution of NAS parallel benchmarks with BYTE sequential benchmarks on a non-dedicated cluster
  • Reconciliation of compound actions in internet-based distributed collaborative systems
  • A hybrid connector for efficient web servers
  • Lazy home-based protocol for a software distributed shared memory system
  • A computing model for improving marketable quality and profitability of corporations
  • A broadband P2P MoD system: its implementation and application
  • Synchronous transmission protocol for exchanging real-time and non-real-time multimedia data in group communications
  • Effective admission and congestion control for interconnection networks of cluster computing systems
  • A GA-based QoS multicast routing algorithm for large-scale networks
Submitted Paper
  • Implicit layer coordination in arbitrary non-cumulative layered multicasting

Special issue: AINA'2008

International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining 4(1) 2009

Papers from the 22nd IEEE International Conference on Advanced Information Networking held in Okinawa, Japan, 25-28 March 2008
  • Statistical analysis and prioritisation of alarms in mobile networks
  • Acquisition of a classification model for a risk search system from unbalanced textual examples
  • A networked virtual environment for teaching handwritten characters through shared haptisation
  • Discrimination of personal web pages by extracting subjective expressions
  • Effective ubiquitous service provisioning based on Knowledge Circulation Framework
  • A purpose-based synchronisation protocol of multiple transactions in multi-agent systems

Special issue: Future of software engineering and multi-agent systems

International Journal of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering 3(4) 2009

Papers from a workshop at the Seventh International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 2008 (AAMAS, 2008) held in Estoril, Portugal, 12-16 May 2008
  • Moving multi-agent systems from research to practice
  • How to get multi-agent systems accepted in industry?
  • The gap between software engineering and multi-agent systems: bridging the divide
  • Industry traction for MAS technology: would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?
  • Future directions for agent-based software engineering
  • Opportunities to support the widespread adoption of software agent technologies
Additional Paper
  • Using three AOSE toolkits to develop a sample design

Special issue: Coordination of service providers in humanitarian aid

International Journal of Services Technology and Management 12(4) 2009
  • Managing information cycles for intra-organisational coordination of humanitarian logistics
  • A humanitarian supply chain process reference model
  • Logistics relief response model: the case of Thailand's tsunami affected area
  • A consideration of the relevance of lean supply chain concepts for humanitarian aid provision

Special issue: Collaborative service development

International Journal of Services Technology and Management 12(3) 2009
  • Tug of war in innovation – coopetitive service development
  • Intellectual property protection in collaborative innovation activities within services
  • Performance impact of corporate entrepreneurship in the service sector: a contingency approach
  • Users as sources for radical service innovations: opportunities from collaboration with service lead users
  • Collaboration with users of innovative healthcare services – the role of service familiarity

Special issue: Service management in China

International Journal of Services Technology and Management 12(2) 2009
  • What is the most important predictor of employees' turnover intention in Chinese call centre: job satisfaction, organisational commitment or career commitment?
  • New service development using GAP-based QFD: a mobile telecommunication case
  • Customer social norm attribute of services: why does it matter and how do we deal with it?
  • Understanding Chinese enterprises' adoption of enterprise short message services: combining IDT and TTF
  • An empirical study on the influential factors of travel agency websites quality based on the users' perception
  • The analysis of service station allocation in the hospital based on bottleneck model

Special issue: Nanoelectronics

International Journal of Nanotechnology 6(7/8) 2009

Papers from 2nd IEEE International Nanoelectronics Conference held in Shanghai, China, 24-27 March 2008
  • The high-field drift velocity in degenerately-doped silicon nanowires
  • Solubility, dispersion and bonding of functionalised carbon nanotubes in epoxy resins
  • Complementary multi-gate tunnelling FETs: fabrication, optimisation and application aspects
  • Local bond average for the size and temperature dependence of elastic and vibronic properties of nanostructures
  • Structure and wetting properties of metal polymer nanocomposites
  • Surface studies of carbon-based ZnO nanocomposite films
  • On the channel length dependence of negative bias temperature instability in nano-CMOS technology
  • Evaluation of adhesion pull-off performance of nanoparticle-based inkjet-printed silver structure on various substrates
  • Nano-scale modification and doping of diamond: interesting science and promising technology
  • Masked ion beam irradiation of high-temperature superconductors: patterning of nano-size regions with high point-defect density
  • Dynamic tuning of slow light transmission in manual nanostructure photonic crystal waveguide
  • Synthesis and random laser application of ZnO nano-walls: a review
  • Effect of chemical oxidation on the gas sensing properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes
  • Study of photoluminescence quenching and DC conductivity measurements in polymer-SWNT composite films for various SWNT concentrations
  • Room-temperature synthesis and characterisation of ion-induced iron-carbon nanocomposite fibres
  • Fabrication of carbon-nanotube enhanced piezoelectric membrane for biosensor application

Special issue: Advanced ceramics: innovative strategies for their preparation, characterisation and modelling

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology 35(3/4) 2009
  • The Electrophoretic Deposition of Bioglass®/Carbon Nanotube composite layers for bioactive coatings
  • DFT modelling of ceramic materials and interfaces
  • Crystallographic texture optimisation in polycrystalline ferroelectric films for Random Access Memory applications
  • Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy in the analysis of microstructural changes of Y-TZP ceramics
  • Engineering of high performance injection moulded ceramic components by Polarised Light Optical Texture Analysis (PLOTA)
  • Manufacturing of nanocomposite structural ceramic materials and coatings
  • Modelling of micromechanical fracture for ceramic composites through the Voronoi Cell Finite Element approach
  • Modelling Microstructures with OOF2
  • YAG wet-chemical synthesis from chlorides and nitrates precursors: effect on phase evolution and powder sinterability
  • Alumina-YAG composites: preparation, experimental characterisation and numerical modelling
  • On the use of Fluidised Bed Coating (FBC) to deposit thin Al2O3 films onto metal substrates
  • Thermal sprayed ceramic coatings: fundamental issues and application considerations

Special issue: Intelligent machining: computational methods and optimisation

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology 35(1/2) 2009
  • Milling optimisation of removal rate and accuracy with uncertainty: Part 1: parameter selection
  • Milling optimisation of removal rate and accuracy with uncertainty: Part 2: parameter variation
  • New perspective in process optimisation of variable pitch milling
  • Application of decision analysis to milling profit maximisation: an introduction
  • Prediction and verification of models of burr formation
  • Neural Network prediction of dry grinding by CBN grinding wheel using special conditioning
  • Multi-objective optimisation of multipass turning by using a genetic algorithm
  • A soft computing based optimisation of multi-pass turning processes
  • Optimisation of surface roughness in hard turning AISI D2 steel using TSK-type fuzzy logic rules
  • Application of wavelet packet transform based Normalised Radial Basis Function Network in a machining process
  • Performance studies of Wire Electro Discharge Machining (WEDM) of Inconel 718
  • Application of goal programming technique for Electro Discharge Machining (EDM) characteristics of cemented carbide (WC/Co)
  • Predicting burr size in drilling of AISI 316L stainless steel using response surface analysis
  • Neural network process modelling for turning of steel parts using conventional and wiper inserts

Special issue: Freedom and boundaries

International Journal of Web Based Communities 5(3) 2009
  • Determinants for success in online learning communities
  • Sharing information across community portals with FOAFRealm
  • An exploratory study of the functionality and business potential of a virtual community for artists in Greece
  • Seeking an online community for professional development discourse: a content analysis of teachers' blogs
  • Supporting a virtual community of tutors in experience capitalising
  • Sense of community among mobile language learners: can blogs support this?
  • A member interface approach to a mobile virtual community of practice
  • Fractures between an online and offline community (and the ethical responses)

Special issue: Networks for innovation – selected papers from the XVII ISPIM Conference

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management 10(3/4) 2009
  • Venture capital dynamics, the public sector and the high technology industry
  • The impact of market and entrepreneurial orientation on innovativeness: an empirical assessment
  • Managing the front end of innovation with a group support system
  • The new product quality/NPD performance relationship as mediated by NPD entry strategies
  • A physical work environment for knowledge sharing in organisations
  • Modularity and strategic dilemmas within an innovative industry: the functional foods and nutraceuticals (FFN) case in Canada
  • Technology sourcing – how biotechnology cooperation works
  • A meta-analysis on the influence of national culture on innovation capability
  • Innovation topics under debate at the EC: the opinions of Italian entrepreneurs, academics and policy makers

Special issue:Innovation for growth – selected papers from the XVIII ISPIM Conference

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management 10(2) 2009
  • Participative innovation: when innovation becomes everyone's business
  • Reasons for incomplete innovation implementation: why do they matter?
  • The impact of formally documented NPD processes, decision-making centralisation and NPD performance on organisational competitiveness
  • Innovation management in technology-related knowledge-intensive business services
  • The impact of diversifying technologies in related areas on firm's profitability: the case of Canon's copying machines and printers
  • Financial bootstrapping and social capital: how technology-based start-ups fund innovation
  • Geography of technological cooperation: the Russian study

Special issue: Achieving excellence through quality and productivity improvement

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management 4(5/6) 2009
  • Application of QFD and VA tools in the design of an automobile
  • Flow shop operator scheduling through constraint satisfaction and constraint optimisation techniques
  • A new method in selective assembly for components with skewed distributions
  • Low cost automation and poka yoke devices: tools for optimising production processes
  • Quality improvement of multistage and multi-response grinding processes: an insight into two different methodologies for parameter optimisation
  • A quality assessment tool for improvement planning
  • Six Sigma in services – challenges and opportunities
  • Integrating Six Sigma and maintenance excellence with QFD
  • Simulation model for the design of lean manufacturing systems – a case study
  • Business practices and information strategy in performance improvement
  • Applicability of Six Sigma for asset management

Special issue: Automated data collection systems (bar code/RFID): methodology, design architecture and applications

International Journal of Radio Frequency Identification Technology and Applications 2(3/4) 2009
  • Empirical applications of RFID in the manufacturing environment
  • RFID and the cash-to-cash cycle
  • Design of measurement system for quality improvement in multi-stage manufacturing systems
  • The impact of introducing RFID patrol system into rolling mill manufacturing: an empirical study on maintenance management
  • The configuration of a multi-agent-based inventory replenishment simulation system for RFID-enabled TFT-LCD supply chain
  • Data exchange strategy for manufacturing simulation of shop floor information systems

Special issue: Agent and multi-agent systems in e-business

International Journal of Intelligent Information and Database Systems 3(2) 2009
  • MECIMPLAN: an agent-based methodology for planning
  • A reputation-based model for semi-competitive multi-agent systems
  • An approach for multi-agent coordination based on semantic approximation
  • A novel strategy for multi-resource load balancing in agent-based systems
  • A multi-agent framework for stock trading

Special issue: Environmental biotechnology: Part Two

International Journal of Environment and Pollution 37(2/3) 2009
  • Growth response and tolerance of Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi L) to arsenic in spiked soils
  • Performance evaluation of an aerobic biofilter with high organics containing synthetic wastewater
  • Effects of environmental conditions on the phosphorus distribution of constructed duckweed (Lemna minor) microcosm
  • Flocculation properties of bioflocculant MBF-7 produced by Penicillium purpurogenum in kaolin suspension
  • Characteristics of municipal wastewater treatment by moving-bed biofilm reactor
  • Treatment of municipal sewage by Biological Aerated Filter (BAF) using burned clay pellet as media
  • Bioaugmentation as a tool to accelerate the start-up of anoxic-oxic process in a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant at low temperature
  • Identification and characteristic analysis of microorganisms in an integrated bioreactor for odours treatment
  • Aerobic biodegradation of hexachlorobenzene by an acclimated microbial community
  • Nitrogen removal in tertiary wastewater treatment plant of a chemical complex
  • Real-time PCR quantification of ammonia-oxidising bacteria in aerobic granular sludge and activated sludge influenced by pentachlorophenol
  • Decolourisation of azo dye containing synthetic wastewater in a rotating biological contactor reactor: a factorial design study
  • Biosorption of strontium ion by immobilised Aspergillus niger
  • Biosorption of Co(II) by immobilised Pleurotus ostreatus
  • DNA-protein crosslinks induced by formaldehyde and its repair process
  • The performance of a modified Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) treating high strength synthetic wastewater
  • The effects of organic loading rate on the performance of an Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) treating beet sugar wastewater: pilot experiments
  • Bioaccumulation of azo dye using immobilised beads of Aspergillus fumigatus
  • Effects of electrolysis stress on the growth of Microcystis aeruginosa
  • Biosorption of thallium by dry biofilm biomass collected from a eutrophic lake

13 May 2009

Special issue: Sensors in the information age

International Journal of Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications 7(1) 2009
  • Imputation of missing sensor data values using in-exact replicas
  • Design of embedded differential equation solver
  • Stream processing for fast and efficient rotated Haar-like features using rotated integral images
  • Modelling of coastal erosion and accretion of remotely sensed data
  • Detection and classification of volatile organic compounds using Indium Tin Oxide sensor array and artificial neural network
  • Non-invasive monitoring of temperature distribution inside materials with ultrasound inversion method
  • Characterisation of magnetic materials: determination of parameters of Preisach models of hysteresis
  • Wall-following control of an infrared sensors guided wheeled mobile robot
  • Laser and vision sensing for obstacle avoidance and target seeking for a simple mobile robot

Special issue: The International Emergency Management Society

International Journal of Emergency Management 5(3/4) 2008

Papers from the TIEMS (The International Emergency Management Society) 15th Annual Conference held in Prague, Czech Republic, 17 - 19 June 2008
  • Towards a model for team learning in multidisciplinary crisis management teams
  • The professional development of planners, developers and managers of crisis team exercises
  • The role of information technology in maritime education for hazard avoidance
  • Towards a research framework for critical infrastructure interdependencies
  • Emergency management international: improving national and international disaster preparedness and response
  • Emergency cooperation between the USA and Mexico in disaster management: co-dependency and geopolitics
  • Emergency management structure for use in the Alaska Native elderly population
  • Accident scenarios for marshalling yards in The Netherlands: private or public fire fighting
  • A plan for (certain) failure: possibilities for and challenges of more realistic emergency plans
  • Disaster response: community mental health service capacity in the USA
  • Improving emergency response capability: an approach for strengthening learning from emergency response evaluations
  • Business continuity as an adaptive social process

Special issue: Public values in infrastructures: three disciplinary views

International Journal of Public Policy 4(5) 2009
  • Public values theory: three big questions
  • Flexible markets, inert law: why accessibility and affordability to network services cannot be safeguarded through legal rules
  • Public values in the energy sector: economic perspectives
  • From clouds to hailstorms: a policy and administrative science perspective on safeguarding public values in networked infrastructures
  • Matching regulatory arrangements with public values in the provision of energy and telecommunications: one view
  • Value dynamics and infrastructure reform

11 May 2009

Call for papers: Revenue Management in Transportation Services

Call for papers: Revenue Management in Transportation Services

A special issue of International Journal of Revenue Management

Revenue and yield management are strongly identified with the dynamic pricing of fares for commercial air travel and the discounting of tariffs by freight carriers to attract and retain business. This special issue, while recognizing recent innovation in these traditional areas, will emphasize applied research on other topics important to the generation of revenue from transportation services.

The selected papers will comprise original research (quantitative and qualitative) that is pertinent to the development of transportation policy and improvement of transportation services. It will also address the interplay between transportation services and revenue management in domestic and international supply chains.

Welcome are submissions of original research and case studies dealing with topics which include but are not limited to:
  • Capacity planning
  • Customer relations management
  • Market segmentation
  • Ratemaking strategies
  • Transportation logistics
  • Statistical modelling
  • Demand forecasting
  • Strategic alliances
  • Supply chain management
  • Differential pricing
  • Dynamic pricing
  • Data mining and business intelligence
  • Decision support systems
  • Performance metrics
  • Scheduling
  • International issues
  • Public versus private services
Important Dates
Full paper due: 15 January, 2010
Notification of status of paper: 15 February, 2010
Notification of acceptance and Review Results: 1 June, 2010
Final version of paper due: 15 September, 2010

Call for papers: Internet Technology: Emerging Technologies & Applications

Call for papers: Internet Technology: Emerging Technologies & Applications

A special issue of International Journal of Electronic Business

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in academia, industry and the government sectors has witnessed a tremendous growth in the recent years. Research in this area has in turn invoked an interest among academics. This special issue aims to study the growth areas in the above applications and understand the future scope and path. This issue also tries to evaluate newly emerging applications in areas such as entertainment, journalism etc.

The 1st International Conference on Information Systems & Software Engineering aims to provide an excellent opportunity for academics, scientists, industry experts and students to present and discuss a range of topics in the areas of web technology, eBusiness and inter related emerging areas.

This special issue will include a collection of best papers presented at ICISSE 09: 1st International Conference on Information Systems & Software Engineering. It will also feature papers submitted to the journal which are not connected with the Conference.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
  • Internet Technology
  • Metadata and metamodelling
  • XML and data management
  • Knowledge management
  • Web security and privacy
  • Cyber threats
  • Web services and web engineering
  • Web intelligence
  • Wireless applications
  • Protocols and standards
  • Network systems, proxies and servers
  • Multimedia applications using web services
  • Ontology and the semantic web
  • E-Business
  • B2B, B2C and C2C
  • e-Business system design and development
  • e-Payment
  • Portal strategies
  • Social networks and information systems
  • Social and legal issues
  • Digital ecology
  • e-Governance
  • e-Learning and virtual classrooms
  • e-Entertainment
  • e-Journalism
Important Dates
Submission of papers : 15 December, 2009
Notification of acceptance : 15 February, 2010

Call for papers: Supply Chain Operations during the World-Wide Economic Crisis

Call for papers: Supply Chain Operations during the World-Wide Economic Crisis

A special issue of International Journal of Integrated Supply Management

The global financial crisis has swept through more than two-thirds of the free economic world ever since we witnessed a colossal collapse of major financial institutions in the United States in 2008. Despite a series of government bailouts and economic stimulus plans, there is still no sign of hopes for quick recovery. Indeed, this ongoing financial crisis is believed to be the worst of its kind since Great Depression. In this time of global financial crisis, single failure in any part of the stretched supply chain can lead to a chain of failures across the entire supply chain as illustrated by the automobile industry. Thus, the viability of the companies may rely on the weakest link of their supply chains. To beef up the weakest link of the supply chain, supply chain partners should find ways to share risks and resources through coordination and integration across the entire supply chain.

With that in mind, the main purpose of this special issue is to seek research works that develop resilient supply chain frameworks and innovative thinking processes to cope with unprecedented global financial crisis. As such, all submitted papers are expected to address the core issue of this journal - integration. In particular, we seek cutting edge advances, concepts, practices, and research agenda in supply chain crisis/risk management.

Studies that build theory or test theory with rigor are especially welcomed. Studies that extend existing theory in different contexts of risk and crisis management or different cultural environments (e.g., emerging economies) are also welcomed. Furthermore, papers that synthesize the past evolution of supply chain crisis/risk management and provide future research directions are strongly encouraged. This special issue is open to a variety of research methodologies that encompass mathematical models, simulation, rigorous case studies, exploratory studies, or empirical studies based on questionnaire surveys.

The topics of interest are included but are not limited to the following:
  • Global supply chain resilience
  • Supply chain cost control using activity based management
  • Lean supply chain management by doing more with less
  • Asset management in the logistics industry (including trucking firms, third party logistics providers, warehousing firms)
  • Assessment of supply chain risks
  • Disruptions in global sourcing
  • Logistics service pricing
  • Financial logistics
  • Revenue/yield management
  • Fuel management
  • Outsourcing relationship management
  • Downsizing in the logistics or supply network
  • Mergers/acquisitions and their impact on supply chain resilience
  • Financial implications of strategic alliance or supply chain partnerships
  • Performance measurement and benchmarking of supply chain operations
  • Institutional perspectives or the government's role in supply chain management
Important Dates
Full paper due: 30 June, 2009
Notification of acceptance: 31 August, 2009
Final version of the paper due: 31 October, 2009

Special issue: The role of third/fourth party logistics providers in logistics and supply chain management

International Journal of Services Technology and Management 12(1) 2009
  • Conceptual study on 3PL/4PL/ new trends for service industry
  • Selection of Third Party Logistics Provider in supply chain
  • Selection of 3PL service providers: a combined approach of AHP and Graph theory
  • 3PRLP's selection using an integrated analytic hierarchy process and linear programming
  • Influence of 3PL in tolerance synthesis of an assembly: a successive case study
  • Aligning 3PL service bundles with relational integration: a conceptual model
  • A heuristic based approach to vehicle routing model for Third Party Reverse Logistics provider

Special issue: Use of Web 2.0 tools to enhance teaching and learning

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning 19(2/3) 2009
  • A teacher's reflections on educational applications of blogs with a postgraduate class
  • In-service teachers' experiential learning in a Weblog-based environment
  • Use of wikis in K-12 and higher education: a review of the research
  • Enhancing managerial competencies through a wiki-learning space
  • Designing a web-based learning environment using weblogs and podcasts
  • Group interaction in a web 2.0 based learning environment: a sociogram analysis
  • Design of a web 2.0 learning laboratory for developing Managerial Competencies
  • Combining Web 2.0 technology and problem-based learning in a blended learning environment
  • Building students' habits of mind: a 4-layer model using Web 2.0 tools
  • Affordances of Facebook for learning
Additional paper
  • Exploring education driven entrepreneurship in engineering graduates in India

7 May 2009

Special issue: Nanostructured materials for photonics applications

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology 34(4) 2009
  • Structured surfaces and applications
  • Nanostructured MOEMS for spectral control of light
  • Bidimensional Photonic Crystals for integrated optics
  • The role of index contrast in dielectric optical waveguides
  • Pulsed Laser Deposition: passive and active waveguides
  • Organic Light Emitting Diodes: materials, device structures and light extraction
  • Optical properties engineering for Organic Solar Cells
  • Biophotonics applications of nanometric apertures

Special issue:Web-based knowledge representation and management

International Journal of Web Engineering and Technology 5(1) 2009
  • Hybrid reasoning in the CARE middleware for context awareness
  • Softening the blow of frequent sequence analysis: soft constraints and temporal accuracy
  • Comparing two ontologies
  • Applying software evolution theory to hypermedia systems
  • Context information for knowledge reshaping
  • Business rules for semantics-aware business modelling: overview and open issues

Special issue: Environmental decision making: global problems, local solutions

International Journal of Management and Decision Making 10(3/4) 2009

Papers from the 10th Environmental Research Event (ERE) held in Sydney, Australia, 10-13 December 2006
  • Public perception of jokulhlaup hazard and risk in Iceland: implications for community education
  • A sustainable approach oriented on eco-factors: saving urban natural resources from crises
  • The effectiveness of environmental education as a tool for social inclusion: a case study
  • Specialist accommodation operations in North Queensland: barriers to the implementation of environmental management practices
  • Seeing the forest as more than its trees: local stakeholders' perceptions of natural forest benefits in Gorontalo, Indonesia
  • Utilitarian and abstract rhetorics in ecotourism and social constructionism: the power of language
  • Community awareness of the use of alternative water sources for irrigation of golf courses: a case study of a selected site within the Sydney metropolitan area
  • Environmental conservation and Aboriginal knowledge in Australia
  • Engineering as a tool for improving human habitat
  • Defining the sustainability objectives of brownfield regeneration to greenspace

Special issue: Knowledge and innovation in the extended enterprise

International Journal of Business Process Integration and Management 3(4) 2008

Papers from the Advanced International Summer School Innovation in the Extended Enterprise held in Ostuni, Italy, 5-8 July 2006
  • Leveraging peer-to-peer and ontologies for the extended enterprise
  • On the drivers of extended enterprise and the problems of integration and governance
  • Software engineering within a dynamic digital business ecosystem
  • How to use the innovative potential of online communities? Netnography – an unobtrusive research method to absorb the knowledge and creativity of online communities
  • Semantic web-based profiled knowledge discovery in community of practice
  • Efficient join algorithms for distributed information integration based on XML

Special issue: Combustion, fuels and emission control in internal combustion engines. Part 2

International Journal of Vehicle Design 50(1-4) 2008
  • Numerical simulation of gasoline-fuelled compression ignition combustion with late direct injection
  • Experimental investigation of electrostatic effects on ethanol and ethanol-diesel blend sprays in atmospheric ambiance
  • Experimental and numerical investigation of diesel spray behaviour in high pressure common-rail systems
  • Experimental investigation of the effect of split injection on diesel engine performance
  • The effect of diesel engine conditions on the size and morphology of soot particles
  • Experimental investigation of the effect of combined hydrogen and diesel combustion on the particulate size distribution from a high speed direct injection diesel engine
  • Experimental study on the combustion characteristics of a high speed direct injection diesel engine fuelled with natural gas
  • Design issues concerning thermofluidynamic and acoustic aspects in a diesel engine suitable for aeronautical applications
  • Pollution duality in turbocharged heavy duty diesel engine
  • Engine performance and emissions from the combustion of low-temperature Fischer–Tropsch synthetic diesel fuel and biodiesel rapeseed methyl ester blends
  • NOx emissions of biodiesel as an alternative diesel fuel
  • Effect of soybean oil ethyl ester/diesel fuel blends on engine efficiency
  • Rice bran oil methyl ester fuelled medium-duty transportation engine: long-term durability and combustion investigations
  • Dual fuel operation of ethyl ester of Jatropha curcus with ethanol by fumigation
  • Combustion analysis of a direct injection diesel engine when fuelled with sunflower methyl ester and its diesel blends

6 May 2009

Special issue: Modelling, simulation and application of elastomeric components for noise, vibration and hardness control in the automotive industry

International Journal of Vehicle Design 49(4) 2009
  • Engine mounts and powertrain mounting systems: a review
  • Modelling of rubber mounts and applications for time response analysis of dynamic systems including elastomerics
  • A novel method for improving analysis precision of transient torsional vibration of engine
  • Finite Element modelling of elastomeric sealing components for cylinder-head cover noise and vibration prediction
  • Viscoelastic models for rubber mounts: influence on the dynamic behaviour of an elastomeric isolated system
  • Modelling and simulation study on application of sliding-mode control for an active anti-roll system in a passenger car with air suspension

Special issue: Governance of international technology transfer: a special focus on partners, imbalanced power

International Journal of Technology Management 48(3) 2009
  • Externality evaluation: an empirical study of ITRI
  • Mergers and acquisitions, alliances and technology development: an empirical study of the global auto industry
  • The governance of international technology transfer: evidence from case-based analyses
  • The asymmetries in strategic alliances of MNEs subsidiaries in Taiwan
  • Cost-system choice in a multidimensional knowledge space: traditional versus activity-based costing
  • Reverse knowledge and technology transfer: imbalances caused by cognitive barriers in asymmetric relationships
  • The influence of asymmetric bargaining power, mutual hostages and task characteristics on the governance structure of cross-border technology alliances

5 May 2009

Call for papers: Power Electronics in Electric/Hybrid Electric Vehicle Applications

Call for papers: Power Electronics in Electric/Hybrid Electric Vehicle Applications

A special issue of International Journal of Power Electronics

Power electronics have become an integral part of electric/hybrid electric vehicle applications. With the advent of technologies, automotive users started using power electronics in electric/hybrid electric vehicle applications. This special issue will focus on state-of-the-art research and development as well as future trends in the modelling, simulation, analysis design, control, and optimisation of advanced power and propulsion systems for automotive applications such as electric vehicles (EV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), fuel cell vehicles (FCV), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).

Topics of interest include, but are not limited, to the following.

1. Vehicular Electric Power Systems and Loads:
  • Vehicle electrical architectures
  • High voltage power systems
  • Stability of automotive power systems
  • Electric power system protection
  • Automotive by-wire systems
  • Electric steering systems
  • Electric braking systems
  • Electric power management and load control
2. Vehicular Power Electronics and Motor Drives:
  • Converters, rectifiers, inverters, power electronic systems
  • High power density power converters
  • Starter/generator applications
  • Motor drives for start-stop applications
  • High power density electrical machines for propulsion applications
  • Novel magnetic materials
  • Advanced motor control
  • Power electronics cooling, electric motor cooling
  • Auxiliary motor drives
  • Sensorless control
  • EMI/ EMC issues in automotive environment
  • Packaging
  • low cost plug-in charging systems
  • Fault tolerant converter topologies
3. Power Electronic Devices and Passives:
  • High temperature power electronic devices
  • Advances in SiC/GaN devices
  • High temperature gate drives
  • Integrated sensor applications
  • New capacitor technologies, ultracapacitors
4. Energy Storage Components/Systems:
  • Advances in automotive high voltage batteries for propulsion applications
  • Advances in battery charge balancing and cooling, charge/energy management, ultrabatteries
  • Hybrid energy storage systems
  • Batteries for extended range electric vehicles
5. Modelling, Analysis and Control:
  • Modelling and analysis of interconnected power electronic systems
  • Stability analysis of interconnected systems
  • Energy and power management
  • Thermal modelling of power electronic systems
  • EMI/ EMC modelling and prediction in power electronic systems
  • CAD/ CAE applications for system design optimisation
  • Fault management in automotive electrical systems
Important Dates
Paper due: 30 March, 2010
Acceptance notification: 30 May, 2010
Final paper version due: 30 June, 2010

Call for papers: Power Quality

Call for papers: Power Quality

A special issue of International Journal of Power Electronics

Power quality is becoming more popular in the electrical engineering discipline due to stringent regulations and norms. The power equipment manufacturer and system integrators are taking so many efforts to ensure that the reliability of the power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization networks is maintained all over the world. Keeping the importance of the above in mind, a special issue on power quality is proposed.

Possible topics include but are not limited to, the following:
  • Custom power devices (CPDs): analysis, operation and control
  • Voltage source inverter topologies for active power filters
  • Switching control techniques for VSIs used in CPDs
  • Control algorithms for generation of reference quantities
  • Design and implementation of active power filters (CPDs)
  • Algorithms/techniques for power quality measurement
  • Algorithms/techniques for power quality mitigation and improvement
  • Different categories of power quality disturbances
  • AC/DC motor drives and EMI/RFI mitigation
  • Variable frequency drive ride-through on sag and outage
  • Transient voltage surge protection
Important Dates
Paper due: 30 January, 2010
Acceptance notification: 30 March, 2010
Final paper version due: 30 May, 2010

Special issue: Emergency and disaster operations management

International Journal of Services Sciences 2(2) 2009
  • The incident commander's problem: resource allocation in the context of emergency response
  • Analysing covert social network foundation behind terrorism disaster
  • Strategic planning for disaster relief logistics: lessons from supply chain management
  • A decision support tool for emergency planning
  • A product-based emergency knowledge management model
  • Disaster risk management for critical infrastructure: a services-based viewpoint
  • Allocation of emergency and recovery centres in Hidalgo, Mexico

Special issue: Product and asset life cycle management in engineer-to-order industries

International Journal of Technology Management 48(2) 2009
  • Who is the customer? Maintaining a customer orientation in long-term service-focused projects
  • Product life cycle management in engineer-to-order industries
  • Grouping decomposition under constraints for design/build life cycle in project delivery system
  • Product platform life cycles: a multiple case study
  • Applying different control approaches for resources with high and low utilisation: a case study of the production of complex products with stochastic processing times
  • Applicability of the capability maturity model for engineer-to-order firms
  • Production and payment policies for an imperfect manufacturing system with machine maintenance and credit policies
  • A strategic product portfolio management methodology considering R&D resource constraints for engineering-to-order industries

Special issue: Technology transfer and intellectual property

International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation 8(4) 2009
  • Changing the equation for rural prosperity in a global world
  • Exploring appropriation strategies: evidence from French high-tech firms
  • Licensors face new challenges after the US Supreme Court's decision in MedImmune v. Genentech
  • Research commercialisation via spin-off: the case of a non-elite university
  • Value of university patents as a determinant of technology transfer

Special issue: Cybercrime forensics education and training

International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics 2(2) 2009

Papers from the Second International Conference on Cybercrime Forensics Education and Training (CFET, 2008) held in Canterbury, UK, 1-2 September 2008
  • IT forensics: 22 years on
  • Development of masters modules in computer forensics and cybercrime for computer science and forensic science students
  • Multidisciplinary learning using mock trials
  • New methodology in facial composite construction: from theory to practice
  • Mobile phone forensics: an overview of technical and legal aspects
  • An analysis of the accuracy and usefulness of Vinetto, Pasco and Mork.pl
  • XFT: a forensic toolkit for the original Xbox game console
  • An investigation into the technical, legal and ethical issues associated with biometrics in the UK (application to biometrics module for computing programmes)
  • Fighting cybercrime: legislation in China
  • Cybercrime – raising awareness for future professionals

3 May 2009

Call for papers: Cloud Computing: Technologies and Services

Call for papers: Cloud Computing: Technologies and Services

A special issue of International Journal of Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing

Cloud computing has emerged rapidly as an exciting new paradigm that offers a challenging model of cyber-physical services and poses fascinating problems regarding distributed resource management, ranging from information sharing to cooperative computing.

This special issue is intended to foster state-of-the-art research in the area of cloud computing technologies and services, including the topics of collaboration environment, implementation and execution of real-world architectures, and novel applications associated with this new paradigm. The published papers are expected to present high quality results for tackling problems arising from the ever-growing cloud computing technologies. The issue will serve as a landmark source for education, information, and reference to professors, researchers and graduate students interested in updating their knowledge about or active in cloud computing technologies and services. In addition, it will also collect some of the best papers from the 10th International Symposium on Pervasive Computing, Algorithms and Networks (I-SPAN 2009).

Areas of interest for this special issue include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
  • Cloud architectures and modelling
  • Services modelling, composition and delivery in cloud systems
  • Resource management for cloud systems
  • Case studies and application
  • Trustworthiness, security and privacy for cloud systems
  • Services integration and management in cloud systems
  • Optimal deployment configuration
  • Consistency models
  • Virtualisation technologies
  • Middleware frameworks
  • Software as a Service (SaaS)
  • Hardware as a Service (HaaS)
  • Web services
  • Fault tolerance and reliability
  • Utility computing
Important Dates
Manuscript due: 31 January, 2010
Acceptance notification: 31 April, 2010
Revised paper due: 31 May, 2010

Call for papers: Materials and Design for Renewable Energy

Call for papers: Materials and Design for Renewable Energy

A special issue of International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation

It is common define renewable energy as “energy generated from natural resources – such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat – which are renewable”. This form of non-conventional energy includes all natural energy sources that minimise environmental impacts relative to conventional hydrocarbon resources. This special issue emphases research and development in materials, nanomaterials, design and multi scale manufacture for renewable energy devices.

The issue invites the submission of high quality research articles related to materials and design for renewable energy. Special interest will be on applications of renewable energy devices, such as energy solar systems, fuel cell systems, photovoltaic systems, etc. This issue accepts original research articles or any other original contribution review papers, short communications on new concepts.

Topics covered by this special issue include, but are not limited to, following sources of renewable energy:
  • Photovoltaic technology conversion
  • Solar thermal applications
  • Biomass conversion
  • Biofuels
  • Water power; hydropower
  • Geothermal energy
  • Wind energy technology
  • Tidal/wave energy
Important Date
Submission: 30 June 2010

Call for papers: Examining the Success and Failure of E-Government and E-Governance: a Developing and Developed Countries Perspective

Call for papers: Examining the Success and Failure of E-Government and E-Governance: a Developing and Developed Countries Perspective

A special issue of Electronic Government, an International Journal

It has been almost a decade since e-government (generically known as the provision of online government products and services) became an issue of importance. During this decade, a substantial body of research has been established, from which lessons can be learnt. E-government research has also led to a distinction to be drawn between e-government and e-governance.

A majority of e-government and e-governance research is focused upon policies, process changes, adoption, implementation, usage, usability and accessibility. The intention of this special issue is to examine the successes and failures of e-government and e-governance, both in developed and developing countries.

In particular we welcome comparative analyses. The scope of the issue includes clearly- written descriptions of how past and current approaches to e-government and e-governance research have been carried out (e.g., case studies of e-government and e-governance) leading to success or failure. Papers providing a critical appraisal of existing e-government and e-governance approaches leading to success or failure are also welcomed. Finally, the scope of the issue includes literature reviews, philosophical essays, and analytical research regarding e-government and e-governance.

This special issue will provide a global forum for presenting theoretical and applied research and case studies on e-government and e-governance success and failure that will be authoritative, and academically rigorous.

The subject coverage of this special issue includes, but is not limited to:
  • Case studies examining and identifying successes of e-government and/or e-governance in developing countries and/or developed countries
  • Case studies examining and identifying failures of e-government and/or e-governance in developing countries and/or developed countries
  • Comparative studies of success and/or failure of e-government and/or e-governance in developing countries and/or developed countries
  • Theoretical papers addressing the issues of success and/or failure in e-government and/or e-governance from a developing and/or developed country perspective
  • Philosophical issues regarding e-government and/or e-governance successes and /or failure in developing and/or developed countries
  • Literature reviews addressing the success and/or failure of e-government and/or e-governance in developing and/or developed countries
  • Analytical studies identifying the successes and/or failure of e-government and/or e-governance in developing and/or developed countries
  • Knowledge management in electronic and mobile government
Important Dates
Early submission deadline: 30 July, 2009
Full paper deadline: 30 October, 2009
Notification of status & acceptance of paper: 4 January, 2010
Final version of paper: 4 February, 2010

Call for papers: Vermi-technology for Solid Waste Management

Call for papers: Vermi-technology for Solid Waste Management

A special issue of International Journal of Environment and Waste Management

Vermicomposting is the process of decomposition of organic matter in which the mutual actions of earthworms and micro-organisms are used to convert the organic waste into vermicompost, a rich soil fertilizer. Almost any agricultural, urban or industrial organic material can be used for vermicomposting providing that it does not contain any toxic material that can harm the earthworms.

Due to increasing urbanisation, industrial growth and high cost related to waste treatment facilities, solid waste management is done in an unsustainable manner, mainly in developing countries. This leads to serious environmental problems in terms of air, ground/surface water pollution and contribution to global warming in the absence of the leachate and gas collection systems in landfills.

Vermicomposting technology provides a sustainable and low input basis to overcome these problems through the management of organic fraction of solid waste streams. Therefore, we call for papers addressing research on vermi-technology for solid waste management and the related areas.

Original research paper or reviews are invited in the following and related areas:
  • Vermicomposting of solid wastes from different origins
  • Earthworm and microbial activity during vermicomposting
  • Growth and reproduction of earthworms
  • Fate of different parameters during organic matter transformations
  • Role of enzymes in vermicomposting
  • Assessment of maturity of vermicompost
  • Recovery of nutrients during vermicomposting
  • Optimization of conditions for different types of vermicomposting (batch, continuous, in field, etc.)
  • Vermicomposting and soil fertility
  • Effect of vermicompost on microbial populations in soils
Important Dates
Deadline for paper submission: 31 December 2009
First turn of papers review: 28 February 2010
Second turn of papers review: 30 April 2010
Final papers submission: 30 June 2010

Call for papers: Utility Applications of Power Electronics

Call for papers: Utility Applications of Power Electronics

A special issue of International Journal of Power Electronics

Power electronics are growing very fast on variety of utility applications such as active front end inverters and power line conditioners etc. This special issue attempts to bring out the latest developments on following utility applications.

Possible topics include but are not limited to, the following:

1. Circuits of active-front end inverters
  • Multi-level inverters
  • LCL inverters
  • Current control algorithms of active-front end inverters
2. Applications of active-front end inverters
  • PV inverters
  • Wind turbine inverters
3. Circuits of active power line conditioners
  • Shunt or Series active power filter
  • Hybrid active power filter
  • Unified power flow controller
  • Current control algorithms of active power line conditioners
4. Applications of active power line conditioners
  • Harmonic current compensation
  • Harmonic voltage damping
  • Power factor correction
  • Reactive power compensation
  • Unbalance compensation
  • Voltage flicker
Important Dates
Paper due: 30 November 2009
Acceptance notification: 30, January 2010
Final paper version due: 30 March 2010

Call for papers: Advances in Mining, Modelling, and Managing Complex Data

Call for papers: Advances in Mining, Modelling, and Managing Complex Data

A special issue of International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management

The problem of mining, modelling and managing complex data arising in data- and knowledge-intensive next-generation information systems plays a critical role in actual database and information systems research. Complex data are characterised by several and heterogeneous formats: transactional data, multidimensional data, hierarchical data, semi-structured data, biological data, ontological data, streaming data, trajectory data, moving object data, and so forth.

Traditional models, techniques and algorithms for representing, querying and mining conventional data sets (e.g., relational ones) are widely recognised as inadequate to cope with challenges posed by processing complex data. Therefore, designing and developing suitable models, techniques and algorithms for processing complex data has become an emerging challenge in actual database and information systems research.

This trend has also been dictated and stirred-up by the recent explosion of complex intelligent information systems, which are becoming increasingly popular in a wide range of application scenarios ranging from complex database/data-mining systems to data-warehouse/business-intelligence systems, from grid computing to peer-to-peer computing, from biological data management tools to ontology-based complex tools, etc.

Inspired by this breaking evidence, this special issue welcomes papers focused on all topics ranging in the wide spectrum of mining, modelling and managing complex data, with emphasis on both theoretical aspects as well as practical frameworks and implementations. Apart from regular papers, this issue will also contain papers selected from leading conferences related to the scientific field of database and information systems research.

Recommended topic areas include, but are not limited to, research and practical issues on mining, modelling, and managing complex data, in the following contexts:
  • Complex information systems
  • Intelligent information systems
  • Advanced database systems
  • Advanced data warehouse systems
  • Advanced data mining systems
  • Information processing systems
  • Information retrieval systems
  • Knowledge discovery tools
  • Clustering tools
  • Classification tools
  • Association rule mining tools
  • Frequent item set mining tools
  • XML data management tools
  • RDF data management tools
  • Data stream management tools
  • RFID data management tools
  • Sensor network data management tools
  • Ontological data management tools
  • Biological data management tools
  • Trajectory data management tools
  • Grid architectures
  • Peer-to-peer systems
  • Cloud computing systems
Important Dates
Submission of full paper: 10 June, 2009
Feedback from referees: 30 July, 2009
Submission due date of revised paper: 15 August, 2009
Notification of acceptance: 30 August, 2009
Submission of final revised paper: 15 September, 2009

Call for papers: The Subprime Crisis and its Consequences

Call for papers: The Subprime Crisis and its Consequences

A special issue of International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance

The recent crisis originated by excess global liquidity and the cooling of housing markets in the US has had a tremendous impact on financial conditions of large banks around the world. The impacts on the real economy have been substantial, with a large deceleration in most economies around the world. Understanding the causes and consequences of the crisis, its impacts on the real economy and its transmission channels is a topic of great relevance. The special issue will publish papers discussing these issues.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
  • Measures taken by Central Banks to mitigate the effects of the crisis
  • The role of financial regulation
  • The role of monetary policy
  • Structured products and their role in the current crisis
  • Transmission channels
  • Financial contagion between countries and markets
  • The interrelationship of financial and real sectors
Important Date
Deadline for receipt of manuscripts: 15 December, 2009

Call for papers: Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)

Call for papers: Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)

A special issue of European Journal of International Management

The last few decades have witnessed an ever-increasing number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that stands in sharp contrast to their high failure rate (King, Dalton, Daily, and Covin, 2004). For example, a recent M&A study by Deloitte (2007) reveals that, despite the financial market crisis, Western and Eastern Europe attract attention of both strategic and financial investors. Over the past forty years, a growing body of research has investigated the antecedents that predict M&A performance without finding clear relationships. The key factors for M&A success and the reasons for M&A high failure rate remain poorly understood (Stahl, Mendenhall and Weber, 2005)

Recent reviews (e.g., Stahl and Voight, 2008; Weber and Drori, 2008) point out that most of the existing research on M&A has been a-theoretical, fragmented across various disciplines, has not been systematic and linked to any comprehensive theory, and rarely have models been proposed that were applicable across different organisations.

The degree of organisational change, following various integration approaches, may vary substantially across M&A because the motives and types of M&A as well as different environmental and cross-cultural contexts. Very, Calori, and Lubatkin (1993) and Very, Lubatkin, and Calori (1996), based on empirical studies of European mergers, provide a good summary statement to the complexity of M&A, indicating that "cross-national mergers are a complex phenomenon, sometimes influenced by national cultural differences, sometimes by organisational influences, sometimes by both and sometimes by neither ".

Furthermore, globalisation is expected to continue to increase the number of M&A, and the complex global operation of M&A requires a sophisticated adaptation of organisations, leaders and individuals which gives rise to new questions, relevant to theory, research, and practice, about the nature and effects of various factors on M&A performance.

We believe that a major drawback of existing literature is that, while M&A are a multilevel, multistage and multidisciplinary phenomena, much of the research tends to be single level (e.g. macro or micro), single stage (e.g., pre- or post-merger) and single disciplinary (e.g., strategic management, or organisational behavior). Unfortunately, studies from different scientific streams have generally failed to step into each other’s turf, hence missing the opportunities for cross-fertilisation. Interestingly, a number of scholars raised this issue years ago (e.g, Weber et al., 1996); however, there has not been a systematic attempt in the literature to address this important issue.

We invite scholars to submit papers that investigate M&A from different theoretical lenses, explore its complexity and the methodologies suited to analyze this phenomenon in both the national and international arenas. We also expect papers that represent the intellectual diversity that is found in Europe and elsewhere. For example, papers may creatively present diversity by a mix of quantitative and qualitative research approaches.

References:

Deloitte Consulting. (2007) Staying on course. Special report on M&A in Europe.

King, D. R., Dalton, D. R., Daily, C. M. and Covin, J. G. (2004) 'Meta-analyses of post-acquisition performance: Indications of unidentified moderators', Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 25, pp. 187-200 .

Stahl, G., Mendenhall, M. and Weber, Y. (2005) 'Research in socio-cultural integration in mergers and acquisitions', in Stahl, G. and Mendenhall, M. (Eds.) Mergers and Acquisitions: Managing Culture and Human Resources. San Francisco: Stanford University Press.

Stahl, G.K. and Voight, A. (2008) 'Do cultural differences matter in mergers and acquisitions? A tentative model for examination', Organization Science, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 160-176.

Very, P., Calori, R., and Lubatkin, M. (1993) 'An investigation of national and organizational cultural influences in recent European mergers',Advances in Strategic Management, Vol. 9, pp. 323-346.

Very, P., Lubatkin, M., and Calori, R. (1996) 'A cross-national assessment of acculturative stress in recent European mergers', International Studies of Management and Organization, Vol. 26, pp. 59-86.

Weber, Y. and Drori, I. (2008) 'The linkages between cultural differences, psychological states, and performance in international mergers and acquisitions',Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions,Vol. 7, pp. 119-142.

Weber, Y., Shenkar, O., and Raveh, A. (1996) 'National vs. corporate cultural fit in mergers and acquisitions: An exploratory study',Management Science, Vol. 42, pp. 1215-1227.

We encourage both conceptual and empirical contributions that may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

Multistage Approach
  • How do pre-merger planning factors affect the European and cross-border M&A implementation processes?
  • Does screening, due diligence processes, and ultimately premium paid, influence the post-acquisition integration approach choice, speed of implementation process, transition management structure in the European and cross-border M&A?
Multidisciplinary Studies
  • Does the influence of strategic factors vary in M&A in different countries, industries (high-tech vs. traditional)?
  • What insights can perspectives from strategy, organisational behaviour, international management, psychology, sociology, anthropology and other disciplines provide to our understanding of the nature, antecedents, and processes in the European and cross-border M&A?
Multilevel Approach
  • How do strategic factors influence, such as related vs. unrelated M&A, affect individuals’ stress, attitudes, and turnover in European and cross-border M&A?
  • What is the link between contextual factors, synergy expectations and synergy exploitation in European and cross-border M&A?
  • Do various HRM practices influence the effectiveness of post-acquisition integration and finally the overall M&A performance measures in European vs. cross-border M&A?
Important Dates
Draft submission deadline: 1 September, 2010
Final paper submission deadline: 15 January, 2011