Call for Papers: Learning from Experience and Event Analysis Methods for Improved Safety

A special issue of International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management

This special issue will highlight recent progress, ideas, problems and solutions relating to the multifaceted methods of learning from experience and accident analysis.

Learning from experience is far more than just an event and accident analysis method. It concerns data collection methods, different analysis methods, the implementation of databases to store information, and reuse of the information gathered and the lessons learned (for instance in training sessions). In an organisation, the learning from experience process is also affected by a wide range of sociocultural factors; it therefore interacts closely with the safety culture of the organisation.

One the other hand, accident analysis methods are based on an accident meta-model and this approach frames the results of the analysis. They also differ in the emphasis they place on technological, human or organisational aspects.

This issue is intended for academics, practitioners, scientists and engineers involved in the areas of business, economics, scientific and technological disciplines, energy industries, environmental and ecological systems, safety, public health and medical services.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Learning from experience methods
• Learning from safety events
• Organisational learning processes
• Safety training
• Accident analysis methods
• Events investigation
• Accident models and meta models
• Case studies and event databases

Important Dates
Submission deadline: 1 June, 2012
Notification of acceptance: 1 August, 2012
Final version due: 1 October, 2012

Special issue: Value chain management (VCM) implications for China economic development and prosperity in the new decade

International Journal of Value Chain Management 6(1) 2012

Papers from 22nd Annual Conference of the Association for Chinese Economic Studies Australia (ACESA) held in Melbourne, Australia, 15–17 July 2010.

• The impacts of the recent global financial crisis on Chinese financial system
• Has China attracted excessive FDI inflows?
• Regional diversity in growth performance in China
• Modelling the disaggregated value chain – the new trend in China
• Human capital: the history, measurement and impact on nations from an economic perspective
• Technology spillover effects of international outsourcing to outsourcing suppliers: a case study on Ningbo garment cluster in China

Special issue: Developing a taxonomy of innovation and regional development: the 5-E's

International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development 4(1) 2012

• The new role of law in stimulating industrial innovation and regional development: the Canadian experience with reflexive law in reconciling economic development, environmental protection and entrepreneurship in the energy industry
• Towards a systematic e-business excellence framework
• Renewable energy in European regions
• Social capital, clusters, and interpretive fuzziness: a survey of the key literature (with specific reference to economic development in South East Europe)
• An action research approach: the actualisation of the three statutory tasks: education, research and development, and regional development

Special issue: Bionics: from inspiration to design

International Journal of Design Engineering 4(2) 2011

• The autogenetic design theory and its practical application
• A comparative analysis of six bionic design methods
• Supporting process and product knowledge in biomimetic design
• Development of a nanoparticle microfluidic colour device for point-of-care diagnostics
• Progesterone diffusion through snake skin as a human model membrane

Call for Papers: Pricing and Revenue Strategy in the Sport Industry

A special issue of International Journal of Revenue Management

The sport industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. As the industry grows, the ways in which sport properties price their goods and the strategies that they use to generate revenue becomes both increasingly important and complex. For example, industries such as airlines, hotels, and car rental agencies have used differential pricing strategies to maximise revenue for decades but this concept is relatively new to the sport industry. There is a paucity of academic research in business journals devoted to the study of ticket pricing, retailing and merchandising, and other forms of revenue generation in sports. This special issue seeks to explore a significant but overlooked topic.

This special issue invites quality papers covering case studies, conceptual frameworks, and/or empirical research so as to offer solutions to the emerging new challenges of this growing field. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• Variable/differential/dynamic ticket pricing
• Database/customer relationship management of ticket purchasers
• Strategic alliances with third party vendors
• Channel management of revenue streams
• Economics of ticket pricing
• Value creation in the service profit chain
• Branding and retailing of sporting goods and apparel.
• Revenue generation from broadcasting and other media, including social media.

Other ticket pricing and revenue strategy topics with significant implications are also welcome.

Important Dates
Manuscript submissions: 30 September, 2012
Review reports: 30 November, 2012
Revised paper submission: 31 January, 2013
Final Manuscript submission to publisher: 31 March, 2013

Call for Papers: Effective Engineering Teams: Teaching, Facilitating and Learning

A special issue of International Journal of Collaborative Engineering

The scale and complexity of engineering problems has grown considerably in recent decades, and now, more so than ever, systems are engineered in collaborative teams. In addition, discipline and domain knowledge are not sufficient to ensure effective collaboration across a diverse team, especially considering the numerous dimensions of diversity (engineers and non-engineers; multi- and inter-disciplinary teams; cultural, cognitive and ethnic diversity; etc.).

This is true both in the classroom and in industrial practice. Some have theorised that personality traits, cognitive preferences, affective differences and disparate cultural norms variously contribute to team dysfunction and disharmony, and that pro-active measures are necessary to overcome this heterogeneity of thought, perception, interest and capacity.

Thus, this special issue will explore techniques, case studies and experiments in teaching and facilitating effective collaboration in engineering teams in the classroom as well as research in effective team facilitation in industry. Our objective is to contribute new insights into effective team processes, team assessment, team management and team learning.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the ASEE Conference 2011, but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the conference to submit papers for this call.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Assessing teamwork efficacy in homogenous and heterogeneous engineering teams
• Techniques for effective and high-performing teams
• Studies in team learning and its impact on team outcomes and/or individual learning
• The coordination and governance of distributed or global engineering teams
• Managing and leading diverse engineering teams
• Effective team processes
• Cognitive and cultural barriers to collaborative engineering in teams
• Team cognition in complex problem solving

Important Date
Submission deadline: 1 May 2013

Call for Papers: Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid: Key Challenges and the Way Ahead

A special issue of International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets

According to experts, BOP markets consist of around 3 billion people with less than $2 income per day. BOP markets thus consist of individuals (consumers or producers) who merely survive at subsistence levels, and form a dominant proportion of the populace in emerging markets including South Asia, BRIC nations and sub-Saharan Africa.

Such markets are believed to be ecologically, economically and socially sustainable in the long term. However, marketing to BOP consumers or by BOP producers has a unique set of challenges. Low levels of literacy and education, low purchasing power and a constant struggle to make ends meet characterise such markets.

However, the lessons from BOP markets can sometimes be amazingly overwhelming. For example, one of the world’s poorest nations, Rwanda, has had 92% of the nation covered under health insurance for last 11 years, and premiums cost only around $2 a year. On the contrary, one of the world’s richest nations, the USA, has in comparison the most expensive healthcare system, and almost half of its people are either uninsured or under-insured.

Another example is that of Grupo Salinas, a group of companies created by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas. The company recently launched a comprehensive consumer financial literacy initiative by distributing 2.7 million copies of comics to educate consumers at the bottom of the pyramid. Similarly, SELCO Solar Pvt. Ltd, a social enterprise established in 1995 by a few engineers in India, provides sustainable energy solutions to poor households and businesses. It has sold, serviced and financed more than 120,000 solar panels to consumers in BOP markets.

Given the context of subsistence markets, many scholars have emphasised the need for development of the BOP markets in terms of creation of the capacity to consume; development of new goods, services, dignity and choice for the poor; and the importance of developing trust between buyer and seller. Several principles have been suggested, including finding sustainable solutions, understanding functionality, innovating processes and deskilling work, educating low-literacy consumers, designing for hostile infrastructure, and designing innovative distribution chains.

The aim of this special issue is to discover approaches and practices relating to marketing by BOP producers, or marketing to poor consumers. The issue will aim to develop new theories and extend existing theories through empirical examination, and/or conceptual advancements with strong implications for managers. It therefore focuses on cross- and inter-disciplinary research using theoretical frameworks and empirical analyses.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• What are the characteristics of BOP markets and subsistence consumers?
• How do we design and deliver value for subsistence consumers?
• What social and marketing innovations are required to serve BOP consumers?
• What successful marketing companies are practising to serve BOP consumers?
• What new business models are required to become successful in BOP markets?
• How products should be designed for such marketplaces?
• What should the nature of distribution channels for successful products be?

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 28 February, 2014 (extended)

Call for Papers: Advances in Mobile Computing

A special issue of International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies

In the last decade there has been growing interest in mobile technology and mobile networks. As a result, a great number of services are offered to users of mobile phones, which include services in education, communication, transportation, healthcare and the world-wide web.

The fast growth of mobile computing is a result of the fast pace of modern life and people’s need to use their spare time constructively. For example, when people are travelling or waiting in a queue, mobile computing may provide them with the ability to use a computing device even though they are mobile and therefore changing location.

Thus, portability is an important aspect of mobile computing. Other aspects of mobile interaction include device independence as well as independence with respect to time and place in comparison with traditional human-computer interaction using standard personal computers.

Smartphones, as advanced mobile computing devices, offer a variety of functions found on standard PCs, and also offer functions from portable media players, digital photo cameras, video cameras and GPS navigation units. Such devices typically include high-resolution touchscreens, web browsers that can access and properly display multimedia content and dynamic web pages, and wireless data access via Wi-Fi.

All of the above gives rise to the need for successfully providing software, hardware and their corresponding algorithmic and architectural solutions in order to achieve high quality in mobile services offered to people.

The aim of this special issue is to shed light on these needs, and to broaden our understanding of past and potential approaches to mobile computing and mobile technologies used to address them. Thus, potential authors are invited to submit contributions related to the field of mobile computing.

Submissions may be of a theoretical nature, may present mobile computing systems developed by the authors, or may comparatively evaluate alternative methodologies and algorithms that are used within mobile computing systems.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Mobile computing
• Mobile learning
• Mobile interaction
• Mobile agents
• Mobile networks
• Mobile sensors
• Empirical studies
• Mobile system design
• Implementation and evaluation of wireless systems
• Mobile applications

Important Dates
Paper submission: 31 May, 2012
Review results and author notification: 30 June, 2012
Final paper submission: 30 July, 2012

First issue: International Journal of Social Network Mining

Publishing experimental and theoretical work on social network analysis using data mining techniques, International Journal of Social Network Mining will include applications such as the discovery and analysis of communities, personalisation, the analysis of user behaviour, security and privacy-preservation, social network modelling and social network infrastructure construction.

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

Special issue: Verification and evaluation of computer and communication systems – Part II

International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems 3(1/2) 2012

Papers from the technical sessions of the last four editions of International Workshop on Verification and Evaluation of Computer and Communication Systems (VECoS) held in 2007 in Algiers, 2008 in Leeds, 2009 in Rabat, and 2010 in Paris.

See also International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems 2(3/4) 2011

• MDG-SAT: an automated methodology for efficient safety checking
• A formal framework for black-box conformance testing of distributed real-time systems
• Distributed model-checking and counterexample search for CTL logic
• SystemC waiting state automata
• Structured performance analysis for component-based systems
• Computing transitive closures of hedge transformations

Special issue: Integrating learning behaviour with change contexts: Part 1

International Journal of Learning and Change 5(3/4) 2011

• Environmental sustainability change management in SMEs: learning from sustainability champions
• Sometimes, to change the people, you've got to change the people: when learning is not enough
• Exploring the interconnectedness among strategy development, shared mental models, organisational learning and organisational change
• Organisational change: communicating to Schein's operator, engineer and executive occupational subcultures
• The influence of learning behaviour on team adaptability
• The application of self-directed learning in a marketing strategy capstone course

Additional paper 

• Nexus of learning style with satisfaction and success of accounting students: a cross-cultural study at an Australian university

Special issue: Multimedia data applications in wireless sensor networks

International Journal of Sensor Networks 11(1) 2012

• Mobile multimedia in wireless sensor networks
• Streaming multimedia over WMSNs: an online multipath routing protocol
• Low memory image stitching and compression for WMSN using strip-based processing
• Low-memory video compression architecture using strip-based processing for implementation in wireless multimedia sensor networks
• Low-power sensor node with addressable wake-up on-demand capability
• An approximation algorithm for dominating nodes selection in multi-channel multi-radio wireless sensor networks

Special issue: Structural vibration and control

International Journal of Structural Engineering 3(1/2) 2012

• Development of post-tensioned self-centring structures for earthquake resistance
• First-order elastic-plastic analysis of multi-story building frames by numerical modelling
• Seismic vulnerability assessment through explicit consideration of uncertainties in structural capacities and structural demands
• Three-dimensional seismic tomography with tetrahedra element on isoparametric mapping
• Some special phenomena and preliminary interpretations about measured strain signals from high-speed impact tests
• Field measurements and assessment of vibration serviceability of as-built long-span concrete floor
• Active control of building structure using lattice probabilistic neural network based on learning algorithm
• Control of seismically excited benchmark highway bridge with variable frequency pendulum isolator
• Order-independent optimal polynomial control of stochastic dynamical systems

Special issue: Carbon markets: an international perspective

International Journal of Global Energy Issues 35(2-4) 2011

Econometric Analyses of Carbon Markets

• Links between spot and futures allowances: ECX and EEX markets comparison
• How does carbon price change? Evidences from EU ETSEstimating the 'value at risk' of EUA futures prices based on the extreme value theory
• CO2 prices and portfolio management
• CO2 abatement opportunity in the UK through fuel-switching under the EU ETS (2005-2008): evidence from the E-Simulate model

Climate Policy Issues

• A comparative analysis of city-based emission trading schemes: key design and management factors for environmental cost effectiveness
• Nudging effective climate policy design
• Explaining the construction of global carbon markets: REDD+ as a test case?

Additional Papers

• Efficient market hypothesis in the international oil price fluctuation: based on the MF-DFA model
• A review of the three most popular maintenance systems: how well is the energy sector represented?

Special issue: Systems Modelling and Advanced Controls

International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems 3 (5/6) 2011

Papers from the 2010 International Conference on Modelling, Identification and Control (ICMIC’10) held in Okayama, Japan, 17-19 July 2010.

• The application of wireless sensor network in feeder automation
• Capacity planning strategies for an IT service firm with skilled workforce
• Wind speed prediction and error distribution based on rational sample organisation for Elman recursion neural networks
• Simple adaptive control using neural networks with offset error reduction for an SISO magnetic levitation system
• Experimental research on performance of vertical-axis three-hastate wind wheel

Regular Papers

• Robust adaptive control for flap positioning system with SMA actuators-inverse Duhem model-based approach
• Design and data analysis for a belt-for-blind for visual impaired people

Call for Papers: Innovation for Regeneration

A special issue of International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development

Innovation is widely acknowledged to be one of the key drivers for both business and economic growth. During recessions and periods of economic difficulty, the search for opportunities to innovate becomes a priority for business leaders across industry sectors, in order to help ensure firm survival, stimulate firm rejuvenation where required and appropriate, and if possible to secure continued business growth and success. Furthermore, redundancies and unemployment act as a stimulus for innovation and entrepreneurship at the level of individuals.

At such times too, the notion of innovation tends to rise to the top of government agendas at both regional and national levels as policymakers recognise its importance for regional sustainability, and seek to harness the potential of innovation for economic regeneration and growth. Social innovation tends to come to the fore also, as community cohesion, stability and sustainability become priorities when social deprivation, poverty and unemployment threaten.

Building on some of the core themes and topics presented and debated at the 6th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ECIE 2011), Aberdeen, UK, this special issue is devoted to research exploring innovation as a means to regenerating businesses, communities or regions during, or in the aftermath of, straitened economic times. Within this overall context, papers are invited that cover types and sources of innovation, including social innovation, as well as issues associated with innovation impact.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at ECIE 2011, but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the conference to submit papers for this call.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Innovation and regional sustainability or regeneration
• Innovation and entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurial learning and innovation
• Innovation-driven industry and university partnerships
• Training initiatives for innovation stimulation
• Innovation and policy making
• Innovation networks
• Social business and social innovation
• Community-led innovation
• Case studies or review papers on relevant innovation topics

Important Dates
Deadline for submission of manuscripts: 19 March, 2012
Notification of acceptance/rejection to authors: 28 May, 2012
Submission of final manuscript: 9 July, 2012

Call for Papers: Awareness in Sensor Networks

A special issue of International Journal of Sensor Networks

The goal of this special issue is to provide an opportunity for researchers, engineers and scientists to publish their latest results related to awareness in sensor networks. Awareness is the ability to be conscious of, feel or perceive, and implies vigilance in observing, or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences (Merriam-Webster).

The ultimate goal of aware computing is to create different devices, systems and/or networks that are able to be aware.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Context/situation awareness
• Location/position awareness
• Intention/preference awareness
• Energy/power awareness
• Danger/risk/fault/trouble awareness
• Safety/security/tampering awareness
• User/behaviour awareness

Important Dates
Deadline for submission: 15 February, 2012
Acceptance/rejection notification: 15 May, 2012
Revised manuscript due: 15 July, 2012

Call for Papers: As ASEAN nears 50, what have we learned?

A special issue of International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets

Since ASEAN’s formation in August 1967, ASEAN nations have committed to free trade, resulting in collective regional economic growth. This economic integration and its continuance is vital for enhancing competitiveness, reduction of poverty, job creation, attracting international investment, and sustainable business growth. ASEAN nations have broadened their cooperation beyond economic ties to include political ties and regional security agreements.

ASEAN trade volumes are running at more than US $1.5 trillion per annum. The main trading partners in 2009 were China (US $178 billion), the EU (US $172 billion), Japan (US $162 billion), and the USA (US $150 billion). The figure for China is higher if trade with Hong Kong (US $68 billion) is taken into account. Substantial opportunities continue to emerge for multinational corporations and overseas investors (ASEAN, 2011).

Against this backdrop, scholarly research in highlighting ASEAN’s achievements in the years since its inception is being sought. To understand general business practices in the ASEAN region, this special issue aims to present research on a broad range of topics from an emerging markets viewpoint. Manuscripts may be conceptual or empirical. All manuscripts should work to make a substantive contribution to emerging markets literature.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Nation(al) branding strategies
• National trade agreements and their impact on business
• Regional business networks
• Business sustainability strategies
• Effects of social media marketing on business strategies
• Emerging practices in human resource management
• Value creation strategies in consumer or industrial markets
• "Green" business strategies
• Transactional governance structures
• Anti-corruption business practices and law enforcement strategies
• China-ASEAN economic relations
• Regional integrated marketing communications strategies

Important Dates
Submission of abstracts: 17 March, 2012
Submission of manuscripts: 3 September, 2012
Notification of authors: 4 January, 2013
Submission of final versions: 15 March, 2013

First issue: International Journal of Strategic Engineering Asset Management

Publishing research and case studies in the discipline of engineering asset management, International Journal of Strategic Engineering Asset Management covers the development, application and integration of engineering, economic, organisational and managerial solutions to make physical assets, safe, productive, efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly.

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

Call for Papers: Social Web Search and Mining

A special issue of International Journal of Web Science

Recent years have seen a flourishing of social media. Across the world, individuals can share news, opinions, experiences and expertise through Web-enabled devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

There has been a fundamental shift thanks to significant advances in the ease of publishing and sharing content. Such examples include microblogs, blogs, bookmarking services, photo sharing platforms, forums, newsgroups, and location-based services. They have formed a new Web: social Web, which generates a lot of structured and semi-structured information.

This information greatly enlarges the content of the Web. At the same time, it introduces many interesting research issues as well many real-world applications. These research issues have been receiving growing attentions in recent years.

The aim of this special issue is to collect contemporary works concerning searching and mining the Social Web. The context of the special issue can be related to a wide range of areas including Web mining, social networks analysis, semantic Web, information retrieval, and natural language processing. We invite researchers and professionals from a broad range of disciplines to submit to this issue. Papers may encompass any or all of the following types of works: theoretical analysis, modelling, algorithms, simulation, visualisation and empirical studies.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Microblog (e.g. Twitter, Weibo) search and mining
• Social network analysis
• Community detection and network evolution analysis
• Personalisation for search and for social interaction
• User profiling and recommender systems
• Collaborative search and question answering
• Sentiment analysis and opinion mining
• Topic detection and topic trend analysis
• User behaviour prediction
• Real-time social search and mining infrastructures
• Cross-media search and mining of user-generated content
• Entity search (e.g. expert finding, product search, organisation search, etc.)
• Semantic Web-based social applications
• Computational advertising for user-generated content
• Spam detection and anomaly detection of social media
• Geospatial and temporal analysis of social media
• Applications of social search and mining

Important Dates
Submission deadline: 1 May, 2012
Notification date: 15 June, 2012
Final paper submission: 15 July, 2012

Special issue: Digital human models in product design and development

International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation 2(4) 2011

• A comparison of different methods for head measurements
• Waist-hip section surface profile data automatic analysing system: WHS
• Finger movement measurements in arthritic patients using wearable sensor enabled gloves
• Deriving statistical fit contours and shape of an aerosol mask from 3D head scans
• A light weight car seat shaped by human body contour
• A shoe-last selection system based on fit rating
• A methodology for determining the allowances for fitting footwear

Call for Papers: Advances in Metadata and Semantics for Learning Infrastructures

A special issue of International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies

A growing body of learning infrastructures and aggregators is making digital learning resources available to any user searching for educational content on various topics, through federations of learning repositories. The fundamental reasons behind this trend include growing educational demands in all countries, the limited capacity of face-to-face education, the effort and cost involved in building multimedia learning materials, and the new possibilities offered by the Internet.

Although well-known search engines can in fact successfully retrieve millions of documents that exist online, based on some keywords, the fact remains that there is no guarantee that the results will contain trustable material which is exploitable in an educational setting. Such information can usually be found in a complete metadata record, which is not the case in many of the aforementioned search results.

Through the vast number of existing repositories, millions of learning resources are being made available; a fact that raises various research topics having to do with, amongst other things, the technology that supports them, the standards being used to describe learning objects, the quality of learning, metadata within the repositories, etc.

Openness of content and sharing of resources are also part of the ethical but also very technical issues that arise for learning repositories and learning infrastructures in general. The general aim of this special issue is to assess the current status and technologies, as well as to outline the major challenges and future perspectives, related to the development of learning repositories and wider infrastructures. It aims to provide an overview of the state of the art in this field by including a wide range of interdisciplinary contributions. Overall, it aims to outline the rich potential of repositories for learning as an application field for advanced metadata- and semantic-driven systems and services.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Information standards and specifications
• Metadata schemas and application profiles
• Multilingual vocabularies, taxonomies, glossaries and thesauri
• (Semi-) automatic metadata generation
• Visualisation techniques for metadata, content, repositories
• Metadata metrics
• Learning content search and exchange
• Infrastructures, systems and services for knowledge organisation
• Learning content archives' preservation and maintenance
• Ontology approaches, models, theories and languages
• Semantic representation of learning materials
• Cloud facilities and supercomputing for learning infrastructures
• Attention, usage metadata and paradata for learning analytics
• Quality in metadata
• Multilingual metadata and semantics

Important Dates
Submission of extended abstract (recommended): 1 April, 2012 (by email)
Notification of appropriateness: 15 April, 2012
Manuscript submission: 15 June, 2012 (online)
Notification of acceptance/rejection: 1 September, 2012
Final manuscript due: 1 November, 2012

Call for Papers: Religions and Finance

A special issue of International Journal of Behavioural Accounting and Finance

This special issue seeks to explore issues of finance from the perspectives of religions around the world. The central question is: what are the economic, behavioural and cultural relationships between religion and finance? We welcome contributions relating to all religions.

For example, scholars and practitioners are becoming increasingly interested in Islamic finance, as viewed through the prism of Shari’ah. The rise of Islamic finance over the last three years was suggested as a solution to the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression. As financial markets and institutions recover from that crisis, a variety of issues that stem from Islamic finance are being discussed among academicians, practitioners, and even jurists.

Even before the last financial crisis, Islamic finance has grown strikingly. Indeed, the largest Islamic bank in KSA, The Islamic Development Bank, which is based in Jeddah, estimates that the volume of the industry will be about US$2.8 trillion by the end of 2015, which is principally due to the Islamic population in the world. In fact, around 1.6 billion individuals (about 25% of the world population) are Muslims. Much of the growth of the Islamic finance and banking industry is due particularly to the fast growth of oil-rich Islamic countries in the MENA region.

Furthermore, there is increasing research on the effects of Christianity and Judaism on financial development. For instance, the Health and Wealth gospel (a.k.a Prosperity gospel) is a Christian belief claiming that donations will be rewarded by the Lord with health and an increase in wealth. Alongside with these topics, this issue takes account of supplementary, topical themes such as religious perspectives of the capitalistic system and its financial institutions.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Faith-based study of the connection between finance and religions
• Christianity and finance
• Islamic asset management
• Shari'ah compliant private equity and venture capital investment
• Islamic derivatives and Sukuk
• Islamic finance: behavioural aspects
• Collateral financing: the Islamic finance perspective
• Islamic microfinance and poverty alleviation
• Incentives and Islamic finance
• Zakat economics
• Ethical study of finance
• Religion, culture, reciprocal behaviour (trust, fairness) and finance
• Religion and stock market development

Important Date
Submission deadline: 30 November, 2012

Special issue: Advances in functionally graded materials

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology 42(1/2) 2011

Includes papers from the 11th International Symposium on Multiscale, Multifunctional and Functionally Graded Materials, held in Guimarães, Portugal, 26-29 September 2010.

• Pressureless sintering of silicon nitride ceramics with porous gradient structure for gas filter application
• Fabrication of Si3N4-based seal coating on porous Si3N4 ceramics
• Design and joining of graphite to copper by a simple direct casting technology
• Fabrication of functionally graded grinding wheel by a centrifugal mixed-powder method for CFRP-drilling applications
• Study of strength and toughness in Japanese sword produced from Tamahagane steel by Tatara process
• Impact performance of Al/SiC functionally graded circular plates
• Thermoelectric properties and conduction mechanism of conductive polythiophenes
• Molecular dynamics study on the mechanical characteristics of Al-terminated Al/α-Al2O3 interface under tensile loading
• Numerical simulation on the impact resistance of functionally graded materials
• Numerical simulation on the interface debonding in solid propellant under large deformation by a cohesive zone model
• Experimental study on cross-section distortion of thin-walled rectangular 3A21 aluminium alloy tube by rotary draw bending
• Low-voltage silicon chip/glass ring anodic bonding for MEMS device packaging and experimental evaluation of bonding quality

Special issue: Arab contribution to human civilisation and civilisation studies

International Journal of Arab Culture, Management and Sustainable Development 2(1) 2011

• The meaning and dialectics of education, teaching, refinement, urbanisation and civilisation: a Khaldounic point of view
• Contributions of Islamic scholars to sustainable human and environmental development: Islam Hadhari and future development of Muslim countries
• Scientific contributions of Ibn Hazm
• 'Thinking' terminologies from Quronic perspective and their impact on human intellectual development
• Malek Bennabi's concept and interdisciplinary approach to civilisation
• Quality perception among university students and influence on Islamic culture on it: a case study
• Do you speak 'urban design'? Intermediations between grammar of space and the fragments of city-text

Special issue: Innovation for development: frontiers of research, policy and practice

International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development 5(1/2) 2012

Papers from an academic symposium organised by the Wits University in South Africa on 24-26 February 2010: Innovation for development: frontiers of research, policy and practice.

• The introduction of the systems of innovation approach in economics curricula
• Innovations for the poor by the poor
• Measuring innovation in developing countries: some suggestions to achieve more accurate and useful indicators
• South Africa's national system of innovation and knowledge economy evolution: thinking about 'less favoured regions'
• Institutional capacity and policy for latecomer technology development
• Intermediary organisations to foster the agricultural system of innovation: the Mexican Produce Foundation
• JInnovation policies institutions and performance: why Malaysia overtook Nigeria in the oil palm industry
• Nuclear energy technology adoption by intensive energy industrial users in South Africa
• Bridging the digital divide: the Indian experience in increasing the access to telecommunications services
• Channels of interaction in health biotechnology networks in South Africa: who benefits and how?

Call for Papers: Cloud Computing and Service-Oriented Architecture

A special issue of International Journal of Information and Communication Technology

Cloud computing is a new paradigm in the area of computing with a pool of virtualised computer resources and is driven by economics of scale. A cloud supports redundant, self-recovering, highly scalable programming models and allows workloads to recover from many unavoidable hardware/software failures. The idea of cloud computing is to move desktop computing to a service-oriented platform using server clusters and huge databases at datacenters.

Cloud computing overlaps some of the concepts of cluster, distributed, grid, service, ubiquitous, utility and virtual computing; however, it has emerged from these computing domains and now has its own meaning. Cloud computing is now associated with a higher level abstraction of the cloud. Instead of there being application software, routers and servers, there are now services. Using these cloud computing models and toolsets, IT-related capabilities are provided as services, accessible without requiring detailed knowledge of the underlying technology.

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) also generally provides a way for consumers of services such as web-based applications to be aware of available SOA-based services. SOA defines how to integrate widely disparate applications for a Web-based environment and uses multiple implementation platforms.

This special issue will cover all of the above issues.

Although we welcome submissions on any area within the scope of cloud computing, the following areas are particularly suitable (but not exhaustive):

• Auditing, monitoring and scheduling
• Automatic reconfiguration
• Autonomic computing
• Cloud architecture and modelling
• Cloud-based services
• Consistency models
• Data grid and semantic web
• Fault tolerance and reliability
• Hardware as a service (HaaS)
• High-performance computing
• Integration of mainframe and large systems
• Innovations in IP (especially open source) systems
• IT service and relationship management
• Load balancing
• Middleware frameworks
• New and innovative pedagogical approaches
• Novel programming models for large computing
• Optimal deployment configuration
• Peer-to-peer computing
• Power-aware profiling, modelling and optimisation
• Resource registration and discovery
• Scalable fault resilience techniques for large computing
• Scalable scheduling on heterogeneous architectures
• Security and risk
• Self-healing
• Self-monitoring
• Service integration and management
• Service level agreement definitions
• Software as a service
• Trustworthiness, security and privacy
• Utility computing
• Virtualisation technologies

Important Dates
Paper submission deadline: 30 April, 2012
Notification of acceptance: 1 June, 2012
Submission of final revised paper: 1 August, 2012

Call for Papers: Commercial Diplomacy and International Business

A special issue of International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy

Governments have a major interest in supporting business abroad as it may lead to domestic job creation, tax revenue increase and a stable economy (Naray, 2010). As a consequence, a change in the current practice of diplomacy towards more commercial activities can be observed (Kostecki & Naray, 2007). According to Lee and Hudson (2004: 343), “commercial activities of diplomatic services have been centralized, […] extended, and business interests have been formally integrated within diplomatic systems”.

 Commercial diplomacy has thereby become a foreign policy priority of governments. Activities within the field of commercial diplomacy aim at “encouraging business development” (Naray, 2010: 122), “the development of socially beneficial international business ventures” (Kostecki & Naray, 2007: 1), and “national economic development” (Saner & Yiu, 2003: 1).

 The spectrum of actors in commercial diplomacy ranges from the high-policy level (head of state or prime minister to ambassador) to the lower level of specialised diplomatic envoy, such as trade representative, commercial attaché or commercial diplomat.

 But more and more private actors are involved, especially international business representatives. “Many of the global challenges now confronting international business are issues and matters of diplomacy”, as Muldoon (2005, p. 355) puts it. Terms such as business diplomacy (Muldoon, 2005), the business-government interface (Hillman & Keim, 1995), corporate diplomacy (Ordeix-Rigo and Duarte, 2009), strategic political management (Hillman, 2003) and corporate political strategy (Oliver & Holzinger, 2008) have been proposed in the literature to label and describe international business’ involvement in diplomatic activity.

 But whereas the commercial aspect seems to be gaining importance in diplomatic practice, the body of literature on the subject is still rather limited. The literature “fails to identify, explain and understand […] the increased influence of private interests in diplomacy” (Lee & Hudson, 2004: 344), and hardly draws a complete picture of all its aspects.

 This special issue aims to contribute to expanding the body of literature on the relationship between commercial diplomacy and international business. This call for papers therefore invites conceptual as well as empirical (quantitative and qualitative) work.

 References:
 Hillman, A.J. (2003). Determinants of political strategies in U.S. Multinationals. Business & Society. 42 (4): 455-484.
 Hillman, A., Keim, G. (1995). International variation in the business-government interface: institutional and organizational considerations.  Academy of  Management Review. 20 (1): 193-214.
 Kostecki M., Naray O. (2007). Commercial Diplomacy and International Business, Clingendael Discussion Paper in Diplomacy, The Hague, Clingendael Institute, April 2007.
 Lee, D., Hudson, D. 2004. The Old en new significance of political economy in diplomacy. Review of International Studies, 30, 343 – 360.
 Naray, O. (2010a). Commercial Diplomats in the context of International Business. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 6, 121-148.
 Muldoon, J.P. (2005). The Diplomacy of Business. Diplomacy and Statecraft. 16: 341-359.
 Ordeix-Rigo, E., Duarte, J. (2009). From Public diplomacy to corporate diplomacy: increasing corporation’s legitimacy and influence. American Behavioral Scientist. 53 (4): 549-564.
 Oliver, C., Holzinger, I. (2008). The Effectiveness of Strategic Political Management: A Dynamic Capabilities Framework.  Academy of  Management Review. 33 (2), 496–520.
 Potter, E. 2004. Branding Canada : The Renaissance of Canada’s Commercial Diplomacy, International Studies Perspectives, 5, 55-60.
 Saner, & Yiu, L. (2003). International economic diplomacy: Mutations in post-modern times.  The Hague : Netherlands Institute of International Relations "Clingendael", January, -37p.
 Yakop, M. & Bergeijk, P.A.G. van (2009). The weight of economic and commercial diplomacy. International Institute of Social Studies, working paper 478

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• The relationship between commercial diplomats and international business representatives
• The value of commercial diplomacy for international business
• The role of international business in commercial diplomacy's effectiveness
• International business networks and commercial diplomats
• Commercial diplomats' competence for international business collaboration
• Foreign policy, economic policy, and international justice
• Corporate social responsibility and commercial diplomacy
• Commercial diplomacy instruments for international business support
• Theory development on the commercial diplomacy and international business relationship
• International business' involvement in commercial diplomacy
• Research methodology for studying the commercial diplomacy and international business relationship

Important Dates
Extended abstract due: 1 March, 2012 (by email)
First paper submission due: 1 April, 2012 (online submission)
Notification of acceptance/Reviews: 1 June, 2012
Final paper submission due: 1 September, 2012

Call for Papers: Role of ICT in Vocational Education and Training and Lifelong Learning

A special issue of International Journal of Information and Communication Technology

ICT is a general tool in all fields of work and professions today. Consequently, ICT and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) professional education are integrated at all levels.

In the use of ICT in and for education in general, UNESCO stresses several points. Firstly, ICT is only part of a continuum of technologies, starting with chalk and books, all of which can support and enrich learning. Secondly, ICT, as is the case with any tool, must be considered as such, and used and adapted to serve educational goals. Thirdly, many ethical and legal issues intervene in the widespread use of ICT in education, such as ownership of knowledge, the increasing exchange of education as a commodity, and the globalisation of education in relation to cultural diversity.

The aim of this special issue is to concentrate on “21st century competencies” in a knowledge economy driven by technology. The efforts aim at finding indicators, criteria and benchmarks for international comparisons in order to assess the effects of ICT in education. Recent documents emphasise innovation strategy for education and training. Attention will be given to the needs and skills used by innovative firms, the working population, and also in arts and science education. In TVET there is a tendency to emphasise the “learning by doing” approach.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• ICT and TVET
• TVET and lifelong learning
• Technology-enhanced education
• Skills and competences in TVET
• Skills acquisition processes
• Quality assessment
• Entrepreneurship and SMEs
• Human-computer interaction blended learning
• Distributed work
• Global networking
• Knowledge management and collaboration systems
• Global e-learning
• TVET and sustainability
• ICT and new literacies
• ICT and new humanism
• TVET and the global knowledge society

Important Dates
Deadlines for papers: 15 April, 2012
Notification of acceptance: 15 June, 2012
Submission of final paper: 15 August, 2012

Call for Papers: Biomedical Signal and Image Processing

A special issue of International Journal of Convergence Computing

Biomedical signal and image processing is an active area of research where disciplines such as engineering, computer science, physics, biology and medicine inter-disciplinarily synchronise in order to improve healthcare.

This particular area deals with the generation, reconstruction, pre-processing, improvement, analysis, quantification, visualisation and management of all kind of medical images. We invite the submission of highly innovative research papers on recent trends and challenges in the field of biomedical signal and image processing, describing new methods employing computer-aided detection and diagnosis of diseases, and improvement of diagnostic imaging using soft computing techniques.

This special issue will focus particularly on image enhancement, edge detection and segmentation methods/algorithms/tools developed to aid early detection/diagnosis of diseases (e.g. brain tumours, breast cancers, malignant melanomas) by the processing of images obtained from modalities such ultrasounds, mammography, MRI, CT-scans, etc. These methods must be preferably supported by thorough clinical evaluation or assessment on recognised standard medical databases.

The issue will be an important resource for research scholars, engineers and scientists interested in theoretical and methodological aspects of biomedical signal and image processing in reference to the development of computer-aided diagnosis techniques.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Mathematical models for medical image contrast enhancement
• Algorithms for noise suppression in medical images
• Edge enhancement techniques for segmentation of abnormality in diagnostic images
• Algorithms for growth detection of lesions/tumours
• Multi-scale/multi-resolution techniques for analysis of fine details in medical images
• Quantitative assessment techniques for evaluation of computer-aided detection/diagnosis algorithms
• Efficient pre- and post-processing of image-based computational models
• Non-linear techniques for contrast enhancement and edge detection of medical images
• Medical image compression and watermarking
• Fractal-based approaches for medical image analysis
• Mathematical morphology
• Soft computing and bio-inspired computing techniques in medical image processing
• Bioinformatics and computational biology

Important Dates
Manuscript submission: 31 March, 2012
Notification of acceptance: 30 May, 2012
Final version due: 20 June, 2012

Call for Papers: eCRM and the Hospitality Industry

A special issue of International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management

We are pleased to announce a special issue focused on electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) systems used in the hospitality industry. eCRM systems have been used by many businesses to support both strategic decision making and daily operations. Traditionally, the role of eCRM has been to engage customers in a mutually beneficial relationship. But increasingly, eCRM is becoming a major part of the extended ERP system.

As with any other information system, the implementation of eCRM systems is a reconfiguration process and requires industry-specific knowledge. This is especially true when eCRM is used in the people-oriented hospitality industry. All aspects of the eCRM system, including system development issues, system quality issues, system implementation issues, evaluation issues, security and privacy issues and human-computer interface issues, should be examined in the context of the hospitality industry.

The goal of this special issue is to provide an open discussion in which researchers and practitioners can share the latest developments in electronic customer relationship management relating to the hospitality industry. The issue’s main objective focuses on the application of information and communication technology (ICT) in solving various issues in the hospitality industry.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Electronic customer relationship management (eCRM)
• Effects of CRM systems on hospitality
• Hospitality CRM strategies for the internet and e-CRM
• Hospitality CRM marketing
• Hospitality CRM technology and software
• Hospitality custom marketing
• Hospitality customer lifetime value
• Hospitality customer loyalty
• Hospitality customer satisfaction
• Hospitality consumer behaviour
• Hospitality customer databases
• Issues for implementing CRM systems in hospitality
• Tools for capturing customer information
• Solutions for hospitality CRM problems
• Hospitality partner relationship management
• Managing and sharing customer data
• Business to business market (B2B)
• Business to consumer market (B2C)
• Hospitality enterprise resource planning (ERP)
• e-commerce customer relationships on the internet
• Channel management
• Demand chain management (DCM)
• Hospitality strategic alliances and partnerships
• Hospitality sales management
• Hospitality information technology and systems
• Hospitality performance measurement and performance indicators
• Logistics information systems
• International hospitality issues

Important Dates
Manuscript submission: 1 September, 2012
Notification of initial decision: 1 October, 2012
Submission of revised manuscript: 1 November, 2012
Notification of final acceptance: 1 December, 2012
Submission of final revised paper: 1 January, 2013

Special issue: Aerodynamics of rotating bodies

International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation 4(1/2) 2012

Papers from the 46th International Symposium of AppliedAerodynamics, held in Orleans, France,  28-30 March 2011

• Wind turbine wake: a disturbance to wind resource in wind farms
• On the prediction of tip vortices in the near wake of the MEXICO rotor using the actuator surface method
• Aerodynamic study of a 'humpy' propeller
• Assessment of propeller 1P loads predictions
• Numerical simulations of a low-speed radial fan
• Installation impact on pusher CROR engine low speed performance and noise emission characteristics
• Semi-/empirical transition prediction and application to an isolated rotor in hover
• Optimisation of aspects of rotor blades in forward flight
• Direct numerical simulation of helical vortices
• Application of vorticity confinement to rotor wake simulations

Special issue: Sport as an entrepreneurial venture

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing 4(1) 2012

• Guest editor's introduction: Sports entrepreneurship: towards a conceptualisation
• Vanessa Ratten
• Still playing the game?
• Calgary Flames: a case study in an entrepreneurial sport franchise
• Click clack: examining the strategic and entrepreneurial brand vision of Under Armour
• Branding the elite professional athlete through use of new media and technology: an interview with Ash De Walt
• Sport entrepreneurship: challenges and directions for future research
• Opening the black box: a comparative case study on international prospectors

Special issue: Nanotechnology in Scotland

International Journal of Nanotechnology 9(1/2) 2012

• Optical in situ characterisation of carbon nanotube growth
• High pressure studies of metal organic framework materials
• Growth and characterisation of titanium sulphide nanostructures by surface-assisted vapour transport methods; from trisulphide ribbons to disulphide nanosheets
• Colloidal syntheses of FePt nanoparticles
• Ten years of electron microscopy of nanomaterials in St. Andrews
• Gold nano-particles supported on hematite and magnetite as highly selective catalysts for the hydrogenation of nitro-aromatics
• Ethanol photoreaction to hydrogen over Au/TiO2 catalysts. Investigating the synergistic effect of nanoparticles
• The photoreaction of TiO2 and Au/TiO2 single crystal and powder with organic adsorbates

Special issue: Sport marketing and emerging technology

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing 10(3/4) 2011

• 'It's incredible – trust me': exploring the role of celebrity athletes as marketers in online social networks
• Set the agenda like Beckham: a professional sports league's use of YouTube to disseminate messages to its users
• Opportunity or obstacle? A preliminary study of professional sport organisations in the age of social media
• Agenda-setting and La Copa Mundial: marketing through agenda-setting on soccer blogs during the 2010 World Cup
• Beyond touchdowns, homeruns, and three-pointers: an examination of fantasy sport participation motivation
• Understanding website useability: an eye-tracking study of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games website
• New media and technology use in corporate sport sponsorship: performing activational leverage from an exchange perspective
• A content analysis of sponsor representation across professional sport websites: extension of attribute typology

First issue: International Journal of Computational Systems Engineering

Providing a forum for researchers in the field of computational algorithms, intelligent information systems, computer applications and other related areas of science and engineering, International Journal of Computational Systems Engineering focuses on the state-of-the-art of aspects of theoretical analysis and practical application with emphasis on computational methods and systems engineering.

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

Special issue: Context-awareness and self-managing systems

International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems 5(1) 2012

Papers from  the 3rd ACM International Workshop on Context-Awareness for Self-Managing Systems (CASEMANS2009) held in Nara, Japan, 11 May 2009.

    •    Building an intelligent sensing system: a case study
    •    Anthropomorphic awareness of partner robot to user's situation based on gaze and speech detection
    •    Dynamic scheduling-based inpatient nursing support: applicability evaluation by laboratory experiments
    •    The context aware workflow execution framework

Additional Papers

    •    Improving antijamming characteristics of spread spectrum communication systems
    •    Wireless network simulators relevance compared to a real testbed in outdoor and indoor environments

Special issue: Discrete-event simulation in production management

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling 6(3) 2011

Papers from the 12th and 13th IFAC Symposiums ‘Information Control Problems in Manufacturing’ (INCOM'06 and INCOM'09) held in Saint-Etienne, France, 17-19 May 2006 and Moscow, Russia, 3-5 June 2009.

• Proactive production activity control by online simulation
• An emulation-based execution control system evaluation tool: application to a furniture manufacturing group
• A simulation-based equipment environment for flexible manufacturing systems
• Feasibility evaluation of multi-site scheduling by distributed simulation of workshops
• Risk analysis for cooperation policies benefits in reducing the bullwhip effect in a telecom supply chain
• Manufacturing network simulation using a data-driven model
• A genetic algorithm with tournament selection for optimising inspection allocation in multiproduct multistage production systems

Special issue: Knowledge flows, learning and development in an international context

European Journal of International Management 6(1) 2012

• Editorial: Knowledge flows, learning and development in an international context
• Cross-cultural training for Dutch expatriates going to India
• Inpatriation in a globalising MNC: knowledge exchange and translation of corporate culture
• The e-mentoring of expatriates: mapping existing research domains and new opportunities
• Expatriate categorisation and evaluation: an empirical investigation in Poland and India
• The relationship between transformational leadership and innovative behaviour in a healthcare context: a team learning versus a cohesion perspective
• Devolvement of HRM and perceived performance within multinational corporations (MNCs)

Special issue: Research and advances in vehicle body engineering

International Journal of Vehicle Design 57(2/3) 2011

• A new approach to improve the vehicle ride comfort by electroencephalogram data
• Lightweight design of vehicle front-end structure: contributions of multiple surrogates
• Optimisation-based approach for determining driver seat adjustment range for vehicles
• Development of a ride comfort evaluation method with a laboratory testing system
• Multi-disciplinary optimisation for front auto body based on multiple optimisation methods
• Three-phase optimisation design of an electric car body at conceptual design stage
• Structure and transformation of the Italian car styling supply chain
• Automotive body inspection uncertainty associated with computational processes
• Rapid structural property evaluation system for car body advanced design
• Development and validation of a finite element model of a dummy for design of pedestrian-friendly vehicles
• The influence of wheel-housing shape on vehicle aerodynamic performance
• Optimal mounting design for cab vibration isolation

Newly announced title: International Journal of Swarm Intelligence

Beginning publication in 2013,  International Journal of Swarm Intelligence will report research, new developments and applications in the multidisciplinary field of swarm intelligence.

Special issue: Simulation-based optimisation techniques

International Journal of Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Optimisation 3(1/2) 2012

• GATE: a genetic algorithm designed for expensive cost functions
• Simulation-driven sequential metamodels for fuzzy reliability-based optimisation tasks
• Design of a matrix hydraulic turbine using a metamodel-assisted evolutionary algorithm with PCA-driven evolution operators
• Variable-fidelity simulation-driven design optimisation of microwave structures
• Metamodelling approach using radial basis functions, stochastic search algorithm and CFD – application to blade cascade design

Special issue: Cultural heritage and tourism: trends and innovative strategies for learning and management

International Journal of Web Based Communities 8(1) 2012

• E-heritage and e-museums: technological resources for tourism planning
• Facebook, heritage and tourism reorientation. The cases of Tenerife and Fuerteventura (Canary Isles, Spain)
• Tripadvisor rates Einstein: using the social web to unpack the public meanings of a cultural heritage site
• Mobile devices: a tool for tourism and learning at archaeological sites
• Cultural events, cultural heritage, tourism and new media
• Project Mus.Cat: a CMS open-source application
• User generated content in destination marketing organisations' websites
• Crossing the borders in language learning through the use of web-conferencing as an e-learning tool

Special issue: Precision micro- and nano-metrology for nanomanufacturing

International Journal of Nanomanufacturing 8(1/2) 2012

• Nanometrology at PTB in support of process control of nanoscale features in semiconductor manufacturing
• Improvement of free-spectral-range measurement for Fabry-Perot cavity using phase modulation technique
• GPU-accelerated white-light scanning interferometer for large-area, high-speed surface profile measurements
• In-situ scanning white light interferometry employing dual-sensing configuration and active fringe-locking strategy
• Development of nanoparticle sizing system integrated with optical microscopy using fluorescence polarisation
• The system and the mechatronics of a pagoda type micro-CMM
• Fabrication of micro-ball styluses for scanning-type surface form metrology
• Establishment of a measuring station on a diamond turning machine for in-process cutting edge inspection of single point diamond micro-tools
• Nanomanufacturing of radial grating patterns by nanoimprint with a silicon mould for rotational angle measurement of micro gears
• A study of characterisation of surface generation in ultra-precision polishing using power spectrum analysis Probe type micro magnetic manipulator utilising localised magnetic field with closed-loop magnetic path

Special issue: Water wars in 21st century along international rivers basins: speculation or reality?

International Journal of Sustainable Society 4(1/2) 2012

• Navigating cooperation beyond the absence of conflict: mapping determinants for the effectiveness of river basin organisations
• Rising to the challenge of water security: international (water) law in need of refinement
• Hydropolitics is what societies make of it (or why we need a constructivist approach to the geopolitics of water)
• Global climate change and challenges for international river agreements
• The Jordan River basin: at the crossroads between conflict and cooperation
• Water sector in Central Asia: slow transformation and potential for cooperation
• From monocentric ideal to polycentric pragmatism in the Syr Darya: searching for second best approaches
• Hydropower ambitions of South Asian nations and China: Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers basins
• Ganges basin: an example of social conflicts regarding water resources especially in developing countries
• Three lenses on water war, peace and hegemonic struggle on the Nile

Additional Paper

• A DEA model for efficiency evaluation with undesirable output: an application of paper mills along Huai River

Special issue: Advances in RFID Technology (Part 2)

International Journal of Radio Frequency Identification Technology and Applications 4(1) 2012

• Vulnerability analysis of lightweight secure search protocols for low-cost RFID systems
• A rules based RFID-enabled supply chain process monitoring system
• Approaches to fast sequential inventory and path following in RFID-enriched environments
• Thin film HF RFID tag deposited on paper by thermal evaporation
• Cell phone-based mobile RFID: models, mechanisms and its security

Call for Papers: Advances in Robotics and Mechatronics

A special issue of International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems

This special issue aims to bring researchers together about the latest advances in the field of intelligent and autonomous robotics and mechatronics. These robots are able to adapt to different tasks, learn, interact, autonomously navigate and adapt their behaviours in various environments using intelligent mechanisms, sensors and artificial perception, vision systems, sensor integration techniques, mapping and localisation. The special issue enables researchers in the field of robotics and mechatronics to present new results and contribute to the latest developments on the theory, technologies, methodologies, sensors, bio-inspiration approaches, embedded systems, algorithms and applications of robotics, mechatronics, control and smart systems.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Intelligent mechatronics systems
• Sensors and artificial perception for robotics
• Vision systems and sensor integration techniques
• Bio-inspiration approaches in robotics
• Embedded systems and algorithms
• Control and smart systems.

Important Date
Submission of a full paper: 15 April, 2012

Call for Papers: Green Technology and Digital Enterprise for Sustainability

A special issue of International Journal of Communication Networks and Distributed Systems

This Special Issue on aims to bring together work from academia, research scholars, scientists, engineers, technologists, business entrepreneurs, practitioners, managers and policymakers responsible for delivering green technology (IS & IT) and digital enterprises for sustainability in order to achieve competitive advantage and cost savings in modern organisations in both industrial and business sectors. Authors are invited to submit papers presenting new research related to the theory and practice of recent trends in computing, innovation, communication and information technologies, green technology, digital enterprise, corporate sustainability, e-waste disposal and globalisation.

Extended versions of papers that are accepted for the 4th International Conference on Recent Trends in Computing, Communication & Information Technologies (ObCom - 2011) will be considered, in addition to other submissions.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Information systems development
• E-healthcare
• Forensic informatics
• Healthcare records management
• Biomedical applications
• Forensic finance
• Bioinformatics
• Biometric security
• Data centres and energy efficiency
• Enterprise business applications
• Human-machine cooperation
• Consumer electronics
• Digital automotives
• Corporate social responsibilities
• IT and corporate governance
• Sustainability and entrepreneurship
• Carbon footprints
• Facilities management
• Healthcare informatics
• Ecosystems
• Financial engineering
• Informatics finance
• Environmental issues
• Energy and sustainability
• E-agriculture and technology transfer
• Social engineering
• Ergonomics and benchmarking
• Climate change
• Renewable energy

Important Dates
Submission deadline: 15 February, 2012
First-round notification: 10 April, 2012
Submission of revised paper: 15 June, 2012
Final acceptance notification: 15 July, 2012
Final manuscript due: 15 July, 2012

Special issue: Population and sustainable development

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues 11(3/4) 2011

• Long-run projections of environmental impact in the OECD: the importance of uncertainty and age structure
• Demographic delusion and urban violence: a challenge to youth development in Nigeria
• Water security and sustainability in urban India
• Regional development in neo-liberal era: a missed opportunity for sustainable development
• Colombian refugees in Ecuador: sampling schemes, migratory patterns and consequences for migrants
• Relationship between environmental volunteers' demographic characteristics and their green purchase behaviour: evidence from Penang (Malaysia)
• Analysing the impact of demographic development on sustainability via infrastructure networks

Special issue: Applications of ultra wideband technology in healthcare

International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems  2(2) 2011

• UWB systems for body area networks
• IEEE 802.15.4a UWB receivers in medical applications
• On the UWB medical radars working principles
• Physics-based propagation characterisations of UWB signals for the urine detection in human bladder
• Application of IEEE 802.15.6 IR-UWB physical layer for medical BAN
• Experimental study in breath detection and human target ranging in the presence of obstacles using ultra-wideband signals

Special issue: Image and data compression applications

International Journal of Signal and Imaging Systems Engineering 4(4) 2011

• Image compression using Least Probable Coefficients Approximation technique
• An improved low complexity Near Lossless Image Compression
• Efficient Distributed Video Coding based on principle of syndrome coding
• Image denoising based on adaptive fusion of curvelet transform and Total Variation
• Analysis of radiographical weld flaws using image-processing approach
• Curvature driven diffusion coupled with shock for image enhancement/reconstruction
• Effect of noise on speech compression in Run Length Encoding scheme

Special issue: Business excellence through sustained competitive advantage in a global market

International Journal of Business Excellence 5(1/2) 2012

• Private-public partnerships: corporate responsibility strategy in food retail
• Manufacturing platform of strategic innovation in global semiconductor industry
• Essentials of D-phase to secure the competitive advantage through Six Sigma
• The relationship between web quality and user satisfaction: the moderating effects of security and content
• Determinants of banks' total factor productivity: the post-Asian financial crisis experience of the Philippines
• Implications of an internet startup entering in a market with low level of technological adoption: case study
• Corporate social responsibility: are firms in Nigeria actually giving back or giving away?
• Organic growth a taxonomic perspective

Additional papers

• A simulation-based study for managing hospital emergency department's capacity in extreme events
• Financial controls and firms' performance in the manufacturing sector in Nigeria

Special issue: Interdisciplinary research in entrepreneurship in Europe

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business 15(1) 2012

Papers from the 9th Annual Interdisciplinary European Conference on Entrepreneurship Research (IECER) held in Munich, Germany 16-18 February 2011.

• Beyond high tech: the pivotal role of technology in start-up business model design
• Internationalisation in new ventures what role do team dynamics play?
• The spin-along approach: ambidextrous corporate venturing management
• How to manage networks? The role of network attributes and incentives in network governance
• Succession in family firms: how to improve family satisfaction and family harmony
• The effects of social capital on the performance of newly founded businesses in Slovenia
• Regulatory changes and market reactions the European renewable energy market