Call for Papers: Rich and Real-Life Vehicle Routing Problems

A special issue of International Journal of Advanced Operations Management

Vehicle routing problems (VRPs) have been extensively studied by researchers and practitioners during the last decades. Being complex problems with numerous and relevant potential applications, researchers from the fields of computer science, operations research and industrial engineering have developed very efficient algorithms, both of exact and approximate nature, to deal with different types of VRPs.

However, most of these methods are still far from being tremendously applicable to real-life scenarios, either because they are too complex to be implemented in practice without the direct support of the experts who developed them, or because they solve only an oversimplified version of a realistic routing problem.

This special issue aims at collecting recent works related to the development of efficient yet relatively simple algorithms that can be employed in practice to solve realistic VRPs with non-standard objective functions and/or constraints, as well as case studies regarding the applications of existing methods to solving real-life VRPs.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Heterogeneous VRPs
• Stochastic VRPs
• Multi-depot VRPs
• VRPs with multiple driving ranges
• Inventory routing problems
• Green VRPs
• Online VRPs
• Computer issues in rich VRPs
• VRPs with non-smooth objective functions
• VRPs with soft constraints
• Real-life applications of vehicle routing
• VRPs with asymmetric costs
• Integration of GIS technologies and VRPs
• Simulation-based algorithms for VRPs
• Software for realistic VRPs

Important Date
Submission deadline: 15 December, 2012

Call for Papers: Cloud Computing and Web Services

A special issue of International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering

By offering computing as a utility at a high economy of scale, cloud computing has great potential to reshape the landscape of the IT industry. Following a service-oriented paradigm, cloud computing enables customers to build scalable software services hosted on large-scale data centers while allowing these services to be accessed through a variety of computing devices over the Internet. As cloud computing technologies have been maturing, enterprises are increasingly adopting this new computing paradigm to solve important business problems. Indeed, Gartner Inc. has identified cloud computing as one of the Top 10 strategic technologies for 2012.

And yet cloud computing continues to face deep technical challenges. These challenges are multifaceted and span almost the entire spectrum of computer science. On the service-hosting side, extremely large-scale data centers must offer secure, highly available services while maintain energy and performance efficiency. This continues to spur innovation in hardware architecture and systems software design. On the service-delivering side, service discovery and delivery mechanisms must support thousands of globally distributed client devices with highly diverse hardware and software configurations. Although this concern is partially addressed by web services in the traditional service-oriented computing environments, cloud computing environments require that the design and architecture of existing web services be revisited.

In light of these technological trends, this special issue will focus on fundamental research problems in cloud computing technologies, including novel studies underlining the challenges and opportunities presented to web services in the cloud computing era.

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Cloud architecture, systems, middleware, and tools
• Cloud quality and administration
• Resource provision and management on cloud platforms
• Mobile systems and pervasive computing
• Security and privacy for cloud computing
• Parallel and distributed computing on the clouds
• Domain-specific clouds
• Design, implementation and performance evaluation for cloud applications
• Web technologies
• Web services supporting cloud computing
• Service-oriented computing
• Service-oriented architecture
• Models, methodologies and tools for web services
• Publishing, discovery and selection for web services
• Validation and testing for web services
• Web Service applications

Important Dates
Submission deadline: 1 September, 2012
Acceptance notification: 1 November, 2012
Final paper due: 1 December, 2012

Special issue: Sensor networks

International Journal of Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing 9(2) 2012

• A survey of Intrusion Detection Systems for Wireless Sensor Networks
• Implementation of Wireless Automatic Routing Mechanism for the effective formation of Integrated Meter Reading network
• On multipath balancing and expanding for wireless multimedia sensor networks
• The distance-power consumption trade-off with the optimal number of relays for cooperative Wireless Sensor Networks
• Designing a flexible and low-cost testbed for Wireless Sensor Networks
• Mobility corresponding location-aware information services based on embedded RFID platform

Special issue: Global trade, marketing, and strategic issues - an interdisciplinary perspective

International Journal of Trade and Global Markets 5(1) 2012

Papers from the 2011 Society of Interdisciplinary Business Research Conference, held in Bangkok, Thailand, 16-18 June 2011.

• International portfolio diversification opportunities between Turkey and other emerging markets
• Modelling and forecasting Oman crude oil prices using Box-Jenkins techniques
• Transforming nobody to somebody: Do transformational leadership and relationship marketing make a difference for sustainable marketing?
• Consumer influences on pirated software purchases: perspectives from an emerging Gulf nation
• FDI spillovers and Intellectual Property Rights
• Price discovery in Indian commodity futures market: an empirical exercise

Special issue: Middleware and architectures for seamless and ubiquitous space-based computing in distributed systems

International Journal of Space-Based and Situated Computing 2(1) 2012

• Characterisation of router and link failure processes in UNINETT's IP backbone network
• Evaluation of some optimisation techniques for semantic query answering on shared-nothing architecture
• Enterprise distributed service platform – network architecture and topology optimisation
• Circumstantial-evidence-based effort judgement for web service composition-based SOA implementations
• Secure live migration of parallel applications using container-based virtual machines
• Use of wireless sensor networks for distributed event detection in disaster management applications

Special issue: Knowledge-based development metrics

International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development 3(1) 2012

• Understanding and measurement: perspectives on the evolution of knowledge-based development
• An aggregating approach to ranking cities for knowledge-based development
• A systemic view on knowledge-based development metrics
• National intellectual capital model and measurement
• The MAKCi index: using logistic regression modelling for predicting most admired knowledge cities

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Automation and Logistics

Automation-integrated logistics is economic and environmentally and socially friendly.  Beginning publication in 2013, International Journal of Automation and Logistics will publish original, theoretically advanced and practically oriented papers pertinent to automation and logistics.

Special issue: The enterprise risk management of insurance firms

International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance 4(1) 2012

Papers from a conference held at EDHEC Business School, Lille, 17 May 2011, co-organised by the International Centre for Financial Reportin.

• Managing risk to reputation – a model to monitor the key drivers. A key to long term solvency for insurance and reinsurance companies
• Internal and external drivers for risk taking in UK and German insurance markets
• Enterprise risk management in financial intermediation

Special issue: Economic approaches to sport management – European perspectives

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing 11(1/2) 2012

Papers from the 2nd European Conference in Sport Economics held in Cologne, Germany, 5-6 October  2010.

• The value of human resources in non-public sports providers: the importance of volunteers in non-profit sports clubs versus professionals in for-profit fitness and health clubs
• Understanding the income determinants of German elite athletes in non-professionalised sports
• The institutional framework for doing sports business: principles of EU competition policy in sports markets
• Why does financial regulation matter for European professional football clubs?

Additional Papers

• A theoretical model of the potential impact of diversity cultures on individual level outcomes
• How athletes build their brands
• From laconophilia to 'The Sportan': balancing athletic excellence, sponsorship, branding and career prospects

Special issue: Advanced application of modelling, identification and control

International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems 4(1) 2012

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

Other papers from the Conference are in earlier issues:
International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems 3 (5/6) 2011 
International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems 3(4) 2011
International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems 3(3) 2011
International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems 3(2) 2011
International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems 3(1) 2011

• Identifying individuals from gait pattern using waist-mounted accelerometer
• Anti-theft monitoring system for street lamp cable
• EHV transmission lines fault protection with HHT energy spectrum
• Compensation of play operator-based Prandtl-Ishlinskii hysteresis model using a stop operator with application to piezoelectric actuators
• Grasp and transport control for a chopsticks-type robot using work control

Regular Papers

• Adaptive control method for path tracking of wheeled mobile robot considering parameter changes
• Development of an AE-based system for workpiece datum determination on a micro milling machine
• Compensation for the effect of feedforward controller's switching on isolation table using flow meter

Call for Papers: Energy Efficiency and Sustainability of Systems in the Agile Environment

A special issue of International Journal of Agile Systems and Management

The meaning and effect of climate change has been on the agenda among world leaders for some years, and for much longer has presented big research questions to the scientific community. While the links between human activities, increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change have been scientifically proven, there are a number of people who are trying to deny the existence of climate change in this context and to attribute existing weather phenomena to natural variations and the continuous evolution of Earth processes.

Irrespective of the views of those involved in the debate, one fact that everyone agrees on is the increasing consumption of natural resources by the human race as the world’s population grows and living standards improve. In particular, energy is becoming one of the critical natural resources that will have significant social and technical impacts if it is not managed properly. Hence, it is important to carry out research that focuses on energy efficiency and its sustainable supply and use.

In this special issue we aim to explore research in the design and development of sustainable energy systems for the foreseeable future. The ever-changing global economy, technology and societal adaptation provide fertile ground for the evolution of agility within an unstable environment. Developments in systems, methodologies, models, engineering, science, management and other practices can all contribute to creating a better, more energy-efficient and hence sustainable world.

We invite theoretical and empirical research submissions relating to contemporary and future energy systems, design, engineering and experimental investigation, both in project-controlled environments and in larger community trials. In doing so, this issue will facilitate expert views from a wide variety of sources to develop a roadmap for sustainable energy systems development.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• The design and development of energy supply systems
• The adoption of agile management practices/systems for improving energy efficiency
• Modelling and analysis of energy systems
• Simulation of system energy efficiency and operations
• Management practices for long-term sustainability
• Sustainable organisational design for securing energy efficiency
• Energy-efficient transport systems
• Architecture and implementation towards energy-efficient systems
• Knowledge management for achieving sustainability
• Information sharing and systems integration as the backbone for sustainable energy systems
• Initiatives for reduction of energy consumption
• Managing system complexity and performance indicators
• Collaborative energy-related product design and development
• Collaborative planning, operation and research of sustainable energy systems
• Global energy supply network design and structures
• The role of maintenance and logistics in contemporary energy supply systems
• Trends in energy system architecture design
• Resilience and management of energy sources
• Changing global consumption and supply bases
• Sustainable energy supply
• Renewable energy and technologies
• Rural and remote energy supply
• Contemporary critiques of energy systems and policies

Important Dates
Full paper due: 31 May, 2012
Notification of acceptance: 30 June, 2012
Final version of paper due: 31 August, 2012

Call for Papers: Technology Design for ICT4D Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities

A special issue of International Journal of Information Technology and Management

Information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) is an emerging research paradigm in which researchers from different backgrounds try to use modern technologies for human development. In this special issue we aim to present case studies and relevant research issues for researchers and practitioners in the ICT4D field.

The objectives of this issue are twofold. They are firstly to bring inherent issues hindering the success of ICT4D initiatives to the forefront, and secondly to publish case studies disseminating best practices. The discussions in this issue will provide implications for technology design in the ICT4D domain.

The contents in this special issue will be of interest to academics and researchers working in different domains such as information systems, human-computer interaction, organisational science and management sciences. Furthermore, government officials and policy makers could also benefit from the issue’s discussions for devising effective ICT policies.

We invite research contributions, including case studies, on all aspects of technology design for human development.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• ICTs and poverty alleviation
• ICT adoption in multiple domains (agriculture, health, education, learning, government, etc.)
• Empirical studies of ICT4D initiatives
• Prototypes and case studies of ICT4D
• Innovation in ICT4D technology design
• Open source projects and ICT4D
• Mobile communication and human development
• Best practices and opportunities for ICT4D technology design
• Universal access and Digital Divide
• Evaluation and Success Criteria for ICT4D Projects
• Privacy and ICT4D
• Design Methods for ICT4D Research
• Social and Ethical Issues around ICT4D Technology Design

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 30 June, 2012
Notification to authors: 30 September, 2012
Final versions due: 31 December, 2012

Call for Papers: Social Networking and Education as a Catalyst for Social Change

A special issue of International Journal of Web Based Communities

One of the most recent evolutions based upon the Internet is social networking. This new technology was introduced to facilitate communication, collaboration, contribution, creativity and interaction among individuals and groups. Social networking is part of standard Internet facilities such email, browsing and blogging.

Social networking provokes new types of communication, collaboration, participation and innovative transaction formats between consumers, stakeholders, vendors, suppliers, universities and health departments. However, even more so, it has created new challenges for sectors such as education and health.

Social networking can potentially create a catalytic movement in the education sector, as it allows teachers to learn among themselves and experts in a more natural way than was possible before. This special issue aims at articulating recent trends in social networking among stakeholders in the education sector.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Social networking and Web 2.0 integration into e-learning
• E- learning and social networking
• Web 2.0 and learning
• Relationship between social networking and education
• Social networking in higher education
• Social networking websites in academia
• Social networking opportunities in teaching
• Social networking technologies in higher education
• Social and collaborative learning
• How to make e-learning work in higher education
• From e-learning to social learning
• Future e-learning in 21st century

Important Dates
Deadline for submission: 30 June, 2012
Acceptance notification: 1 August, 2012
Submission of revision:  1 September, 2012
Final notification of acceptance: 15 October, 2012

Call for Papers: Application-oriented Protocol Design for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

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

Wireless networks (WNs) in ad hoc mode have so far been comprehensively studied in terms of communication protocols. Despite the achievements accomplished in the research community, application-oriented WN tests and implementation are more desirable for helping to realise adaptive ubiquitous services.

The wide variety of possible applications results in vastly varying requirements and characteristics, and raises a number of critical issues to be addressed during the design of WN protocols. In recent years, to meet the general trend towards diversification, new medium access control, routing, power management and data gathering protocols have been designed specifically for emerging WN applications. However, much more work is required in the optimisation of different network parameters to address the realistic requirements and constraints of the target domain.

Therefore, application-specific goals must be considered in protocol stack development to reconcile their requirements. Until there are more widespread and longer-term deployments of applications using ad hoc WNs, the performance requirements and resulting cost/performance tradeoffs will not be well understood.

This special issue will present a collection of articles discussing advances in wireless protocol design from the application and services perspective. The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the International Conference on Advanced Engineering Materials and Wireless Communications (AEMWC2012), 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:

• Case studies on the use of wireless ad hoc networks
• Wireless networks for harsh environments
• Underwater wireless communication and networks
• Case studies on physical channel properties affecting performance
• Application-oriented medium access control protocols/algorithms
• Application-oriented routing protocols/algorithms
• Application-oriented transport layer protocols/algorithms
• Application-oriented cross-layer protocols/algorithms
• Application-oriented security protocols/algorithms
• Deployment and scalability of wireless sensor networks
• Energy-efficient wireless networking protocols
• Test-bed, prototype and practical system design
• Simulation tools for wireless networking solutions
• Comparative studies of communication protocols in application-specific scenarios
• Performance evaluation of IEEE 802.11/802.15/802.16/802.20/802.22 series standards

Important Dates
Submission deadline: 16 February, 2013 (extended)
First round of review due: 31 May, 2013
Minor/major revisions due: 30 June, 2013
Notification of acceptance/rejection: 31 August, 2013
Submission of final paper: 15 September, 2013

Call for Papers: Risk Assessment in Mobile Social Media: Trends, Threats, Vulnerabilities and Countermeasures

A special issue of International Journal of Web Engineering and Technology

In recent years the world has been experiencing the exponential growth of mobile social media and networks and their related platforms. The proliferation of innovative mobile network applications and services leads to the emergence of new forms of threats for users, organisations (enterprises, communities, developers, etc.) and society.

Social media have become a large platform for illegal activities such as malware propagation, identity theft, child pornography, etc. It is therefore a major objective to detect abnormal behaviours and to have efficient tools to assess these new forms of threats.

This special issue aims to present the state-of-the-art in risk assessment in mobile social media and networks. Authors are encouraged to submit their research papers on latest trends, threats, vulnerabilities and countermeasures.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

 Trends in new threat and vulnerability identification

•  Survey of risk assessment in mobile social media
•  Empirical and comparative studies (microblogging, social networks, online professional networks, etc.)
•  Security and privacy issues in mobile social media (digital confidence, privacy policy integration in mobile application)
•  Digital identity theft
•  Trust and reputation
•  Mobile social media use among teens and young adults: trends and vulnerabilities
•  Best practices and applications in mobile social media
•  Competitive intelligence (brand attack, social media crisis, rumours, etc.)
•  Societal and political issues (e-citizenship, e-government, etc.)
•  Mobile cloud computing

 Data mining and web mining for risk assessment

•  Data collection and new tools for data analysis (semantic approaches, data mining, etc.)
•  Data pre-processing for data from mobile social media
•  Methods and tools for identification and assessment of new forms of threats
•  Risk assessment in mobile social network services: URL-shortening, geolocation, etc.
•  Convergence mobile phone, social media and network
•  Anomaly detection
•  Mobile network forensics: indicators, metrics, etc.

 Models and visualisation tools for behaviour understanding

•  User modelling and pattern identification in mobile social media
•  Visualisation tools and techniques for cybercrime analysis
•  Mathematical models: fuzzy logic, Bayesian approaches, probabilistic and statistical methods, kernel methods, etc.

Important Dates
First submission deadline: 20 June, 2012
First notification: 20 August, 2012
Revision deadline: 30 September, 2012
Final decision and notification: 20 November, 2012

Call for Papers: Personal Beliefs and IT/IS Development

A special issue of International Journal of Information Systems and Change Management

No doubt, large IT/ISs such as supply chain systems have been a proven operations strategy to improve business effectiveness, particularly in developed economies. Many researchers have illustrated the impact of supply chain strategy on organisational performance with examples of actual input-output data.

For businesses in developing countries, however, the scenario is not so rosy. The spread of supply chain and its effectiveness in operations has at best been moderate. Technologies such as ERP and RFID play a major role in supply chain integration and management. It could be that personal belief factors such as religious values, democratic values, attitudes towards science, attitudes towards competition, etc. play a significant role in technology adoption in developing countries. And this aspect of people’s belief and perception influences the development and implementation of supply chain systems or other large IT/ISs in organisations.

As decision makers in charge of IT/IS implementation (and workers) are motivated and guided by their personal beliefs, it is most likely that business managers will behave differently in developing and developed countries. This special issue aims to contrast behavioural aspects among IT/IS specialists and users in developed and developing countries.

We encourage submission of high-quality papers addressing issues involving people’s beliefs and IT/IS development and implementation at organisational, national and international levels.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Attitudes towards technology development; societal issues
• Impacts of personal beliefs on IT use in organisational context
• Empirical analysis of ERP, SCM or large IT system implementation focusing on people issues
• Policy guidelines in incorporating religious values, democratic values, attitudes towards science, attitudes towards competition, etc. into technology-related decision making
• International comparisons of religious beliefs towards technologies
• Emerging issues in IT/IS development with particular emphasis to cross-cultural issues

Important Dates
Full paper deadline: 15 June 2012
Notification of acceptance and review results: 20 July 2012
Revised submission deadline: 20 August 2012
Notification of acceptance: 10 September 2012
Camera-ready version deadline: 1 October 2012

Call for Papers: Business Communications in the Changing IT Environment

A special issue of International Journal of Information Systems and Management

A tidal wave of new information technologies such as the smartphones, tablet PCs, and other mobile technologies has ushered in fundamental changes in many areas of society and the business community. The new communications platforms offer opportunities as well as uncertainties both to the IT designers and business professionals. Social media communications, personalized messages, teleconferencing, on-line supply chains of corporations, digital wallet, and adoption of ever-evolving mobile communication devices are constantly shaping and reshaping the business model in contemporary E-Commerce. Communications in business are at the forefront of this changing IT environment, undergoing the most significant changes. In the face of the huge potential as well as risks in business communications engendered by this changing IT environment, our knowledge is still in an incipient stage - how this fast changing IT environment is affecting many areas of business, how to harness these changes to enhance the efficiency of business communications, what are the potential dangers and pitfalls, and how to avoid them.

In this special issue, we would like to include papers dealing with the above themes from unique and different perspectives from a wide range of business disciplines. We invite researchers in all disciplines of business, including information systems, marketing, management, finance, economics, accounting, history, and law, to submit their up-to-date, cutting-edge research fitting in this exciting topic. Empirical, conceptual, and theoretical works are welcome. Thoughtful review articles and case studies that bring important practical knowledge and insights in the following areas are equally welcome.
Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Perspectives and insights into the business communications affected by social media and mobile communication devices
• A thoughtful review of business communications under different IT environments of modern business
• Benefits and pitfalls of social media and/or mobile technology in business communications
• Psychological and behavioral considerations in the use of social media and/or mobile technology in marketing and other business practices
• Distinctive managerial practices or behavioral understanding involving social media communication and mobile devices
• Efficacy of social media and mobile technology in marketing and/or inter-organizational communications
• Economic impact of social media and/or mobile technology on marketing and other business practices
• Current and future practices in business-to-business communications based on social media and/or mobile technology
• Current and future practices in communications to and from consumers based on social media and/or mobile technology
• Current and future practices in sales management based on social media and/or new mobile technology
• Current and future practices of use of a new communication platform in various areas of business
• Considerations of group dynamics of using social media and mobile technology in communications in business settings
• Impact of the Internet on business communications
• Maximization of the synergy between social media and mobile technology in various areas of business

Important Date
Submission deadline: 31 October, 2012

Call for Papers: The Role of Environmental Management in Industrial Ecology

A special issue of Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal

Sustainable development has evolved into one of the most important strategic issues facing organisations worldwide. Incorporating principles of sustainable development within organisational policies and processes is a critical issue in addressing global environmental problems.

Over the period 2009 to 2014, the compound annual growth rate in business spending on sustainability projects will be approximately 19% across all OECD countries. The ongoing industrialisation and urbanisation of both the developed and developing world, and the environmental, social and economic impacts that ensue, have led to a greater awareness of the need to re-engineer organisational policies, processes and systems in order to facilitate sustainable development.

The central focus of this special issue is on the role of environmental management in industrial ecology, with particular interest also in business strategy. Within its scope, papers including industry case studies and applications are encouraged.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Organisational, corporate governance, policy, legislation and leadership issues arising from ecological sustainable development and environmental management
• Business strategy related to sustainable ecological development in industry
• Sustainable development and environmental management in information, technology innovation and adoption
• Sustainable development and environmental management in the value chain (procurement), stakeholders, social networks and information systems
• Risk and quality control through sustainability mechanisms
• Use of sustainable development concepts in project management, organisational restructuring and corporate social responsibility
• Measurement, performance and reporting of environmental management
• Sustainable management solutions for ecosystem services; agriculture and the environment; soil and water management; and climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Sustainable development in education and training

Important Dates
Paper submission: 30 June, 2012
First round review completion and notification: 15 September, 2012
Second round submission: 15 November, 2012
Final submission: 15 January, 2013

Special issue: Application of operations research techniques in engineering management

International Journal of Advanced Operations Management 3(3/4) 2011

Papers from the  International Conference on Operations Research Applications in Engineering Management (ICOREM), held in Tiruchirapalli, India, 27–29 May 2009.

See also International Journal of Business Performance and Supply Chain Modelling 2(2) 2010

• An automated crime pattern detection using k-means clustering
• A multi-agent based approach for dynamic multi-project scheduling
• Application of ANN in non-life insurance industry
• Optimal allocation of promotional resource for multi-product in segmented market for dynamic potential adopter and repeat purchasing diffusion models
• Heuristic algorithms for scheduling a heat-treatment furnace of steel-casting foundry manufacturing

Additional papers

• Ranking of different common set of weights models using a voting model and its application in determining efficient DMUs
• A comparison of simulation and metamodelling approaches for production rate determination
• A heuristic approach to scheduling jobs in machining centres equipped with automated pallet changers
• Measuring efficiency of just in time implementation using a fuzzy data envelopment analysis approach: real case of Iranian dairy industries

Special issue: Ground-breaking fresh ideas in technology enhanced learning

International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning 3(6) 2011

• Design patterns for learning games
• Personal information management and learning
• Orchestrating technology enhanced learning: a literature review and a conceptual framework
• Constructing knowledge via mobile devices – one interaction at a time
• Digital manipulatives: tools to transform early learning experiences
• Thinking outside the box – a vision of ambient learning displays
• The case for an open science in technology enhanced learning

Newly announced title: International Journal of Space Science and Engineering

To begin publication in 2013, International Journal of Space Science and Engineering will publish original and multidisciplinary research papers in all areas of space activities, with special emphasis on space and planetary exploration, earth observation, mission analysis, spacecraft and payload design, navigation and control and related space technology.

Call for Papers: Nano, Mobile, Cluster and Grid Computing and Advances in Computing Techniques

A special issue of International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering

With recent advancements in the field of computer hardware, from traditional desktops to palmtops and tablet computers, and also in communication media, from conventional wired to wireless and even ad hoc/mobile ad hoc networks, we require advanced computing techniques to meet current needs.

Nano, mobile, cluster and grid computing can be viewed as efficient computing techniques in this modern era in which we cannot restrict ourselves to small premises. The network is also growing at a rapid pace and its data is ultimately becoming enormous in amount as well as in nature.

To carry out an efficient search on the Web in this situation, context awareness computing may become an effective option. To handle the huge network of distributed computers, we may see a ray of hope in grid computing. Battery power is also a vital issue when we are roaming. Limited bandwidth is another prime concern due to the wireless and mobile nature of nodes, so bandwidth allocation should be designated according to application. Mobile computing may handle such matters and many other related issues.

This special issue aims to cultivate the dissemination of high quality research in the fields of nano computing, mobile computing, cluster computing and grid computing, and other advances in computing techniques.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Bandwidth issues
• Battery power management and control
• Cluster computing
• Connectivity-related issues
• Context-aware computing
• Genetic algorithms
• Grid computing
• ID-based cryptography
• Location-aware computing
• Mobile ad-hoc and sensor networks
• Mobile-aware applications
• Mobile networks
• Mobility management
• Multi- and many-objective optimisation
• Multimedia data dissemination
• Multi-user detection
• Nano algorithms
• Nano computing
• Network architectures and protocols
• Online and mobile environment
• Optimised routing
• Personal area networks(PAN)
• Pervasive and ubiquitous Computing
• Portable devices and smart sensors
• Quality of service (QoS) issues
• Resource allocation and interference management
• Routing protocols
• Security issues
• Security, privacy and authentication
• Various probabilistic approaches to nano computing
• Various soft computing techniques
• Wearable computing

Important Dates
Manuscript due: 15 May, 2012
First round notification: 25 June, 2012
Revised paper due: 10 July, 2012
Notification of acceptance: 25 July, 2012
Submission of final manuscript: 10 August, 2012

Special issue: Strategic and organisational issues of information technology

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management 11(2) 2012

Papers from the 2009 European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS2009) held in Izmir, Turkey, 13-14 July 2009.

• Internet usage among Arab adolescents: preliminary findings
• The new IT trends in air transportation: assessing the IT applications of airlines in Turkey
• The organisational commitment of IT professionals in private banks
• Investigating employee attitudes and beliefs using commitment and situational predictors
• A study on knowledge management and firm performance in Turkish IT sector
• Intercultural Communication Competence: a study about the Intercultural Sensitivity of university students based on their education and international experiences
• A comparative study for differences on Information System success perceptions: a study of retailing industry
• A study on e-CRM implementation and e-loyalty at different stages of transaction cycle

Special issue: Recent advances in complex and large-scale infrastructure project analysis and evaluation

International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics 2(4) 2011

• Performance evaluation of Indian electrical distribution utilities in the post Electricity Act 2003 era
• Investment efficiency in the Italian water service industry: a benchmarking study using data envelopment analysis (DEA)
• Adaptive port planning using real options
• Selection of service expansion projects for a telecommunication organisation
• Transport investments: are they crucial for the economic system?

Additional Paper

• An innovative application of activity-based costing and management in decision support modelling

Special issue: Development of embedded systems: modelling, verification, scheduling, implementation and reconfiguration

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology 42 (2/3) 2011

• Formal approach for the development of intelligent industrial control components
• Virtual start-up of plants using formal methods
• Combining formal methods for the development of reactive systems
• Evaluation of meta-heuristic approaches for scheduling optimisation of flexible manufacturing systems
• Incremental verification of component-based timed systems
• Real-time reconfigurable SoC for process control
• A multi-level design methodology of multistage interconnection network for MPSOCs
• Nominal decomposition of colour space transformation for the computer system for the reconfigurable computing and SA-C programming

Additional Papers

• Using ontology to generate test cases for GUI testing
• Evaluation of mechanical behaviour of bone, implant and bone-implant interface by numerical simulation of two surgical fixation procedures using finite element analysis
• A dynamic state estimation method for power systems
• Feasibility study of software reengineering towards role-based access control

Call for Papers: Complex Adaptive Systems and Their Dilemmas in the 21st Century: A Critical Perspective of Our Times

A special issue of International Journal of Complexity in Leadership and Management

This special issue will bring together the thoughts and analyses of scholars and practitioners from a range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds to address the question of what the dilemmas that our populations currently face in the 21st century are, characterised by an increasingly complex world.

Complexity management has been used, in recent years, as a new emerging field of study, generally known as complexity theory and management, whose primary focus of analysis is the behaviour over time of certain kinds of complex systems which are not part of traditionally explained concepts.

Complexity's foundations are generically called “unknowability” and “unpredictability”, in contrast to the quantitative nature of most of business disciplines today and the consequent measurements of performance. Complexity management does not try to understand the linearity of the system; on the contrary, it looks at nonlinear relationships while looking at the role of self-organisation, emergence and co-evolution, just to name the basic dimensions. These very same concepts critically challenge the most traditional constructs of management by looking at examples of new paradigms of thought and by proving the fallibility of highly controlled practices, mainly nurtured by what is called the “illusion of control”.

While using systemic thinking and theory as the instruments to map and interpret complexity over time and outside of cause and effect, the success of complexity management in the business discipline represents a strategic opportunity that individuals and organisations can cultivate, in an inevitably and increasingly complex business landscape.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers from Harvard Summer School 2012, but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the event to submit papers for this call.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• New theoretical understandings of complexity in leadership and management and its associated issues and strategies, with a focus on the applications of the systems
• Systems thinking and models of learning organisations in the business world
• Qualitative research in complexity in leadership and management practices
• Case studies of complexity in leadership and management practices in all types of human organisations; personal and professional dilemmas, related to complexity
• Complex adaptive dynamics associated with new leadership and management thinking and dynamics of strategy that can help to understand the interaction of the elements of the systems
• Leadership and management issues related to the complexity of a particular sector or activity (e.g. education, governance)
• Any other associated new knowledge and findings

Important Date
Submission deadline: 30 December, 2012

Call for Papers: Commodities Financial Management

A special issue of International Journal of Financial Engineering and Risk Management 

For this special issue we welcome submissions of original high-quality papers on all aspects of commodities financial management, as well as on issues of modelling, trading, hedging and arbitrage and their relation to risk management in the commodities industry.

All papers should present high-level theoretical and/or empirical research results related to the theme of the issue.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Commodities investment and financing decisions
• Volatility and commodities pricing
• Risk management in commodities
• Capital structure
• Payout policy and IPOs of commodity companies
• Corporate governance
• Ownership structure, and mergers and acquisitions of commodity companies
• Behavioural aspects of commodity finance
• Risk-return characteristics of commodity investments
• Sustainability issues
• Environmental risk and liability for commodity companies
• Accounting issues related to commodities financial management

Important Date
Submission deadline: 31 July, 2012

Call for Papers: Managing Services in the Knowledge Economy

A special issue of International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development

Managing services effectively and efficiently and attracting and retaining human capital is a high priority for economic development stakeholders in the knowledge economy. The goal of this special issue is to:

• provide a substantial contribution, either conceptual or empirical, to the areas of knowledge management (KM) and knowledge-based development (KBD) in terms of the improvement and refinement of theories, approaches, methodologies, tools, techniques and applications in order to replicate, support and challenge existing studies
• offer new applications of existing theory and approaches to drive organisations, regions and societies towards a better understanding of KBD.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

•  KM and KBD in the service economy:
•  Knowledge sharing and transfer in the services economy
•  Knowledge creation and renewal in the services economy
•  KM the in healthcare industry
•  Differences in the implementation of KM principles in the public and private sectors
•  KM and KBD effectiveness:
•  Strategies for managing knowledge and promoting KBD effectively
•  Structural, technological and cultural determinants of effective KM and KBD
•  Benefits/consequences of KM and KBD
•  Measuring KBD effectiveness
•  Case studies on the efficacy of policies from different levels of government to improve management of services in the knowledge economy
•  Relearning and unlearning
•  Influence of ICT and/or knowledge management systems (KMS)
•  Effects of unlearning and relearning
•  Human resource management practices for unlearning and relearning

Important Dates
Abstract submission deadline: 30 March, 2012 (by email)
Selection of abstracts: 15 April, 2012
Full papers submission: 1 July, 2012
Notification of acceptance/rejection: 30 September, 2012
Final paper submission: 30 October, 2012

Special issue: Entrepreneurship and internationalisation of SMEs

Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development 6(1) 2012

• Theory and practise of emerging market firm internationalisation: perspectives from Chinese non-state-owned entrepreneurship ventures
• Competence block approach to high-tech new venture creation: the case of the Octopus programme
• Springboard internationalisation as a growth strategy for emerging countries MNEs: the case of Malaysia
• Innovation as the critical capability for business performance of Malaysian manufacturing SMEs
• Strategic role of sourcing strategy in the relationships between competitive strategies and organisational performance
• Phenomenology of willingness to save: a study of Thai salaried individuals

Special issue: Opportunities and challenges during the economic recovery

International Journal of Society Systems Science 4(1) 2012

Papers from the 37th Annual Conference of the Northeast Business & Economics Association (NBEA) held in Morristown, NJ, USA, 30 September - 2 October 2010.

• Measuring quality of sustainability reports and assurance statements: characteristics of the high quality reporting companies
• Leadership lessons for the business community: strategies to maintain prosperity during a recession
• Fiscal policy in select transition economies: opportunities for sustainable development
• A SWOT model of the challenges and benefits of volunteer involvement in US non-profit organisations during times of fiscal stress
• The corruption factor: how public sector employees influence the tide

Special issue: Nanotechnology in France III: C'Nano PACA

International Journal of Nanotechnology 9(3-7) 2012

• Editorial: Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
• Environmental fate of nanoparticles: physical chemical and biological aspects – a few snapshots
• Effects of metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Biomarkers responses in invertebrates and bacteria
• Adsorption of nickel and arsenic from aqueous solution on natural sepiolite
• Functionalisation through periodically arranged nanostructures
• Laser-ablative nanostructuring of surfaces
• Anodic 3D nanostructuring for tailored applications
• Novel fabrication technologies of 1D TiO2 nanotubes, vertical tin and iron-based nanowires for Li-ion microbatteries
• Electrochemical fabrication of oriented ZnO nanorods on TiO2 nanotubes
• Dry and wet methods of silicon dioxide surface functionalisation with 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane: application to fullerene C60 anchoring
• Self-organised growth of molecular arrays at surfaces
• Thermoelectricity and heat balance in a metal/dot/metal junction
• Low-dimensional materials for thermoelectric applications
• Iridium (III) complexes as promising emitters for solid-state Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells (LECs)
• Stress effects on solid-state dewetting of nano-thin films
• Fabrication and growth of GaN-based micro and nanostructures
• Boosting the Curie temperature in carbon-doped Mn5Ge3/Ge heterostructures
• Nanotechnologies dedicated to nucleation control
• Feasibility of simultaneous surface topography and XRF mapping using Shear Force Microscopy
• Role of the active layer thickness on the sensitivity of WO3 gas sensors
• Erbium-doped nanoparticles in silica-based optical fibres
• Near field optical microscopy: a brief review
• Nanodrug potential in cancer therapy: efficacy/toxicity studies in cancer cells
• Plastic neuronal probes for implantation in cortical and subcortical areas of the rat brain
• Microfluidic tools to investigate pathologies in the blood microcirculation
• Advanced microscopy techniques for biological imaging
• Regular arrays of palladium and palladium-gold clusters supported on ultrathin alumina films: stability under oxygen
• Structure and properties of nanoscale materials: theory and atomistic computer simulation
• Indigo/sepiolite nanohybrids: stability of natural pigments inspired by Maya blue
• Morphology and reactivity of aluminium nanocrystalline powders

Call for Papers: Collaboration, Information Sharing and Integration in Supply Chains: Models for Decision Making

A special issue of International Journal of Management and Decision Making

Even though supply chain management literature frequently proclaims the virtues of collaboration and information sharing, several gaps have recently been identified. In particular, we recognise that there is a lack of common understanding about how to create a joint decision making process for aligning individual plans. Paradoxically, although more information is available, proportionally less is being effectively captured, managed, analysed and made available to people who need it.

Case studies show how highly advocated large-scale collaboration projects, such as vendor-managed inventory arrangements, can degenerate into a five-to-one increase in the bullwhip effect at each level of the supply chain. This is due to the fact that buyers and sellers, despite achieving information transparency, do not completely exploit the potential strength of full visibility. On the contrary, due to a lack of understanding about how to create a joint decision making process for aligning the plans of individual supply chain members, they continue adopting decision making based on the same information as in a traditional supply chain, thus deriving no dynamic benefit.

Therefore there is a need for an unambiguous understanding of which specific data should be shared and how and when these data should be used in order to create a fully collaborative decision making mechanism. Furthermore – since in the real business world, environmental conditions can often determine impetuous variations in processes – there is a need for quantifying merits and limitations of specific supply chain collaboration structures under several assumptions.

The impact of sharing imprecise information amongst partners in collaborative practices, the dynamics of closed loop information exchange supply chains, and the effects of the behavioural variables in collaborative structures still need to be studied.

The objective of this special issue is to bring together high quality research in the modelling and performance evaluation of innovative collaboration, coordination and integration practices in supply chains. Conceptual, analytical and simulation models will be considered for this issue.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Collaborative practices in supply chains
• The role of information technology in supply chains
• Effect of closed-loop in the dynamics of supply chains
• Behavioural effects on supply chain management
• Inventory inaccuracy records in information sharing networks
• Management of uncertainties in collaborative supply chains
• Lumpy demand phenomenon in collaborative supply chains
• Efficiency of bullwhip avoidance strategies
• Mathematical and simulation models for supply chain collaboration management

Important Dates
Paper submission: 30 June, 2012
Reviewer reports: 31 October, 2012
Revised paper submission: 31 January, 2013
Final manuscript submission to publishers: 31 March, 2013

Call for Papers: Lean Tools

A special issue of International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing

Lean philosophy is a proven concept for business success. It is based on producing quality products and providing quality services that customers demand. Lean is considered as a process for continuous improvement through integration of customers, suppliers, employers and all stakeholders involved.

A large collection of proven tools are available in support of implementing this concept. This themed issue’s purpose is the publication of the latest research articles in the application of tools and methodologies in the planning, design, development and implementation of lean concepts in manufacturing, services and healthcare industries.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Cellular manufacturing
• Just in time
• Supply chain management
• Transportation and material handling
• Project management
• Value stream mapping (manufacturing, services, healthcare)
• Continuous improvement
• Process standardisation
• Reconfigurable machines and systems
• Sustainability
• TPM
• Case studies or any related topics

Important Dates
Full paper submission: 15 March, 2012
Notification of review results: 30 April, 2012
Revised manuscript submission: 31 May, 2012
Final accepted paper submission: 1 July, 2012

Call for Papers: Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

A special issue of International Journal of Vehicle Design

Advanced hybrid and electric vehicles are widely considered as green technologies for future transports, which improve overall drivertrain efficiency and reduce vehicle emissions. In order to further promote excellence of research in vehicle powertrain and propulsion, this special issue will focus on state of the art research and development as well as continuous efforts in the modelling, design, control and optimisation of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), electric vehicles (EV) and fuel cell vehicles (FCV).

We therefore kindly invite you or any of your colleagues working in the following areas to submit technical papers for review. The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at VTI 2012 , 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:

• Hybrid and electric vehicle modelling and control
• Hybrid and electric vehicle energy management and optimisation
• Hybrid and electric vehicle safety and fault tolerance
• Machine modelling, analysis and control
• Energy storage system modelling, analysis and control
• Smart grid and electric infrastructure

Important Dates
Paper due: 31 August, 2012
Acceptance notification: 30 November, 2012
Final paper version due: 10 January, 2013

Special issue: States and high tech: cases from the wireless sector

International Journal of Technology and Globalisation 6(1/2) 2012

• Explaining sectoral leapfrogging in countries: comparative studies of the wireless sector
• Introduction to wireless technology and markets
• Secrets behind the Finnish miracle: the rise of Nokia
• Evolution of the South Korean wireless industry: from state guidance to global competition
• Mexico's telecommunications industry: the absence of industrial policy
• Manufacturing telecommunications in Brazil: from leading edge to maquilas
• Alberta: Policy inaction, crises, unintended consequences and cluster success in the semi-periphery

Additional paper

• Establishing a space sector for sustainable development in Kenya

Special issue: Digital service ecosystems

International Journal of Electronic Business 9(5/6) 2011

Includes papers from the International ACM Conference on Management of Emergent DigitalEcoSystems (MEDES 2009) held in Lyon, France, 27-30 October 2009.

• Integrated Service Engineering workbench: service engineering for digital ecosystems
• An ecosystem for user centric learning: Revolution or evolution?
• A pervasive environment for systemising innovative services in knowledge-intensive firms
• Evaluating success factors of selling practices in electronic marketplaces
• Towards a RESTful infrastructure for Digital Ecosystems
• A performance comparison of four WSRF implementations

Additional Papers

• Disintermediation in the tourism industry: an investigation of Thai tourism SMEs
• Managing e-contracts in a supply chain

First issue: International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics

Publishing papers on ergonomics and human factors in the design, planning, development and management of technical and social systems for work or leisure, International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics includes technical systems, equipment, products and the organisation of work. It covers theoretical advances, applications, case studies, new methodologies and procedures, as well as empirical studies.

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

Call for Papers: Transportation and Evacuation Planning

A special issue of International Journal of Collaborative Enterprise

For most human beings, facing threats is inevitable. While in some cases a threat can be treated or eliminated, the safest course of action in facing threats is often to evacuate the danger zone. Evacuation of the danger zone can vary in scale from individual movement to hundreds of thousands of people evacuating urban cities. Urban evacuation can be viewed as the process in which evacuees are moved from danger areas to safe zones utilising transportation resources. This massive movement of population typically exceeds normal demands on transportation resources and thus requires careful planning and optimisation.

Evacuation planning and modelling has attracted interest among researchers as well as government officials. The catastrophic loss of human lives after hurricane Katrina and the massive evacuation before hurricane Rita have resulted in several research efforts for the development of evacuation planning strategies and techniques.

The purpose of this themed issue is the publication of latest research in the development of methodologies, models, technologies and tools in transportation and evacuation planning.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Microscopic models
• Mesoscopic models
• Macroscopic models
• Cellular automaton models
• Dynamic evacuation modelling
• Static evacuation modelling
• Traffic flow modelling
• Simulation modelling
• Network modelling
• Logistics and support strategy
• Intelligent transportation systems
• Information systems infrastructure
• Case studies and other related topics

Important Dates
Full paper submission: 15 March, 2012
Notification of reviews: 30 April, 2012
Revised manuscript submission: 31 May, 2012
Accepted final paper: 1 July, 2012

Call for Papers: PhD Education in Information and Operations Management and Related Areas

A special issue of International Journal of Information and Operations Management Education

The literature on education in the field of information and operations management focuses mostly on undergraduate education and only a little on master’s degrees. There is limited research published on educating students at PhD level.

This special issue is oriented towards the education and supervision of PhD students. Its goal is to increase our understanding of the PhD education process and to gain insight into what works and what doesn’t or needs improvement from the educational perspective.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• PhD educational processes in information and operations management and related fields
• Approaches by instructors/supervisors, potentially combined with results
• PhD programme approaches and how they were developed, potentially combined with results
• Insights into PhD education results, i.e. success and how it is defined
• Insights into PhD programme entry requirements and the relationship with outcomes (graduation rates)
• Research on specific problems encountered during PhD supervision (e.g. limited conceptual abilities of PhD students) and possible approaches for improvement

An example of a study is Steenhuis and de Bruijn (2011), ‘PhD supervision: an exploratory study’, International Journal of Information and Operations Management Education, Vol. 4, No 3/4, pp. 193-211.

Important Dates
Submission deadline: 1 October, 2012
First round decisions: 1 December, 2012
Second round revision due: 1 February, 2013
Final decisions: 1 March, 2013

Call for Papers: Security and Privacy of E-Government Applications and Services

A special issue of International Journal of Electronic Governance

Securing critical infrastructure has emerged in recent years not only as a result of the threat of cyber war, but also due to real attacks that targeted, for example, Estonia, Russia, Georgia and other countries, and even malware outbreaks such as Stuxnet and Duku. Nonetheless, the focus of the security community in terms of protecting nation-critical assets is traditionally placed mainly on the network perimeter, ignoring to a large extent the increased risk of insecure software. In addition, during the past years a number of Fortune 100 companies, including Defense Contractors, faced severe industrial espionage attacks and consecutive data leakage of classified information.

Recent surveys indicate that government applications demonstrate increased vulnerabilities and at the same time elevated risk, as they store and process critical information such as PII, health information and national security data, and furthermore operate critical systems. Moreover, most SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems are Internet-connected and thus vulnerable to a wide range of network attacks. Latest theoretical evidence and vast amounts of empirical data indicate a rise in similar attacks in both quantity and sophistication. Therefore most modern societies characterise the protection of e-goverment sites and SCADA systems as critical to their national security.

This special issue aims to focus on the resilience and assurance of e-government applications, services and procedures, and to report relevant research and experiences from operational case studies.

More specifically, original unpublished research articles and case studies are sought covering various disciplines pertinent to security and privacy of e-government applications and relevant cross-domain research, including risks, threats and countermeasures. The focus of the special issue will be on research papers, case studies, experience reports and impact/efficiency assessments based on operational findings from secure e-government implementations with considerable impact and learning potential.

Suitable contributions include but are not limited to:

• Research papers on security and privacy of e-government applications and services, based on (but not limited to) the following themes:
•  Cyberwar, cyberterrorism and cyber-defence
•  Security and privacy concerns regarding e-government applications, services and data storage
•  Threat modelling, vulnerability analysis and security and privacy testing of e-government applications and services
•  Countermeasures for e-government security and privacy vulnerabilities
•  e-Government application and service development for security and privacy
•  Security and privacy aspects of new/emerging online, mobile and offline technologies and paradigms for e-government applications and services
•  Intrusion detection/prevention systems for e-government applications and services
•  Business risks of e-government application and service security and privacy
•  Social and economic aspects of e-government security and privacy
•  Security and privacy metrics for e-government applications and services
•  e-Government security and privacy awareness and education
• Operational case studies of security and privacy for e-government applications and services with considerable impact. For each case, the following information should be provided: description of case; problem addressed and solution achieved; policy context and strategy; security and privacy aspects of the solution; evaluation of effectiveness and impact assessment; results and lessons learnt.

Important Dates
Deadline for paper submission: 10 December, 2012
Notification of review results: 30 January, 2013
Submission of revised manuscripts: 30 March, 2013

Special issue: Energy management and resources: Part one

International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy 7(5/6) 2011

Papers from the InternationalConference on Thermal Energy and Environment (INCOTEE 2011) held Tamil Nadu, India, 24–26 March 2011.

• Performance evaluation of locality-based compact solar refrigeration system
• Automation of energy management system in Rourkela steel plant: a case study
• Performance and energy analyses of a diesel engine fuelled with Koroch seed oil methyl ester and its diesel fuel blends
• Effects of injection timing on the performance and emissions of a diesel engine fuelled with diethyl ether blended thevetia peruviana biodiesel
• Exergy analysis of gas turbine – solid oxide fuel cell-based combined cycle power plant

Additional Papers

• Selection and economical evaluation of solar desalination technologies via DesalSolar software
  The performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine using preheated Kusum oil and Kusum diesel blend
  Technological innovations and energy intensity of machine tool SMEs in Bangalore: do process innovations contribute to energy efficiency?

Call for Papers: Sliding Mode Control and Estimation

A special issue of International Journal of Instrumentation Technology

Sliding mode control (SMC) is a class of variable structure control consisting of a discontinuous control law and a decision rule called switching function. This control technique has several features that have attracted the attention of researchers and engineers from academia and industry around the world.

The main characteristics of SMC are (1) reduced-order dynamics when the system is in a sliding mode, and (2) insensitivity with respect to a particular class of plant model uncertainties and external disturbances. The reduced-order dynamic behaviour is defined by the designer when synthesising the switching function, whereas the invariance property of SMC systems is inherent to this control technique.

Sliding mode concepts have also been applied to estimation problems involving reconstruction of state variables and faults. Sliding mode schemes have become one of the most exciting research topics in several fields such as electric drives and actuators, power systems, aerospace vehicles, robotic manipulators and so on.

The aim of this special issue is to present recent theoretical developments in sliding mode control and estimation techniques as well as practical solutions to real-world control engineering problems using sliding mode methods.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Sliding mode control and estimation of electric drives
• Sliding mode control and estimation of electric power systems
• Sliding mode control and estimation in the automotive industry
• Sliding mode control and estimation of aerospace vehicles
• Sliding mode control and estimation applications in robotics
• Sliding mode control and estimation of process systems
• Sliding mode observers for fault detection and isolation
• Adaptive sliding mode control
• Sliding mode control and optimisation
• Sliding mode estimation and optimisation
• Output feedback sliding mode control
• Discrete-time sliding mode control
• Sliding mode observers
• Higher-order sliding modes
• Chattering analysis
• Reaching phase elimination
• Combination of sliding mode schemes and artificial intelligence

Important Dates
Papers due: 1 July, 2012
Acceptance notification: 15 September, 2012
Final paper versions due: 1 November, 2012

Call for Papers: Religion, Spirituality, and Business in the Emerging Market Economy of China

A special issue of International Journal of Chinese Culture and Management

Religion is a crucial part of culture and the importance of its role in the business world cannot be overstated. For example, the Judeo-Christian worldview is the foundation of the American cultural and economic systems. In his famous essay “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” Max Weber, a German sociologist and political economist, identified the Christian Protestant ethic as a major factor contributing to the initial emergence of modern rational capitalism in Western Europe and North America.

In China, the past three decades have witnessed not only an emerging market economy but also rigorous growth of religion, a remarkable phenomenon which is often described as “culture fever.” According to Weber, because Chinese religions, especially Confucianism, did not emphasise actively working for wealth, Chinese religions lacked the ability to contribute to the rise of capitalism. Nevertheless, today’s China provides a unique opportunity for studying how and to what extent religions interact with or impact business in the transition from a planned economy to a market economy. This is the primary goal of our special issue. We invite both theoretical and empirical research papers from across disciplines and from across the world. In addition, we welcome high-quality research papers that examine the interplay of Chinese religion/spirituality and business in societies and nations beyond China.

This special issue is open to a wide range of topics that can address the relationship between religion, spirituality, and business. Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Religious trends in the emerging market economy of China
• Religious economy, market and competition
• State-religion relations
• Religion and entrepreneurship
• Religious views and business ethics
• Impacts of religion and spirituality on business management
• The business of religious groups/organizations
• The role of religion/spirituality in linking business and civic society (e.g., donations, volunteering, etc.)
• Chinese religion, spirituality and business beyond the Chinese society

Important Date
Submission deadline: 31 May, 2012

Special issue: Signals systems and devices

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control 15(2) 2012

Papers from the 6th International Multi-Conference on Signal Systems and Devices (SSD '09) held in Djerba, Tunisia, March 23–26 2009.

• On a robust real-time H∞ controller design for an electrical drive
• Formation control of multiple marine vehicles with velocity reference estimation-based passivity-control design
• Observer design for classes of non-linear networked control systems
• Multimodel LQ controller design for variable-speed and variable pitch wind turbines at high wind speeds
• Robust path tracking by preshaping approach designed for third generation CRONE control
• Fractional attractive force for robust path planning

Special issue: International entrepreneurship and SME internationalisation

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business 15(2) 2012

• The influence of the entrepreneur's background on the behaviour and development of born globals' internationalisation processes
• Inside the boardroom of born globals
• Born Globals: (almost) 20 years of research and still not 'grown up'?
• The internationalisation process of small- and medium-sized firms and the liability of complexity
• International marketing strategy and export performance in Spanish SMEs: a contingency approach
• The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship: an application to foreign direct investment
• External legitimation in international new ventures: toward the typology of captivity