30 December 2019

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles are now available here for free:
  • The effect of perceived risk on the purchase intention of electric vehicles: an extension to the technology acceptance model
  • Economic, environmental and congestion impact on the life-cycle cost of ownership: a case study in the Delhi transit bus system
  • Comparing battery electric vehicle powertrains through rapid component sizing
  • Parameter matching and sensitivity analysis for the powertrain system of micro-electric vehicle
  • Modelling of the wide frequency equivalent circuit of the three-phase AC motor based on vector fitting method
  • Optimisation of control strategy of a range-extended electric bus

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development are now available here for free:
  • The impact of intellectual capital disclosure and corporate governance practices on the cost of finance: Tunisian evidence
  • Does the usage of financial derivatives decrease the systemic risks in the GCC banks? An empirical study
  • Political connections, collateral favours and debt access: some Tunisian evidence
  • Agency conflicts in French SMEs: are banks shareholders still influent?
  • To what extent the global financial crisis deteriorated loan quality of US commercial banks?
  • Board characteristics, IFRS adoption and voluntary disclosure: evidence from management forecasts accuracy in France
  • The risk-based management control system: a stakeholders' perspective to design management control systems
  • Co-movements in volatility of dependency between US dollar and euro: analysing by conditional heteroscedasticity models

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Management and Decision Making

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Management and Decision Making are now available here for free:
  • Modelling approaches of hospital supply chain: case of surgery and oncology department. State of the art
  • A framework for managing spreadsheet-based end user applications
  • Supply chain risk management: models and methods
  • Improving efficiency of farming products through benchmarking and data envelopment analysis
  • Realign current management initiatives by relearning historic innovations

Free open access article available: "Tracked vehicle physics-based energy modelling and series hybrid system optimisation for the Bradley fighting vehicle"

The following paper, "Tracked vehicle physics-based energy modelling and series hybrid system optimisation for the Bradley fighting vehicle" (International Journal of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles 12(1) 2020), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

29 December 2019

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Computational Economics and Econometrics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Computational Economics and Econometrics are now available here for free:
  • Career mobility of PhD holders in social sciences and humanities: evidences from the POCARIM project
  • On the validity of exclusion restrictions in the structural multivariate framework: a Monte Carlo simulation
  • Do the flexible employment arrangements increase job satisfaction and employee loyalty? Evidence from Bayesian networks and instrumental variables
  • Forecasting inflation in Tunisia during instability using dynamic factors model: a two-step based procedure based on Kalman filter
  • Technology diffusion of Industry 4.0: an agent-based approach
  • Measuring uncertainties: a theoretical approach

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Business and Systems Research

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Business and Systems Research are now available here for free:
  • A multicriteria approach to the prioritisation of stock investment funds
  • A mathematical model for measuring and managing macrosustainabilty
  • Prioritising disclosures of information in analyst reports using the analytic hierarchy process: evidence from Malaysia
  • Towards the verification of cyber-physical processes based on time and physical properties
  • Exploring the role of human resource practices in organisational empowerment in developing countries: evidence from the power industry in Iran
  • An end-to-end system to enhance business process performance through new outsourcing to the cloud strategies

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems are now available here for free:
  • Adaptive M-MRC scheme with estimation error over TWDP fading
  • B-DASH: broadcast-based dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP
  • Power load clustering algorithm for demand response
  • Towards cognitive radio-based eHealth systems

New Editor for International Journal of Education Economics and Development

Dr. Vasiliki Brinia from Athens University of Economics and Business in Greece has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Education Economics and Development.

20 December 2019

Research pick: Social media personalities - "Exploring the brand personalities of Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn"

Aaker’s brand personality scale (BPS), rooted in the big five personality traits theory has previously been used in studying how commercial brands are perceived with a view to helping the people marketing those brands engage more putative customers and clients. Now, M. Mutsikiwa and T. Maree of the Department of Marketing Management at the University of Pretoria in South Africa have applied BPS to the well-known online brands of Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Brand personality applies human-like characteristics to brands and attempts to offer business owners and marketers a way to conceptualise and perhaps even anthropomorphise the products and services they are hoping to sell. Now, writing in the International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, the team suggests from their analysis that these online, or digital, brands, do not stick to the BPS rules as set out for more conventional brands and products.

Other researchers in this sphere are quoted by the team: “One of the motivations for creating brand personalities is that attractive brand personalities could potentially lead to long-term relationships between the brand and its consumers”, “Commonly, human personality traits are transferred to brands via advertising”, and “direct contact with a brand may also be instrumental in creating brand personality, as it forms in the mind of the consumer due to how the consumer perceives the brand.” This sets the tone for the new insights into BPS of digital brands.

Based on their study, the team concludes that all three social media tools are to some extent seen as featuring excitement as a “personality” trait. Facebook and YouTube also share the characteristic of sincerity. In the light of recent revelations about social media’s role in politics and other walks of life, it would be interesting to know whether the association with that trait has changed in recent months since this research was undertaken. The team adds that LinkedIn appears unique among the social media in this research in that it prominently features the “competence” personality trait.

The association of human personality traits with social media that is not seen to such a degree in other brands, suggests that the social media platforms themselves are somehow perceived as being more “human” in nature than conventional brands and product categories. This is perhaps an inevitable consequence of social media being so obviously social and the “product” being the people who use the platforms.

Mutsikiwa, M. and Maree, T. (2019) ‘Exploring the brand personalities of Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn’, Int. J. Internet Marketing and Advertising, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp.285–301.

19 December 2019

Research pick: Monkeying about to solve problems - "Spider monkey optimisation: state of the art and advances"

There are countless computer algorithms that simulate biological behaviour from leaping frogs, to bat foraging, from cuckoo search to ant colony optimisation. They all have something in common, the algorithm behaves like a collective intelligence, taking on the call and response of a shoal of fish or a murmuration of starlings, and all those other patterns in nature. Writing in the International Journal of Swarm Intelligence, a team from India discusses the state of the art in a unique algorithm based on a biological system – the spider monkey.

Spider monkeys have a “fusion-fission” social structure where a large social group will split into smaller hordes or vice versa depending on the accessibility and availability of food. Janmenjoy Nayak of Aditya Institute of Technology and Management in Andhra Pradesh, India, and colleagues have looked at the spider monkey optimisation algorithm, which embeds this behaviour to allow it to solve otherwise intractable problems. SMO algorithms are, the team reports, particularly useful in solving electrical and electronic engineering, wireless sensor network, pattern recognition, power system and networks, and data mining problems.

Their survey of the state of the art in SMO and its variants and how it can successfully deal with difficult authentic world optimization problems should serve to inspire practitioners and researchers to innovate in this area even more. Moreover, the success of the SMO hints at the potential of different behaviour in other species such as squirrel monkey, vervet monkey, and proboscis monkey, that might also be simulated to good effect.

Nayak, J., Vakula, K., Dinesh, P. and Naik, B. (2019) ‘Spider monkey optimisation: state of the art and advances’, Int. J. Swarm Intelligence, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp.175–198.

18 December 2019

Research pick: A façade lift for older buildings - "Upgrading the building’s energy performance with an advanced ventilated façade system"

Can a smart new façade improve air quality in older buildings, cut energy demands on heating and cooling systems, and perhaps mitigate carbon emissions to some extent? A detailed answer might lie in research published in the World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development.

Katerina Tsikaloudaki, Theodoros Theodosiou, Dimitra Tsirigoti, Stella Tsoka, and Dimitrios Bikas of the Department of Civil Engineering at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in Thessaloniki, Greece, and Asier Martinez-Urrutia and Julen Hernández González of Tecnalia Research and Innovation in Gipuzkoa, Spain hoped to identify the energy benefits that arise when existing buildings are retrofitted with an advanced ventilated façade system. The system in question is E2VENT system, which comprises an advanced ventilated façade, a heat exchanger, a heat-storage and a smart management system. The team explains that the system can address problems of heat loss during cold periods as well as reduce poor air quality problems that often prevail in older buildings.

The team’s case study looked at buildings that house several families and found in all cases that the system reduced heating loads significantly. Cooling loads were reduced by a moderate amount. Overall, there were considerable energy savings for such buildings and concomitant lower emissions of carbon dioxide than with the same type of building left unmodified. The team adds that the E2EVENT system represents a holistic approach, addressing both the opaque and the transparent building elements (walls and windows, in other words) and constitutes an interesting area for further research studies, they conclude.

Tsikaloudaki, K., Theodosiou, T., Tsirigoti, D., Tsoka, S., Bikas, D., Martinez-Urrutia, A. and González, J.H. (2019) ‘Upgrading the building’s energy performance with an advanced ventilated façade system’, World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp.283–299.

17 December 2019

Research pick: Avoiding stubble trouble - "Exergy analysis of the valorisation of rice straw for energy purposes with a life cycle approach: rice production in Cuba"

When we grow crops a huge amount of energy goes into their production and harvesting. In general, there is also a lot of waste when the wheat is separated from the chaff, so to speak, and stubble trouble is a common problem for wheat and rice and other cereal crops. Now, work on the energy content and potential to do work, exergy, of rice straw suggests that we might have an alternative to simply digging stubble in or burning it.

Writing in the International Journal of Exergy, Edelvy Bravo Amarante of the University of Sancti Spíritus ‘José Martí Pérez’, Cuba, and colleagues there and at the University of Cienfuegos, the Technological University of Havana ‘Jose Antonio Echevarria’, and the University of Kassel, Germany, explain the potential of rice straw.

The team’s calculations suggest that the greatest benefit is the conversion of rice straw to biomethane for further conversion into biodiesel products and production of electricity using generated biogas. This “valorization” can be carried out through anaerobic digestion. The greatest gains in exergy flow are seen in these processes. Moreover, the conversion overall has benefits in terms of lower carbon emissions compared to fossil fuel production and electricity generation, when the full life cycle is taken into account.

Given the vast amounts of rice that are grown in Cuba and more broadly Latin America, there is a need and an application for the rice straw that is otherwise simply a waste product.

Amarante, E.B., Schulz, R.K., Romero, O.R., Bastida, E.J.L., Castro, Y.M., González, A.E.C. and Hernández, L.P.G. (2019) ‘Exergy analysis of the valorisation of rice straw for energy purposes with a life cycle approach: rice production in Cuba’, Int. J. Exergy, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp.338–359

16 December 2019

Special issue on: "Soft Computing Techniques for Engineering Applications"

International Journal of Swarm Intelligence 4(2) 2019

  • Trajectory planning of an autonomous mobile robot
  • Improved pole-placement for adaptive pitch control
  • Enhanced electromagnetic swarm yields better optimisation
  • Implementation of grasshopper optimisation algorithm for closed loop speed control a BLDC motor drive
  • Black hole optimised cascade proportional derivative-proportional integral derivative controller for frequency regulation in hybrid distributed power system
  • Spider monkey optimisation: state of the art and advances

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Advanced Intelligence Paradigms

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Advanced Intelligence Paradigms are now available here for free:
  • Detecting near-duplicate images using segmented minhash algorithm
  • Image encryption techniques for data transmission in networks: a survey
  • Fuzzy rule selection using artificial bee colony optimisation algorithm
  • Perlustration on existing techniques and applications in cloud computing for smart buildings using IoT
  • Intelligent intrusion detection techniques for secure communications in wireless networks: a survey
  • Radio spectrum collision avoidness in cluster cognitive network through gazer nodes
  • A survey on internet of vehicles: applications, technologies, challenges and opportunities
  • Binary honey bee mating partial transmit sequence to improve OFDM
  • Preserving security using crisscross AES and FCFS scheduling in cloud computing
  • A novel approach for secured transmission of DICOM images
  • Classification of neonatal epileptic seizures using support vector machine
  • Malicious node detection through run time self-healing algorithm in WSN
  • MMSI: a multi-mode service invocation algorithm to improve the connectivity in accessing cloud services in heterogeneous mobile cloud
  • Reconfigurable communication wrapper for QoS demand for network on chip
  • Real time MAF-based multi level access restriction approach for collaborative environment using ontology

Special issue published: "Integrating Nodes and Optimisation Across Social and Scientific Areas in Sustainability Loops"

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling 14(5) 2019

  • Error of single-phase proton exchange membrane fuel cell model based on Brinkman-Darcy's law in different flow fields
  • Dynamic performance of high supporting formwork under horizontal impact load
  • Cloud resource orchestration optimisation based on ARIMA
  • Morphological component analysis based on mixed dictionary for signal denoising of ground penetrating radar
  • A data cleaning method for water quality based on improved hierarchical clustering algorithm
  • Photovoltaic maximum power point tracking based on IWD-SVM
  • Simulation of multilateration system based on Chan algorithm and conjugate gradient optimisation algorithm

13 December 2019

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Management Practice

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Management Practice are now available here for free:
  • Non-governmental organisations as alternatives for service delivery in contemporary states
  • Supply chain - a service delivery enhancement or an impediment
  • Challenges and dilemmas in implementing the child support grant policy in South Africa
  • The role of leadership in fostering public service motivation in post-conflict states
  • Risk management in the South African local government and its impact on service delivery
  • Managerial strategies to promote interorganisational and multisectoral collaboration in the South African public sector: a case study approach
  • Progress made towards achieving Rwanda's Vision 2020 key indicators' targets

Free open access article available: "A decision system based on active perception and intelligent analysis for key location security information"

The following paper, "A decision system based on active perception and intelligent analysis for key location security information" (International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering 20(3) 2019), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Research pick: Finding ground truth in social media - "Identifying journalistically relevant social media texts using human and automatic methodologies"

Is it possible to extract “journalistic” as opposed to “general” commentary from social media? Writing in the International Journal of Grid and Utility Computing, a team from Portugal describes an approach to human and automatic extraction of updates and reports one might describe as coming from citizen journalists. Their algorithm is trained on automatically annotated and human-annotated data sets and shows that the wholly automated approach homes in on “ground truth” data much more efficiently and effectively than when the data has had the human touch.

Nuno Guimarães, Filipe Miranda, and Álvaro Figueira of the University of Porto explain how social networks and social media have provided the means for constant connectivity and fast information dissemination. Eyewitnesses to events and happenings the world over can share information and insight in real-time from a sports event or other entertainment, from the scene of a disaster, crime, or other happening, in a way that is impossible for members of the conventional media unless they happen to be at the scene themselves. Moreover, citizen journalists can add a personal perspective that is precluded from independent journalist inquiry.

The automated algorithm builds up an internal trust that is not possible when human, subjective, classification is carried out. After a sufficient number of training data points, the system can unambiguously discern which updates are based on personal beliefs and which are ground truth.

Guimarães, N., Miranda, F. and Figueira, Á. (2020) ‘Identifying journalistically relevant social media texts using human and automatic methodologies’, Int. J. Grid and Utility Computing, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp.72–83.

12 December 2019

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Business Innovation and Research

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Business Innovation and Research
are now available here for free:
  • Organisational antecedents of innovative firms: a focus on entrepreneurial orientation in South Africa
  • Customer engagement in the hotel industry: perceptions of hotel staff and guests
  • Mindful new service conception in not-for-profit organisations: a study of sustainable innovation with scarce resources
  • Evaluation of individuals' behaviour patterns towards cellular network: an empirical study of Pakistan
  • Intention to use the internet of micro-size enterprises: evidence from the biggest emerging market in Southeast Asia
  • The effect of knowledge-based information technology tools on the new product development processes in software companies
  • Developing a measurement for strategic entrepreneurship by linking its dimensions to competitiveness in knowledge-based firms

International Journal of Technology and Globalisation to invite expanded papers from International Conference on the Theme: "Transforming HR in the Digital Era: Prospects and Implicit Issues" (INCTHR-2020) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference on the Theme: "Transforming HR in the Digital Era: Prospects and Implicit Issues" (INCTHR-2020) (11 January 2020, IMS Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Technology and Globalisation.

Free sample articles newly available from European Journal of International Management

The following sample articles from the European Journal of International Management are now available here for free:
  • The influence of competences and institutions on the international market orientation in foreign-owned subsidiaries
  • Influence of the individual characteristics and personality traits of the founder on the performance of family SMEs
  • Toward a 'masstige' theory and strategy for marketing
  • Entrepreneurial orientation in a hostile and turbulent environment: risk and innovativeness among successful Russian entrepreneurs
  • Organising multilingually: setting an agenda for studying language at work
  • Validation of a measure of social entrepreneurship
  • Entrepreneurial orientation in the emerging Russian regulatory context: the criticality of interpersonal relationships
  • Standardisation vs. adaption: a conjoint experiment on the influence of psychic, cultural and geographical distance on international marketing mix decisions
  • Linking corporate social responsibility and financial performance in Spanish firms
  • Challenges in international survey research: a review with illustrations and suggested solutions for best practice
  • Top management retention in cross-border acquisitions: the roles of financial incentives, acquirer's commitment and autonomy
  • Effectiveness of talent management strategies
  • European perspectives on talent management

Research pick: Locking down your smart home with blockchain - "Augmenting smart home network security using blockchain technology"

The concept of the smart home has been around for many decades, but it is only in recent years with the advent of the so-called “internet of things”, IoT, that meters and monitoring, cameras, locking systems, heating systems, and entertainment and information devices, have led to many homes having some degree of genuine smartness. Of course, with connectivity and utility come security problems. For instance, a malicious third party might find access to the home’s wireless network, reprogram the smart TV, turn up the heating, disable the air conditioning, or even open the front door and allow them to remove all your smart devices and redeploy them elsewhere.

Now, Utkarsh Saxena, J.S. Sodhi, and Rajneesh Tanwar of Amity University, in Noida, India, have discussed the options surrounding smart home security in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics. Their survey suggests that security and privacy of the smart home network might best be augmented using the blockchain concept, borrowed from the realm of cryptocurrencies.

A blockchain is a list of records held in digital form, these records or blocks, are linked sequentially and encrypted so that each block is linked to the cryptographic hash of the previous block in the chain. The blockchain carries a timestamp and transaction data for each block and because of the way they are connected the blockchain as a whole cannot be altered in any way without destroying it completely, hence its validity in cryptocurrency and now potentially for other kinds of security, specifically that of the smart home network. The team suggests that adding IoT devices, which are often utilizing distributed resources and services, using a blockchain means that malicious third parties cannot access or interfere with any part of the system without disrupting the system as a whole and thence triggering a security lockdown.

Saxena, U., Sodhi, J.S. and Tanwar, R. (2020) ‘Augmenting smart home network security using blockchain technology’, Int. J. Electronic Security and Digital Forensics, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp.99–117.

11 December 2019

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials are now available here for free:
  • Experimental investigation and optimisation of ultrasonic machining parameters on zirconia composite
  • Evaluation of surface damage mechanisms and optimisation of cutting parameters in turning of N-155 iron-nickel-base superalloy
  • Surface roughness in ultrasonic-assisted and conventional milling of soda-lime glass
  • Multi-quality characteristics optimisation on WEDM for Ti-6Al-4V using Taguchi-grey relational theory
  • Machining performance optimisation of MQL-assisted turning of Inconel-825 superalloy using GA for industrial applications
  • Effects of milling methods and cooling strategies on tool wear, chip morphology and surface roughness in high speed end-milling of Inconel-718

Special issue published: "Knowledge Management Systems"

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management 19(4) 2019

  • Analysing consumer's perception comparatively on hybrid electric according to online comments
  • A control strategy of ES system based on short term wind-PV power prediction
  • Heuristic rule-based process discovery approach from events data
  • An improved content splitting and merging algorithm for Hadoop clusters using component analysis and hamming distance
  • Inclusion of Wikipedia, a language specific knowledge resource to generate and update a synset in WordNet
  • Matches between network structure and competitive strategies
  • Modelling and analysing the driving factors for the coordinated development of three modernisations in Central China

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Information and Computer Security

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Information and Computer Security are now available here for free:
  • A generic construction of identity-based proxy signature scheme in the standard model
  • A novel verifiable and unconditionally secure (m, t, n)-threshold multi-secret sharing scheme using overdetermined systems of linear equations over finite Galois fields
  • SPHERES: an efficient server-side web application protection system
  • Detection algorithm for internet worms scanning that used user datagram protocol
  • MONcrypt: a technique to ensure the confidentiality of outsourced data in cloud storage

Research pick: Cloud of things - "A survey: comparative study on internet of things and cloud of things"

Every day, tens of millions of electronic devices are connected to the internet – mobile phones, tablets, PCs, web cams, smart TVs, smart refrigerators, home thermostats, industrial and environmental sensors, medical equipment. The list goes on.

Now, writing in the International Journal of Cloud Computing a research team from India and Vietnam has surveyed the state of the art in terms of the so-called internet-of-things (IoT) and its counterpart the cloud-of-things (CoT). R. Mohanasundaram of the School of Computer Science and Engineering, at VIT, in Vellore, India, and colleagues Navin Kumar and Rishikesh Mule, working with Kathirvel Brindhadevi at Ton Duc Thang University, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam discuss the growth an interconnectivity and explain how the disparate devices hooked up to the internet, the IoT has a relatively new counterpart the CoT where those devices utilize the remote and distributed computing and data storage resources we loosely refer to as the cloud.

Their main conclusion is that the integration of IoT devices with the benefits of CoT could improve efficiency and efficacy for the whole. The team also points out a few limitations of this evolving paradigm and explains how a novel “fog computing” framework might circumvent the problems particularly in the realm of smart monitoring.

Mohanasundaram, R., Brindhadevi, K., Kumar, N. and Mule, R.Y. (2019) ‘A survey: comparative study on internet of things and cloud of things‘, Int. J. Cloud Computing, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp.237-248.

10 December 2019

Special issue published: "Advanced Computing and Communication Systems"

International Journal of Cloud Computing 8(3) 2019

  • A hybrid encryption method handling big data vulnerabilities
  • Multi-objective optimisation techniques for virtual machine migration-based load balancing in cloud data centre
  • Optimised handoff mechanism using RFID tags for a communication-based train control system
  • A survey: comparative study on internet of things and cloud of things
  • Enhanced classification of LISS-III satellite image using rough set theory and ANN
  • Analysis of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from paddy rice using IoT and fuzzy logic
  • A case study for an incremental classifier model in big data
Additional paper
  • MSA: a task scheduling algorithm for cloud computing

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Grid and Utility Computing

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Grid and Utility Computing are now available here for free:
  • Towards providing middleware-level proactive resource reorganisation for elastic HPC applications in the cloud
  • Cost-aware hybrid cloud scheduling of parameter sweep calculations using predictive algorithms
  • A data replication strategy for document-oriented NoSQL systems
  • A novel integrated framework for securing online instructor-student communication
  • How mutual information interprets anomalies using different clustering
  • High-speed gesture modelling through boundary analysis of active signals from wearable data glove
  • Evaluating the affordances of wearable technology in education
  • Energy harvesting techniques for routing issues in wireless sensor networks
  • Educational data modelling using curve fitting and average uniform algorithm

International Journal of Financial Innovation in Banking to invite expanded papers from National Conference on "Emerging Perspectives of Finance and Changing Economic Scenario" (NCEPFCES-20) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the National Conference on "Emerging Perspectives of Finance and Changing Economic Scenario" (NCEPFCES-20) (29 February 2020, IMS Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Financial Innovation in Banking.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Power Electronics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Power Electronics are now available here for free:
  • Simulated topology of doubly powered asynchronous motor with diode clamped inverter
  • Harmonic injection technique-based grid impedance estimation for an LCL-filtered grid connected inverter - an investigation
  • A novel three-phase multilevel inverter structure using switched capacitor basic unit for renewable energy conversion systems
  • An experimental investigation of scalar control-based induction motor drive using digital signal processor
  • Design and simulation of bi-directional DC-DC converter with dual switch forward snubber
  • Three phase PWM converter using PI and fuzzy with hysteresis current controller
  • A new multi-level inverter with reduced number of switches based on modified H-bridge
  • Relevance of adaptive protection scheme using phasor measurement unit in Indian power grid
  • A comparative study of universal fuzzy logic and PI speed controllers for four switch BLDC motor drive
  • LMI based stability analysis of non-linearly perturbed DC motor speed control system with constant and time-varying delays

Research pick: SILC cut – analysing non-English Tweets - "Mining multilingual and multiscript Twitter data: unleashing the language and script barrier"

Twitter has become the main micro-blogging hub around the world where opinions are shared at an incredible rate. How to extract useful information in different languages from the vast repositories of data? That is the question answered by research published in the International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining.

Bidhan Sarkar, Manob Roy, Pijush Kanti Dutta Pramanik, and Prasenjit Choudhury of the National Institute of Technology of West Bengal, in Durgapur, India and colleague Nilanjan Sinhababu of the Sanaka Educational Trust’s Group of Institutions, also in Durgapur, suggest that interpreting, comprehending, and analyzing this emotion-rich information can unearth many valuable insights. They add that the job is trivial if the tweets are in English given the ubiquity of that language on the internet and the nature of tools and software available for data mining.

Recently, however, there has been an increase in the use of languages other than English and researchers would like to be able to access and analyze the output to Twitter and other platforms in those other languages too. The team’s solution seems unsubtle but will probably be the most effective way forward. They have developed a system that automatically identifies and classifies tweets in a language other than English irrespective of the linguistic script or “alphabet” used and converts the tweets into English!

The team calls their system Script Identification, Language Analysis, and Clustered Mining, which makes for a faux acronym of SILC, although strictly speaking it should be abbreviated as SILACM to be sensible albeit unpronounceable. When the framework is used with the top two languages of India other than English it performs with greater precision than current technology.

Sarkar, B., Sinhababu, N., Roy, M., Pramanik, P.K.D. and Choudhury, P. (2020) ‘Mining multilingual and multiscript Twitter data: unleashing the language and script barrier’, Int. J. Business Intelligence and Data Mining, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp.107–127.

9 December 2019

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Innovation and Learning

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Innovation and Learning are now available here for free:
  • The teaching of innovation and environmental sustainability and its relationship with entrepreneurship in Southern Brazil
  • Representation of teaching strategies based on constructivism in social studies
  • Creating and integrating relevant educational cartoons with scenario-based learning strategies to impart long-term ethics learning
  • Moodle quizzes as a teaching tool in English for academic purposes course
  • Study on problem-based learning towards improving soft skills of students in effective communication class
  • Influence of visualised reflection on 'solving socio-economic problems' - a case from youth economy forums

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation are now available here for free:
  • Evaluating pre-service kindergarten teachers' intention to adopt and use tablets into teaching practice for natural sciences
  • A bibliometric analysis of m-learning from topic inception to 2015
  • Trends in digital game-based learning in the mobile era: a systematic review of journal publications from 2007 to 2016
  • The effects of mobile learning for nursing students: an integrative evaluation of learning process, learning motivation, and study performance
  • Developing social entrepreneurs through distance education: the value of commitment and interactivity with the learning community
  • Matching of compatible different attributes for compatibility of members and groups

New Editor for International Journal of Space-Based and Situated Computing

Dr. Flora Amato from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Space-Based and Situated Computing.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management are now available here for free:
  • Capacitated vehicle routing problem using genetic algorithm: a case of cement distribution
  • The VTMIS implementation and their impact on pilotage and mooring operations: a comparative study between the ports of Barcelona (Spain) and Santos (Brazil)
  • Developing system supplier capability by integrating knowledge with customers
  • A socially responsible supplier selection model under uncertainty: case study of pharmaceutical department of an Iranian hospital
  • The influence of the order prepayment on inventory optimisation
  • A conceptual framework for impact of automotive engineering changes in new product development
  • Economic order quantity model for deteriorating item with preservation technology in time dependent demand with partial backlogging and trade credit

International Journal of Migration and Border Studies featured in World Migration Report 2020

The International Journal of Migration and Border Studies (IJMBS) has been featured in International Organization for Migration's (IOM) World Migration Report 2020. This flagship comprehensive report provides the latest information on migration and an analysis of emerging migration issues. IJMBS was selected as one of the eight peer-reviewed migration-related journals presented in the chapter dedicated to Migration Research and Analysis, which includes an overview of scholarly articles published by the journals selected in 2017 and 2018. Editors were asked to provide an overview of their journals' key contributions for this two-year period. According to IOM, "this exercise allowed for deeper insights into journal contributions, highlighting their similarities as well as different interests and areas of focus, including thematically and geographically" (p. 135).

6 December 2019

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy are now available here for free:
  • Renewable energy-based hybrid model for rural electrification
  • Sizing and optimisation of a photovoltaic pumping system
  • A critical review of research trends for wind energy in Egypt: recent progress and promising opportunities
  • A framework to identify and overcome barriers in launching sustainable energy projects in the Iranian industrial sector

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics are now available here for free:
  • A novel authentication scheme for anonymity and digital rights management based on elliptic curve cryptography
  • Information security model using data embedding technique for enhancing perceptibility and robustness
  • Combating credit card fraud with online behavioural targeting and device fingerprinting
  • Implementation of the PREDECI model in the prosecution of Chimborazo in Ecuador: a case study evaluation
  • ArMTFr: a new permutation-based image encryption scheme

Special issue published: "Future Directions in Computer-Aided Engineering and Technology"

International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology 12(1) 2020

  • Improved indoor location tracking system for mobile nodes
  • Improved automatic age estimation algorithm using a hybrid feature selection
  • Hybrid algorithm for twin image removal in optical scanning holography
  • Evaluation of video watermarking algorithms on mobile device
  • Automatic identification of acute arthritis from ayurvedic wrist pulses
  • A real-time auto calibration technique for stereo camera
  • Bi-level user authentication for enriching legitimates and eradicating duplicates in cloud infrastructure
Additional paper
  • Execution of UML-based oil palm fruit harvester algorithm: novel approach

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Enterprise Network Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Enterprise Network Management are now available here for free:
  • A simulated annealing for the cell formation problem with ratio level data
  • Automatic detection and classification of brain tumours using k-means clustering with classifiers
  • Comparative study of machine learning techniques for breast cancer identification/diagnosis
  • Combined economic and emission dispatch using whale optimisation algorithm
  • Experimental study on the influence of fibre surface treatments and coconut shell powder addition on the compressive strength, hardness and tribological properties of sisal fibre-natural rubber composites
  • Investigation on effect of geometric, material and load parameters on strength of composites with cutouts

Research pick: Legal freedom of speech - "Redefining freedom of speech in the digital environment from an EU law perspective"

Philippe Jougleux of the School of Law at the European University Cyprus investigates the notion of freedom of speech in the context of European Union law in the International Journal of Electronic Governance.

He analyses the general legal regulation of online freedom of expression with reference to the three-part test and the specific case of hate speech. He also then shows how copyright law, as a case study, is related to the balancing of rights as applied by the courts with respect to the mechanism of blocking orders. Online freedom of expression is also considered in some detail.

Free speech is considered a critical part of democracy. Everyone is seen as being entitled to their opinion and their right to express it provided it does not break specific laws surrounding bigotry and incitement to violence and riot, for instance. Moreover, while everyone has the right to freedom of speech, their fellow citizens have the counterpart right to ignore those opinions. Jougleux considers the relatively novel and fragile concept of “neutrality” in this context.

In terms of what we might refer to as the online world, or digital realm, of social media, podcasts, and websites, the online intermediaries – the service and application (app) providers – are essentially protected by the freedom of expression only as a mean to an end. This means that their systems allow users within a democratic jurisdiction to be able to express their opinions and to receive information only insofar as that is not in breach of the law.

Jougleux, P. (2019) ‘Redefining freedom of speech in the digital environment from an EU law perspective’, Int. J. Electronic Governance, Vol. 11, Nos. 3/4, pp.401–417.

5 December 2019

Special issue published: "Intelligence and Data Management"

International Journal of Knowledge Engineering and Soft Data Paradigms 6(3/4) 2019

  • Learning combined features for automatic facial expression recognition
  • An efficient similarity search using a combination between descriptors: a case of study in human face recognition
  • Fuzzy detection orange tree leaves diseases using a co-occurrence matrix-based K-nearest neighbours classifiers
  • Role-based access control in BagTrac application
  • Visual content summarisation for instructional videos using AdaBoost and SIFT

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Economics and Business Research

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Economics and Business Research are now available here for free:
  • The role of accounting information in valuing administrative issues of Korea Exchange
  • The analysis of unemployment, happiness and demographic factors using log-linear models
  • Corporate governance and agency problems
  • Measuring performance of a pharmaceutical company in the MENA region by means of the cash flow statement
  • Public school teachers' perceived sense of self-efficacy in teaching students with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates
  • Islamic work ethics for Arab managers: the missing paradigm between espoused Islam and Islam-in-use
  • Enhancing youth employability: a public private development partnership model to acquire industrial skills

Special issue published: "Data Intensive Services Based Applications"

International Journal of Internet Manufacturing and Services 6(4) 2019

  • Automatic service abstraction through data, information and knowledge prioritisation
  • A classification algorithm based on weighted ML-kNN for multi-label data
  • Research on collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm based on social network
  • Research on collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm based on user interest for cloud computing
  • Deep well construction of big data platform based on multi-source heterogeneous data fusion
  • Toward business process recommendation-based collaborative filtering

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Communication Networks and Distributed Systems

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Communication Networks and Distributed Systems are now available here for free:
  • Poisson point process-based network modelling and performance analysis of multi-hop D2D chain relay formation in heterogeneous wireless network
  • MAC improvements for very high throughput WLANs
  • A reliable solution of path optimisation in LEACH protocol by implementing trust-based neural network
  • Security model based mobile agent for mobile ad hoc networks
  • A comparative study and analysis of agent based monitoring and fuzzy load balancing in distributed systems

Research pick: Twitter in times of crisis - "Emergent uses, as rumour systemic analysis, of Twitter messages during social crises"

Social media applications, such as Twitter, are becoming increasingly important modes of information dissemination especially in times of crises, where individuals can provide insight and information to those involved and those outside in a much more timely manner than traditional media. Writing in the International Journal of Applied Systemic Studies, researchers from Greece explain how they have analysed the rumour mill that is social media, with specific reference to Twitter.

“Twitter users collectively cover the main aspects of disasters from many angles,” the team found. They suggest that official agencies should recognise just how important social media can be during a crisis and see it as a potential tool not only for informal social reporting but also for providing collective intelligence at “ground zero”. By bearing this in mind it could be possible to use it as a tool to help those attempting to manage a crisis, whether a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or large-scale industrial accident, to adapt to the situation to endless uncertainties and to ensure conservation of life and the environment.

The team shows how personal anxiety, user reputation, and many other factors feed into the credibility and perceive importance of any given information disseminated on Twitter and whether or not it is considered nothing but rumour or actual fact. Such factors must also be taken into account by so-called stakeholders attempting crisis management as well as those affected by the crisis directly.

Chondrokoukis, G. and Drakos, I. (2018) ‘Emergent uses, as rumour systemic analysis, of Twitter messages during social crises’, Int. J. Applied Systemic Studies, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp.353–370.

4 December 2019

Special issue published: "Sustainable Computing for Enterprise Resource Planning Applications"

International Journal of Enterprise Network Management 11(1) 2020

  • Mining massive online location-based services from user activity using best first gradient boosted distributed decision tree
  • GRO and WeGO - algorithmic approaches to integrate the heterogeneous databases and enhance the evaluation of ontology mapping systems in the semantic web
  • Feature selection and instance selection using cuttlefish optimisation algorithm through tabu search
  • Enterprise big data analysis using SVM classifier and lexicon dictionary
  • An optimised neural network-based spectrum prediction scheme for cognitive radio
  • An improved downlink packet scheduling algorithm for delay sensitive devices in both H2H and M2M communications in LTE-advanced networks

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology are now available here for free:
  • A fast and scalable similarity search in high-dimensional image datasets
  • Toward a contextual quality of service evaluation approach
  • The temporal dimension of business processes: requirements and challenges
  • A national framework for e-health data collection in Jordan with current practices
  • Smart grid resources optimisation using service oriented middleware
  • Mining traces between source code and textual documents
  • Mobile robot navigation based on tangent circle algorithm
  • Curvilinear tracing approach for recognition of Kannada sign language
  • Modelling and simulation of the ship rapids-ascending ability in Lancang River
  • Design and implementation of a new cooperative approach to brain tumour identification from MRI images

Special issue published: "Innovating Education with Mobile Technology Advancements"

International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation 14(1) 2020

  • A mobile application with augmented reality in exploring the natural environment of Hong Kong
  • Optimising the learning process with immersive virtual reality and non-immersive virtual reality in an educational environment
  • Using Kahoot in law school: differentiated instruction for working adults with diverse learning abilities
  • Voluntary participation and natural grouping with smartphones: an effective and practical approach to implement a quasi-experiment
  • The use of student response systems with learning analytics: a review of case studies (2008-2017)
Additional papers
  • Stakeholders' perceptions of integrating mobile devices in teaching and learning
  • Effects of a mobile technology-supported peer assessment approach on students' learning motivation and perceptions in a college flipped dance class
  • Advancement and research trends of smart learning environments in the mobile era

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology are now available here for free:
  • Selection of the optimal manufacturing process of CAD/CAM/CNC and conventional machining through engineering workshop experimentation
  • PR-LRU: partial random LRU technique for performance improvement of last level cache
  • Finite element analysis of implant design used in elbow arthroplasty process
  • Reliability and safety analysis using fault tree and Bayesian networks
  • Optimisation of brake pedal linkage: a comparative analysis towards material saving using CAE tools
  • Channel shortening equaliser through energy concentration for TH-UWB systems
  • Multiple description image coding using contourlet transform
  • Robust load angle direct torque control with SVM for sensorless induction motor using sliding mode controller and observer
  • Artificial neural networks and genetic algorithm modelling and identification of arc parameter in insulators flashover voltage and leakage current

Research pick: More pollution, less rain - "A meteorological discourse on extreme storm events driven by Asian slum emissions"

Emissions from Asian slums could be a contributory factor in changing weather patterns, according to work published in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution, perhaps leading to worsening windspeeds, but less rainfall.

Sat Ghosh and Aditi Palsapure of VIT University, in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India, Alan Gadian and Steve Dobbie of the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, in the School of Earth and Environment, at the University of Leeds, UK, Arkayan Samaddar of the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, at Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, in Pennsylvania, USA, Anuj Sharma of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Cranfield University, Bedford, UK, and Pranav Chandramouli of Fluminance at the Universitaire de Beaulieu, in Rennes, France, provide the details.

The team explains that climate models have already hinted that local emissions could be affecting the formation and progress of cyclonic storms. They point out that the eastern coast of India, home to several mega cities, is routinely battered by such storms from October to December. These cities, the team explains, house millions of slum dwellers who cook their meals over unseasoned wood fires, which generates vast quantities of airborne biomass particles, which chemically age within the polluted air mass above the cities making them active as cloud condensation nuclei.

The team has taken as a case study Hurricane Thane, which seems to have been modulated by such transient emissions, leading to devastation of the coast of Tamil Nadu on the 30th December 2011. The team’s calculations show that the conversion rate of cloud water to rain was altered by up to 12% with an increase of 20.5% in the amount of water held in clouds rather than falling as rain when pollution effects were present. This could be an ongoing problem for water-scarce region of Southern India.

Ghosh, S., Gadian, A., Dobbie, S., Samaddar, A., Sharma, A., Chandramouli, P. and Palsapure, A. (2019) ‘A meteorological discourse on extreme storm events driven by Asian slum emissions’, Int. J. Environment and Pollution, Vol. 65, No. 4, pp.280–292.

3 December 2019

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining are now available here for free:
  • Data cubes retrieval and design in OLAP systems: from query analysis to visualisation tool
  • OLAP technology and machine learning as the tools for validation of the numerical models of convective clouds
  • Modelling economic choice under radical uncertainty: machine learning approaches
  • Minimal constraint based cuckoo search algorithm for removing transmission congestion and rescheduling the generator units
  • A secured best data centre selection in cloud computing using encryption technique
  • BAIT: behaviour aided intruder testimony technique for attacker intention prediction in business data handling
  • A fuzzy approach to prioritise DEA ranked association rules
  • Enhancing the JPEG image steganography security by RSA and attaining high payload using advanced DCT replacement method and modified quantisation table
  • Probabilistic variable precision fuzzy rough set technique for discovering optimal learning patterns in e-learning
  • Enhanced R package-based cluster analysis fault identification models for three phase power system network
  • Knowledge transfer for efficient cross domain ranking using AdaRank algorithm
  • An efficient clustering approach for fair semantic web content retrieval via tri-level ontology construction model with hybrid dragonfly algorithm
  • Dynamic runtime protection technique against the file system injecting malwares
  • Network affinity aware energy efficient virtual machine placement algorithm
  • A novel multi-class ensemble model based on feature selection using Hadoop framework for classifying imbalanced biomedical data
  • Comparison between optimised genetic-based Honda algorithm and Honda algorithm for collision avoidance system
  • Effective optimisation of Honda algorithm for rear end collision avoidance system with genetic algorithm

Special issue published: "Emerging Technologies for Traffic and Transportation Science"

International Journal of Vehicle Information and Communication Systems 4(4) 2019
  • Reliable white list management technique for warned nodes in MANET
  • Effective utilisation of cloud data centre and allocating user demands to virtual machines using LMRO algorithm
  • A cluster-based secured data transmission protocol for efficient data gathering in WSN
  • Genetic algorithm-based road network design for optimising the vehicle travel distance
  • Fairness-based heuristic workflow scheduling and placement in cloud computing
  • Identity verification-based cryptography for detecting intrusion in wireless sensor networks

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning are now available here for free:
  • Students' academic achievement performance and satisfaction in a flipped classroom in Saudi Arabia
  • Contribution to the multidimensional analysis of the success factors of the integration of the ICTE in higher education in Morocco: case of the MOOC 'relational databases: understanding to master' students' point of view
  • A case study of using the Smart Board as a Chinese learning application by elementary school students
  • Next learning topic prediction for learner's guidance in informal learning environment
  • Technology, attitude and mathematics: a descriptive examination of the literature spanning three decades
  • The digital divide: implications for the eSafety of children and adolescents
  • A systemic approach to leveraging student engagement in collaborative learning to improve online engineering education

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Management in Education

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Management in Education are now available here for free:
  • Self-efficacy and job satisfaction as antecedents of citizenship behaviour in private schools
  • Environmental management in Brazilian higher education
  • A bone of contention: teacher evaluation system in Greece
  • Teacher education policy discourse in the midst of system reorganisation and policy transfer: lessons for small and developing countries
  • Factors affecting the implementation of internationalisation strategies in higher education institutions: evidence from Bahrain

Research pick: Can anyone be completely anonymous? - "Anonymity in social networks: the case of anonymous social media"

Research published in the International Journal of Electronic Governance has investigated whether any of five “anonymous” social media applications are secure in that they do not allow a third party to see personal data or track the users.

Vasileios Chatzistefanou and Konstantinos Limniotis of the Open University of Cyprus, explain how anonymization of personal data should protect user privacy from data mining and data publishing systems. However, this may well not always be the case. Indeed, removing personal identifiers does not ensure privacy as there are techniques that can easily be employed to build a unique fingerprint based on the characteristics of the data itself, which then be used to home in on the identity of a user with or without additional information.

It has been known for a long time that three pieces of information – birth date, sex and zip code – can be used to identify 87 percent of the US population. Moreover, if such information is not available to another party wishing to de-anonymize activity on a given device or in an application, then data points such as identity mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), media access control (MAC) address, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), Android ID, Google Advertising ID (GAID), and so on, can be used to focus on what is essentially a unique fingerprint for a given device and thence perhaps the user. Anonymity cannot be guaranteed, it seems within any system or application regardless of promises and regardless of regulations, such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for citizens of the European Union (EU).

Fundamentally, “Our analysis concludes that there is personal data processing in place even in so-called anonymous applications which in turn implies that a user’s anonymity cannot be ensured, whilst the corresponding privacy policies may leave room for further improvement,” the team writes.

Chatzistefanou, V. and Limniotis, K.(2019)‘Anonymity in social networks: the case of anonymous social media’, Int. J. Electronic Governance, Vol. 11, Nos. 3/4, pp.361–385.

2 December 2019

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Critical Accounting

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Critical Accounting are now available here for free:
  • A reflection on the role of carbon markets in climate governance in Kenya Bernard 
  • Determinants of voluntary tax compliant behaviours in Nigeria
  • Dividend policy, agency costs and board independence
  • Great expectations: a regulatory promise unfulfilled
  • Ponzi schemes and California pyramids Ponzi schemes and Home-Stake

Special issue published: "Parallel Computations and Applications"

International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering 20(2) 2019

  • User preferences oriented cloud service selection in multi-cloud environment
  • The loading-aware energy saving scheme for EPON networks
  • Using RFID technology to develop an intelligent equipment lock management system
  • Managing changes to a packet-processing virtual machine's instruction set architecture over time
  • Spectro-temporal features for environmental sound classification
  • A privacy-preserving cloud-based data management system with efficient revocation scheme
  • Out-of-core streamline visualisation based on adaptive partitioning and data prefetching
  • Accelerating the discontinuous Galerkin cell-vertex scheme solver on GPU-powered systems
  • Q-learning and ACO hybridisation for real-time scheduling on heterogeneous distributed architectures
Additional papers
  • Passive image autofocus by using direct fuzzy transform
  • Incremental processing for string similarity join
  • A hybrid filtering-based network document recommendation system in cloud storage

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Automation and Control

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Automation and Control are now available here for free:
  • A new three-dimensional chaotic system: its adaptive control and circuit design
  • A FPGA-based state space controller
  • Nominal model selection and guidance computer design for antitank guided missile
  • Resonance compensation in dual-stage hard disk drive servo system
  • Modified PSO-based nonlinear controllers applied to a DC-DC converter

29 November 2019

Research pick: An easier life for the giant squid - "Thermodynamic assessment of information transmission in squid’s giant axon may explain why squid populations thrive with global warming"

A cold-blood marine animal, such as the giant squid, Architeuthis, might be one of the few beneficiaries of global warming. Given that its axonic activity is limited by the environmental temperature at which it finds itself, even small increases can lead to a reduction in entropy making living fundamentally easier for the squid, according to research published in the International Journal of Global Warming.

Bahar Hazal Yalçınkaya of the Department of Genetics and Bioengineering at Yeditepe University, in Istanbul, Turkey, Mustafa Özilgen of the Department of Food Engineering there, and Bayram Yılmaz of the Department of Physiology at Yeditepe University Hospital, also in Istanbul, point out that there are several types of creature that have been shown to thrive in the face of global warming. For instance, there is evidence that many pest species, weeds, and parasites fare better in the face of climate change. And, in the marine environment, it seems so do squid.

The team has looked at why this might be the case for the latter. Their thermodynamic analysis of information transmission in the squid giant axon, or nerve cell, shows a definitely lower increase in entropy when the environmental temperature rose. The team suggests this is reflected in an easier life for the squid at a higher temperature, offering an explanation as to why they might thrive under global warming conditions.

Yalçınkaya, B.H., Yılmaz, B. and Özilgen, M. (2019) ‘Thermodynamic assessment of information transmission in squid’s giant axon may explain why squid populations thrive with global warming’, Int. J. Global Warming, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp.233–250.

28 November 2019

New Editor for International Journal of Chinese Culture and Management

Prof. Yu Xiong from Northumbria University in the UK has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Chinese Culture and Management.

Research pick: Self-optimising communication - "Design of an autonomic communication system"

A statistical approach could be used to allow a communication system to carry out self-optimisation, according to research published in the International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems.

Jose Aguilar, Kristell Aguilar, and José Torres of the Universidad de Los Andes, in Mérida, Venezuela, have proposed an autonomic communication system based on a Bayesian network and an ontology, which allows the system itself to make reconfiguration decisions. The ontology provides the necessary knowledge about performance factors and the relationships within the network. The statistical system then adjusts factors within the system to optimise performance based on that knowledge, acting as a stochastic reasoning mechanism.

The team has demonstrated in simulations how their approach improves performance significantly particularly for scenarios where there are high reconfiguration requirements. The adaptive self-optimising approach improves flow rate, reduces loss rate, and minimises delay within the system.

Aguilar, J., Aguilar, K. and Torres, J. (2019) ‘Design of an autonomic communication system’, Int. J. Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp.299–330.

27 November 2019

Special issue published: "Intelligent Computing and Sustainable Systems"

International Journal of Computational Complexity and Intelligent Algorithms 1(2) 2019
  • Scheming a new algorithm for dynamic price prediction of vegetable commodities using statistical price prediction technique
  • Algorithm design, software simulation and mathematical modelling of subthreshold leakage current in CMOS circuits
  • Improved low power implicit pulse triggered flip-flop with reduced power dissipation
  • Big data analytics framework to analyse student's performance
  • Layout detection using computer vision
Additional papers
  • Complexity verification through design and analysis of computer experiments
  • GIS-based design and analysis of preventive health management system for vehicles using ANFIS



International Journal of Bioinformatics Research and Applications to invite expanded papers from 1st International Applied Bioinformatics Conference for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the 1st International Applied Bioinformatics Conference (1-3 October 2020, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Bioinformatics Research and Applications.

Research pick: Improving eHealth from Australia to Germany - "Success factors for national eHealth strategies: a comparative analysis of the Australian and German eHealth system"

Researchers from Australia and Germany have compared the national eHealth strategies in their respective countries and the compared and contrasted findings are combined in their report in the International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations.

Isabella Eigner, Andreas Hamper, and Freimut Bodendorf of FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, and Nilmini Wickramasinghe of Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, explain how the healthcare systems of the two countries share many traits in insurance and management and how both nations have initiated strategies to utilise information and communications technology (ICT) in healthcare, so-called eHealth. The aim being to improve healthcare by using digital services and raising service efficiency, reducing costs, and most importantly improving and patient outcomes as a result.

The team points out that while Australia has focused on a platform-based approach, which was originally known as the “personally controlled electronic health record”, Germany has introduced a mandatory “electronic health card” for people with public health insurance. Their comparison of the effects of such steps in each country reveals the pros and cons of each approach in the context of two different nations, which might be used to improve the implementation of eHealth strategies elsewhere or offer the necessary detail to allow those already in place in Australia, Germany, and other countries to be improved.

Eigner, I., Hamper, A., Wickramasinghe, N. and Bodendorf, F. (2019) ‘Success factors for national eHealth strategies: a comparative analysis of the Australian and German eHealth system’, Int. J. Networking and Virtual Organisations, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp.399–424.

26 November 2019

Special issue published: "Privacy-Preserving, Secure, Intelligent E-Government Services"

International Journal of Electronic Governance 11(3/4) 2019

  • The Interslavic language as a tool for supporting e-democracy in Central and Eastern Europe
  • Big data in political communication: implications for group privacy
  • Transparency-enabling information systems: trust relations and privacy concerns in open governance
  • Enhancing university students' privacy literacy through an educational intervention: a Greek case-study
  • Anonymity in social networks: the case of anonymous social media
  • Authenticated academic services through eIDAS
  • Redefining freedom of speech in the digital environment from an EU law perspective

Special issue published: "Innovative Techniques in Bridge Condition Assessment and Identification Subjected to Moving Loads"

International Journal of Lifecycle Performance Engineering 3(3/4) 2019

  • Uncertainty analysis of the subway vehicle-track coupling system with fuzzy variables
  • Two-step method for bridge modal mass identification using synchronously measured bridge and vehicle dynamic responses
  • Research on moving load identification based on measured acceleration and strain signals
  • Estimation of bridge surface profile from moving vehicle accelerations by means of moving force identification - an experimental field study
  • The application of drive-by bridge damage detection based on continuous SSMA to the field experimental data
  • Safety evaluation method of composite girder cable-stayed bridge based on structural health monitoring system
  • Significance of structural vibrations on the flow rates and pressures inside a silo during discharge

Research pick: Reviewing a sustainable global future - "Urban planning and sustainable cities"

A review of the state-of-the-art in urban planning for sustainable cities has been undertaken by Rosario Adapon Turvey of Lakehead Universit in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Details are reported in the International Journal of the Sustainable Society and suggest that challenges and current perspectives discerned from the research literature might point the way towards a sustainable future based on a thorough understanding of the trends and developments taking place around the world.

“Recent intellectual inquiry has centred on the conceptualisation and knowledge production in creating sustainable cities,” Turvey explains, while pointing out that although the current review may not be exhaustive it does reveal the current progress. The ultimate goal, she writes, is to provide local authorities, practitioners and/or city governments with some perspective and guidance in working towards urban sustainability in the future.

Research into sustainability has grown considerably in the last few decades. Indeed, great rigour has emerged since the 1980s and the discipline is maturing quickly. “Sustainability has been taken as a planning concept that had its beginnings in ecological thinking and economics and now widely applied to studies in urban development,” she adds. Of course, by turns, it has been considered an oxymoron, overworked jargon, and hyperbole. Nevertheless, there is a pressing need to focus on sustainability if we are to surmount many of the problems of fuel and water supply, food security, and to address the problems we face as climate change becomes an increasingly pressing reality.

“As environmental concerns become part of development discourses, there is a need for optimism in the eventual refinement of the process to create ‘sustainable cities’ in the future,” Turvey concludes.

Turvey, R.A. (2019) ‘Urban planning and sustainable cities’, Int. J. Sustainable Society, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp.139–161.

22 November 2019

New Editor for International Journal of Electronic Healthcare

Associate Prof. James Ma from the University of Colorado in the USA has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Electronic Healthcare.

Research pick: Ant-based troll detection - "Detection of threatening user accounts on Twitter social media database"

Uncovering trolls and malicious or spammy accounts on social media is increasingly difficult as the miscreants find more and more ways to camouflage themselves as seemingly legitimate. Writing in the International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics, researchers in India have developed an algorithm based on ant-colony optimisation that can effectively detect accounts that represent a threat to normal users.

Asha Kumari and Balkishan Department of Computer Science and Applications at Maharshi Dayanand University, in Rohtak, India, explain that the connections between twitter users are analogous to the pheromone chemical communication between ants and this can be modeled in an algorithm based on how ant colonies behave to reveal the strongest connections in the twitter network and so uncover the accounts that one might deem as threatening to legitimate users.

The team’s tests on their system were successful in terms of precision, recall, f-measure, true-positive rate, and false-positive rate based on 26 features examined by the system played against almost 41500 user accounts attracted to honeypots. Moreover, they report that the approach is superior to existing techniques. The team adds that they hope to be able to improve the system still further by adding so-called machine learning into the algorithm so that it can be trained to better identify threatening accounts based on data from known threats and legitimate accounts.

Kumari, A. and Balkishan (2019) ‘Detection of threatening user accounts on Twitter social media database’, Int. J. Intelligent Engineering Informatics, Vol. 7, No. 5, pp.457–489.

Research pick: Mass customisation - "Willingness to pay and wait for mass customised products"

Are customers willing to pay more for mass customised products? That is the question a research team in Australia hoped to answer in the latest issue of the International Journal of Mass Customisation

Hassan Kalantari of the Department of Science, Engineering and Technology and Lester Johnson of the Department of Management and Marketing at Swinburne University of Technology in Hawthorn, Victoria worked together on the conundrum. The team carried out a conjoint analysis, a market research technique, to see whether there is a trade-off between price, delivery waiting time , type of customisation in the niche market of walking stick sales in Australia. The market may well be niche, but it is large, and moreover, the team suggests that their approach could easily be used to study other mass markets that offer customization of products.

The work hinges on the gradual change that manufacturers have seen in many areas of sales where customers are no longer happy to accept the off-the-shelf products being offered but hope to have bespoke products tailored to their exacting requirements. It is inevitable that without the economies of scale that mass production provides, companies will be forced to charge more for their products, but will customers be willing to pay more?

The team found that customers are indeed willing to pay more for a customised product but are often also willing to wait longer for delivery provided they receive a discount on the price.

Kalantari, H.D. and Johnson, L.W. (2019) ‘Willingness to pay and wait for mass customised products’, Int. J. Mass Customisation, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp.111–129.

20 November 2019

Special issue published: "Advances and Challenges of Soft Computing in Data Mining"

International Journal of Computational Systems Engineering 5(5/6) 2019

  • A framework for ensemble classification and sensitivity analysis in privacy preserving data mining
  • Feed forwarded CT image registration for tumour and cyst detection using rigid transformation with HSV colour segmentation
  • A novel relaying approach of combined discrete wavelet transform and artificial neural network-based relaying scheme in a unified power flow controller integrated wind fed transmission line
  • Empirical validation of object-oriented metrics on cross-projects with different severity levels
  • Inverse kinematic solution of 6-DOF industrial robot using nero-fuzzy technology
  • A phase entropy based novel machine learning structure conditioned for classifying ictal and non-ictal signal aimed at proper clinical diagnosis

International Journal of Business Competition and Growth to invite expanded papers from International Conference on Industry 4.0 for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference on Industry 4.0: Impact of Technology on Business Environment (6 January 2020, Delhi Institute of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, India) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Business Competition and Growth.

Special issue published: "Health as the Determining Factor to Sustainable Mobility"

International Journal of Sustainable Society 11(2) 2019

  • How to improve the interaction between cyclists and truck drivers
  • Associations between perceptions of road safety and active travel for school children and their parents - a health needs assessment
  • Improving walkability in Catalonia through a participatory and empowerment model
  • Visual perception of speed in drivers with ADHD

Research pick: Water watchdog - "Watch dog system for water management"

Using the Internet of Things for water security – A cluster of internet-enabled devices, including a water-flow sensor, pH sensor, ultrasonic sensor and “PIC” microcontroller, can be used together as a watchdog system for water quality, thanks to work by a team in India who describe details of the system in International Journal of Environment and Waste Management.

R. Jothikumar of Shadan College of Engineering and Technology, in Hyderabad, G. SivaShanmugam of VIT in Tamil Nadu, and S. Susi Department of Shadan Women’s College of Engineering and Technology, also in Hyderabad, explain the growing pressures on water with rising global population, climate change, and increasing pollution. They point out that an Internet of Things (IoT) approach to water quality control could be the answer to many of the problems we face concerning drinking-water supply and ensuring people have security of this vital resource.

The simple and low-cost system being developed by the team makes water quality assessment and water security widely available without the need for sophisticated technical knowledge. It can facilitate planned water management as well as allowing sources to be assigned to particular outlets depending on demand without compromising the quality of supply for any users. The team also points out that implemented across the globe such an approach would allow monitoring of ponds, lakes, and rivers, as well as water utility facilities and so, might allow us to manage waterways and water sources better for wildlife and ecosystems.

Jothikumar, R., SivaShanmugam, G. and Susi, S. (2019) ‘Watch dog system for water management’, Int. J. Environment and Waste Management, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp.396–404.

19 November 2019

Special issue published: "Data-Driven Modelling and Intelligent Computation"

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control 32(3/4) 2019

  • Parameter estimation algorithm for d-step time delay systems
  • Sensor fault signal reconstruction based on sliding mode observer for flight control systems
  • The gradient and the Newton iterative modelling methods for an operational amplifier circuit
  • Steady flight of miniature fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle flocking by using biological algorithm
  • Modelling arterial blood pressure waveforms for extreme bradycardia and tachycardia by curve fitting with Gaussian functions
  • Research on reconfigurable control for a hovering PVTOL aircraft
  • Intelligent detection method for tapping omitting of internal thread based on computer vision
  • Online soft sensing method based on improved weighted Gaussian model
  • Recursive least squares algorithm and stochastic gradient algorithm for feedback nonlinear equation-error systems
  • A modified model decomposition identification for bilinear-in-parameter systems
  • Multi-mode process monitoring based on multi-block information extraction PCA method with local neighbourhood standardisation
  • Multi-innovation parameter and state estimation for multivariable state space systems
  • The investigation of an improved ultrasonic tomography reconstruction method for bubble particle identification
  • Research on passivity-based control strategy of three-phase current source inverter based on interconnection and damping assignment
  • Human behaviour recognition algorithm based on improved DMM and Fisher coding

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Decision Support Systems

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Decision Support Systems are now available here for free:
  • Service quality assessment in retail industry: some evidence from supermarkets in Greece
  • A tradeoff analysis between socio-economic efficiency and environmental performance of irrigated agriculture
  • An intelligent decision support system for managing natural and man-made disasters
  • A multi-criteria-based ranking of Greek construction companies listed in Athens Stock Exchange using investment ratios
  • Decision support systems and strategic planning: information technology and SMEs' performance
  • Development of a decision support tool for analysing the avian conservation measures in semi-arid region
  • An agent-based model to explore urban policies, pedestrian behaviour and walkability

Special issue published: "Applications of Hybrid Bio Inspired Algorithms"

International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies 8(4) 2019

  • Fuzzy knowledge-based fractional order PID control implementation with nature inspired algorithms
  • Stock price trend prediction with long short-term memory neural networks
  • Prediction of air pollution using LSTM-based recurrent neural networks
  • Human activity recognition from histogram of spatiotemporal depth features

Research pick: The shadowy world of information technology - "The growing impact of Shadow IT on higher education"

Educational institutions such as universities have for years battled against the rise of “Shadow” Information Technology, software and hardware that their users, whether student or educator, might bring to the establishment and us in conjunction with or instead of on-site equipment controlled by the IT department at the institution.

This shadowy world is a double-edged sword for the institution. On one hand, it means that staff and students can use the equipment and software with which they are familiar to fulfill their respective roles, but on the other, the institution’s IT department has no control on such hardware and software which might represent a security and/or safety risk to other users and the services the IT department provides.

Owen Hall of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, USA, writing in the International Journal of Information Systems and Management, explains the quandary facing educational establishments and offers a hybrid view that allows user and establishment to utilize Shadow IT, such as personal laptops, tablets, and smartphones and associated software and applications without compromising safety and security. Indeed, such an ameliorating approach might ultimately benefit the institution by reducing the overall burden on IT resources provided the risks are acknowledged and taken into consideration in allowing users to work in the shadows, as it were.

He concludes that constant vigilance and awareness are key to success with such a hybrid approach to IT use but conversely represent the greatest challenge. Moreover, it is critical to educate end-users to the putative problems of their using shadow IT and to demonstrate how resources provided by the university information systems organization might be just as useful to them in their endeavours within the academic world.

Hall Jr., O.P. (2019) ‘The growing impact of Shadow IT on higher education’, Int. J. Information Systems and Management, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp.1–16.

15 November 2019

Special issue published: "Innovations in Manufacturing for the Engineering of Modern Materials"

International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation 10(4) 2019

  • Optimisation of drilling parameters for minimum circularity error in FRP composite
  • A comprehensive modelling, analysis and optimisation of adhesive bonded single lap glass fibre reinforced composite joints
  • Morphological evaluation of ultra low-density poly (methyl methacrylate) microcellular plastic developed through cyclic foaming technique
  • Mechanical and wear characterisation of modern hybrid composite material
  • Artificial neural network modelling and analysis of carbon nanopowder mixed micro wire electro discharge machining of gold coated doped silicon

Research pick: Optimising the pharmaceutical industry - "Performance optimisation of a pharmaceutical production line by integrated simulation and data envelopment analysis"

Research published in the International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling shows how integrated simulations can be used to optimize a pharmaceutical production line in a way that conventional mathematical modeling cannot.

Ahmad Taher Azar of Prince Sultan University, in Riyadh, KSA, and colleagues built their simulation using data and information from a working production line and then utilized the simulation to generate putative inputs and outputs for a range of production scenarios to show how they might be optimized for different resources and products. “This is the first study in which an integrated simulation DEA is used for the performance optimisation of a pharmaceutical unit,” the team writes.

The simulations showed six bottlenecks that reduce efficiency and slow production. These were brought into the simulated, verified and validated simulations so that they might be expunged from particular production scenarios. The simulations could then be combined in such a way to generate the optimal setup for any of more than 40 scenarios that the engineering team on a production line might face. Critically, any one of the many factors can affect overall efficiency and so a holistic approach has to be taken to reduce overheads and ensure the most efficient and effective approach.

Habibifar, N., Hamid, M., Bastan, M. and Azar, A.T. (2019) ‘Performance optimisation of a pharmaceutical production line by integrated simulation and data envelopment analysis’, Int. J. Simulation and Process Modelling, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp.360–376.

14 November 2019

Special issue published: "Recent Advances in Sensing Technology, Vehicle Control Systems and Tyre Design Considerations for Electric and Autonomous Vehicles"

International Journal of Vehicle Design 79(4) 2019

  • Vehicle longitudinal force estimation using adaptive neural network nonlinear observer
  • Integrated control of AFS and DYC for in-wheel-motor electric vehicles based on operation region division
  • Pressure controlling of integrated electro-hydraulic braking system with considering driver brake behaviour
  • Active steering control system for an independent wheel drive electric vehicle
  • A data-based lane departure warning algorithm using hidden Markov model

Inderscience journals to invite expanded papers from 1st Global Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Applications (GCAIA 2020) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the 1st Global Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Applications (GCAIA 2020) (8-10 September 2020, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India) will be invited for review and potential publication by the following journals:

Special issue on: "Hybrid Computational Intelligence in Big Data Analytics and Cloud Computing"

International Journal of Hybrid Intelligence 1(2/3) 2019

  • Smart healthcare model with fog-cloud network architecture
  • Improved real coded genetic algorithm-based short-term hydrothermal generation planning
  • A survey on big data: an emerging imparity and revolution in digital world
  • A comparative study of text mining in big data analytics using deep learning and other machine learning algorithms
  • Cloud database failure prediction using multi agent system
  • IoT-based algorithms for distributed location detection for flights
  • Combined economic emission and load dispatch using hybrid metaheuristics
Additional paper
  • Intentional and unintentional misbehaving node detection and prevention in mobile ad hoc network