Special issue published: "Technological Innovation for Sustainable Development"

Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 13(2) 2019

• Energetic transition within thermal machines and co-generation: effect of mass flux on critical heat flux
• Hybrid control strategy for wind turbine system driven permanent magnet synchronous generator
• Effects of different charging and discharging strategies of electric vehicles under various pricing policies in a smart microgrid
• The effects of copper additives on the glass transition temperature and hardness for epoxy resin
• Effect of V, In and Cu doping on properties of p-type ZnSe/Si heterojunction solar cell
• Evaluation, comparison and selection of photovoltaic systems

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Knowledge and Learning are now available here for free:

• Impact of organisational practices on knowledge sharing: an empirical study 
• Improving knowledge sharing, creation, and innovation performance in nanotechnology firms: an application of the hybrid model of Kano and QFD 
• Using board games to improve mathematical creativity 
• An ontology-driven software product line architecture for developing gamified intelligent tutoring systems 
• Text-based sentiment analysis: review

New Editor for International Journal of Applied Nonlinear Science

Prof. Davide La Torre from the University of Dubai in the UAE has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Applied Nonlinear Science. The previous Editor in Chief, Prof. Franklin Mendivil, will remain with the journal as Editor.

Research pick: A genuine air guitar - "Virtual guitar: using real-time finger tracking for musical instruments"

Almost ten years ago computer and software giant Microsoft introduced a movement-detecting controller for its gaming platforms known as Kinect. Aside from being able to play games, there was much excitement among musicians, scientists, and even healthcare professionals who saw its potential as a virtualised control for their particular areas.

A user could play a computer-based musical instrument through gestures and movements picked up by the 3D sensing device. However, the system required large movements, of arms and legs for instance, which perhaps limited the nuances of the music one might play with such an “instrument”. Now, writing in the International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering, a team from Taiwan describes their algorithm for real-time finger movement tracking using a Kinect device that would allow a performer to simulate playing the guitar and the software to generate appropriate sound.

One might envisage the wannabe rock guitarist playing “air guitar” and generating guitar or other sounds synchronised to their finger movements with the melody, chords, and sounds pre-programmed. But, more seriously, the system could be used to genuinely play music through finger movements alone without the need for an actual guitar.

The team’s experiments with the system show that the proposed method can be used to play music of different genres with acceptable quality. They add that the application might a novice who has no or little experience of playing real musical instruments as well as experimental musicians seeking an alternative paradigm to the conventional instruments available to them.

Hakim, N.L., Sun, S-W., Hsu, M-H., Shih, T.K. and Wu, S-J. (2019) ‘Virtual guitar: using real-time finger tracking for musical instruments‘, Int. J. Computational Science and Engineering, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp.438-450.

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation are now available here for free:

• Rigid block models for masonry structures
• From 2D digital imaging to finite element analysis using the ENEAGRID high performance computing infrastructure for the preservation of historical masonry structures
• Effect of concrete block height variation to the shear bond strength of thin layer mortared masonry
• Approaches to strongly local phenomena in dry masonry structures
• Creep failure of two historical masonry towers: analysis from material to structure
• Investigation of the structural behaviour of a masonry castle by considering the actual damage

Special issue published: "Recent Developments in Global Financial Markets"

International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance 10(1) 2019

• The WTI/Brent oil futures price differential and the globalisation-regionalisation hypothesis
• Reaction of EU stock markets to ECB policy interventions
• Forecasting the daily dynamic hedge ratios in emerging European stock futures markets: evidence from GARCH models
• Pricing 'partial-average' Asian options with the binomial method

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance are now available here for free:

• Intraday realised volatility forecasting and announcements
• Volume weighted volatility: empirical evidence for a new realised volatility measure
• Branch manager characteristics and efficiency during capital controls
• Working capital management, cash flow and SMEs' performance
• A contingent claims approach to the determinants of the stock-bond return relationship

Special Issue on: "Maritime Transportation: Innovative Models and Algorithms"

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 11(2/3) 2019

• Impact analysis of the traffic convoy system and toll pricing policy of the Suez Canal on the operations of a liner containership over a long-haul voyage
• A method for estimating liner shipping time under uncertainty
• A multi-objective approach to analyse the effect of fuel consumption on ship routing and scheduling problem
• Collaborative stowage planning problem for a liner ship
• Optimisation for quay crane scheduling problem under uncertainty using PSO and OCBA
• Berth allocation and quay crane-yard truck assignment considering carbon emissions in port area
• Assess economic and environmental trade-off for inland port location
• Integrating route optimisation with vehicle and unloading dock scheduling in LCL cargo collection

2018 Best Paper Award announced by International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation

The International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation has established an annual award for the best paper published in each respective year.

The best paper has been selected using a new formula for the 2018 competition, with the aim of increasing the involvement of the editorial board members in the procedure. An online voting system was set up, allowing each board member to express his/her vote for one paper published by IJMRI in 2018. Associate Editors and the Editor in Chief were allowed to express two and three votes respectively (or multiple votes for the same paper). The best paper was then awarded by the Editor in Chief according to the results of this online voting system. In order to avoid bias, each paper was labelled with the following alphanumeric string: 3_N_ppp, where "3" represents the volume, "N" the issue and "ppp" the page number of the first page of the paper.

For 2018, twenty papers were eligible for competing, and 32 votes (including the multiple choices of Associate Editors and the Editor in Chief) were received. The first three places were as follows:

• 1st place and winner (8 votes): Fernando Magdalena Layos, Julián García Muñoz (2018). Approaches to strongly local phenomena in dry masonry structures, Vol. 3(2), pp. 155-173. DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.092460
• 2nd place (7 votes): Maurizio Angelillo, Antonio Fortunato, Antonio Gesualdo, Antonino Iannuzzo, Giulio Zuccaro (2018). Rigid block models for masonry structures, Vol. 3(4), pp. 349-368. DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.095701
• 3rd place (6 votes): Marialuisa Mongelli, Irene Bellagamba, Francesco Iannone, Giovanni Bracco (2018). From 2D digital imaging to finite element analysis using the ENEAGRID high performance computing infrastructure for the preservation of historical masonry structures, Vol. 3(3), pp. 324-347.DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.093492

The editors and board congratulate the authors for their significant contributions to state-of-the-art research on masonry. They should be very proud of their achievements in a very competitive pool.

The 1st place winners will receive an online subscription to IJMRI's 2018 volume and a certificate.

A sample issue collecting the papers ranked in the top three plus the following papers selected by the Editor (based also on the final ranking) is now available for the readers free of charge:

• Els Verstrynge, Dionys Van Gemert (2018). Creep failure of two historical masonry towers: analysis from material to structure, Vol. 3(1), pp. 50-71. DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.089056
• Maria E. Stavroulaki, Georgios A. Drosopoulos, Efstathia Tavlopoulou, Nikos Skoutelis, Georgios E. Stavroulakis (2018). Investigation of the structural behaviour of a masonry castle by considering the actual damage, Vol. 3(1), pp. 1-33. DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.089046
• Julian Ajith Thamboo, Manicka Dhanasekar (2018). Effect of concrete block height variation to the shear bond strength of thin layer mortared masonry, Vol. 3(2), pp. 174-193. DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.092461

This sample issue showcases the range and quality of the content provided by the International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation.

Research pic: Blogs must adapt or die - "Blogs: are they headed downwards in social networking? An empirical analysis"

Blogs, or as they were originally known, weblogs, first hit the World Wide Web back in 1997. The term “weblog” was coined in December that year and almost immediately abbreviated to “blog”. The subsequent two decades saw the rise and rise of millions of blogs, they rode the wave of Web 2.0, became multi-author publication tools, and many matured into fully-fledged information and news services.

Now, writing in the in International Journal of Electronic Business, Parag Uma Kosalge, Suzanne Crampton, and Ashok Kumar of the Department of Management, at Seidman College of Business, at Grand Valley State University, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, ask whether blogs have had their day given the rise of social media and social networking sites and systems, such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook, which are outpacing blogs in so many ways today.

Their study of over four hundred internet users found statistically significant evidence for reduced user awareness and consideration of blogging in recent years. However, their study also identified four business areas that users still find important for blogs, such as employee networking and online sales. As with many aspects of technology and in particular information and communications technology, the services on which users rely and use the most are constantly shifting. The services must, in the parlance of natural selection, adapt or die. Blogs may not have had their day, but it is critical that bloggers recognize the opposition they face from other non-blogging services online and in order to be sustainable must find ways to ride whichever wave comes along.

Kosalge, P.U., Crampton, S. and Kumar, A. (2019) ‘Blogs: are they headed downwards in social networking? An empirical analysis’, Int. J. Electronic Business, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp.72–91.

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics are now available here for free:

• Risk prediction of type 2 diabetes using common and rare variants
• A mutational co-occurrence network in gastric cancer based on an association index
• Symbolic approach to reduced bio-basis
• Determining sample size for cross-over designs with multiple groups
• A pipeline for identifying endogenous neuropeptides from spectral archives
• Gene-gene interaction analysis for quantitative trait using cluster-based multifactor dimensionality reduction method

Special issue published: "Sustainable Approaches with MCDA Methods in Agri-Environment Policies"

International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Management and Informatics 4(3/4) 2018

• Mapping soil erosion potential zones with a geo-spatial application of multi-criteria evaluation technique model in highlands of Ethiopia
• Decision making under the scope of forest policy: sustainable agroforestry systems in less favoured areas
• Towards a computer-based decision support system for aquaculture stakeholders in Greece in the context of climate change
• Building theory of agri-food supply chain resilience using total interpretive structural modelling and MICMAC analysis
• An open source approach of building web apps to support decision making with exploratory techniques. Case study: the multiple correspondence analysis on real data from agritourism
• Identifying knowledge brokers, artefacts and channels for waste reduction in agri-food supply chains
• Ranking the EU countries according to the environmental performance index using PROMETHEE

Additional papers

• Remote sensing in water balance modelling for evapotranspiration at a rural watershed in Central Greece
• Resident's concerns and attitudes towards policies and strategies of solid waste management facilities
• A hybrid framework for detection of diseases in apple and tomato crops with deep feed forward neural network

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning are now available here for free:

• Digital training in intercultural education for teacher training: analysis of an innovative experience
• Student perception on achieved graduate attributes and learning experiences: a study on undergraduate engineering students of India
• An analysis of competency, needs, and gap on Thai engineering capabilities within ASEAN
• The application of ADAMS/CAR in vehicle engineering teaching
• Implementation of quality tools in higher education process
• Case study on means of information and communication technologies in teaching mathematics to distance and extramural university students

Research pick: "Video game violence and family resilience"

There is much debate about whether or not violent video games give rise to violent tendencies in those who play them. Some research shows this to be the case while other studies demonstrate the opposite. However, a third factor may be critical to understanding what role, if any, such games play in society and that is “family resilience.” Writing in the International Journal of Innovation and Learning, Mirjana Radetić-Paić of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, at Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, in Croatia, has investigated the influence of violent video games on player aggression and violent tendencies in the context of this third factor.

She has found that in general, emotional maturity, responsibility, and an ability to keep promises within the family is linked to playing video games with non-violent content. “The results are especially important for future teachers, since they need to be able to develop appropriate strategies which prevent adverse impacts on learning abilities such as social and communication skills,” Radetić-Paić explains.

“Although special attention has to be paid to reaching conclusions and looking for a direct correlation among violence, video games with violent contents and family resilience factors, it can be deduced that this occurrence has many causes, which means that a larger number of variables has been used in the interpretation,” she adds.

Radetić-Paić, M. (2019) ‘Video games with violent contents and family resilience factors’, Int. J. Innovation and Learning, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp.223–236.

Special issue published: "Applications of Information Management and System Engineering"

International Journal of Product Development 23(2/3) 2019

• A smart system of 3D liver tumour segmentation
• An empirical study on the cellular subscribers churn, selection factors and satisfaction with the services
• A cloud based architecture for competence management and discovery
• Layered approach of analysing OSS and risk management
• Manufacturing simulation of alternate additive manufacturing method using cubes with CATIA macro programming
• Development of marker-based augmented reality system for object detection in an optimum latency time
• A hybrid classification-based model for automatic text summarisation using machine learning approaches: CBS-ID3MV

Additional paper

• Consumer preference for eco-friendly appliances in trade-off: a conjoint analysis approach

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Emergency Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Emergency Management are now available here for free:

• Seismic risk assessment and design of tourism buildings using probability analysis
• Decomposing issue patterns in crisis communication: the case of the lost airliner
• A closer examination of command and control practices by incident commanders during realistic operational exercises in the Netherlands
• Terrorist attacks with explosive weapons: pattern of injuries and health constraints
• Understanding emergency response: lessons learned from the helping literature
• Sector prioritisation in Rabat region for emergency management

Special issue published: "Artificial Intelligence in Education"

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning 29(1/2) 2019

• Big data processing with Apache Spark in university institutions: spark streaming and machine learning algorithm
• Quantitative analysis of the influence of learning resource scheduling in MOOC mode on traditional education and teaching
• College English teaching mode based on intelligent robot
• Analysis of the influence of multimedia network hybrid teaching on college students English learning ability
• The promotion role of mobile online education platform in students' self-learning
• Research on the cultivation of students' autonomous learning ability based on MOOC-based network interactive teaching
• Robot-based motion detection method and its application in PE practice teaching
• Analysis of the influence of multimedia network hybrid teaching method on college students' learning ability in physical education
• Analysing learning behaviours of advanced mathematics in MOOCs

Additional paper

• Critical thinking and critical reading: a sound pedagogical paring

Research pick: Big money goes around the world - "Drivers and deterrents of music streaming services purchase intention"

Music is big business. It has been since the advent of the sheet music industry in the 19th Century and the ensuing piracy scandals, right through the invention of radio, recorded music, and the usurping of the family piano for devices that could replicate the songs we loved without anyone having to be able to sight-read, play or sing. Into the 21st Century, the industry is still playing catchup with the pirates who found technological ways in which to replicate and share the music they love without spending a penny of their own money.

Writing in the International Journal of Electronic Business, Teresa Fernandes and João Guerra of the Faculty of Economics, at the University of Porto, in Porto, Portugal discuss the advent of music streaming services. Streaming services emerged as an alternative business model to the failing CD-buying model in the wake of file sharing and the mp3. It was obvious to the technology, as opposed to the record companies, that are a new model was needed if money was to be made and an industry soaked in the copyright and intellectual property laws founded in the 19th Century if not before was to survive in some form into the 21st Century.

The problem remains, however, whereas video streaming services are adding millions of users each month as on-demand alternatives to cable and satellite TV, music lovers are not adopting music streaming at quite the rate its purveyors would like to reach a solid bottom line in their business model. Whereas ten dollars a month for almost unlimited TV show and movie streaming on-demand seems like a bargain, the same fee for music does not compute when it is so easy for listeners to quickly download the latest hits and even the golden oldies without it costing them anything even at the risk of legal action being taken against them under copyright laws.

The team’s analysis suggests that there is no simple solution, no magic button that the music (streaming) industry might press to persuade people to sign up for its offerings. They must instead now consider how to generate revenue through balancing free and premium components as well as adjusting their strategies for different market segments based on age, gender, for instance. There may well always be consumers willing to pay as long as they are targeted correctly, but one might suggest that the billion-dollar music industry of the 20th Century is probably long gone and a new paradigm is needed. Perhaps we could all go back to making our own music…

Fernandes, T. and Guerra, J. (2019) ‘Drivers and deterrents of music streaming services purchase intention’, Int. J. Electronic Business, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp.21–42.

Special issue published: "Nanotechnology and High-Speed Electronic Systems"

International Journal of Nanoparticles 11(2) 2019

• Optimisation of fully depleted SiGe channel with raised source/drain buried oxide nMOSFET
• Reduced ordered binary decision diagram-based combinational circuit synthesis for optimising area, power and temperature
• Nanoscale T-shaped AlGaN/GaN HEMT with improved DC and RF performance
• Electrical parameter analysis of gate-extension on source of germanium tri-gate FinFET
• Impact of structural parameters on DC performance of recessed channel SOI-MOSFET
• Electro-thermal assessment of heterojunction tunnel-FET for low-power digital circuits
• Analysis and circuit sizing performance of a differential amplifier using HPSO algorithm

Research pick: Can a Wi-Fi network ever be completely secure? - "Survey on WiFi infrastructure attacks"

There are many ways in which hackers and crackers can break into a Wi-Fi network. It is trivial if the network uses out of date security protocols or weak passwords. But even if the system is setup with the latest security measures, strong passwords, and firewall and malware protection, there are still ways and means that a malicious third party might access such a network. Writing in the International Journal of Wireless and Mobile Computing, researchers from China review the various hacking techniques that might be used and show what defensive measures might best be taken to preclude system compromise.

Rui Guo of the Department of Internet Crime Investigation, at the National Police University of China, in Liaoning Province, China, explains that there is a fundamental security flaw in all Wi-Fi systems. Because of the way Wi-Fi works, the access-point, must listen passively for a signal, a beacon, from devices that may wish to connect whether legitimately or illicitly. This beacon is wholly unencrypted, it has to be because until a connection is made no data can be exchanged to encrypt subsequent communication between the access-point and device.

” This makes Wi-Fi easy to use because you can see networks and their names around you without exchanging some key or password first, but it also makes Wi-Fi networks prone to many kinds of attacks,” explains Guo. He has now looked at the top three exploit kits used to break into Wi-Fi: Rogue AP, ARP spoofing, and Wi-Fi MITM. The first point of concern is that none of these kits need physical access to the network, by virtue of its wireless nature, Wi-Fi is vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, whereas a wired network would require the hacker to have a plug-and-socket connection to the network to be able to breach its security.

These “automated cyber weapons” can cause havoc by penetrating and bypassing protections, they can also forge disassociations and deauthorise packets, compromising legitimate communications. Guo describes the protection tools that are available but none of them is perfect and there almost always ways in which a hacker can breach a Wi-Fi network.

Guo, R. (2019) ‘Survey on WiFi infrastructure attacks’, Int. J. Wireless and Mobile Computing, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp.97–101

International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology to invite expanded papers from International Conference On Enhancement and Innovations in Exploring Engineering (ICEIEE-2019) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference On Enhancement and Innovations in Exploring Engineering (ICEIEE-2019) (12 July 2019, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy are now available here for free:

• Mineral resources endowment and economic growth in Southern African countries
• Soft power and place branding in the United Arab Emirates: examples of the tourism and film industries
• Organising Greek commercial diplomacy: oscillating between integrated and fragmented models of organisation
• Greater legitimacy of small island developing states: a statistical perspective on its definition

International Journal of Environment and Health to invite expanded papers from IV Congreso Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología Ambiental. Argentina y Ambiente 2019 for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the IV Congreso Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología Ambiental. Argentina y Ambiente 2019 (AA2019) (2-5 December 2019, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Environment and Health.

Special issue published: "Perspectives on International Business and Export Marketing"

International Journal of Export Marketing 2(4) 2019

• Measuring market destination effect on export product innovation
• Analysis of the export performance of state-owned enterprises from Latin American and Caribbean, reviewing corruption and informal economy
• Internationalisation of firms' research and development activities: the experience from European Union framework programs
• Uncovering new value frontiers: the role of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in nurturing born globals

World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development to invite expanded papers from ICGLOW 2019: "Environmental Law and Technology to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals in Industrial Revolution 4.0 Era" for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at ICGLOW 2019: "Environmental Law and Technology to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals in Industrial Revolution 4.0 Era" (7-8 September 2019, Surakarta, Indonesia) will be invited for review and potential publication by the World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Vehicle Information and Communication Systems

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Vehicle Information and Communication Systems are now available here for free:

• The next generation GPS memory management
• The offline scheduler for embedded vehicular systems
• A strategy for optimisation of cooperative platoon formation
• Authentication schemes for VANETs: a survey

Special issue published: "Harmonisation Within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes – Part I"

International Journal of Environment and Pollution 64(1/2/3) 2018

• Evaluation of parametric laws for computing the wind speed profile in the urban boundary layer: comparison to two-dimensional building water channel data
• Validation of numerically forecast vertical temperature profile with measurements for dispersion modelling
• Computer simulations of the impact of air pollution on the quality of life and health risks in Bulgaria
• Contribution of different emission sources to the atmospheric composition formation in the city of Sofia
• Validation of dispersion models using Cabauw field experiments and numerical weather re-analysis
• A hybrid CFD RANS/Lagrangian approach to model atmospheric dispersion of pollutants in complex urban geometries
• Data assimilation at local scale to improve CFD simulations of atmospheric dispersion: application to 1D shallow-water equations and method comparisons
• QualeAria: European and national scale air quality forecast system performance evaluation
• Large-eddy simulation studies for predicting plume concentrations around nuclear facilities using an overlapping technique
• Downwind chlorine hazard estimates for the 2015-2016 Jack Rabbit II campaign
• Preliminary evaluation of CMAQ modelled wet deposition of sulphur and nitrogen over Bulgaria
• Evaluation of local and regional air quality forecasts for London
• Effect of surface roughness on turbulence, ventilation and pollutant dispersion over hypothetical urban area
• Source term estimation using an adjoint model: a comparison of two different algorithms
• Modelling nitrogen deposition: dry deposition velocities on various land-use types in Switzerland
• A hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian-statistical approach to evaluate air quality in a mixed residential-industrial environment
• Effects of traffic emission reduction on urban air quality episode using WRF/Chem

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management are now available here for free:

• Extent of corporate social responsibility reporting: India's transition from voluntary to mandatory regime
• Sustainability as a strategy incorporated in decision-making at supply chain management case study of General Motors
• 'Keeper of the fire': human resource management's role in the organisational development of an employee sustainability mindset
• Panoramic difference of academicians in promoting sustainable change
• Consolidation in the Indian banking sector: evaluation of sustainable development readiness of the public sector banks in India

Research pick: Musical tourism in Croatia - "Audio management in the development and branding of Krk Island"

Music is an essential element of both the tourism offering and promotion in branding a holiday destination, according to researchers writing in the International Journal of Tourism Policy. Indeed, music can make a tourist destination unique and distinctive. Christian Stipanovi, and Diana Grguri of the University of Rijeka, working with Nataša Jurina of the City of Krk Tourist Board, Krk, Croatia, discuss the details.

Krk is the most populous islands of the Adriatic Sea, lying towards the north near Rijeka on the Dalmatian Coast in the Bay of Kvarner. It covers more than 400 square kilometres as does the neighbouring island of Cres, although Cres has a population of three thousand or so compared with Krk’s approximately 20000 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination being connected to the mainland by a concrete bridge and in relatively close proximity to Slovenia, Hungary, Southern Germany, Austria, and Northern Italy.

The team reports that the traditional music of Krk, whether performed live or recorded music at various venues and locations across the island is an important part of the authenticity, culture, and heritage of the island. “Recently the destination has sought to innovate its music offering to reflect the island’s sustainable development strategy and, by implementing its own development concept model,” the team writes.

The team’s study shows that audio management represents a crucial dimension of an integrated tourism product based on sustainable development and indigenous values. They add that it can improve the destination’s tourist offering and the overall experience for visitors but only if there is planning for music, noise control, and acoustic design, in venues for instance.

Stipanovi?, C., Grguri?, D. and Jurina, N. (2018) ‘Audio management in the development and branding of Krk Island’, Int. J. Tourism Policy, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp.319-336.

Special issue published: "Advances in Intelligent Big Data Analytics"

International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics 7(2/3) 2019

• An ensemble clustering method for intrusion detection
• Empirical investigation of dimension hierarchy sharing-based metrics for multidimensional schema understandability
• Detecting concept drift using HEDDM in data stream
• Dynamic social network analysis and performance evaluation
• Measuring harmfulness of class imbalance by data complexity measures in oversampling methods
• Threshold-based empirical validation of object-oriented metrics on different severity levels

Additional papers

• Mamdani fuzzy-based vehicular grouping at the intersection of roads for smart transportation system
• The Kushner-Stratonovich stochastic method for a master robot of a tele-robotic system: beyond extended Kalman filtering

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Public Policy

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Public Policy are now available here for free:

• European fiscal solidarity: an EU-wide optimal income tax approach
• Portfolio optimisation of power futures market: evidence from France and Germany
• Bridging the energy access divide for sustainable development in South Asia: policies and prospects in Nepal
• Assessment of low carbon transport for sustainable development in Bhutan: a general equilibrium approach
• Determinants of energy intensity in Russia
• Cross-border power trade with Myanmar: barriers and their removal from the Thai's perspective
• Development of variable renewable energy policy in developing countries: a case study of Sri Lanka

Special issue published: "Smart House Oriented Community"

International Journal of Sustainable Society 10(4) 2018

• Recent development of Smart City in Japan
• A new perspective of environmental behaviour study: a brief introduction of Wi-Fi indoor positioning system
• Consistent context aware behaviour in smart home environment
• Building form regulation visualisation in Japan: automatic building volume legality verification via procedural modelling

Research pick: Predicting electricity demands - "Neural network with genetic algorithm for forecasting short-term electricity load demand"

Research published in the International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy shows how a neural network can be trained with a genetic algorithm to forecasting short-term demands on electricity load. Chawalit Jeenanunta and Darshana Abeyrathna of Thammasat University, in Thani, Thailand, explain that it is critical for electricity producers to be able to estimate how much demand there will be on their systems in the next 48 hours. Without such predictions, there will inevitably be shortfalls in power generation when demand is higher than estimated or energy and resources wasted if demand is lower than expected.

The team has used data from the electricity generating authority of Thailand (EGAT) to train a neural network via a genetic algorithm. The results are compared with the more conventional back-propagation approach to prediction and show that the system is much better and predict the rise and falls in electricity demand. The genetic algorithm neural network (GANN) approach takes about 30 minutes to train for prediction compared with 1 minute for back-propagation training of a neural network. However, the added value of much more accurate predictions far outweighs this additional time and effort.

Jeenanunta, C. and Darshana Abeyrathna, K. (2019) ‘Neural network with genetic algorithm for forecasting short-term electricity load demand’, Int. J. Energy Technology and Policy, Vol. 15, Nos. 2/3, pp.337–350.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Electronic Business

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Electronic Business are now available here for free:

• The impact of eGovernment program progress on the level of achievement of public e-services: a field study in the Jordanian public sector
• Industrial migration and its impact on an 'Internet+' economy: evidence from core cities in the Diamond Economic Circle
• The effects of sellers' entrepreneurial self-efficacy and remote work self-efficacy in online marketplaces: an empirical investigation
• Antecedents and consequences of the process of customer engagement through social media: an integrated conceptual framework

Special issue published: "Sustainability Practices Among Firms in Developing Countries: Current Issues and Practices"

International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management 7(1/2) 2019

• Firms' sustainable practice research in developing countries: mapping the cited literature by bibliometric analysis approach
• Managing stakeholders' demand through environmental management accounting: the case of seaports
• Antecedents and outcomes of climate change performance: an investigation of Malaysian businesses
• The theory of planned behaviour and transformational leadership: an examination of corporate philanthropy among SMEs in Malaysia
• Green supply chain management: impact on environmental performance and firm competitiveness
• How green marketing mix strategies affects the firm's performance: a Malaysian perspective
• The roles of uncertainty avoidance and strategic agility in cloud storage adoption among multinational manufacturing companies in Malaysia
• Is a risk management committee essential in moderating the relationship between corporate governance and sustainability disclosure?
• Corporate board diversity, corporate social responsibility and financial performance: the case of Malaysian public listed companies
• Transformational leadership style and social responsibility of employees in economic corporations: a study on Sarmayeh Bank of Iran

New Editor for International Journal of Earthquake and Impact Engineering

Dr. Ehsan Noroozinejad from the Graduate University of Advanced Technology in Iran has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Earthquake and Impact Engineering.

Research pick: Egocentric analysis - "Friend circle identification in ego network based on hybrid method"

An ego network is one perspective on social network analysis, it looks at the individual and their circle of friends and the connections that fan out from that person. Writing in the International Journal of Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing, Tinghuai Ma of Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China, and colleagues describe a way to look at an ego network and to automatically and accurately glean information about the community surrounding the person at its centre. Obviously, by applying such an analysis to different individuals it should be possible to build up a picture of the wider community. The approach developed by the team could be useful users themselves, allowing them to take control of their contacts in an automated manner.

The team can build up circles of friends from their analysis. In a three-step process that looks for the similarities between user attributes, features of network structure, and the contact frequency between the central user, the ego, and their friends. “We compare the similarity among attributes of users first, the team reports, they can then “divide all friends by the similarity of properties between any friend and the central user.”

Xing, F., Ma, T., Tang, M. and Guan, D. (2019) ‘Friend circle identification in ego network based on hybrid method’, Int. J. Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp.224–234.

Special issue published: "Rethinking Public Ownership for the 21st Century"

International Journal of Public Policy 15(1/2) 2019

• A tale of two nationalisations: experiences of post 1945 public ownership in the UK and France compared
• James Meade, public ownership, and the idea of a citizens' trust
• Socialising capital: looking back on the Meidner plan
• Models of fair public ownership: lessons from Singapore and Hong Kong
• The Greek experience of privatisation through the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund
• Democratic ownership in the USA: a quiet revolution
• The potential of state commercial property: mapping and managing non-financial public assets
• The ownership and funding of natural capital: the case for trusts and a public natural capital fund
• The case for citizens' wealth funds
• Public state ownership within varieties of capitalism: regulatory foundations for welfare and freedom

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Business Forecasting and Marketing Intelligence

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Business Forecasting and Marketing Intelligence are now available here for free:

• Capturing marketing information and marketing intelligence: ethical issues and concerns
• An empirical analysis to study the impact of marketing mix elements on overall quality of water purifiers: evidence from India
• Exploring the role of technological developments and open innovation in the survival of SMEs: an empirical study of Pakistan
• An examination of the interplay between country-of-origin, brand equity, brand preference and purchase intention toward global fashion brands
• Brand passion and its implication on consumer behaviour
• Perception and switch intention of rural customers towards organised retail
• Time taken to complete a meal: a distinctive study of full-service restaurants in India

Special issue published: "Collaborative Innovation Networks"

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business 36(4) 2019

• Exploring the effect of venture capital development on innovation performance of knowledge-based companies
• Look inside. Predicting stock prices by analysing an enterprise intranet social network and using word co-occurrence networks
• How gender affects collaborative innovation networks performance: the case of the Dutch fashion industry
• Dynamic resolve model: an interpersonal resilience construct
• Network processes for collaborative innovation
• A network-based dashboard for cultural heritage promotion in digital environments
• Web data geostatistics and analytics to evaluate the impact of a cultural event
• A pattern language for designing innovative projects: project design patterns

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management are now available here for free:

• The influence of the personality traits of webcasters on online games
• Exploring the hidden potential of product design to mitigate supply chain risk
• New determinants of ease of use and perceived usefulness for mobile banking adoption
• Understanding the impact of service convenience on customer satisfaction in home delivery: evidence from Pakistan
• The influence of hedonic motivation, self-efficacy, trust and habit on adoption of internet banking: a case of developing country

Research pick: Listen up! Workshopping the urban soundscape - "Experiencing the soundscape with mobile mixing tools and participatory methods"

A soundscape workshop offered young people an opportunity to participate in the conversation surrounding the urban sonic environment, changes in it, and its future. The outcomes are discussed in the International Journal of Electronic Governance in the context of a large, creative Europe project known as “The People’s Smart Sculpture”.

Aura Neuvonen of the Department of Film and Television at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, in Helsinki, Finland, examined the issues of creating and experiencing soundscapes in the mobile soundscape workshop. “The soundscape platform and the workshop method was created to experiment with mobile and participatory methods with sound and sonic experiences,” she explains. The sub-project entitled “Neighbourhood as a living room” was focused on finding new ways to make exhibitions at the Helsinki Museum of Technology more interesting especially to young people. The findings could have wider implications for other museums, galleries outdoor installations, and events.

During the workshops, participants generated soundscapes using a mobile tool known as “Soundspace” and an Audio Digital Asset Management System developed at Metropolia. Having created their soundscapes, they listened to each other’s and discussed their experiences and opinions. “The participants’ focus on hearing, listening and observing their surrounding sonic environment increased when emotional engagement and personal experiences were acknowledged during the workshop,” Neuvonen explains, an important point in the wider context of taking part in the discussion about our aural environment.

Neuvonen, A. (2019) ‘Experiencing the soundscape with mobile mixing tools and participatory methods’, Int. J. Electronic Governance, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp.44–61.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Security and Networks

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Security and Networks are now available here for free:

• Privacy-aware transmission scheme based on homomorphic proxy re-encryption for NDN
• An android malware static detection scheme based on cloud security structure
• An ID-based authentication scheme to achieve the security of smart card
• Evaluation of anonymous digital signatures for privacy-enhancing mobile applications
• A secure electronic voting protocol with a simple ballot's encryption function
• CRT based multi-secret sharing schemes: revisited

Special issue published: "Intellectual Energy Technologies: Prospects and International Experience"

International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy 15(2/3) 2019

• Career shifting algorithm creating virtual frequency upsurge to reduce switching losses in multi-inverter fed induction motor drives
• A novel operating strategy for unscheduled interchange price-based automatic generation control
• Optimal sizing and placement of dynamic voltage restorer in the distribution system using firefly algorithm
• Technical objects diagnostics systems organising
• Energy-saving efficiency and potential in educational establishments of Neryungrinsky Region
• The basic principles of increasing in efficiency of data compressing in information-measuring systems
• System for automatic soil sampling by AUV equipped with multilink manipulator
• A method to minimise the energy consumption of an industrial robot
• Specifics of assessing energy security of isolated energy service areas in territories with harsh climatic conditions
• Energy and performance improvement using real-time DVFS for graph traversal on GPU
• Optimal design of stand-alone hybrid power system using wind and solar energy sources
• Do time phase and income influence the convergence in energy intensity? A cross-country analysis
• Carbon emissions, energy consumption and economic growth: a causality evidence
• Neural network with genetic algorithm for forecasting short-term electricity load demand

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Services, Economics and Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Services, Economics and Management are now available here for free:

• Effect of conflict and emotions on perceptions of social loafing in groups
• Role of information of service quality in formation of behavioural intention among students: empirical analysis in university settings
• Antecedents and outcomes of telecom reputation in Ghana
• Outsourcing in-house food operation in a hotel organisation in Hong Kong
• Is the complementarity between remittances and human capital development a panacea for income inequality reduction?

Research pick: Online social security - "Social media security and privacy protection concerning youths. ‘How to be safe, secure and social"

How might we ensure that our young people are safe and secure while being sociable online? That is the question addressed by a team in the International Journal of Business Innovation and Research.

In the age of online social networks and social media, countless millions of us are connected to internet services other individuals and corporations almost constantly. We rely heavily on social media to obtain and share information, news, and multimedia content. Moreover, we share much of this information with relatives, friends, and other online users. What is not always obvious to many users is just how much of our personal and private information is being shared across these networks and with the corporations that offer the services, often at no obvious financial cost to us, but ultimately at some cost to our privacy and perhaps our security.

Ajith Sundaram of Anna University, in Chennai and P. Radha of the SNT Global Academy of Management Studies and Technology, in Coimbatore, India, have investigated the impact of phishing, profile squatting, image tagging, spamming, cross profiling, and other activities on youth security and safety online. Their modelling of social media activity does show that security and privacy concerns have a moderating effect of perceived privacy on trust. The pair offers practical and theoretical implications that could be applied irrespective of whether an individual or an organization is being discussed. The researchers highlight best practice that might be employed to protect online privacy.

Sundaram, A. and Radha, P. (2019) ‘Social media security and privacy protection concerning youths. ‘How to be safe, secure and social”, Int. J. Business Innovation and Research, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp.453-471.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Global Environmental Issues

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues are now available here for free:

• The logic of benevolent capitalism: the duplicity of Sithe Global Sustainable Oils Cameroon land grab and deforestation scheme as sustainable investment
• Shallow sediment physiognomies of Manakudy estuary southwest coast of India
• Environmental regulation and international competitiveness: a critical review
• Water scarcity management: part 1: methodological framework

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation are now available here for free:

• Modelling and validation of a novel continuously variable transmission system using slider crank mechanism
• Sliding mode control for a wind turbine in finite frequency
• Mathematical modelling of morphological transition and spot segregation in continuously-cast high carbon steel billets
• Modelling, simulations and operational performance of a stand-alone hybrid wind/PV energy system supplying induction motor for pumping applications
• Simulation study on speed control of permanent magnet direct-driven system for mining scraper conveyor

New Editor for International Journal of Computational Intelligence in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology

Prof. Xiao-Zhi Gao from the University of Eastern Finland has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Computational Intelligence in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology.

Research pick: Vaccination only way to halt childhood disease - "Mathematical model of childhood diseases outbreak with optimal control and cost effectiveness strategy"

Vaccination is the most effective and safe preventive strategy against many childhood infectious diseases. We can vaccinate effectively and safely against potentially lethal and debilitating diseases including measles, mumps, influenza, smallpox, tuberculosis, Rubella, poliomyelitis, and various other diseases. However, there are still outbreaks where vaccination is not available and increasingly in the era of contrarian thinking where vaccines are not taken as an option by some parents for their children, we are seeing the re-emergence of epidemics of these horrendous diseases.

Now, mathematician Kazeem Oare Okosun of Vaal University of Technology, in Gauteng, and Oluwole Daniel Makinde of Stellenbosch University, South Africa, have derived and analysed a deterministic model for the transmission of childhood disease perform optimal control analysis of the model. Writing in the International Journal of Computing Science and Mathematics, they report on how a disease might be controlled optimally to reduce the devastating impact of an epidemic. Their approach also looks at how financial costs might be minimized in efforts to control a childhood disease.

Vaccination has proven to be the most effective prevention strategy against childhood diseases, the team writes, the need to achieve an optimal level of vaccine coverage is essential to controlling the spread of childhood disease in the twenty-first century, they add. Prevention is ultimately better than cure the research suggests especially given that many of the most debilitating and lethal diseases have no effective pharmaceutical, or indeed, any other form of, treatment.

Okosun, K.O. and Makinde, O.D. (2019) ‘Mathematical model of childhood diseases outbreak with optimal control and cost effectiveness strategy’, Int. J. Computing Science and Mathematics, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp.115–128.

Research pick: Taking the lead - "Recovering lead, plastic, and sulphuric acid from automobile used batteries by mathematical reverse logistics network modelling"

Lead is a poisonous metal and a significant environmental pollutant. An important source of waste is the lead used in car batteries. Research published in Progress in Industrial Ecology – An International Journal shows how lead, scrap plastic, and sulfuric acid from used car batteries might be retrieved based on a mathematical reverse logistics network model.

Najme Roghani Langarudi of the Department of Industrial Engineering, at Amirkabir University of Technology-Tehran Polytechnic, in Tehran, Abdolhossein Sadrnia of the Department of Industrial Engineering at Quchan University of Technology, both in Iran, and Amirreza Payandeh Sani of the Department of Industrial Engineering, at the Islamic Azad University of Semnan Branch, United Arab Emirates, explain a five-layer framework that involves reverse logistics based on collection, remanufacturing, repair, recycling, and disposal. The approach has two objective functions – to minimise costs and avoid carbon dioxide emissions. “In order to show the practicability of the presented model, a numerical example using general algebraic modelling system (GAMS) software was applied,” the team explains.

The team points out that traditional manufacturing is usually undertaken in a forward logistics management sense. With increasing environmental awareness, however, life cycle and cradle-to-grave assessment of a product and its end of life disposal or recycling are increasingly important. In this context the notion and benefits of reverse logistics become critical. A closed-loop supply chain offers a viable approach to automobile batteries, the team suggests.

Langarudi, N.R., Sadrnia, A. and Sani, A.P. (2019) ‘Recovering lead, plastic, and sulphuric acid from automobile used batteries by mathematical reverse logistics network modelling’, Progress in Industrial Ecology – An International Journal, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp.63–83.

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Agile Systems and Management are now available here for free:

• Improving logistics performance for one belt one road: a conceptual framework for supply chain risk management in Chinese third-party logistics providers
• Internet of things enabled manufacturing: a review
• Enterprise modelling of isolated support system
• Using design languages in model-based mechatronic system design processes
• Towards agile enterprise rights management in engineering collaboration
• Design of a service-oriented architecture for AAL

First issue: International Journal of Business and Data Analytics (free sample issue available)

The International Journal of Business and Data Analytics aims to be a dominant knowledge forum for cutting-edge research developments in analytics theory and applications within the context of business management. Data analytics receives considerable attention because it defines the competitive dynamics of the modern business environment. Ever-increasing research activity in data analytics underlines the importance of a global platform for sharing the latest advances in this area. IJBDA seeks to satisfy demand for significant research results in key analytics areas of primary business disciplines.

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

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development to invite expanded papers from International Conference on Knowledge and Policy for Sustainable Development: Global Lessons and Local Challenges for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference on Knowledge and Policy for Sustainable Development: Global Lessons and Local Challenges (25-27 September 2019, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, India) will be invited for review and potential publication by the World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development.

Special issue published: "Participatory Urban Planning and Governance"

International Journal of Electronic Governance 11(1) 2019

• Social innovation, games and urban planning: an analysis of current approaches
• Citizen informatics: integrating urban data and design for future stakeholders
• Experiencing the soundscape with mobile mixing tools and participatory methods
• Innovation, technologies, participation: new paradigms towards a 2.0 citizenship
• Integrating offline and online participation tools for engaging citizens in public space management: application in the peripheral town of Karditsa-Greece

Free sample articles newly available from Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal

The following sample articles from Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal are now available here for free:

• Abrasion wear of cutting tool developed from recycled steel using palm kernel shell as carbon additive
• Air compressor fault diagnosis through statistical feature extraction and random forest classifier
• Characterisation of mechanical and tribological behaviour of hybrid fibre reinforced polymer composites
• Thermodynamic analysis of Kalina cycle configurations for utilisation of geothermal energy
• Experimenting with runtime and energy tradeoffs in high-performance computing
• Taguchi analysis of tool wear and delamination in milling of GFRP composite using coated K10 end mill
• Computational analysis of three blade vertical axis wind turbine
• Prediction of springback effect by the hybridisation of ANN with PSO in wipe bending process of sheet metal
• Misfire detection in I.C. engine through ARMA features using machine learning approach
• Free vibration analysis of carbon nanotube reinforced composite Timoshenko beam
• Role of non-consumable tool design on tensile properties of friction stir welded aluminium alloy joints
• Review on effects of performance, emission and combustion characteristics of emulsified fuel in bifuel engine
• HAIWF-based fault detection and classification for industrial machine condition monitoring
• Predicting dispersion of radionuclides through parallel approach
• A machine learning approach for condition monitoring of wind turbine blade using autoregressive moving average (ARMA) features through vibration signals: a comparative study
• Parametric optimisation of friction welded 17-4 PH SS alloy using Taguchi techniques

Special issue published: "Methods and Tools for Assurance of Critical Infrastructure Protection"

International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems 9(1/2) 2019

• A versatile approach for ranking and modelling of non-functional requirements
• Fully encrypted high-speed microprocessor architecture: the secret computer in simulation
• A methodology for assuring the safety and security of critical infrastructure based on STPA and Event-B
• Formal methods in dynamic software updating: a survey
• Survey on international standards and best practices for patch management of complex industrial control systems: the critical infrastructure of particle accelerators case study

Additional paper

• AltaRica 3.0 in ten modelling patterns

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Electronic Governance

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Electronic Governance are now available here for free:

• The dynamics of e-government enactment in a developing country public sector organisation: evidence from Ghana
• Electronic governance platform: towards overcoming the challenges of non-inclusion of citizens in public policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria
• Citizens' perceptions on benefits of e-governance services
• Mobile communication and political participation: unravelling the effects of mobile phones on political expression and offline participation among young people

Research pick: Employee agility - "Effect of enterprise social media and psychological safety on employee’s agility: mediating role of communication quality"

Enterprise social media (ESM) is an open and public platform that facilitates employee discussions about work-related matters. However, there are known disadvantages. Now, writing in the International Journal of Agile Systems and Management, researchers reveal their findings with regards to the impact of ESM and employee psychological wellbeing and the modulating role played by communication quality in this context.

Abdul Hameed Pitafi of the School of Management, at the University of Science and Technology of China, in Hefei, Anhui Province, China, Shamsa Kanwal of the School of Public Affair there, and Adnan Pitafi of the Mehran University Institute of Science, Technology and Development (MUISTD), in Sindh, Pakistan, explain how researchers and even practitioners are rather vague about the advantages of ESM. The teams carried out a study based on information processing theory to investigate whether or not an employee’s “psychological safety” is positively correlated with their “agility”; agility being their ability to react to and to adopt environmental changes rapidly and in an appropriate manner.

A study of 167 employees who adopted ESM in the workplace, lends new understanding to the team’s hypotheses. “The existing investment in ESM is insufficient to achieving better employee agility,” the team says. “Managers should take appropriate steps in implementing ESM and improving the psychological safety and, consequently, the employee’s agility. The findings in this study are an important attempt to provide guidance and knowledge to managers regarding the positive side of ESM.”

Pitafi, A.H., Kanwal, S. and Pitafi, A. (2019) ‘Effect of enterprise social media and psychological safety on employee’s agility: mediating role of communication quality’, Int. J. Agile Systems and Management, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp.1–26.

International Journal of Big Data Management invites special issue proposals

Dr. Riad Shams, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Big Data Management, has released a call for special issue proposals for the journal. Details are available here.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems are now available here for free:

• Diagnosability analysis and fault diagnosis of P-time labelled Petri nets
• On context-independent and context-aware cloud services substitutability verification
• Extending GSPNs for the modelling, analysis and performance evaluation of dynamic systems
• µQC: a property-based testing framework for L4 microkernels

Special issue published: "Biosphere Management"

Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 13(1) 2019

• The influence of ZnO nanoparticles amount on the optimisation of photo degradation of methyl orange using decorated MWCNTs
• Urban environments sustainable development through low impact approaches
• System dynamics approach for the relationship between different types of hospitals and hospital waste management (case study: Tabriz)
• Optimum design of water-based drilling fluid in shale formations in Khangiran oilfields
• Recovering lead, plastic, and sulphuric acid from automobile used batteries by mathematical reverse logistics network modelling
• The impact of industrial practice on carbon emissions in the BRICS: a panel quantile regression analysis

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage are now available here for free:

• An application of sustainable lean and green strategy with a Six Sigma approach on a manufacturing system
• Case study: using value stream mapping in the educational process - how focusing on student actions can help depict the teaching process
• A DMAIC-based methodology for improving urban traffic quality with application for city of Montreal
• Application of design for Six Sigma methodology to an automotive component

Research pick: The state of dependence - "Factors affecting smartphone dependency of media consumers"

Why have so many people become dependent on their smartphones. This almost ubiquitous communication and information tool seems to be perpetually in so many and taking our undivided attention even when the “real world” has much to offer. Research published in the International Journal of Mobile Communications discusses the various factors that have led to this state of dependence.

Repeated studies show that large numbers of smartphone owners never disconnect, many check their device repeatedly throughout the day, every day, many keep their phones at their bedside, and for a large number of people, the smartphone has usurped more traditional information sources, such as radio, television, print publications, and even human conversation and face-to-face social interaction. To some extent where observers of the early adopters of smartphones perhaps saw them as the object of conspicuous consumption, today, with more mobile phones than people in the world, they have become something of a mundane artifact, despite their information, communication, and computational power.

Sylvia Chan-Olmsted of the Department of Telecommunication at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, USA and Min Xiao of the Department of Advertising there have explored the role of dependency on and usage of other media platforms, multiplatform media use, mobile ownership and perceptions, smartphone functions, and various consumer characteristics. Their analysis suggests that while the television and the personal computer remain important information media, it is, perhaps obviously, the simple portability of the smartphone, which essentially combines television, computer, and telephone, that has enthralled so many in recent years.

Chan-Olmsted, S. and Xiao, M. (2019) ‘Factors affecting smartphone dependency of media consumers‘, Int. J. Mobile Communications, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp.353-375.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Project Organisation and Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Project Organisation and Management are now available here for free:

• Role of technological uncertainty, technical complexity, intuition and reflexivity in project planning - a study on software development projects
• Value co-creation in the management of projects delivering integrated solutions: the case of BT Global Services in the UK
• Dimensions of social barriers to effective collaborative working in construction supply chain
• A path relinking-based scatter search for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem

Special issue published: "Advanced Technologies for Next-Generation Communications and Networked Applications"

International Journal of Space-Based and Situated Computing 8(4) 2018

• Introduction to content centric network architectures replacing traditional location centric network
• Design and evaluation of a utility tool for recorded class B AIS data in an unstable maritime environment
• Ray-tracing analysis of the radio propagation on the line-of-sight maritime wireless environments
• Multi-overlay information management for IoT-oriented P2P network applications
• On the target channel sequence selection for multiple handoffs in cognitive radio-based wireless regional area networks
• Location-based applications, services and technologies in aid of flight planning and GPS-based navigation for visual flight rules in developing countries: with a case study

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance are now available here for free:

• Conventional and unconventional balance sheet practices and their impact on currency stability
• SVAR description of ECB monetary policy effects via banking sector in individual EA countries: case of Slovenia
• The evaluation of banking stability in the European Union countries
• Effect of macroeconomic determinants on non-performing loans in Central and Eastern European countries
• Interest rate development as an indicator of credit market integration

Research pick: Decisions, decisions, decisions - "Computing the shortest path with words"

Computing with words is a computational method where the objects of computation are words and propositions drawn from a natural language rather than the ones and zeroes of binary. Computing with words is perhaps what makes humanity a unique animals species in many regards allowing us to communicate detailed abstract concepts, to reason, to make predictions based on experience and observation. Moreover, we can do those things even with a lack of empirical data, with imprecise, or fuzzy, information, and other deficits.

Now, Arindam Dey of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, at Saroj Mohan Institute of Technology, Hooghly, working alongside Anita Pal of the Department of Mathematics, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, India, have proposed a generalized algorithm, a generalized Diskrtra’s algorithm, specifically, that might allow a computer to do some of what the human brain can do in the context of solving decision-making problems using information extracted from natural language.

They have devised a computer model that can determine the rank of the shortest path which is a collection of words. In everyday language we would colloquially describe the shortest path between points in a space, the nodes, using fuzzy terms – adjectives – rather than numbers. The new model could allow a computer to describe paths in such fuzzy terms too without the need for raw numerical data.

Such a computer tool could utilise words to make decisions based on information that lacks numerical data and be of real-world applications in designing and running transport systems, in logistics management, and many areas where nodes within a network and the connections between them need to be formulated and considered in an abstract rather than conventionally computational sense.

Dey, A. and Pal, A. (2019) ‘Computing the shortest path with words‘, Int. J. Advanced Intelligence Paradigms, Vol. 12, Nos. 3/4, pp.355-369.

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:

• Power optimisation of electric coaster
• Simulation and analysis of heat losses of in-wheel motor for micro-electric vehicles
• Research on battery data compression method for electric vehicles
• Research on the energy management of composite energy storage system in electric vehicles
• Matching and optimisation of an in-wheel tri-motor powertrain for electric vehicles
• Control of a hybrid electric vehicle with dual clutch transmission configurations during mode transition

Special issue published: "TSFS Finance Conference 2014 Management and Hedging of Liquidity Risk"

International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance 12(1) 2019

• US monetary policy surprises transmission to European stock markets
• Macroeconomic determinants of credit risk: a P-VAR approach evidence from Europe
• The effect of sustainability assurance demand on information asymmetry: evidence from French companies
• Dynamic analysis of implied risk neutral density
• FDPM after the global price crisis in the coal industry

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development are now available here for free:

• Sustainable wastewater management for underdeveloped communities - a hands-on method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of greywater
• Unravelling coastal people's adaptation to salinity: evidence from Bangladesh
• A comparative study on the effect of polyethylene plastic waste on sandy soils
• Inclusive wealth accounting for South Asia: measuring towards sustainability
• Impact of urban green space attribute on visitors' satisfaction in Putrajaya: Malaysia
• Converging political ecology and environmental justice disciplines for more effective civil society actions against macro-economic risks: the case of South Africa

Research pick: Are we on the right road to driverless cars? - "Examining the myths of connected and autonomous vehicles: analysing the pathway to a driverless mobility paradigm"

There is much ongoing research into autonomous road vehicles and experimental cars and heavy-goods vehicles have already hit the roads. A paper published in the International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management examines some of the myths associated with driverless vehicles and analyses the route that we might navigate to a new transport destination – the autonomous mobility paradigm.

Alexandros Nikitas, Eric Tchouamou Njoya, and Samir Dani suggest that “Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) could become the most powerful mobility intervention.” Unfortunately, despite the paradigm-shifting impact on traffic safety, economics, the environment, social inclusion, and network performance, there are still many complications associated with acceptance by the industry, policymakers, drivers, and passengers to be addressed before this new transport becomes the norm.

The team recognizes that there is a pressing need to frame an unproven, disruptive, and life-changing intervention, against the conventional automobile technologies without generating new misconceptions, overreaching expectations, and with sufficient room to accommodate predictive errors and avoiding hyperbole. If the benefits of this paradigm shift are to be wrought. They discuss eleven myths surrounding connected and autonomous vehicles

• Enhanced traffic safety and accident prevention.
• Better security – more monitoring and control of the vehicles of the new travel eco-system.
• Reduced traffic congestion due to more efficient mobility and parking management.
• Significant time savings – people can use in-vehicle time to be more productive.
• Smoother rides, more cabin space and more relaxed travelling.
• Environmental benefits including less CO2 emissions due to CAVs eco-driving capacity.
• Decreased noise nuisance – CAVs will have more noiseless engines and drive unobtrusively.
• Reduced energy consumption and fossil fuel dependence due to CAVs eco-driving capacity.
• Huge car-sharing and demand-responsive public transport potential.
• Fewer layers of social exclusion – less age, disability and skill barriers in ‘driving’ a vehicle.
• Smaller enforcing, policing, insurance premiums and road signage requirements.

Their paper tests these eleven myths that perhaps refer to an overly optimistic CAV development and adoption timeline. By taking this approach they have highlighted unresolved issues that need to be addressed before an inescapable transition can happen. They thus provide relevant policy recommendations on how it might ultimately become achievable.

Nikitas, A., Njoya, E.T. and Dani, S. (2019) ‘Examining the myths of connected and autonomous vehicles: analysing the pathway to a driverless mobility paradigm‘, Int. J. Automotive Technology and Management, Vol. 19, Nos. 1/2, pp.10-30.

Free sample articles newly available from World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development

The following sample articles from the World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development are now available here for free:

• Determinants of technology-based product adoption by consumers
• Geospatial assessment of the effects of increasing surface temperature on soil erosion in Ibadan, Nigeria
• A comprehensive review on thin film-based nano-biosensor for uric acid determination: arthritis diagnosis
• VEERBENCH - an intelligent computing framework for workload characterisation in multi-core heterogeneous architectures
• Secure medical data transmission by using collaborative neighbour based method in WBAN
• A fast approach to encrypt and decrypt of video streams for secure channel transmission
• A literature survey on LFC in a deregulated electricity environment

Special issue published: "Recent Advances in Industrial Engineering and Management"

International Journal of Business and Systems Research 13(2) 2019

• Knowledge management key factors: an empirical research on small and medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia
• A literature review on lean, Six Sigma and ISO 9001:2015 in manufacturing industry to improve process performance
• TPM implementation requirements and developing a TPM implementation methodology for an educational institution: a case study
• Development of green channel suppliers in oil and gas sector: a Kaizen approach
• Role of human anthropometry in manufacturing process optimisation
• Application of Taguchi-based Six Sigma method to reduce defects in green sand casting process: a case study
• Developing agility system in supply chains
• A fuzzy optimisation approach for software reliability estimation

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies are now available here for free:

• The response of oil market to US monetary policy surprises
• In what way does the construction sector contribute to economic growth? Empirical evidence from India
• Study program's evaluation using data envelopment analysis
• The strategic formulation of competitive advantage on private higher education institution using participatory prospective analysis
• Earnings and engagement of seamen workers
• An exploratory study on employee assistance program for career development counselling
• Economic and social causes for a late development: India vs. Ethiopia
• The role of organisational culture, intellectual capital and competitive advantage in supporting the government policies in education
• Evaluation of emerging entrepreneurship policy
• Effect of petroleum product prices on Thailand's economic growth
• Testing models of the measuring performance of mutual fund based on single and dual beta
• Knowledge spillover through foreign direct investment in textile industry
• Farmer's prosperity: justice or profit?

Special issue published: "Web-Based Communities: Escaping from the Social Media Journalistic Yoke?"

International Journal of Web Based Communities 15(1) 2019

• Mapping the agenda-setting theory, priming and the spiral of silence in Twitter accounts of political parties
• Investigating virtual communities of practice with social network analysis: guidelines from a systematic review of research
• Racism and social media: a study in Indian context
• A web-based platform for strategy design in smart cities
• Lexicon-based Twitter sentiment analysis for vote share prediction using emoji and N-gram features