31 March 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Web and Grid Services

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Web and Grid Services are now available here for free:
  • Planning operators of concurrent RDF stream processing queries
  • A semantic approach for generating government processes
  • SAW-Q: a dynamic composition approach of REST services based on queue model
  • Towards the optimality of QoS-aware web service composition with uncertainty

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Fuzzy Computation and Modelling

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Fuzzy Computation and Modelling are now available here for free:
  • New decomposition method for solving dual fully fuzzy linear systems
  • A fuzzy logic model to forecast momentum in stock markets
  • Set of non-dominated fuzzy subsets and fuzzy set of non-dominated vertices in fuzzy graphs
  • Fuzzy C-means load frequency controller in deregulated power environment
  • Interactive intuitionistic fuzzy technique in multi-objective optimisation
  • Construction of a fuzzy probability space with Gumbel function, Gaussian function, derivative of Gaussian function and Weibull function

New Editor for International Journal of Hydromechatronics

Prof. Yimin Shao from Chongqing University in China has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Hydromechatronics.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Business Performance Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Business Performance Management are now available here for free:
  • Measuring the lean readiness of Kuwaiti manufacturing industries
  • New opportunities, challenges and realities for the media industry in Greece: an empirical examination of the effects of the financial crisis and digital technologies on media business performance
  • Agency conflicts between business owners and managers: empirical evidence from Tunisia
  • Inventory holding and UK SMEs' performance
  • The implication of strategy improving employees training, compensation, motivation and organisational commitment as predictors of work performance in private commercial banks Indonesia

Research pick: Cashing on cryptocurrencies - "Can cryptocurrencies overtake the fiat money?"

Heed the words of their profits – In uncertain times, uncertain things can happen. Writing in the International Journal of Business Performance Management, a team in the United Arab Emirates asks whether cryptocurrencies, of which Bitcoin is perhaps the most infamous, might ultimately overtake conventional currencies, the fiat money.

Avaneesh Jumde and Boo Yun Cho of the Higher Colleges of Technology on Dubai Women’s Campus, Al Nahda, Dubai, point out how Bitcoin made the terms “cryptocurrency” and “blockchain” familiar to financiers and investors the world over. The technological roots of these terms quickly attracting those who live by the words of their profits. At first, there was a cryptocurrency bubble, which has waxed and waned, but always in the background and barely acknowledged by the bankers and financial regulators is the idea that such forms of money might somehow usurp hard cash.

The team has now used statistical analysis to hedge their bets as to which of the cryptocurrencies might eventually predominate following the proliferation of such forms of money and whether there might be a displacement of fiat money. There is, of course, the possibility that cryptocurrencies would exist in parallel with the fiat in a similar way to gold bullion existing alongside folding paper money, for instance. They have looked at the likes of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether, and Ripple and compared and contrasted their characteristics against the fiat money of different countries.

At the moment, fiat money remains the main contender in the battle for dominance in terms of accessibility, utility, the ability to convert to the currency of other nations, liquidity, volatility, and even financial speculation. Fiat money is more amenable to these requirements and remains preferable for the vast majority of people. However, major uncertainty about human behaviour driven by disease, climate change, and other uncontrollable factors, could lead to gradual or sudden change in our perception of money, its worth, and its utility.

Jumde, A. and Cho, B.Y. (2020) ‘Can cryptocurrencies overtake the fiat money?’, Int. J. Business Performance Management, Vol. 21, Nos. 1/2, pp.6–20.

30 March 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Digital Signals and Smart Systems

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Digital Signals and Smart Systems are now available here for free:
  • Home energy management based on plug-in electric vehicle power control in a residential smart grid
  • Delay dependent stability analysis of Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy time-delays system
  • Optimal digital PID controller design for regulating blood glucose level of type-I diabetic patients
  • MRAS speed observer for sensorless adaptive intelligent backstepping controller of induction machines
  • Regrouping of acoustics microwaves in piezoelectric material (ZnO) by SVM classifier
  • Pattern recognition-based fault detection of a PM synchronous motor under stator winding short circuit faults
  • Diagnosis inverter-fed induction motor fault at low load conditions by using demodulation Teager-Kaiser energy operator based on stator current
  • Direct torque control of induction machine drive based on sliding mode controller and a stator resistance compensator with a new hybrid observer
  • Novel voltage-based PV MPPT controller
  • PID controller compared with dynamic matrix control applied on disturbed complex system
  • Effects of temperature on the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness under a plane wave excitation
  • Intelligent SVM technique of a multi-level inverter for a DFIG-based wind turbine system

Special issue published: "Signal Processing and Communication"

International Journal of Digital Signals and Smart Systems 4(1/2/3) 2020

  • Identifying the stabilising regions of PI controller based on frequency specifications for a lab scale distillation column
  • Investigating customer satisfaction towards music website in Indonesia and India: a comparative study
  • Performance enhancement of the triboelectric energy harvester by forming rough surface polymer film using poly-dimethyl-siloxane +25 wt% water solution
  • A facial EMG data analysis for emotion classification based on spectral kurtogram and CNN
  • Design and test music recommendation system for online music websites using collaborative filtering approach
  • Power optimised hybrid sorting-based median filtering
  • Age and gender related variations in human EEG signals
  • A novel aggregation approach to reduce complexity of system
  • A novel comparator - a cryptographic design in quantum dot cellular automata
  • Photovoltaic grid-connected with transformer less renewable source system with multilevel NPC inverter
  • Simulation of a model DC-DC converter with cascaded via improvement PFC with boost converter and THD using multiple loads
  • Noise reducing performance of anisotropic diffusion filter and circular median filter in digital images
  • Investigation of partial shading effect on PV array configuration
  • Feature extraction for brain tumour analysis and classification: a review

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising are now available here for free:
  • Exploring the anteceding impact of personalised social media advertising on online impulse buying tendency 
  • The effect of social media and advertising activities on affiliate marketing 
  • Gamification in a servicescape context: a conceptual framework 
  • The complementary role of advertising and electronic word-of-mouth for blockbusters and low-budget motion pictures

Scholarly publishing community has role to play in protecting U.S. healthcare workers from COVID-19: non-medical professionals asked to donate protective supplies to GetUsPPE.org

Critical PPE items such as facemasks, goggles, gloves, and protective gowns are stockpiled in offices and facilities that have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic: from labs in universities and corporations, to machine shops, cleanrooms and engineering and construction job sites.

The website GetUsPPE.org is coordinating the transfer of unused PPE from private organisations to the healthcare facilities requesting them in the same vicinity.

GetUsPPE.org is a grassroots organisation led by emergency medicine physicians, working to give all PPE proceeds to the frontline healthcare workers most in need.

GetUsPPE.org needs:
  • Surgical masks
  • Goggles
  • Face shields
  • Nitrile gloves
  • Isolation gowns
  • Disinfectant wipes
  • Hand sanitiser
  • Scrubs
  • Disposable shoe covers
  • Nasopharyngeal swabs
  • Respirators
Please visit GetUsPPE.org for details of how you can help.

27 March 2020

Special issue published: "Advances in Information Security, Privacy and Forensics of Multimedia Big Data in the Internet of Things"

International Journal of Advanced Intelligence Paradigms 15(4) 2020

  • Botnet detection based on DNS traffic similarity
  • Fingerprinting violating machines with in-memory protocol artefacts
  • Enhancement of 3D-Playfair algorithm using dual key
  • A knowledgebase insider threat mitigation model in the cloud: a proactive approach
  • Digital video forensics: a comprehensive survey

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Nanoparticles

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Nanoparticles are now available here for free:
  • The role of pH and effect of calcination temperature on polymorphs and properties of iron oxide nanoparticles
  • Synthesis, characterisation and investigation of enhanced photocatalytic activity of Sm+3, Ni+2 co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles on the degradation of azo dyes in visible region
  • Calculating current density and quantum efficiency of p-n junction solar cell with quasi-Fermi level approximation
  • Methotrexate sodium loaded Tween 80 stabilised gold nanoparticles: synthesis and characterisation
  • Application of aqueous phase CdSe quantum dots for formaldehyde sensing

New Editor for International Journal of Value Chain Management

Prof. Zbigniew Pastuszak from Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Poland has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Value Chain Management.

Research pick: Decidedly deleting data - "Secure data deletion in cloud storage: a survey"

A survey of secure deletion of data held “in the cloud” has been undertaken by Minyao Hua, Yinyuan Zhao, and Tao Jiang of the School of Cyber Engineering at Xidian University in Xi’an, Shaanxi, China. The team reports details in the International Journal of Embedded Systems.

Cloud computing utilizing third-party computer systems, servers, processors, data storage equipment to allow uses to offload the resources they would otherwise require on their premises on to remote systems. There are many different levels of cloud service, some are free or freemium or paid and aimed at individual consumers all the way up to the demands of the corporate and enterprise level. Security and privacy of the data any user stores in the cloud is critical to their ongoing success and sustainability. Breaches occur.

There is a secondary, but just as important issue in that when a user deletes the data they have stored in the cloud, they need to be assured that the data is securely deleted and can no longer be retrieved either by the cloud service provider or malicious parties that might illicitly access those services. The team’s survey compares private and public cloud services and reports on the deletion security of the various services available.

In conclusion, the team recognises that there are problems facing users and have recognized two obvious, fundamental deletion methods that are used to purportedly ensure deletion security for users. The first is the extreme, physical destruction of storage media. The second usually involves software deletion that encrypts the data irretrievably if the key is discarded or lost. There is inevitably a trade-off between efficiency and security. The next challenge will be to ensure deleted data cannot be recovered by future quantum computing technology.

Hua, M., Zhao, Y. and Jiang, T. (2020) ‘Secure data deletion in cloud storage: a survey’, Int. J. Embedded Systems, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp.253–265.

26 March 2020

Special issue published: "Recent Advances in Nano-Electronic Devices and Technology"

International Journal of Nanoparticles 12(1/2) 2020

  • Systematic design strategy for DPL-based ternary logic circuit
  • Modulation of millimetre-wave and THz properties of IMPATT sources via external magnetic field
  • Hardware realisation of an intelligent medical image watermarking
  • Comparative performance analysis of FPGA-based MAC unit using non-conventional number system in TVL domain for signal processing algorithm
  • Development of a visible light communication system for reducing flicker in low data rate requirement
  • Optoelectronic properties of multiple quantum barriers nano-scale avalanche photo diodes
  • A comparative analysis of the short-channel effects of double-gate, tri-gate and gate-all-around MOSFETs
  • A comparative study on the effects of technology nodes and logic styles for low power high speed VLSI applications
  • A simple method for study of effect of Kerr nonlinearity on effective core area, index of refraction and fractional modal power through the core of monomode graded index fibre
  • Development of a highway driving events identification and classification using smartphone
  • Performance enhancement of double-gate tunnel FETs using dual-metal and graded-channel configuration
  • Simple tuning of modified Smith predictor for unstable FOPTD processes

Research pick: Invertebrates indicators for compost - "Macro-invertebrate population changes during composting of organic waste at Alesinloye Market, Ibadan"

Researchers in Nigeria are investigating how organic composting of cow rumen and vegetable waste affects macro-invertebrate populations at a market composting site. Composting is an important way to deal with such waste and the changes in populations of flies (Diptera), beetles (Coleoptera), and mites and ticks (Acarina), can act as a useful proxy for how well the process is working. The shifting populations coupled with physical and chemical examination can then be used to fine-tune the composting process for best end results.

Oluwatobi Oni of the University of Ibadan and his colleagues point out that it is critical that waste generated by people is managed properly whether it is of animal or other origin. The team points out that improper management can lead to the formation of breeding sites for pathogen-carrying invertebrates, such as malaria-bearing mosquitoes. The presence of waste in a market might also lead to food poisoning and diarrhoea, surface and groundwater contamination, the emergence of diseases such as cholera, poor indoor and outdoor air quality, and even increase the risk of flooding. As such, better methods of waste management are high on the agenda in the developing world, for instance.

“It is certain that composting remains important in the management of organic waste, especially in this part of the world and extensive study is proposed as regards species biodiversity associated with the different composting stages and their impact on compost quality,” the team concludes.

Oni, O.D., Oloruntoba, E.O., Sridhar, M.K.C., Hammed, T.B., Ibrahim, K.T. and Popoola, K.O.K. (2020) ‘Macro-invertebrate population changes during composting of organic waste at Alesinloye Market, Ibadan’, Int. J. Agriculture Innovation, Technology and Globalisation, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp.266–284.

25 March 2020

Research pick: Special educational needs - "Characteristics of psychological and pedagogical support of children with special needs"

New research published in the International Journal of Learning and Change discusses the psychological needs and educational support of children with special physical needs.
Sofia Usmanova and Regina Gazizova of the Bashkir State University in Sterlitamak, Russia, discuss the promotion of what they refer to as a “harmonised personality” in learners with physical disabilities and how the necessary support can ensure that these young people have the tools to grow to be important and valued members of society.

There is an increasing number of children with special educational needs that require complex support in their educational activities, socialisation, upbringing, and development. We need to accumulate all available experience and attract various specialists to increase the level of development and adaptation in children with special needs, the team writes. An important part of that, the researchers suggest is providing diagnostics of a child’s development based on several criteria, including verbal and non-verbal communication, motor skills, adaptation within the group, development of attention and concentration. Ultimately, training of educators based on improved knowledge is key.

Usmanova, S.G. and Gazizova, R.R. (2020) ‘Characteristics of psychological and pedagogical support of children with special needs’, Int. J. Learning and Change, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp.55–75.

24 March 2020

International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology to invite expanded papers from PMU International Conference on Industrial Revolution 4.0 in Computing, Mobility, and Manufacturing (CMM 2020) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the PMU International Conference on Industrial Revolution 4.0 in Computing, Mobility, and Manufacturing (CMM 2020) (8-10 December 2020, Khobar, Saudi Arabia) 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 Learning and Change

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Learning and Change are now available here for free:
  • Training of pedagogical staff for rural underfilled school
  • STAD vs. conventional and learning modality towards English speaking pronunciation learning outcome
  • The relationship between empathy and antisocial-prosocial behaviours in youth field hockey players
  • Management consulting practices and praxis
  • Measuring a university-community collaboration using social network analysis
  • Applying system dynamics simulation to proactively identify and address unintended consequences

International Journal of Forensic Software Engineering to invite expanded papers from International Conference on Smart Technologies in Computing, Electrical and Electronics (ICSTCEE 2020) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference on Smart Technologies in Computing, Electrical and Electronics (ICSTCEE 2020) (10-11 July 2020, REVA University, Bengaluru, India) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Forensic Software Engineering.

Research pick: Predicting windpower - "Wind weather prediction based on multi-output least squares support vector regression optimised by bat algorithm"

A computer algorithm based on how bats fly at night tracking flying insect prey with their bio-sonar could help meteorologists predict wind patterns more reliably, according to new research published in the International Journal of Embedded Systems. The work could have implications for the optimal running wind turbines for sustainable power generation.

Dingcheng Wang, Yiyi Lu, Beijing Chen, and Youzhi Zhao of the School of Computer and Software at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, in Nanjing, China, explain how wind power has come to the fore as one of the most important alternatives to electricity generation without the need to burn fossil fuels. However, it depends on steady winds. The stability of wind turbines is also susceptible to gusting and winds that are too fast-moving.

The team has now tested a bat algorithm model of wind direction and speed that in simulations shows that a multi-output least-squares support vector machine prediction is the most effective approach to prediction. Such predictions would not only help operators ensure the safety of the wind turbines by shutting them down at appropriate times but allow them to manage the output in the context of other power supplies feeding into the local or national electricity grids.

Wang, D., Lu, Y., Chen, B. and Zhao, Y. (2020) ‘Wind weather prediction based on multi-output least squares support vector regression optimised by bat algorithm’, Int. J. Embedded Systems, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp.137–145.

20 March 2020

Newly announced journal: Nordic Journal of Tourism

The Nordic Journal of Tourism (NJT) is an open access journal that offers an international, peer-reviewed outlet for tourism studies with a focus on Nordic countries. The journal is an effective channel of communication between policy makers, government agencies, academia, research institutions and firms in Nordic countries concerned with tourism and hospitality services. NJT also aims to promote and coordinate developments in the field of Nordic tourism to other destinations, e.g. Mediterranean countries.

NJT is an Open Access journal and article processing charges (APCs) apply.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Resilience

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Resilience are now available here for free:
  • Evaluation and selection of suppliers in the supply chain using the extended group PROMETHEE I procedures
  • Reconsideration of negotiation procedure for buyback contract in supply chain
  • An approach of one-item-multiple-code for logistics management in power generation EPC projects
  • Critical success factors of aerospace sub-tiers performance

Please help Atypon share the latest coronavirus research and news

In response to the worsening global health emergency, Atypon has created a website with a free real-time, social media-like feed that delivers the latest peer-reviewed research, preprints and news on the coronavirus pandemic as soon as it is published. Their goal is to help the professionals combating this outbreak to get the latest facts sooner and put them into practice more quickly.

To help us expand the reach of this resource, please consider sharing the link to the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Special Edition with your networks. This free feed aggregates content from over 30,000 authoritative sources across the web to accelerate the discovery of trusted, comprehensive information.

The Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Special Edition feed is driven by Scitrus, Atypon’s AI-based discovery technology. The feed is publicly available at www.scitrus.com/special/novel-coronavirus-outbreak.

Research pick: Internet of Healthcare privacy protocols - An internet-of-things-based security scheme for healthcare environment for robust location privacy

How can we keep electronic healthcare information secure in the world of the Internet of Things where diagnostic, devices, monitors, and other equipment are all connected? A team from India, writing in the International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering offers one possible solution.

Aakanksha Tewari and B.B. Gupta of the National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra, explain how they have developed a secure and low-cost environment for the IoT devices in healthcare. Their aim is to make the lives of patients easier and more comfortable by providing them with more effective treatments but at the same time not compromise their privacy.

They describe their solution as utilizing a very simple mutual authentication protocol. This, they say provides strong location privacy by using one way hashing, pseudo-random number generators, and bitwise operations. They add that strong location privacy is critical to ensuring healthcare security and they can enforce this property by ensuring that tags in the network are indistinguishable and the connection protocols ensure forward secrecy. The team has now verified through a formal proof model just how secure is their approach to location privacy. The team adds that the system is suitable for any kind of IoT healthcare device however large or small. Moreover, the protocol is suitable for both passive and active tags.

Tewari, A. and Gupta, B.B. (2020) ‘An internet-of-things-based security scheme for healthcare environment for robust location privacy’, Int. J. Computational Science and Engineering, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp.298–303.

19 March 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering are now available here for free:
  • Effect of lubrication on the wear behaviour of CrN coating deposited by PVD process
  • Pull-off strength and abrasion resistance of anti-corrosive polymer and composite coatings
  • Mechanical and anti-wear properties of multi-module Cr/CrN coatings
  • Surface-modified substrates for the Langmuir-Blodgett deposition of patterned ultra-thin and highly oriented collagen coatings
  • Solid particle erosion studies on fibre composite with egg shell as filler materials

Special issue published: "Edges, Fogs, and Clouds as Engines of IoT"

International Journal of Cloud Computing 9(1) 2020

  • Docker-pi: Docker container deployment in fog computing infrastructures
  • Edge-centric resource allocation for heterogeneous IoT applications using a CoAP-based broker
  • In-network processing for edge computing with InLocus
  • SMIoT: a software architecture for maintainable internet-of-things applications
  • The edge architecture for semi-autonomous industrial robotic inspection systems

Research pick: Opening the museum door online - "Stakeholder engagement via Facebook: an analysis of world’s most popular museums"

At the time of writing, museums the world over are being forced to close their doors to the public because of Covid-19. They will hopefully re-open at some point. In the meantime, a study published in the International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism discusses the nature of so-called stakeholder engagement on Facebook among the world’s most popular museums. This may well have implications during the current crisis as museums seek support through the closure period.

Vincenzo Scafarto of the Department of Human, Social and Health Sciences at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, in Cassino, Federica Ricci and Gaetano della Corte of the Department of Law and Economics of Productive Activities, University of Rome ‘Sapienza’, and Carla Morrone of the Department of Business and Economics at the University of Naples ‘Parthenope’, Italy provide the details. They point out that social media and social networking have become one of the more immediate ways in which organizations can connect with their stakeholders. There are many advantages in terms of marketing new exhibits when it comes to running a museum as well as gleaning feedback from visitors in a way that was never possible with the conventional “suggestions box” at the exit approach of yesteryear.

However, the team has found that some museums have struggled to embrace the new technology and its opportunities for any number of reasons. They have now looked at the most well-attended museums and their Facebook activity to see whether insights can be garnered as to whether that particular realm of social media is engaging potential and past visitors in a positive manner. They found that on the whole, museums were simply using social media as a one-way promotional tool and not recognizing the importance of the true dialogue that the new tools offer the provider and the customer.

They suggest the museum stakeholders must use more finely grained metrics to investigate their own activity and the visitor response on social media. During the current “lockdown” of so many such attractions the world over, the time may well be ripe for museums to fully engage with their putative and past visitors before they re-open their doors once the crisis is history, as it were.

Scafarto, V., Ricci, F., della Corte, G. and Morrone, C. (2020) ‘Stakeholder engagement via Facebook: an analysis of world’s most popular museums’, Int. J. Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.6–21.

18 March 2020

International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage to invite expanded papers from International Conference on Industrial and Manufacturing Systems (CIMS-2020) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference on Industrial and Manufacturing Systems (CIMS-2020) (9-11 October 2020, Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar (an institute of National Importance), Punjab, India) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Reliability and Safety

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Reliability and Safety are now available here for free:
  • A hybrid fault tolerance framework for SaaS services based on hidden Markov model
  • Emergency braking mechanism for an elevator using hydraulic and pneumatic actuation
  • Risk-energy aware service level agreement assessment for computing quickest path in computer networks
  • New component-based reliability model to predict the reliability of component-based software
  • Reliability allocation technique for complex system of systems
  • Multi-state system reliability analysis methods based on Bayesian networks merging dynamic and fuzzy fault information
  • Reliability assessment of pressure vessel design methods
  • The probabilistic analysis of fatigue crack effect based on magnetic flux leakage
  • Topology optimisation design of mechanical tee backsheet

Free open access article available: "A first-time investigation of psychosocial inclusivity in design: inclusive supermarket design for older individuals"

The following paper, "A first-time investigation of psychosocial inclusivity in design: inclusive supermarket design for older individuals" (Journal of Design Research 17(2/3/4) 2019), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management are now available here for free:
  • Dimensions of organisational performance: a review
  • A modified column generation heuristic for hybrid flow shop multiple orders per job scheduling problem
  • Microstructural comparison and mechanical properties of stainless steel 316L fabricated by selective laser melting and metal injection moulding processes
  • A dynamic planning model based on graph theory for product platform and module
  • Sintering temperature effects on the properties of stainless steel 316L compact fabricated by metal injection moulding
  • An equivalent conversion method for dual-armed multi-cluster tool scheduling problems with multi-wafer types
  • Effective utilisation of cascade H-bridge multi level inverter integrate social spider optimisation for reduced total harmonics distortion

Research pick: OCR for graffiti - "Graffiti-writing recognition with fine-grained information"

Researchers in China have recognised that optical character recognition (OCR) has matured and can identify and extract information from documents that use standard writing styles. However, the world over people have very different ways of writing that might remain obscure to OCR. Moreover, people scrawl and gesture on tablets and phones and other devices in ways that are not even close to their normal handwriting and so are likely to be illegible to a computer.

The team has now developed an algorithm that can, with fine granularity, extract information from what might be loosely terms graffiti, convoluted handwriting that might even be indecipherable to some extent to a human reader, let alone a computer.

Jiashuang Xu and Zhangjie Fu of the Computer and Software College at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, and Xingyue Du of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Xi’an Polytechnic University in Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, China, provide details of their approach in the International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering.

So far the team has trained their system to recognise 26 letters of the Latin (English) alphabet with almost 86 percent accuracy and are now working on extending and improving the technology. An additional, point is that the system utilizes a motion-detection approach rather than requiring touch input and so could be adapted for non-screen input devices such as wearables, where one might gesture to a device embedded in clothing, for instance.

Xu, J., Fu, Z. and Du, X. (2020) ‘Graffiti-writing recognition with fine-grained information’, Int. J. Computational Science and Engineering, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp.163–172.

17 March 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering are now available here for free:
  • The classification and mechanisms of coal-gas compound dynamic disasters: a preliminary discussion
  • Use of iron ore mine tailings in infrastructure projects
  • Peak phosphate in Jordan
  • Application and comparison of the cokriging and the fractal model for identifying geochemical anomalies in Janja area, SE Iran

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism are now available here for free:
  • Social media adoption: an exploratory international case study of hotel organisations
  • The performance of Italian conservatories: a methodological proposal
  • The consumer journey in the digital age: the challenges faced by destination and place marketing agencies
  • Innovation and firm internationalisation: evidence from Italy
  • Discovering the role of innovation in contemporary business systems: an assessment technique from the literature analysis

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Cloud Computing

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Cloud Computing are now available here for free:
  • Experimental analysis and comparative study of secure data outsourcing schemes in cloud
  • IAM with postlogin authentication for service usage authorisation in cloud computing
  • Adaptive and intelligent framework of data protection techniques for cloud storage
  • Review of remote data integrity auditing schemes in cloud computing: taxonomy, analysis, and open issues
  • Genetic and static algorithm for task scheduling in cloud computing

Research pick: Selfies and self disclosure - "What drives students’ online self-disclosure behaviour on social media? A hybrid SEM and artificial intelligence approach"

A complementary structural equation modelling (SEM) and artificial intelligence (AI) approach could be used to determine what drives learners, students, to share information about themselves, so-called self-disclosure, online. Fundamentally, it seems that privacy has no direct effect, according to research published in the International Journal of Mobile Communications, although the indirect effect of privacy concerns on trust does have an effect.

Ibrahim Arpaci of the Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology at Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University, in Turkey, explains that his model has focused on the role of security, privacy, and trust perceptions in predicting the attitudes towards the posting of “selfies”, photographic self-portraits on social networking sites. His survey and analysis of the behaviour of some 300 undergraduate students provide important clues surrounding this concept.

It has been shown previously using “privacy calculus theory” that there is an inevitable trade-off between the need for personal privacy and the perceived benefits of self-disclosure in various settings and not least in the online world. It can explain the privacy paradox, for instance, where see people not wishing to have their data and personal information such as photos exposed and the urgency with which many people share that information willingly with other members of the public and perhaps unwittingly with third parties associated with the online tools and apps they use.

It is important from the sociological perspective to get a clear view of how online behaviour is driven, how paradoxes are sidestepped, and how the online world might evolve as social media and social networking mature.

Arpaci, I. (2020) ‘What drives students’ online self-disclosure behaviour on social media? A hybrid SEM and artificial intelligence approach’, Int. J. Mobile Communications, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp.229–241.

Special issue published: "Waterborne Transport Information and Safety"

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 12(1/2) 2020

  • Remote interactive platform for matching design of ship screw propeller and diesel engine based on Internet Plus
  • Density-weighted ant colony algorithm for ship trajectory reconstruction
  • Risk analysis of petroleum transportation using fuzzy rule-based Bayesian reasoning
  • Solving inland container ship stowage planning problem on full route through a two-phase approach
  • Analysis of performance influence factors on shipboard drills to improve ship emergency preparedness at sea
  • The impact of information sharing on installation processes of offshore wind farms - process modelling and simulation-based analysis

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Bio-Inspired Computation

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Bio-Inspired Computation are now available here for free:
  • Dynamic cuckoo search algorithm based on Taguchi opposition-based search
  • Vehicular cloud networking: evolutionary game with reinforcement learning-based access approach
  • A novel artificial bee colony optimiser with dynamic population size for multi-level threshold image segmentation
  • Multi-swarm cooperative multi-objective bacterial foraging optimisation
  • A review of techniques for online control of parameters in swarm intelligence and evolutionary computation algorithms

16 March 2020

Special issue published: "Migration and Border-Making in Portugal"

International Journal of Migration and Border Studies 5(4) 2019

  • Camouflaging borders: relocation, neglect and disciplines of emplacement in Portugal
  • The new Portuguese asylum law in 'fortress Europe'
  • When does difference matter? Border-generating categories in the lives of foreign nationals in northern Portugal
  • Waiting for a future in Lisbon: borders, migrations and biographies
  • Migrant bodies and medical bordering: travelling for health reasons from Guinea-Bissau to Portugal
  • Pathways to prison: bordering social inequalities through prison and state
  • Women's experiences of border crossing: gender, mobility and border control
  • 'Bio-bordering' processes in the EU: de-bordering and re-bordering along transnational systems of biometric database technologies
  • On the universal and the particular in studying oppressive mobility regimes

Free sample articles newly available from Latin American Journal of Management for Sustainable Development

The following sample articles from the Latin American Journal of Management for Sustainable Development are now available here for free:
  • The influence of green branding on purchase intention, willingness to pay and consumers' emotional response: an experimental study
  • Safety and sustainability paradoxes: the case of large trees on roadsides of high speed roads
  • Wind power energy in Brazil: public financing and future perspectives
  • Students' knowledge of sustainability issues in higher education
  • The environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for CH4 emissions: evidence from ARDL bounds testing approach in Argentina

Special issue published: "Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace"

International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion 10(3) 2019

  • The effect of demographics on the psychological contract of employees
  • Exploring organisation citizenship behaviour in a higher education institution in United Arab Emirates
  • A relational approach to exploring inequalities within the human resource management model in the Middle East
  • Psychological vulnerability as an integral component of comprehensive vulnerability assessment: informing policy and practice in disaster risk reduction
  • Understanding organisational metaphors to make sense of values and of obligation
  • The role of organisational learning in creating an agile workforce in Dubai

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Intelligent Systems Design and Computing

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Intelligent Systems Design and Computing are now available here for free:
  • An effective frame-based high frequency speech transposition by using neural network
  • Some statistical aspects of children with disabilities in Assam, India
  • Knowledge system for early phase aesthetic concept generation in industrial design
  • Prediction and estimation of civil construction cost using linear regression and neural network
  • Adaptive backstepping control for a class of MIMO uncertain underactuated systems with input constraints

13 March 2020

International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management to invite expanded papers from Second RDIAS Annual Management Research Competition (AMRC 2020) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the Second RDIAS Annual Management Research Competition (AMRC 2020) (30 May 2020, Rukmini Devi Institute of Advanced Studies, Delhi, India) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management.

International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics to invite expanded papers from International Conference on Machine Intelligence and Data Science Applications (MIDAS-2020) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference on Machine Intelligence and Data Science Applications (MIDAS-2020) (4-5 September 2020, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics.

Special issue published: "Intelligent Computing for the Epidemic Challenges of Biometrics "

International Journal of Biometrics 12(1) 2020

  • Research on the evaluation model of deep foundation pit supporting structures in urban traffic tunnels
  • Research on the optimisation of complex models of large-scale building structures dependent on adaptive grey genetic algorithms
  • Linearisation control of AC permanent magnet synchronous motor servo system based on sensor technology
  • The design of embedded image teaching systems based on ARM technology
  • Research on network intrusion detection security based on improved extreme learning algorithms and neural network algorithms
  • Research on educational informatisation platforms based on Web 2.0
  • Research on manipulator motion control based on neural network algorithms
  • A study on the fatigue of bus drivers based on biological models
  • Research on logistics distribution path analysis based on artificial intelligence algorithms
  • Research on the optimal design of municipal roads based on genetic algorithms
  • Algorithm research of spoken English assessment based on fuzzy measure and speech recognition technology

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Social Network Mining

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Social Network Mining are now available here for free:
  • Social networking meets recommender systems: survey 
  • Generalised measures for the evaluation of community detection methods 
  • Information fusion methods for the automatic creation of Twitter lists 
  • Discovering compatible users in social networks

Research pick: Summarising opinions automatically - "Multi-document summarisation using feature distribution analysis"

Documents that express an opinion abound, especially in the so-called web 2.0 era of social media and social networking. Jae-Young Chang of the Department of Computer Engineering at Hansung University, in Seoul, South Korea, suggests that there is a need to find ways to summarise their contents for a wide range of applications.

Writing in the International Journal of Computational Vision and Robotics, he points out that conventional text summarization methods do not work well with multiple documents authored by different writers. He has now proposed an algorithm that can identify and extract the representative documents from a large number of documents. Applying the process might be the first step towards a new approach to “opinion mining”, which could be useful in politics, marketing, education, and many other areas of human endeavour.

The approach involves detecting the sentiment of the most important – judging – document in a corpus and then ranking the relevance of others from this central point to allow a summary of the opinions expressed to be constructed. A successful proof of principle was carried out on movie reviews. The same approach should work well with product reviews and other kinds of opinion.

Chang, J-Y. (2020) ‘Multi-document summarisation using feature distribution analysis’, Int. J. Computational Vision and Robotics, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp.111–121.

12 March 2020

Free open access article available: "Proactive and reactive context reasoning architecture for smart web services"

The following paper, "Proactive and reactive context reasoning architecture for smart web services" (International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management 12(1) 2020), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

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:
  • Selecting the right collaborative components in a construction project
  • Neural network models for actual cost prediction in Greek public highway projects
  • Handling conflicts over the regulation of project's time-cost risks via a simulation-based decision-making support system module
  • Identification of failure factors in large scale complex projects: an integrative framework and review of emerging themes

International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology is now an open access-only journal

We are pleased to announce that the International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology is now an Open Access-only journal. All accepted articles submitted from March 2020 onwards will be Open Access, and will require an article processing charge of US $1200.

Free open access article available: "A protocol for the implementation of new technology in a highly complex hospital environment: the operating room"

The following paper, "A protocol for the implementation of new technology in a highly complex hospital environment: the operating room" (International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations 22(2) 2020), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Research pick: Reducing the impact of a fall - "An inventive and innovative system to detect fall of old aged persons – a novel attempt with IoT, sensors and data analytics to prevent the post fall effects"

Falls account for a lot of morbidity and mortality among older people. According to the World Health Organisation, almost 40 million falls are recorded each year with around 650000 of those ultimately leading to the person’s death.

Writing in the International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics, a team from the Amrita School of Engineering, in Coimbatore, India, provides details of what they refer to as a “frugal and affordable system” that can monitor a person’s movements. The system uses motion sensors and data analytics to determine whether a particular motion of an old person is indicative of a fall.
The system can then alert a carer, friend, or relative to come and assist. One of the biggest problems in a fall is sustaining a hip fracture and it is often the hospitalisation and ensuing complications that lead to a fatality. Attending quickly to the person who has fallen is often critical in reducing morbidity and the ongoing risk of mortality.

The team explains that 20 to 30 percent of older people who have a fall, suffer moderate to severe physical injuries such as broken bones, cuts, and bruises. There are often ongoing mental health issues caused by the embarrassment and loss of self-esteem associated with a fall as well as the mobility problems that arise and decreased physical activity.

The team’s system utilises various sensors, an accelerometer, piezo sensor, infrared sensor, and a gyroscopic motion sensor. The output from these is fed to a microcontroller and a wireless transmission module (Bluetooth in the prototype, but Wi-Fi would be plausible) to transmit the output to a receiver, which quickly ports the data to a server and the data analytics to generate an answer regarding whether or not the user has fallen. The server-side system can then trigger an alert if they have. The team suggests that the same device might also incorporate a heart-rate monitor to add an extra layer of useful data for carers and emergency healthcare. The team has demonstrated efficacy with the prototype and describes it as “foolproof”.

Kowshik, G., Anudeep, J., Krishna, P.V., Vasudevan, S.K. and Shah, I. (2020) ‘An inventive and innovative system to detect fall of old aged persons – a novel attempt with IoT, sensors and data analytics to prevent the post fall effects’, Int. J. Medical Engineering and Informatics, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp.1–18.

11 March 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics are now available here for free:
  • Automatic ostia detection in CTA volume data: a comparative study
  • Study of speech enabled healthcare technology
  • Detection of abnormal blood cells by segmentation and classification
  • Real-time signal processing of photoplethysmographic signals to estimate the on-demand and continuous heart rate by spectral analysis
  • A novel patient friendly IT enabled framework for selection of desired healthcare provider
  • A distributed integration system enabling electronic health records: an Italian experience

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

First issue: International Journal of Entertainment Technology and Management (free sample issue available)

The International Journal of Entertainment Technology and Management covers and disseminates the rapidly growing research and application domain of entertainment technology and management. In the knowledge society, entertainment is a key pillar towards a new era of human experience and transcendence supported by new media. Within this context, IJEntTM addresses an emerging discipline which stands in the converging domains of high tech and new media. In IJEntTM, entertainment management stands for the "holistic approach to interactivity as being the dominant transformation enhanced by digital media".

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

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Biometrics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Biometrics are now available here for free:
  • A survey on different continuous authentication systems
  • A novel discriminant multiscale representation for ear recognition
  • Bone- and air-conduction speech combination method for speaker recognition
  • Human age classification using appearance and facial skin ageing features with multi-class support vector machine
  • On the performance improvement of non-cooperative iris biometrics using segmentation and feature selection techniques

Research pick: Intruding on big data - "User information intrusion prediction method based on empirical mode decomposition and spectrum feature detection"

Plain text documents and databases are vulnerable to intrusion by malicious third parties in a way that encrypted, password-protected materials are not. However, there are computer overheads and costs to adding encryption and so documents are often held on servers in plaintext nevertheless. Writing in the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology, a team from China is developing an intrusion detection system that is not resource hungry but can protect plaintext materials.

The team points out that with so-called “big data” the resource costs of encryption can make such protection a non-negligible task. Processing big data files can become unfeasibly slow with the constant need to decrypt and re-encrypt materials as they are retrieved, edited, curated, and otherwise processed and saved. However, the storage of information in plain text is prone to information leaks.
The team has suggested that pattern recognition and information filtering methods could be used to recognise intrusion and allow plaintext attacks to be quickly blocked before significant amounts of data are leaked but without those massive encryption-decryption overheads. An additional benefit is that the information can be shared between legitimate users without the need for cumbersome password protocols and systems being in place.

The reports that their system has a “relatively high probability of intrusion detection and low false alarm probability at low signal-to-noise ratio, which improves the intrusion detection and interception capability.”

Ma, Z., Ma, Y., Huang, X., Zhang, M., Su, B. and Zhao, L. (2020) ‘User information intrusion prediction method based on empirical mode decomposition and spectrum feature detection’, Int. J. Information and Communication Technology, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp.99–111.

10 March 2020

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:
  • A structural impact analysis of the fashion system with regards to textile recycling
  • Do environmental performance and disclosure bring financial outcome? Evidence from Indonesia
  • Modelling the sustainable development goals for India - an interpretive structural modelling approach
  • A retrospective study on green ICT deployment for ecological protection pedagogy: insights from field survey
  • Microbiological leaching of metals and its recovery from waste electrical and electronic equipment: a review

Special issue published: "Learning to Innovate in Asia a Human Resource Development Perspective"

International Journal of Learning and Change 11(4) 2019

  • Relational, contractual or dual governance? An inwards look into a Chinese family business
  • Effectiveness of logistics skills to individual performance: challenges to Sri Lankan humanitarian sector
  • Effect of psychological contract breach on workplace deviant behaviours with the moderating role of revenge attitude and self-control
  • Competition and culture: the macroeconomic realities of critical thinking competencies for Thailand 4.0 and the ASEAN Economic Community
  • Generation Z's learning preferences: impact on organisational learning and development - a study conducted in a vocational institute in UAE

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management are now available here for free:
  • Deciphering published articles on cyberterrorism: a latent Dirichlet allocation algorithm application
  • Analysis of a performability model for the BRT system
  • Can market indicators forecast the port throughput?
  • A new development of an adaptive X − R control chart under a fuzzy environment
  • An innovative and efficient method for Twitter sentiment analysis

Free open access article available: "Cultural intelligence, global mindset, and cross-cultural competencies: a systematic review using bibliometric methods"

The following paper, "Cultural intelligence, global mindset, and cross-cultural competencies: a systematic review using bibliometric methods" (European Journal of International Management 14(2) 2020), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Research pick: Avoiding a technological anxiety attack - "Technology-induced job anxiety during non-work time: examining conditional effect of techno-invasion on job anxiety"

Almost everywhere you look where two or more people are gathered together, someone is staring at the screen of a mobile phone or other device, swiping left, swiping right, tapping icons, scrolling…
…some research would suggest that the world is addicted to its smartphones and tablets. Another, more positive, interpretation would be that as a social animal we are simply better connected across our societies and globally than any earlier generation could ever have dreamed of. There are pros and cons to our so-called 24/7 connectivity. We are by turns better informed in a more timely manner about local happenings and global events. We have access to almost any piece of information we might need almost instantaneously. We can “speak” to almost anyone we might ever need to, from friends and family, work colleagues, celebrities, politicians, and business leaders.

Conversely, there are times when email, social media, news notifications, trending updates, and viral memes might become overwhelming and people talk of taking a digital detox. They disconnect, albeit temporarily, they go, to a limited extent, off-grid. We talk of finding me time, being mindful, mental wellbeing, and simply avoiding the endless stream of cat/dog videos that seem to pervade even the most stringently business-like timelines on our devices.

Work published in the International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, has investigated the notion of technology-induced job anxiety and how it arises during what we used to think of as non-work time, the out of hours period at the end of each day, the weekends, days off, vacations etc.

Jinnan Wu, Nannan Wang, Wenjuan Mei, and Lin Liu of Anhui University of Technology in Ma’anshan, China, suggest that the way in which work-related technology invades our purportedly personal time needs detailed investigation. In their paper, they were keen to look at how this invasion affects job anxiety itself.

Fundamentally, the study shows that “techno-invasion positively predicts job anxiety. However, employees have better organisational support and demonstrate computer self-efficacy (personal control over their digital domain in other words) show less job anxiety. Moreover, when an employee has good computer self-efficacy but perceives organisational support as being low, they can still avoid much of the anxiety felt by those who have less control of their digital realm even if they are well supported by their organisation.

In other words, employees learning to have more self-control outside of work time and not succumbing to the pressures of job-related technological notifications will inevitably reduce anxiety relative to those employees who do not feel in control.

Wu, J., Wang, N., Mei, W. and Liu, L. (2020) ‘Technology-induced job anxiety during non-work time: examining conditional effect of techno-invasion on job anxiety’, Int. J. Networking and Virtual Organisations, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp.162–182.

9 March 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management are now available here for free:
  • Evaluation of Canadian innovation policy: locating innovation policy among other policies
  • Research on regional differences and dynamic evolution of China's eco-efficiency
  • Systematic barriers to technology development in Nigeria: a literature review
  • On the use of economic evaluation of new technology in helicopter emergency medical services

Free open access article available: "Managing the core plant role – key prerequisites from an operations perspective"

The following paper, "Managing the core plant role – key prerequisites from an operations perspective" (International Journal of Manufacturing Research 15(1) 2020), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management are now available here for free:
  • Role of financial knowledge, financial socialisation and financial risk attitude in financial satisfaction of Indian individuals
  • How important is applicants' perception about job relatedness of selection process?
  • Modelling the causal relationship between justice and citizenship behaviours: an Indian perspective
  • Definition schema for redefining leadership: an integrative approach
  • Value relevance of accounting information: comparative study of Indian public and private sector banks
  • Delineating problems faced by artisans of Rajasthan: a case of emic-etic-emic analysis of the customer perspective

Free open access article available: "What guides information consensus? Approaching the reduction of equivocality in process innovations"

The following paper, "What guides information consensus? Approaching the reduction of equivocality in process innovations" (International Journal of Manufacturing Research 15(1) 2020), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business are now available here for free:
  • Budgetary control, corporate culture and performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia
  • Exploring the antecedents of export motivation: the case of the Greek yogurt firms
  • The rise of 'small globals': an empirical macro analysis
  • Cross cultural communication between developed and emerging markets: a qualitative study on small and medium-sized enterprise communication technology selection and utilisation

6 March 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Value Chain Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Value Chain Management are now available here for free:
  • Assessment of the role of cooperative networks in the fruit supply chain in Thailand
  • A model for a successful approach to applying for Horizon 2020
  • An integrated structural modelling and MICMAC analysis for supply chain disruption risk classification and prioritisation in India

Thematic issue published: "The Role of Intercultural Competence in European International Management: Theory, Measurement, Antecedents, and Outcomes" (includes free open access article)

European Journal of International Management 14(2) 2020

  • Cultural intelligence, global mindset, and cross-cultural competencies: a systematic review using bibliometric methods [open access article]
  • Bridging the determinist-interpretivist divide in intercultural competence research
  • Conceptualising and measuring cultural intelligence: important unanswered questions
  • Moderators and mediators of cross-cultural training effectiveness: literature review and development of a conceptual model
  • Growing up among cultures: intercultural competences, personality, and leadership styles of third culture kids
  • The better, the worse, and the bicultural: examining bicultural competence and bicultural liability in elite football teams
  • The expanded model of cultural intelligence and its explanatory power in the context of expatriation intention

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Manufacturing Research

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Manufacturing Research are now available here for free:
  • An evolutionary-based hybrid approach for simultaneous optimisation of multiple responses in self-propelled rotary turning process
  • Simulation and experimental investigation on micro electrochemical drilling of micro-holes with ultra short pulse voltage
  • Iterated greedy insertion approaches for the flexible job shop scheduling problem with transportation times constraint
  • Cooperative diagnostics for combinations of large volume metrology systems
  • Experimental study of the effect of light source spot size on measure error of PSD

Free open access article available: "Designing two-list group program driven algorithm for channel navigation in internet protocol television"

The following paper, "Designing two-list group program driven algorithm for channel navigation in internet protocol television" (International Journal of Advanced Media and Communication
 7(4) 2019), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Research pick: Peer-to-peer storage - "A reliable peer-to-peer storage framework based on virtual peers model"

Peer-to-peer, P2P, computer systems became infamous as the architecture that allowed users all over the world to share digital content, music, videos, software, much of which was “pirated” or distributed in breach of copyright laws. However, as with most inventions, there are always illicit and legitimate applications.

As the concept spread, so it became obvious that the benefits of a network where each node is a peer on a distributed unfixed network infrastructure could be used to reduce the burden on centralized servers in terms of computing power needed by applications, communications protocols, and storage. Indeed, many cloud-based applications utilize P2P frameworks to share the processing and storage loads so that increasingly powerful servers and bigger data storage facilities are no longer necessary for a wide range of applications.

Of course, P2P is not perfect. Typical systems can suffer from unreliable network transfers and unstable availability of data files. A new approach to circumvent these problems is outlined in the International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations.

Hong He of the School of Computer and Communication at the Hunan Institute of Engineering in Xiangtan City, Hunan Province, China, has proposed a new type of P2P-based storage framework that has a set of “virtual” peers. This improves the reliability of networking transfers and storage by exploiting network coding technology. His study of the new system reveals it to be capable of achieving better tradeoffs between reliability and efficiency. Indeed, the system “outperforms the existing solutions in terms of many performance metrics, including data availability, resource utilisation, and communication cost,” He says.

He, H. (2020) ‘A reliable peer-to-peer storage framework based on virtual peers model’, Int. J. Networking and Virtual Organisations, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp.129–146.

5 March 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Hydromechatronics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Hydromechatronics are now available here for free:
  • Blast response in concrete beam with nanoparticles utilising Newmark method
  • Frequency analysis in sandwich higher order plates imposing various boundary conditions
  • Thermo-mechanical vibration analysis of non-local refined trigonometric shear deformable FG beams
  • Analytical analysis of single-stage pressure relief valves
  • Engine speed reduction for hydraulic machinery using predictive algorithms
  • Optimisation analysis of nanocomposite pipes with internal fluid flow under external excitation

New Editor for International Journal of Services and Standards

Associate Prof. Siew Chan from the University of North Georgia in the USA has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Services and Standards.

Research pick: More wind, less hot air - "How much wind-powered electricity may be generated in 2040 by China, USA and four other countries?"

Predictions about how much wind power will be in place by the year 2040 have been too conservative according to research published in the International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy.

Yu Sang Chang, Hann Earl Kim, and Seongmin Jeon of Gachon University, South Korea and Yoo-Taek Lee of Boston University, in Massachusetts, USA, have looked at the forecasts for electricity generation using wind turbines for the dates 2020, 2030, and 2040 for Canada, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the USA from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). They have compared those figures with their own alternative projections and those of other organisations and suggest that, with the exception of Japan, more electricity will be generated using this sustainable power source than had been thought.

The researchers point out that in 2015 there were well over 300,000 wind turbines around the world generating, nominally at least, well over 400 gigawatts of power. Capacity quadrupled between 2007 and 2015 and has continued to grow. There are around 85 countries using windpower on the commercial scale. China has one of the biggest on-shore installations with several thousand turbines having a combined power output of 6 gigawatts in the Gansu Wind Farm. One of the largest off-shore facilities is the London Array in the UK with a capacity of 630 MW and there are plans for one of double that capacity to be sited at Dogger Bank in the North Sea off the Yorkshire coast of England. This facility is expected to power 4.5 million homes.

These kinds of details can feed predictive models but the team suggests that earlier efforts have been hampered in their forecasts by data inconsistencies. They hope that their new approach provides a better perspective. Fundamentally, their analysis coincides with predictions for Canada, India, and Japan, but they have more optimistic outcomes for China, South Korea, and the USA. In sum, global capacity, they suggest will be much greater by 2040. They believe that technological breakthroughs in turbine design and power transmission have been ignored in conservative estimates of future output and it is these that give them hope for a more sustainable and wind-powered future.

Chang, Y.S., Kim, H.E., Jeon, S. and Lee, Y-T. (2020) ‘How much wind-powered electricity may be generated in 2040 by China, USA and four other countries?’, Int. J. Energy Technology and Policy, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp.196–212.

4 March 2020

Research pick: Putting off the procrastination - "Procrastination, its antecedents and its organisational outcomes among employees in the public sector in Istanbul"

It is a common foible of many of us. Putting off until tomorrow what we might do today. We commonly refer to it as procrastination. Research published in the International Journal of Business Environment suggests that time management, perfectionism, and fear of failure often trigger task avoidance. The researchers add that the organisational result is commonly greater stress in our work and lower job satisfaction.

Elif BilginoÄŸlu and Murat YalçıntaÅŸ of Ä°stanbul Ticaret Ãœniversitesi, in Turkey, suggest that the common perception is that procrastination is a negative personality trait, a destructive habit, it causes trouble in education, career, and personal life. It interfere with outcomes and success and can be a significant problem in many areas. It’s usually perceived as being born of laziness and is an irrational approach to one’s tasks. The team suggests, however, that a certain amount of procrastination is perhaps normal and necessary. Everyone needs to take a little timeout here and there during the working day.

There have been numerous studies of procrastination in education, specifically among students. The team has now focused on the work environment. Their specific focus is on Turkey where they suggest that many people are chronic procrastinators. With the details of this new research in hands, managers might be guided to help address the problem of procrastination and to plan to overcome its worst effects. Time efficiency habits can be encouraged as well as positive feedback where merited to reduce the fear of failure. Not only will reducing the amount of procrastination that is done by employees help the employer it could benefit the employees through reduced stress and greater job satisfaction.

BilginoÄŸlu, E. and YalçıntaÅŸ, M. (2020) ‘Procrastination, its antecedents and its organisational outcomes among employees in the public sector in Istanbul’, Int. J. Business Environment, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp.47–68.

Footnote: I have a personal tip for avoiding procrastination, create a circular to-do list of all the things you need to do and use each item to put off the one before that you didn’t want to do. You might around in circles for a while, but ultimately you will have no excuse left but to get the final job done…

3 March 2020

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:
  • Green engineering principles for global water quality monitoring using IoT
  • Quantification of environmental impacts of abrasive water jet cutting process through sustainability analysis
  • Measurement of environmental sustainability index and its association with socio-economic indicators in selected Asian economies: an empirical investigation
  • Biodiversity in Lithuania: achievements, challenges and policy
  • Green environmental sustainability development in construction industry using response surface methodology
  • Energy effective routing optimisation using ACO-FDR PSO for improving MANET performance

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Computing Science and Mathematics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Computing Science and Mathematics are now available here for free:
  • Using kernel-based collocation methods to solve a delay partial differential equation with application to finance
  • Impulsive control on a non-autonomous dispersal almost periodic competition system
  • Inclusion properties of hypergeometric functions in some class of analytic functions
  • Arabic language and knowledge reduction in formal contexts
  • T*: a weighted double-heuristic search algorithm to find the shortest path
  • A spline-based computational technique applicable for solution of boundary value problem arising in human physiology
  • Numerical solution of fuzzy differential equations using orthogonal polynomials
  • Respondents view of novel framework for data protection in social networking sites: an analysis
  • Group acceptance sampling plans for resubmitted lots under exponentiated Fréchet distribution
  • Further results on the generalised hypergeometric matrix functions

Special issue published: "Resource-Efficient Manufacturing Through Interdisciplinary Collaboration" (open access articles available)

International Journal of Manufacturing Research 15(1) 2020

  • Using the compleXity index for improvement work: investigating utilisation in an automotive company
  • Assessment of a cost-model on sustainability for a proposal for a framework for the evaluation of sustainable manufacturing
  • Energy model for motion planning of 2D-belt press line tending robots
  • What guides information consensus? Approaching the reduction of equivocality in process innovations [open access]
  • Managing the core plant role – key prerequisites from an operations perspective [open access]

Research pick: Disaster management - "Developing community disaster resilience through preparedness"

In light of the recent incidence of natural disasters, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and the spread of a potentially lethal disease, COVID-19, it is timely to consider how we might develop community resilience to reduce the loss of life, disruption, and other problems in the wake of such events.

Writing in the International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, a research team from Australia and Vietnam, has taken three past events as case studies. They have looked at the research literature surrounding those events and the secondary work and have combined information to help them build a conceptual model of disaster. Their work offers new concepts that might improve community resilience capabilities but also identifies effective ways to improve still further. The same work expands on the potential of social media for preparedness strategies and discusses community empowerment, and the shared responsibilities of all those affected and involved, particularly the response and regulatory agencies.

The team also reveals the gaps in the literature in this area and attempts to fill them. Their focus was on the floods in Queensland, Australia, the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the Japanese earthquake. The team suggests that their findings demonstrate that “in order to sustain effective and efficient strategies and practices, supportive policies, legislations, and resource allocation must be established.”

Whittaker, S., Khalfan, M.M.A. and ulHaq, I. (2020) ‘Developing community disaster resilience through preparedness‘, Int. J. Critical Infrastructures, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp.53-76.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of System of Systems Engineering

The following sample articles from the International Journal of System of Systems Engineering are now available here for free:
  • The need for simple educational case-studies to show the benefit of soft operations research to real-world problems
  • Minimum variance control strategy for closed loop linear time invariant system
  • Spark!: an integrated resource planning and dispatch tool for power grid modelling
  • Scoring the risk matrix
  • A study of an adaptive approach for systems-of-systems integration

Special issue published: "User Experience and Agile Innovation: A Future of Servitisation"

International Journal of Product Development 23(4) 2019

  • When running fast is not the best option: failure of user involvement in design development processes
  • Future workplace organisation: how digitisation affects employees' job satisfaction in agile workplaces
  • Towards autonomous construction equipment - supporting on-site collaboration between automatons and humans
  • Promoting strategic entrepreneurship at the firm level: a case study on training staff within a large organisation
  • Value models: coordinating artefacts for conceptual design
  • A systematic method to design product-service systems using personalisation services based on experience evaluations

2 March 2020

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Services Technology and Management are now available here for free:
  • Implementing lean thinking in software development - a case study from India
  • Radical improvement of e-government services in Dubai
  • Relationship between ethics and buying: a study of the beauty and healthcare sector in the Middle East
  • Segmenting Indian shoppers on mall attractiveness factors
  • Rethinking the old residential sector in the UAE: a methodology for sustainable retrofitting

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics are now available here for free:
  • POFGURST: an expert intelligent system for mechanised oil palm fruit evaluating framework
  • Whale optimisation algorithm-based controller design for reverse osmosis desalination plants
  • Speed control of a doubly-fed induction machine based on fuzzy adaptive
  • Evolutionary-based method for risk stratification of diabetic patients
  • Design of an adaptive sliding mode controller for efficiency improvement of the MPPT for PV water pumping
  • Performance evaluation of conventional and fuzzy control systems for speed control of a DC motor using positive output Luo converter

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:
  • Protein fold recognition model based on cubic lattice
  • Exploratory analysis for detecting population structures by iterative pruning based on independent component analysis
  • Topological data analysis can extract sub-groups with high incidence rates of Type 2 diabetes
  • Effects of input data quantity on genome-wide association studies (GWAS)
  • Fast practical online exact single and multiple pattern matching algorithms in highly similar sequences

International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics to invite expanded papers from International Conference on Communication Management and Information Technology (ICCMIT'20) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference on Communication Management and Information Technology (ICCMIT'20) (1-3 April 2020, Athens, Greece) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics.

Free sample articles newly available International Journal of Critical Infrastructures

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Critical Infrastructures are now available here for free:
  • Field measurement and numerical simulation of the influence of blasting excavation on adjacent buried pipelines
  • Quantitative and qualitative constructs of trade infrastructure in hilly regions - a case study of Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Project planning and monitoring analysis for sustainable environment and power infrastructure project development in Lagos State, Nigeria
  • Modelling critical infrastructure network interdependencies and failure