30 September 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems are now available here for free:
  • Japanese economic analysis using fuzzy autocorrelation model with fuzzy confidence intervals
  • Velocity control of a DC motor based on fractional order PI and IMC-based fractional order controllers
  • Ball and beam system control using PID-based ANFIS controllers
  • Research and simulation of piezo hydraulic actuator
  • Map-based navigation and control of mobile robots with surveillance cameras

Free open access article available: "Patterns of institutional change - the case of accounting regulation in BRICS countries"

The following paper, "Patterns of institutional change - the case of accounting regulation in BRICS countries" (International Journal of Economics and Accounting 9(3) 2020), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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


Research pick: Opinion mining - "Study on microblog public opinion data mining algorithm based on multi-visual clustering model"

Public opinion on microblogging sites, such as Twitter, is randomly distributed and so data mining such information offers many challenges technically. Writing in the International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems, a team from China has now used a multi-visual clustering model to underpin a new algorithm to help them extract opinion from microblogging sites.

Lin-lin Li, Wei-zhen Hou, and Jing Liu of Renmin University of China in Beijing explain how microblogging often provides very timely and by virtue of its nature, succinct, public opinion data. Statistical analysis of such data might provide us with an almost real-time perspective on public opinion in various realms of activity whether political, commercial, artistic, scientific, or any other. Such opinion mining can help guide policy, marketing, and other areas of human endeavour so that it might jibe better with public opinion especially in areas of controversy.

The team has had much success but concedes that there is work still to do in removing invalid data prior to applying the algorithmic analysis. They also point out that there needs to be greater precision in the choice of experimental data so that the algorithm can be tuned to work more efficiently and efficaciously.

Li, L-l., Hou, W-z. and Liu, J. (2020) ‘Study on microblog public opinion data mining algorithm based on multi-visual clustering model‘, Int. J. Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp.151-165.

29 September 2020

Special issue published: "Trends in Automotive Green Technologies"

Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 14(2) 2020

  • A comparative study of performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine using various non-edible extracts
  • Experimental investigation on lean burn spark ignition engine using alcohol-gasoline blends
  • Assessment of performance, emission and combustion characteristics of dual-fuel engine with exhaust gas recirculation
  • Investigation on emission reduction potential of nickel and zinc coated catalytic converters
  • Hydrogen storage system integrated with fuel cell
  • Automotive air-conditioning system technology: a review

Research pick: Raising the curtain on cyborg theatre - "Interactive fiction video games as cyborg theatre. A postphenomenological approach"

Michail Kouratoras of the Department of Film, Television and Scenography at Aalto University in Finland has investigated the notion of cyborg theatre as defined by Jennifer Parker-Starbuck in 2011 in the context of video games. In Parker-Starbuck’s definition, the organic world of people is merged for theatrical effect with technology. The roots of the concept lie in the fictional world of Frankensteins’ “monster”, “The Cybermen” of Doctor Who fame, “The Borg” of Star Trek, and countless other fanciful creations wherein the organic and the inorganic are fused, hybridised or otherwise melded into allegorical creations for entertainment and edification.

The cyborg may be fanciful but it is a powerful fancy in fiction and, as real-world technology evolves, we begin to see that fictional fusion emerging through what we might call bionic prosthetics. Where such concepts will lead obviously remains to be seen, we are very much at the dawn of that era. Kouratoras, however, has focused on the contemporary, real-time, three-dimensional and avatar-based interactive fiction video game genre as a model for how cyborg theatre itself is evolving.

As such, he has looked at how the gamer becomes a “real” actor or player within the game. One might look to an episode of the TV series Black Mirror, specifically “Striking Vipers” as an extension of this notion wherein the game players can actually be transported mentally into the action of the game and experience it is reality. Such a scenario is an entirely fictional construct and may always remain so. But, playing a game does become a performance when a player becomes as immersed as is possible in the experience, perhaps even more so when connected to a community of other players.

The converse, where augmented reality is utilised in the real world as a component of a game, is of course, already possible and well known with games such as Pokémon GO. In such games, the virtual world is overlaid on reality through the screen of a portable gaming device. Where the worlds collide we will see new entertaining and edifying scenarios arise. Moreover, where those bionic prosthetics become an increasing reality, we might also so virtuality overlaid on reality in physical ways. It will be interesting to see who emerges from the wings as the cyborg theatrical directors, who the actors are, and who keeps an eye on the evolving script and carries out the safety checks

Kouratoras, M. (2020) ‘Interactive fiction video games as cyborg theatre. A postphenomenological approach’, Int. J. Arts and Technology, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp.197–217.

Special issue published: "Multi-Objective Design and Structural Optimisation of Vehicle Components with Nature-Inspired Optimisation Algorithms"

International Journal of Vehicle Design 80(2/3/4) 2019

  • Determination of dynamic axle load using suspension deflection method for the load distribution optimisation of multi-axle vehicles
  • Grey wolf optimiser in design of leaf springs of railway vehicles
  • Optimal design of planetary gear train for automotive transmissions using advanced meta-heuristics
  • Robust topology optimisation design of the guiding arm bracket for vehicle suspension
  • Automated design of aircraft fuselage stiffeners using multiobjective evolutionary optimisation
  • Comparison of recent algorithms for many-objective optimisation of an automotive floor-frame
  • Optimisation of pedestrian detection system using FPGA-CPU hybrid implementation for vehicle industry
  • Multi-surrogate-assisted metaheuristics for crashworthiness optimisation
  • A comparative study on the optimal non-linear seat and suspension design for an electric vehicle using different population-based optimisation algorithms
  • HKn-RVEA: a novel many-objective evolutionary algorithm for car side impact bar crashworthiness problem
  • Mechanical engineering design optimisation using novel adaptive differential evolution algorithm
  • Experimental and numerical fatigue-based design optimisation of clutch diaphragm spring in the automotive industry

25 September 2020

Special issue published: "Computational Intelligence Paradigms in Recommender Systems and Online Social Networks"

International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems 13(2) 2020

  • Research on information popularity prediction of multimedia network based on fast K proximity algorithm
  • Design of multivariable big data mobile analysis platform based on collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm
  • User privacy protection algorithm of perceptual recommendation system based on group recommendation
  • Study on microblog public opinion data mining algorithm based on multi-visual clustering model
  • Automatic detection method of OSN content vulnerabilities based on big data analysis
  • Research on cloud computing user privacy protection based on dynamic adaptive ant colony algorithm
  • Personalised recommendation algorithm for social network based on two-dimensional correlation

Research pick: Teaching cynicism - "Cynicism, autonomy and job satisfaction: evidence from teaching profession"

Research published in the International Journal of Management in Education has sought to ascertain whether there is a relationship between the psychological characteristics of cynicism, autonomy, and job satisfaction in teachers. Navaneethakrishnan Kengatharan of the University of Jaffna in Sri Lanka has integrated the theories of conservation of resources, reasoned action and affective events to see whether this is a valid hypothesis.

The research collected data from more than 700 teachers working in state schools across Sri Lanka. A statistical analysis then revealed a positive relationship between cognitive cynicism and affective cynicism. Further, it confirmed a mediating relationship between cognitive cynicism and teacher job satisfaction through affective cynicism. In other words, feeling cynical and being actively cynical feed on each other and lead to dissatisfaction in the workplace for teachers so affected.

Such findings can be used to guide management style and have the aim of avoiding complacency and failures at that level that lead to frustration, irritation, and cynicism in teachers. Conversely, mentoring or counselling of teachers would also improve autonomy and their perception of their work given such improved management and thus lead to better teaching standards and students in their charge who are ultimately more academically successful.

Kengatharan, N. (2020) ‘Cynicism, autonomy and job satisfaction: evidence from teaching profession’, Int. J. Management in Education, Vol. 14, No. 5, pp.471–493.

Research pick: Growing plastic waste - "The growing global plastic waste problem – lessons for environmental economics policy design and choice"

Humanity is facing many serious problems at the moment, notwithstanding the global viral pandemic that is Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2. Global warming and congener climate change are still with us, water and food security are increasingly problematic for millions of people, and the amount of plastic waste we are generating simply grows and grows.

Kwami Adanu of the Department of Economics at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, in Accra, writing in the International Journal of Green Economics, considers this latter problem. He looks at the lessons policymakers and others might learn in terms of environmental economics.

The research looks at how an environmental solutions decision-making tree might be used together with a plastic waste market to reverse this problem. Some obvious advice for policymakers emerges from the approach such as banning non-recyclable plastic bags, employing centres in that “market” that are both producer- and consumer-run would be more successful, the introduction of taxation to fiscally control the physical problem is also suggested. A putatively controversial finding from the study is that burning plastic waste may well be the only way to dispose of accumulated waste. Although such burning generates pollution, there are ways to remediate that to an extent and the heat generated can be put to good use in powering the plant or heating local homes in colder regions.

Given that common economic policy tools have so far failed us in reducing plastic waste, it is time for radical new thinking, the research suggests.

Adanu, K. (2020) ‘The growing global plastic waste problem – lessons for environmental economics policy design and choice’, Int. J. Green Economics, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp.121–134.

24 September 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing are now available here for free:
  • Topics and research trends of health clubs management: will innovation be part of the fitness industry research interests?
  • Psychological contract fulfilment and innovative work behaviours of employees in sport-based SBEs: the mediating role of organisational citizenship
  • Explicating professional boxers' narrative dynamics towards competitive aggressiveness and potential market entry
  • Like it or not? The differences between and success factors of sports providers' use of social networking sites
  • Motivation and high performance sports events: an exploratory investigation of the motives underlying repeated participation
  • Intellectual capital assets and brand value of English football clubs

Special issue published: "Sports Marketing Agenda Revisited"

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing 20(1/2) 2020

  • Perceived fan associations with MLB teams: bask inspite of reflected failure versus cut off reflected success
  • The brand attachment and consumer behaviour in sports marketing contexts: the case of football fans in Portugal
  • Relationships as strategic assets: a sport fan equity approach
  • An advancement in the study of marketing partnership longevity: analysing sport sponsorship survival
  • The structure, content and context of achieved celebrity brands: a study of footballers in their brandscapes
  • The role of patriotism in the city-brand-sport-event relationship
  • Perceived motivation in football/futsal practice according to players and coaches approaches: a tool of strategic management
  • Determinants of the intention to participate in semi-marathons events

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Precision Technology

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Precision Technology are now available here for free:
  • Effect of cutting edge radius on 'burnishing-like' mechanism in micromachining
  • Performance optimisation of electrochemical micromachining of micro-holes on Inconel 625 alloy
  • Improvement of micro-EDM performances with aid of vibration
  • Study on nanofinishing of SS304 flat surfaces using electrochemical honing process
  • Effect of NiCr on dry sliding wear of high carbon iron-molybdenum composite plasma spray coating

23 September 2020

Inderscience journals 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 following journals:

Research pick: What drives a musical revolution? - "Arnold Schoenberg’s embrace of atonality: a brief case study for music educators"

Art takes twists and turns. It finds new ways for humanity to express itself through sound and vision and all of our other senses and sensibilities. When the avant-garde sharpens a new cutting edge buy discovering a new way to work with new materials, and new equipment we see that expression expand beyond the realms of imagination of the earlier generation of creators.

This applies to all artistic media whether we are considering paintings, sculpture, dance, theatre, novels and novellas, poetry, perhaps even food and drink, but nowhere more so than in the realm of music. Some composers hone their art way beyond what is considered normal, they deliberately deviate from the norm, some more than others. Music in the abstract is often atonal in what one might think of as analogous manner to a work by drip paint modern artist Pollock is visually atonal.

Writing in the International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies, Alexi Harkiolakis of The American College of Greece, in Paraskevi, has considered the music of Arnold Schoenberg and how the composer embraced atonality. Harkiolakis is a student at the college but previously studied music composition with Greek composer Spiros Mazis and electric jazz guitar at the Philippos Nakas Conservatory with Yiannis Giannakos. He also studied piano at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City.

Harkiolakis is keen to understand what is needed to start a revolution in art, specifically a musical revolution. A revolution, he suggests, begins with an idea. Schoenberg had several big ideas…first the free atonal style and then the 12-tone method of composition, and others. Schoenberg’s earlier works sound surprisingly tonal, albeit highly chromatic, explains Harkiolakis. Chromatic meaning not adhering to conventional scales and musical modes, but using all the tones and semitones across the musical scale without necessarily considering a strict key signature. In other words, in the scale of C major one would use only the piano’s white keys to progress through the scale C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C, the conventional “Doh-Rae-Me”. Whereas a chromatic scale would utilise the black notes too, the sharps and flats and so we might progress C-C#-D-D#-E-F-F# and so on. Mixing notes out of conventional key signatures is often described as having atonality whereas conventional melodies might be thought of as being more natural and tonal.

In a case study of Schoenberg’s work, the Second String Quartet Op. 10 for string quartet and solo soprano, Harkiolakis examines and analyses the musical, personal, and socio-political factors that may have influenced Schoenberg to abandon his late romantic style in favour of this kind of free atonality. In exploring the musical, personal, and societal motives that could have played a part in driving Schoenberg towards this revolutionary style, Harkiolakis finds that it is rather unlikely that a single factor was the spark for this particular revolution, rather several disparate factors fed the musical revolutionary flames.

Whatever the spark, kindling or tinder might have been, a quote from Schoenberg writing in 1937 offers us an insight that suggests that it was an inner drive that pushed him to new places:

"I knew I had to fulfil a task, I had to express what was necessary to be expressed and I knew I had the duty of developing my ideas for the sake of progress in music, whether I liked it or not."

Harkiolakis, A. (2020) "Arnold Schoenberg’s embrace of atonality: a brief case study for music educators", Int. J. Teaching and Case Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp.95–104.

22 September 2020

Inderscience journals to invite expanded papers from 22nd Annual Conference on Finance and Accounting (ACFA 2021) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the 22nd Annual Conference on Finance and Accounting (ACFA 2021) (3-4 June 2021, University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic) will be invited for review and potential publication by the following journals:

Special issue published: "Artificial Intelligence Facilities Smart Cities Development" (includes free Open Access article)

International Journal of Bio-Inspired Computation 16(2) 2020

  • Time-to-contact control: improving safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles
  • SmartGC: a software architecture for garbage collection in smart cities
  • A novel squeeze YOLO-based real-time people counting approach [FREE OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE]
  • A variant of EAM to uncover community structure in complex networks
  • Nanoindentation analysis comparing dragonfly-inspired biomimetic micro-aerial vehicle (BMAV) wings
  • Integrated deteriorating maintenance and patient scheduling for single medical device with heuristic algorithm

Free open access article available: "A novel squeeze YOLO-based real-time people counting approach"

The following paper, "A novel squeeze YOLO-based real-time people counting approach" (International Journal of Bio-Inspired Computation 16(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: Making biodiesel with green solvents - "Ionic liquids as solvents in biodiesel production"

Green solvents for making biodiesel would reduce the environmental impact of such fuels still further. Writing in the World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, a team from India discusses the potential of ionic liquids in this field.

Biodiesel is a sustainable alternative to conventional oil-derived biodiesel in that it can be manufactured from resources such as waste organic matter from agriculture, the food industry, or even household refuse. It can also be made from crops grown especially for its production. There is, however, a need for volatile organic solvents at various stages of the manufacturing process and these liquids usually come with their own environmental impact. Biodiesel is usually made by trans esterifying vegetable oil or animal fat feedstock with the help of organic and inorganic solvents.

As such, “greener” alternatives are keenly sought. A. Anitha and D. Jini of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science in Chennai, explain how ionic liquids might represent such an alternative.

Ionic liquids are non-volatile and non-flammable. They also have low toxicity. This is in sharp contrast with highly volatile, flammable, and toxic organic solvents currently used. Such green credentials have made them a focus for a number of research teams around the world in a wide range of chemical disciplines. Intriguingly, they are nothing more than ionic salts that happen to be liquid at or close to room temperature. However, this character endows them with some unique solvating properties that make them ideal for many applications.

“Energy utilisation across the world has been increasing at a steady rate from 1971 and the demand for energy is projected to increase by 55% at the end of 2030. Fossil fuels are not renewable and would be exhausted within 40–60 years even if the rate of consumption remains constant,” the team writes. So, not only are alternatives more environmentally friendly they will ultimately be essential to keep up with energy demand. Ionic fluids can support the enzymatic conversion of feedstock to biodiesel as well as being useful in product purification. They can even be the catalyst themselves for carrying out the necessary reactions. Despite their current high price when compared to organic solvents, they are much more readily reusable, which would reduce environmental impact still further and ultimately costs.

Anitha, A. and Jini, D. (2020) ‘Ionic liquids as solvents in biodiesel production’, World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp.122–140.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Qualitative Research in Services

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Qualitative Research in Services are now available here for free:
  • The influence of social media on destination choice of Omani pleasure travellers
  • A critical review analysis about the movie Ratatouille and its impact on culinary tourism
  • The role of FDA enforcement in misleading product labelling claims in hospitality
  • Perceptions of top management about the total rewards statement: a case study in the retail sector
  • A case study of Apple v. Samsung and how big data analytics might have changed the outcome
  • How ethics impacts hacktivism: a reflection of events
  • Exploring entrepreneurial architecture for the service industries: the emerging role of storytelling in higher education

21 September 2020

Special issue published: "Intelligent Sensor Data Processing, Mobile Telecommunications and Air Traffic Control"

International Journal of Reasoning-based Intelligent Systems 12(3) 2020

  • Application level extension of bandwidth management in radio access network
  • Flight safety sensor and auto-landing system of unmanned aerial system
  • Performance of VWM algorithm in the presence of impulse noise and resizing
  • Design and optimisation of bio-inspired robotic stochastic search strategy
  • Influence of optimal pair-wise SUS algorithm on MU-MIMO-OFDM system performance
  • The effect of background and outlier subtraction on the structural entropy of two-dimensional measured data
  • A fuzzy decision maker to determine optimal starting time of shiftable loads in the smart grids
  • Evaluation research on green degree of equipment manufacturing industry based on improved particle swarm optimisation algorithm
  • Network security situation detection of internet of things for smart city based on fuzzy neural network

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics are now available here for free:
  • Increased bone conducted vibration reduces motion sickness in automated vehicles
  • Exploring the concept of passenger well-being in the context of automated driving
  • Application of a sense of coherence-based leadership for productivity and health at Scania
  • Factors influencing employees' intention to apply ergonomics at workplaces: a cultural perspective
  • A front- and rear-view assistant for older cyclists: evaluations on technical performance, user experience and behaviour
  • A theoretical model of human-automation interaction grounded in resource allocation policy during automated driving

Thematic issue published: "Intellectual Property – International Perspectives"

International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy 6(1) 2020

  • Connecting and protecting knowledge from different disciplines into sensible toolbox approaches in medium-sized cities: the case of liminal city Cadasters
  • Analysis of a Blockchain-based website using the technology acceptance model: the case of Save Ideas
  • Improving competitiveness between EU rural regions through access to tertiary education and sources of innovation
  • Evaluation of Save-ideas intellectual property protection concept
  • What can be learned from Israel by the European Union in the field of innovation?
  • Additional papers
  • Economic diplomacy in small countries: a four-action plan for the Cayman Islands
  • The handling of people smuggling involving foreign nationals as efforts to safeguard Indonesian territories

18 September 2020

Special issue published: "Data Science and Applications"

International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies 9(3) 2020

  • Information technology performance management by artificial intelligence in microfinance institutions: an overview
  • Intelligent intrusion detection system using multilayer perceptron optimised by genetic algorithm
  • QoE in video streaming over ad hoc networks: comparison and analysis of AODV and OLSR routing protocols
  • Efficient of bitmap join indexes for optimising star join queries in relational data warehouses
Additional paper
  • Application of computational intelligence techniques for internet of things: an extensive survey

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:
  • Elusive partners: defining Canada's relationship with Brazil in the 21st century
  • Feudalism, ethnic conflicts and economic geography: political economy of ECO countries
  • Diplomatic engagement with transnational corporations: a path to sustainable governance
  • Effects of different types of framing in advertising messages on human decision behaviour
  • Transaction costs in international production and trade, and the demand for government intervention: a survey amongst entrepreneurs in the Netherlands

Special issue published: "Advanced Nanoscale Devices/Mems/Nems for Application in Microsystems"

International Journal of Nanoparticles 12(3) 2020

  • Wideband piezoelectric energy harvester design using parallel connection of multiple beams
  • Vertically-stacked silicon nanosheet field effect transistors at 3 nm technology nodes - simulation at nanoscale
  • Line outage identification using comparison of bus power mismatch considering PMU outage
  • Comparative analysis of silicon nano tube FET for switching applications using high K and work function modulation

17 September 2020

Special issue published: "Financial Management and Market Development in Emerging Economies"

International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies 13(4) 2020

  • Transmission of Japanese government bond and swap markets under negative interest rate policy
  • Loan securitisation and accounting measurement methods in banks
  • Factors affecting household debt in Thailand
  • The antecedents of financial literacy: a study on college students
  • The effect of enterprise risk management and sustainability reporting quality on performance: evidence from Southeast Asia countries
  • Outcome improvement of vocational training: focusing on the changeover from satisfaction evaluation to trainee evaluation
  • Why do the late middle-aged choose self-employment?: determinants of self-employment at older ages
  • Research of organisational environment for staff performance improving: case of the small Trade Metal Company, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
  • Measuring labour contributions in the creation of added value in creative industries
  • Testing on productivity transition in Thai economy through the lens of state space model
  • Evaluation of perceived socio-cultural context in museum visitor experience: combining the theory of planned behaviour and the norm activation model
  • An analysis of factors affecting the company performance of creative footwear industries in Bandung, Indonesia
  • Earnings management, earnings quality, and culture: cross-country studies
  • Analysis of supply chain advantages in creative businesses: a case study on creative industries in Bandung City, Indonesia

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies are now available here for free:
  • The connectivity and the static-cost-effective analysis of a shifted completely connected network
  • Improving bug report quality by predicting correct component in bug reports
  • Robust estimation of IIR system's parameter using modified particle swarm optimisation algorithm
  • Scalable keyword-based search and data manipulation on encrypted data
  • Suitability and importance of deep learning feature space in the domain of text categorisation
  • Design of fractional order PID controller for heat flow system using hybrid particle swarm optimisation and gravitational search algorithm
  • Impact of C-factor on PSO for solar PV-based BLDC motor drive control
  • Nonlinear time series forecasting using a novel self-adaptive TLBO-MFLANN model

Free open access article available: "Human factors validation for a rheumatoid arthritis auto-injector for the adalimumab biosimilar FKB327"

The following paper, "Human factors validation for a rheumatoid arthritis auto-injector for the adalimumab biosimilar FKB327" (International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics 7(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: "India adopting shared ride-hailing in India"

India is the third most polluted nation much of it derived from vehicle exhaust gases. As such, there is an urgent need to address this problem through improved transport infrastructure and technology. One possible way of reducing the number of vehicles on the roads and so lower pollution somewhat is through car-sharing on the daily commute. However, a parallel concept of shared taxi rides might offer a similar reduction in pollution by reducing the need for personal car ownership.

Writing in the International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, Pooja Goel of the University of Delhi and Piali Haldar of Sharda University, discuss the potential and acceptance of shared ride-hailing in India. Projections suggest that shared hail-riding will account for more than a third of all car miles travelled. This estimate was made prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, which may well curtail the adoption of shared transport in the short term and push this date further into the future.

The present study focuses on the perceived benefits of shared ride-hailing services and shows how educating the public in the benefits of such an approach to transport might nudge them to abandon car ownership or to aspiring to car ownership. Future studies may well highlight the effects of perceived risks and trust on intention to participate in sharing mobility.

Goel, P. and Haldar, P. (2020) ‘Shared ride-hailing service in India: an analysis of consumers’ intention to adopt’, Int. J. Business and Emerging Markets, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp.336–353.

16 September 2020

Special issue published: "Machine Learning Algorithms for the Era of Integrated Internet of Things and Mobile Edge Computing"

International Journal of Internet Technology and Secured Transactions 10(5) 2020

  • An early prevention method for node failure in wireless sensor networks
  • Hybrid machine learning model for healthcare monitoring systems
  • Performance evaluation of ICI self-cancellation schemes in fractional wavelet-based OFDM system
  • Survey of methodologies for quantifying software reliability
  • Prevention of rushing attack in MANET using threshold-based approach
  • A queuing theory model for e-health cloud applications
  • EC(DH)2: an effective secured data storage mechanism for cloud based IoT applications using elliptic curve and Diffie-Hellman
  • Automated intelligent public lighting system

Special issue published: "Empowering the Digital Economy: Opportunities and Challenges"

International Journal of Business Information Systems 35(1) 2020

  • Social media practices in Indonesian SMEs
  • Online store image effect on perceived risks towards online purchasing behaviour
  • Exploring travellers booking factors through online booking agency
  • Factors influencing electronic banking continuance usage intention in developing economies: a study of Nigeria
  • Enhancing information technology-related skills among accounting practitioners


Special issue published: "Strategic Entrepreneurship in a Vuca Environment: Perspectives from Asian Emerging Economies"

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing 12(4) 2020

  • Resource allocation between exploration and exploitation strategies: a case study of a Malaysian SME family firm
  • Entrepreneurial marketing orientation of young SME owners in Indonesia
  • Global competition strategies for Indonesian SMEs
  • Integrated clustering of creative industries to foster innovation: Bandung's creative industries
  • State-assisted entrepreneurial ventures: the case of aquacultural development and the seafood industry in Hong Kong

Research pick: The limits on speed reading by RSVP - "Speed reading using Spritz has a cost: limits when reading a short text"

Lots of people can read quickly and then there are readers who have learned techniques known as speed reading. This allows a reader to get through printed text at a much higher than normal rate, sometimes as fast as several hundred words per minute. A collaboration between researchers in Italy and Spain has demonstrated that one particular speed-reading technique has a tradeoff in comprehension at that kind of reading rate when it is sustained at more than 250 words per minute for five minutes or more.

Francesco Di Nocera of the Department of Psychology at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy and colleagues there and in Spain have looked at Spritz an app that allows one to speed read by offering rapid serial visual presentation. They tested readers’ comprehension of a short piece of text when they used Spritz to read at rates of 250, 350, and 450 words per minute.

Given that comprehension is the main goal of reading not simply the need to scan through a stream of words, the team suggests that users should be made aware that speed reading for five minutes or more even at just 250 words per minute for most users will lead to a deficit in their understanding of what they have “read”. Such an insight might also be worth noting among those people using Spritz and similar software on their smartphone or other mobile device who have dyslexia, visual impairment, and other problems so that those people are fully aware of the limitations they might face in understanding a piece of text. Given that the app has been used to address several reading difficulty issues by educators, this work could provide a foundation for improving its use by lots of disparate readers.

Ricciardi, O., Calvani, G., Palmero, F., Juola, J.F. and Di Nocera, F. (2020) ‘Speed reading using Spritz has a cost: limits when reading a short text’, Int. J. Human Factors and Ergonomics, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp.161–173.

15 September 2020

Research pick: The cardboard crash helmet - "Biomechanical performance of a bicycle helmet design on a six-year-old head impact protection"

In the age of plastic waste, the environmentally conscious are hoping to replace many of the common materials, such as expanded polystyrene in everyday objects with sustainable and recyclable materials. Now, researchers in China report successful crash tests of a new bicycle safety helmet that uses honeycombed and corrugated cardboard instead of polymer foam to provide protection.

The team describes details of the design, its environmental benefits and the positive results from crash-test simulations. Bei Li, Haiyan Li, Shihai Cui, Lijuan He, and Shijie Ruan of the Centre for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, at Tianjin University of Science and Technology in Tianjin provide details in the International Journal of Vehicle Safety.

For youngsters on cycles, accidents often end with a blow to the head, which can be fatal or even lead to life-changing injuries and disability. As such all cyclists, young and old are encouraged to wear a safety helmet that will offer some degree of protection should they fall from their bicycle in any kind of accident and risk an impact to the head. Indeed, children’s head injury and loss of consciousness has been shown to be 63 and 86 percent less, respectively, when helmets are worn.

The team has now demonstrated that the same safety profile might be possible with cardboard crash helmets that have the added benefit of being fabricated from sustainable resources and precluding the addition of yet more plastic waste to the environment.

Li, B., Li, H., Cui, S., He, L. and Ruan, S. (2020) ‘Biomechanical performance of a bicycle helmet design on a six-year-old head impact protection’, Int. J. Vehicle Safety, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp.197–213.

14 September 2020

Special issue published: "Recent Trends and Developments of Computer Vision and Image Processing"

International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology 13(3) 2020

  • An approach for infrared image pedestrian classification based on local directional pixel structure elements' descriptor
  • An efficient image system-based grey wolf optimiser method for multimedia image security using reduced entropy-based 3D chaotic map
  • Calibre fuzzy c-means algorithm applied for retinal blood vessel detection
  • Effective image stego intrusion detection system using statistical footprints of the steganogram and fusion of classifiers
  • Incipient knowledge in protein folding kinetics states prophecy using deep neural network-based ensemble classifier
  • Type-specific classification of bronchogenic carcinomas using bi-layer mutated particle swarm optimisation
  • Effective user preference mining-based personalised movie recommendation system
  • Steganographic approach to enhance the data security in public cloud

New Editor for International Journal of Behavioural Accounting and Finance

Dr. Matteo Rossi from the University of Sannio in Italy has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Behavioural Accounting and Finance.

Research pick: Covid and commercial research decline - "COVID-19 effect on the research-innovation-commercialisation phenomena"

Inevitably, the rapid spread of an emergent and potentially lethal virus around the world has led to huge disruption of normal life. With talk of a new-normal in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, we do not yet have any way of knowing what that might be. Work published in the International Journal of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation has looked at the effect of the pandemic on the phenomenon of research innovation and commercialization.

Alberto Boretti of the College of Engineering at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, explains that the economic downturn we are experiencing as the pandemic circulates will have a detrimental effect on almost all research and development budgets. He suggests that the pharmaceutical industry may well receive special funds given its unique position in being an essential part of the fight against the current pandemic and the need for vigilance and preparedness for the next emergent pathogen. He also suggests that the health sector as well as surveillance and defense, communications, digital markets, and distance education may also see some relief from governments and funding bodies. Investment in almost every other area of R&D is expected to plummet.

With no vaccine expected to be available until at least 2021 and no targeted antiviral drugs, it has been necessary to attempt to control the disease through political and legal controls, such as curfews, halting sports and entertainment, massively reduced air travel, social lockdowns, social distancing, and other measures. However, the so-called “second wave” is becoming apparent in the UK at the time of writing.

Many other nations have not achieved real control of the virus where strict lockdowns were entirely unfeasible for geographical and sociological reasons such as population density, a lack of protective infrastructure, and poor water and food security. Natural disasters, such as forest fires and civil unrest following episodes of police brutality, and the ongoing climate crisis have also been part of the undercurrent of 2020. What impact these have had on the ease with which the virus spreads is for future retrospective studies to determine.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has anticipated international commerce to fall by 13% to 32% in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic disturbs normal economic activity and life around the globe, Boretti says. Regarding these predictions proposed only a few weeks ago, it is likely the impact will be even worse than the worst-case scenario considered, he adds. The sharp decline in gross domestic product (GDP) will have a negative impact on R&D expenditure, as it always does. The opportunity to innovate and commercialize new products will decline enormously. “The future for research in 2020 does not look bright at all,” Boretti concludes.

Boretti, A. (2020) ‘COVID-19 effect on the research-innovation-commercialisation phenomena’, Int. J. Research, Innovation and Commercialisation, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.73–82.

Research pick: Finding a job on Facebook - "Professional uses of Facebook amongst university students in relation to searching for jobs: an exploration of activities and behaviours"

Independent social media researcher Sophia Alimhas worked with Ibrahim AlShourbaji of the Computer and Network engineering Department at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia to investigate how Facebook is being used in a serious way by students to help them find employment.

Writing in the International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, the team questioned more than 100 students from around the world about their Facebook activity and behaviour with respect to employment. Their statistical analysis of the survey results shows that networking with businesses was the most popular career-related activity carried out by students on Facebook. Moreover, they saw a moderate positive correlation between the amount of time a student would spend on such Facebook networking on a daily basis and the number of job offers they received.

Given that Facebook has well over 2500 million users around the world and hundreds of thousands of companies using it, it is perhaps no surprise that many people are utilizing the service in more serious, professional ways. This new research hints at some of that activity although the small sample size perhaps offers a limited perspective given the much bigger numbers that might be surveyed in future work.

“Research is needed to look into the factors which can affect job searching when students use Facebook or any other social media platforms on a bigger scale. What do career advisors and students think about which types of contacts are the best options for job searching,” the team concludes.

Alim, S. and AlShourbaji, I. (2020) ‘Professional uses of Facebook amongst university students in relation to searching for jobs: an exploration of activities and behaviours’, Int. J. Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp.200–229.

11 September 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Data Science

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Data Science are now available here for free:
  • Selection of 'K' in K-means clustering using GA and VMA
  • Continuous skyline queries in distributed environment
  • Privacy preserving solution to prevent classification inference attacks in online social networks
  • Survey on iterative and incremental approaches in distributed computing environment
  • An improved algorithm to handle noise objects in the process of clustering

New Editor for Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development

Prof. Zafar U. Ahmed from the Academy for Global Business Advancement in the USA has been appointed to take over editorship of the Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development.

Research pick: A right to water - "The right to water as a fundamental human right in Poland and worldwide"

Access to drinking water is a fundamental human right, argues research published in the International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies. Jarosław Kowalski of Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, in Lublin, Poland, suggests that climate change, population growth, and burgeoning industrial and agricultural complexes with their growing demands for water mean increasingly that a lack of access to drinking water is an increasingly serious problem for millions of people.

The protection of human rights has been an important problem in the modern world and it is addressed by governments, international organisations, non-governmental organizations, and ordinary people,” explains Kowalski. “Changes in the world trigger changes in the way we think and perceive human rights. The challenges of the 1950s and 1960s are sometimes still relevant, but there are many new issues that we must face today.

Kowalski suggests that we need to enshrine in international and local law the concept of access to drinking water as a fundamental human right. Once it is accepted as a human right, the rules and regulations that affect our response to climate change and how we regulate water usage in industry and agriculture with respect to water supply can be more effectively implemented to ensure that nobody dies of thirst.

Kowalski, J. (2020) ‘The right to water as a fundamental human right in Poland and worldwide’, Int. J. Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp.233-246.

10 September 2020

International Journal of Services and Standards to invite expanded papers from the Taiwan edition of its annual conference for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the International Journal of Services and Standards Annual Conference (20-21 August 2021, National Yunlin University of Science & Technology, Taiwan) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Services and Standards.

Research pick: Collaborative algorithms at the movies - "A collaborative content-based movie recommender system"

Friends’ movie recommendations are welcomed by a lot of film buffs, but sometimes you might want to catch a movie that fits your taste better, based on particular criteria so that you get something that you will almost certainly enjoy. Enter the movie recommendation engine.

Writing in the International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining, researchers from Nigeria have turned to a statistical tool known as Pearson’s correlation coefficient to help them build a new type of movie recommendation engine. Bolanle Adefowoke Ojokoh of the Department of Computer Science at the Federal University of Technology in Akure, Nigeria, and colleagues explain that their approach brings artificial intelligence to personal recommendations. The coefficient allowing collaborative filtering of data based not only on numerical analysis of the data but also the determination of linear relationships among users.

The team tested their approach on datasets assimilate from hundreds of local video shops and information extracted from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and ratings by those who have already seen the hundreds of movies analysed. They also added a parental control function to make it child friendly. When they had volunteers test the recommendations the system generated they found that almost 96 percent of users found the recommendations agreeable.

“The system allows new users to be given more personalised recommendations. It also allows users with similar rating patterns to influence the prediction of items,” the team writes. “Our approach offers a more efficient way of managing the cold-start problem in movie recommendation,” they conclude.

Ojokoh, B.A., Aboluje, O.O. and Igbe, T. (2020) ‘A collaborative content-based movie recommender system’, Int. J. Business Intelligence and Data Mining, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp.298–320.

Special issue published: "Service Platforms in Grid Computing – Recent Advances and Future Trends"

International Journal of Web and Grid Services 16(3) 2020

  • Unconstrained temporal inconsistency checking of natural language in webpage
  • Energy consumption optimisation based on mobile edge computing in power grid internet of things nodes
  • Resource scheduling of information platform for general grid computing framework
  • Green lighting intelligent control system with web services based on back propagation algorithm
  • A memory-based task scheduling algorithm for grid computing based on heterogeneous platform and homogeneous tasks
  • Distributed data mining in grid computing environment
  • Association rules mining in parallel conditional tree based on grid computing inspired partition algorithm

9 September 2020

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion are now available here for free:
  • Human emotion detection based on questionnaire and text analysis
  • Analysis of the relationship of happiness to economic achievement and other factors in US states
  • The emotion work of nurses in a person-centred care model
  • Patient emotional support and healthcare organisational performance and effectiveness
  • Emotional labour in non-governmental organisations: narrative analysis and theory expansion

Special issue published: "Sustainability Through Mindfulness"

International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation 17(2/3) 2020

  • Investigating consumer intention to adopt mobile payment systems: an Indian perspective
  • An empirical research of effect of flight airline services on the satisfaction of operational populace
  • Creating a mindful organisation by redefining PMS in police organisations: a balance scorecard approach
  • Analysing impact of S&P mid cap and small cap returns on BSE Sensex returns
  • Analysis of benchmarking practices in Indian banking sector
  • To study the parallel mediation effect of consumer trust and consumer satisfaction between web interface features and consumer purchase intentions
  • The role of subjective norms in purchase behaviour of green FMCG products
  • The interesting story of participatory notes in India
  • Relationship of problems and personal risk with customer service in use of digital wallet: a path analysis model
  • A multidimensional role of social media as marketing tool: a review of literature


Research pick: An electronic nose for wine - "Age identification of Chinese rice wine using electronic nose"

Researchers in China have applied an array of sensors, an electronic nose, that can sniff bouquet of rice wine and offer an estimate of the vintage. Writing in the International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, the scientists explain how their artificial olfactory system takes data from sensors sampling a rice wine and uses a computer to carry out a statistical analysis of the signals to give an essentially 100 percent accurate age for the wine.

Wei Ding, Peiyi Zhu, and Ya Gu of the Changshu Institute of Technology in Jiangsu explain how they can quickly record a profile of the volatile substances present in a rice wine sample using a Taguchi Gas Sensor. The data from samples of known vintage can then be used to train an algorithm that applies a range of analytical statistical methods to find a correlation between the chemical profile of those volatile compounds and the age of the rice wine. When the system is then presented with a sample of an unknown wine the training process works in reverse to extract a profile and suggest a vintage.

The team reports that their early tests using Linear Discriminant Analysis as the statistical method could give them an accuracy a little short of 100 percent and at that level could not distinguish between wines that were made within a year or so of each other. They used a more sophisticated analysis based on a Back Propagation Neural Network and this improved the results so that they could give a vintage for any rice wine sample to the precise year it was produced, thus with 100 percent accuracy. Knowing the precise year in which a wine is produced is key to its value and to its consumption.

Ding, W., Zhu, P. and Gu, Y. (2020) ‘Age identification of Chinese rice wine using electronic nose’, Int. J. Computer Applications in Technology, Vol. 63, No. 3, pp.185–190.

8 September 2020

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling to invite expanded papers from 17th International Multidisciplinary Modelling & Simulation Multiconference (I3M 2020) for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the I3M 2020 17th International Multidisciplinary Modelling & Simulation Multiconference (16-18 September 2020, Virtual Conference) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling.

Free open access article available: "Opportunities of frugality in the post-corona era"

The following paper, "Opportunities of frugality in the post-corona era" (International Journal of Technology Management 83(1/2/3) 2020), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Research pick: Students, social media, and social change - "How to change the world: the relationship between social media and social change in the classroom"

The use of social media in higher education has the potential to improve student engagement in world affairs but educators must ensure that those they teach have freedom of choice regarding which platforms they utilise and to ensure that they are taught the pros and the cons, the benefits and the pitfalls.

Critically, there is a need to strive to avoid the emergence of so-called slacktivism, wherein involvement in the political realm and beyond relies entirely on social media and does not necessarily invoke real effort or commitment on the part of the student as they emerge into the world beyond academia.

Writing in the International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, Sarah Jernigan of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, USA, discusses the relationship between social media and social change in the classroom. “A challenge exists for educators to acknowledge social media in students’ personal lives, while strategically using it in the classroom,” Jernigan writes, “By approaching social media as a tool to connect both students’ personal and professional lives, educators can maximise the use of social media.”

The study suggests that a course on social media and its role in activism can make a difference in the lives of students provided they are made aware of slacktivism. Discussion and repetition of the key points, as with any educational program, would help the students learn about how social, media and activism might change lives and perhaps even have a positive effect on social injustices. Perhaps the broadest of Jernigan’s conclusions is that “College courses can influence how students view the world and impact how they may create social change.”

Jernigan, S. (2020) ‘How to change the world: the relationship between social media and social change in the classroom’, Int. J. Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp.169–180.

7 September 2020

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation are now available here for free:
  • Developing a strategic research and technology management model based on strategic entrepreneurship approach
  • The representativeness of exportations for local development: evidences from family-owned SMEs
  • Exploring the involvement of academic researchers in research collaboration with knowledge users - a study of two Ghanaian universities
  • Role of decision making style and innovativeness in Indian entrepreneurial firms

Special Issue published: "What Influences Marketing Practices in India?"

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management 21(1) 2020

  • A study on sales promotions using mobile coupons for the Indian quick-service restaurants
  • Antecedents of need for uniqueness: a study of adolescents in India
  • Which B2B thinker are you?
  • Marketing channel attribution modelling: Markov chain analysis
  • Visual information impacting electronic word of mouth adoption: mediating role of perceived eWOM review credibility
Additional papers
  • Feeling of insecurity in Khaki: its effects on burnout and allied consequences in Haryana Police officers
  • What influences women's entrepreneurial performance? Evidence from a matrilineal society in India

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Nanotechnology

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Nanotechnology are now available here for free:
  • Nanostructurisation of hypoeutectic silumin by electroexplosion alloying and subsequent electron beam processing
  • Obtaining of composite metal-carbon nanoparticles in complex plasma
  • Study of the specific features, characterising homogenisation of the promising Al-Mg system aluminium alloys with transition elements addition
  • Operation principle and fabrication technology of the neuroprocessor input unit on the basis of the memristive logic matrix
  • Increase of service life of friction units of machines and mechanisms with the use of serpentine tribopreparations
  • Sonification of single-walled carbon nanotubes properties for engineering applications
  • Application of VR/AR technology for visualisation of radiation tolerance of VLSI
  • Practical tasks of training of specialists for nanotechnology industry
  • Obtaining of carbon nanostructured surfaces by pulse plasma deposition method
  • The effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles bioaccumulation in seedlings on growth and development of vetch (Vicia sativa)
  • Biocompatibility conditions and biological activity of cobalt nanoparticles, depending on the size and concentration
  • Multifunctional capsules with oil core and shells of SiO2 nanoparticles, nanodiamonds and polyelectrolyte layers with Fe3O4 nanoparticles
  • Physical and mechanical properties of modified fine-grained fibre-reinforced concretes containing carbon nanostructures
  • Using fractal analysis methods in studying mechanisms of deformation and destruction of nano-modified cement concretes
  • Automatic localisation method for VLSI topology errors at the stage of functional control
  • Methods to ensure reliable contact of super-large integrated circuit with test equipment
  • Films of bacterial cellulose with lipid nanoparticles of sanguinarine as a basis for creating antimicrobial coating materials
  • Emerging resistive random-access memory for 'fog' computing and IoT: materials and structural options taxonomy
  • Creation of composites of bacterial cellulose and silver nanoparticles: evaluation of antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity
  • Electrochemical growth of ZnO photonic crystals
  • Formation technology of X-ray quasimonochromatic fluxes with nanosize width and small angular divergence
  • Method for quantitative measurements of carbon nanotubes mass amount in liquid and solid media including organic materials
  • Study of nanostructure of polymer adsorption layers on the particles surface of titanium dioxide
  • Nanostructure of organic-inorganic composite materials based on polymer hydrogels
  • Effect of vibration on structure and properties of polymeric membranes
  • Computer simulation of hybrid quantum technologies of energy accumulation, storage, transformation and transfer in nanoenergy materials
  • Nanoscale displacement measurement
  • How to quantify and visualise motivation hierarchy of social group: semantic analysis

Research pick: Parking sensors - "A parking space allocation algorithm based on distributed computing"

Even in the middle of a pandemic lockdown, finding a good parking space can be a painful task. Now, work published in the International Journal of Sensor Networks, offers a new approach to parking space allocation based on a distributed computing algorithm.

Yong Chen of the Business School at Zhejiang University City College, in Hangzhou, China, and colleagues explain that parking space allocation, while perhaps not common in some cities, is an essential part of ensuring drivers can all be accommodated in the busiest of metropolises. The team’s approach utilises a driver’s navigation system to pinpoint them in the city, to glean their intended destination and to plot a route for them to follow to an available and hopefully optimal parking space. Such a distributed algorithm benefits from knowing where all of the users are, their intended destinations, and the availability of parking spaces across the city.

The team has demonstrated proof of principle under different levels of traffic and parking demand ratios. They point out that their distributed algorithm approach is most suitable for scenarios with high demand and high supply to demand ratio. It works better than other centralised algorithms that either work from the perspective of a single driver or a single car park. The distributed approach offers far greater adaptability, the team says, and provides more reliable results.

Chen, G., Pang, H., Xu, H., Yang, W. and Chen, Y. (2020) ‘A parking space allocation algorithm based on distributed computing’, Int. J. Sensor Networks, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp.250–258.

4 September 2020

Special issue published: "9th Ieee International Nanoelectronic Conference (INEC) 2019"

International Journal of Nanotechnology 17(1) 2020

  • Temperature dependent characteristics of graphene/silicon Schottky junction
  • Effects of various functionalisation layers on ammonia gas sensing using AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors
  • Silicon on insulator-based microring resonator and Au nanofilm Krestchmann-based surface plasmon resonance glucose sensors for lab-on-a-chip applications
  • Effect of the protein structure and heme iron coordination sphere on the long-range electron transfer from hematite and zinc oxide nanostructures to cytochrome c
  • In-situ characterisation of the defect density in reduced graphene oxide under electrical stress using fluorescence microscopy

Research pick: Pandemic models need to be responsive - "Pandemic modelling is a dialogue with nature, not a monologue"

Research published in the International Journal of Global Warming this month suggests that the models for understanding pandemic disease and predicting their likely course need to consider the idea that it is a dialogue with nature rather than a monologue. Global lockdowns of the kind that were put in place at the time Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation might then be avoided or carried out differently if such understanding is clearer.

Alberto Boretti of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, suggests that as more data became available as the Covid-19 pandemic spread it quickly became obvious to epidemiologists that the mortality plugged into the models that led to specific decisions regarding lockdown was a lot higher than the actual evidence suggested. The daily death rate, he writes, was about twenty times lower than predicted. In addition, the number of people that encounter the virus and do not become infected was much higher than the earlier modelling assumed. The infection fatality rate is now estimated at between 0.12% and 0.2%; this is an exceptionally long way from the 0.9% presumed in the early models, Boretti writes.

The evidence suggests that while the initial response may well have been sensible, once it became more apparent how the disease infected people, how it spread, and the levels of morbidity and mortality, the models should have been updated in a timelier manner. Boretti suggests that how we look at an emergent that becomes pandemic requires a very different approach to the one we have taken with Covid-19 so far. The model predictions must be constantly updated through validation as experimental evidence emerge and it is on the latest data that policy measures should be based not past results that have so obviously proven to be wrong as the pandemic progressed.

We must learn this lesson to help us tackle the current pandemic and to be ready to face the next one more effectively.

Boretti, A. (2020) ‘Pandemic modelling is a dialogue with nature, not a monologue’, Int. J. Global Warming, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp.407–417.

Special issue published: "Energy Policies and Standards for Large-Scale Renewable Energy Integration with Utility Grids"

International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy 16(5/6) 2020

  • Present status, energy policies and future perspective of solar photovoltaic in India
  • A system dynamics modelling for energy planning and carbon dioxide estimation of the Nigerian power sector
  • An investigation on the petrochemical industry development in Iran: a system dynamics approach
  • Optimisation of energy and exergy parameters of a C.I. engine in dual fuel mode using Taguchi method
  • Impact of wind power-based DG on nodal prices in distribution system with harmonic load
  • Simultaneous allocation of multiple distributed generators and shunt capacitor banks in radial distribution systems using grasshopper optimisation algorithm
  • Optimal fuel consumption planning and energy management strategy for a hybrid energy system with pumped storage
  • Harmonic minimisation in direct torque controlled induction motor using neural network controller

New Editor for International Journal of Creative Computing

Associate Prof. Andy Connor from the Aukland University of Technology in New Zealand has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Creative Computing.

3 September 2020

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:
  • Forecasting (un-)seasonal demand using geostatistics, socio-economic and weather data
  • Discovering the brand personality of Bonia
  • Beneficiaries' perception and attitude towards service quality of non-profit organisations
  • A comparative study of forecasting methods for sporadic demand in an auto service station
  • Assessment of efficiency and ranking of microfinance institutions in India: a two-stage bootstrap DEA analysis
  • Consumers' electronic word of mouth-seeking intentions on social media sites concerning Saudi bloggers' YouTube fashion channels: an eclectic approach

Special issue published: "Emerging Research Issues in the Field of Frugal Innovation" (includes free open access article)

International Journal of Technology Management 83(1/2/3) 2020

  • Opportunities of frugality in the post-corona era [OPEN ACCESS)
  • Frugal innovation in, by and for Europe
  • Market maketh magic - consequences and implications of market choice for frugal innovation
  • Frugal innovation as environmental innovation
  • The role of frugal innovation in the global diffusion of green technologies
  • Frugal innovation strategies and global competition in wind power
  • Frugal innovation for the BoP in Brazil - an analysis and comparison with Asian lead markets
  • The social dimension of frugal innovation

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Intelligent Defence Support Systems

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Intelligent Defence Support Systems are now available here for free:
  • A systems model for probabilistic risk assessment of improvised explosive device attacks
  • Network-centric IED detection planning
  • Construction of permittivity functions for high-explosives using density functional theory
  • A systems-level understanding of adversarial behaviour

Research pick: Academia and industry working together - "Bridging the perceived gap between industry and academia"

There is an inherent gap between industry and academia, between a commercial enterprise and a seat of learning. There are similarities in aims and aspirations and many of the differences are little more than misconception especially when one looks at the research spinout companies started by academics and the collaborations between those at the university bench and on the factory floor, as itwere.

A new study published in the International Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Resilience by Shalini Srivastav, Vikas Garg, and Anubhuti Gupta of Amity University in Uttar Pradesh, India, suggests that globalization may well have led to greater links between industry and academia over the last couple of decades. However, they have found that in India at least, the notion of the global village has now quite led to the meshing together of these two realms to the mutual benefit of both.

Indeed, the service industries have come to the fore in India and the developing of manufacturing makes a much smaller contribution at the moment to gross domestic product. This, in part, would mean that there are far fewer opportunities for academic and industrial researchers to build productive partnerships. This is irrespective of the different ambitions of those in each sectors.

The team suggests that one route forward might be seen in how academic institutions can offer entrepreneurs at small companies consultancy rather than collaboration. Given that many small and medium-sized enterprise will inevitably lack large-scale research facilities this could give the companies the necessary nudge they need for commercial success and at the same time providing cash-strapped academics with much-needed funds to extend and expand their own research.

Srivastav, S., Garg, V. and Gupta, A. (2020) ‘Bridging the perceived gap between industry and academia’, Int. J. Supply Chain and Operations Resilience, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp.202–216

2 September 2020

Special issue published: "Growth Strategies and Internationalisation For SMEs"

International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business 11(2) 2020

  • How do new technology ventures grow? A theory of planned behaviour based assessment of inorganic growth
  • Do all entrepreneurs want to make their new technology-based firm grow? An approach through expected consequences of growth
  • Mission statements in medium-sized listed firms: a content analysis
  • How cultures facilitate the entrepreneurial 'thinking-doing' link
  • Internationalisation strategies and firms' performance. A co-evolutionary study on Italian SMEs
  • International growth of Italian acquired mid-sized firms: an analysis of post-acquisition performance

Free sample articles newly available from African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance

The following sample articles from the African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance are now available here for free:
  • Ownership concentration, foreign ownership and corporate performance among the listed companies in East African community: the role of quality institutions
  • Stakeholders' perception about strengthening the audit report 
  • Towards the implementation of corporate governance best practices for Tunisian listed firms: an empirical approach using the artificial neuronal networks 
  • Capital structure and return on capital employed of construction companies in Nigeria

First issue: International Journal of Forensic Engineering and Management (free sample issue available)

 

The International Journal of Forensic Engineering and Management provides a refereed source of information on failure in technical and societal systems. The journal specifically recognizes the interplay of engineering and management in the causation and prevention of failures.

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

Research pick: Inorganic business growth - "How do new technology ventures grow? A theory of planned behaviour based assessment of inorganic growth"

There is much talk in the business world of what might be referred to as “organic” growth, a kind of natural progression from seeded company, to fledgling spinout to…perhaps even multinational corporate entity. But, the converse of organic in this context is planned, inorganic, growth, the kind of growth that emerges from a strategic approach to the company’s inputs and outputs.

Leonard Benning and Tessa Christina of the Technical University of Dortmund, Germany, discuss the notion of planned behaviour and how it affects inorganic growth of a technology venture in the International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business. The team surveyed 153 company founders managing their businesses and investigated how entrepreneurial activities affected inorganic growth. Specifically, the team has looked at acquisitions as part of the strategy for planned, inorganic, growth.

They point out that this is perhaps the first empirical study of its kind that responds to an earlier call from fellow researchers in this field, dating back to 2011, to open up understanding of inorganic venture growth

Benning, L. and Flatten, T.C. (2020) ‘How do new technology ventures grow? A theory of planned behaviour based assessment of inorganic growth’, Int. J. Globalisation and Small Business, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp.88–113.

1 September 2020

Research pick: Fighting fit - "Comparative analysis of health-related physical fitness levels among the young male workers performing sedentary and heavy occupational physical activity"

Being physically active is important for overall health and fitness. Now, researchers in India have demonstrated that occupational physical activity is an important factor in body composition, flexibility, and aerobic capacity. They investigated fitness and physical parameters, such as percentage body fat, body mass index, aerobic capacity, weight, strength, and flexibility in a group of men between the ages of 18 and 30 years. Half the men had sedentary, desk jobs, the others had physical jobs in construction. It was perhaps an obvious finding, but those in sedentary work tended towards obesity, larger waist to hip circumference and poor performance in most of the fitness tests.

Prachi Patel and Rauf Iqbal of Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing Systems, NITIE, in Mumbai, India, also showed that construction workers had superior back flexibility, trunk lift scores, and aerobic capacity. Office workers had strong hands but that was as far as it went in terms of strength comparison. However, the team found no significant difference in strength (pinch, explosive leg and back) and endurance (upper and core body) tests between the two groups.

“Physical fitness and health lifestyle habits have been reported to lower the risk of death from disease, foster healthy muscles, joints and bones, and enhance personal function and mental health,” the team writes. Physical strength and fitness are important in manual work but much less so in office work, that much is perhaps obvious. However, there is a need to ensure that the increasing numbers of those of us with sedentary jobs achieve comparable strength and fitness for the sake of health and all the implications of the burden of ill health on individuals and society. There is thus an urgent need to encourage sport and fitness regimes in the deskbound.

Patel, P. and Iqbal, R. (2020) ‘Comparative analysis of health-related physical fitness levels among the young male workers performing sedentary and heavy occupational physical activity’, Int. J. Forensic Engineering and Management, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp.62–75.