Research pick: Ultrasonic social distancing - "Ultrasonic sensor based social distancing device"

Social distancing has been a critical component of the world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea being that keeping physical apart from other people will reduce the risk of a person spreading the respiratory virus to someone else. It is just one component of our response, which also includes wearing face coverings, frequent hand sanitisation, and obtaining a vaccine against the virus.

Such measures would not seem unfamiliar to past generations who lived through pandemics. However, the technology we have today that was simply unimaginable at the time of the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic means we can make our response even more effective. New research in the International Journal of Sensor Networks discusses the potential of ultrasonic sensors to help people keep a safe distance from others when social distancing is deemed necessary in a pandemic situation.

Mohit Ghai and Ruchi Gupta of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at ADGITM, IP University in Delhi, India, describe a small, portable sensor-alarm device based on an Arduino system. Arduino is an open-source hardware and software system that can be used to quickly build single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits with a variety of inexpensive applications. There is scope to add Wi-Fi capability and other networking functionality to a device too.

The team’s Arduino device has an ultrasonic sensor that continuously probes the space around a person and is triggered when another person enters one’s personal space within a pre-determined threshold distance set according to social distancing rules. The system is not dissimilar to the parking sensors with which many vehicles are fitted and so could give a timely indication to the user that they have moved too close to another person unwittingly or alert them when another person moves nearer to them in a shopping queue or other setting, for instance.

Given how often people misjudge distances between themselves and others especially in busy environments, a portable alarm system of this sort could be a boon to those hoping to ensure social distancing is maintained to help reduce the risk of spreading infection.

Ghai, M. and Gupta, R. (2021) ‘Ultrasonic sensor based social distancing device’, Int. J. Sensor Networks, Vol. 36, No. 3, pp.139–145.

Special issue published: "Advancements in Inventory, Supply Chain and Reliability"

International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics 11(2/3) 2021

• Sustainable inventory policy for imperfect production system with imperfect rework and defective sales return
• An EOQ model for non-instantaneous deteriorating items with ramp-type demand in a two-warehouse facility
• Production-inventory model with price-sensitive demand, volume agility and investment in preservation technology
• Vendor-buyer inventory model when demand is governed by innovation rate under DCF and game theoretical approach
• An EOQ model for freshness and stock dependent demand with expiration date under cap-and-trade mechanism
• An EOQ model for non-instantaneous deteriorating items with two storage facilities under progressive trade credit policy in financial environment
• Intuitionistic fuzzy AHP based reliability allocation model for multi-software system
• Investigating the effect of inflation on an inventory system for defective items with inspection errors, sales returns and shortages
• An integrated inventory model for imperfect production system incorporating marketing decisions with an investment in preservation technology
• Block chain: a pathway to improve performance measures of supply chain
• Establishing relation between production rate and product quality in a single-vendor multi-buyer supply chain model
• Multigenerational modelling incorporating time lag in innovation adoption

Research pick: Artificial intelligence answers COVID questions - "Neural network and NLP based chatbot for answering COVID-19 queries"

A chatbot that is based on an artificial neural network that can carry out natural language processing (NLP) is being developed by researchers in India. The team describes how the chatbot can be programmed to answer questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Details are to be found in the International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics.

Vishal Tiwari, Lokesh Kumar Verma, Pulkit Sharma, Rachna Jain, and Preeti Nagrath of Bharati Vidyapeeth’s College of Engineering in New Delhi, explain that the emergence of a novel coronavirus – SARS-CoV-2 – and the ensuing pandemic it caused has led to a lot of concern the world over. The team hopes to allay some of the fears of the unknown aspects of this pandemic by offering people a way to explore knowledge about the disease and the pandemic through a chatbot approach.

The team points out that artificial intelligence (AI) is already playing an important role in fighting the disease but it could also be used to counter misinformation and fill a person’s knowledge gaps when issues arise. Current AI technology and one of its talents, NLP, have advanced significantly in recent years not only in terms of the accuracy with which a piece of text might be processed and its meaning extracted, but also in the speed with which it can be done. It is not a decade since an NLP search engine tool might have taken several minutes to process a natural question from a user, but today the technology can extract semantics from a piece of text in less than a second, if not faster.

The team points out that that there has been evolution in this area where NLP and neural networks converge. This confluence of AI technologies has taken the science along a different route to the benefit of the systems being developed, it having overcome many of the problems that the original approaches had encountered in so doing.

The application of this new and rapidly evolving technology in the current pandemic might help slow the spread of misinformation among laypeople confused by mixed messages from the media, activist groups, and social media. Moreover, by offering clear and accurate answers to a person’s questions it could lessen the toll on mental health and stress by reducing the information burden. The team adds that the same technology might be extended to the medical realm itself for the detection of symptoms and the provision of information regarding the spread of disease and how to reduce the risk of infection.

Tiwari, V., Verma, L.K., Sharma, P., Jain, R. and Nagrath, P. (2021) ‘Neural network and NLP based chatbot for answering COVID-19 queries’, Int. J. Intelligent Engineering Informatics, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp.161–175.

Research pick: A virtual appointment with your doctor - "Virtual doctor consultation, potential to revolutionise healthcare access in resource poor settings: opportunities and challenges"

Many people do not have access to good-quality healthcare provision either because of the limited availability of resources or the distances involved in travelling to and from healthcare centres. A review in the International Journal Electronic Healthcare has considered the state-of-the-art in internet and communications technology in this context and how consultations with a physician might be carried out virtually rather than face-to-face to revolutionise access for millions of people in the developing world and in poor settings.

Gopireddy Murali Mohan Reddy and Priyanka Gollapalli of Evidencian Research Associates, Srinivas Gunda and Prasad Kompalli of Novocura Tech Health Services, all based in Bangalore, India, have surveyed the peer-reviewed scientific literature concerning virtual healthcare models and present a critique for all stakeholders in their paper.

The idea of a virtual consultation with one’s physician or other healthcare worker is not a novel concept, phone consultations and even video calls have been used for many years. What has changed, perhaps driven by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing and other safety measures to counter this viral disease, is there is now significantly more widespread understanding and acceptance of the requisite technology.

Universal health coverage by 2030 was an ambitious goal embodied in the global priorities as part of our sustainable development goals around the world. However, half of the world’s population still has only poor access to essential health services if any at all. The World Health Organisation reiterated this goal in a statement in 2019 demanding “universal health coverage for everyone, everywhere.”

Unfortunately, the poverty gap between nations and within nations seems to be scuppering those plans and that goal remains in some ways as distant today as it seemed when it was first stated, despite the WHO’s aspirations…with one caveat – the virtualisation of medical services that might offer healthcare provision given access to technology even if direct access to healthcare workers is not possible.

The advent of the internet and ability to digitally transfer various kinds of information has opened the door for telemedicine and e-health, the team writes. The increasing availability of mobile phones and high-speed internet access allows the real-time transfer of audio, video, images, and other information. Personalised healthcare access in the form of a virtual consultation with one’s physician or other clinician is now possible for many people and that access is growing as the technology becomes more widely available.

The team’s review of the state-of-the-art in this area draws from them an optimistic perspective – it would not be imprudent to suggest a digital revolution in healthcare is about to make important changes the world over, they suggest. In light of this optimism, the team suggests that now is the time for those running the healthcare systems and the technologists to work together to maximise adoption and address the challenges rather than dithering about whether it should be done or not. Moreover, now is the time for tests and trials to be carried out to ensure safety and privacy are exemplary for the ultimate benefit of the patient.

Reddy, G.M.M., Gunda, S., Kompalli, P., Gollapalli, P. and Sevagamoorthy, A. (2021) ‘Virtual doctor consultation, potential to revolutionise healthcare access in resource poor settings: opportunities and challenges’, Int. J. Electronic Healthcare, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp.271–287.

Special issue published: "Knowledge Creation and Technological Innovation in the IR 4.0"

International Journal of Innovation and Learning 30(2) 2021

• Development of a hospital virtual tour with virtual reality-based panorama
• Study on the influencing factors of the flexibility of university IT management in Education 4.0
• The impact of perceived usability on mobile wallet acceptance: a case of Gopay Indonesia
• Exploring the influencing factors of learning management systems continuance intention in a blended learning environment
• Measuring service quality in the telecommunications industry from customer reviews using sentiment analysis: a case study in PT XL Axiata
• Educational data quality management: lessons learned from a public university in Indonesia
• A model and rubric to guide the creative design process with ICTs
• Antecedents of innovative behaviour: knowledge sharing, open innovation climate and internal communication

Free open access article available: "Optimal design of motor learning experiments informed by Monte-Carlo simulation"

The following paper, "Optimal design of motor learning experiments informed by Monte-Carlo simulation" (International Journal of Experimental Design and Process Optimisation 6(4) 2021), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Research pick: Masking about emotional labour - "Donning the mask: the impact of Covid-19 on emotional labour performance"

We are emotional beings and this matters deeply in our personal lives but also in our working lives, perhaps nowhere more so than in the face-to-face service industries. New research in the International Journal of Quality and Innovation, has looked at the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on what is commonly referred to as “emotional labour performance”, the workplace management of emotions that are integral to a worker’s performance.

Niamh Lafferty and Sarah MacCurtain of the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick in Castletroy, Limerick, Ireland, and Patricia Mannix McNamara of the School of Education there, explain that the emergence of a global pandemic caused by an airborne virus meant that the public and workers alike have been for many months now obliged to wear a face covering, a protective mask, to reduce the risk of spreading the disease and to some extent catching it.

“By the nature of emotional labour, employees rely on both the ability to read service users’ emotions and the ability to express appropriate emotional displays in response,” the team writes. “In simpler times, employees could assess non-verbal expressions of emotion through facial recognition and respond with facially recognisable emotions evidenced in expressions such as a smile or one of concern,” they add.

A face covering obviously precludes the normal appreciation of visual cues, such as smiles and frowns that we expect of our interactions with other people. This “new normal” has led to significant modifications to the interactions between service users and the people providing a service.

The new normal represents uncertainty and struggle for so many people. There are major challenges that have arisen in the time since we first recognised the pandemic nature of the virus formally known as SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19. However, from the perspective of those researching emotional labour, the widespread wearing of face coverings actually presents a new research opportunity to better understand the interactions between provider and user in ways that are not possible when facial expressions are wholly visible to each party in such an interaction.

“This mask-wearing time provides an exceptional opportunity to test [the] relevance, significance, and impact [of emotional labour] in a way that previously could never have been achieved,” the team writes.

Lafferty, N., MacCurtain, S. and McNamara, P.M. (2021) ‘Donning the mask: the impact of Covid-19 on emotional labour performance’, Int. J. Quality and Innovation, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp.141–157.

Special issue on: "Intelligent Computational Technologies for COVID-19 Prediction"

International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics 9(2) 2021

• Optimal path routing in WMNs: HGAB3C based approach
• Modified COVID-19 Indian and international dataset for automatic prediction of risk in an individual using machine learning models using a mobile APP
• Neural network and NLP based chatbot for answering COVID-19 queries
• COVID-19 drugs invention using deep neural network models: an artificial intelligence approach
• Mental health issues and sleep quality of Indian employees and higher education students during COVID-19 lockdown
• Convolutional neural network based SARS-CoV-2 patients detection model using CT images

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Corporate Governance

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

• Testing the demand for monitoring and advisory roles of independent directors: a case of Indian corporate boards
• Does ownership structure influence the relationship between firms' political connections and financial performance?
• Capital contribution, insider ownership and firm performance: evidence from Indian IPO firms
• Impact of blockholder promoters on debt financing of Indian firms

Special issue published: "Ubiquitous Sustainable Systems"

International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology 15(2/3) 2021

• A close scrutiny of dApps and developing an e-voting dApp using Ethereum Blockchain
• Performance analysis for user identification in CR networks by various modulation transmission techniques
• Visible light communication for position control of a robotic vehicle
• The impact of work integrated learning towards students' learning: the case of ICT students in South African universities of technology
• A novel automatic system for logo-based document image retrieval using hybrid SVDM-DLNN
• An evolutionary framework on ADHD diagnosis based on graph theory and ant colony optimisation
• Gender classification using a PSO-based feature selection and optimised BPNN in forensic anthropology
• A novel study and research on multilayer AlAs/GaAs quantum dot inner layer for solar cell applications
• Improving power losses and thermal management in switch mode power converters using multiple transformers
• Experimental evaluation of image segmentation for heart images
• Low-power sector-based transition reduction bus encoding technique in SOC interconnects
• Large scale air pollution monitoring using static multi-hop wireless sensor networks
• Privacy preservation of clinical dataset using SHA and key base hashing
• e-NL BEENISH: extended-network lifetime balanced energy efficient network integrated super heterogeneous protocol for a wireless sensor network
• Design of twin inverted L microstrip antenna using HFSS software for sustainable system
• Design and implementation of a control unit of a micro grid in multi micro grid using Verilog systems
• Reputation-based business policy violation detection of long-term composed services with efficient alleviation of malicious rating of violated service

Additional papers

• Parameter optimisation of a fibre reinforced polymer composite by RSM design matrix
• A study on the machinability behaviour of Al6061-ZnO(p) metal matrix composite through wire-cut electro discharge machining using multi objective optimisation on the basis of ratio analysis
• Aggregated symmetric key-based hierarchical group data sharing in cloud
• Optical fibre long period grating based chemical sensor for the analysis of silica in boiler water

Free open access article available: "Evaluation of emergency preparedness exercises: the design of a questionnaire to measure staff perceptions"

The following paper, "Evaluation of emergency preparedness exercises: the design of a questionnaire to measure staff perceptions" (International Journal of Emergency Management 16(4) 2020), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Research pick: Computers search for Huntington’s disease drug candidates - "Genes to drug: an in-silico approach to design a drug for Huntington disease (HD) in Homo sapiens"

Huntington’s disease, previously known as Huntington’s chorea, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. It has a strong genetic component and is considered to be an inherited disease, although one in ten cases is due to an uninherited genetic mutation.

The genetic source of the disease lies in the huntingtin [sic] gene (HTT). We all have two copies of this gene and it codes for the huntingtin protein (Htt). The protein is essential for development and for the body’s nerve cells to function. However, the healthy gene has a repeated section but in Huntington’s disease this repeat is extended beyond a threshold and the resulting proteins are dysfunctional and damage nerve cells giving rise to the symptoms of the disease.

Initially, the condition leads to problems with mood and cognition and progresses to physical disabilities such as involuntary movements and an inability to talk. Ultimately, dementia and increased physical disability, represent the end stages, although the cause of death is often pneumonia triggered by difficulty in clearing fluid from the lungs and aspiration of food.

Symptoms usually begin at between the ages of 20 and 50 and life expectancy depends on age of onset, but is rarely more than 20 years from the time of the appearance of initial symptoms. There are no known cures and those in the later stages of the disease require full-time care.

Writing in the International Journal of Computational Biology and Drug Design, a research team from India, describes a promising new computer-based approach to the development of putative drugs that could one day offer hope a pharmaceutical intervention in Huntington’s disease. Sachin Kumar of the Department of Bioinformatics, Janta Vedic College in Baraut, Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh and colleagues have looked at the two proteins responsible for the symptoms of Huntington’s disease, Mutant Huntingtin protein (HTT) and HTT-interacting protein 1 (HIP-1) as potential targets for a drug-based therapy. They have taken known computer models of these proteins and examined how well a range of small molecule compounds can fit into, or “dock” with, the active site of the proteins. A compound, or “ligand”, that can dock with a protein’s active site can often block the activity of said protein or preclude the entry of the natural molecule that would otherwise trigger an action in the protein if it docks with the active site.

The team has identified four ligands from their in silico experiments with eleven initial candidates. The candidates were chosen as they are modified versions of known pharmaceuticals – tetrabenazine, baclofen, austedo and deutetrabenazine, Haloperidol, and GSK356278. Of the eleven, four were found to dock well with the protein target and so might be tested further as possible drug candidates for Huntington’s disease. The team adds that as our understanding of how mutant HTT causes cellular toxicity in the first place progresses, there is a hope that drug candidates might be modified further to improve the way they might interrupt toxicity.

Kumar, S., Panwar, S., Sharma, M.K. and Sharma, M.K. (2021) ‘Genes to drug: an in-silico approach to design a drug for Huntington disease (HD) in Homo sapiens’, Int. J. Computational Biology and Drug Design, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp.190–201.

 

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Vehicle Design

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

• Real-time model predictive control for thermal management in an automotive ICE with an electrified cooling system
• Analysis of a passive scissor-like structure isolator with quasi-zero stiffness for a seating system vibration-isolation application
• Investigation into transmission radiated noise during the acceleration of electric buses based on response surface methodology
• Temperature prediction and winding temperature measurement of a solenoid valve
• Design of nonlinear hierarchical controller for intake manifold pressure and boost pressure of turbocharged gasoline engine
• Multi-step torque distribution for an over-actuated electric vehicle
• Path tracking controller design for autonomous vehicle based on robust tube MPC
• Heavy-duty vehicle longitudinal automation with hydraulic retarder via H infinity control and off-policy reinforcement learning
• Active synchronising control of dual-mode coupling transmission for electric vehicles
• Active steering PMSM speed control with wavelet neural network
• Research on multi-mode regenerative braking energy recovery of electric vehicle with double rotor hub motor
• An energy-efficient torque distribution strategy for in-wheel-motored EVs based on model predictive control
• Plug-in HEV energy management strategy based on SOC trajectory

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies are now available here for free:

• Document-based RDF storage method for parallel evaluation of basic graph pattern queries
• Layout logical labelling and finding the semantic relationships between citing and cited paper content
• SWRL reasoning on ontology-based clinical dengue knowledge base
• EngMeta: metadata for computational engineering
• HSLD: a hybrid similarity measure for linked data resources
• Semantic architectures and dashboard creation processes within the data and analytics framework

Special issue published: "Data Mining and its Applications in Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering"

International Journal of Bioinformatics Research and Applications 17(3) 2021

• Cuckoo search based deterministic scale (CSDS) for computer aided heart disease detection
• Infected cells of mammogram image and performance analysis using imaging techniques
• CS-ABC: Cuckoo Search based adaptive boosting classifier for malaria infected erythrocyte detection
• Adaptive bio-inspired gene optimisation based deep neural associative classification for diabetic disease diagnosis
• Multi spectral image classification based on deep feature extraction using deep learning technique
• Fusion of registered medical images using deep learning convolutional neural network with statistics based steered image filter
• Visualisation of meniscus from knee joint MRI and assessment of its size differences due to age, gender and BMI

Research pick: Social emotion detector - "An ontology-driven perspective on the emotional human reactions to social events"

Seemingly, half the world population now uses social media to share their thoughts and to experience the thoughts of others. There is no topic left unrepresented by users from opinions about technology, politics, society, celebrities, sport, music, cinema, health, war, religion, sex and beyond. Nothing is taboo.

Extracting the collective emotional responses to social events from the local to the international scale from social media updates remains a goal of computer science and those it aims to assist in making use of the semantic and emotional data that might be extracted from social media.

An Italian team writing in the International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies, discusses an approach to investigating emotional reactions to social events.

“Social media has become a fulcrum for sharing information on everyday-life events; people, companies, and organisations express opinions there,” Danilo Cavaliere and Sabrina Senatore of the University of Salerno, in Fisciano explain. They add that studying and identifying different feelings and emotions, as represented by social network updates, such as so-called “tweets” on the microblogging platform known as Twitter requires handling big data and being able to understand the underlying emotional character of the updates in context.

The team has taken an approach that allows them to home in on a particular topic based on specific keywords, highlighted in tweets with a # symbol and commonly known as hashtags. They have built a glossary of emotions having extracted the semantics from a sample database of updates and refer to this as an “emotional concept ontology”.

The team then demonstrates how their ontology can be used to train a database classification tool (Support Vector Machine) to “understand” the emotional character and content of new tweets with which an algorithm built on this training is presented. They have demonstrated proof of principle successfully with sample datasets even with complicated, multifaceted tweets.

Cavaliere, D. and Senatore, S. (2021) ‘An ontology-driven perspective on the emotional human reactions to social events’, Int. J. Metadata Semantics and Ontologies, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp.23–38.

Research pick: Boxing in Wikipedia - "Analysis of structured data on Wikipedia"

The free, multilingual online encyclopedia known as Wikipedia has been with us for more than twenty years. Its content is contributed and curated by volunteer users through the Wikipedia community. The value of this vast repository of information could be even greater than the superficial access to facts and figures if the content followed a standardised approach. Writing in the International Journal of the Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies, a team from Brazil describes their analysis of Wikipedia and its structural characteristics.

Johny Moreira, Everaldo Costa Neto, and Luciano Barbosa Centro de Informática of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco explain that main, core, content in Wikipedia does not follow a standard structure from entry to entry. However, they demonstrate how the “infoboxes” within each page do follow a standard structure. Unfortunately, only around one in every two Wikipedia entries carry an infobox.

As such, while the infoboxes might be a useful component of Wikipedia that could be addressed by automated data mining tools, given that only 54 percent of entries carry such a component, this could limit the usefulness of data mining, search engine augmentation, and database construction, at least until the user community adds standard infoboxes to the majority of the Wikipedia entries. Of course, there might be ways to extract standardised information from the entries that lack an infobox to create just such an entity. However, there are several different templates that have already been used to create infoboxes even within the same Wikipedia categories.

One might suggest that by its very nature Wikipedia is always a work in progress, but some work is of a more fundamental nature than the creation of content and perhaps a part of the community needs to be enlisted and directed to create infoboxes and standardise the infobox templates if at all possible.

The team explains that there is a lot of interest in the infobox data found in Wikipedia. The researchers have now analysed many aspects of this content with the aim of helping the Wikipedia community to “uncover some data limitations and to guide researchers and practitioners interested in performing tasks using this data.”

Indeed, the team is itself working toward this goal in its own efforts: “Our next step for improving and extending the work presented here is to apply deep learning techniques for automatic measurement and classification of the quality of the defined infoboxes and articles in Wikipedia,” the researchers conclude.

Moreira, J., Costa Neto, E. and Barbosa, L. (2021) ‘Analysis of structured data on Wikipedia’, Int. J. Metadata Semantics and Ontologies, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp.71–86.

Special issue published: "Cloud Computing and Networking for Intelligent Data Analytics in Smart City"

International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering 24(4) 2021

• Real-time ECG signal pre-processing and neuro fuzzy-based CHD risk prediction
• An intelligent block matching approach for localisation of copy-move forgery in digital images
• Optimised fuzzy clustering-based resource scheduling and dynamic load balancing algorithm for fog computing environment
• Discrete stationary wavelet transform and SVD-based digital image watermarking for improved security
• Design and implementation of chicken egg incubator for hatching using IoT
• Disaster management using D2D communication with ANFIS genetic algorithm-based CH selection and efficient routing by seagull optimisation
• Research of the micro grid renewable energy control system based on renewable related data mining and forecasting technology
• Research on advertising content recognition based on convolutional neural network and recurrent neural network
• Detection of denial of service using a cascaded multi-classifier
• Application of convolution neural network in web query session mining for personalised web search
• Local-constraint transformer network for stock movement prediction

Special issue published: "Computational Materials Modelling, Analysis and Applications"

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology 63(1/2) 2021

• A fuzzy control method for optimal cutting temperature of pure iron
• Research on low-temperature crack resistance of toughened epoxy asphalt mixture
• Dynamic tensile fracture test of semi flexible epoxy asphalt concrete
• Study on mechanical properties testing of highway concrete pavement construction machinery materials
• Research on numerical simulation method of preparation process of highly active photocatalytic nanomaterials
• Research on early warning of rolling bearing wear failure based on empirical mode decomposition
• Research on residual life prediction method of lithium ion battery for pure electric vehicle
• Research on structure optimisation method of 3D printer based on decoupling parallel connection
• Numerical investigation of bipolar plates manufactured using hydroforming process

Special issue published: "Coal Utilisation and the Environment"

International Journal of Global Energy Issues 43(4) 2021

• Research on the features of particles passing through screen in the three products hydrocyclone screen (TPHS)
• Motion characteristics of coal-series kaolinite with different particle size influence
• Construction of engineering bacteria degrading residual polyacrylamide in coal slime water by protoplast fusion technique
• Rock strata failure and subsidence characteristics under the mining of short distance thick coal seams: a case in west China
• Deep learning-based image classification of gas coal
• Integrated model for energy consumption information of complex building based on BIM technology
• Impact of bank performance on energy consumption: evidence from selected commonwealth member states
• India: nuclear strategy and emerging challenges

Research pick: Genetic risk of COVID-19 - "Analysis of COVID-19 genetic risk susceptibility using UK Biobank SNP genotype data"

An analysis of the DNA of thousands of people who have been infected with the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and shown a positive test for the disease it causes, COVID-19, shows that they have several DNA characteristics in common. The study, based on samples from the UK Biobank, is detailed in the International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics and could offer up a way to genetically profile individuals for susceptibility to the disease.

Taewan Goo, Kyulhee Han, Catherine Apio, and Taesung Park of Seoul National University in South Korea carried out a genome-wide association study as well as gene-level association and pathway analyses with common and rare variants of the virus to reveal how certain genetic characteristics associated with some of the body’s metabolic pathways are present in those who contracted the disease more often than in those who had not. Moreover, they identified other genetic characteristics, most notably, ones associated with cellular signalling that had not been associated with viral infection previously.

Follow-up work to investigate those pathways may well reveal important pathophysiological factors associated with infection with SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent COVID-19. It might also be used to identify people who are more susceptible to the ravages of the disease than others and so allow them to be advised on protecting themselves better.

As other researchers have suggested, understanding how human genetics influence infectious disease susceptibility might give us the opportunity for better understanding this illness and other emerging infectious diseases. It might also guide us to potential drug targets, risk stratification, and a better understanding of patient response to therapy and vaccination.

Goo, T., Han, K., Apio, C. and Park, T. (2021) ‘Analysis of COVID-19 genetic risk susceptibility using UK Biobank SNP genotype data’, Int. J. Data Mining and Bioinformatics, Vol. 25, Nos. 1/2, pp.1–16.

Research pick: Citizen Science - "Toward a socially-distributed mode of knowledge production: framing the contribution of lay people to scientific research"

The idea of citizen science has been around for as long as science. There were always members of the public, often educated and moneyed, admittedly, who took their curiosity about the world to a higher level. In the digital era, one can pique one’s curiosity in ways the amateur natural scientists might never have dreamed of. Admittedly, there is much yet to learn about the outside world, but a powerful computer in everyone’s pocket has opened up investigative realms that were wholly inaccessible in a bygone age.

Writing in the International Journal of Transitions and Innovation Systems, a research team based in Italy and Kenya has looked at how lay people continue to be involved in knowledge generation and dissemination. They have analysed more than 80 research papers to uncover the role of citizen scientists in knowledge co-production.

Rocco Palumbo of the University Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Rosalba Manna of the University ‘Parthenope’ of Naples, Italy, and Alexander Douglas of The Management University of Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, found that the citizen scientist’s role depends critically on the degree of autonomy the person has and the type of relationship they establish with the “expert” scientists.

There is a spectrum of citizen science activity. At one end there are lay people who may assist with laborious or time-consuming tasks such as data collection and classification that require intelligence but a low level of expertise. At the other end of that spectrum, there are those with managerial and planning expertise who might work alongside scientists on a given project. In between, there are a whole range of activities and levels of expertise that might make an important contribution to a given citizen science project.

“The propensity of expert scientists and lay people to bring diverging inputs in knowledge co-production should be acknowledged and carefully addressed, in order to avoid drawbacks on the knowledge production ability of research institutions,” the team writes. They add that the impact of citizen science projects needs to be assessed in detail with a view to understanding their economic and social benefits.

The team suggests that scientists themselves should be encouraged to consider lay people as a fundamental human resource to help them deal with the challenges raised by the likes of big data in the current scientific environment. The citizen scientist should for their part be given the benefit of recognition as a key stakeholder in the scientific process and the accumulation of knowledge gleaned from the projects with which they assist.

Palumbo, R., Manna, R. and Douglas, A. (2021) ‘Toward a socially-distributed mode of knowledge production: framing the contribution of lay people to scientific research’, Int. J. Transitions and Innovation Systems, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp.381–402.

Special issue published: "Financial Markets, Monetary Policy and Human Resources: An Interdisciplinary Perspective"

International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance 14(4) 2021

• The relevance of fair value after the adoption of IFRS 13: fair value measurement and the role of audit committee
• How are residential property prices formed in Japan under different monetary policy regimes
• Is value premium driven by risk in the stock exchange of Thailand? A comparison of the Fama/French three-factor model and Fama/French five-factor model
• The profitability of trading strategies based on historical prices and risk: evidence from Thailand
• The impact of board structure on performance of Thai-listed companies in Market for Alternative Investment (mai)
• Modelling exchange rate movements in South Africa: an ARDL application
• Impact of corporate governance and financial stability on bank risk in Malaysia
• Scale efficiency and marginal revenue product at the audit service level: evidence from Korea
• Cause-effect relationship between toxic factors and well-being at work
• Factors affecting the turnover intention of bank employees at the West Java Regional XBank Indonesia community
• Does political motives affect local government financial statement quality?
• The effect of global value chain on the environment: the case of CO2 emission

Research pick: Internet privacy - "Information protection of end users on the web: privacy issues and measures"

The internet is almost ubiquitous and once one has access, one needs and wants always-on access. As with every technological advance there are those who will wish to exploit it and its users to malicious ends. Writing in the International Journal of Information and Computer Security, a team from the American University of Kuwait discusses the privacy issues and protective measures as they stand today.

Nooh Bany Muhammad and Aya Kandil suggest that without protections in place any user data is open to compromise and exploitation. There are many scenarios that might be considered, malware or manual hacks and social engineering might harvest or phish for a user’s private data, whether that’s their login username and password for various sites such as banks and online shopping. They might exploit the users’ devices to spread malware further afield. There is also the problem of corporate espionage and national and international “actors” that might seek to compromise a citizen’s right to privacy.

Technology shifts rapidly, the team suggests and might always be perceived as a game of “cat and mouse” in which users hoping to protect their privacy with antivirus and antimalware software are always attempting to stay ahead of the hackers and crackers. The team points out that “machine learning” or so-called “artificial intelligence” may represent the latest potent means to protect a device and thus its user’s privacy, allowing us to thwart even zero-day malware attacks that spread before the antivirus software can be updated.

Of course, we ourselves allow our privacy to be compromised perhaps unwittingly by accepting the terms and conditions of apps and software that we grant extensive permissions to on our smartphones and laptops. Many of the companies running such apps are interconnected, share data with advertisers for the sake of selling advertising, and even share data, for a fee with corporate entities and governments. Nothing much is private in that world. Users must educate themselves as to how their data might be compromised on a daily basis and in deciding how much they want to share, adopt the necessary tools to protect themselves from prying eyes.

Those who shout against privacy and suggest that a person only needs protection if they have something to hide might consider their own position of their personal health data, tax records, family photos, and browsing history were to be exposed in public. As author Joseph Heller wrote in his novel Catch-22 – “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”

Muhammad, N.B. and Kandil, A. (2021) ‘Information protection of end users on the web: privacy issues and measures’, Int. J. Information and Computer Security, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp.357–372.

Special issue published: "Current Trends in Computational Intelligence for Security and Privacy of Cloud and IoT-Based Consumer Data"

International Journal of Information and Computer Security 15(4) 2021

• Research on privacy protection system of RFID personal consumption data based on internet of things and cloud computing
• Research on network security defence based on big data clustering algorithms
• Information protection of end users on the web: privacy issues and measures
• E-commerce process reengineering for customer privacy protection
• The prediction of network security situation based on deep learning method
• A hybrid approach for preserving privacy for real estate data

Free open access article available: "Understanding stakeholder influence: lessons from a controversial megaproject"

The following paper, "Understanding stakeholder influence: lessons from a controversial megaproject" (International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management 21(2/3) 2021), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Special issue published: "Culture, Conflict, Decision-Making and Experience of Organisational Norms for an Individual" (includes free Open Access articles)

International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management 21(2/3) 2021

• The effectiveness of leadership development in the military context from a gender viewpoint
• Collective ownership: an Expo Mart for the exporter by the exporter
• Workplace bullying in top management: a constructivist grounded theory study
• The influence of cultural context in managerial decision-making: legitimacy views of Finnish and Italian managers [OPEN ACCESS]
• The conflictual sense of commercialisation and academic entrepreneurship
• Liminality and hybridity of academic entrepreneurship
• Understanding stakeholder influence: lessons from a controversial megaproject [OPEN ACCESS]
• Understanding the effects of inclusive strategic decision-making on embodiment of organisational values
• Customer satisfaction: impact of hedonic shopping in Delhi and National Capital Region

Research pick: Post-covid online marketing - "The influence of social media platforms on the customer purchase intention post COVID-19 outbreaks"

Research published in the International Journal of Technology Marketing has lessons for companies that wish to get the most out of their social media presence in selling to customers in the post-covid era.

Maria Venensia Sarita Putri, Farras Ramadhan, Kemri Agustine Dameria Simangunsong, and Willy Gunadi of the Bina Nusantara University in Daerah, Indonesia, explain how social media have become prominent tools for consumers searching for information, perhaps even far beyond the conventional search engines. How social media influences customer purchase decisions is an important point to address in understanding the future world of marketing especially in the wake of the paradigm shifts in lifestyle that has emerged from the covid pandemic for so many people.

The team explains that social media is inextricably linked to online shopping. Consumers can be far more involved through opinion, commentary, and suggestions than they ever were in the era before what we came to know as Web 2.0 and certainly far more than the way they were when all shopping was based in bricks-and-mortar stores, marketplaces, and perhaps mail order via advertisements in print publications.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, for many consumers in developed and developing nations, online shopping became more important than ever before and for some the only way to make purchases in times of lockdown. During the pandemic, online activity has increased across social media and many online shopping platforms are reporting increased sales over the last 18 months or so.

There may be some degree of reversal as nations work their way through the pandemic, but from the current perspective, online shopping platforms and social media are here to stay. As such, marketers need to understand the behaviour of their putative customers in these realms in more detail, which is where the current study can provide new insights that will be pertinent in the post-pandemic world. Intriguingly, the team has found that “Even if all of [our] data gives a supporting result towards performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and hedonic motivation, the effect clearly contradicts social influence, habit, and informativeness.” It will be critical in future marketing studies in this realm to determine why that is and how it might play out in online shopping in the coming months and years.

Putri, M.V.S., Ramadhan, F., Simangunsong, K.A.D. and Gunadi, W. (2021) ‘The influence of social media platforms on the customer purchase intention post COVID-19 outbreaks’, Int. J. Technology Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp.82–100.

Free open access article available: "The influence of cultural context in managerial decision-making: legitimacy views of Finnish and Italian managers"

The following paper, "The influence of cultural context in managerial decision-making: legitimacy views of Finnish and Italian managers" (International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management 21(2/3) 2021), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Special issue published: "Intercultural Competencies in a Changing Complex World"

European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence and Management 5(3) 2021

• Leadership in the VUCA world - a systematic literature review and its link to intercultural competencies
• Creating leadership minds for the digital VUCA world - sculpting functional perceptual architectures via cultural expertise
• Global agility - going beyond intercultural competence
• Teaching cultural intelligence for a VUCA world
• Stays abroad and intercultural competence of students
• Applying action learning in the development of business students' intercultural competences

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing

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

• House of sustainable waste management: an implementation framework
• Sustainable approach of heat treatment-free surface hardening by deep rolling
• Specific energy analysis for the manufacturing of light-weight automobile body
• An assessment of environmentally conscious lubrication techniques in grinding: use of minimum quantity lubrication, solid lubricants and cryogenic cooling
• Assessing the performance of manufacturing sustainability - a conceptual approach

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing are now available here for free:

• Understanding blogging motivations in palliative care using Maslow's hierarchy of needs
• A simultaneous evolution for analysing the interactions between CO2 emissions and national income
• Link stable routing with minimal delay nodes for MANETs
• Combined forecasting model of urban water consumption based on adaptive filtering and BP neural network
• Simulation analysis of the search effectiveness on information-based firefighting
• Will you accept my job? A new approach towards predicting human participation in mobile crowdsensing

Special issue published: "Smart Use of Resources and Strategies for Sustainable Development: Part I"

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development 20(3/4) 2021

• Experimental studies on combustion duration and ignition delay period for a newly synthesised gomutra emulsified diesel
• A review on emissions reduction techniques used in internal combustion engines
• A new methodology to find out cooking energy needs for a rural household
• Design, development and performance analysis of modified solid fertiliser spreader equipped with air blower
• Selection of phase change materials for thermal energy storage integrated with a solar powered vapour absorption system
• Bio-oil production from agricultural crop residues - a review
• A novel policy to tackle life span reassessment of existing bulk and thin-film photovoltaic materials
• Recent advances in solar tunnel dryer for performance improvement in food drying process: a review
• Financial feasibility of solar PV lanterns for households of a remote village cluster without access to electricity
• Comparative study of MPPT techniques for solar PV-based system
• Research advancements and challenges in the design and fabrication of glass to metal seals for solar receiver tube applications
• Technical feasibility study and optimisation analysis on solar biomass-based pumped storage hydropower plant

Research pick: The age-old internet - "Older adults and online communities: recent findings, gaps and opportunities"

While much of the discussion about internet usage and abusage focuses on young people and in particular the so-called “digital natives”, those people born after the internet and more specifically the world wide web had become commonplace, there is a growing and ageing population of frequent and experienced users who benefit considerably from access to online resources just as much as the youngsters.

Research in The Philippines published in the International Journal of Web Based Communities, discusses the use of online communities by the “silver surfer” generation and the gaps and opportunities that exist.

Ryan Ebardo and Merlin Suarez of De La Salle University in Manila, explain how “Older adults are thriving online and it is paramount for research to present the recent directions of scholarly works to depict the everyday digital lives of this specific social cluster.” The team has carried out a systematic review of the pertinent research literature and identified twenty important papers that could be used to glean insights into the motivations of older internet users as well as to ascertain what problems they are facing if any and what prospects might exist for improving their online experiences.

The team found that the prime movers among older internet users to join online communities and to be active in those communities are engagement and enjoyment, there are also known cognitive benefits. Fundamentally, the team has found that “online communities are living spaces where older adults interact, socialise and acquire support.”

The team adds that not only might a more systematic study of the use of online communities by older people help guide other members of digital society it could also feed into studies of older people at different stages of their lives – retirement, in assisted living, through partner bereavement and other life-changing states.

“In studying the impact of online communities based on social media on older adults, society will be more attuned to the complexities brought forth by late life,” the team concludes.

Ebardo, R.A. and Suarez, M.T.C. (2021) ‘Older adults and online communities: recent findings, gaps and opportunities’, Int. J. Web Based Communities, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp.200–216.

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:

• Identification of protein hot regions by combining structure-based classification, energy-based clustering and sequence-based conservation in evolution
• Sparse superlayered neural network-based multi-omics cancer subtype classification
• Two-variate phenotype-targeted tests for detecting phenotypic biomarkers in cancers
• A feature-learning-based method for the disease-gene prediction problem
• Systematic investigation of hyperparameters on performance of deep neural networks: application to ovarian cancer phenotypes

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:

• Experimental studies and multi-response optimisation of duplex turning parameters using grey relational analysis with entropy measurement
• Experimental investigation of MWCNTs mixed EDM of Ti-6Al-4V surface
• Micro-Faraday cup array structures fabrication in silicon using deep reactive ion etching
• Carbon nanofibre assisted micro-electro discharge machining (μEDM) of Ti-6Al-4V alloy
• Computer aided tool design for micro-ECM

Special issue published: "Concepts and Facets Of Entrepreneurial Diversity"

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing 13(3) 2021

• Absent or overlooked? Promoting diversity among entrepreneurs with public support needs
• Personality composition and performance in entrepreneurial teams: understanding the impact of stability and plasticity traits in a relative contribution model
• Engaging with entrepreneurial diversity: an intersectional framework

Research pick: What camera? - "A feature-based approach for digital camera identification using photo-response non-uniformity noise"

There are many reasons why someone might wish to know the precise camera that was used to take a digital photo – whether for criminal or fraud investigation, copyright and provenance, and perhaps even for archival purposes. Work published in the International Journal of Computational Vision and Robotics, provides a novel feature-based approach for such an identification using photo-response non-uniformity (PRNU) noise.

Megha Borole and Satish Kolhe of the School of Computer Sciences at Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India, explain how the pattern of noise in a digital image can act as a “fingerprint” unique to a particular camera. It can even be used to distinguish between the same make and model of camera with the same lens. “PRNU noise exhibits a different noise pattern for each image sensor and if numerous pictures are taken of a similar scene it remains around same,” the team explains.

The team explains that, somewhat paradoxically, they begin by applying a “denoising” procedure to the digital photo of interest. The filter allows them to reveal the PRNU noise pattern. This output is distinct from generic photographic noise and is, the team explains represented by the pixel intensities known as the Hu set of invariant moments. These invariants persist under image scaling, translation, and rotation, unlike many other characteristics of a digital photograph which may be lost when the photo is manipulated. The next step is to feed these features into a fuzzy min-max neural network (FMNN) that has been trained and classified with known digital cameras beforehand.

The team has demonstrated proof of principle for the approach with seven camera groups and showed that they could identify the specific camera used to take a photo of the same scene as all the others more than nine times out of ten on average. Given that in any real-world situation there may well be other evidence to point to a specific camera in many kinds of investigation where its identity needs to be known. The next step will be to improve the behaviour of the neural network by reducing the impact of inherent random noise.

Borole, M. and Kolhe, S.R. (2021) ‘A feature-based approach for digital camera identification using photo-response non-uniformity noise’, Int. J. Computational Vision and Robotics, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp.374–384.

Special issue published: "Micro Manufacturing and Finishing for Micro and Meso-Shaped Engineering Components"

International Journal of Precision Technology 10(1) 2021

• Parametric study on laser marking of circular shape on stainless steel 304
• Experimental and numerical investigation of compressive mechanical behaviour on woven carbon-Kevlar hybrid composites
• Design of a small-scale wind turbine blade of glass fibre/epoxy composite for electrification of rural villages in Ethiopia: a case study
• Investigations on the effect of helical tool diameter assisted with high speed rotation in electrochemical discharge machining
• Synthesis and characterisation of nanoparticles by pulse laser ablation at solid-solid interface
• Effect of straight and circular tool paths in micro channel fabrication using micro-milling

Additional paper

• Mechanical characterisation and optimisation of stir casting parameters for Al 6063/Al2O3 (alumina) reinforced metal matrix composites

Special issue published: "Pollution Prevention and Environmental Sustainability for Industry"

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management 24(3/4) 2021

• The detection method for uneven settlement of foundation in the area of industrial waste miscellaneous filling
• The purification mechanism of industrial wastewater by aquatic garden plants
• Ecological garden plant configuration method based on attribute analytic hierarchy process model
• Study on plant landscape planning method based on discrete particle swarm optimisation
• Hierarchical planning method of garden plant in landscape space under the concept of sustainable development
• Environmental impact assessment model of overall land-use planning based on BP artificial neural network
• Research on the vulnerability of ecological water resources under continuous precipitation based on spatial heterogeneity
• Research on urban landscape planning method based on GIS
• Analysis on evolution characteristics of spatial expansion pattern of urban agglomeration construction land based on environmental characteristics
• A prediction model of shallow groundwater pollution based on deep convolution neural network
• A prediction method of urban water pollution based on improved BP neural network

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

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

• Examining the state level heterogeneity of public health expenditure in India: an empirical evidence from panel data
• Learning from failure: inadequate value propositions in an innovative approach to patient safety using a hand washing compliance auditing system
• SERVQUAL impact on overall satisfaction and brand loyalty: an empirical study in Delhi-NCR hospitals
• Management of techno-psychological factors influencing the patient-physician electronic relationship
• Personal healthcare records research: past, present and new dimensions

Research pick: Digitally driving web sales - "The impact of digital sales channels on web sales: evidence from the USA’s largest online retailers"

An analysis of web sales data from the top 100 US online retailers shows that digital sales channels including direct website visits, display ads, e-mail marketing, organic search, paid search, referrals, and social media all play an important role in driving sales. The details of the findings published in the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, point to certain sales channels as being more effective in some contexts and so could guide those companies with limited resources to the most appropriate approach to driving web sales effectively. The team carried out their hypothesis testing using a log-log model with a Box-Cox transformation, and the average ticket value is used as a control variable.

Ravi Narayanaswamy of the School of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina in Aiken and Richard Heiens of the Department of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, Bluffton, USA, open their paper with a quote from the American poet, Maya Angelou, who once famously said, “if you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.” These words could very much apply to the online retail world, the team suggests. They explain that for online retailers, the route a user takes from entry point to shopping basket is a strong predictor of whether the user will ultimately complete the purchase. As such, understanding the path taken and the likely outcome for the vendor is important to guiding their sales and marketing strategy.

They give an obvious example of a user who accesses user feedback before completing their transaction compared with one who reaches the checkout point without any other interaction between browsing, choosing, and getting ready to pay. With the feedback detour, there is often greater resolve to make the purchase in the end. Conversely, a user that reaches the checkout directly may well be presented with unexpected purchase terms or fees and be dissuaded from committing to the sale.

The researchers have taken this notion much further to analyse the effect of the detailed route taken and the digital channels used to bring a customer from the point of browsing to the point of buying to allow them to predict how a seller might better guide their customers more effectively to closing a sale. In an age when bricks-and-mortar shopping is becoming less relevant, especially in the present COVID-19 pandemic era, companies need to understand their digital sales channels as clear a way as possible to drive sales.

Narayanaswamy, R. and Heiens, R.A. (2021) ‘The impact of digital sales channels on web sales: evidence from the USA’s largest online retailers’, Int. J. Electronic Marketing and Retailing, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp.306–322.

Research pick: Finding friends of friends on social media - "Prediction of Nth friends using spatial data mining in social networks"

A quick way to identify the “nth” friends of social media users based on spatial data mining of profiles and behaviour on a service such as Twitter is described in the International Journal of Advanced Intelligence Paradigms.

D. Gandhimathi of the Research and Development Center, Bharathiar University in Coimbatore and John Sanjeev Kumar of Thiagarajar College of Engineering in Madurai, India, explain that Twitter plays an important role in intentional social action. Thus cluster analysis of users based on likes and interests might reveal otherwise latent connections between users and so allow emergent trends to be spotted more effectively and predictions made about the behaviour and actions users might take. Such insights could be of interest to research scientists, companies and their marketing departments, not-for-profit organizations and charities, and perhaps government and law enforcement in many different contexts.

The team’s unconventional quantitative analysis hooks into the geographical metadata of each user’s Twitter updates, the geotag, where that is in place and not hidden by the user to provide even richer pickings for the data miners. The team explains that their main focus was on “recommender systems” that would engage a user’s “nth” friends in a positive manner by understanding content-based or popularity-based aspects of behaviour and social action on Twitter. The team suggests that their approach could be developed into a useful recommender algorithm. However, it is also a useful tool for community discovery and for answering questions about the large-scale clustering of users.

Their tests of the approach show it to be relatively low cost in terms of computer resources needed and to provide more accurate results when compared to other approaches.

Gandhimathi, D. and Kumar, A.J.S. (2021) ‘Prediction of Nth friends using spatial data mining in social networks’, Int. J. Advanced Intelligence Paradigms, Vol. 19, Nos. 3/4, pp.410–421.

Special issue published: "Studies Associated with Global Warming"

International Journal of Global Warming 24(3/4) 2021

• An experimental evaluation of indirect direct evaporative cooling unit for hot climate
• Statistically downscaling climate change projection of precipitation and temperature over the semi-arid Yarmouk Basin, Jordan
• The climate change impact projections on seasonal residential sector CO2 emissions and energy demand forecasting for Turkish provinces
• Characteristics and scenarios projection of NEE change in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau
• A study on determination of component sizing capacity for range performance, cost and CO2 production of an extended-range electric vehicle
• Evaluate the effect of land surface temperature in arid and semi-arid lands using potential remote sensing data and GIS techniques
• Experimental analysis of carbon monoxide to establish the origin of dissolved gasses in water, and their role in weather anomalies
• Spatial trends of maximum and minimum temperatures in different climate zones of Pakistan by exploiting ground-based and space-borne observations
• Real-time vulnerability analysis of hydropower projects under changed climatic scenarios
• Impact of the urban heat island effect on the climate of the State of Qatar
• Application of artificial neural network model for forecast energy efficiency of the cryogenic liquefaction system in the meaning of sustainability

Special issue published: "Business Research Touching New Heights in Contemporary India"

Journal for Global Business Advancement 14(3) 2021

• Box office collection of sequel movies: exploring brand extension effect
• Investigating the relationship of semiotics associated with colour and font of Google logo with brand perception
• Effect of earnings smoothness on firm performance: a study of Indian National Stock Exchange
• Delineating the outcomes of fans' psychological commitment to sport team: product knowledge, attitude towards the sponsor, and purchase intentions
• Scale development of customer satisfaction with complaint handling and service recovery in an e-commerce setting
• Dynamics of Punjab state's tourist image: a social media analytics perspective

Special issue published: "Economics of Pleasure: Scientific and Methodological Provision and Practical Experience"

International Journal of Trade and Global Markets 14(4/5) 2021

• Limits of the pleasure economy in Industry 4.0: specifics of developing countries
• Managerial paradigm 'management for pleasure' as a result of technological development
• Profits and losses of manufacturers and consumers in the pleasure economy in Industry 4.0 by the example of developing countries
• Labour efficiency in the pleasure economy: perspectives of increase in developing countries in Industry 4.0
• Legal means of ensuring economic security: the fundamentals of establishment of the system
• Convergent technologies as a factor in the formation of a new technological mode and structural changes: contribution to the formation of a pleasure economy
• Pleasure economy vs. industrial economy in developing countries in Industry 4.0
• The key types of economic activities in the pleasure economy in the context of developing countries' transition to Industry 4.0
• Contribution of Industry 4.0 into formation of the pleasure economy in developing countries
• The culture of digital society and the economy of pleasure: a new paradigm of socio-economic progress of developing countries in Industry 4.0
• Sources of income in the economy of pleasure: new growth vectors of developing countries in Industry 4.0

Additional papers

• The scientific and methodological approach to classification of economic systems according to the criterion of pleasure
• Liberalisation of taxation as a prerequisite to forming a pleasure economy: special tax regimes, tax holidays and family business taxation
• Russian production sector in crosshairs. Will we be better off?
• Indicators of economic security for monotowns of the Voronezh region
• The consumer economy and the pleasure economy: similarities and differences in developing countries in Industry 4.0
• Income for successful life in the pleasure economy: the financial aspect of developing countries' transition to Industry 4.0