29 July 2022

Special issue published: "Functional Nitrides and Oxides: Growth, Properties and Applications"

International Journal of Nanotechnology 19(2/3/4/5) 2022

  • ZnO nanostructures assisted growth using different NH4F concentrations for photovoltaic applications
  • Analysis on the performance of normalised gain difference power allocation for MIMO-NOMA-based VLC
  • Chromaticity study of La2O3-PVA nanofibres prepared by electrospinning process for UV light down conversion for white light emitting diode
  • Study of glaring effect from light emitting diodes via lens approach
  • Characteristics of titanium dioxide nanotubes annealed under various conditions and quenched using liquid nitrogen
  • Investigation on facile synthesis of YAG:Ce nanoceramic powder prepared by microwave solution combustion and its application in white light emission
  • X-ray diffraction analysis of gallium oxide thin films synthesised by a simple and cost-effective method
  • Characteristics of TiO2-Cu thin films deposited using electrospray technique
  • Effect of post-sputter oxidation temperature on the cerium thin films grown by DC sputtering method
  • Effects of post-deposition annealing in oxygen ambient of RF magnetron sputtered Ga2O3 thin film
  • Encapsulation of Ag nanoparticle-carbon composite and enhancement of visible light ZnO nanorods photodiode
  • Synthesis of zinc oxide nanotwins using electrochemical deposition technique at different current densities
  • A comparison study of ZnO, InZnO, GaZnO and InGaZnO physical properties and optical bandgap
  • Growth, characterisation and thermal stability of AlN/Ti/AlN/SiO2 multilayer selective solar absorber coating for high temperature applications
  • Photoelectrochemical activity of magnetron sputtered ZnO thin films: role of thermal annealing
  • Nanostructured zinc oxide growth on nickel and palladium seed layer using laser-assisted chemical bath deposition
  • Inhomogeneity of InGaN/GaN MQWs in InGaN based blue LED by atom probe tomography and secondary ion mass spectrometry
  • Influence of etching time on the porous p-type gallium nitride using alternating current photo-assisted electrochemical etching technique
  • Effects of post-annealing on GaN thin films growth using RF magnetron sputtering
  • Effect of nucleation time on GaN layer grown on different shapes of patterned sapphire substrate
  • Effects of different growth temperatures towards indium incorporation in InGaN quantum well heterostructure
  • Influence of growth temperature of p-GaN layer on the characteristics of InGaN/GaN blue light emitting diodes
  • Influence of potassium hydroxide molarity and etching time on etching of Al-rich aluminium gallium nitride layer
  • Effects of annealing conditions on sol-gel dip coated β-Ga2O3 thin films
  • Effects of dry oxidation treatments on the characteristics of gallium oxide thin films prepared using sol-gel spin coating method
  • Influence of gas flow rate on the thermal performance of AlNB alloy as a solid thermal interface material for thermal management applications (heat spreading)
  • Impedance spectroscopy analysis of Al/100-plane AlN/p-Si MIS prepared by HiPIMS method for tailoring dielectric properties
  • High-sensitivity room temperature p-doped and undoped GaN thin film resistive gas sensor

Special issue published: "Advances in Environmental Engineering"

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management 25(4) 2022

  • Prediction method of pollutant release rate of building materials based on characteristic constraints
  • Total indoor environmental pollutant control of intelligent building based on dynamic CGE
  • Evaluation method of solid construction waste recycling capacity based on AHP-fuzzy algorithm
  • Rapid decomposition of organic pollutants in chemical nanocomposites
  • Air harmful gas concentration monitoring method based on particle filter algorithm
  • An ecological environmental carrying capacity estimation of tourist attractions based on structural equation
  • Analysis on the coupling degree of water source ecological environment based on 3S technology
  • Modelling of the impact of land planning and development on regional ecological environment

Special issue published: "The Transformations of the Global Automotive Industry: Digitalisation, Ecological Transition and the Impact Of The COVID-19 Crisis" (includes Open Access article)

International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management 22(2) 2022

  • Agents and artefacts in the emerging electric vehicle space
  • Specialised vertical integration: the value-chain strategy of EV lithium-ion battery firms in China
  • The transformation of the Slovak and Czech automotive industries: stakeholders' perspectives and barriers towards an ecological mobility industry
  • Changes in productivity and labour relations: artificial intelligence in the automotive sector in Portugal [OPEN ACCESS]
  • Towards Factory 4.0? Convergence and divergence of lean models in Italian automotive plants

Research pick: Donation dilemma - "On the legal nature of gamete donation"

When it comes to the donation of sperm or egg, gamete donation, there is an inherent ethical conflict – the right to privacy of the donor and the child’s right to know their biological parent. Hanna Krushelnytska of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv discusses the legal nature of gamete donation in the International Journal of Public Law and Policy.

Technology and medicine have brought us to a point in human history unlike any other, where we can carry out biological processes in vitro that once could only be done in vivo. As such, there are now many people in the world who were born through an unconventional meeting of sperm and egg. Technically, we might talk of “assisted reproduction” or “artificial reproduction”, but there is, of course, nothing artificial about the person’s humanity. The law, however, is often slow to keep up with technological advances and the moral dilemmas they often bring with them.

Krushelnytska has looked at legislation around the world surrounding donor anonymity and the rights of the children born through assisted reproduction. The conflicts are essentially enshrined in different laws wherein they are regarded as medical laws in some contexts but also commercial law where the legislation encompasses the transactions and payments that might be made. Of course, the laws are asymmetrical when considering sperm and egg and how those are obtained and used.

There is an urgent need for tangled legal structures to be unknotted and the rights of donors and children to be clarified. How this might be done successfully given the inherent conflicting status of the various parties remains to be seen.

Krushelnytska, H. (2022) ‘On the legal nature of gamete donation’, Int. J. Public Law and Policy, Vol. 8, Nos. 3/4, pp.256–270.

28 July 2022

Free open access article available: "Noble isotopic gas fractionation characteristics of China's first batch commercial shale wells in the early production stage"

The following paper, "Noble isotopic gas fractionation characteristics of China's first batch commercial shale wells in the early production stage" (International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology 30(4) 2022), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Special issue published: "Contemporary Marketing Practices for Business Sustainability"

International Journal of Economics and Business Research 24(1/2) 2022

  • Youth underemployment in the Turkish labour market
  • High-frequency stock market connectedness in G-7: evidence from time-frequency domains
  • Trend and impact analysis of master's theses and doctoral dissertations completed in Turkey on the topic of 'leadership'
  • Tripartite relationship of ethical behaviour, job involvement, and job performance and its relevance in the IT sector in India
  • Modelling drivers of millennials' green consumption behaviour: an interpretive structural modelling approach
  • Investigation of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for the MINT countries: the ecological footprint approach
  • Gender of top manager and firm innovation performance
  • Exploring the relation between micro-lending and economic growth - evidence from Indian macro environment
  • An analysis of employee happiness, engagement and organisational commitment in the banking sector of India
  • Measuring shared mobility feasibility through shared mobility readiness and hesitation indices
  • A critical study of entrepreneurship and philanthropic activities of diaspora in India
Additional papers
  • The effects of capital raising on corporate social responsibility of chaebol firms
  • Efficiency of public sector banks in achieving the goal of PMJDY and PMMY
  • Identifying the factors affecting firm performance and growth: the case of Italian publicly listed companies
  • Entrepreneurship and digital markets
  • Integrated index of competitiveness as a basis for analysis of management systems for sustainable development of the territory

Research pick: Home work - "COVID-19 work from home stressors and the degree of its impact: employers and employees actions"

Working from home became, if not obligatory, then certainly de facto for many employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. At this stage in the pandemic as the new normal becomes entrenched the advantages of working from home have been recognised by employee and employer alike and for many the pandemic practice has become de rigueur.

Researchers from Oman writing in the International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation have looked at the stresses and strains that the practice of homeworking has put on employees and the people they live with. Anna C. Bocar of the Faculty of Business Management Studies at Gulf College in Maabelah, Muscat and Shad Ahmad Khan and Ferdinand J. Epoc of the College of Business at the University of Buraimi in Al Buraimi found that fundamentally issues arise because the home does not necessarily have the infrastructure or facilities for many types of job.

Jobs that were pushed out of the workplace and into domesticity by social distancing, lockdown, and isolation rules meant employees had to find ways to carry on their normal work in the domestic setting in a way that many had not done before and also to accommodate family life. Employees in all kinds of sector – legal, financial, media, any where communication and work could be digitalised were affected.

The team found that it is the employee’s personal perspective that mattered the most in terms of the stresses and strains they faced during enforced working from home. Moreover, only when employees begin to take action themselves to remove the stressors that their employers recognise the problems and take action themselves, the employers are not proactive in helping their employees, in other words. The research points to how things must change if employees are to carry on working from home and for those who return to the workplace how things must change before the next major crisis.

Bocar, A.C., Khan, S.A. and Epoc, F.J. (2022) ‘COVID-19 work from home stressors and the degree of its impact: employers and employees actions’, Int. J. Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp.270–291.

Free open access article available: "Toward a sustainable social healthcare enterprise development model"

The following paper, "Toward a sustainable social healthcare enterprise development model" (International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management 36(1) 2022), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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


27 July 2022

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Fuzzy Computation and Modelling are now available here for free:
  • New similarity measures for Pythagorean fuzzy sets with applications
  • A new approach to find optimal solution of fuzzy assignment problem using penalty method for hendecagonal fuzzy number
  • Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy PID controllers: mathematical models and stability analysis with multiple fuzzy sets
  • Prediction of flood hazard map based on hybrid fuzzy geographic information system and its application for Ayamama watershed
  • Development of fuzzy-based autoregressive integrated moving average exogenous input model for filtration process

Free open access article available: "Changes in productivity and labour relations: artificial intelligence in the automotive sector in Portugal"

The following paper, "Changes in productivity and labour relations: artificial intelligence in the automotive sector in Portugal" (International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management 22(2) 2022), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Special issue published: "Smart Service Technology for Industrial Applications"

International Journal of Internet Manufacturing and Services 8(3) 2022

  • A local failure identification technology of Industrial 4.0 server based on spark big data processing
  • A stable data transmission method of industrial internet of things communication based on bat algorithm
  • Research on communication information hiding method of industrial internet of things based on deep fusion
  • Joint scheduling control of workflow in information communication network based on hybrid modelling
  • Digital information storage method of power grid enterprises based on random forest
  • Cloud service workflow scheduling algorithm based on priority rules
  • Material scheduling method of automated industrial production line based on FL-net network
  • A low-carbon distribution route selection of supply chain logistics based on internet of things
  • A rapid detection method of drug quality based on RFID technology

Research pick: Digital twins down on the farm - "Agricultural digital twins"

Researchers in China discuss the concept of “digital twins” as might be used to improve efficiency and yields, cut costs, and improve safety in agriculture. Details are published in the International Journal of Adaptive and Innovative Systems.

A “digital twin” is commonly thought of as being a dynamic, computerized representation of a physical or object or system that models that object or process in real-time. It can be manipulated to see how “virtual” changes made to the object or system might affect their real-world counterparts. The original concept of this kind of simulation emerged from work on “information mirroring models” at the University of Michigan by Michael Grieves, although the term “digital twin” was first used by the US Air Force Laboratory in 2009 and then by NASA in its efforts to model the behaviour and response of its spacecraft. Of course, as with many advanced systems and simulations there is no single definition.

Researchers at the China University of Petroleum (East China) in Qingdao and Qingdao University point out that digital twins have been used in a variety of contexts and suggest that the time is ripe for digital twins to be used in agriculture. The team explains that digital twins can act as “a bridge between the physical world and the digital world”. As such, they need to be built on various underlying technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality but might also incorporate aspects of model-based systems engineering and digital threading. There is, of course, the scope for artificial intelligence and machine learning to play a role. The internet of things is the foundation on which a digital twin is constructed acting to connect the real world to the virtual.

Digital twins have been used in manufacturing, in city planning, and even on the battlefield. Given that agriculture in many parts of the world is based on often centuries-old approaches, the digital twin concept is set to revolutionise farming life. It will allow simulations of agricultural activities to be carried out as well as assist with remote monitoring, control, and coordination of those activities on the farm.

Zhao, Y., Jiang, Z., Qiao, L., Guo, J., Pang, S. and Lv, Z. (2022) ‘Agricultural digital twins’, Int. J. Adaptive and Innovative Systems, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp.144–156.

26 July 2022

Special issue published: "Excellence In Business: An Emerging Markets Perspective"

Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development 14(1) 2022

  • An empirical evaluation of entrepreneurial orientation in the context of innovation in new ventures
  • Analysis of strategic motives for formation of alliances using total interpretive structural modelling
  • Artificial intelligence and hospitality industry: systematic review using TCCM and bibliometric analysis
  • Multilevel analysis of factors influencing innovation through m-TISM approach
  • Leveraging technological factors and strategic alliances to achieve sustainable development goals
  • Critical factors for knowledge management implementation: a TISM validation

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:
  • Managing employee turnover: machine learning to the rescue
  • Hybrid approach for content-based image retrieval
  • Proficient approaches for scalability and security in IoT through edge/fog/cloud computing: a survey
  • A novel security scheme using deep learning based low overhead localised flooding algorithm for wireless sensor networks
  • Dynamic sorting and average skyline method for query processing in spatial-temporal data

Special issue published: "Exoskeletons – Human-Centred Modelling, Simulation and Implementation"

International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation 7(3/4) 2022

  • Towards standard test artefacts for synchronous tracking of human-exoskeleton knee kinematics
  • A comparison of different methods for modelling the physical human-exoskeleton interface
  • DHM supported assessment of the effects of using an exoskeleton during work
  • Auditory movement feedforward for a lower-limb exoskeleton device (AIDER) to increase transparency
  • Study on multivariate analysis of anthropometric measures for upper body exoskeletons using archetypal analysis
  • Biomechanical investigation of a passive upper-extremity exoskeleton for manual material handling - a computational parameter study and modelling approach
Additional papers
  • Design and development of a game-engine-based simulator specialised on ships evacuation
  • Estimation of body surface area coverage by garment items: different approaches using mesh base modelling

Research pick: Processing social media with fuzzy logic - "Applying fuzzy logic for multicriteria performance analysis of social media networking"

Fuzzy logic processing has been used to carry out an analysis of performance in social media networking. Details can be found in the International Journal of Fuzzy Computation and Modelling.

Ridhima Mehta of the School of Computer and Systems Sciences at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, explains how fuzzy logic, with its roots in 1960s computer science, can be used to help us solve a very modern problem: handling the huge streams of data from social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and finding ways to analyse and interpret connectivity and sentiment in those streams.

Social media has become almost ubiquitous in many parts of the world, hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people rely on it for entertainment, news, business, communication with friends, family, and colleagues, and more. The huge quantities of information shuttled around the various networks is almost impossible to process given how disparate messages and updates, content, and context can be. Fuzzy logic, an extension of the far more conventional Boolean logic, offers a tool to process datasets in a more useful manner than attempting to analyse word-by-word or sentence-by-sentence.

The team demonstrated proof of principle with a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) fuzzy inference system. The inputs, Mehta explains, are processed based on the concepts and operations associated with the fuzzy set theory coupled with the stored knowledge in the form of a rule base. Outputs are based on these inputs. Error rates were at least 90 percent improved on existing methods, Mehta found.

Mehta explains that the proposed fuzzy-based design can be integrated with other multiple-objective optimisation techniques such as genetic algorithms, Markov decision process, particle swarm optimisation to obtain several optimal social networking performance objectives.

Mehta, R. (2022) ‘Applying fuzzy logic for multicriteria performance analysis of social media networking’, Int. J. Fuzzy Computation and Modelling, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp.51–72.

25 July 2022

Special issue published: "Decision Analytics for Improvements in Operational Systems"

International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage 14(1) 2022

  • Analysis of barriers in implementation of blockchain technology in Indian industries
  • Multi-objective optimisation and analysis of fused deposition modelling parameters: best infill patterns
  • Contemplation of food industry attributes confronted in smooth adoption of Lean Six Sigma practices
  • Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in industrial manufacturing applications: a case study
  • Structural modelling and ranking the warehouse activities in a pharmaceutical supply chain system
  • Analysis of performance evaluation and issues of last mile delivery by AHP technique
  • Understanding LSS 4.0 through golden circle model and reviewing its scope in Indian textile industry
  • Barrier analysis for channel synchronisation and implementation of omni channel supply chain strategy meeting customer preferences
  • Estimation of best possible solutions for environmental trade-offs in cold supply chain using BWM based ELECTRE-I approach

Special issue published: "Intelligent Security Using Blockchain for Internet of Things"

International Journal of Electronic Business 17(3) 2022

  • Security framework for IoT and deep belief network-based healthcare system using blockchain technology
  • RPL enhancement with mobility-aware two-stage objective function for improving network lifetime in IoT
  • A Markov decision process-based secure consensus framework for leveraging blockchain technology in IoT applications
  • Blockchain-based consensus algorithm for solving security issues in distributed internet of things
  • Modified handshake protocol-based secure authentication using blockchain technology in WLAN

Special issue published: "Advanced Smart Materials"

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology 65(1) 2022

  • Research on numerical simulation of wear temperature field of vehicle brake disc based on SIFI feature
  • Fatigue crack detection of heavy duty railway track based on decision fusion analysis
  • The mechanical properties and microstructure of 1,000 MPa grade Cu-Ni TRIP steel at different bainitic isothermal temperatures
  • Detection method of interface defects of titanium nitride thin film coating materials based on image processing
  • Experimental study on impact compression performance of expressway concrete
  • A comparative study on the photodegradation efficiency of TiO2-CS hybrid beads under wet and dry conditions
  • The effect of MnO2 concentration on the formation of MnO2/ZnO thin films with bifunctional thermal insulation and photocatalytic self-cleaning performance

Research pick: Will we ever smash the glass ceiling? - "The glass ceiling phenomenon in the US and EU labour market: a comparative study"

The “glass ceiling” is a metaphor for the barriers facing women and various minorities in the workplace when they strive for promotion or other improvements in their career. Research published in the International Journal of Services and Operations Management, compares the phenomenon in the European Union and the USA.

Saška Gavrilovska and Balasundram Maniam of the Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, USA, have found that the glass ceiling has been raised somewhat in recent times with many women and members of minority groups achieving higher mid-level positions at many companies and institutions. However, the barrier is still very much in evidence in terms of limited opportunities to break through the glass ceiling to top-level management positions. The team suggests that personality differences, discrimination, and the challenges of motherhood and childcare often reinforce the glass ceiling.

Earlier work and common experience suggest that there remain significant inequities between men and women and between majority and minority groups. Pay and grade disparities remain strong. To reduce workplace discrimination and promote gender and equality in general, there is a need for improved rights and policies, which should be adopted by companies and enacted in law. The EU and USA do have in place policies to improve rights, but there are many gaps, oversights, and loopholes that mean the glass ceiling, while slightly higher than in the past, remains a major barrier for women and minority groups.

Gavrilovska, S. and Maniam, B. (2022) ‘The glass ceiling phenomenon in the US and EU labour market: a comparative study’, Int. J. Services and Operations Management, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp.422–438.

22 July 2022

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage are now available here for free:
  • A case study on the DMAIC Six Sigma application to prevent injuries in the manufacturing industry
  • Evaluating reliability of diesel generator peakers using Six Sigma methodologies
  • Six Sigma-based RS, MDSS and MDSRS control charts
  • Deploying Lean Six Sigma framework in a healthcare organisation: a case experience
  • Effect of ergonomics on workers' performance in Indian small-scale industry

New Editor for International Journal of Biomechatronics and Biomedical Robotics

Prof. Kean C. Aw from the University of Auckland in New Zealand has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Biomechatronics and Biomedical Robotics.

Research pick: Digital banking in India - "Impact assessment of COVID-19 on digital payment: an Indian perspective"

Research published in the International Journal of Business Process Integration and Management has looked at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on digital payment use in India. The research used a cluster analysis technique to classify two types of banking customer according to their payment behaviour – late majority and early majority. The behaviour of these two different groups of people as the pandemic unrolled and in particular with lockdowns and other restrictions could offer new cues to both private and public sector banks to guide their payment operations and to direct their future policies and practices with a view to improving operations and reducing overheads.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on society and economies around the world has been enormous and is ongoing. Many aspects of the so-called “new normal” have changed the way we live in an unprecedented way. Many of the changes and challenges we have had to face in this pandemic world have been detrimental to quality of life. However, there was technology in place that was less well used than it might have been, before the pandemic, that has come to the fore as a potent solution to some of the problems we have faced in the last few years since the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the ensuing health crisis we faced.

Banking reform in 1991 across India revolutionised the industry. Previously rather limited opening hours at branches were extended, online bank became “24-7” for bill payment, money transfers, cheque book requisition, and online payment for e-commerce. Automated teller machines, ATMs, become more common at select branches. Banks also introduced new products in the wake of these reforms such as new approaches to loans, train booking, and online shopping. Indeed, the very fact that such banking products and technology were already in place when the pandemic arose means that India was ready with financial services in place to face the crisis.

Of course, the disease had devastating and tragic consequences for many people with debilitating infection, death, and long-covid. From the economic point of view, the closure of commercial premises and lockdowns quickly drove down the economy. For many people staying at home and working from home under lockdown and restrictions meant they had to rely on digitalized financial services in a way they never had before, regardless of their technological literacy.

Smartphone usage and internet access are on the increase even in rural areas and given the characteristics of the banking sector in India at the time of the pandemic, there was little option but to utilize those services in a way that had not been done before. The team points out that fear of the pandemic reduced technophobia to some degree and nudged people to digital and online alternatives to the facilities and services they previously used offline.

Parihar, S.S., Siddiqui, M.H. and Mehrotra, S.A. (2021) ‘Impact assessment of COVID-19 on digital payment: an Indian perspective’, Int. J. Business Process Integration and Management, Vol. 10, Nos. 3/4, pp.259–266.

21 July 2022

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Work Innovation

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Work Innovation are now available here for free:
  • The digital gamification of labour: a new form of labour process regulation?
  • Innovation and quality of working life: perspectives and dimensions for analysis
  • Innovative work behaviour induced by transformational leadership through altruism
  • Influence of psychological capital on turnover intentions: empirical evidence from Indian paramedics

Research pick: The digital backpacker - "Digitalising backpacker to travel vlogger"

In many ways, the travel industry has tended to focus on business travellers and richer tourists, ignoring travellers such as backpackers who tend to travel on a tight budget and have little to spend on their journey. However, there is a sub-set of backpackers, informed and educated and highly active on social media that the industry would do well to find ways of engaging with. These digital backpackers commonly review and report on the places they visit and the sights they see, often as video bloggers, or vloggers.

Research in the International Journal of Knowledge Management in Tourism and Hospitality, has investigated the vlogging backpacker and how some of these people have become so-called “influencers”. The influencer effect could have a positive impact on tourism especially if the industry can engage well with those people who might encourage others to visit a particular destination.

Hasliza Hassan of the Multimedia University in Cyberjaya and Abu Bakar Sade of the Universiti Putra Malaysia, both in Selangor, Malaysia and Muhammad Sabbir Rahman of the North South University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, point out that already many vlogging backpackers have been recruited as ambassadors. For tourist destinations in many parts of the world that are perhaps not on the usual commercial travel itineraries this could mean a big boom in travel to those places in years to come. This could help reverse much of the decline in tourism caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the team suggests.

The researchers point out that travel vloggers tend to have a positive outlook on the places they visit, the sights they see, and the food and entertainment they take part in while travelling. Followers of the big influencers expect and anticipate this positivity, the team says. The suggestion from the research is that tourism agencies must keep travel vloggers in mind as digitally savvy allies who might be supported through an offering of accommodation and transport and so have an influence on a particular destination or travel route. This could make the digital backpacker a powerful component of promotion in the travel and tourism industry, the team adds.

Hassan, H., Rahman, M.S. and Sade, A.B. (2022) ‘Digitalising backpacker to travel vlogger’, Int. J. Knowledge Management in Tourism and Hospitality, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp.366–375.

20 July 2022

Free sample articles newly available from Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development

The following sample articles from the Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development are now available here for free:
  • Social bricolage in the arts: Cheongna International City Culture Art Academy case
  • The transaction cost approach to collaborative innovation in family firms: a process of internal collaboration through integration of human assets
  • Cultural intelligence and the internationalisation of SMEs: a study of the manufacturing sector in Egypt
  • Traits and entrepreneurial intention: testing the mediating role of entrepreneurial attitude and self-efficacy
  • The role of social commerce in online purchase intention: mediating role of social interactions, trust, and electronic word of mouth
  • Role of gender and exposure on entrepreneurial attitudes of Omani university students

Research pick: The greatest gift that we possess? - "Why some people are not as happy as they could be: the role of unobservable subjective factors"

In the words of the song, happiness is the greatest gift that we possess and the singer counts their blessings to tell us that they have more than their share. The notion of happiness, of course, is highly subjective and whether we consider ourselves to be happy might well be determined by the conditions in which we find ourselves, but may well be controlled to some degree by past experiences, genetics, cognitive traits and various other factors.

Adalgiso Amendola, Roberto Dell’Anno, and Lavinia Parisi of the University of Salerno in Fisciano, Italy, have used a “residual-based” approach to distinguish between the direct and indirect effects of various factors on happiness, all mediated by social, economic, and family dynamics. Their findings suggest that such unobservable factors only account for about 25 percent of a person’s happiness as extracted from data in the European Quality of Life Survey. Up to 75 percent seems to be due to genetic and/or personality traits. Details are provided in the International Journal of Happiness and Development.

The team points out that most people can be described as having a baseline happiness level. Individuals return to this “default” level following strong positive or negative life events and it is this default that the research sought to examine in terms of the factors that affect it. Given that policymakers may not always consider the happiness of the people under their jurisdiction but have an impact nevertheless, this research provides a useful insight showing that decisions that change society and affect individuals may not be as influential on happiness as was perhaps originally thought.

Policymakers can only really affect socioeconomic, demographic, environmental, and relative deprivation determinants of unhappiness. And, as the research suggests such exogenous factors have a smaller impact on happiness than those factors that control one’s baseline happiness level. Improving the quality of life, healthcare, and reducing the poverty gap may not raise a person’s baseline happiness but will improve quality of life nevertheless. External factors make a smaller contribution than the endogenous factors that generate that baseline so policymakers may have little scope for improving overall happiness. They may not be able to give the greatest gift, but they can improve quality of life and maybe that will add up above a person’s baseline and bring more happiness to more people.

Amendola, A., Dell’Anno, R. and Parisi, L. (2022) ‘Why some people are not as happy as they could be: the role of unobservable subjective factors’, Int. J. Happiness and Development, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp.40–63.

19 July 2022

Free open access article available: "A framework for effectively utilising human grading input in automated short answer grading"

The following paper, "A framework for effectively utilising human grading input in automated short answer grading" (International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation 16(3) 2022), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Free open access article available: "Navigating multilevel challenges in learning design: an investigation of novice designer teams' learning trajectory"

The following paper, "Navigating multilevel challenges in learning design: an investigation of novice designer teams' learning trajectory" (International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation 16(3) 2022), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Research pick: Chairperson of the Board - "Gender diversity on corporate boards: does it really make a difference?"

How much does gender diversity on the corporate board matter to the company’s bottom line? A new study in the International Journal of Governance and Financial Intermediation looks to answer that question.

M. Luisa López-Pérez of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Lugo, Spain, explains how the corporate board is a body that is responsible for governing the company, setting its principles and ultimately determining how well the company performs in the context of external factors. The research shows that women bring unique values, knowledge, and skills to the company board. However, despite many advances in gender diversity, the presence of women on corporate boards remains low. The findings of the research suggest that increasing the proportion of women on corporate boards can only benefit the companies that follow this plan of action.

López-Pérez has carried out a comprehensive review of earlier work in this area but also examined how the influence of gender diversity on the corporate board extends beyond the mere presence of women. She adds that financial results together with social and environmental performance are affected by the presence of women on the board, moreover, the interests of shareholders and stakeholders are more likely to be considered by female directors. However, the appointment of women to boards continues to be at a low rate and that factors other than the likely performance benefits are considered in the choice to continue largely appointing men instead.

The findings add to the literature on gender equality at the corporate level. The future must see that “women on boards are no longer considered a minority group and that truly egalitarian boards are formed,” says López-Pérez. She adds that the next step in this research area will be to analyse the personal and professional values that female directors bring to the corporate board. This will allow us to gain a clearer understanding of the influence of female directors on board governance.

López-Pérez, M.L. (2022) ‘Gender diversity on corporate boards: does it really make a difference?’, Int. J. Governance and Financial Intermediation, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp.219–235.

18 July 2022

Special issue published: "Breaking the Boundaries of Learning With Mobile Technological Advances" (includes open access article)

International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation 16(3) 2022

  • The application and effect of smartphones and an online tutoring system CSIEC for vocabulary drilling through nine semesters
  • A framework for effectively utilising human grading input in automated short answer grading
  • Lessons post-lockdown: science and engineering education switching to online learning
  • How smart learning has been achieved: a review of the literature (2011-2020)
  • Supportiveness of language MOOCs for self-regulated learning: a review of commercial language MOOCs on the market
  • From blended to virtual learning: insights from a language enhancement workshop programme
  • Navigating multilevel challenges in learning design: an investigation of novice designer teams' learning trajectory [OPEN ACCESS]


Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Happiness and Development

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Happiness and Development are now available here for free
  • The mediating role of self-compassion in relation between character strengths and flourishing in college students
  • Do education and health influence economic growth and food security? Evidence from Bangladesh
  • A regional social progress index: the case of Epirus, Greece
  • The impacts of increasing leisure time on subjective health and life satisfaction
  • Subjective well-being of the informal workers: an empirical study from Hooghly district of West Bengal, India

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Energy-Growth Nexus

 

The energy-growth nexus is a major field of energy economics and econometrics that informs the transition to green energies, which must happen at a pace that will not retard economic growth. The energy-growth nexus can contribute tremendously to government energy policies and energy company resilience. The International Journal of Energy-Growth Nexus is dedicated to research in the energy-growth nexus field that generates clear and continuously testable results for new energy policy making, which in turn affect economies and societies and their sustainable futures.

Research pick: Electricity from fruit and vegetable waste, just add cow dung - "Generation of bioelectricity using vegetable and fruit wastes"

There is a huge and increasing demand for sustainable energy sources across the globe. New work in the International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology, considers fruit and vegetable waste as a potential resource for electricity generation. Chemists Sudha Kumari Jha and Annapurna Jha of Jamshedpur Women’s College in Jamshedpur, East Singhbhum, Jharkhand, India, provide details of a microbial fuel cell that uses such waste as its feedstock with thermophilic bacteria, Clostridium cellulose and Clostridium cellulofermentans, obtained from cow dung.

Alternative energy sources are urgently needed in the face of anthropogenic climate change driven by rising levels of carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Much investigation and investment have been put into solar, nuclear, wind, geothermal, tidal, and other approaches. Fuel cells that make use of waste materials have also been a focus of this work.

The team explain how their system is essentially a bioreactor that can convert chemical energy from inorganic or organic components to electrical energy through the catalytic reactions of microbes. The anaerobic breakdown of carbohydrates present in food waste by those microbes promotes the entire process, the team explains. They tested six different microbial fuel cell setups at room temperature and found that the optimal setup was established in ten days with an 800-millilitre sample and could generate 3 Volts. Additionally, the only byproduct of the process is water.

The relatively simple setup could be constructed from readily available materials even in the developed world and used with a kit containing the other components. A 3-Volt power supply fed with food waste and cow dung would be useful for charging portable devices, such as smartphones and small LED flashlights.

Jha, S.K. and Jha, A. (2022) ‘Generation of bioelectricity using vegetable and fruit wastes’, Int. J. Renewable Energy Technology, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp.306–319.

15 July 2022

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering are now available here for free:
  • Investigating the correlations between point load strength index, uniaxial compressive strength and Brazilian tensile strength of sandstones. A case study of QwaQwa sandstone deposit
  • In-belt vibration monitoring of conveyor belt idler bearings by using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence
  • Statistical and exponential triple smoothing approach to estimate the current and future deaths of Pakistani coal miners from 2010 to 2050
  • Short-term underground mine planning: a review

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:
  • Dengue fever prediction modelling using data mining techniques
  • Evaluation of statistical methods for the analysis of crossover designs with repeated measurements
  • Application of SNPViz v2.0 using next-generation sequencing data sets in the discovery of potential causative mutations in candidate genes associated with phenotypes
  • Detection of foetal single gene mutations using only maternal blood samples
  • Structural variation calling and genotyping by moment-based deep convolutional neural networks
  • Leveraging machine learning to advance genome-wide association studies
  • Analysis of COVID-19 genetic risk susceptibility using UK Biobank SNP genotype data

Research pick: The problem of hospital wastewater - "Analysis of wastewater from medical institutions in India"

Research published in the World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development looks at the wastewater from medical institutions in India, they highlight the presence of difficult-to-detect undegraded pharmaceuticals as well as more obvious contaminants such as vomit, faeces, metal particles, hydrogen sulfide, disinfectants, urea, various pathogens, and many other problematic substances.

In several parts of the world, including India and Ukraine, wastewater from hospitals is discharged to urban wastewater treatment plants at huge volumes. Pharmaceutical contaminants are bioactive and can have a detrimental effect on life that comes into contact with these substances, aquatic and human life. This represents a problem of serious concern as basic water treatment may not remove many of the contaminants that are present at higher concentrations than in wastewater from domestic sources. The research focuses on those pharmaceuticals and compounds of particular concern.

The study was carried out by Aastha Dhingra, Nadeem A. Khan, and Sirajuddin Ahmed of the Department of Civil Engineering at Jamia Millia Islamia, Siddhartha Gautam of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, in New Delhi, India, and Sergij Vambol of the Kharkiv Petro Vasylenko National Technical University of Agriculture in Kharkiv, Viola Vambol of the National Scientific and Research Institute of Industrial Safety and Occupational Safety and Health, Kiev, and Svitlana Kovalenko of the National University of Civil Defence of Ukraine, Ukraine.

Hospitals generate several hundred litres of wastewater per patient every day, this represents a huge amount of usage. It is a matter of urgency that hospitals install and deploy water-reduction systems such as rainwater harvesting systems, grey water systems, and adapted shower heads and irrigation equipment that are as effective but have a reduced water flow rate. Hospitals must also consider self-auditing their water usage so that they might identify where savings might be made. All of this could add up to a reduced burden on wastewater treatment.

Dhingra, A., Khan, N.A., Ahmed, S., Gautam, S., Vambol, S., Vambol, V. and Kovalenko, S. (2022) ‘Analysis of wastewater from medical institutions in India’, World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 18, Nos. 3/4, pp.436–444.

14 July 2022

Research pick: Here comes the sun - "Performance analysis of concentrating solar cookers with a different geometry: comparative study"

A study of different solar cooker designs has alighted on the optimal form and structure, which can be constructed or bought in the developing world. The most efficient available design meshes well with mathematical models of these cookers. Details are provided in the International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology.

Solar cookers: SK-14 (left), Prince-15 (right)
Parabolic solar cookers: SK-14 (left), Prince-15 (right)

In the developing world is it common to burn locally available materials, such as wood, dung cake, and agricultural residues for cooking purposes. However, such materials lead to indoor air pollution that can have serious consequences for health, with lung disease and cardiovascular problems common in people regularly exposed to this pollution. The solar cooker, is a much cleaner alternative to indoor fires, albeit one that can only be used in daylight hours when the sun shines.

Rajendra Patil and Yogesh Kulkarni of the SNJB’s Late Sau KBJ College of Engineering in Chandwad, India, point out that tests on solar cookers in the past have been inconsistent in that they were often tested individually and under different conditions. They have now carried out a more systematic study that compares solar cookers with the same apertures under the same conditions but varies the geometry of the cooker to home in on the most efficient.

The researchers not only measured energy collection but assessed the actual cooking times of various food items to get a practical idea of the best type of solar cooker to recommend. The first modern solar cooker was invented and used as long ago as 1767 by Swiss researcher, Nicholas-de-Saussure, who was able to achieve a cooking temperature of 88 degrees Celsius with his cooker. Modern solar cookers which utilise a highly reflective surface with a geometry that focuses sunlight on to a support for a cooking vessel have been shown to achieve temperatures of well over 300 degrees Celsius.

The team found that two systems the Prince-15 and the SK-14 were both effective and efficient. However, under same conditions, the former excelled in terms of lower cooking times. The segmented Prince-15 also has the advantage of being easily disassembled and reassembled for transportation and storage.

Ultimately, solar cookers could replace the need to burn noxious materials but equally preclude the need for expensive fossil fuel supplies. Given that cooking energy accounts for up to half of the world’s energy consumption, the widespread adopt of solar cookers in the sunnier parts of the world could help reduce the environmental toll of this activity.

Patil, R. and Kulkarni, Y. (2022) ‘Performance analysis of concentrating solar cookers with a different geometry: comparative study’, Int. J. Renewable Energy Technology, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp.265–284.

13 July 2022

Special issue published: "Disruptive Innovation Business Competition and Global Markets"

International Journal of Trade and Global Markets 15(3) 2022

  • Impact and determinants of the foreign direct investment on the Libyan economy
  • Financial development and regional human development: does capital expenditure matter?
  • The flypaper effect as political budget to achieve economic growth in Eastern Indonesia
  • The mediating roles of work-life balance, affective commitment, and intrinsic motivation in achieving MSEs performance
  • The role of electronic word of mouth moderation in expectation-confirmation model: a study of Blackberry smartphone users in Solo Region, Central Java, Indonesia
  • Does environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance increase earnings informativeness? Evidence from ASEAN countries
  • The effect of sharia supervision effectiveness and financial performance on Islamic banking efficiency in Indonesia

Special issue published: "Critical Issues in Educational Technology"

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning 32(3) 2022

  • Detection method of students' classroom learning behaviour based on parallel classification algorithm
  • Research on the evaluation method for English teaching efficiency based on data mining
  • Research on the method of educational text classification based on deep learning
  • The development technology of MOOC teaching resources based on web crawler
  • Design and application of educational information management system based on SOA
  • The evaluation method of distance learning engagement based on the multi-level linear model
  • The method of interest text recommendation in English education based on data mining
  • Research on evaluation of MOOC distance learning effect based on a BP neural network

Research pick: Rolling privacy into collaborative tools - "A framework for enhancing privacy in online collaboration"

The rise in online working and collaboration wrought by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020 continues apace. In parallel we see a rise in security issues surrounding the enabling technologies. A team from India describe an innovative framework for boosting privacy in online collaborations in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics.

Aashish Bhardwaj of the Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology in New Delhi and Vikas Kumar of the Central University of Haryana highlight the privacy features of commonly used online collaboration tools. They also look at the major privacy breaches and technological glitches that have occurred and the implications for users. In the wake of this examination, they have developed a privacy framework built on six important supporting points.

The first is that tools should be designed with user privacy at their core. Secondly, any tool must comply with privacy laws. Thirdly, there must be strong access control. The tools must also have transparency. The fifth pillar of their framework is that users should be educated and made aware of the risks associated with the use of the technology. Finally, there should be in place, ethical contact tracing that allows follow-up following a breach that does not itself compromise user privacy. This user-centric approach means it can protect both the individual as well as the institutional user rather than it simply serving to protect the organizations hosting an online collaboration.

Online collaboration systems have served well in many ways during the pandemic and will continue to do so even as many people head back to the “offline” world. There are many privacy issues that have come to light with this new trust in online tools and these must be addressed urgently. The team suggests that careful software design built on their framework will allow developers to roll back privacy matters into the very core of the tools we use rather than relying on rules and enforcement after the fact.

Bhardwaj, A. and Kumar, V. (2022) ‘A framework for enhancing privacy in online collaboration’, Int. J. Electronic Security and Digital Forensics, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp.413–432.

Special section published: "The Use of Educational Software for 21st Century Teaching-Learning: A Practical Approach"

International Journal of Forensic Software Engineering 1(4) 2022

  • Effectiveness of online learning and the most preferred video conferencing software amid COVID-19: perception of Indian students using mixed methods
  • Fake news detection system using stance detection and machine learning approaches
Regular papers
  • CloudJS file encryption algorithm for cloud environment
  • The South African software industry lacking project critical success factors: a project team perspective
  • Portfolio construction and weight optimisation using principal component analysis
  • Prediction and diagnosis of diabetes using machine learning classifiers

12 July 2022

International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies is now an open access-only journal

We are pleased to announce that the International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies is now an Open Access-only journal. All accepted articles submitted from 14 July 2022 onwards will be Open Access, and will require an article processing charge of US $1500.

Special issue published: "Recent Trends of Adaptive Control and its Applications for Unmanned Systems"

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control 39(4) 2021

  • Controlling of lower-order dead system by implementing adaptive RST algorithm
  • Research on vibration compensation control of electromagnetic bearings rotor
  • Non-singular terminal sliding mode control of converter-fed DC motor system with mismatched disturbance compensation
  • Comparative analysis of simulator tools for unmanned aerial vehicle communication networks
  • Single dimension-based fuzzy sliding mode control design for the stabilisation of underactuated unmanned underwater vehicle
  • Manoeuvring control of an underactuated single rotor aircraft
  • Robust model reference adaptive control for five-link robotic exoskeleton
  • An AI-driven automotive smart black box for accident and theft prevention
  • Formation control of multiple UAVs using PID control approach
  • Path planning of hovercraft using an adaptive ant colony with an artificial potential field algorithm

Free open access article available: "An enhanced RSA algorithm using Gaussian interpolation formula"

The following paper, "An enhanced RSA algorithm using Gaussian interpolation formula" (International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology 16(4) 2022), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Research pick: Image encryption with DNA - "Using a DNA tape as a key for encrypt images"

There have been numerous ideas about how the properties of the genetic material DNA might be used to store other kinds of information, be used in components for self-replicating nanoscopic devices, and much more. Now, work in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics explains how a DNA tape might be used as a key for encrypted images.

Mohammed Abbas Fadhil Al-Husainy of Almaaqal University, Hamza Abbass Al-Sewadi of Iraq University College both in Basrah, Iraq, and Shadi R. Masadeh of Isra University in Amman, Jordan, suggest that there might be applications in medical, financial, military, and national security. They point out that the longer an encryption key, the more secure the encryption. DNA lends itself to ready conversion to computer binary and offers as long an encryption key as is desired. DNA has been used previously in information coding to solve infamous mathematical problems such as the archetypal travelling salesman problem. It has also been investigated widely for a potential role in cryptography.

The new work demonstrates how the binary data that represents a digital image can be mapped to a DNA sequence. Sections of the DNA sequence itself are then used to encrypt the digital representation of that sequence. The team suggests this is a highly efficient process and creates a huge “key space” that will thwart third-party decryption of the encoded image by exhaustive attacks and statistical attacks that might be used to break lesser encryption methods.

The team adds that for additional security the image data encrypted using the DNA technique might be encrypted again with more conventional techniques to create an even more secure, hybrid, file that would multiply the time needed to break it many times over.

Al-Husainy, M.A.F., Al-Sewadi, H.A. and Masadeh, S.R. (2022) ‘Using a DNA tape as a key for encrypt images’, Int. J. Electronic Security and Digital Forensics, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp.373–387.

11 July 2022

Free open access article available: "Organisational resources as facilitators and inhibitors of green performance: non-linearities, interactions and international differences"

The following paper, "Organisational resources as facilitators and inhibitors of green performance: non-linearities, interactions and international differences" (European Journal of International Management 18(1) 2022), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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


Special issue published: "Sustainable Business Practices for Marketers in Emerging Markets"

World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development 18(3/4) 2022

  • Does employee retention depend on spiritual work environment and organisational internal branding? – A study in the context of emerging market
  • The usage and economic effects of biomass energy
  • The impacts of wind energy generation on the economic growth: a dynamic panel data analysis
  • An impact of FPI inflows, Nifty returns, and S&P returns on India VIX volatility
  • Workplace spirituality in the Indian IT sector: development and validation of the scale
  • Bank segmentation at the bottom of the pyramid: a developing country perspective
  • Factors for contact lens denial: contact lens dispensers' perspective about wearers
  • Volatility study in some of the emerging stock markets: a GARCH approach
  • The rise of the era of technological amenities and their adoption in the hotel industry
  • Impact of marketing semiotics on branding towards the interest of customers in Indian retails: an exploration of factors
  • Exploring the relationship between seller selection and purchase intention: the mediating role of e-WOM and trust
Additional paper
  • Analysis of wastewater from medical institutions in India

Free open access article available: "Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global value chain and implications for the Belt and Road Initiative"

The following paper, "Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global value chain and implications for the Belt and Road Initiative" (International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 14(4) 2022), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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


Research pick: Social networking anxiety - "The excessive utilisation of social networking sites affects the symptom severity across patients with anxiety disorders"

A new study with 100 people with anxiety disorder and 100 controls has demonstrated that “excessive” use of social networking sites can worsen symptoms in patients with anxiety disorders. Writing in the International Journal of Mobile Communications, an international team recommends that those involved in mental healthcare, such as psychiatrists and psychologists should consider social networking use when evaluating patients and making treatment recommendations.

Fikret Poyraz Çökmüş of the Manisa Mental Health and Diseases Hospital in Manisa, Turkey, Orkun Aydın and Pınar Ünal-Aydın of the International University of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kuzeymen Balıkçı of the Near East University in Nicosia, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus point out that there have been many studies looking at the pros and cons of social networking sites.

Indeed, numerous studies have shown that excessive use of social networking and social media can have a detrimental impact on health, personal relationships, education, and overall quality of life. Of course, social networking use is only defined as excessive with respect to its negative impact on those parts of our lives and there are millions of people who use these tools positively in their personal, recreational, and business lives with no ill effects.

Nevertheless, whether positive or negative in their conclusions most of the studies undertaken have examined the impact on mental health with the general population. There is a dearth of studies that consider the psychiatric population where the negative impacts might be more profound. Anxiety disorder is well recognised and well studied. As such, it makes a useful entry point for remediating this situation regarding the scarcity of research in the psychiatric population. That said, the team’s conclusions suggest that the negative aspects of social networking use can affect both the general population and those with anxiety disorder. However, the detrimental impact of excessive social networking use should be high on the agenda when assessing and treating people with this particular mental health problem. Additional studies with a larger population sample size is now needed to corroborate the findings and to extend the scope of the research to other mental health problems.

Çökmüs, F.P., Aydin, O., Balikçi, K. and Ünal-Aydin, P. (2022) ‘The excessive utilisation of social networking sites affects the symptom severity across patients with anxiety disorders’, Int. J. Mobile Communications, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp.406–418.

8 July 2022

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:
  • Disclosure patterns of Sudanese listed companies
  • Cultural challenges for countries implementing International Financial Reporting Standards without contributing to their creation
  • Effect of corporate governance on income persistence and value relevance of quoted Nigerian firms
  • Corporate governance in banks: impact of board attributes on banks performance
  • Exploring the Egyptian accountants' awareness and understanding of XBRL

Special issue published: "Sustainability Multidisciplinary: Creativity, Innovation and Sustainability in the Age of Disruptions"

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development 16(3/4) 2022

  • Old answers to new questions: using past disaster narratives to make today's organisations more resilient to the challenges of the Anthropocene
  • The North-South divide in business leaders' moral sentiment: a problem for global sustainability?
  • Tiny houses as instruments for reducing poverty and promoting social integration in Germany
  • Examining the social side of sustainability in the debate on business model innovations in the textile, clothing and fashion industry: a typology based on the value chain perspective
  • The nature and extent of environmental sustainability advertising in magazines in a developing market
  • An integrated conceptual model to secure digitally enabled smart grid towards sustainable energy
  • Sustainability management in non-governmental organisations: development of a maturity model
  • The implementation of sustainability at universities: a study based on sustainable development goals
Additional papers
  • To elicit youth preferences for travel packages: a conjoint approach
  • Diffusion of corporate sustainability in the ski industry
  • Does the social and solidarity economy contribute to the reach and accomplishment of the sustainable development goals? A systematic literature review

Free open access article available: "Revealing the fraud at the end of the fiscal year at local government agencies in Indonesia"

The following paper, "Revealing the fraud at the end of the fiscal year at local government agencies in Indonesia" (International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management 9(4) 2022), is freely available for download as an open access article.

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

Research pick: Insta karma - "Suspicion of manipulation on Instagram: is the consumer being duped?"

Research published in the International Journal of Technology Marketing has looked at whether or not marketers using a popular photo- and video-based social media tool are egregiously manipulating consumers to nudge them towards making a purchase they might otherwise not. The conclusion the team draws from a survey of Instagram users is that those third-party brands generally fail to dupe skeptical consumers who recognise when they are being manipulated.

This conclusion suggests that brands hoping to benefit from the popularity of Instagram ought to re-evaluate their methods to reverse the trend towards unfavourable attitudes to their brands triggered by manipulative and cynical marketing methods. Honesty and authenticity, it seems, sell better in the age of social media than attempting to dupe consumers as may well have been the wont of conventional marketers and advertisers.

Souad Maghraoui, Lilia Khrouf, and Azza Frikha of the University of Manouba in Tunis, Tunisia, point out that social media and so-called Web 2.0 presented unprecedented opportunities for the commercial world. They allowed marketing executives to talk directly and almost instantaneously with customers and putative consumers of their products and services. However, for their part knowledgeable individuals using social media would quickly develop skepticism about outlandish promises and offers from companies and brands that failed to live up to expectations.

Moreover, social media allowed those individuals who felt duped to share their opinions directly and almost instantaneously. Such developments empowered consumers and demoted the marketing executives on the commercial world stage to lesser roles that had less of the persuasive power they once had in the conventional advertising world of traditional media. As such, knowledgeable marketers have begun to recognise this paradigm shift. Those that continue to exploit and dupe the consumer are quickly discovered and lambasted publicly, those that find new, less cynical methods to get their message across are finding the sales leads they hoped for. Credibility and authenticity shall reign supreme, as one might hope.

Maghraoui, S., Khrouf, L. and Frikha, A. (2022) ‘Suspicion of manipulation on Instagram: is the consumer being duped?’, Int. J. Technology Marketing, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp.204–219.

7 July 2022

Research pick: Educational work-life balance - "Does smartphone affect work-life balance, stress and satisfaction among teachers during online education?"

A study in the International Journal of Management in Education has looked at the work-life balance of educators forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to teach online rather than in real-world and associated smartphone use. The global pandemic led to many unprecedented issues in education. This was especially true where only poor technological infrastructure was in place, teachers were not trained or experienced in online teaching, and they also faced the complications of switching from the classroom environment to working from home where work and personal life had much greater potential to clash stressfully.

N. Akbar Jan and Asha Binu Raj at The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education in Hyderabad and A.K. Subramani of St. Peter’s College of Engineering and Technology in Chennai, Tamil Nadu questioned almost 500 teachers from private schools in India to examine the relationship between smartphone use, work-life balance, and stress levels. Their analysis of the respondents’ answers to the questions showed a positive correlation between smartphone use and personal life and job satisfaction. However, it also revealed a negative connection between stress and work-life balance.

The team concludes that the appropriate use of smartphones by educators could improve work-life balance and help them to meet the demands of family and job effectively, particularly during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of smartphones among school teachers has given them greater autonomy at work, made the completion of tasks more flexible, and given them greater control over their professional work as well as their personal lives, the team suggests. This all contributes to an improved work-life balance and greater job satisfaction.

Of course, as the pandemic has progressed, infrastructure and training have been prioritised in many places. One would hope that the experience of the past two years or more with online teaching and all its pros and cons will have taught the educators themselves invaluable lessons that could be carried forward in the new normal of the post-pandemic world and when the next crisis comes along.

Jan, N.A., Raj, A.B. and Subramani, A.K. (2022) ‘Does smartphone affect work-life balance, stress and satisfaction among teachers during online education?’, Int. J. Management in Education, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp.438–462.

Special issue published: "Structural Changes in Global Transport and Logistics Since the Inception of the Belt and Road Initiative" (includes free open access article)

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 14(4) 2022

  • Negative impact of Sino-US trade friction on shipping demand of the Pacific route and its mitigation by interoperability with the Belt and Road Initiative
  • Has the Belt and Road Initiative promoted railway logistics efficiency? - An application of three-stage DEA
  • Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global value chain and implications for the Belt and Road Initiative [OPEN ACCESS
  • Key factors that influence the performance of China Railway express operations: case studies of ten lines in China
  • Study on evaluation of transport routes between China and Myanmar in the context of Belt and Road Initiative by fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Learning Technology

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Learning Technology are now available here for free:
  • Improving a MOOC to foster information literacy by means of a conjecture map
  • Towards adoption of information and communication technology in higher education - a structural equation model approach
  • Exploring the affordances of computer-based assessment in measuring three-dimensional science learning

Special issue published: "Entrepreneurship’s Role in Wealth Creation in Emerging Markets: Business Excellence Models"

International Journal of Business and Globalisation 30(3/4) 2022

  • The impact of wage and motivation on the tappers' loyalty as determinant of pine resin production performance at Perum Perhutani
  • Empowering education transformation through IR 4.0: efforts in improving the quality of Arabic language education
  • Mediation and online mediation in family disputes in Malaysia: a comparative study
  • Management control systems as approach to improve the quality performance in Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority
  • Determinants of customers' buying decision in the digital market
  • Online mediation in resolving divorce matter: a literature review
  • Proactive risk assessment and management tools for manual handling in manufacturing paving blocks
  • The philosophy of sufficiency economy affecting the purchase of goods and services by the elderly in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
  • Factors affecting consumers' intention to purchase smart condominiums in the Bangkok metropolitan area
  • The dynamics of the USA and China relations in the cyberspace: struggle for power in a global virtual world in building a global cyber regime
  • Entrepreneurial behaviours of final year students at vocational colleges toward interest in entrepreneurship
  • The moderating role of internal control system on the impact of tax revenue on economic growth in Nigeria
  • A study on influence factors of patchouli oil industry development in Indonesia
  • Validation construct items for the measurement model of permit to work using exploratory factor analysis
  • A review of the empirical literature on the determinants of insurers' financial performance
  • Examining the antecedents of social entrepreneurship intention: an empirical evidence from Malaysia
  • Why organisational commitment matters: review from the perspective of leadership style, organisational politics and role stressor
  • A review on vocational education teaching and learning practices for ASD children
  • Fintech in Malaysia: a systematic literature review on published literature
  • Readiness in implementation of green neighbourhood initiatives in urban living: a study among Subang Jaya residents
  • Spiritual leadership in improving managers' performance
  • Performance evaluation of a rig tools supplier by using a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process method

6 July 2022

Special issue published: "Public Policies and The Development of Entrepreneurship"

International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management 9(4) 2022

  • Public policy changes in public funding of family doctors in Slovenia
  • Normative legal regulation of private detective services in Slovenia – research-based proposals for legislative changes
  • Business and human rights in state owned enterprises – the case of Slovenia
  • New digital public health tools: privacy by design in contact tracing mobile apps for COVID-19
  • Implementation of the entrepreneurial mentality to heritage revitalisation as a key enabler for public-private partnerships
  • Reform of European personal data protection legislative framework – main changes
Additional paper
  • Revealing the fraud at the end of the fiscal year at local government agencies in Indonesia

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics are now available here for free:
  • Anti-poverty policies analysis for rural households in Iran: a system dynamics approach
  • Systematic review of various feature extraction techniques for facial emotion recognition system
  • Statistical analysis of machine learning techniques for predicting powdery mildew disease in tomato plants
  • Investigating the problem of profit margin decrease in manufacturing companies through SD simulation

Special issue published: "Big Data and AI For Process Innovation in the Industry 4.0 Era"

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management 36(2/3/4) 2022

  • Research on wear characteristics of spraying material layer on hydraulic equipment of multi-axis CNC machine tool based on discrete element method
  • Optimisation of multi-channel to single channel control method for food packaging line based on PLC
  • Synchronous speed control for industrial production line based on BP neural network
  • Research on operation stability evaluation of industrial automation system based on improved deep learning
  • Optimisation design of reverse logistics network based on hybrid genetic algorithm
  • Optimisation method for NC machining parameters of mechanical mould based on artificial neural network
  • Intelligent colour matching method for industrial products based on firefly algorithm
  • A cooperative game model of supply chain logistics information based on collaborative immune quantum particle swarm optimisation
  • Budget performance evaluation model of manufacturing enterprises based on triangular fuzzy multi-attribute decision making
  • Target economic scheduling model of intelligent manufacturing products based on penalty function
  • Dynamic planning method of product multimodal logistics transportation path

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:
  • Application of variational mode decomposition in automated migraine disease diagnosis
  • Avoidable deaths in Britain's National Health Service - a systems-thinking informed analysis using data garnered from government agencies, representative bodies, private canvassing and public inquiries
  • Vitality and well-being in nurses
  • Implementation of lean practices to reduce healthcare associated infections
  • Quest for dexterous prospects in AI regulated arena: opportunities and challenges in healthcare
  • Advanced brain imaging based on game theory for an automated Alzheimer diagnosis

Research pick: Taxing animals - "Why governments should tax animal production: a system approach to internalise the externalities of agriculture"

A huge proportion of the world’s population is vegetarian, eating no meat for a range of reasons lack of availability and poverty, ethical and religious reasons, personal health and environmental health reasons. Among that number are many who are vegan, eating no animals products. However, the environmental impact of raising livestock remains incredibly high, natural ecosystems are removed to create grazing land and to grow crops to feed cattle, for instance. From rearing and farming to slaughter, butchery and processing, the meat industry has an enormous carbon hoofprint, as it were.

There is increasing awareness of the problems facing the world if we continue to eat meat at the rate many people do. There is a powerful movement to urge people to become demivegetarian or wholly vegetarian and a parallel movement promoting veganism. However, many people enjoy meat and while they may recognise the issues, many are unwilling to change their habits. A radical approach to tackling the issues from another direction is discussed in the International Journal of Sustainable Economy.

Stefan Mann of Swiss agricultural research establishment, Agroscope in Ettenhausen, puts forward the argument that animal production itself should be taxed. This would put pressure on those who rear livestock to switch to other sources of income or else face being priced out of the food market when vegetarian options become the more affordable option, and perhaps only option, for consumers. The approach would, Mann suggests, ultimately reduce animal density in agriculture globally.

Of course, there have been many efforts of the last few decades to avoid the huge surpluses of milk, grain, and beef that we saw in the “butter mountains” and other problems of the late 1970s and early 1980s where supply massively exceeded demand. The intellectual drive for Mann’s argument, which does not see a “right” or a “wrong” perception to meat consumption, comes from three sources and draws on and interprets arguments from the research literature.

The first “is to acknowledge that global food production depends on the amount of resources invested in agriculture and the efficiency with which these resources are converted into human calories, including proteins and micronutrients.” This he explains would nudge us towards political discrimination against animal production. His second driver is to reduce the calorie count of animal products being consumed to reduce our environmental footprint. Thirdly, considering moral arguments and inequities also pushes us towards a need to reduce the number of farm animals raised.

Animal husbandry has been part of human culture in many parts of the world for centuries. It will be a difficult transition to a more sustainable future for coming generations. However, Mann argues, it is a transition that must be made so that we find a more efficient, ethical, and environmental way to convert capital, resources, and labour into the food we need.

Mann, S. (2022) ‘Why governments should tax animal production: a system approach to internalise the externalities of agriculture’, Int. J. Sustainable Economy, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp.294–308.

5 July 2022

Special issue published: "The Energy System Beyond 2020 – Exergy Application in Assessment and Optimisation"

International Journal of Exergy 38(2) 2022

  • Characterisation of the effect of water content on the methanol spray combustion
  • Simultaneous thermodynamic and economic enhancement of heat pumps based on a new method for avoidable irreversibility assessment
  • Energy and exergy analyses of a cogeneration unit in an oil refinery: a case study
  • Improving the operation of heat exchanger networks through exergy analysis
  • Exergy and economic assessment of renewable electricity generation from sugarcane straw for improved efficiency of sugarcane biorefineries
  • Energy, exergy, economic, and environmental analyses and multi-objective optimisation of using turbo-expanders in natural gas pressure reduction stations

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics are now available here for free:
  • JIT: the best approach after lockdown in country
  • Preventing misuse of discount promotions in e-commerce websites: an application of rule-based systems
  • Social, economic and environmental factors and the relationship with the knowledge and skills of entrepreneurs (KSE) and companies internal factors (CIF). Findings in collective enterprises in crisis situations in a country
  • An order quantity scheme for ramp type demand and backlogging during stock out with discount strategy
  • A fuzzy economic order quantity model with credibility induced demand and shortages
  • A practical tool to measure digital competences: Teamschamp

Special issue published: "Contextualising Business Research on Malaysian Stage: Enhancing Rigour, Depth and Relevance"

Journal for Global Business Advancement 14(5) 2021

  • The effects of psychological factors on green behaviour engagement: a Malaysian perspective
  • Sustainable development status of zakat recipients: empirical investigation based on Malaysia's Kedah State
  • An empirical perspective of national leadership role in achieving world-class university status: the case of Malaysia
  • The impact of psychological characteristics and COVID-19 on entrepreneurial intention in Malaysia
  • Cause-related marketing purchase decision: do religiosity and attitudes matter?
  • The moderating influence of perceived usefulness in the adoption of technology by small and medium enterprises (SMEs): a comparative analysis between Malaysia and Nigeria

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management are now available here for free:
  • Reducing the uncertainty in engineering change management using historical data and simulation modelling: a process twin concept
  • Integration of MBSE and PLM: complexity and uncertainty
  • Managing the uncertainty in data-acquisition by in situ measurements: a review and evaluation of sensing machine element-approaches in the context of digital twins
  • An approach for mastering data-induced conflicts in the digital twin context
  • Quality information framework - quantifying and minimising uncertainty

Research pick: Contact tracing privacy - "New digital public health tools: privacy by design in contact tracing mobile apps for COVID-19"

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic led to misery for many millions of people and the tragedy of countless untimely deaths. In the midst of the pandemic, communications technology came to the fore as people were forced to work and learn from home, were isolated from friends, family, and colleagues, and often wholly restricted in their movements with respect to shopping, entertainment, and other activities. Tools that allowed us to access information and engage with other people became more popular than ever before and widespread at least in those parts of the world with the requisite infrastructure.

One particular type of tool was more about controlling the disease than allowing us to cope with the “new normal” and that was the contact-tracing application. Writing in the International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, a team from Slovenia discusses how these applications allowed the health authorities and governments to alert individuals to disease risk if they had been in contact with other people known to be infected with the SARS-CoV-2. The alert would then allow the at-risk individuals to test and isolate as appropriate.

There were various contact-tracing apps that used different approaches to determine how close and for how long a person had been near an infected individual and in what setting. They all had their pros and cons, as with every kind of software. There were also concerns regarding privacy and the sharing of data that were considered in more detail in the development of some of these applications and perhaps not others.

Boštjan Koritnik of the University of Ljubljana and Peter Merc Lemur Legal point out that many of the issues that arose did so because the adoption of technological advances in the public sector usually takes a lot longer than in the private sector because there are checks and balances to be considered in the assessment of new technologies. However, the sudden and acute demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, meant that the public sector, particularly with regard to healthcare and our coping with the pandemic, had to work that much faster than usual so that more timely interventions could be put in place.

The different approaches to contact privacy in contact tracing apps were meant to balance individual privacy with the requirements of public healthcare requirements. There were many legal and ethical considerations to be made, whether or not these were fully considered and addressed is a moot point. Ultimately, the team suggests that the design of such applications in the future or the development of current software should put privacy at the centre of the design process. Indeed, privacy by design, they assert, should be applied as a minimum standard for government-approved tracking apps. The future might be to exploit the distributed and immutable blockchain technology to ensure privacy and data security by design is embedded from the start in such apps.

Koritnik, B. and Merc, P. (2022) ‘New digital public health tools: privacy by design in contact tracing mobile apps for COVID-19’, Int. J. Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp.399–410.

4 July 2022

Special issue published: "Distributed Secure Computing for Smart Mobile IoT Networks"

International Journal of Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing 40(1/2/3) 2022

  • Privacy-preserving smart contracts for fuzzy WordNet-based document representation and clustering using regularised K-means method
  • A dynamic preserving-based WSN framework for medical disease prediction
  • A secure new HRF mechanism for mitigate EDoS attacks
  • Improving QOS in flow controlled CR-ad hoc network with multi criteria routing assisted with cooperative caching and information redundancy
  • Design and implementation of a mobility support adaptive trickle algorithm for RPL in vehicular IoT networks
  • Analytical review on secure communication protocols for 5G and IoT networks
  • F-CHILS maps - a novel encryption scheme for secured medical data transmission using FoG-ban environment
  • A feature ranking-based deep learning secure framework for multi-class leaf disease detection
  • A filter-based machine learning classification framework for cloud-based medical databases
  • Cuckoo search assisted fuzzy logic algorithm for smart WSN routing system
  • Forecasting the decision making process of Supreme Court using hierarchical convolutional neural network
  • An optimised machine learning algorithm for classification of epileptic seizures using EMD-based dynamic features of EEG
  • Secured personal health records using pattern-based verification and two-way polynomial protocol in cloud infrastructure
  • An energy and delay aware routing protocol for wireless sensor network assisted IoT to maximise network lifetime
  • Architecture and routing protocols for internet of vehicles: a review
  • Sliding window assisted mutual redundancy-based feature selection for intrusion detection system
  • An approach using heuristic pheromones-based ACO modelling for green vehicle routing optimisation
  • Secure exchange and effectual verification of educational academic records using hyperledger fabric block chain system
  • A novel bio-inspired approach for VM load balancing and efficient resource management in cloud
  • Efficiency evaluation of HRF mechanism on EDoS attacks in cloud computing services