- Effects of microbus front structure on pedestrian head injury
- Vibration buckling and fracture analysis of a cracked cylindrical shell
- Synchronisation methods in graph-based knowledge representation for large-scale design process
- Towards generative systems for supporting product design
20 November 2018
Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Design Engineering
The following sample articles from the International Journal of Design Engineering are now available here for free:
Special issue published: "Business Models, Trust and Influence in Social Media and Web-Based Communities"
International Journal of Web Based Communities 14(4) 2018
- Views versus subscriptions: which one matters to a YouTuber's monetisation success?
- Long live friendship? Relationships among friendship, trust and brand loyalty: a study of Starbucks
- Online social networking services and spam detection approaches in opinion mining - a review
- Significant effects of online news on vote choice: a review
- Maturity in decision-making: a method to measure e-participation systems in virtual communities
- Patients' learning in cyberspace: a thematic analysis of patient-patient discussions in a chronic illness Facebook page
Research pick: Popularity contest - "What makes you popular: beauty, personality or intelligence?"
Researchers in Italy and the USA have asked the provocative question: “What makes you popular: beauty, personality or intelligence?”. They present their answer in the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business.
Andrea Fronzetti Colladon, Elisa Battistoni, and Agostino La Bella of the Department of Enterprise Engineering, at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, and colleagues Francesca Grippa of Northeastern University, Boston, and Peter Gloor of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, explored the determinants of popularity within friendship and advice networks. They investigated the effects of personality traits (such as extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism), self-monitoring, creativity, intelligence, energy, and beauty influence the development of friendships among some 200 college students.
Their results are perhaps not unsurprising: “Our results indicate that physical attractiveness is a key to develop both friendship and task-related interactions,” the team reports. “Perceived intelligence and creativity play an important role in the advice network,” they say. They add that this supports a kernel of truth in the stereotype that attractiveness correlates with positive social traits and successful outcomes. Of course, the detailed findings also suggest that the relationships between all these factors is rather complicated and confounded in many instances.
Nevertheless, while on average, being liked seems to be as important as being considered intelligent and competent, the team found that the way people look plays a key role in determining the attribution of competence.
Fronzetti Colladon, A., Grippa, F., Battistoni, E., Gloor, P.A. and La Bella, A. (2018) ‘What makes you popular: beauty, personality or intelligence?‘, Int. J. Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp.162-186.
Andrea Fronzetti Colladon, Elisa Battistoni, and Agostino La Bella of the Department of Enterprise Engineering, at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, and colleagues Francesca Grippa of Northeastern University, Boston, and Peter Gloor of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, explored the determinants of popularity within friendship and advice networks. They investigated the effects of personality traits (such as extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism), self-monitoring, creativity, intelligence, energy, and beauty influence the development of friendships among some 200 college students.
Their results are perhaps not unsurprising: “Our results indicate that physical attractiveness is a key to develop both friendship and task-related interactions,” the team reports. “Perceived intelligence and creativity play an important role in the advice network,” they say. They add that this supports a kernel of truth in the stereotype that attractiveness correlates with positive social traits and successful outcomes. Of course, the detailed findings also suggest that the relationships between all these factors is rather complicated and confounded in many instances.
Nevertheless, while on average, being liked seems to be as important as being considered intelligent and competent, the team found that the way people look plays a key role in determining the attribution of competence.
Fronzetti Colladon, A., Grippa, F., Battistoni, E., Gloor, P.A. and La Bella, A. (2018) ‘What makes you popular: beauty, personality or intelligence?‘, Int. J. Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp.162-186.
19 November 2018
International Journal of Integrated Supply Management to invite expanded papers from IFAC Conference MIM 2019 on Manufacturing Modelling, Management and Control for potential publication
Extended versions of papers presented at the 9th IFAC Conference MIM 2019 on Manufacturing Modelling, Management and Control (28-30 August 2019, Berlin, Germany) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Integrated Supply Management.
16 November 2018
Special issue published: "Modelling and Verification: Model Checking and Fault Tolerance: Part I"
International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems 8(2) 2018
- Model-based specification and validation of the dual-mode adaptive MAC protocol
- Fault diagnosis of discrete-event systems based on the symbolic observation graph
- A formal model for the analysis and verification of a pre-emptive round-robin arbiter
- Formal verification of intermittent fault diagnosability of discrete-event systems using model-checking
- Using temporal logics for specifying weak memory consistency models
Special issue published: "Innovative Computational Intelligence for Knowledge Representation and Learning"
International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies 7(3/4) 2018
- Fast training of adaptive structural learning method of deep learning for multi modal data
- Time series classification using MACD-histogram-based recurrence plot
- A generative model approach for visualising convolutional neural networks
- Search performance analysis of qubit convergence measure for quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithm introducing on maximum cut problem
- Mining non-redundant recurrent rules from a sequence database
- Acquisition of characteristic sets of block preserving outerplanar graph patterns by a two-stage evolutionary learning method for graph pattern sets
- Characteristics of contrastive Hebbian learning with pseudorehearsal for multilayer neural networks on reduction of catastrophic forgetting
Research pick: How to dance to a synthetic band - "Development of a low-cost robotic pan flute"
Music plays an important role in most people’s lives regardless of the genre and in a wide variety of contexts from celebrations and parties to simply providing background while a task is being performed. Until very recently, music was only heard when musicians played it live, the ability to record music displaced that live performance to some degree, and then the invention of electronic musical instruments and digitisation changed our appreciation of music yet again.
Electronic music is incredibly popular and yet the subtle and not-so-subtle difference between musical sounds generated electronically and those played by a musician on a physical instrument are a barrier to appreciation for some listeners. Now, a team from Fiji and New Zealand, Praneel Chand of Unitec Institute of Technology, in Auckland and Kishen Kumar and Kishan Kumar of the University of the South Pacific, in Suva, are investigating the possibility of using robotics to allow non-expert musicians to play a musical instrument well. The idea would allow analogue music to be created on the instrument with the computer providing some of the requisite timing and tonal skills that might well be beyond the performer.
The team has demonstrated proof of principle with a robotic pan pipe. The low-cost prototype can produce the desired musical notes and has the ability to override variations in air flow that a non-expert player might produce during a performance. The team adds that the same software and approach might also be used to control robotic components for other Pacific island instruments such as the percussive Fijian lali.
Chand, P., Kumar, K. and Kumar, K. (2018) ‘Development of a low-cost robotic pan flute’, Int. J. Intelligent Machines and Robotics, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp.153-170.
Electronic music is incredibly popular and yet the subtle and not-so-subtle difference between musical sounds generated electronically and those played by a musician on a physical instrument are a barrier to appreciation for some listeners. Now, a team from Fiji and New Zealand, Praneel Chand of Unitec Institute of Technology, in Auckland and Kishen Kumar and Kishan Kumar of the University of the South Pacific, in Suva, are investigating the possibility of using robotics to allow non-expert musicians to play a musical instrument well. The idea would allow analogue music to be created on the instrument with the computer providing some of the requisite timing and tonal skills that might well be beyond the performer.
The team has demonstrated proof of principle with a robotic pan pipe. The low-cost prototype can produce the desired musical notes and has the ability to override variations in air flow that a non-expert player might produce during a performance. The team adds that the same software and approach might also be used to control robotic components for other Pacific island instruments such as the percussive Fijian lali.
Chand, P., Kumar, K. and Kumar, K. (2018) ‘Development of a low-cost robotic pan flute’, Int. J. Intelligent Machines and Robotics, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp.153-170.
15 November 2018
Research pick: Small but knowledgeable - "The economic role of small knowledge intensive firms in European member states"
The Europe 2020 Strategy sees micro and small & medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as the backbone of the European Union’s drive towards a smart, sustainable, inclusive, and growing economy. Diogo Ferraz and Elisabeth Pereira of the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT), at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, address the question as to the role of small knowledge intensive firms in the EU in this context.
Writing in the International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, the team explain how they have investigated the relationship between a set of variables that characterises small knowledge-intensive firms and gross domestic product (GDP). They have also looked at the importance of business expenditure on research and development. The research involved analyzing econometrics across 24 EU member states for the period 2008 to 2012 using panel data and cluster analysis. The team found that those nations with high growth values in such companies also have the biggest growth in GDP R&D expenditure.
The team’s findings lend support to the strategic decisions of Europe 2020 Strategy, they explain, reinforcing the relevance of SMEs as a key driver for economic growth, innovation, employment, and social integration. The researchers add that, “The relevance assumed by the European Commission about SMEs and the strategy of a competitive European economy based on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth leads to the importance of small knowledge-intensive firm in the European context.”
Ferraz, D.E. and Pereira, E.T. (2018) ‘The economic role of small knowledge intensive firms in European member states‘, Int. J. Knowledge-Based Development, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp.221-243.
Writing in the International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, the team explain how they have investigated the relationship between a set of variables that characterises small knowledge-intensive firms and gross domestic product (GDP). They have also looked at the importance of business expenditure on research and development. The research involved analyzing econometrics across 24 EU member states for the period 2008 to 2012 using panel data and cluster analysis. The team found that those nations with high growth values in such companies also have the biggest growth in GDP R&D expenditure.
The team’s findings lend support to the strategic decisions of Europe 2020 Strategy, they explain, reinforcing the relevance of SMEs as a key driver for economic growth, innovation, employment, and social integration. The researchers add that, “The relevance assumed by the European Commission about SMEs and the strategy of a competitive European economy based on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth leads to the importance of small knowledge-intensive firm in the European context.”
Ferraz, D.E. and Pereira, E.T. (2018) ‘The economic role of small knowledge intensive firms in European member states‘, Int. J. Knowledge-Based Development, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp.221-243.
14 November 2018
International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Soft Computing to invite expanded papers from International Conference on Emerging Trends in Mathematical Sciences and Technology for potential publication
Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Mathematical Sciences and Technology 2018 (20-21 December 2018, Jayaraj Annapackiam College for Women (Autonomous), Tamil Nadu, India) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Soft Computing.
Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Multimedia Intelligence and Security
The following sample articles from the International Journal of Multimedia Intelligence and Security are now available here for free:
- Vocabulary hierarchy optimisation based on spatial context and category information
- Efficient password-authenticated key agreement protocol for smart cards based on ECC
- A semi-fragile lossless digital watermarking based on adaptive threshold for image authentication
- Camera detection through internet of video sensors
- Performance analysis of secured video transmission over 3G networks based on H.264/AVC
- Line covering method and its applications in steganography and steganalysis
New Editor for International Journal of Modelling in Operations Management
Dr. Weihua Liu from Tianjin University in China has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Modelling in Operations Management.
Research pick: Keep your friends close - "Friendship acceptance on Facebook: men prefer cold calls from attractive women while women favour unattractive friends"
Online social networks, such as the well-known Facebook, allow users to form connections with each other quickly and easily. A user might invite another to become their “friend”, “like” a page they have created on the system, or join a group that forms a community within the overarching community. Of course, it is implicit that one should only “friend” people one knows. But, there are millions if not billions of connections where a user may not be even a passing acquaintance in the offline world and yet well connected to another person in the online.
Researchers in Switzerland, David Weibel and Bartholomäus Wissmath of the Department of Psychology, at the University of Bern, have investigated what inspires a person to accept a friendship request from another on Facebook. It seems that there is something of a stereotypical response: “men prefer cold calls from attractive women while women favour unattractive friends”, the team has found. The research builds on earlier work from Wang in 2010 that used fictitious user profiles to study what kinds of response to friendship requests might be seen in an online social network.
In the new work, the team sent out actual friendship requests to 800 Facebook users from male or female profile owners who were considered either attractive or unattractive. The study corroborated Wang’s 2010 finding and showed that approximately one in ten users responded to the cold calls, the unsolicited friendship requests from previously unknown users. They also demonstrated, as had Wang, the way in which men responded. However, they found that female users accepted invitations from unattractive profile owners rather than from attractive profile owners, regardless of the profile owners’ gender.
“Unlike our offline appearance, the shape of our online appearance is much more malleable and can be rapidly adapted in more subtle ways. Moreover, we believe that this study also raises in offline friendships,” the team adds.
Weibel, D. and Wissmath, B. (2018) ‘Friendship acceptance on Facebook: men prefer cold calls from attractive women while women favour unattractive friends‘, Int. J. Web Based Communities, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp.249-256.
Researchers in Switzerland, David Weibel and Bartholomäus Wissmath of the Department of Psychology, at the University of Bern, have investigated what inspires a person to accept a friendship request from another on Facebook. It seems that there is something of a stereotypical response: “men prefer cold calls from attractive women while women favour unattractive friends”, the team has found. The research builds on earlier work from Wang in 2010 that used fictitious user profiles to study what kinds of response to friendship requests might be seen in an online social network.
In the new work, the team sent out actual friendship requests to 800 Facebook users from male or female profile owners who were considered either attractive or unattractive. The study corroborated Wang’s 2010 finding and showed that approximately one in ten users responded to the cold calls, the unsolicited friendship requests from previously unknown users. They also demonstrated, as had Wang, the way in which men responded. However, they found that female users accepted invitations from unattractive profile owners rather than from attractive profile owners, regardless of the profile owners’ gender.
“Unlike our offline appearance, the shape of our online appearance is much more malleable and can be rapidly adapted in more subtle ways. Moreover, we believe that this study also raises in offline friendships,” the team adds.
Weibel, D. and Wissmath, B. (2018) ‘Friendship acceptance on Facebook: men prefer cold calls from attractive women while women favour unattractive friends‘, Int. J. Web Based Communities, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp.249-256.
13 November 2018
Research pick: BYOD - "Bring your own device: a survey of threats and security management models"
Bring your own device (BYOD) is now common in the workplace. Rather than the employer providing specific gadgets, such as smartphones, tablet computers, and laptops workers are allowed and even encouraged to use their personal device in the work environment. From the employee perspective this can simplify the transition between working at home and in the office, for instance. However, it has also led to an always-available attitude that means one’s work-life balance is distorted by the fact that work colleagues and one’s boss can almost always connect to you even when you are not officially working. Moreover, they expect to be able to connect out of hours too.
There is a putative price to pay for employers who facilitate BYOD and all its benefits of lower costs for IT infrastructure and 24/7 access to their staff and that is the so-called cyber-security risk. By allowing any device into the building and on to the network, a workplace must accede that a device compromised by external malware or one setup maliciously by an unhappy employee, for instance, might wreak havoc on an unprotected system, interfere with day-to-day business and potentially disrupt an entire enterprise.
Fabricio Rivadeneira Zambrano of the Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabi, in Chone, Ecuador and Glen Rodriguez Rafael of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, in Lima, Peru, have looked at the differences between security in the BYOD environment as opposed to the employer-provided device approach. It has previously been shown that productivity is much greater in the BYOD environment, but the use of illicit file-sharing, social media, and other apps is commonplace too.
Their study shows that there are many technical solutions and policies that are implemented in the BYOD workplace and these are commonly addressed by the corporate IT department to protect servers from malware and to block inappropriate use of personal devices on the corporate network. However, one aspect that is rarely addressed is the human factor, malice or ignorance, for instance. This must be looked at more closely the issues faced to allow BYOD to thrive and to bring all of its benefits to the workplace without the problems.
Zambrano, F.R.R. and Rafael, G.D.R. (2018) ‘Bring your own device: a survey of threats and security management models’, Int. J. Electronic Business, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp.146–170.
There is a putative price to pay for employers who facilitate BYOD and all its benefits of lower costs for IT infrastructure and 24/7 access to their staff and that is the so-called cyber-security risk. By allowing any device into the building and on to the network, a workplace must accede that a device compromised by external malware or one setup maliciously by an unhappy employee, for instance, might wreak havoc on an unprotected system, interfere with day-to-day business and potentially disrupt an entire enterprise.
Fabricio Rivadeneira Zambrano of the Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabi, in Chone, Ecuador and Glen Rodriguez Rafael of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, in Lima, Peru, have looked at the differences between security in the BYOD environment as opposed to the employer-provided device approach. It has previously been shown that productivity is much greater in the BYOD environment, but the use of illicit file-sharing, social media, and other apps is commonplace too.
Their study shows that there are many technical solutions and policies that are implemented in the BYOD workplace and these are commonly addressed by the corporate IT department to protect servers from malware and to block inappropriate use of personal devices on the corporate network. However, one aspect that is rarely addressed is the human factor, malice or ignorance, for instance. This must be looked at more closely the issues faced to allow BYOD to thrive and to bring all of its benefits to the workplace without the problems.
Zambrano, F.R.R. and Rafael, G.D.R. (2018) ‘Bring your own device: a survey of threats and security management models’, Int. J. Electronic Business, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp.146–170.
12 November 2018
Special issue published: "Financial Education and Economic Inclusion in Emerging Markets"
International Journal of Education Economics and Development 9(4) 2018
- Financial literacy and business performances improvement of micro, small, medium-sized enterprises in East Java Province, Indonesia
- Financial literacy determinants among West Java athletes
- An empirical study on income equality, economic growth and financial inclusion in Indonesia: model development on SMEs financing
- Consumption and bank credit at the BRICS countries: a new light on the financial education process
- Building students' loyalty in private higher education institutions: activities for competitiveness
- Performance of shadow teachers in inclusive schools in Indonesia viewed from working understanding, appreciation of work and career guidance
9 November 2018
Research pick: Music streaming to music subscriber - "Converting music streaming free users to paid subscribers: social influence or hedonic performance"
The music business has changed dramatically in the last couple of decades since the massive expansion of the internet, the development of music file compression algorithms, and the concept of anonymous file-sharing services. The business has perhaps been slow to respond to the technological change having attempted, often through the law, to try and stem the tide of illicit file sharing with scant regard for the fact that those who use such systems to obtain digital goods, such as music, are now entrenched and rather reluctant to go back to the old model of paying for those goods.
However, the emergence of on-demand streaming services has taken some of those users who felt some degree of guilt and given them an offering that, while not as lucrative as the original models of physical sales, offers an alternative revenue stream that is absent with what might be thought of as that conventional non-demand streaming service, the radio. Of course, users are keen to get as much from a streaming service as they can for free. The job of the services’ marketing departments is to convert those free streamers into subscribers.
US researchers have surveyed hundreds of music streaming users and found that social influence primarily affects a consumer’s attitude towards music streaming. This, in turn, drives their purchase intention, or otherwise. In contrast, the user’s simple hedonic performance expectancy seems to push those who already subscribe to maintain their subscription. Fundamentally, the music industry must begin to understand what is driving different types of user and to respond to their needs in a way that they never have before if they are to survive and thrive.
Chen, C.C., Leon, S. and Nakayama, M. (2018) ‘Converting music streaming free users to paid subscribers: social influence or hedonic performance‘, Int. J. Electronic Business, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp.128-145.
However, the emergence of on-demand streaming services has taken some of those users who felt some degree of guilt and given them an offering that, while not as lucrative as the original models of physical sales, offers an alternative revenue stream that is absent with what might be thought of as that conventional non-demand streaming service, the radio. Of course, users are keen to get as much from a streaming service as they can for free. The job of the services’ marketing departments is to convert those free streamers into subscribers.
US researchers have surveyed hundreds of music streaming users and found that social influence primarily affects a consumer’s attitude towards music streaming. This, in turn, drives their purchase intention, or otherwise. In contrast, the user’s simple hedonic performance expectancy seems to push those who already subscribe to maintain their subscription. Fundamentally, the music industry must begin to understand what is driving different types of user and to respond to their needs in a way that they never have before if they are to survive and thrive.
Chen, C.C., Leon, S. and Nakayama, M. (2018) ‘Converting music streaming free users to paid subscribers: social influence or hedonic performance‘, Int. J. Electronic Business, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp.128-145.
8 November 2018
Special issue published: "Learning Technology for Life-Long Learning"
International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning 28(2) 2018
- Synchronous virtual tools to develop and evaluate cooperative learning in an online learning community
- An innovative fuzzy-based multicriteria decision making method for evaluating the performance of electronic exam systems
- Vocational students' professional ability: quantitative reconstruction and evaluation
- Webometrics ranking: a less commercialised (and more objective) measure of ranking for institutions of higher learning
- Research and development of website application of material mechanics based on flipped course
- A review on student-centred higher education in civil engineering: evaluation of student perceptions
- Using digital storytelling to extend the flipped classroom approach
New Editor for International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets
Associate Prof. Yam B. Limbu from Montclair State University in the USA has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets.
Research pick: Better chocolate with mobile technology - "Mobile technology for smart agriculture: deployment case for cocoa production"
Smart farming uses technology to access real-time information on crop yields and soil-mapping, fertiliser application, weather data, and intelligent assessment and so improve agricultural efficiency and crop yields. However, for some economies, there remains a huge gap between farmer and app, as it were. For those valuable commodity products such as cocoa and coffee beans, the mobile technology revolution is yet to reach the farm in anything but the most superficial way.
Researchers in Canada, writing in the International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Management and Informatics, highlight how that gap might be narrowed specifically for cocoa bean growers in Ghana. Ultimately, their research could help farmers find ways to use smartphones to access agronomic information on cocoa management, carry out self-assessment exercises on cocoa pod infestation, as well as perform stock analyses of their produce. They also suggest that technology could open up a crowd-sourcing forum for farmers to discuss issues and problems.
The team has already shown the farmers would be receptive to such technology having obtained positive feedback in most cases from 32 cocoa producers with regard to the concept of a forum and all of them were keen to use an app that could help them improve cocoa production. The team hopes that the success of their research will push stakeholders and policymakers to improve smart agriculture in Ghana where the government is yet to invest in technology in the way that has happened in advanced nations.
Lomotey, R.K., Mammay, A. and Orji, R. (2018) ‘Mobile technology for smart agriculture: deployment case for cocoa production‘, Int. J. Sustainable Agricultural Management and Informatics, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp.83-97
Researchers in Canada, writing in the International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Management and Informatics, highlight how that gap might be narrowed specifically for cocoa bean growers in Ghana. Ultimately, their research could help farmers find ways to use smartphones to access agronomic information on cocoa management, carry out self-assessment exercises on cocoa pod infestation, as well as perform stock analyses of their produce. They also suggest that technology could open up a crowd-sourcing forum for farmers to discuss issues and problems.
The team has already shown the farmers would be receptive to such technology having obtained positive feedback in most cases from 32 cocoa producers with regard to the concept of a forum and all of them were keen to use an app that could help them improve cocoa production. The team hopes that the success of their research will push stakeholders and policymakers to improve smart agriculture in Ghana where the government is yet to invest in technology in the way that has happened in advanced nations.
Lomotey, R.K., Mammay, A. and Orji, R. (2018) ‘Mobile technology for smart agriculture: deployment case for cocoa production‘, Int. J. Sustainable Agricultural Management and Informatics, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp.83-97
7 November 2018
Inderscience journals to invite expanded papers from International Conference of Critical Accounting 2019 for potential publication
Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference of Critical Accounting (25-26 April 2019, New York) will be invited for review and potential publication by the following journals:
International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management to invite expanded papers from International Conference on Business, Big-Data, and Decision Sciences 2019 for potential publication
Extended versions of papers presented at the International Conference on Business, Big-Data, and Decision Sciences 2019 (22-24 August 2019, Tokyo, Japan) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management.
New Editor for International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics
Dr. Daniel Palacios from Universitat Politècnica de València in Spain has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics.
Research pick: Researching research - "A new social network analysis-based approach to extracting knowledge patterns about research activities and hubs in a set of countries"
Researchers in Italy have devised a new social network analysis-based approach to studying research scenarios. The multidimensional picture they can obtain of research in a set of countries using this technique can reveal interest and might even be able to detect hubs operating within those countries. Paolo Lo Giudice and Domenico Ursino of the University ‘Mediterranea’ of Reggio Calabria, Paolo Russo of Negg International, in Rome, explain that such improved understanding might lead to new insights into how socio-economic factors influence research.
The team has investigated the North African countries of Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia in the anticipation of providing new knowledge to policymakers who might then be able to sustain the accumulation of scientific and technological capabilities in the region in a way that has not been possible previously.
The data available for scientometrics and bibliometrics investigations of scientific and technological research continues to grow apace. There is therefore an urgent need, if use is to be made of this “big data”, to develop the necessary tools examine and interpret this data and to plot out meaning and extract knowledge from it. The team’s success with their social network analysis (SNA) approach now points them towards developing the approach still further to extract knowledge patterns about patent inventors and how they cooperate, to verify the presence of ‘power inventors’ in a given country, and to verify the existence of a backbone and of possible cliques among them.
Giudice, P.L., Russo, P. and Ursino, D. (2018) ‘A new social network analysis-based approach to extracting knowledge patterns about research activities and hubs in a set of countries‘, Int. J. Business Innovation and Research, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp.147-186.
The team has investigated the North African countries of Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia in the anticipation of providing new knowledge to policymakers who might then be able to sustain the accumulation of scientific and technological capabilities in the region in a way that has not been possible previously.
The data available for scientometrics and bibliometrics investigations of scientific and technological research continues to grow apace. There is therefore an urgent need, if use is to be made of this “big data”, to develop the necessary tools examine and interpret this data and to plot out meaning and extract knowledge from it. The team’s success with their social network analysis (SNA) approach now points them towards developing the approach still further to extract knowledge patterns about patent inventors and how they cooperate, to verify the presence of ‘power inventors’ in a given country, and to verify the existence of a backbone and of possible cliques among them.
Giudice, P.L., Russo, P. and Ursino, D. (2018) ‘A new social network analysis-based approach to extracting knowledge patterns about research activities and hubs in a set of countries‘, Int. J. Business Innovation and Research, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp.147-186.
6 November 2018
Special issue published: "Russian Regions in the Focus of Changes"
International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies 11(6) 2018
- The impact of spatial concentration on enterprise performance: is localisation level optimal in Russia?
- Explaining the performance of Russian export: what role does the soft and hard infrastructure play?
- Strengthening competitive forces in Russian mandatory health insurance
- Current status of higher education in the regions of Russia: a pilot study
- Empirical analysis of civil servants wage and maintenance setting: evidence from Perm region
Special issue published: "Intelligent Machine Learning Algorithms for High Performance Computing"
International Journal of Internet Technology and Secured Transactions 8(4) 2018
- Design and analysis of smart card-based authentication scheme for secure transactions
- Secure geospatial data storage using SpatialHadoop framework in cloud environment
- Secured data storage and auditing of data integrity over dynamic data in cloud
- Propels in compiler construction for versatile figuring
- Automatic segmentation of pathological region (tumour and oedema) in high grade glioma multi-sequence MR images through voted prediction from pixel level feature sets
- Improving performance an artificial bee colony optimisation on CloudSim
- Enhanced efficient SYN spoofing detection and mitigation scheme for DDoS attacks
- An efficient probabilistic authentication scheme for converging VANET
- Anti-continuous collisions user-based unpredictable iterative password salted hash encryption
- Intrusion detection model using feature extraction and LPBoost technique
- Threat analysis for an in-vehicle telematics control unit
New Editor for International Journal of Intellectual Property Management
Prof. Domingo Enrique Ribeiro-Soriano from Universitat de València in Spain has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Intellectual Property Management.
Research pick: Water, water not quite everywhere - "Water, migration and environment in a Mediterranean perspective"
Are environmental changes in the Mediterranean region influencing human mobility in the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region? That is the question that Bruno Venditto of the Institute of Studies on Mediterranean Societies, at the Italian National Council of Research, in Naples, Italy, sets out to answer in the International Journal of Migration and Residential Mobility.
He points out that for this region, mobility has been an important aspect of humanity for millennia. However, in today’s environment of climate change marginalizing those who live on the fringes of the habitable zones of the world, there are growing issues of broader security and geopolitical challenges to face too, including water scarcity. While other observers have warned of mass migrations that might arise because of climate change and the problems it brings in this region, their predictions often ignore the rich heritage of human mobility in this region as well as not necessarily taking into account the adaptability of the people of this and neighbouring regions.
“Human mobility is a prominent feature of the geographic area of the WANA countries, ‘pull’ factors (such as the presence of rich countries, the commonality of language and culture, etc.) and ‘push’ factors (represented by persistent poverty, political and social instability leading to conflicts, environmental calamities, just to mention a few) have made the movements between and within the states, a phenomenon typical of the region,” explains Venditto. He adds that migrants moving from Sub-Saharan Africa towards the Western European countries often stop in the nearer countries along the journey, creating what is now known as transit migration. This does lead to potential instability and conflicts in and among the countries affected.
Venditto concludes that ultimately, we must consider both environmental and climate effects with a broader perspective on how they might influence migration. This will require a multidisciplinary approach that can grasp the complexities and variables that drive or slow migration.
Venditto, B. (2018) ‘Water, migration and environment in a Mediterranean perspective‘, Int. J. Migration and Residential Mobility, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp.283-299.
He points out that for this region, mobility has been an important aspect of humanity for millennia. However, in today’s environment of climate change marginalizing those who live on the fringes of the habitable zones of the world, there are growing issues of broader security and geopolitical challenges to face too, including water scarcity. While other observers have warned of mass migrations that might arise because of climate change and the problems it brings in this region, their predictions often ignore the rich heritage of human mobility in this region as well as not necessarily taking into account the adaptability of the people of this and neighbouring regions.
“Human mobility is a prominent feature of the geographic area of the WANA countries, ‘pull’ factors (such as the presence of rich countries, the commonality of language and culture, etc.) and ‘push’ factors (represented by persistent poverty, political and social instability leading to conflicts, environmental calamities, just to mention a few) have made the movements between and within the states, a phenomenon typical of the region,” explains Venditto. He adds that migrants moving from Sub-Saharan Africa towards the Western European countries often stop in the nearer countries along the journey, creating what is now known as transit migration. This does lead to potential instability and conflicts in and among the countries affected.
Venditto concludes that ultimately, we must consider both environmental and climate effects with a broader perspective on how they might influence migration. This will require a multidisciplinary approach that can grasp the complexities and variables that drive or slow migration.
Venditto, B. (2018) ‘Water, migration and environment in a Mediterranean perspective‘, Int. J. Migration and Residential Mobility, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp.283-299.
2 November 2018
Research pick: Natural nanotech anticancer drug - "Preparation of liposomes containing benzophenanthridine alkaloid sanguinarine and evaluation of its cytotoxic activity"
Sanguinarine is a natural product, a chemical made by certain plants including the bloodroot plant (Sanguinaria canadensis), the Mexican prickly poppy (Argemone mexicana), Chelidonium majus, and Macleaya cordata. It is a slightly toxic polycyclic ammonium ion, an alkaloid, and has been demonstrated to have antitumour and antiviral properties. It also blocks the formation of blood vessels, it is antiangiogenic, and so has even greater potential as an anticancer agent.
Now, a team from Russia has investigated the potential of this compound to be delivered to diseased target sites in the body using nanoscopic carriers known as liposomes. The team suggests that the liposomes can more efficiently deliver the putative drug compound to cancer cells than it simply being delivered by conventional chemotherapy methods (as a drug solution given either by mouth or intravenously).
Their tests revealed that the liposome preparations gave a prolonged release of the drug rather than it being processed quickly by the liver and excreted by the kidneys as happens with conventional drugs. Indeed, the drug-bearing liposomes showed a dose-dependent response in terms of cytotoxicity in the laboratory against B16 cells (experimental mouse melanoma cells).
“Liposomal sanguinarine may have advantages for in vivo anticancer therapy, due to its lower toxicity and ‘passive targeting’ as a result of enhanced permeability of tumour vessels,” the team reports in the International Journal of Nanotechnology.
Feldman, N.B., Kuryakov, V.N., Sedyakina, N.E., Gromovykh, T.I. and Lutsenko, S.V. (2018) ‘Preparation of liposomes containing benzophenanthridine alkaloid sanguinarine and evaluation of its cytotoxic activity’, Int. J. Nanotechnol., Vol. 15, Nos. 4/5, pp.280-287.
Now, a team from Russia has investigated the potential of this compound to be delivered to diseased target sites in the body using nanoscopic carriers known as liposomes. The team suggests that the liposomes can more efficiently deliver the putative drug compound to cancer cells than it simply being delivered by conventional chemotherapy methods (as a drug solution given either by mouth or intravenously).
Their tests revealed that the liposome preparations gave a prolonged release of the drug rather than it being processed quickly by the liver and excreted by the kidneys as happens with conventional drugs. Indeed, the drug-bearing liposomes showed a dose-dependent response in terms of cytotoxicity in the laboratory against B16 cells (experimental mouse melanoma cells).
“Liposomal sanguinarine may have advantages for in vivo anticancer therapy, due to its lower toxicity and ‘passive targeting’ as a result of enhanced permeability of tumour vessels,” the team reports in the International Journal of Nanotechnology.
Feldman, N.B., Kuryakov, V.N., Sedyakina, N.E., Gromovykh, T.I. and Lutsenko, S.V. (2018) ‘Preparation of liposomes containing benzophenanthridine alkaloid sanguinarine and evaluation of its cytotoxic activity’, Int. J. Nanotechnol., Vol. 15, Nos. 4/5, pp.280-287.
1 November 2018
Special issue published: "Contemporary Management Issues and Decision Making Models in Systems Engineering"
International Journal of Management and Decision Making 17(4) 2018
- A novel scheduling framework: integrating genetic algorithms and discrete event simulation
- Food safety risk analysis from the producers' perspective: prioritisation of production process stages by HACCP and TOPSIS
- A multi-criteria decision making approach for prioritising product-service systems implementation in smart cities
- A decision-making application for project management through timed coloured Petri nets
- Product quality and energy consumption optimisation of dyeing fixing process by steaming through DOE analysis: a cotton case study
- Optimisation of supply chain networks under uncertainty: conditional value at risk approach
Special issue published: "Mechanical Engineering Science"
Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 12(1/2) 2018
- Parametric optimisation of friction welded 17-4 PH SS alloy using Taguchi techniques
- A machine learning approach for condition monitoring of wind turbine blade using autoregressive moving average (ARMA) features through vibration signals: a comparative study
- Predicting dispersion of radionuclides through parallel approach
- HAIWF-based fault detection and classification for industrial machine condition monitoring
- Review on effects of performance, emission and combustion characteristics of emulsified fuel in bifuel engine
- Role of non-consumable tool design on tensile properties of friction stir welded aluminium alloy joints
- Free vibration analysis of carbon nanotube reinforced composite Timoshenko beam
- Misfire detection in I.C. engine through ARMA features using machine learning approach
- Prediction of springback effect by the hybridisation of ANN with PSO in wipe bending process of sheet metal
- Computational analysis of three blade vertical axis wind turbine
- Taguchi analysis of tool wear and delamination in milling of GFRP composite using coated K10 end mill
- Experimenting with runtime and energy tradeoffs in high-performance computing
- Thermodynamic analysis of Kalina cycle configurations for utilisation of geothermal energy
- Characterisation of mechanical and tribological behaviour of hybrid fibre reinforced polymer composites
- Air compressor fault diagnosis through statistical feature extraction and random forest classifier
- Abrasion wear of cutting tool developed from recycled steel using palm kernel shell as carbon additive
Research pick: Guiding research into social innovation - "Social innovation: what do we know and do not know about it"
Anderson Sasaki Vasques Pacheco and Karin Vieira da Silva of the Centro Universitário de Brusque in Santa Catarina, Brazil, Maria João Santos of ISEG (the Lisbon School of Economics and Management), Portugal, have endeavoured to create a scientific framework for the most relevant research outputs on social innovation.* They looked at more than one thousand papers to outline the historical evolution of social innovation studies, the scientific fields that have done the most research on this theme as well as those works with the greatest influence over subsequent research. The result is a map of this field and how it has changed over the years.
The team points out that while there has been an increased interest in studying social innovation in recent years, the resulting heterogeneous research output is difficult to assess. Moreover, this diversity of research type and output has perhaps hindered the development of a coherent paradigm for the understanding of social innovation.
“Currently, any researcher wishing to embark on studying this theme would have to wade through a tide of articles with multiple definitions and various means of analysis of distinct and different aspects of social innovation,” the team laments.
With this in mind, their efforts could provide an integrated vision of the scientific field and so allow research to move forward much more effectively. They explain that the main contribution of their present work derives from the guidance it might provide to those hoping to carry out research in this field by identifying which articles and theoretical conceptualisations are the most relevant in their associated fields of knowledge.
Pacheco, A.S.V., Santos, M.J. and da Silva, K.V. (2018) ‘Social innovation: what do we know and do not know about it‘, Int. J. Innovation and Learning, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp.301-326.
*Social innovation is defined in Wikipedia as “new strategies, concepts, ideas, and organizations that aim to meet social needs resulting from working conditions, education, community development, and health.”
Its objectives are to extend and strengthen society using open source methods and techniques, innovations with a social purpose, such as activism, online volunteering, microcredit, distance learning, and more.
The team points out that while there has been an increased interest in studying social innovation in recent years, the resulting heterogeneous research output is difficult to assess. Moreover, this diversity of research type and output has perhaps hindered the development of a coherent paradigm for the understanding of social innovation.
“Currently, any researcher wishing to embark on studying this theme would have to wade through a tide of articles with multiple definitions and various means of analysis of distinct and different aspects of social innovation,” the team laments.
With this in mind, their efforts could provide an integrated vision of the scientific field and so allow research to move forward much more effectively. They explain that the main contribution of their present work derives from the guidance it might provide to those hoping to carry out research in this field by identifying which articles and theoretical conceptualisations are the most relevant in their associated fields of knowledge.
Pacheco, A.S.V., Santos, M.J. and da Silva, K.V. (2018) ‘Social innovation: what do we know and do not know about it‘, Int. J. Innovation and Learning, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp.301-326.
*Social innovation is defined in Wikipedia as “new strategies, concepts, ideas, and organizations that aim to meet social needs resulting from working conditions, education, community development, and health.”
Its objectives are to extend and strengthen society using open source methods and techniques, innovations with a social purpose, such as activism, online volunteering, microcredit, distance learning, and more.
31 October 2018
Special issue published: "Strategies for Global Competitiveness and Economic Growth"
International Journal of Business and Globalisation 21(4) 2018
- An evidence of Feldstein-Horioka puzzle in selected Asian economies
- Work-family conflict and intention to quit: the mediating role of emotional dissonance
- Perception of advisors' regarding behaviour of investors' while selecting wealth management services: an AHP approach
- Factors leading to adoption of video on demand service: an exploratory study
- Tourism led economic growth in India: an application of vector error correction model
- Assessment potential of community enterprises to enhance their sustainable competitive advantage in Thailand
- Understanding work values of Gen Y - a study on differences based on country of origin, gender and industry
- The asymmetric information risks; between the classical financing formulas and the Islamic financial industry
Special issue published: "Issues in Banking and International Finance"
International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance 11(5) 2018
- Central bank communication and transparency: the ECB and the European Parliament
- The magnitude of the macroeconomic impact of oil price: the case of BRICS
- Unconventional monetary policies and the credit market
- On the effect of Cournot and Stackelberg competition in the banking sector on the investment cycle
- Can countries lobby for foreign direct investment? Evidence from the US
Special issue published: "Novel Strategies for Programming Accelerators"
International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering 17(3) 2018
- Evaluating attainable memory bandwidth of parallel programming models via BabelStream
- Array streaming for array programming
- Applicability of the software cost model COCOMO II to HPC projects
- Porting the MPI-parallelised LES model PALM to multi-GPU systems and many integrated core processors - an experience report
- Task based Cholesky decomposition on Xeon Phi architectures using OpenMP
- Online multi-label learning with cost-sensitive budgeted SVM
- Populating parameters of web services by automatic composition using search precision and WSDL weight matrix
- Fast elliptic curve scalar multiplication for resisting against SPA
Research pick: Cloudy economic outlook - "Does adoption of cloud computing matter? The economic worth of cloud computing implementation"
There has been a considerable amount of hyperbole expounded around the topic of cloud computing. However, it is a paradigm that offers many benefits to those with limited computing resources or simply a need to shift the processing and data storage to external systems and reap the benefits of distributed, networked tools and memory.
Now, Aurelia Nicholas-Donald of Virginia State University Petersburg and Mo Adam Mahmood and Laura Lunstrum of Trevino University of Texas at El Paso, USA, have asked the provocative question: “Does adoption of cloud computing matter?”. Writing in the International Journal of Information Systems and Management, they reveal their findings regarding the economic worth of the implementation of cloud computing and how that might affect the market value of a company.
The team used a resource-based view and the efficient market hypothesis to analyse a sample of 136 companies on the US stock exchanges that use cloud computing. Intriguingly, the team found that announcements regarding cloud computing aspirations or executions are actually associated with a drop in market returns, although scientifically speaking these returns are not statically significant. However, the trading volume and the risk of these companies did show a significant increase and both were found to be statistically significant in the face of cloud computing announcements.
The researchers suggest that the stock market reaction is mixed. “The key features affiliated with cloud computing, such as lower startup costs, less training requirement, ease of governance, and ease of maintenance appears to impact the financial outlook of the firm,” they explain. However, “The significant increase in volume reflects that investors see the adoption of cloud computing as a means for enhancing the abilities of a business,” the team reports.
“We believe the present research shows that cloud computing adoption does provide financial benefits to the adopting firms,” the team concludes.
Nicholas-Donald, A., Mahmood, M.A. and Trevino, L.L. (2018) ‘Does adoption of cloud computing matter? The economic worth of cloud computing implementation‘, Int. J. Information Systems and Management, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp.328-342.
Now, Aurelia Nicholas-Donald of Virginia State University Petersburg and Mo Adam Mahmood and Laura Lunstrum of Trevino University of Texas at El Paso, USA, have asked the provocative question: “Does adoption of cloud computing matter?”. Writing in the International Journal of Information Systems and Management, they reveal their findings regarding the economic worth of the implementation of cloud computing and how that might affect the market value of a company.
The team used a resource-based view and the efficient market hypothesis to analyse a sample of 136 companies on the US stock exchanges that use cloud computing. Intriguingly, the team found that announcements regarding cloud computing aspirations or executions are actually associated with a drop in market returns, although scientifically speaking these returns are not statically significant. However, the trading volume and the risk of these companies did show a significant increase and both were found to be statistically significant in the face of cloud computing announcements.
The researchers suggest that the stock market reaction is mixed. “The key features affiliated with cloud computing, such as lower startup costs, less training requirement, ease of governance, and ease of maintenance appears to impact the financial outlook of the firm,” they explain. However, “The significant increase in volume reflects that investors see the adoption of cloud computing as a means for enhancing the abilities of a business,” the team reports.
“We believe the present research shows that cloud computing adoption does provide financial benefits to the adopting firms,” the team concludes.
Nicholas-Donald, A., Mahmood, M.A. and Trevino, L.L. (2018) ‘Does adoption of cloud computing matter? The economic worth of cloud computing implementation‘, Int. J. Information Systems and Management, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp.328-342.
30 October 2018
Special issue published: "Machine Learning and Development of Complex Systems"
International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling 13(6) 2018
- Morphology-based visible-infrared image fusion framework for smart city
- Three-dimensional pedestrian dead reckoning method based on gait recognition
- Travel pattern modelling and future travel behaviour prediction based on GMM and GPR
- DEVSServer: ambient intelligence and DEVS modelling-based simulation server for epidemic modelling
- Finite-time synchronisation of memristive hyperchaotic circuit based on Lorenz system with transmission delay
- An interactive, interoperable and ubiquitous mixed reality application for a smart learning experience
- Agent-based modelling and simulation of task execution and coordination in distributed organisations: the psychosocial dynamic interaction perspective
Free sample articles newly available from Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal
The following sample articles from Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal are now available here for free:
- Climatology in Mauritius 1983-2005: potential solar radiation modulation by Quasi-Biennial oscillation and El Niño-Southern oscillation
- The diversity-logistics hypothesis: how animals and manufacturers stand to reduce inbound logistics and inventory costs through diversity
- Emerging approaches for industrial sustainability and feasible applications in India
- A computer algebra system approach in gene expression analysis
- A Green information technology governance framework for eco-environmental risk mitigation
- On the comparative financial and risk analysis of urban development projects: the case of Athens' Hellinikon airport
- Exploring perceptions on the importance of corporate social responsibility in industrial areas
Special issue published: "Schumpeterian Perspectives on Entrepreneurship"
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business 35(3) 2018
- Approaching indirectly to complementors and taking neutral position in platform: exploratory research on the progression from a start-up to a platform leader
- A comparison of the performance of majority female-owned and majority male-owned small and medium-sized enterprises
- Female top management in family firms and non-family firms: evidence from total population data
- Research on Korean female entrepreneurs for the last two decades: past trends and future opportunities
- Experiences using a science-based Lean LaunchPad program and its impact on national innovation system evolution
- Human capital in the entrepreneurship ecosystem
- The limited innovation of small businesses in the solar photovoltaic sector in the USA: is small business innovation research program such a boon for US small businesses?
- Profitable growth through international high-technology product and market development
- Drones, dangerous animals and peeping Toms: impact of imposed vs. organic regulation on entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth
- Innovation, networks and the paradigm of biofuels
Research pick: Objective schizophrenia diagnosis - "Optimising brain map for the diagnosis of schizophrenia"
The diagnosis of the mental disorder schizophrenia is a highly subjective and qualitative process. If a patient presents with particular characteristic symptoms such as false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, hearing internal voices, poor social engagement and emotional expression, and a lack of motivation, then a diagnosis might be made. Usually, a psychiatrist will, after several sessions of assessment and interviews with the patient and those who know them, conclude that the patient has the condition. Despite the confused public perception of this mental disorder, schizophrenia is not “split personality” nor dissociative identity disorder.
Now, Reza Boostani of Shiraz University and Malihe Sabeti of the Islamic Azad University, in Shiraz, Iran, have developed an approach that could lead to an objective diagnosis of schizophrenia. The approach aims to preclude the misdiagnosis of other psychotic disorders such as schizoaffective or delusional disorder, which have similar clinical manifestations.
The team has developed a quantitative diagnosis tool in the form of a novel brain map based on electroencephalogram (EEG). The proposal is that this brain map will reveal the schizophrenic-dependent changes which are spatially distributed over the brain of patients with this specific condition rather than others with which it is often confused. The team used a genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization (PSO), and ant colony optimization to analyse the EEGs and to create the brain map that allowed for an objective diagnosis with more than 80 percent accuracy under experimental conditions.
Of three approaches, PSO was the most effective, the team reports. Indeed, this technique revealed all the differences which are revealed by sophisticated brain scans, such as positron emission tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and computerized tomography (CT). The next step will be to test the approach on a larger sample of patients and to examine the effects of medication on their EEGs and how this might confound the analysis.
Boostani, R. and Sabeti, M. (2018) ‘Optimising brain map for the diagnosis of schizophrenia‘, Int. J. Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp.105-119.
Now, Reza Boostani of Shiraz University and Malihe Sabeti of the Islamic Azad University, in Shiraz, Iran, have developed an approach that could lead to an objective diagnosis of schizophrenia. The approach aims to preclude the misdiagnosis of other psychotic disorders such as schizoaffective or delusional disorder, which have similar clinical manifestations.
The team has developed a quantitative diagnosis tool in the form of a novel brain map based on electroencephalogram (EEG). The proposal is that this brain map will reveal the schizophrenic-dependent changes which are spatially distributed over the brain of patients with this specific condition rather than others with which it is often confused. The team used a genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization (PSO), and ant colony optimization to analyse the EEGs and to create the brain map that allowed for an objective diagnosis with more than 80 percent accuracy under experimental conditions.
Of three approaches, PSO was the most effective, the team reports. Indeed, this technique revealed all the differences which are revealed by sophisticated brain scans, such as positron emission tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and computerized tomography (CT). The next step will be to test the approach on a larger sample of patients and to examine the effects of medication on their EEGs and how this might confound the analysis.
Boostani, R. and Sabeti, M. (2018) ‘Optimising brain map for the diagnosis of schizophrenia‘, Int. J. Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp.105-119.
26 October 2018
Research pick: Automated liver cancer detection - "Adaptive fuzzy clustering-based texture analysis for classifying liver cancer in abdominal CT images"
The examination of CT scans (computerised tomography scans), which are essentially a type of X-ray image can be used to provide clinicians with a detail view of our internal organs often of the diagnosis of various forms of cancer. The use of CT in liver cancer diagnostics is stymied to some degree by the variations of liver shape and structure between individuals and the similarity of tissues in adjoining organs in the CT image.
Now, Amita Das of the Institute of Technical Education and Research, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, in Odisha, and colleagues in the Department of Surgical Oncology there, the SCB Medical College and Hospital, and the Department of Electronics Engineering, at DY Patil Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, in Nerul, Navi Mumbai, India, have developed a new technique – adaptive fuzzy clustering-based texture analysis – for the segmentation of abdominal CT scans for classifying liver cancer. The approach is based on extracting texture, morphological, and statistical features from the scans and using them as the input for a neural network classifier to distinguish between malignant and benign tumours of the liver.
They have now tested their approach with a series of 45 images and looked at sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. The team was able to achieve an accuracy of almost 99% in detecting tumours, which they say is comparable with published results. The next step would be to feed and train the system with even more data and so improve the reliability of the technique still further and so allow an automated diagnostic approach that does not have the potential for human error to be developed.
Das, A., Das, P., Panda, S.S. and Sabut, S. (2018) ‘Adaptive fuzzy clustering-based texture analysis for classifying liver cancer in abdominal CT images’, Int. J. Computational Biology and Drug Design, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp.192–208.
Now, Amita Das of the Institute of Technical Education and Research, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, in Odisha, and colleagues in the Department of Surgical Oncology there, the SCB Medical College and Hospital, and the Department of Electronics Engineering, at DY Patil Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, in Nerul, Navi Mumbai, India, have developed a new technique – adaptive fuzzy clustering-based texture analysis – for the segmentation of abdominal CT scans for classifying liver cancer. The approach is based on extracting texture, morphological, and statistical features from the scans and using them as the input for a neural network classifier to distinguish between malignant and benign tumours of the liver.
They have now tested their approach with a series of 45 images and looked at sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. The team was able to achieve an accuracy of almost 99% in detecting tumours, which they say is comparable with published results. The next step would be to feed and train the system with even more data and so improve the reliability of the technique still further and so allow an automated diagnostic approach that does not have the potential for human error to be developed.
Das, A., Das, P., Panda, S.S. and Sabut, S. (2018) ‘Adaptive fuzzy clustering-based texture analysis for classifying liver cancer in abdominal CT images’, Int. J. Computational Biology and Drug Design, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp.192–208.
25 October 2018
Research pick: Enhanced oil recovery with nanoparticles - "Efficiency of nano-water/gas alternating injection technique to enhance oil recovery in an oil field"
A mixture of nanoparticles and water can be used in the nano-water alternating gas approach (NWAG) to enhance oil recovery from an oil field. Now, the wettability of rock, relative permeability curves, and the interfacial tension has been analysed by a team from Oman with a view to improving the process.
Manal Al-Matroushi, Peyman Pourafshary, and Yahya Al-Wahaibi of the Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Department at Sultan Qaboos University and Nader Mosavat of the Oil and Gas Research Centre there explain that the gradual depletion of oil reserves has led to worldwide attention on how we might improve current enhanced oil recovery techniques. Changing the wettability of carbonate rock, which is less permeable, fractured, and oil-wet, is one way forward. Indeed, steam, gas, or chemicals can be injected to alter the fluid-fluid and rock-fluid structures by modifying interfacial tension, wettability, the mobility ratio and permeability and so allow more oil to be recovered. In a more exacting approach, water and gas are injected alternately to improve efficiency.
The addition of water-repellant silica nanoparticles to the formulation leads to their forming a coating on the rock and this improves wettability. The team has now shown that using “nano-water” instead of water alone in the wetting cycle of the process enhances oil recovery. Indeed, they found that in a six-month-long cycle with five months of nano-water and one-month carbon dioxide gas injection that oil recovery rose by 13% compared to conventional alternative water and gas enhancement.
Al-Matroushi, M., Pourafshary, P., Al-Wahaibi, Y. and Mosavat, N. (2018) ‘Efficiency of nano-water/gas alternating injection technique to enhance oil recovery in an oil field’, Int. J. Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp.149–162.
Manal Al-Matroushi, Peyman Pourafshary, and Yahya Al-Wahaibi of the Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Department at Sultan Qaboos University and Nader Mosavat of the Oil and Gas Research Centre there explain that the gradual depletion of oil reserves has led to worldwide attention on how we might improve current enhanced oil recovery techniques. Changing the wettability of carbonate rock, which is less permeable, fractured, and oil-wet, is one way forward. Indeed, steam, gas, or chemicals can be injected to alter the fluid-fluid and rock-fluid structures by modifying interfacial tension, wettability, the mobility ratio and permeability and so allow more oil to be recovered. In a more exacting approach, water and gas are injected alternately to improve efficiency.
The addition of water-repellant silica nanoparticles to the formulation leads to their forming a coating on the rock and this improves wettability. The team has now shown that using “nano-water” instead of water alone in the wetting cycle of the process enhances oil recovery. Indeed, they found that in a six-month-long cycle with five months of nano-water and one-month carbon dioxide gas injection that oil recovery rose by 13% compared to conventional alternative water and gas enhancement.
Al-Matroushi, M., Pourafshary, P., Al-Wahaibi, Y. and Mosavat, N. (2018) ‘Efficiency of nano-water/gas alternating injection technique to enhance oil recovery in an oil field’, Int. J. Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp.149–162.
24 October 2018
Research pick: Entropy and the engines of search - "Entropy a new measure to gauge search engine optimisation"
Entropy, a term loosely referring to the disorder of a physical system and infamously associated with the Second Law of Thermodynamics, wherein we know that it ultimately increases in any closed system, might be used as to gauge something altogether different in the digital world – search engine optimisation.
S. Lakshmi of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, at RVS College of Engineering, in Dindigul, B. Sathiyabhama of the Department of Computer Science Engineering, at Sona College of Technology, in Salem, and K. Batri of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, at the PSNA College of Engineering and Technology, also in Dindigul, India, have attempted to analyse and measure the uncertainty associated with the relevant document selection in web-search engines.
Search engine entropy is thus important not only for the efficiency of search engines and those using them to find relevant information as well as to the success of the companies and other bodies running such systems but also to those who run websites hoping to be found and visited following a search. Search engine optimization (SEO) encompasses a multitude of strategies a website owner might employ in their efforts to ensure that their website reaches a higher position in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
The team explains how they are using entropy to add a metric to the number of index terms, and their frequency and how this influences the relevance calculation carried out by search engine algorithms. “The variation in term frequency either in processed web documents or in users’ query influences the relevance calculation,” the team explains. “This,” they suggest, “leads to an uncertainty associated with the document selection, and it is relevance calculation.” As such, a measure of entropy can be made by varying the documents’ term frequency or user’s query term frequency to reveal how SEO might be carried out. The team has successfully tested their entropic approach to SEO against two of the most well-known search engines Bing and Google.
Lakshmi, S., Sathiyabhama, B. and Batri, K. (2018) ‘Entropy a new measure to gauge search engine optimisation’, Int. J. Enterprise Network Management, Vol. 9, Nos. 3/4, pp.189–204
S. Lakshmi of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, at RVS College of Engineering, in Dindigul, B. Sathiyabhama of the Department of Computer Science Engineering, at Sona College of Technology, in Salem, and K. Batri of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, at the PSNA College of Engineering and Technology, also in Dindigul, India, have attempted to analyse and measure the uncertainty associated with the relevant document selection in web-search engines.
Search engine entropy is thus important not only for the efficiency of search engines and those using them to find relevant information as well as to the success of the companies and other bodies running such systems but also to those who run websites hoping to be found and visited following a search. Search engine optimization (SEO) encompasses a multitude of strategies a website owner might employ in their efforts to ensure that their website reaches a higher position in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
The team explains how they are using entropy to add a metric to the number of index terms, and their frequency and how this influences the relevance calculation carried out by search engine algorithms. “The variation in term frequency either in processed web documents or in users’ query influences the relevance calculation,” the team explains. “This,” they suggest, “leads to an uncertainty associated with the document selection, and it is relevance calculation.” As such, a measure of entropy can be made by varying the documents’ term frequency or user’s query term frequency to reveal how SEO might be carried out. The team has successfully tested their entropic approach to SEO against two of the most well-known search engines Bing and Google.
Lakshmi, S., Sathiyabhama, B. and Batri, K. (2018) ‘Entropy a new measure to gauge search engine optimisation’, Int. J. Enterprise Network Management, Vol. 9, Nos. 3/4, pp.189–204
23 October 2018
Research Pick: From bread to Turkish delight - "Hope and patience as coping mechanisms of food managers in the face of challenges: the Turkish case"
Riots in Istanbul’s Gezi Park in 2013 lasted two months and had a significant and ongoing impact on Turkey’s social, cultural and economic life. A study by Mehmet Ali Turkmenoglu of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Mus Alparslan University suggests that the multi-layered crisis seriously affected food sector businesses in the neighbourhood around the park. He has interviewed dozens of managers in this sector to find out how they coped with the problems and how they are addressing the long-term issues that arose from the riots.
His survey of managers reveals that there were two main psychological copying mechanisms that food sector managers used. The first was simply being hopeful about the future and the second being patient against the multiple challenges they were facing including those surrounding emotional, physical, interpersonal and financial problems that emerged.
“Many managers stated that they consider their shops as ekmek teknesi (their bread and butter),” Turkmenoglu explains. He adds that “managers endured challenges by keeping this notion in their minds.” Motivation was also found in the proverb “umut fakirin ekmeÄŸidir” – hope is the poor man’s bread.
Turkmenoglu, M.A. (2018) ‘Hope and patience as coping mechanisms of food managers in the face of challenges: the Turkish case’, Int. J. Work Organisation and Emotion, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp.209–223.
His survey of managers reveals that there were two main psychological copying mechanisms that food sector managers used. The first was simply being hopeful about the future and the second being patient against the multiple challenges they were facing including those surrounding emotional, physical, interpersonal and financial problems that emerged.
“Many managers stated that they consider their shops as ekmek teknesi (their bread and butter),” Turkmenoglu explains. He adds that “managers endured challenges by keeping this notion in their minds.” Motivation was also found in the proverb “umut fakirin ekmeÄŸidir” – hope is the poor man’s bread.
Turkmenoglu, M.A. (2018) ‘Hope and patience as coping mechanisms of food managers in the face of challenges: the Turkish case’, Int. J. Work Organisation and Emotion, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp.209–223.
19 October 2018
Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Modelling in Operations Management
The following sample articles from the International Journal of Modelling in Operations Management are now available here for free:
- Beliefs towards sales promotion technique: the perspective of Malaysia emerging market
- Total quality management barriers: Malaysia's SME perspective
- Performance analysis of inventory models, distribution and transportation networks in forward supply chain: a theoretical approach
- Smart cards in public transportation: spatial platforms, diffusion and externality creation
- Regression modelling analysis of the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction: a case of tourist agricultural farm
- Production planning optimisation and challenges in steel production: SSAB process review
- The contribution of knowledge management process capability on supply chain performance: a general review in Malaysia
Special issue published: "Measuring Efficiency in the Service Industries: Models, Methods and Applications"
International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics 6(2/3) 2018
- Franchisee's perspective on factors influencing relationship development and performance in the Indian wellness industry
- An odds-ratio approach for handling proportional and bounded values in data envelopment analysis
- Performance evaluation and benchmarking of Indian electricity distribution utilities using data envelopment analysis along with sensitivity analysis
- Longitudinal targets and persistent inefficiency in data envelopment analysis
- A comparative analysis of quantitative-based methods used for lean index assessment
- Maintenance and reinvestment policies: framework and principles
- Technology transfer in construction management: a case of partnership between Nigeria and China
Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Integrated Supply Management
The following sample articles from the International Journal of Integrated Supply Management are now available here for free:
- The strategic view of supply chain management and its association with risk
- Strategy alignment in purchasing and supply management: a systematic literature review and research framework on the performance impact
- Simulation-based single vs. dual sourcing analysis in the supply chain with consideration of capacity disruptions, big data and demand patterns
- Interactive adaptive particle swarm optimisation for optimal global supply chain design
Research pick: Addressing cyber security - "Malicious URL detection with feature extraction based on machine learning"
A new approach to detecting the addresses of potentially malicious websites that might compromise an individual or corporate computing environment is being developed by researchers in China. The approach avoids a simplistic analysis based on keywords in the address, the URL (uniform resource locator) and instead uses statistical analyses based on gradient learning and feature extraction to feed the machine learning of an algorithm that can quickly detect malicious website addresses.
Baojiang Cui, Shanshan He, and Peilin Shi of Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications worked with Xi Yao of QIHU 360 Software Co. Limited on the study and report details in the International Journal of High Performance Computing and Networking.
The approach has been validated against the naïve Bayes, decision tree, and support vector machine (SVM) and found to be efficient and to have an accuracy rate of 98.7%. Moreover, the team reports that their system is in practical use and analyzing approximately 2 terabytes of data every day automatically classifying URLs as benign or malicious and blocking access to the latter. The system does not defer to a blacklist of sites as have other security approaches nor does it rely on any single characteristic of the URL being tested.
The approach, the team says, represents “a comprehensive approach that utilises all the features of machine learning.” They hope to be able to improve the accuracy to close to 99.99% by better keyword analysis and the extraction of additional features. The same technique might also be used to identify other types of web attack that appear not only in URLs but also in user agent strings, cookies, and other features of internet traffic.
Cui, B., He, S., Yao, X. and Shi, P. (2018) ‘Malicious URL detection with feature extraction based on machine learning’, Int. J. High Performance Computing and Networking, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp.166–178.
Baojiang Cui, Shanshan He, and Peilin Shi of Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications worked with Xi Yao of QIHU 360 Software Co. Limited on the study and report details in the International Journal of High Performance Computing and Networking.
The approach has been validated against the naïve Bayes, decision tree, and support vector machine (SVM) and found to be efficient and to have an accuracy rate of 98.7%. Moreover, the team reports that their system is in practical use and analyzing approximately 2 terabytes of data every day automatically classifying URLs as benign or malicious and blocking access to the latter. The system does not defer to a blacklist of sites as have other security approaches nor does it rely on any single characteristic of the URL being tested.
The approach, the team says, represents “a comprehensive approach that utilises all the features of machine learning.” They hope to be able to improve the accuracy to close to 99.99% by better keyword analysis and the extraction of additional features. The same technique might also be used to identify other types of web attack that appear not only in URLs but also in user agent strings, cookies, and other features of internet traffic.
Cui, B., He, S., Yao, X. and Shi, P. (2018) ‘Malicious URL detection with feature extraction based on machine learning’, Int. J. High Performance Computing and Networking, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp.166–178.
18 October 2018
Special issue published: "Services and Computing in Edge Computing"
International Journal of Web and Grid Services 14(4) 2018
- Efficient request assignment algorithm in mobile cloud computing environment
- Blockchain challenges and opportunities: a survey
- Cross-lingual analysis of English and Chinese web search
- πSOD-M: building SOC applications in the presence of non-functional requirements
Research pick: Power from the people - "Community renewables in the UK – a clash of cultures?"
Emissions reduction and decarbonisation targets are two common phrases on the political agenda of governments around the world. Jelte Harnmeijer of the University of Edinburgh, David Toke of the University of Aberdeen, and Bill Slee of the James Hutton Institute, in Aberdeen discuss these concepts in the context of UK community renewables policy and uptake and the differences between Scotland, England and Wales.
They suggest that until very recently, most of the community renewable capacity (in terms of megawatts of electrical power) has been seen in Scotland rather than England and Wales. This, the team explains, is perhaps due to the more egalitarian approaches taken in organising community renewables in Scotland, whereas an individualistic approach has been adopted in England and Wales. The presence of “communitarian” local institutions in Scotland that are not seen in England and Wales might underpin this difference.
However, the team says, trends towards community renewables policy are moving towards a more hierarchical modality. They point out that governments are now stressing the advantages of partnering community renewable initiatives with commercial renewable energy schemes. Their study points to how “community energy might present a clear example of a domain that benefits from bespoke, fit-for-purpose, regional policymaking that furthermore leaves appropriate space for local institutional innovation.”
Harnmeijer, J., Toke, D. and Slee, B. (2018) ‘Community renewables in the UK – a clash of cultures?’, Int. J. Technology Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp.99–120.
They suggest that until very recently, most of the community renewable capacity (in terms of megawatts of electrical power) has been seen in Scotland rather than England and Wales. This, the team explains, is perhaps due to the more egalitarian approaches taken in organising community renewables in Scotland, whereas an individualistic approach has been adopted in England and Wales. The presence of “communitarian” local institutions in Scotland that are not seen in England and Wales might underpin this difference.
However, the team says, trends towards community renewables policy are moving towards a more hierarchical modality. They point out that governments are now stressing the advantages of partnering community renewable initiatives with commercial renewable energy schemes. Their study points to how “community energy might present a clear example of a domain that benefits from bespoke, fit-for-purpose, regional policymaking that furthermore leaves appropriate space for local institutional innovation.”
Harnmeijer, J., Toke, D. and Slee, B. (2018) ‘Community renewables in the UK – a clash of cultures?’, Int. J. Technology Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp.99–120.
17 October 2018
New Editor for International Journal of Granular Computing, Rough Sets and Intelligent Systems
Dr. Liang Zhou from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Granular Computing, Rough Sets and Intelligent Systems.
Research pick: Simulating nuclear safety - "Estimation of radioactivity released from CHASNUPP-1 nuclear power plant during loss of coolant accident"
Commercial operation of the CHASNUPP-1 996 megawatt intermediate type pressurised water reactor began in May 2000 in Pakistan. It is a conventional two-loop PWR and is run by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. Now, scientists Khurram Mehboob and Mohammad Aljohani of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia have carried out simulations of the activity of the unit using MATLAB to probe the risks associated with a putative coolant leak that might see radioactivity entering the environment. The team reports details of their study in the International Journal of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology.
The researchers point out that as energy demands growing around the world, there is a pressing need to meet this demand and nuclear power or sustainable sources can provide the alternatives that avoid the burning of fossil fuels. However, there are perennial concerns with the operation of nuclear power stations and the associated risks of radiation leaks that might be caused by human error, systems failure, accident, or even criminal activity.
Mehboob and Aljohani have used a kinetic model in MATLAB to simulate the anticipated amount of radioactivity that might be released from the CHASNUPP-1 nuclear power plant in the form of contaminated coolant following an accident leading to core damage. The model suggests that leakage would be similar to another reactor the South Korean KORI-1 reactor and that the containment would be sufficient to preclude anything but negligible leakage into the outside world. Given the potential global impact of a leak from a nuclear reactor anywhere in the world, it is important to model worst-case scenarios and to understand the implications for the local and wider environment.
Mehboob, K. and Aljohani, M.S. (2018) ‘Estimation of radioactivity released from CHASNUPP-1 nuclear power plant during loss of coolant accident’, Int. J. Nuclear Energy Science and Technology, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp.111–126
The researchers point out that as energy demands growing around the world, there is a pressing need to meet this demand and nuclear power or sustainable sources can provide the alternatives that avoid the burning of fossil fuels. However, there are perennial concerns with the operation of nuclear power stations and the associated risks of radiation leaks that might be caused by human error, systems failure, accident, or even criminal activity.
Mehboob and Aljohani have used a kinetic model in MATLAB to simulate the anticipated amount of radioactivity that might be released from the CHASNUPP-1 nuclear power plant in the form of contaminated coolant following an accident leading to core damage. The model suggests that leakage would be similar to another reactor the South Korean KORI-1 reactor and that the containment would be sufficient to preclude anything but negligible leakage into the outside world. Given the potential global impact of a leak from a nuclear reactor anywhere in the world, it is important to model worst-case scenarios and to understand the implications for the local and wider environment.
Mehboob, K. and Aljohani, M.S. (2018) ‘Estimation of radioactivity released from CHASNUPP-1 nuclear power plant during loss of coolant accident’, Int. J. Nuclear Energy Science and Technology, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp.111–126
16 October 2018
Research pick: Walkability of the urban environment - "An agent-based model to explore urban policies, pedestrian behaviour and walkability"
Researchers from Greece and France have worked together to use an agent-based methodology to research pedestrian behaviour and to help them develop a decision support system for urban planners hoping to improve “walkability” of the built environment. Writing in the International Journal of Decision Support Systems, Georgios Tsaples of the University of Macedonia, in Thessaloniki and Giovanna Fancello of the Université Paris Dauphine, explain how pedestrian accessibility in our cities is one of the most important aspects of developing urban public policies.
In recent years, pedestrian accessibility has received attention from research fields as diverse as medicine, social and environmental sciences, engineering, healthcare, and the arts and humanities. To be effective, such research has to consider more than transport, the distances involved, services, and activities, but must also take a dynamic view of how people interact with the environment, each other, and traffic within the city. However, as the team points out, “rarely [are] dynamic methods used with the aim of analysing and estimating the processes that influence the behaviour of individuals in space and in time.” They add that this is something a multi-agent model can do.
The team has now used a computational technique known as agent-based modelling to simulate an urban environment and the movement of people within it and the various modes of transport available to them. Their approach encodes the people, the “agents”, and their interactions in simple rules, which then allows the team to predict the outcomes of those interactions.
Ultimately, the models revealed by studying different scenarios, that improving the urban environment people is conducive to people walking more and parts of the environment become favourite places for walking. Moreover, walking behaviour has a positive effect on the individuals and even the economic activity of the city, the team found. The next step will be to assimilate real behaviour in different environments and to improve the models still further to make more definitive predictions about urban human behaviour and guide policymakers and town planners with greater precision.
Tsaples, G. and Fancello, G. (2018) ‘An agent-based model to explore urban policies, pedestrian behaviour and walkability’, Int. J. Decision Support Systems, Vol. 3, Nos. 1/2, pp.4–18.
In recent years, pedestrian accessibility has received attention from research fields as diverse as medicine, social and environmental sciences, engineering, healthcare, and the arts and humanities. To be effective, such research has to consider more than transport, the distances involved, services, and activities, but must also take a dynamic view of how people interact with the environment, each other, and traffic within the city. However, as the team points out, “rarely [are] dynamic methods used with the aim of analysing and estimating the processes that influence the behaviour of individuals in space and in time.” They add that this is something a multi-agent model can do.
The team has now used a computational technique known as agent-based modelling to simulate an urban environment and the movement of people within it and the various modes of transport available to them. Their approach encodes the people, the “agents”, and their interactions in simple rules, which then allows the team to predict the outcomes of those interactions.
Ultimately, the models revealed by studying different scenarios, that improving the urban environment people is conducive to people walking more and parts of the environment become favourite places for walking. Moreover, walking behaviour has a positive effect on the individuals and even the economic activity of the city, the team found. The next step will be to assimilate real behaviour in different environments and to improve the models still further to make more definitive predictions about urban human behaviour and guide policymakers and town planners with greater precision.
Tsaples, G. and Fancello, G. (2018) ‘An agent-based model to explore urban policies, pedestrian behaviour and walkability’, Int. J. Decision Support Systems, Vol. 3, Nos. 1/2, pp.4–18.
15 October 2018
Newly announced journal: International Journal of Intelligent Internet of Things Computing
Internet of Things computing still faces many challenges due to key factors such as constant mobility, limited capability, restricted power and uncertain security. Such factors pose considerable problems for both service provision and consumption. The International Journal of Intelligent Internet of Things Computing therefore aims to promote advances in IoT services and new AI algorithms and techniques in the intelligent computing field, with emphasis on foundational theory, systems and practical real-life applications.
Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Services, Economics and Management
The following sample articles from the International Journal of Services, Economics and Management are now available here for free:
- Perception of faculty members on factors affecting quality education and employability skills in technical education sector: an empirical analysis
- CAPEX efficiency and service quality improvement via tower sharing in the Indonesian telecommunication industry: optimisation model using comparison of genetic algorithm and simulated annealing methods
- What values are perceived by hotel guests?
- A comparative study of two Thai franchises in international expansion
- Implementation of technology for business cluster management: a prototype of sharing economy among customs broker SMEs in Thailand
- The moderating role of service innovation on the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer value: a case of 3-star hotels in Jakarta
- Evaluating competitiveness of the convention destination: a primary stakeholders' perspective in Chiang Mai City, Thailand
12 October 2018
Research pick: A flight of fancy - "Consumer willingness to pay for new airports that use renewable resources"
Given the environmental pressures that society faces today, is there room for the concept of an eco-airport? And, if so, might airline passengers be willing to pay more to fly from such an airport if it means that the environmental impact and the carbon footprint of their journey are somehow offset by the airport’s “green” credentials? Researchers in the USA have carried out a study with over 1100 participants in an attempt to find out.
They found that most participants were willing to pay for the development of a green airport if it was to have significant environmental benefits. Indeed, anger and disgust were felt towards the idea of having to for a new airport that did not use renewable resources. The team reports that “As awareness of climate change, and its consequences, continues to grow, support for eco-friendly practices have steadily increased. Current behavioural trends indicate that consumers favour eco-friendly businesses utilising green initiatives.”
The team suggests that the findings should be reflected in new design procedures for future airports and even for the upgrading of existing airports. “Developers can [thus] accommodate a changing attitude in the current and future society while cutting operational costs,” the team concludes.
Walters, N.W., Rice, S., Winter, S.R., Baugh, B.S., Ragbir, N.K., Anania, E.C., Capps, J. and Milner, M.N. (2018) ‘Consumer willingness to pay for new airports that use renewable resources’, Int. J. Sustainable Aviation, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp.79–98.
They found that most participants were willing to pay for the development of a green airport if it was to have significant environmental benefits. Indeed, anger and disgust were felt towards the idea of having to for a new airport that did not use renewable resources. The team reports that “As awareness of climate change, and its consequences, continues to grow, support for eco-friendly practices have steadily increased. Current behavioural trends indicate that consumers favour eco-friendly businesses utilising green initiatives.”
The team suggests that the findings should be reflected in new design procedures for future airports and even for the upgrading of existing airports. “Developers can [thus] accommodate a changing attitude in the current and future society while cutting operational costs,” the team concludes.
Walters, N.W., Rice, S., Winter, S.R., Baugh, B.S., Ragbir, N.K., Anania, E.C., Capps, J. and Milner, M.N. (2018) ‘Consumer willingness to pay for new airports that use renewable resources’, Int. J. Sustainable Aviation, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp.79–98.
11 October 2018
Research pick: Tissue engineering with natural hybrids - "Collagen/chitosan hybrid 3D-scaffolds as potential biomaterials for tissue engineering"
Chitosan is a natural substance extracted from the chitin shells of crustacean. It is a linear polysaccharide comprising randomly distributed deacetylated glucosamine units and acetylated units. It has been the focus of much research in materials science for medical device applications for many years because of its biocompatibility and the potential for it to be bio-absorbed by the body given sufficient time. Similarly, collagen is another natural material, a connective tissue protein found in animals’ bodies. It too has been the target of much research given its strength and structural properties. However, collagen shows rapid biodegradation.
Now, a team from Costa Rica has developed a hybrid material from chitosan and collagen, which they suggest combines the useful properties of both materials synergistically. They say it can be fabricated into highly porous three-dimensional solids with almost any shape that can then serve as 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. Living cells can grow on and within such a scaffold and the product might be used to create implant as prosthetic devices for a wide range of medical problems as well as biocompatible wound-healing materials.
The team reports that the hybrid 3D scaffold material has “improved stability, greater porosity, increased thermal stability, and mechanical properties, as well higher biodegradation as compared to single 3D scaffolds.” The team has now demonstrated that their scaffold materials can support the attachment of living cells, promote their growth, and differentiation, making them a good candidate for tissue engineering applications.
Ureña-Saborio, H., Alfaro-Viquez, E., Esquivel-Alvarado, D., Esquivel, M. and Madrigal-Carballo, S. (2018) ‘Collagen/chitosan hybrid 3D-scaffolds as potential biomaterials for tissue engineering’, Int. J. Nano and Biomaterials, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp.163–175.
Now, a team from Costa Rica has developed a hybrid material from chitosan and collagen, which they suggest combines the useful properties of both materials synergistically. They say it can be fabricated into highly porous three-dimensional solids with almost any shape that can then serve as 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. Living cells can grow on and within such a scaffold and the product might be used to create implant as prosthetic devices for a wide range of medical problems as well as biocompatible wound-healing materials.
The team reports that the hybrid 3D scaffold material has “improved stability, greater porosity, increased thermal stability, and mechanical properties, as well higher biodegradation as compared to single 3D scaffolds.” The team has now demonstrated that their scaffold materials can support the attachment of living cells, promote their growth, and differentiation, making them a good candidate for tissue engineering applications.
Ureña-Saborio, H., Alfaro-Viquez, E., Esquivel-Alvarado, D., Esquivel, M. and Madrigal-Carballo, S. (2018) ‘Collagen/chitosan hybrid 3D-scaffolds as potential biomaterials for tissue engineering’, Int. J. Nano and Biomaterials, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp.163–175.
10 October 2018
Research pick: Dredging the Data Lake - "Using knowledge management to create a Data Hub and leverage the usage of a Data Lake"
Data lakes allow information to be added to a system without pre-processing or modelling. Contrast this with a conventional database where data must be delivered in a much more refined and formal manner. Thus a data lake offers much timelier speed of entry. However, as research from Brazil shows, even though a data lake preserves highest granularity level of the data, that useful flexibility can be problematic too. “If not managed, it is easy to lose control of the repository because of the volume it holds and its growth,” the team explains.
The researchers explain further that data lakes carry none of the semantics of a conventional database, but while this can be advantageous in avoiding certain types of bias when re-extracting and analyzing days, it does mean that understanding the contents of the data lake can become a rather cumbersome task. This, the team suggests, has perhaps undermined the widespread adoption and use of data lakes within the corporate environment and stymied acceptance of this useful tool because of certain misconceptions regarding how they might be used in data science efforts.
The team has now turned to knowledge management models to help them address the issues associated with data lake use and to enrich the data floating within to enhance information usability. They also add that through the use of a data portal platform and associated metadata they reason that their approach would provide easy access to the data lake maintaining and boosting its usefulness and precluding its denigration into a so-called data swamp.
Ferreira, M.C., dos Santos, F.B., Barbosa, C.E. and de Souza, J.M. (2018) ‘Using knowledge management to create a Data Hub and leverage the usage of a Data Lake’, Int. J. Knowledge Management Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp.260–277.
The researchers explain further that data lakes carry none of the semantics of a conventional database, but while this can be advantageous in avoiding certain types of bias when re-extracting and analyzing days, it does mean that understanding the contents of the data lake can become a rather cumbersome task. This, the team suggests, has perhaps undermined the widespread adoption and use of data lakes within the corporate environment and stymied acceptance of this useful tool because of certain misconceptions regarding how they might be used in data science efforts.
The team has now turned to knowledge management models to help them address the issues associated with data lake use and to enrich the data floating within to enhance information usability. They also add that through the use of a data portal platform and associated metadata they reason that their approach would provide easy access to the data lake maintaining and boosting its usefulness and precluding its denigration into a so-called data swamp.
Ferreira, M.C., dos Santos, F.B., Barbosa, C.E. and de Souza, J.M. (2018) ‘Using knowledge management to create a Data Hub and leverage the usage of a Data Lake’, Int. J. Knowledge Management Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp.260–277.
9 October 2018
Research pick: Sewage to fuel - "Evaluation of biodiesel potential of sewage sludge"
Human waste is a big problem, but might it be turned to our advantage, offering a sustainable source of biofuels to usurp oil-derived petrochemicals? An international collaboration in Africa has assessed the potential of extracting lipids (fatty molecules) from sewage sludge and converting those fatty compounds into the kind of compounds that can be blended with conventional fuels for use in vehicles of all kinds.
The team tested the process by extracting lipids from dried sewage sludge using the soxhlet extraction technique. They then carried out a conversion to biodiesel acid catalysis transesterification to make the requisite fatty acid methyl esters. They used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to test the product. The materials contained a high lipid yield of almost 80 percent and the biodiesel properties considered conformed to global specifications, the team reports.
“Sewage sludge could serve as an alternative and a cheap feedstock for biodiesel development,” the team concludes.
Obisanya, J.F., Oyekunle, J.A.O., Ogunfowokan, A.O. and Fatoki, O.S. (2018) ‘Evaluation of biodiesel potential of sewage sludge’, Int. J. Environment and Waste Management, Vol. 22, Nos. 1/2/3/4, pp.61–73.
The team tested the process by extracting lipids from dried sewage sludge using the soxhlet extraction technique. They then carried out a conversion to biodiesel acid catalysis transesterification to make the requisite fatty acid methyl esters. They used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to test the product. The materials contained a high lipid yield of almost 80 percent and the biodiesel properties considered conformed to global specifications, the team reports.
“Sewage sludge could serve as an alternative and a cheap feedstock for biodiesel development,” the team concludes.
Obisanya, J.F., Oyekunle, J.A.O., Ogunfowokan, A.O. and Fatoki, O.S. (2018) ‘Evaluation of biodiesel potential of sewage sludge’, Int. J. Environment and Waste Management, Vol. 22, Nos. 1/2/3/4, pp.61–73.
8 October 2018
Special issue published: "Advances in Machine Tools and Monitoring Systems"
International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems 11(4) 2018
- Diversity of assembly error migration and its solution model for heavy duty machine tool
- Experimental investigation on surface quality in ultrasonic vibration assisted high speed grinding of BK7 optical glass
- Background texture suppression and defect extraction of high-speed milling surface image
- Characterisation for differential wear between left and right flank faces in turning large pitch internal thread
- Synthesis and characterisation of AlMgB14 and AlMgB14-Ni3Al composites
- Characteristics of the self-organisation in high-speed turning of high-strength alloy steel
Inderscience journals to invite expanded papers from 8th Global Conference on Global Warming 2019 for potential publication
Extended versions of papers presented at the 8th Global Conference on Global Warming (22-25 April 2019, Doha, Qatar) will be invited for review and potential publication by the following journals:
7 October 2018
Special issue published: "Exploring Emerging Verticals in the Future of Wireless Technology"
International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations 19(2/3/4) 2018
- A full-featured efficient clustering mechanism for improving QoS in MANETs
- ASD: emotions and behavioural-based interventions through social sensor networks
- Malicious node identification routing and protection mechanism for vehicular ad-hoc network against various attacks
- Relay node selection with energy efficient routing using hidden Markov model in wireless sensor networks
- Network lifetime estimation of wireless sensor networks using communication protocols with non-parametric models
- Combined vibration and RF harvester technique for energy management in sensor device
- DTCF: deadline task consolidation first for energy minimisation in cloud data centres
- SIP-based VoIP anomaly detection engine using DTV and ONR
- Classifying the malware application in the Android-based smart phones using ensemble-ANFIS algorithm
- Hybrid model for enhancement of passenger information management system
- Energy-based efficient authenticated routing protocol for MANETs for DDOS attacks with minimised power consumption
- Energy aware clustered load balancing in cloud computing environment
- Semantic clustering approach for documents in distributed system framework with multi-node setup
- Research on the intellectual traffic flow control system based on multi-agent along with self-governing vehicle and system of wireless sensor network
- A novel framework for very high resolution remote sensing image change detection
- Certain investigations on effective rate adaptation in cognitive radio with channel characteristics
- A secure communication over wireless sensor devices using intelligent arrival estimation algorithm
6 October 2018
Special issue published: "A Collaborative Community of Leaders: Cloud Computing in Education"
International Journal of Cloud Computing 7(3/4) 2018
- Cloud-based environment in support of IoT education
- Extreme value analysis for capacity design
- A formal model towards scientific workflow security in a cloud
- A tale of two cloud analytics platforms for education
- A framework for achieving the required degree of multitenancy isolation for deploying components of a cloud-hosted service
- Why is garbage collection causing my service level objectives to fail?
- SECross: securing cross cloud boundary
- Systematic performance evaluation using component-in-the-loop approach
5 October 2018
Special issue published: "Physical and Numerical Simulation of Materials Processing – Part I"
International Journal of Computational Materials Science and Surface Engineering 7(3/4) 2018
- Simulation investigation of temperature distribution in large aluminium panel during autoclave age forming process
- Plastic deformation and microstructure evolution of bearing ring blank during cold rolling process
- The austenitic peak stress model of low alloy steel at elevated temperature based on the valence electron theory
- Hot deformation behaviour and Hansel-Spittel constitutive model of Cr5 alloy for heavy backup roll
- Microstructures evolution and mechanical properties of 5052 aluminium alloy processed by constrained groove pressing
- Numerical simulation of residual stress in low temperature colossal carburised layer on austenitic stainless steel
- Evaluation of ductile fracture model in bulk forming
- Simulation of the bite condition of AZ31 sheet rolling
- Thermo-mechanical analysis in SAE-AISI 1524 carbon steel gas tungsten arc welds
Inderscience journals to invite expanded papers from 4th Asia International Conference for potential publication
Extended versions of papers presented at the 4th Asia International Conference (8-9 December 2018, Langkawi, Malaysia) will be invited for review and potential publication by the following journals:
Special issue published: "Recent Advances in the Evaluation of Vehicle Fuel Economy and its Application to Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicle Systems"
International Journal of Vehicle Performance 4(3) 2018
- A model based approach for the analysis and simulation of a hybrid bus in an urban context
- Theoretical and experimental investigation of the thermal behaviour of a two-speed dual clutch transmission
- New methods for modelling and optimisation of multispeed transmission in an electric vehicle
- Dynamic analysis of a vehicle with leaf spring based on the hysteresis model
- Modelling optimisation of vehicle velocity for wheeled construction vehicles traversing in off-road terrain
Research pick: Pigeon pea - "No rain but bumper harvest: the magic of pigeonpea in semi-arid Kenya"
Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) has been cultivated as a food crop for at least 3500 years. It is a great source of protein and widely consumed in South Asia, as well as Asia as a whole, Africa, and Latin America. Researchers in Kenya point out that land degradation and drought conditions can seriously constrain agricultural production in arid and semi-arid areas. However, even without significant rain there can be bumper harvests of this crop plant.
The researchers have looked at the yields of sole- and inter-crops of maize and pigeon ea varieties under different weather conditions over the period 2009 to 2013 and found that harvests where the Mbaazi II strain of pigeon pea was intercropped with maize offers the best option for marginal farmers especially if water conservation methods are employed and excess crop and waste plants parts are ploughed back into the soil rather than being fed to livestock.
Kwena, K.M., Ayuke, F.O., Karuku, G.N. and Esilaba, A.O. (2018) ‘No rain but bumper harvest: the magic of pigeonpea in semi-arid Kenya’, Int. J. Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp.181–203.
The researchers have looked at the yields of sole- and inter-crops of maize and pigeon ea varieties under different weather conditions over the period 2009 to 2013 and found that harvests where the Mbaazi II strain of pigeon pea was intercropped with maize offers the best option for marginal farmers especially if water conservation methods are employed and excess crop and waste plants parts are ploughed back into the soil rather than being fed to livestock.
Kwena, K.M., Ayuke, F.O., Karuku, G.N. and Esilaba, A.O. (2018) ‘No rain but bumper harvest: the magic of pigeonpea in semi-arid Kenya’, Int. J. Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp.181–203.
4 October 2018
Special issue published: "Innovation and Learning of Vocational Education"
International Journal of Innovation and Learning 24(4) 2018
- The analysis of gaps in the implementation of process standard on the supervision of productive learning aspect in vocational school
- The instructional media development of welding practice course based on PjBL model: enhancing student engagement and student competences
- Implementation of monitoring system in facial acupressure learning media
- LdesV, computer-operated video: overcoming students' difficulties in understanding automotive starting system
- Enhancing student clustering to generate adaptive metacognitive instructions in learning system for vocational high school
- Short answer scoring using W-Bleu for regular assessment in vocational high school
- Model of local excellence-based on entrepreneurship education management for prospective vocational school teachers
Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics
The following sample articles from the International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics are now available here for free:
- India's mandatory CSR policy: implications and implementation challenges
- Does board diversity affect firm performance? Evidence from the Italian financial sector
- Do foreign ownership and foreign directorship matter for return on equity? Evidence from Malaysian listed companies
- The advent of accounting in business governance: from ancient scribes to modern practitioners
- Value relevance and codes of ethics: an empirical analysis of Italian listed companies
Special issue published: "Advances in Mechanical Engineering Research"
International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology 10(6) 2018
- A hybrid crow search algorithm to minimise the weighted sum of makespan and total flow time in a flow shop environment
- Dynamic analysis of composite propeller of ship using FEA
- Influence study of manufacturing constraints and percentage of reinforcement on copper - fly ash composite by full factorial design
- Preparation, characterisation and machining of LaPO4-Y2O3 composite by abrasive water jet machine
- A short review on fretting wear behaviour of Al7075
- Characteristic study on Al7020 friction stir joints with various rotational speeds
- Effect of turbo A/R ratio on a high speed turbocharged automotive diesel engine
- Additional papers
- Unevenness measurement using the support vector machine and dynamic multiservice load balancing with modified genetic algorithm in cloud-based multimedia system
- Numerical simulation: controlling light emitting diodes from MATLAB
Research pick: Smartphone activity - "A two-phase human activity classification design using accelerometer data from smartphone"
Your smartphone could be used to monitor your level of activity – whether you are running, walking or standing, according to research in China. The benefits might be in healthcare, checking up on patients with mobility issues of fall risk as well as in health and fitness apps that allow the user to set targets for different levels of activity.
The team has developed a two-stage method for analyzing the data from the smart phone’s built-in accelerometer. The team’s algorithm looks at the acceleration in three dimensions, x, y, and z and can then determine whether the person carrying the phone is running, walking, or standing with an accuracy of more than 97%. The next steps will include improving accuracy still further as well as developing the technology so that it can distinguish other physical actions, perhaps sporting activity such as cycling or rowing.
Ali, S.A. and Amin, R.U. (2018) ‘A two-phase human activity classification design using accelerometer data from smartphone’, Int. J. Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp.281–291.
The team has developed a two-stage method for analyzing the data from the smart phone’s built-in accelerometer. The team’s algorithm looks at the acceleration in three dimensions, x, y, and z and can then determine whether the person carrying the phone is running, walking, or standing with an accuracy of more than 97%. The next steps will include improving accuracy still further as well as developing the technology so that it can distinguish other physical actions, perhaps sporting activity such as cycling or rowing.
Ali, S.A. and Amin, R.U. (2018) ‘A two-phase human activity classification design using accelerometer data from smartphone’, Int. J. Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp.281–291.
3 October 2018
Special issue published: "Liner Shipping and Terminal Operations"
International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 10(5/6) 2018
- A non-structural approach to assess competitive conditions in container liner shipping market: 2009-2014
- The role of the degree of use of the facilities in the port choice process: the Spanish dockside cranes case
- Cargo flow, freight rate and speed optimisation of container liner services
- An empirical analysis of the critical selection criteria of liner operators: the perspective of freight forwarders
- Simultaneous optimisation of seaside operations in container terminals: a case study of the Iranian Rajaee port
- What drives European port traffic? The role of competition
Special issue published: "Business Administration – 2017 in Review"
International Journal of Decision Sciences, Risk and Management 8(1/2) 2018
- Strategic management in times of crisis: the case of marble enterprises in the prefecture of Drama, Greece
- The role of China in the global shipping industry, with emphasis on the dry bulk market
- Greek public airports' efficiency assessment using DEA-modelling. Factors influencing efficiency and economic recession environment (2009-2014) implications
- Motivation and job satisfaction: the case of call centres in Greece
- Coaching: a plus (+) to managerial skills
- Comparative analysis of the contemporary public sector quality determinants in relation to the satisfaction level of the Greek judicial officials and citizens in civil, criminal and administrative courts
Special issue on: "Frontiers in Pervasive Computing" (includes free Open Access article)
International Journal of Embedded Systems 10(5) 2018
- Energy aware list-based scheduling for parallel applications in cloud
- User similarity-based gender-aware travel location recommendation by mining geotagged photos
- An abstraction layer enabling pervasive hardware-reconfigurable systems
- Scheduling deadline-constrained scientific workflow using chemical reaction optimisation algorithm in clouds
- Direct garbage collection: two-fold speedup for managed language embedded systems [FREE FULL-TEXT ACCESS]
- An improved CUDA-based hybrid metaheuristic for fast controller of an evolutionary robot
- Static compliance checking beyond separation of duty constraints
- An algorithm of video network transmission based on unbalanced multiple description coding
Research pick: Use your greens for nanotech - "A review on exploring phytosynthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles using genus Brassica"
Researchers in India have reviewed the potential of using Brassica plants (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, rape, kohlrabi, cauliflower, rutabaga, brown mustard, and turnip) as biological processors for the environmentally friendly reduction of silver and gold to nanoparticles of those metals.
Engineered nanoparticles can be made using various physical and chemical “bottom up” approaches as well as biological methods. Bacteria, fungi, and yeasts have been used to make nanoparticles, but there is great potential for a wide range of crop plants to be used too. The approach offers great cost savings versus physical and chemical methods and the resulting gold and silver nanoparticles have been demonstrated to have antibacterial and even anticancer activity.
Yadav, M. and Kaur, P. (2018) ‘A review on exploring phytosynthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles using genus Brassica’, Int. J. Nanoparticles, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp.165–177.
Engineered nanoparticles can be made using various physical and chemical “bottom up” approaches as well as biological methods. Bacteria, fungi, and yeasts have been used to make nanoparticles, but there is great potential for a wide range of crop plants to be used too. The approach offers great cost savings versus physical and chemical methods and the resulting gold and silver nanoparticles have been demonstrated to have antibacterial and even anticancer activity.
Yadav, M. and Kaur, P. (2018) ‘A review on exploring phytosynthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles using genus Brassica’, Int. J. Nanoparticles, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp.165–177.
2 October 2018
Special issue published: "Computational Intelligence Informatics and Information Security"
International Journal of Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications 17(4) 2018
- Image pre-processing of icing transmission line based on fuzzy clustering
- A study on power balance control strategies of mining variable speed magnetic coupling based on fuzzy self-adaptive PID
- Exploration on predicting breast cancer stage with the aid of redesigned ANN incorporated with enhanced social spider optimisation technique
- Prediction of oil production based on SVM optimised multi-objective particle swarm optimisation
- An improved adaptation algorithm for signer-independent sign language recognition
- Design of remote control system for intelligent irrigation based on ZigBee and GPRS
- Modification of AES using genetic algorithms for high-definition image encryption
- A study on flow based classification models using machine learning techniques
- A hybrid approach to improve the quality of software fault prediction using Naïve Bayes and k-NN classification algorithm with ensemble method
- Labelled decision-making method based on neural network model and pruning algorithm
- Design of water quality monitoring system based on WSN and ZigBee
Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Decision Sciences, Risk and Management
The following sample articles from the International Journal of Decision Sciences, Risk and Management are now available here for free:
- The effect of online consumer reviews on buying behaviour and their management by the tourism industry
- Efficiency in the tax-auditing administration in Greece
- Focus on human resources as a mediating factor between ISO 9001 certification and continuous quality improvement
- Human resources division transformation in the banking sector: the implementation of the 'three legged stool'
- Managing customer relationships: a comprehensive literature review and future directions
- Managing social media as a marketing tool in the Greek business environment
- Valuation of mergers and acquisitions: the case study of a Greek listed company
- Forecasting of future stock prices using neural networks and genetic algorithms
Special issue published: "Advances in Measurement Science and Technology"
International Journal of Materials and Product Technology 57(4) 2018
- Non-contact roundness measurement with air gauges: simulation studies
- Air gauge back-pressure uncertainty estimation for the advanced test rig
- Barkhausen noise signal analysis of heat treated samples at various magnetising frequencies
- Investigations of performance parameters in NFMQL assisted turning of titanium alloy using TOPSIS and particle swarm optimisation method
- Analysis for electromagnetic performance of PM motor with different metal nano-material bars
- Influence of solutionising temperature and time on spherodisation of the silicon particles of AMNCs
Research pick: Refugee crisis? - "Crisis, migration and the consolidation of the EU border control regime"
A narrow interpretation of the term “crisis” in the context of refugees and migrants seeking a new home in the European Union and EU border control regimes could have grave consequences of the lives of many people, according to research from Italy.
Moreover, the intense public debate on the “crisis” has not allowed the public and policymakers alike to recognize that the crisis is not a manifestation of external factors but a problem arising because of the intrinsic weaknesses in the EU border control regime and political instability in the Mediterranean region.
“The ongoing crisis at Europe’s borders can be seen as an ‘epistemic crisis’, signalling the contradictions and fluidity in the language and labels used when discussing human mobility and its governance,” it is argued.
Campesi, G. (2018) ‘Crisis, migration and the consolidation of the EU border control regime‘, Int. J. Migration and Border Studies, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp.196-221.
Moreover, the intense public debate on the “crisis” has not allowed the public and policymakers alike to recognize that the crisis is not a manifestation of external factors but a problem arising because of the intrinsic weaknesses in the EU border control regime and political instability in the Mediterranean region.
“The ongoing crisis at Europe’s borders can be seen as an ‘epistemic crisis’, signalling the contradictions and fluidity in the language and labels used when discussing human mobility and its governance,” it is argued.
Campesi, G. (2018) ‘Crisis, migration and the consolidation of the EU border control regime‘, Int. J. Migration and Border Studies, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp.196-221.
1 October 2018
Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing
The following sample articles from the International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing are now available here for free:
- Understanding the user generated content and interactions on a Facebook brand page
- Investigating Facebook's acceptance and satisfaction: a study in the Greek university community
- Social stream marketing on Facebook: a case study
- Personal content in online sports communities: motivations to capture and share personal exercise data
- From design participation to civic participation - participatory design of a social media service
- Enriching shared experience by collective heart rate
- The role of social media for media companies
Special issue published: "Next Generation Cloud, Mobile Cloud, Mobile Edge Computing and Internet of Things Systems and Networking"
International Journal of High Performance Computing and Networking 12(3) 2018
- Classifying environmental monitoring data to improve wireless sensor networks management
- A power-control interference management mechanism for Femtocell-based networks
- Exploring the relationships between web accessibility, web traffic, and university rankings: a case study of Jordanian universities
- Context-aware latency reduction protocol for secure encryption and decryption
- Energy efficiency of heterogeneous multicore system based on the enhanced Amdahl's law
- Pixel classified colourisation method based on neighbourhood similarity priori
- A novel distributed node searching method in DTNs
- ElasticQ: an active queue management algorithm with flow trust
- A hybrid mutation artificial bee colony algorithm for spectrum sharing
- When is the immune inspired B-cell algorithm superior to the (1+1) evolutionary algorithm?
- Assessing nodes' importance in complex networks using structural holes
Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Big Data Intelligence
The following sample articles from the International Journal of Big Data Intelligence are now available here for free:
- HCEm model and a comparative workload analysis of Hadoop cluster
- A knowledge-based integrated framework for increasing social management intelligence
- Optimising column family for OLAP queries in HBase
- PaloPro: a platform for knowledge extraction from big social data and the news
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