Special issue published: "Technological Innovation for Sustainable Development"

Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 13(2) 2019

• Energetic transition within thermal machines and co-generation: effect of mass flux on critical heat flux
• Hybrid control strategy for wind turbine system driven permanent magnet synchronous generator
• Effects of different charging and discharging strategies of electric vehicles under various pricing policies in a smart microgrid
• The effects of copper additives on the glass transition temperature and hardness for epoxy resin
• Effect of V, In and Cu doping on properties of p-type ZnSe/Si heterojunction solar cell
• Evaluation, comparison and selection of photovoltaic systems

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Knowledge and Learning

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Knowledge and Learning are now available here for free:

• Impact of organisational practices on knowledge sharing: an empirical study 
• Improving knowledge sharing, creation, and innovation performance in nanotechnology firms: an application of the hybrid model of Kano and QFD 
• Using board games to improve mathematical creativity 
• An ontology-driven software product line architecture for developing gamified intelligent tutoring systems 
• Text-based sentiment analysis: review

New Editor for International Journal of Applied Nonlinear Science

Prof. Davide La Torre from the University of Dubai in the UAE has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Applied Nonlinear Science. The previous Editor in Chief, Prof. Franklin Mendivil, will remain with the journal as Editor.

Research pick: A genuine air guitar - "Virtual guitar: using real-time finger tracking for musical instruments"

Almost ten years ago computer and software giant Microsoft introduced a movement-detecting controller for its gaming platforms known as Kinect. Aside from being able to play games, there was much excitement among musicians, scientists, and even healthcare professionals who saw its potential as a virtualised control for their particular areas.

A user could play a computer-based musical instrument through gestures and movements picked up by the 3D sensing device. However, the system required large movements, of arms and legs for instance, which perhaps limited the nuances of the music one might play with such an “instrument”. Now, writing in the International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering, a team from Taiwan describes their algorithm for real-time finger movement tracking using a Kinect device that would allow a performer to simulate playing the guitar and the software to generate appropriate sound.

One might envisage the wannabe rock guitarist playing “air guitar” and generating guitar or other sounds synchronised to their finger movements with the melody, chords, and sounds pre-programmed. But, more seriously, the system could be used to genuinely play music through finger movements alone without the need for an actual guitar.

The team’s experiments with the system show that the proposed method can be used to play music of different genres with acceptable quality. They add that the application might a novice who has no or little experience of playing real musical instruments as well as experimental musicians seeking an alternative paradigm to the conventional instruments available to them.

Hakim, N.L., Sun, S-W., Hsu, M-H., Shih, T.K. and Wu, S-J. (2019) ‘Virtual guitar: using real-time finger tracking for musical instruments‘, Int. J. Computational Science and Engineering, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp.438-450.

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

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation are now available here for free:

• Rigid block models for masonry structures
• From 2D digital imaging to finite element analysis using the ENEAGRID high performance computing infrastructure for the preservation of historical masonry structures
• Effect of concrete block height variation to the shear bond strength of thin layer mortared masonry
• Approaches to strongly local phenomena in dry masonry structures
• Creep failure of two historical masonry towers: analysis from material to structure
• Investigation of the structural behaviour of a masonry castle by considering the actual damage

Special issue published: "Recent Developments in Global Financial Markets"

International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance 10(1) 2019

• The WTI/Brent oil futures price differential and the globalisation-regionalisation hypothesis
• Reaction of EU stock markets to ECB policy interventions
• Forecasting the daily dynamic hedge ratios in emerging European stock futures markets: evidence from GARCH models
• Pricing 'partial-average' Asian options with the binomial method

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance are now available here for free:

• Intraday realised volatility forecasting and announcements
• Volume weighted volatility: empirical evidence for a new realised volatility measure
• Branch manager characteristics and efficiency during capital controls
• Working capital management, cash flow and SMEs' performance
• A contingent claims approach to the determinants of the stock-bond return relationship

Special Issue on: "Maritime Transportation: Innovative Models and Algorithms"

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 11(2/3) 2019

• Impact analysis of the traffic convoy system and toll pricing policy of the Suez Canal on the operations of a liner containership over a long-haul voyage
• A method for estimating liner shipping time under uncertainty
• A multi-objective approach to analyse the effect of fuel consumption on ship routing and scheduling problem
• Collaborative stowage planning problem for a liner ship
• Optimisation for quay crane scheduling problem under uncertainty using PSO and OCBA
• Berth allocation and quay crane-yard truck assignment considering carbon emissions in port area
• Assess economic and environmental trade-off for inland port location
• Integrating route optimisation with vehicle and unloading dock scheduling in LCL cargo collection

2018 Best Paper Award announced by International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation

The International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation has established an annual award for the best paper published in each respective year.

The best paper has been selected using a new formula for the 2018 competition, with the aim of increasing the involvement of the editorial board members in the procedure. An online voting system was set up, allowing each board member to express his/her vote for one paper published by IJMRI in 2018. Associate Editors and the Editor in Chief were allowed to express two and three votes respectively (or multiple votes for the same paper). The best paper was then awarded by the Editor in Chief according to the results of this online voting system. In order to avoid bias, each paper was labelled with the following alphanumeric string: 3_N_ppp, where "3" represents the volume, "N" the issue and "ppp" the page number of the first page of the paper.

For 2018, twenty papers were eligible for competing, and 32 votes (including the multiple choices of Associate Editors and the Editor in Chief) were received. The first three places were as follows:

• 1st place and winner (8 votes): Fernando Magdalena Layos, Julián García Muñoz (2018). Approaches to strongly local phenomena in dry masonry structures, Vol. 3(2), pp. 155-173. DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.092460
• 2nd place (7 votes): Maurizio Angelillo, Antonio Fortunato, Antonio Gesualdo, Antonino Iannuzzo, Giulio Zuccaro (2018). Rigid block models for masonry structures, Vol. 3(4), pp. 349-368. DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.095701
• 3rd place (6 votes): Marialuisa Mongelli, Irene Bellagamba, Francesco Iannone, Giovanni Bracco (2018). From 2D digital imaging to finite element analysis using the ENEAGRID high performance computing infrastructure for the preservation of historical masonry structures, Vol. 3(3), pp. 324-347.DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.093492

The editors and board congratulate the authors for their significant contributions to state-of-the-art research on masonry. They should be very proud of their achievements in a very competitive pool.

The 1st place winners will receive an online subscription to IJMRI's 2018 volume and a certificate.

A sample issue collecting the papers ranked in the top three plus the following papers selected by the Editor (based also on the final ranking) is now available for the readers free of charge:

• Els Verstrynge, Dionys Van Gemert (2018). Creep failure of two historical masonry towers: analysis from material to structure, Vol. 3(1), pp. 50-71. DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.089056
• Maria E. Stavroulaki, Georgios A. Drosopoulos, Efstathia Tavlopoulou, Nikos Skoutelis, Georgios E. Stavroulakis (2018). Investigation of the structural behaviour of a masonry castle by considering the actual damage, Vol. 3(1), pp. 1-33. DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.089046
• Julian Ajith Thamboo, Manicka Dhanasekar (2018). Effect of concrete block height variation to the shear bond strength of thin layer mortared masonry, Vol. 3(2), pp. 174-193. DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.092461

This sample issue showcases the range and quality of the content provided by the International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation.

Research pic: Blogs must adapt or die - "Blogs: are they headed downwards in social networking? An empirical analysis"

Blogs, or as they were originally known, weblogs, first hit the World Wide Web back in 1997. The term “weblog” was coined in December that year and almost immediately abbreviated to “blog”. The subsequent two decades saw the rise and rise of millions of blogs, they rode the wave of Web 2.0, became multi-author publication tools, and many matured into fully-fledged information and news services.

Now, writing in the in International Journal of Electronic Business, Parag Uma Kosalge, Suzanne Crampton, and Ashok Kumar of the Department of Management, at Seidman College of Business, at Grand Valley State University, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, ask whether blogs have had their day given the rise of social media and social networking sites and systems, such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook, which are outpacing blogs in so many ways today.

Their study of over four hundred internet users found statistically significant evidence for reduced user awareness and consideration of blogging in recent years. However, their study also identified four business areas that users still find important for blogs, such as employee networking and online sales. As with many aspects of technology and in particular information and communications technology, the services on which users rely and use the most are constantly shifting. The services must, in the parlance of natural selection, adapt or die. Blogs may not have had their day, but it is critical that bloggers recognize the opposition they face from other non-blogging services online and in order to be sustainable must find ways to ride whichever wave comes along.

Kosalge, P.U., Crampton, S. and Kumar, A. (2019) ‘Blogs: are they headed downwards in social networking? An empirical analysis’, Int. J. Electronic Business, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp.72–91.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics are now available here for free:

• Risk prediction of type 2 diabetes using common and rare variants
• A mutational co-occurrence network in gastric cancer based on an association index
• Symbolic approach to reduced bio-basis
• Determining sample size for cross-over designs with multiple groups
• A pipeline for identifying endogenous neuropeptides from spectral archives
• Gene-gene interaction analysis for quantitative trait using cluster-based multifactor dimensionality reduction method

Special issue published: "Sustainable Approaches with MCDA Methods in Agri-Environment Policies"

International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Management and Informatics 4(3/4) 2018

• Mapping soil erosion potential zones with a geo-spatial application of multi-criteria evaluation technique model in highlands of Ethiopia
• Decision making under the scope of forest policy: sustainable agroforestry systems in less favoured areas
• Towards a computer-based decision support system for aquaculture stakeholders in Greece in the context of climate change
• Building theory of agri-food supply chain resilience using total interpretive structural modelling and MICMAC analysis
• An open source approach of building web apps to support decision making with exploratory techniques. Case study: the multiple correspondence analysis on real data from agritourism
• Identifying knowledge brokers, artefacts and channels for waste reduction in agri-food supply chains
• Ranking the EU countries according to the environmental performance index using PROMETHEE

Additional papers

• Remote sensing in water balance modelling for evapotranspiration at a rural watershed in Central Greece
• Resident's concerns and attitudes towards policies and strategies of solid waste management facilities
• A hybrid framework for detection of diseases in apple and tomato crops with deep feed forward neural network

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning are now available here for free:

• Digital training in intercultural education for teacher training: analysis of an innovative experience
• Student perception on achieved graduate attributes and learning experiences: a study on undergraduate engineering students of India
• An analysis of competency, needs, and gap on Thai engineering capabilities within ASEAN
• The application of ADAMS/CAR in vehicle engineering teaching
• Implementation of quality tools in higher education process
• Case study on means of information and communication technologies in teaching mathematics to distance and extramural university students

Research pick: "Video game violence and family resilience"

There is much debate about whether or not violent video games give rise to violent tendencies in those who play them. Some research shows this to be the case while other studies demonstrate the opposite. However, a third factor may be critical to understanding what role, if any, such games play in society and that is “family resilience.” Writing in the International Journal of Innovation and Learning, Mirjana Radetić-Paić of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, at Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, in Croatia, has investigated the influence of violent video games on player aggression and violent tendencies in the context of this third factor.

She has found that in general, emotional maturity, responsibility, and an ability to keep promises within the family is linked to playing video games with non-violent content. “The results are especially important for future teachers, since they need to be able to develop appropriate strategies which prevent adverse impacts on learning abilities such as social and communication skills,” Radetić-Paić explains.

“Although special attention has to be paid to reaching conclusions and looking for a direct correlation among violence, video games with violent contents and family resilience factors, it can be deduced that this occurrence has many causes, which means that a larger number of variables has been used in the interpretation,” she adds.

Radetić-Paić, M. (2019) ‘Video games with violent contents and family resilience factors’, Int. J. Innovation and Learning, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp.223–236.

Special issue published: "Applications of Information Management and System Engineering"

International Journal of Product Development 23(2/3) 2019

• A smart system of 3D liver tumour segmentation
• An empirical study on the cellular subscribers churn, selection factors and satisfaction with the services
• A cloud based architecture for competence management and discovery
• Layered approach of analysing OSS and risk management
• Manufacturing simulation of alternate additive manufacturing method using cubes with CATIA macro programming
• Development of marker-based augmented reality system for object detection in an optimum latency time
• A hybrid classification-based model for automatic text summarisation using machine learning approaches: CBS-ID3MV

Additional paper

• Consumer preference for eco-friendly appliances in trade-off: a conjoint analysis approach

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Emergency Management

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

• Seismic risk assessment and design of tourism buildings using probability analysis
• Decomposing issue patterns in crisis communication: the case of the lost airliner
• A closer examination of command and control practices by incident commanders during realistic operational exercises in the Netherlands
• Terrorist attacks with explosive weapons: pattern of injuries and health constraints
• Understanding emergency response: lessons learned from the helping literature
• Sector prioritisation in Rabat region for emergency management

Special issue published: "Artificial Intelligence in Education"

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning 29(1/2) 2019

• Big data processing with Apache Spark in university institutions: spark streaming and machine learning algorithm
• Quantitative analysis of the influence of learning resource scheduling in MOOC mode on traditional education and teaching
• College English teaching mode based on intelligent robot
• Analysis of the influence of multimedia network hybrid teaching on college students English learning ability
• The promotion role of mobile online education platform in students' self-learning
• Research on the cultivation of students' autonomous learning ability based on MOOC-based network interactive teaching
• Robot-based motion detection method and its application in PE practice teaching
• Analysis of the influence of multimedia network hybrid teaching method on college students' learning ability in physical education
• Analysing learning behaviours of advanced mathematics in MOOCs

Additional paper

• Critical thinking and critical reading: a sound pedagogical paring

Research pick: Big money goes around the world - "Drivers and deterrents of music streaming services purchase intention"

Music is big business. It has been since the advent of the sheet music industry in the 19th Century and the ensuing piracy scandals, right through the invention of radio, recorded music, and the usurping of the family piano for devices that could replicate the songs we loved without anyone having to be able to sight-read, play or sing. Into the 21st Century, the industry is still playing catchup with the pirates who found technological ways in which to replicate and share the music they love without spending a penny of their own money.

Writing in the International Journal of Electronic Business, Teresa Fernandes and João Guerra of the Faculty of Economics, at the University of Porto, in Porto, Portugal discuss the advent of music streaming services. Streaming services emerged as an alternative business model to the failing CD-buying model in the wake of file sharing and the mp3. It was obvious to the technology, as opposed to the record companies, that are a new model was needed if money was to be made and an industry soaked in the copyright and intellectual property laws founded in the 19th Century if not before was to survive in some form into the 21st Century.

The problem remains, however, whereas video streaming services are adding millions of users each month as on-demand alternatives to cable and satellite TV, music lovers are not adopting music streaming at quite the rate its purveyors would like to reach a solid bottom line in their business model. Whereas ten dollars a month for almost unlimited TV show and movie streaming on-demand seems like a bargain, the same fee for music does not compute when it is so easy for listeners to quickly download the latest hits and even the golden oldies without it costing them anything even at the risk of legal action being taken against them under copyright laws.

The team’s analysis suggests that there is no simple solution, no magic button that the music (streaming) industry might press to persuade people to sign up for its offerings. They must instead now consider how to generate revenue through balancing free and premium components as well as adjusting their strategies for different market segments based on age, gender, for instance. There may well always be consumers willing to pay as long as they are targeted correctly, but one might suggest that the billion-dollar music industry of the 20th Century is probably long gone and a new paradigm is needed. Perhaps we could all go back to making our own music…

Fernandes, T. and Guerra, J. (2019) ‘Drivers and deterrents of music streaming services purchase intention’, Int. J. Electronic Business, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp.21–42.

Special issue published: "Nanotechnology and High-Speed Electronic Systems"

International Journal of Nanoparticles 11(2) 2019

• Optimisation of fully depleted SiGe channel with raised source/drain buried oxide nMOSFET
• Reduced ordered binary decision diagram-based combinational circuit synthesis for optimising area, power and temperature
• Nanoscale T-shaped AlGaN/GaN HEMT with improved DC and RF performance
• Electrical parameter analysis of gate-extension on source of germanium tri-gate FinFET
• Impact of structural parameters on DC performance of recessed channel SOI-MOSFET
• Electro-thermal assessment of heterojunction tunnel-FET for low-power digital circuits
• Analysis and circuit sizing performance of a differential amplifier using HPSO algorithm

Research pick: Can a Wi-Fi network ever be completely secure? - "Survey on WiFi infrastructure attacks"

There are many ways in which hackers and crackers can break into a Wi-Fi network. It is trivial if the network uses out of date security protocols or weak passwords. But even if the system is setup with the latest security measures, strong passwords, and firewall and malware protection, there are still ways and means that a malicious third party might access such a network. Writing in the International Journal of Wireless and Mobile Computing, researchers from China review the various hacking techniques that might be used and show what defensive measures might best be taken to preclude system compromise.

Rui Guo of the Department of Internet Crime Investigation, at the National Police University of China, in Liaoning Province, China, explains that there is a fundamental security flaw in all Wi-Fi systems. Because of the way Wi-Fi works, the access-point, must listen passively for a signal, a beacon, from devices that may wish to connect whether legitimately or illicitly. This beacon is wholly unencrypted, it has to be because until a connection is made no data can be exchanged to encrypt subsequent communication between the access-point and device.

” This makes Wi-Fi easy to use because you can see networks and their names around you without exchanging some key or password first, but it also makes Wi-Fi networks prone to many kinds of attacks,” explains Guo. He has now looked at the top three exploit kits used to break into Wi-Fi: Rogue AP, ARP spoofing, and Wi-Fi MITM. The first point of concern is that none of these kits need physical access to the network, by virtue of its wireless nature, Wi-Fi is vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, whereas a wired network would require the hacker to have a plug-and-socket connection to the network to be able to breach its security.

These “automated cyber weapons” can cause havoc by penetrating and bypassing protections, they can also forge disassociations and deauthorise packets, compromising legitimate communications. Guo describes the protection tools that are available but none of them is perfect and there almost always ways in which a hacker can breach a Wi-Fi network.

Guo, R. (2019) ‘Survey on WiFi infrastructure attacks’, Int. J. Wireless and Mobile Computing, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp.97–101