31 December 2006

Special issue: CFD modelling and simulation of waste-to-energy and waste incineration processes

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, an International Journal 7(1) 2007 is a special issue: CFD modelling and simulation of waste-to-energy and waste incineration processes. Topics include applications in large mass burn waste-to-energy boilers; municipal solid waste incineration; rotary-kiln hazardous waste incinerators; chemical Liquid Incinerator Chambers; biomass gasification.

29 December 2006

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management

Leaders in organisations and governments must make responsible strategic and policy decisions that satisfy two important objectives:
- to facilitate and sustain high organisational performance, and
- to manage organisational and national resources so that organisations and societies can benefit from them in the future.
Balancing these objectives can be complex and typically requires intellectual contributions across disciplines.
International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management - to begin publication in 2008 - is a forum for publication of refereed scientific work in this field.

Special issue: Performance and risk measurement: operations, logistics and supply chains

International Journal of Business Performance Management 9(2) 2007 is a special issue: Performance and risk measurement: operations, logistics and supply chains. Topics include: measurement practices and expertises in manufacturing and service industries; risk characteristics of supply chains; after-sales service; demand fluctuations; instabilities and uncertainties of telecom supply chains; performance measurement in the healthcare industry.

Special issue: Manufacturing enterprise computing, integration and management

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management 10(2/3) 2007 is a special issue: Manufacturing enterprise computing, integration and management. It aims at bringing together the latest research on the emerging sciences and technologies in manufacturing enterprise computing, integration and management from the leading scholars worldwide. The 12 research papers cover a variety of research interests from supply chain networks, resource management and coordination, manufacturing process integration, enterprise integration framework and methodology, shop floor scheduling and execution, to system flexibility and responsiveness, product customisation knowledge engineering and manufacturing optimisation.

27 December 2006

Special issue: Biomedical data engineering

International Journal of Bioinformatics Research and Applications 3(1) 2007 is a special issue: Biomedical data engineering and includes some papers from the First International Workshop on Biomedical Data Engineering held in Tokyo on 3-4 April 2005 in conjunction with the IEEE International Conference on Data Engineering, 2005.

24 December 2006

Special issue: Innovation behind quality: the new challenge for quality methods and tools

International Journal of Technology Management 37(1/2) 2007 is a special issue: Innovation behind quality: the new challenge for quality methods and tools. The aim is to defend the thesis that efforts related to quality are value-adding ones. In some sense, the thesis sustained here is that quality is strongly related to innovation and, thus, is a prerequisite for the growth of enterprises and, finally, for the wealth of nations. The papers are ordered in a sort of plan-do-check-act sequence, according to the concept that the famous improvement cycle can be applied also to research and innovation. The PLAN contributions deal with more theoretical issues, whereas the DO contributions concern strictly technical topics, analysing some specific tool or methodology related to quality that can contribute to the innovation effort in the enterprise. The CHECK contributions treat the measurement of performances. Finally, the ACT contributions give the flavour of the embodiment of the quality and innovation concepts in real operating environments.

22 December 2006

Special issue: Security issues on sensor networks

Security in sensor networks differs from those in other traditional networks in many aspects such as limited memory space, limited computation capability, etc. Therefore, sensor network security has some unique features, which do not exist in other networks. A special issue of International Journal of Security and Networks 1(3/4) 2006: Security issues on sensor networks, addresses these issues. Specific areas of interest covered include key managements in sensor networks, secure routing in secure networks, lightweight encryption and authentication in sensor networks, attacks and solutions in sensor networks and other areas, which are related to both security and sensor networks.

Special issue: Perception of the many risks of the work environment

International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management 7(2) 2007 is a special issue: Perception of the many risks of the work environment. Topics include: careless behaviour; the perceived safety climate in six UK power stations; health management and its relation to risk identification and risk-taking behaviour in an off-shore industry setting; job insecurity and health; the effects of job insecurity, overtime pressure and work
hazards on job risk taking; measuring trust in management with regard to risk policies; the effects of downsizing; lobster fishermen in Australia; company safety policies.

21 December 2006

Special issue: Historical perspective on industrial waste recycling

Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 3(4) 2006 is a special issue: Historical perspective on industrial waste recycling. Topics include the industrial waste reduction and recycling programme at Ford Motor Company’s River Rouge complex in the 1920s and 1930s; the US scrap markets in the last two centuries; the scrap-iron ‘bonanza’ that followed the introduction of the railroad in Ontario in the 19th century; US wartime recycling; waste-free technology’ in the final decades of the USSR; and the recovery and reuse of sewage and other urban wastes in 19th century Stockholm.

18 December 2006

Newly announced title: International Journal of Computational Materials Science and Surface Engineering

International Journal of Computational Materials Science and Surface Engineering - to begin publication in 2008 - aims to bring a unique medium of communication for multidisciplinary approaches, either empirical or theoretical, to the study of engineering materials (metallic alloys, tool materials, superplastic materials, ceramics and glasses, composites, amorphous materials, nanomaterials, biomaterials, multifunctional and smart materials, engineering polymers) and their processing technologies and surface engineering.
The scope includes original scientific papers which describe computer-aided methods of modelling, simulation and prediction for designing new engineering materials and the technological processes of the manufacturing, processing and forming of their structure and properties in the whole volume and their surface and also the description of phenomena and phase transformations appearing in those materials.

17 December 2006

Special issue: Science and technology intelligence

International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning 2(4) 2006 is special issue: Science and technology intelligence. Papers deal with the integration of intelligence activities at the strategic level; technology intelligence to support new value chain networks; practices and models of technology intelligence systems; assessment and integration of intelligence tools and techniques; and tools for risk management in development projects.

Special issue: Mobile services and mobile semantic

International Journal of Web and Grid Services 2(4) 2006 is a special issue: Mobile services and mobile semantic, with papers on Service-Oriented Architectures, intelligent agents, the semantic web, Bluetooth and location based services in relation to mobile computing.

Special issue: Current development of the financial services in SE Europe

International Journal of Financial Services Management 2(1/2) 2007 is a Special issue: Current development of the financial services in SE Europe. There are empirical papers on financial markets and advanced financial analysis; three papers on the banking sector in South Eastern European countries and one on Circuitist monetary theory and analysis in SE Europe.

14 December 2006

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology - to begin publication in 2008 - will be a multidisciplinary refereed journal concerned with exploration, production, processing and refining, storage and transportation, economic, managerial, business, environmental, safety and security issues related to oil, natural gas and coal as well as related industries such as petrochemicals. The objective of the journal is to provide a single reference that addresses all issues related to fossil type fuels and their derived products, especially with regard to environmental and economical constraints.

10 December 2006

Special issue: Non-destructive testing and evaluation

International Journal of Microstructure and Materials Properties 1(3/) 2006 is a special issue: Non-destructive testing and evaluation, comprising papers presented at the 8th International Conference on the Application of Contemporary Non-Destructive Testing in Engineering held in Portorož from 1st to 3rd September, 2005 and organised by the Slovenian Society for Non-Destructive Testing. The papers cover ultrasonic testing, various electro-magnetic methods, acoustic emission and numerical modelling in a variety of contexts, including concrete, timber, coatings, pipelines and sheet materials.

New journal: International Journal of Nanomanufacturing (IJNM)

Inderscience is delighted to announce the publication of the following new title:

International Journal of Nanomanufacturing (IJNM)

http://www.inderscience.com/ijnm

The increasing drive towards miniaturisation has dictated that new micro- and nanomanufacturing technologies are developed in parallel with nanotechnology, molecular engineering and biotechnology in order to keep abreast of future technological developments. IJNM provides a principal forum for the interchange of information on the science, process technology and applications of micro- and nanomanufacturing processes.

Readership includes: academics, researchers, industrial companies, trade associations and policy makes in the fields of manufacturing technology, materials science, engineering, biotechnology, nanotechnology, electronics and business to disseminate information and learn from each others work.

ISSN (Online): 1746-9406
ISSN (Print): 1746-9392

Editor(s) in Chief:

Prof. Waqar Ahmed
Chair in Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials
University of Ulster
Nanotechnology and Integrated Bio Engineering Centre (NIBEC)
Shore Road, Newtownabbey
County Antrim BT37 0QB
UK
w.ahmed@ulster.ac.uk

Prof. Mark J. Jackson
Purdue University
Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Birck Nanotechnology Center
College of Technology
Knoy Hall, 401 North Grant Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2021
USA
jacksomj@purdue.edu

Abstracts available online. Articles available in HTML and PDF format.

Current Issue: Volume 1 No 1 2006

9 December 2006

Calls for Papers - RSS feed

There is now an RSS feed for Inderscience Calls For Papers.

We will continue to post details of individual Calls in this blog, but you can also keep up to date with the very latest Calls from all Inderscience publications by subscribing to this feed. More information about RSS and how to subscribe to a feed is available here.

8 December 2006

Call for papers: Revenue Management in Practice: The Execution of Optimal Solutions

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=566

Call for papers: Revenue Management in Practice: The Execution of Optimal Solutions

A special issue of the International Journal of Revenue Management (IJRM)

Important Dates:

Full paper due : 15 March 2007

Notification of status of paper : 15 April 2007

Notification of acceptance and Review Results : 15 May 2007

Final version of paper due : 1 June 2007

Guest Editor: Frederick H. deB. Harris, Wake Forest University, USA

The general theme of this Special Issue of IJRM is to highlight those advances in economic, marketing, and strategic analysis and IT implementation required to support the effective execution of optimal revenue management solutions.

New capabilities to implement differential pricing and inventory control at the product line level (for example, the origin-destination level in airlines) have triggered additional requirements for subtle and complex analyses of target customer segments. This special issue explores the linkage between information obtained by detailed internal analyses using economic, marketing and strategic conceptual frameworks and the implementation of revenue management optimal solutions.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: A Review of the Measurement of Risk in Economics and Finance

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=565

Call for papers: A Review of the Measurement of Risk in Economics and Finance

A special issue of the International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management (IJRAM)

Important Dates:
Manuscripts should be submitted by : 15 December 2007

Guest Editors: Professor Keith Pilbeam and Dr Jose Olmo, City University (London), UK

The aim of this special edition is to review the various ways in which risk is measured in the fields of economics and finance. There are numerous measures of risk used in the economics and finance literature and this issue will look at the various measures employed and assess their relative merits both theoretically and empirically. It is aimed at bankers, financial portfolio managers, academics and researchers, decision makers and governmental and international financial institutions, and other professionals.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: E-commerce Adoption among SMEs in Developing Countries: Issues, Concerns and Challenges

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=564

Call for papers: E-commerce Adoption among SMEs in Developing Countries: Issues, Concerns and Challenges

A special issue of the International Journal of Internet and Enterprise Management (IJIEM)

Important Dates:
Full Paper Submission : 1 June 2007
Inform Review Results : 31 December 2007
Final Paper Submission : 1 February 2008

Guest Editor: T. Ramayah, Universiti Sains Malaysia

The effects of e-commerce on globalisation of economic activities have created opportunity as well as threat to the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While much has been written about the theory and practices of e-commerce generally, not much has been written about it in relation to SMEs in developing countries. The purpose of this special issue is to provide a forum for discussion of topics relating to e-commerce issues, concerns and challenges faced by SMEs in developing countries.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Micro/Nano-Precision Abrasive Machining

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=563

Call for papers: Micro/Nano-Precision Abrasive Machining

A special issue of the International Journal of Abrasive Technology (IJAT)

Important Dates:
Deadline for submission of manuscripts: 30 March 2007
Notification of peer review to authors: 30 May 2007
Deadline for submitting revised manuscripts: 30 June 2007

Guest Editors:
Assoc. Prof. Yongbo Wu, Akita Prefectural University, Japan
Prof. Sunglim Ko, Konkuk University, Korea
Prof. Pei-Lum Tso, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan

In recent years, information technology equipment and devices such as laptop computers and cell phones have rapidly become popularised worldwide as a result of the advances in electronics and manufacturing technology. Abrasive machining, such as grinding and polishing, has played an essential role in the fabrication of the components used for such equipment and devices. As the demand for compact, miniaturised and multifunctional optoelectronic instruments increases, it is expected that the requirements for micro/nano precision abrasive machining of engineered components from both metallic and advanced materials will increase significantly.

The aim of this special issue of the IJAT is to compile the state-of-the-art in micro/nano-precision abrasive machining, consisting of high quality research articles in precision and ultra-precision grinding, polishing, slicing and other related processes, as well as new and advanced abrasive tools and equipment.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Managing Information and Knowledge in New Product Development

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=562

Call for papers: Managing Information and Knowledge in New Product Development

A special issue of the International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning (IJTIP)
Important Dates

Deadline for Submission of of research ideas: 30 January 2007
Deadline for submission of article (first draft): 30 May 2007
Deadline for feedback to authors: 30 August 2007
Deadline for submission of article (second draft): 30 October 2007
Deadline for notification of acceptance (final corrections, if necessary): 30 November 2007

Guest Editors: Dr. Johan Frishammar, Luleå University of Technology and Dr. Anders Richtnér, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden

Effective management of information and knowledge can make a huge difference to companies involved with new product development. Such management can improve performance of new products, facilitate the development of product concepts, and increase the success and frequency of cross-functional activities among functions and departments, just to mention a few examples. The concepts of information and knowledge are ambiguous, however, and also difficult to define and measure accurately. Besides, the findings of much of the existing research are scattered and inconclusive as far as policy recommendations goes.

As guest editors, we want to advance the understanding of managing knowledge and information in a new product development context. In terms of scope, we opt for diversity in terms of research approaches, theories and methodology, but with the common aim of helping firms and managers to manage information and/or knowledge better in their NPD efforts. Papers submitted can be either conceptual or empirical, but preferably novel and also a bit provocative!

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

7 December 2006

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are becoming key components in a wide range applications. Research into nanoparticles encompasses numerous disciplines such as nanotechnology, molecular engineering, medicine, pharmaceutical drug manufacture, biology, chemistry, physics, optical components, polymer science, mechanical engineering, toxicology, cosmetics, energy, food technology and environmental and health sciences.
International Journal of Nanoparticles - to begin publication in 2008 - focuses on the chemical, physical and biological phenomena and processes associated with nanoparticles and nanostructures ranging from molecular size to 100nm which exhibit improved properties or have novel applications due to their size. It will include aspects of submicron nanoparticles in special cases.

Special issue:Sustainable management in agriculture and water resources

International Journal of Sustainable Development 9(2) 2006 is a special issue: Sustainable management in agriculture and water resources. Topics include the predictable effects of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with the Decoupling of Farm Support; the management of conflicts between old and new water-rights holders in the perspective of a more sustainable water resources management; methodological and applied approaches aimed at favouring a sustainable management of water resources in practices, in particular agricultural, that generate pollution; the costs of desertification.

Special issue: Shaping emerging technologies, innovations and futures

International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy 3(2) 2007 is a special issue: Shaping emerging technologies, innovations and futures. Papers discuss new approaches and perspectives to foresight methodologies. These approaches are expected to cater to the needs of the turbulent character of the emerging technology and dynamics of innovation system and their interrelationship, the policy implications for human resource in the context of continuous shift from an industrial economy to an information knowledge-based economy and a methodology to identify critical technologies for the regional innovation system.

Special issue: Supply chain planning, execution, modelling and optimisation in the Internet age

International Journal of Agile Systems and Management v1(4) 2006 is a special issue: Supply chain planning, execution, modelling and optimisation in the Internet age. These theoretical and case-based papers demonstrate that a body of knowledge and best practice surrounding supply chain planning, execution, modelling and optimisation in the Internet age, is beginning to emerge. The articles represent a spectrum of approaches to optimisation of supply chains influenced by the Internet to support agile systems and organisations. Papers reflect four major themes: The impact of Internet technology on supply chain agility; Information flows and supply chains; Modelling and optimising supply networks; New methods of supply chain forecasting and planning.

Special issue: Pervasive computing through networked sensing devices

Pervasive computing is the next generation computing environments with information and communication technology everywhere, for everyone, at all times. The technologies of wireless, ad hoc and sensor networks play important roles in pervasive computing. Sensing devices connected through wireless communication can capture, process and disseminate useful information surrounding us. The issues and challenges for the development of such technologies not only encompass a broad spectrum of research topics but also involve envisioning new multi-disciplinary applications that will change the way in which we live and work.
International Journal of Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing v2(1/2) 2007 is a special issue (Pervasive computing through networked sensing devices) targeted at addressing the development of these issues, especially in medium access, routing, multicasting, data retrieval and information processing for wireless, ad hoc and sensor networks.

5 December 2006

Special issue : Context in autonomic communication and computing

International Journal of Internet Protocol Technology 2(1) 2007 is a special issue : Context in autonomic communication and computing. The area of autonomic communication and computing encompasses new paradigms for networking communication and computation. This next generation of systems will require a great degree of research in self-knowledge, self-management and introspective capability in order for such systems to gain an understanding of events and situations. A review: Challenges and research directions in autonomic communications is followed by theoretical papers and others on applications in health and multimedia.

3 December 2006

Special issue: Integrating mobility into the healthcare sector: the next generation of mobile health applications

International Journal of Electronic Healthcare 3(1) 2007 is a special issue: Integrating mobility into the healthcare sector: the next generation of mobile health applications. The papers broadly look at the design and development of mobile technologies and applications to support the provision and management of healthcare services within the hospital and home environments as well as exploring the possibilities for these technologies to provide healthcare ubiquitously. Through wireless, integrated networks, medical knowledge can be shared almost instantly enabling the provision and management of healthcare outside traditional working hours and beyond the traditional physical constraints.

Special issue: Supply chain issues from a Nordic context

International Journal of Integrated Supply Management 3(1) 2007 is a special issue: Supply chain issues from a Nordic context. Two papers focus on supply chain integration, though taking a different methodological angle - one is a case study while the other is based on an extended survey in all Nordic countries. A further article focuses on the transportation sector and the logistical challenges after the enlargement of the EU, while another focuses on the specialties of third party logistics relationships (TPL) in a Nordic context. The final article goes back to the roots of supply chain management in modelling the bullwhip effect in a case study.

Special issue: Franchising

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business 4(1) 2007 is a special issue: Franchising. A study on overseas expansion of North American franchises and is followed by a longitudinal study on the acceptance of the retail format of western convenience stores in Taiwan, a case study of the Athlete’s Foot franchise entering China, and two studies of franchising in Finland

Special issue: Future perspectives of technology assessment

International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy 3(1) 2007 is a special issue: Future perspectives of technology assessment. The main topics are: dealing with increased complexity of decision making in modern society; lessons learned from innovation studies, especially concerning the involvement of users in innovation policies; assessing the quality of foresight knowledge; considering the evaluator’s role of researchers in stakeholder dialogues; and analysing the requirements of technological transformation against the background of sustainable development.

Special issue on Connective technologies and their impact on manufacturing and logistics

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management 10(1) 2007 is a special issue: Connective technologies and their impact on manufacturing and logistics, comprising 8 papers, mostly dealing with applications of RFID.

Special issue: Uncertainty management for supply chain competitiveness

International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management 7(1) 2007 is a special issue: Uncertainty management for supply chain competitiveness and covers recent research and developments in uncertainty management for supply chain competitiveness. It addresses theory building, theory testing and reports case studies and experience of best practice. It covers a range of techniques for managing uncertainty in various supply chains with contributions from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Hong Kong and the UK.

Special issue on cultural diversity and identity issues in sports organisations

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing 2(1/2) 2007 is a special issue: Cultural diversity and identity issues in sports organisations and explores the dimensions of cultural diversity that relate to the marketing and management of sport. The research articles attend to factors and issues dealing with policy, inclusion, affirmative action legislations, identity, and equity in all aspects of sports organisations as well as related issues that have emerged within the context of cultural diversity.
It was the specific intent of this volume to focus upon several salient issues and factors: the politics of identity and representation in sports organisations, the
theorising sport and inclusion practices, accommodation and resistance to
diversity/equality, symbolic construction of sports communities, ethnocentrism and whiteness, ethnic identities and corporate managerialism, exploring alternative leadership paradigms, promoting equal opportunity within sports organisations.

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development

International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development - to begin publication in 2008 - will be a multi-disciplinary journal devoted to the study of the nature of technological innovation processes, at the level of firms, industries/clusters, and countries, the various influences on such processes as well as their implications for industrial growth, techno-economic and social development in the context of contemporary late-industrialising countries.
Innovation will be studied from a comprehensive perspective to encompass imitation, assimilation, experimentation, continuous improvement and research-based activities on the basis of their technical, organisational, managerial and institutional dimensions. This broad approach to the study of innovation will help uncover the dynamics and intricacies of the processes of accumulation and sustainability of innovative capabilities in developing countries. The themes will be explored within a broad spectrum of economic activities including sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and a wide range of service activities, from health care systems to banking and their varied intersections.

Inderscience sponsors the Information Professionals' Christmas Party 2006

Inderscience Publishers was delighted to be the Gold sponsor of the Information Professionals' Christmas Party 2006, held on 27th November in the Science Museum, London.

The party is an annual event, held by the Association of UK Media Librarians (AUKML), the British & Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL), the City Information Group (CiG), the City Legal Information Group (CLIG), the Industrial and Commercial Libraries Group (ICLG), and SLA Europe (the European Chapter of the Special Libraries Association).

The party was very well attended, and we hope to feature some pictures in future posts to this blog.

All attendees received a voucher entitling them to a complimentary subscription to any one of over 100 new Inderscience journals published in 2005-2007. If for any reason you have misplaced your voucher, please contact webmaster@inderscience.com


Subject areas covered by Inderscience include:
Computing, Internet and ICT;
Economics, Accounting and Finance;
Education, Learning and Human Resources Development;
Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development;
Healthcare and Leisure;
Management, Business Administration and Law;
Public Policy and Public Administration;
Risk Assessment, Safety and Emergency Management;
Science, Engineering and Technology.

One lucky party-goer also won the evening's top prize, donated by Inderscience - a free, one-year subscription to all new Inderscience journal titles, plus an iPod nano!

More details will appear shortly.

2 December 2006

Call for papers: Game Theory Applications in Operations Research and Management Science

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=557

Call for papers: Game Theory Applications in Operations Research and Management Science

A special issue of the International Journal of Operational Research (IJOR)

Important Dates

Submission due to Guest Editor : 4 May 2007

Papers reviewed : 20 August 2007

Decisions to the authors : 1 October 2007

Final revised version of accepted papers : 15 February 2008

Guest Editor: Dr. Soheil Sibdari, University of Massachusetts, USA
Traditional research in operations research, especially in retail and service management, assumes that the agents behave according to an isolated system structure. In reality, especially with emerging new technologies such as the internet, the markets are more dynamic, with an environment managed by multiple agents whose behavior influences each others' payoff.

Recently, the operations research literature has experienced a growing interest in using game theory tools to tackle incentive-related problems with multiple agents. Competitors, consumers, retailers, and suppliers are self-interest agents whose actions affect each other benefits and optimal decisions. In such an environment, the decision of the agents affects each agent’s payoff. Therefore, game-theoretic tools can interact with other optimisation models to address the problems with multiple agents.

Although game theory has been very well studied in economic literature, there are not many studies practicing supply chains using practical research in game theory. The goal of this special issue is to collect recent studies in service and supply chain management using game theoretic models to address this gap.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Advanced Ceramics: Innovative Strategies for Their Preparation, Characterisation and Modelling

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=558

Call for papers: Advanced Ceramics: Innovative Strategies for Their Preparation, Characterisation and Modelling

A special issue of the International Journal of Materials and Product Technology (IJMPT)

Important Dates

Deadline for submission : 1 May 2007

Guest Editor: Professor Valeria Cannillo, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy

Ceramics are widely used as high-performance materials for several applications. Structural and functional ceramic materials are increasingly utilised to work under new demanding conditions. Advanced ceramics are being used in several fields such as engineering materials (e.g. composites), biomaterials (e.g. orthopaedic prostheses such as hip implants and dentistry), coatings (e.g. for wear applications and as thermal barrier coatings), just to mention a few examples. Moreover, with the advent of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ceramic nanostructured materials have drawn significant attention to their potential applications.

Papers related to all aspects of advanced ceramics are invited. Emphasis will be given to novel processing routes, characterisation techniques and models able to predict the material behaviour. This special issue is intended to be a forum for discussing all the aspects related to the current state of the art of the development and investigation of innovative ceramics, future trends and challenges.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Virtual Learning and Knowledge Sharing

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=559

Call for papers: Virtual Learning and Knowledge Sharing

A special issue of the International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations (IJNVO)

Important Dates

Three-page extended abstract by : 15 February 2007

Notification of full paper submission sent to the lead author by : 15 March 2007

Manuscripts must be sent no later than : 1 June 2007

Guest Editors:
Judith Molka-Danielsen, Molde University College, Norway
Rajeev K Bali, Coventry University, UK
Nilmini Wickramasinghe, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA

Virtual learning is an emerging strategy for many universities and learning organisations. Universities receive pressure from competitive business environments to ensure their graduates have the right skills to prepare them for work in the modern workplace. Depending on the students background, many skills can be difficult to acquire through traditional classroom experiences. Recent research suggests that the mind learns through storing actual experiences and constructing patterns and connections among them. As such, virtual technologies and environments can externalise some of the functions of the mind, and through their use, allow educators to study and produce learning. Further, virtual learning environments can support learning in social contexts as they can support social networks and transfer of knowledge.

Knowledge sharing in organisations and communities has become a critical factor to group success. In particular, among the “right skills” demanded of workers are social and interactive skills. These are based on the ever-increasing challenges on individual cognitive skills and the fact that the work often necessitates team based collaborations to achieve goals. Conditions on workers can be additive as they are faced with increasing time pressure to acquire new skills and to learn about new technologies. Yet another confounding factor may be that knowledge sharing must be implemented among members who are mobile or geographically dispersed.

Given these complex factors, modern organisations are challenged with the task of tracking how knowledge is created, who knows what, and how to capture personal tacit knowledge of the individual and to transfer it more effectively to their communities or organisations.

Virtual learning and knowledge sharing are in essence a related strategy. Virtual learning will open new opportunities for knowledge creation and sharing. Through information technologies, virtual learning can be integrated into organisational and community learning strategies. Given the growing virtual and dispersed nature of our work, we dedicate this special issue of IJNVO to virtual learning and knowledge sharing.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to :

* Virtual learning technologies applied in business and communities of practice;
* New teaching methodologies including the use of virtual learning in education and academic development;
* Knowledge sharing strategies and organisational structures supported through IT for network building;
* Case studies of learning organisations methods and technologies in use;
* Case studies of cross sector knowledge sharing;
* Scaffolding learning through virtual environments;
* Assessment of virtual learning in education, business and communities of practice;
* Personalised strategies for knowledge tracking and transfer in organisations.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Molecular Manufacturing

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=560

Call for papers: Molecular Manufacturing

A special issue of the International Journal of Molecular Engineering (IJME)

Important dates:

Deadline for submission of manuscripts : 31 May 2007

Communication of peer reviews to authors : 31 July 2007

Deadline for revised manuscripts : 30 September 2007

Guest Editors:
Professor Waqar Ahmed, University of Ulster, UK
Professor Mark J. Jackson, Purdue University, USA
Dr. Nasar Ali, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Dr. Xianfang Zhu, Xiamen University, China

Nature already uses atomic and molecular level engineering within cells, organelles, tissues, and organs to create a vast array of functional structures. Engineers are beginning to develop techniques that allow the creation and development of a whole range of materials and structures that will have a huge range of applications ranging from medical products, pharmaceutical drugs, new materials, nano robots, molecular machines, 3-D intelligent structures, and novel electronic devices.

The fabrication and manufacturing of conventional devices relies on the assembly of macroscopic building blocks with specific configurations. At the nanoscale, top-down manufacturing techniques are extremely challenging and a chemical approach is required to build nanostuctures. Tiny molecular building blocks are assembled with incredible precision and structural control with defined shapes, properties, and functions. Larger structures are formed from smaller structures using bottom-up chemical strategies. Indeed, we are starting to see the emergence of beautiful and ingenious examples of molecular-based strategies to fabricate and manufacture chemically nanoscaled building blocks for use in functional materials and innovative devices.

This special inaugural issue on molecular manufacturing is aimed at focusing the recent developments in fabrication and manufacturing of molecular devices.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Mergers and Acquisitions, Financial Systems Restructuring and Corporate Ownership Control Issues

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=561

Call for papers: Mergers and Acquisitions, Financial Systems Restructuring and Corporate Ownership Control Issues

A special issue of the International Journal of Financial Services Management (IJFSM)

Important dates:

Manuscripts should be submitted no later than : 27 April 2007.

Guest Editor: Dr. Dimitrios Asteriou, City University, London, UK

Mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and corporate ownership controls are a big part of the corporate finance world. Every day, investment bankers arrange M&A transactions, which bring separate companies together to form larger ones.

The aim of this special issue is to attempt to cover all issues of Corporate Governance, namely mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and ownership, control and governance around the world.

Papers are expected to address issues regarding motives and reasons for mergers, benefits and costs of mergers, the mechanics of a merger and how mergers affect the economy. In the issue of corporate restructuring interesting topics may include leveraged buyouts and/or management buyouts, spin-offs and curve-outs, conglomerates and the issue of bankruptcy. Finally, the role of ownership control and structure on the effectiveness and profitability of the firm is clearly an issue that demands further exploration in empirical finance.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

26 November 2006

Special issue on advances in cutting tools and their applications

International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials v1(3) 2006 is a special issue: Advances in Cutting Tools and Their Applications. This collection of invited papers is mainly on cutting tools and their applications in machining operations. A wide variety of different topics are addressed ranging from coated tools, gradient tools, self-lubricating tools, milling cutter for high-speed machining, abrasive diamond wire saw, machinability of nickel-based super-alloys and intelligent selection system for tool materials.

International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials moves to 6 issues in 2008

The International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials becomes the fifth Inderscience title to announce already an increase in the number of its issues in 2008. It will move from four to six issues at the end of next year, following its successful launch earlier this year.

24 November 2006

Call for papers: Computer Applications in Knowledge-Based Systems

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=544

Call for papers: Computer Applications in Knowledge-Based Systems

A special issue of the International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology (IJCAT)

Important Dates:

Submission of full paper before: 31 March 2007

Notification of acceptance before: 31 May 2007

Submission of final and revised manuscripts: 1 July 2007

Guest Editors:
Jun-ichi Aoe, Tokushima University, Japan
Kazuhiko Tsuda and Setsuya Kurahashi, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Masakazu Takahashi, Shimane University, Japan

Knowledge-based systems provide intelligent assistance in solving any problem. They can be used not only as systems within engineering, but also within management, marketing, internet, communication, networking, psychology, education, etc. The research and development of these systems which exploit knowledge in the target domain is at the forefront of modern research.

This special issue is intended to present applications of knowledge-based systems. Submitted papers are expected to postulate diverse problems, models and solutions for these applications.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Human Resource Development/Management in Lean Production

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=545

Call for papers: Human Resource Development/Management in Lean Production

A special issue of the International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management (IJHRDM)

Important dates:

Manuscripts due: 16 April, 2007

Notification: 18 June, 2007

Final manuscript due: 3 September, 2007

Guest Editors: Professor David Preece, University of Teesside, UK and Professor Robert Jones, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia

Extensive literatures have built up over the years relating to a) Human Resource Management/Development (HRM/D), b) Lean Production (LP). In both cases, these literatures can be provisionally disaggregated into writings which take a strong normative orientation, writings which are primarily concerned with theory development, and work which is concerned to report empirical findings within a given theoretical framework (in some cases this may lead to suggestions for theory development).

Some work, of course, has addressed both HRM/D and LP, that is to say has explored/discussed some aspect of HRM/D in a LP context, but usually the examination of HRM/D here is derivative, in the sense that the primary focus is upon such matters as shop floor working practices, management organisation in LP, team working in LP, surveillance and control in LP regimes, etc, etc. Here, HRM/D is not the primary interest of the writer/researcher, but, rather, is discussed in so far as there are 'HRM/D' implications emerging from and/or forming part of the aforementioned areas of interest, such that, for example, it is necessary to look at training and development provision/implications, whether HRM/D specialists have been involved and if so in what sort of way and with what results.

This Special Issue foregrounds both LP and HRM/D. We are seeking papers which fall into one or other of the latter two 'camps' outlined above, that is those which advance theory in the HRM/D and LP area, or, and especially, those which are theoretically-informed (and may contribute to theory development) and are empirically-based-in other words, present some new data relating to some aspect of HRM/D practice/organisation in LP environments. We believe that it is important that up-to-date knowledge and understanding of such practices and/or organisation is consolidated into a vehicle such as a Special Issue, given the widespread adoption of various forms of LP practice throughout the world, the pervasive HRM/D implications-and, possibly, precursors, of such practice and the relative lack of reliable, focused research in this area.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Biomass Energy in Developing Countries

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=546

Call for papers: Biomass Energy in Developing Countries

A special issue of the International Journal of Global Energy Issues (IJGEI)

Important dates:

Submission: 20 March, 2007

Review process: 20 March-20 May, 2007

Revised submissions: July, 2007

Guest Editor: Professor Liu Ronghou, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, P.R.China

The main objective of this special issue is to address issues related to the theory and experimental research and case studies in the field of biomass energy including resource, conversion technologies, utilisation of bio-energy, and techno-economic assessment in developing countries.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Role of Enabling Technologies in Optimising Supply Chain Activities

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=547

Call for papers: Role of Enabling Technologies in Optimising Supply Chain Activities

A special issue of the International Journal of Value Chain Management (IJVCM)

Important dates:

Manuscript submission: 31 May 2007

Reviewer reports: 31 August 2007

Revised paper submission: 31 October 2007

Final manuscript submission: 30 November 2007

Guest Editors: Dr. K. L. Choy and Dr. Henry C.W. Lau, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Dr. Felix T. S. Chan, University of Hong Kong

Demand for customer-tailored products and time-to-market present great challenges for fixed and linear supply chains that are competing in today’s market. While the prevalent linear supply chain model is supported by physical infrastructure that includes plants, trucks, rail, shipping lines, physical distribution points, including retail outlets and warehouses, the new envisioned model for product supply chain will be built around entities such as, people, information and smart products.

In addition, constant innovation in managing information and strategy is required for a sustainable enterprise as it responds to today’s business demands in a much more dynamic environment. Hence, in order to succeed in an unpredictable competitive marketplace, enterprises need to manage their supply chain activities, information, technologies and strategy effectively and innovatively.

Supply chain and logistics enabling technologies have taken a prominent role to integrate people, information and products across traditional supply chain boundaries including management of various manufacturing, logistics and retailing operations such as in manufacturing, warehousing and distribution of goods. Therefore, optimisation models integrating with web-based systems as well as smart materials represented by actuators and sensors, tagging represented by global positional system and radio frequency identification technology tags, and decentralised processing among trading partners can create a new manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes that provide a dynamically controlled supply chain network.

This Special Issue aims to align latest practice, innovation and case studies with academic frameworks and theories. It will include the latest research results and efforts at different levels including quick-response system, theoretical performance analysis, performance and capability demonstration, hoping to cover the role of enabling technologies in optimising supply chain activities. Prospective papers should be unpublished and present novel, fundamental research offering innovative contribution either from a methodological or an application perspective.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Knowledge Management and Business Data Mining

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=548

Call for papers: Knowledge Management and Business Data Mining

A special issue of the International Journal of Technology Management (IJTM)

Important dates:

Deadline for submission of manuscripts: 1 November 2007

Notification of acceptance/rejection to authors: 1 March 2008

Submission of final manuscript: 1 May 2008

Guest Editors: Dr Dash Wu, University of Toronto, Canada and Dr Marko Torkkeli, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland

As independently developed subjects, knowledge management and data mining have not been analysed as complementary, much less exploited. Both knowledge management (KM) and data mining (DM) grow and thrive at the confluence of information technologies (machine learning, knowledge-based systems, and databases), statistics and data analysis, as well as the business and management sciences.

The focus of this special issue is on bringing together researchers and practitioners from the areas of data mining and knowledge management. The technical objective is to exchange ideas and techniques from the two areas as well as to establish a framework for the development of methodologies that integrate knowledge management and information discovery.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Commercialisation process in SMEs and Globalisation

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=549

Call for papers: Commercialisation process in SMEs and Globalisation

A special issue of the International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation (IJTTC)

Important dates:

Manuscript submission: 30 April, 2007

Notification of Acceptance: 31 August, 2007

Final Submission: 31 October, 2007

Guest Editor: Markku Virtanen, Helsinki School of Economics, Finland

Commercialisation process is a critical factor for the success of SMEs. Many small and medium-sized technology firms are facing competition characterised by the product and market uncertainties, transfer of technologies, increasing intensity of knowledge and information, internationalisation and globalisation of market. Product uncertainties are caused by the shortened product life cycle, which is a common feature in the high technology sector.

In addition, the rapid changes in technology, customer requirements and business practices have a significant impact on firm performance. The capability of a firm to create and commercialise new products quickly is the central challenge for the small and medium-sized technology firms. The rapid commercialisation may secure survival and may also provide several benefits e.g. offer market leader position in national as well as in international level.
This special issue of commercialisation process in SMEs and globalisation emphasises the importance of commercialisation process and its characteristics including the driving forces and challenges in the market place. The driving forces and challenges include the rapid changes in environment and business models. Globalisation is one of those factors connected with both the changes of environment and business models. Thus the contributions connecting commercialisation process in SMEs and globalisation will be required.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Human Resource Management Practices in Industry Clusters

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=550

Call for papers: Human Resource Management Practices in Industry Clusters

A special issue of the International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management (IJHRDM)

Important dates:

Submissions should be sent no later than : 30 April 2007

Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Bei Hu and Prof. Dr. Rongqiu Chen, Huazhong Science and Technology University, P. R. China

Industry clusters do not only exist in the developed countries but also appear in developing countries. With the exuberance of electric clusters of Silicon Valley and Route 128 USA, the surgical instrument cluster of Tuttlingen Germany, the high-tech cluster in Zhongguan Village of Beijing, the perfume bottle cluster in Vallée de la Bresle France, industry clusters have become the focus of governments and academics.

It has been found from previous research that industry clusters boost the district economy and the quality of human capital in the cluster is decisive. However, industry clusters, especially in the developing countries, are now confronting problems in terms of human intelligence, brand, patent and management skills, and human resource management and development has become the bottleneck for the sustainable development of industry clusters. The further development of industry clusters requires new and greater requirements in the structure and quality of working staff. Therefore, HRM&D research into industry clusters becomes vital.

At present, scholars mainly focus on the relationships between entrepreneurs and industry clusters, the connection between professionals and industry clusters, etc. However, HRM practice research are not profound enough. Some key questions are: what kind of talent policies can support the sustainable development of industry cluster? What kind of HRM&D strategy is acceptable to industry clusters? What kind of the knowledge management system is advantageous for the knowledge overflow in the cluster? What kind of training mechanism can foster the development of human capital in industry clusters?

The purpose of this special issue is to provide theoretical and empirical research on HRM practices in industry clusters. Empirical research employing multiple methods, conceptual papers utilising a variety of theoretical perspectives, and manuscripts addressing multiple levels of analysis are especially encouraged.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Frameworks, Approaches and Methodologies for Enhancing Information Quality

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=551

Call for papers: Frameworks, Approaches and Methodologies for Enhancing Information Quality

A special issue of the International Journal of Information Quality (IJIQ)

Important dates:

Due date for proposal submission : 1 February 2007

Acceptance notification : 15 February 2007

Due date for paper submission : 15 June 2007
Guest Editors: Professor Andy Koronios, University of South Australia, Australia and Dr Latif Al-Hakim, University of Southern Queensland, Australia

Information Quality (IQ) is becoming a very active area of research and practice. The awareness of IQ is growing. The organisations have started to realise the importance of IQ, adverse impacts it can have when ignored and long lasting benefits it can provide when managed properly. With this increased awareness of IQ, a plethora of methodologies and frameworks for IQ are emerging. It is thus timely to seek assessment of the state-of-the-art in this area and get directions for further enhancing it.

Recommended general topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

* Research methodology for information quality
* Technical frameworks for information quality projects and programs
* Methodologies and approaches for information quality assessment and measurements
* Information quality systems development
* Information quality and enterprise architecture
* Approaches for data cleansing
* Approaches and methodology for identifying information quality success factors
* Case study approaches and field research in data and information quality
* Framework for information quality in government and corporate governance
* Framework for information quality in risk management and regulatory compliance
* Information quality case studies in any service and manufacturing industries

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Networks of SMEs and Globalisation

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=552

Call for papers: Networks of SMEs and Globalisation

A special issue of the International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business (IJGSB)

Important dates:

Submission of extended abstracts (max. 500 words) : 15 February 2007

Notification of acceptance of abstracts : 28 February 2007

Submission of full papers following acceptance of abstracts : 30 April 2007

Notification of acceptance, refusal or revision of full papers : 30 June 2007

Submission of accepted and revisited final papers : 31 July 2007

Guest Editors: Luca Dezi and Francesco Schiavone, University Parthenope of Naples, Italy

In the third millennium, companies have, by necessity, to arrange a large number of links with their external environment in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Cooperation and external agreements are in fact crucial for firms to both achieve resources, competencies and knowledge, not internally hold and to acquire new customers. In other words, external relations of firms are a very relevant source of their competitiveness and survival. This assumption shapes the present historical phase of capitalism, in which the ‘network paradigm’ is the dominant model of business management and governance for both large and small companies. In particular, one of the present main problems for small companies’ networks is to face globalisation and international dynamics of markets.

We invite contributions to a special issue of IJGSB that attempt to relate the networks of small firms with globalisation. Many networks of SMEs (e.g. industrial districts) indeed see this process as both a threat for their traditional business and an opportunity of international growth and development. In this context, the goal of this special issue is to collect a number of valuable papers analysing more ‘sides’ of this interesting and new dynamic interaction among networks of small companies and global markets and competitors.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Microgrinding

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=553

Call for papers: Microgrinding

A special issue of the International Journal of Nanomanufacturing (IJNM)

Important dates:

Deadline for submission of manuscripts : 30 September 2007

Communication of peer reviews to authors : 30 November 2007

Deadline for revised manuscripts : 31 January 2008

Guest Editors:
Professor Mark J. Jackson, Purdue University, US
Professor Waqar Ahmed, University of Ulster, UK

Microgrinding is a process with increasing importance especially in the area of manufacturing nanostructured surfaces. Microgrinding involves the machining of engineering materials using abrasive particles that are bonded in a matrix interspersed with induced and naturally occurring porosity. The development of bonded microgrinding tools is steadily gaining importance in addition to the development of grinding processes with loosely bonded and unbonded abrasive medium. The call for papers on microgrinding for this special issue is a reflection of the importance of this manufacturing process.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Nanostructured Materials and Coatings

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=554

Call for papers: Nanostructured Materials and Coatings

A special issue of the International Journal of Nano and Biomaterials (IJNBM)

Important dates:

Deadline for submission of manuscripts : 28 February 2007

Communication of peer reviews to authors : 30 April 2007

Deadline for revised manuscripts : 30 June 2007

Guest Editors:
Professor Mark J. Jackson, Purdue University, USA
Professor Waqar Ahmed, University of Ulster, UK
Dr. Christopher A. Rego, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Professor Yingxue Yao, Harbin Institute of Technology, China
Professor Mileta Tomovic, Purdue University, USA

The agricultural, industrial, and information technology revolutions resulted in quantum and dramatic changes in the way in which we live throughout the world. In recent years, the frontiers of research in engineering, science and technology have been driven by developments in nanomaterials that encompass a diverse range of disciplines.

The common theme is the ability to exhibit unique new properties arising from quantum effects. The number of research themes involving biological and nanostructured materials is growing rapidly and it is widely anticipated that nanotechnology will produce products, devices, components, and smart multifunctional intelligent systems. Advanced materials inspired by biological systems and processes are likely to change almost everything from vaccines to artificial tissues and organs to quantum computers.

This special inaugural issue aims to focus on the recent developments in nano and biomaterials in the growing field of nanostructured coatings and materials.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

23 November 2006

Special issue on games for design and engineering education

The papers in Journal of Design Research v5(2) 2006 examine the ways in which various types of games and simulations can enrich or enliven the teaching and practice of design and engineering. The editors' starting point is the belief that we are on the verge of a new (and perhaps revolutionary) approach to education in design and engineering, as described in Clark Aldrich’s best-selling book Simulations and the Future of Learning. An Innovative (and Perhaps Revolutionary) Approach to E-learning, Wiley, 2004.
The papers in this issue follow 5 themes: What designers can learn from video games; Game modding for virtual design; Contextualisation of engineering through role play; Web-enabled role play in engineering education; and Computer supported simulation-games of complex design systems.

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems

International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems - to begin publication in 2008 - will publish refereed quality papers in the broad field of mechatronics and manufacturing systems with a special emphasis on research and development in the modern engineering of advanced manufacturing processes and systems. It fosters information exchange and discussion on all aspects of mechatronics (computers, electrical and mechanical engineering) with applications in manufacturing processes and systems.

The journal will focus on all manufacturing systems, including machining (traditional and non-traditional processes), metal casting, bulk deformation, sheet metal forming, welding, plastics/composites processing, ceramic processing, additive/layered manufacturing processes, hybrid processes (thermal, plasma, chemical and electrical energy assisted processes), and microfabrication processes (micromachining, microforming, hot embossing and patterning).

It will also carry work on broad industrial applications, such as mechanical product manufacturing; applications in the automotive, aircraft, aerospace, machine tools, mould and die industries; consumer electronics product manufacturing; computers, semiconductor and communication industries and regulated product manufacturing; and biomedical, food, pharmaceutical and packaging industries.

22 November 2006

Special Issue on sculptured surface machining

International Journal of Manufacturing Research v1(2) 2006 is a special issue on sculptured surface machining, containing seven invited papers from internationally known researchers in this challenging field dealing with modelling, feed rates, tool size and tool orientation.

Special issue on intelligence in Web services

The 2nd International Ubiquitous Web Systems and Intelligences Workshop (UWSI) was held in May 2006 in Glasgow, Scotland. The workshop was co-located with the 2006 International Conference on Computational Science and its Applications.
From amongst the accepted papers in the workshop, eight authors were invited to submit their extended versions for a special issue of the International Journal of Web and Grid Services v2(3) 2006. Submitted papers were then reviewed by at least two reviewers and based on the reviews, four papers were accepted in the special issue.
The theme of this special issue is ‘Intelligence in Web Services’. The papers discuss the use of agents and other mechanisms, such as context-awareness policy and case-based reasoning, for providing more intelligent web services and their applications.

New Editor for International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management

Inderscience is delighted to announce that Professor Robert Fouchet, Dean of the Institute of Public Management at the Paul Cezanne University in Aix-en-Provence, France, is now setting up and developing the International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management. The journal will emphasise the implementation of performance management technologies; this perspective acknowledges the complexity of performance management in the public sector as an interface between the values placed upon public sector activities and their implementation.

21 November 2006

Special Issue on e-learning, e-training and e-knowledge: visions and observations from e-Agenda

International Journal of Learning Technology v2(4) 2006 is a special issue: e-Learning, e-Training and e-Knowledge: Visions and Observations from e-Agenda.
Over a 24-month period the editors had the privilege to engage with over 300 other e-learning professionals at seven separate eAgenda events around the globe involving key industry, government and higher education representatives.
With such a rich fabric of information and insight emerging from each of the events, it was only natural to pursue the concept of bringing together a collection of emerging and important concepts, observations and research into this special issue. The seven articles represent what the editors believe to be a coherent blend of such critical issues, observations and visions for the future in the e-learning, e-training and e-knowledge arenas.
The first article (Rossiter and Crock) creates a framework to assess the impact
and importance of change and innovation, and from this the editors have attempted to structure a special issue that provides a concise and focused compendium of resources on e-learning.
Reeve’s critical reflections on how we are travelling with respect to being able to apply professional and appropriate measures to assess the pedagogical impact of our e-learning endeavours and Rossett and Schafer’s excellent contribution on job aids and performance support provide the next contextual layer in the special issue. These papers are well complemented by Sloman’s examination of e-learning in the corporate sector and Salmon’s insights on the criticality of rewards and recognition in the e-learning arena. The issue is then rounded off with an historical and substantive review by Baker of the frameworks that support e-learning standards and an exploration by McNaught and Vogel of the fit between e-learning policy and organisational culture.

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Services Sciences

During recent years, there has been substantial and important growth in the application of quantitative analysis, i.e., operations research/management science, data mining, information, knowledge engineering and intelligent systems, statistics, and related fields to interdisciplinary problems arising in the service industry. International Journal of Services Sciences - to begin publication in 2008 - is a peer reviewed international journal devoted exclusively to research in this important, but under-represented area. It provides the primary forum for both academic and industry researchers and practitioners to propose and foster discussion on state-of-the-art research and development in the areas of services.

Newly announced journal: International Journal of Behavioural Studies in Accounting and Finance

International Journal of Behavioural Studies in Accounting and Finance - to begin publication in 2008 - aims to be a leading journal for publishing original papers reporting the results of research that address behavioural issues or adopt a behavioural methodology in accounting and finance. The term 'behavioural issues' is interpreted widely and includes but is not limited to economic, managerial, psychological and social issues facing financial markets, organisations, society, groups and individuals. The scope of accepted papers will include any research methodology in accounting or finance related subjects provided they address a behavioural issue across financial markets, corporate or governmental contexts in different countries.

17 November 2006

Call for papers: Globalisation and Technology Transfer in the Aerospace Industry

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=543

Call for papers: Globalisation and Technology Transfer in the Aerospace Industry

A special issue of the International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation (IJTTC)

Important Dates:

Deadline for manuscript submission: 31 October 2007

Guest Editor: Associate Professor Sören Eriksson, Jönköping International Business School, Sweden

The aerospace industry is a compound of several industries that produce aircraft, space vehicles, engines and a variety of components and systems. This industry is characterised by complex, very high-value added products produced in relatively small quantities. Products have long development periods, i.e. extremely long product life cycles. The industry is also characterised by volatile markets and high degree of political intervention. The high-technology requirements necessitate a high level of R&D. The aerospace industry has a potential for linkages and spill-over to other sectors and cross-fertilisation of advanced technology which few other industries can match.

The aerospace industry has largely been dominated by the advanced economies in North America (USA, Canada), Western Europe (G.B., France, Germany, Italy. Sweden, etc.), the former Eastern Europe (Soviet Union with a few other countries), and partly also Japan.

During recent decades, we have seen a dramatic change in the organisation and structure of this industry. Many emerging economies have invested heavily in the aerospace sector, some have succeeded and several have failed.

Other significant features of today’s global aerospace industry are increased production-sharing, international subcontracting and cross-border ownership. The issue of creating more efficient global supply-chains becomes increasingly important.

All these processes implies a radically increase in technology transfer between companies and economies around the world.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

* Technology transfer between aerospace companies

* Technology transfer between aerospace firms and other industrial sectors

* Technology transfer to emerging economies and firms

* Consolidation in the global aerospace industry

* Technology spill-over/transfer from the aerospace sector

* Industrial policy and technology transfer

* Supply-chains in the aerospace industry

* Globalisation processes in the aircraft/aerospace industry

* Comparative views between aerospace manufacturing and other industries

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Integrated Water Resources Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=542

Call for papers: Integrated Water Resources Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas

A special issue of the International Journal of Water (IJW)

Important dates:
Deadline for Submission: 15 May 2007

Guest Editors:
Neima Brauner, Tel-Aviv University, Israel
Eugene Levner, Holon Institite of Technology, Israel
David Moalem Maron, Holon Institite of Technology, Israel

In an increasing number of countries, in arid and semi-arid areas, water scarcity and deteriorating quality of natural water sources have become critical factors limiting national economic development, expansion of food production and/or provision of basic health and hygiene services to the population. There is an increasing urgency to develop new scientific means for sustainable management of water resources, and to offer solutions for improving living and working conditions for the present and future generations. Sustainable integrated water resources management is a concept that emphasises the need for a multi-disciplinary study of changing demands in the exploited water ecosystems which considers the development without their degradation in a long-term perspective as well as at the present.

The purpose of this special issue is to better understand the key aspects of the sustainable management of water resources in arid and semi-arid area, to construct new mathematical and physical models using modern instruments of system engineering, management science, and information technologies, and to attempt to determine what is needed to improve effective water resources management in arid and semi-arid areas. We invite submissions of articles for consideration; manuscripts may be technical, conceptual, case-studies, policy or practice oriented and can range from original research to overviews, assessments, and reviews.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Performance Analysis of an e-Business Environment

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=540

Call for papers: Performance Analysis of an e-Business Environment

A special issue of the International Journal of Value Chain Management (IJVCM)

Important dates:

Deadline for submission of manuscripts: 1 November, 2007

Notification of acceptance/rejection to authors: 1 March, 2008

Submission of final manuscript: 1 May, 2008

Guest Editors: Dr Dash Wu, University of Toronto, Canada and Professor Celik Parkan, Long Island University, USA

e-Business initiatives have received significant attention and investments in recent years. As increasing number of companies make electronic business an integral part of their strategic activities, the importance of analysing the performance of an e-Business environment has become critical for competitiveness. There are many key issues to be explored with respect to the performance analysis of an e-Business environment, such as the evaluation of information flows and selection of a project plan, which involves the issues of milestones, tasks, schedules, staffing, deliverables, and costs.

The intent of the special issue is to investigate innovative and effective uses of performance evaluation, management, and control approaches in an e-Business environment. Authors are encouraged to submit both theoretical and applied articles addressing the theme of the special issue.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Integration of E-commerce and Supply Chain

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=541

Call for papers: Integration of E-commerce and Supply Chain

A special issue of the International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management (IJECRM)

Important dates:

Full paper due: 1 October 2007

Notification of acceptance: 30 December 2007

Final version of paper due: 1 February 2008

Guest Editors:
Prof. Zheng Qin, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China
Dr. M. W. M. Ismail, Ryerson University, Canada
Dr. Dash Wu, University of Toronto, Canada

Traditionally, the phrase, “Supply Chain Management”, meant assembly lines, warehouses, truckers and time sheets. In a few years, the very fundamental goal in every stage of the supply chain has changed. Now companies are looking at how to provide greater service globally. In a quest for greater efficiency and lower costs, there has been growing importance given to managing the supply chain effectively for the benefit of all parties.

Traditional view of the supply chain has been changed by the internet. It has transformed the old-fashioned process into something closer to an exact science. With the emergence of the Internet, customers seek out specific products they want at the prices they are willing to pay. Thus, modern supply chains focus on the customer so that the supply chain needs to precisely gauge what a customer might want, how to package it and where to ship it. The internet supply chain is a means of communicating and doing business with suppliers and customers. Effective integration of an organisation’s supply chain can save millions, improve customer service and reduce inventories.

In this special issue, a discussion is sought on ways to improve the integration of supply chain strategy with overall corporate strategy.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Knowledge-Driven Product Innovation and Enterprise Management

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=539

Call for papers: Knowledge-Driven Product Innovation and Enterprise Management

A special issue of the International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology (IJCAT)

Important dates:

Submission of full paper before: 31 December 2007

Notification of acceptance before: 31 March 2008

Submission of final and revised manuscripts: 30 June 2008

Guest Editors:
Prof. Dr. J. Q. Yan and Prof. Dr. Henry X. G. Ming, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, P. R. of China, and
A/Prof. Dr. Yongsheng Ma, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Enterprises have faced great challenges in recent years from the aspects of delivering innovative products, increasing product complexity, competition throughout different product lifecycles, and dynamic changes in markets and supply chains fuelled by the pressure of time to market, globalisation and mass customisation. Knowledge based, systematic solutions for enterprise engineering integration and management have become an increasingly significant research focus. Although computer aided tools, such as CAD, CAE, CAPP, CAM, MRP, ERP and CRM, are commercially available, coherently integrated solutions for effective and efficient product innovation and enterprise operations are still lacking.

This special issue invites researchers to present original ideas, scientific methods, intelligent algorithms, innovative product design and development, product and process modelling, knowledge-based engineering solutions, computer system design, integration mechanisms, and application cases across different industrial sectors.

The focus of the issue is to highlight state-of-the-art research and applications in the field of knowledge-driven product innovation and enterprise management with particular reference to data modelling representation, algorithms, methodologies and techniques for enterprise engineering, covering product innovation management, new product development, product conceptualisation, design, manufacturing, product management, intelligent customer requirements and relations, risk management, decision support, resources management, supply chain management, change management, product lifecycle analysis and engineering, etc.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Advanced Theory and Technologies for Design, Manufacturing and Materials

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=538

Call for papers: Advanced Theory and Technologies for Design, Manufacturing and Materials

A special issue of the International Journal of Materials and Product Technology (IJMPT)

Important dates:

Deadline for Submission: 30 April 2007

Guest Editor: Professor Yang Ping, Jiangsu University, China

Research papers are invited for this IJMPT forthcoming special issue, whose purpose is to publish recent research outputs on product engineering employing advanced design theory, manufacturing technologies and materials technologies. By advanced concepts, we mean non-conventional techniques. In the last few decades, both academic literature and practice have put growing emphasis on the importance of advanced design, manufacturing and materials as a key factor in establishing durable competitive advantages in product engineering. The objective of the special issue is to provide a means for the publication and interchange of information, on an international basis, on all aspects of advanced theory and technologies for design, manufacturing and materials.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

15 November 2006

International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management goes to 8 issues for 2007

Due to the popularity of the International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management (a sign of the times we live in?), the number of issues of this journal will increase to 8 in 2007, with a further increase likely for 2008. This is the 11th title to announce an increase in issues for 2007, with a further three having already decided to expand in 2008

Special issue: Measurement and management of intellectual capital

International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital v3(3) 2006 is a special issue: Theory and Practice in Measurement and Management of Intellectual Capital: International Experiences in Different Areas of Activity, Organisation and Social Frameworks. It covers diverse topics such as the origin and evolution of the concept of intellectual capital, models and basic methodologies of intellectual capital, conceptual relations in intellectual capital, knowledge management and organisational learning, experiences or main applications in different organisational models (profit and non-profit, private and public, etc.), and applications in cities, nations, regions and other social arrangements. Additionally, this issue covers future trends in the management and measurement of intellectual capital.

Special issue: Business, technology and competitive intelligence and science to business marketing

International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning v2(2) 2006 is a special issue: Business, Technology and Competitive Intelligence and Science to Business Marketing, with papers on science and technology marketing activity in Europe, Australia, Asia and South Africa.

Special issue: Information technology in emergency management systems

International Journal of Emergency Management v3(4) 2006 is a special issue: Information Technology in Emergency Management Systems, with 8 papers on decision support systems, modelling, ICT in training, databases, disaster information management, etc.

14 November 2006

Special issue: Global sourcing and e-procurement; Logistics and supply chain canagement

International Journal of Services Technology and Management v7(5/6) 2006 is a special issue in two parts. Part 1: Global Sourcing and E-Procurement has 6 papers on principles and applications of e-procurement. Part 2: Logistics and Supply Chain Management has 5 papers from ILSC2004: International Conference on International Logistics and the Supply Chain held in Brisbane, June 2004

11 November 2006

Special Issue on Non-destructive testing and failure preventive technology

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology v27(3/4) 2006 is a special issue on Non-Destructive Testing and Failure Preventive Technology, with 10 papers mostly the on theory and practice of ultrasonic and eddy current testing. There are also some book reviews.

Special issue: Renewable energy and distributed generation systems

International Journal of Global Energy Issues v26(3/4) 2006 is a special issue: Renewable Energy And Distributed Generation Systems, with 10 papers ranging from improvements to power quality in distribution systems to the prospects for renewable energy in India.

10 November 2006

Call for papers: Design Space Exploration and Optimisation in Product Development

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=537

Call for papers: Design Space Exploration and Optimisation in Product Development

A special issue of the International Journal of Product Development (IJPD)

Important Dates:

Submission of full paper: 15 August, 2007

Refereeing process and notification of acceptance: 15 December, 2007

Guest Editor: Dr. G. Gary Wang, The University of Manitoba, Canada and Dr. Bernard Yannou, Ecole Centrale Paris, France

Modern product development often involves complex analyses from multiple disciplines, consideration from product life-cycle aspects and making difficult trade-off decisions, and in the meantime achieving optimal product design at the lowest costs and in the shortest time. To systematically integrate various design perspectives to achieve the optimal design is a very challenging task. Such integration and optimisation capability is, however, still in great demand and could significantly benefit all manufacturing industries.

Design space exploration and optimisation is an important and often necessary step in product development. Research in this area has yielded many promising approaches and strategies. This special issue of IJPD aims at presenting the state-of-the-art in this area, and promoting further research in order to provide engineers with practical tools supporting integration and optimisation. The issue will focus on theories and methods on design space, space exploration, design evaluation, and design optimisation.
Potential readers to be addressed by this special issue are scientists in the fields of design optimisation, decision-based design, and design automation, as well as product development engineers and executives in manufacturing industries.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: High Performance Coatings for Metals and Plastics

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=536

Call for papers: High Performance Coatings for Metals and Plastics

A special issue of the International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering (IJSurfSE)

Important Dates:

Submission: 30 June 2007

Decision: 30 September 2007

Revised manuscripts: 31 December 2007

Guest Editor: Dr. Fabrizio Quadrini, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Italy

Coating engineering is increasingly a key factor for the development of new processes and products. There are two important ways of thinking about coatings. In the first case, the coating is the skin of a core material. Materials for coating and core can differ significantly and their combinations provide increased performance compared to the materials alone. A typical example is the hard coating of steel tools for machining. The skin hardness enhances tool life and machining tolerance whereas the core toughness is responsible for shock response and compliance.

The second way of viewing coatings is the way they are becoming one of the most important goals in the industrial practice. As the external surface is the link between the consumer and the product, the coating technology is becoming the way to give to poor materials the appearance of high performance materials. As a consequence, developments in coating performances produce new processes and new products and industrial demand is always increasing.

The performance of coatings has to be driven toward the highest levels. Many challenges still remain. Anti-scratch coatings for plastics and high-life tribological coatings for metals are only two examples. The goal of this special issue is to collect the main research experiences and innovations in the field of the coating engineering, both for organic and metallic substrates. Organic, metallic, ceramic and hybrid coatings are all of interest for the purpose of the special issue. Furthermore, submitted papers may deal with technological innovations, fabrication of new materials for coating, definition of new processes, techniques for coating characterisation and analysis.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: The Use of Analytical Tools for Service Management

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=535

Call for papers: The Use of Analytical Tools for Service Management

A special issue of the International Journal of Services Technology and Management (IJSTM)

Important Dates:

Full paper due: 28 February, 2007

Notification of acceptance: 30 April, 2007

Final version of the paper due: 31 May, 2007

Guest Editor: Dr. Hokey Min, Bowling Green State University, USA

As the service industry and service components of product bundling continue to grow and become more complex, today’s managers are faced with the challenge of developing more sophisticated yet cost-efficient ways to serve their customers. That is to say, many of today’s managers are seeking ways to improve the utilisation of company resources, while fostering and creating innovative services. Such a paradigm shift in service management often requires an increased use of analytical tools such as operations research techniques, queuing models, simulation, data mining, analytic hierarchy process (AHP), data envelopment analysis (DEA), and geographic information systems (GIS).

This special issue aims to bring together the recent advances in analytical tools and their innovative application to various aspects of service management such as hospital staff scheduling, emergency vehicle deployment, retail outlet location, restaurant service quality management, hotel service benchmarking, customer profiling, service outsourcing, and call center monitoring. Papers centred on building theory or based on actual case studies will be especially welcomed. Also, papers that synthesise the past development of analytical tools for service management and provide future research directions are strongly encouraged.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.

Call for papers: Rural Change: Re-Valorisation of Property Objects and the Institutionalisation of (New) Property Rights

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=534

Call for papers: Rural Change: Re-Valorisation of Property Objects and the Institutionalisation of (New) Property Rights

A special issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology (IJARGE)

Important Dates

Deadline for Submission: 30 April, 2007

Guest Editors: Marianne Penker, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Austria and Lutz Laschewski, University of Rostock, Germany

This special issue will address processes of institutionalisation in the context of fundamental social changes that currently can be observed globally. It will particularly draw upon the experiences in rural Europe, a context in which social scientists conceptualise current social dynamics as a shift from industrial to a post-industrial or knowledge society. A variety of economic, social and political processes has transformed social relations in the countryside (Marsden et al. 1993). The processes have effected massive changes not only in land use but also the economic, political and socio-cultural relations surrounding land.

One of the main causes of rural change is the transformation of agriculture and its relation to the countryside itself. The contribution of the agricultural sector to rural income and employment has been declining through recent decades (OECD 1998; Bryden and Bollmann 2000; Laschewski et al. 2002). Agricultural development has been increasingly separated from the overall rural economy and society (van der Ploeg 1990; Tovey 1998).

At the same time, the accelerating globalisation of agro-industrial corporations has reshaped the conditions for agriculture (Goodman and Redclift 1991; Watts 1996). Globalisation has changed the spatial order of agriculture (Bonanno and Bradley 1994). It has forced concentration tendencies of agricultural production in more favorable areas and marginalised producers in less favored areas, bringing about negative environmental externalities (European Commission 2000). New usages of nature and land emerge and processes of re-valorisation of rural property objects take place, which require the institutionalisation of new property rights and the redefinition and reshaping of former property rights.

The special issue draws on the general assumption that property offers a potent analytical framework to examine and compare contemporary processes of rural transformation and differentiation in Europe. Property research has been characterised by a separation into different research traditions, such as institutional economics, legal anthropology, law and sociology or political science. This issue, therefore, proposes a rather unique attempt to bridge the divide and to take advantage of the different research traditions for an innovative compilation of empirically founded papers on the revalorisation of property objects and the institutionalisation and redefinition of property rights in natural resource management, agriculture and rural land use.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.