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.