PAPERS FOR iNEER CONFERENCES AND SPECIAL VOLUMES

 

General Guidelines and Paper Review Process

 

Contents:

Sections 1-8: iNEER Papers – General Guidelines

Section 9: Paper for iNEER Special Volume – Special Guidelines

 

iNEER Board of Editors

iNEER Board

 

 

1.                  The main goal of iNEER being the promotion of international cooperation, papers intended for iNEER publications and conferences, while dealing with innovations in engineering education and research, should emphasize the potential of the presented models and approaches for adoption and evaluation by others, and that can be further developed through international collaboration.  International cooperation allows for the sharing of unique research capabilities resident in other lands and the infusion of new ideas and methods, thereby expanding the quality and productivity of research and education endeavors, and hence increasing the potential for further innovative pursuits.

 

2.                  We welcome papers and presentations that deal with the integration of research and education, and that can help create international linkages in order to effect mutual advancement.  We welcome papers that can enhance international understanding through information dissemination in engineering education and research.  Information of a commercial nature, or that contains slanderous messages, will not be accepted.

 

3.                  To promote useful information exchange and mutual progress through partnerships, papers reporting education innovations should always contain the results of implementation and outcomes assessment.  Appropriate topics may include, but not limited to, advances in engineering education through integration with high quality laboratory research programs; innovations that couple student learning with the computational methods used in industry; and new imaginative approaches making use of modern teaching and learning approaches such as mentoring, experiential learning, computer simulation, and distance learning.

 

4.                  Also appropriate are descriptions of innovative industry-university cooperation, programs to enhance recruitment and retention, cultural and gender diversity, as well as unique models of international cooperation that have impacted university education.  Also welcome are papers describing innovations concerning the establishment of new degree or certificate programs, new courses or course modules, or the involvement of students in research.  Furthermore, we welcome articles dealing with innovations in education and research related to: design and manufacturing; automation and mechatronics; robotics; automatic control; web-based teaching and learning in any of the fundamental disciplines; use of multimedia in education; recruitment and retention of women in engineering; new curriculum models; the teaching of design; quality assessment of education innovations; nanotechnology education; internationalization of curriculum; use of new technology in teaching and learning; the teaching of physics and mathematics to engineering students; or new learning environments such as collaborative or problem-based learning.

 

5.                  We welcome authors from all nationalities, cultures and heritage within the worldwide iNEER community.  We regret that, owing to the limitation of resources, iNEER cannot provide language translation services.  The adoption of a common medium of communication is necessary, and that is English.  As a courtesy to readers around the world, it is incumbent upon authors from non-English speaking countries to ensure that they submit written materials in English that meet a certain minimum standard of intelligibility.  If necessary, have your abstracts and papers carefully checked by experts of the English language, before forwarding to iNEER.  We appreciate your assistance and cooperation. 

 

6.                  iNEER meetings and publications should not be used as forums for routine announcements.  Prospective authors should ask themselves these questions: Will what I have to say be of interest to the international community?  How can I make it interesting?  It is advisable to steer away from straightforward reporting of improvement and upgrading or implementation of programs and curriculum materials of a routine nature.  

 

7.                  CONTENTS AND STRUCTURE OF AN iNEER PAPER

 

To ensure a uniform high standard of publication, we encourage all authors to pay special attention to the following areas when preparing their manuscripts:

 

a.       Contents: Please pay attention to clarity of objectives, basis of theory, conclusions drawn, demonstration of your understanding of the subject matter; etc.

b.      Degree of Novelty or Originality:  Explain what is new in what you are reporting, clearly discussing the new ideas involved, and the innovative contributions. Be sure to compare your approaches with existing approaches elsewhere. In general, citations should include not only your own papers or papers from your institution or country, but any relevant international publications. Where applicable, references should be made to advances reported in national and international archival journals including iNEER special volumes; and to papers published in proceedings of conferences, including ICEE conferences.

c.       Structure of Paper: Please pay attention to general layout; use and proper numbering of figures/diagrams; etc. References should be numbered in sequence in the order in which they are cited.

d.      Quality of Text: In the case of non-native speakers of English, checking of English by language expert is important. Check the clarity of your expression, and the consistency, readability; numbering of quotations and references, etc.

e.       General: Check the correctness of text, applicability of the items included, the overall professional quality of the paper, and the scope covered. When presenting new approaches, ideas or programs, be sure to discuss your implementation experience and results, including feedback, evaluation and assessment, with details on problems encountered and overcome.   

 

8.                   PAPERS FOR iNEER-SPONSORED CONFERENCES

 

Guidelines for manuscript format are given on the website of the individual conference. The program committees of iNEER-sponsored conferences and meetings are required to subject all papers to peer review.   

 

9.         iNEER SPECIAL VOLUMES: THE INNOVATIONS SERIES THAT HIGHLIGHTS WORLDWIDE PROGRESS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

 

                  Beginning in 2002, iNEER is publishing a series of annual Special Volumes each highlighting recent innovations in research and education around the world. The front materials of previous Special Volumes, including the Table of Contents and Preface of each of the recent volumes are accessible at:

                  http://www.ineer.org/iNEERPapers/Welcome.htm

 

                  Each Special Volume is a hardcover book published by iNEER through the work of an international Board of Editors. The Board announces the solicitation of papers approximately 6 months in advance of the date of publication of each of special volume, and welcomes papers from all members of the iNEER community. Authors submitting papers to iNEER-sponsored conferences are encouraged to also submit their papers to the Board of Editors of the Special Volume. Papers for Special Volumes, however, must follow closely the guidelines given herein, including guidelines on manuscript formatting.        

 

9.1       REVIEW PROCESS FOR PAPERS FOR iNEER SPECIAL VOLUMES

 

a.       Papers submitted for iNEER Special Volumes are reviewed by the iNEER Board of Editors. 

 

b.      Peer review comments are provided by reviewers to the editors on a voluntary and advisory basis.  Editors will consider all solicited reviews seriously but are not bound by the advice received.

 

c.       Editors may elect to seek advice from the reviewers on some or all of the following areas:

 

i.        Contents (e.g.: clarity of objectives; basis of theory; conclusions drawn; understanding of subject; etc.):

ii.      Degree of Novelty or Originality (e.g.: presence of new ideas; innovative contributions; whether bulk of materials has been published elsewhere; etc.):

iii.    Structure of Paper (e.g.: general layout; use and proper numbering of figures/diagrams; etc.) 

iv.    Quality of Text (e.g.: clarity of expression; consistency; readability; number of quotations and references; etc.):

v.      Reviewer’s General Opinion and Comments (e.g.: correctness of text; applicability of the items included; quality of paper; scope covered; etc.):

vi.    Reviewer’s Summary Recommendation (Please mark “X” on only one item below):

 

____          Accept Paper              

____          Accept Paper if Revised According to Suggestions Given in “Reviewer’s Comments” Above

____          Reject Paper for Reasons Given in “Reviewer’s Comments” Above

 

d.      Review Solicitation

 

Reviewers for iNEER papers are selected very carefully.  Reviewers are selected based on their interest and past contributions in engineering education and research, using such sources as personal contacts, authors of past iNEER publications, and other archival sources. For each paper, 4 or more reviewers are selected. For the 68 articles submitted for the 2004 Special Volume, at the request of the Board of Editors, a total of 249 reviewers from 58 countries participated in the peer review. A list of the reviewers has been posted at:

http://www.ineer.org/iNEERPapers/ReviewerList-sorted.htm

 

e.   Preserving the Integrity of the Review Process

 

In order to ensure a high quality peer review process, the identities of reviewers for any particular paper will be treated as privileged information used only by the editors and will not be released to others.  When they are deemed helpful to improving the papers, the review comments are released to the authors after the identity of each reviewer is removed.

 

f.       Use of e-Mail in Review Solicitation

 

The following "e-commerce" approach has been adopted by the iNEER Board: For each paper, the editors may elect to send out a single e-mail to all intended reviewers, with each reviewer in blind copy (“bcc”).  This process obviates the need by the editors to send out individual e-mails to reviewers, leading to significant time- and cost-saving; at the same time, it also protects the identities of the reviewers selected by the editors.  

 

9.2       FORMAT AND PAGE LENGTH LIMITATIONS

 

An iNEER Special Volume is a 7" x 10" (approximately) hardcover book with a 5” x 7-1/2” text area. We use size 10 Times New Roman font, allowing for about 700 words per printed page excluding graphics or tables.

 

Authors are requested, when their papers are ready for submission, to request a sample paper in MS-Word that should be used as a template into which to copy-and-paste sections of the new finished manuscripts. The sample paper may be obtained by writing to the iNEER Secretariat at: ineer@ineer.org.

 

9.3       PAGE CHARGES FOR iNEER PUBLICATIONS

Since iNEER does not charge membership dues, it expects authors to share in the costs of publication through the payment of page charges.  This is consistent with the practice adopted by professional societies with respect to archival publications. Payment of page charges is not necessary when a paper is submitted, but it is due prior to completion of final review and final acceptance of a paper. If a paper is not accepted, iNEER will return the page charges, minus a small processing fee. Page charges are set at US$75 per page.    

 

9.4              COPYRIGHT RELEASE

 

The Transfer of Copyright Form must be downloaded from the URL:  http://www.ineer.org/iNEERPapers/TransferOfCopyrightForm-2005.pdf, and it must be signed by ALL authors and mailed to iNEER at the time the manuscript is submitted. Mail signed Form to: iNEER Board of Editors, c/o iNEER Secretariat, Box 5229, Preston King Station, Arlington, Virginia 22205, USA. 

 

9.5              CHECKLIST FOR PAPER SUBMISSION

 

a.       Format the full manuscript as described in Section 9.2 above.

b.      Download Transfer of Copyright Form as described in Section 9.4 above.

c.       Send the formatted manuscript to the Board of Editors in care of the iNEER Secretariat, by uploading via the URL:  http://www.ineer.org/2005_papers_upload

d.      After uploading is completed, send a confirming e-mail to ineer@ineer.org with the title “iNEER Sp Vol Paper Uploading” on the subject line. In the text box of your e-mail, include the “AUTHOR’S CERTIFICATION” shown in Section 9.6 by entering the relevant information.  Put an “X” mark on the line to the left of each of the last three items as shown, signifying your agreement with the respective statement.

 

9.6       AUTHOR(S)’ CERTIFICATION

 

Title of Paper:

 

Number of 5” x 7-1/2” Text Pages:

 

Name of Author(s):

 

E-mail Addresses of Authors:

 

Name of Corresponding Author:

 

__X__       We are submitting a paper for possible publication in an iNEER Special Volume. We will abide by the Editors' decision to accept or reject the paper and, when called upon by the Editors, will respond to reviewers’ comments by appropriately modifying our paper, or provide a reasoned rebuttal. We understand that there shall be no withdrawal of the paper once the review process is started, until the Board of Editors reaches its decision. 

 

__X__       Our paper has not been published anywhere, and copyright for it has not been assigned to any party, and we have signed and forwarded the iNEER copyright form.

 

__X__       Prior to final acceptance, we are prepared to pay page charges at US$75 per page in accordance with Paragraph 9.3 above.  We understand that, to ensure a uniform standard and appearance, the iNEER Board of Editors will be responsible for final formatting, from which the final page count will be determined.  We also understand that, if the paper is not accepted by the Board of Editors, page charges will be refunded in full.  If the paper is withdrawn by the authors after the reviews are sent to them to revise the paper, or, if the authors do not revise the paper and there is no reasoned rebuttal, page charges will be refunded minus a processing fee equal to 25% of the page charges received, less the costs of credit card fees or bank transfer fees incurred by iNEER, if credit card or bank transfer is used for payment of page charges.  Each refund will be made in the form of an iNEER check drawn on a U.S. bank.

 

 

iNEER Special Volume

Board of Editors

iNEER Board