The system automatically converts source files to a single Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article,
which is used in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF at submission for
the review process, these source files are needed for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification
of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail and via the Author's homepage, removing the need for a hard-copy
paper trail.
Submission Language: English
Types of contributions: Original research not already published Plenary
lectures and/or individual papers given at conferences Review articles; authors should first consult one of the editors Letters Book
Reviews
Corresponding author: Clearly indicate who is willing to handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and
publication, also post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to
the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Full postal addresses must be given for all co-authors. Please consult a recent
journal paper for style if possible.
Original material: Submission of an article implies that the work described has not
been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under
consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and that, if accepted, it will not be published
elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.
English Language:
Manuscripts should be proof-read and have English language errors corrected before submission as we may have to return papers due to
poor language usage. Elsevier has negotiated with five different language editing companies to provide their services to our authors
at favourable rates. You will find a listing of these companies which provide pre-submission language editing on http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/languageediting/.
Detailed instructions on manuscript preparation and artwork instructions can be found below. The editor reserves the right to
return manuscripts that do not conform to the instructions for manuscript preparation and artwork instruction, as well as papers that
do not fit the scope of the journal, prior to refereeing.
General: Editors reserve the right
to adjust style to certain standards of uniformity. Please use Word, Word Perfect or LaTeX files for the text of your manuscript. (For
further information about LaTex submission, please go to http://www.Elsevier.com/locate/latex.) Back
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Structure: Follow this order when typing
manuscripts: Title, Authors, Affiliations, Abstract, Keywords, Main text, Acknowledgements, Appendix, References, Figure Captions and
then Tables. For submission in hardcopy, do not import figures into the text - see Illustrations. Collate acknowledgements in a separate
section at the end of the article and do not include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. Back
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Text Layout: Use double spacing and wide
(3 cm) margins. (Avoid full justification, i.e., do not use a constant right-hand margin.) Ensure that each new paragraph is clearly
indicated. Present tables and figure legends on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. If possible, consult a recent issue of the
journal to become familiar with layout and conventions. Number all pages consecutively, use 12 or 10 pt font size and standard fonts.
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Corresponding
author: Clearly indicate who is willing to handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication,
also post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address
and the complete postal address. Full postal addresses must be given for all co-authors. Please consult a recent journal paper
for style if possible. Back to the contents list
Abstract: A self-contained abstract outlining in a single paragraph the aims, scope and conclusions of the paper must be
supplied. Back to the contents list
Keywords: Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 5 keywords from the Keywords
List at the end of these instructions (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Each keyword should be accompanied by the capital
letter denoting the category from which the keyword has been selected.
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Units: Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the
international system of units (SI). If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI. Back
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References: All publications cited in
the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript.
Text: Indicate references by number(s)
in square brackets in line with the text. The actual authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given. Example:
"..... as demonstrated [3,6]. Barnaby and Jones [8] obtained a different result ...."
List: Number the references (numbers in square
brackets) in the list in the order in which they appear in the text. Examples: Reference to a journal publication: [1] J. van
der Geer, J.A.J. Hanraads, R.A. Lupton, J. Sci. Commun. 163 (2000) 51-59. Reference to a book: [2] W. Strunk Jr., E.B. White,
The Elements of Style, third ed., Macmillan, New York, 1979. Reference to a chapter in an edited book: [3] G.R. Mettam, L.B. Adams,
in: B.S. Jones, R.Z. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age, E-Publishing, Inc. New York, 1994, pp. 281-304. Back
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FREE ONLINE COLOUR If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour and black/white figures then Elsevier will
ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless
of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. Please note: Because of technical complications
which can arise by converting colour figures to "grey scale" (for the black/white printed version of e-colour) please submit in addition
usable black and white versions of all the colour illustrations. Also make sure that in your captions and text you do not refer to colour,
as the images will be black and white in print, and references to colour will not make any sense to the reader of the print journal. 'Usable' means the formats comply with our instructions. See the information about Illustrations at http://www.Elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
For colour illustrations in the print journal see colour costs above. Back to the contents list
Tables: Tables should be numbered consecutively and given suitable caption
and each table is laid out on a new page. No vertical rules should be used. Tables should not duplicate results presented elsewhere
in the manuscript (for example, in graphs). Footnotes to tables should be typed below the table and should be referred to by superscript
lowercase letters. Back to the contents list
Supplying
final accepted text on disk: Once the paper has been accepted by the editor, an electronic version of the text
should be submitted together with the final hardcopy of the manuscript. The electronic version must match the hardcopy exactly.
We accept most wordprocessing formats, but Word, WordPerfect or LaTeX (see also http://www.Elsevier.com/locate/latex)
is preferred. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. Label disk with your name, journal title, and
software used. Save your files using the default extension of the program used. Electronic files can be stored on 3? inch diskette, ZIP-disk
or CD (either MS-DOS or Macintosh). Back to the contents list
Authors will be notified of the acceptance of their paper by the editor. The Publisher will also send
a notification of receipt of the paper in production. Back to the contents list
All authors must sign the Transfer of Copyright agreement before the article can be published. This transfer
agreement enables Elsevier to protect the copyrighted material for the authors, but does not relinquish the authors' proprietory rights.
The copyright transfer covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic reproductions,
microfilm or any other reproductions of similar nature and translations. Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright from the holder
permission to reproduce any figures for which copyright exists. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by Authors in these cases, available
online. For more information please go to our copyright page http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Back
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One set of page proofs in PDF
format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing. The corrections should be returned
within 48 hours. No changes in, or additions to, the accepted (and subsequently edited) manuscript will be allowed at this stage. Proofreading
is solely the author's responsibility. Any queries should be answered in full. Please only correct factual errors, or errors introduced
by typesetting. For more information on proofreading please go to our proofreading page http://www.elsevier.com/locate/guidepublication. Please note that once your paper has been proofed we publish the identical paper online as in print. Back
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No page charges:
Publications in this journal is free of charge.
Free Offprints: Twenty-five offprints will be supplied free of charge. Corresponding
authors will be given the choice to buy extra offprints before printing of the article. Authors who pay for colour illustrations will
receive an extra fifty offprints free of charge.
