Submission of papers:
Upload one copy of the full paper including graphics and all figures as graphics file
separately at the online submission site, accessed via EES. 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
English language help service: Upon request Elsevier will direct authors to an agent who can check and improve the
English of their paper (before submission). Please contact authorsupport@elsevier.com for further information.
Types
of contributions: Original high quality research papers, case studies, book reviews, conference reports, calendar of forthcoming
events, and conference presentations previously published elsewhere.
Corresponding author: Clearly indicate who is responsible
for correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, including 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and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written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.
Editor's requirements:Submissions should generally be between 3000 and 5000 words; for
submissions outside this range please contact the Editors first.
Detailed instructions on manuscript preparation and artwork instructions
can be found below. The Editors reserve the right to return manuscripts that do not conform to the instructions for manuscript preparation
and artwork instruction, as well as to reject 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.)
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Structure: Follow this order when typing manuscripts: Title, Authors, Affiliations, Abstract, Keywords, Main text, Acknowledgements, Appendix,
References, Vitae, Figure Captions and then Tables. 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.
When submitting in hardcopy, print the entire manuscript on one side of the paper only. Back to
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Abstract: A self-contained abstract of
approximately 100-150 words, reporting concisely on the purpose and results of the paper must be supplied. Back
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Keywords: Immediately after the abstract,
provide a maximum of three keywords (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established
in the field may be eligible. Back to the contents list
Units: The SI system should be used for all scientific and laboratory data. If it is necessary to quote other units, these should be added
in parentheses. Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius. The unit 'billion' (109 in America, 1012 in Europe)
is ambiguous and must not be used. Abbreviations for units should follow the suggestions of the British Standards publication BS 1991.
The full stop should not be included in abbreviations, e.g. m (not m.), ppm (not p.p.m.), '%' and '/' should be used in preference to
'per cent' and 'per'. Where abbreviations are likely to cause ambiguity or not be readily understood, units should be put in full. Back
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Maths: Detailed mathematical discussion
should be placed in an appendix. Equations and formulae should be typewritten and should be numbered consecutively, with Arabic numerals
in parentheses, on the right hand side of the page. Special symbols should be identified in the margin and the meaning of all symbols
should be explained in the text where they first occur. If several symbols are used, a list of definitions would aid the editor but may
not necessarily be published. Mathematical equations should be typed or marked exactly as they should appear in print. 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: All citations in the text should refer
to: 1. Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication; 2. Two authors:
both authors' names and the year of publication; 3. Three or more authors: first author's name followed by 'et al.' and the year
of publication. Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should be listed first alphabetically,
then chronologically. Examples: "as demonstrated (Allan, 1996a, 1996b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1995). Kramer et al. (2000) have recently
shown ...."
List: References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than
one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters "a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of
publication. Examples: Reference to a journal publication: Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J.A.J., Lupton, R.A., 2000. The art
of writing a scientific article. J. Sci. Commun. 163, 51-59. Reference to a book: Strunk Jr., W., White, E.B., 1979. The Elements
of Style, third ed. Macmillan, New York. Reference to a chapter in an edited book: Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 1999. How to prepare
an electronic version of your article, in: Jones, B.S., Smith , R.Z. (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age. E-Publishing Inc., New
York, pp. 281-304. Back to the contents list
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://authors.elsevier.com/locate/authorartwork. 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 captions and each table should begin 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
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Electronic Annexes: We strongly encourage
you to submit electronic annexes, such as short videos, computer-enhanced images, audio clips and large databases. Please refer to the
Artwork Instructions (Multimedia files) at http://authors.elsevier.com/locate/authorartwork for details on file types to
be used. In the text of your article you may wish to refer to the annex. This is not mandatory, however, if you do wish to refer to the
annex in the text then please do so using this example: "see Electronic Annex 1 in the online version of this article." Production will
insert the relevant URL at the typesetting stage after this statement. 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
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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' proprietary 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 from the copyright holder permission to reproduce any figures for which copyright
exists. For more information please go to our copyright page http://www.elsevier.com/locate/authorsrights 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 correct factual errors only, or errors introduced
by typesetting.
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:
Publication 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.
Author discount: Contributors to Elsevier journals are entitled to a 30%
discount on all Elsevier books (excluding major reference works). See
http://www.elsevier.com/homepage/booksbutler for more information.
