Submission of papers: Contributors should submit their manuscript to the Editors-in-Chief via the online submission site. For online submission upload
one copy of the full paper including graphics and all figures as graphics file separately at the online submission site http://ees.elsevier.com/scl
Types
of contributions: Original research papers, short communications, discussion papers, appealing illustrative examples, and brief
reviews of recent or to be published papers are acceptable.
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and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written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: Manuscripts should not exceed 3600 words, subtracting space needed for
figures and tables. This comes to about 16 double-spaced typewritten pages. The papers will be reviewed by the Editorial Board. The Editors-in-Chief
will advise the authors on the acceptance of their paper in principle within six weeks after receiving the manuscript.
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. We accept most wordprocessing formats, but Word, WordPerfect or LaTex is preferred. Always keep a backup copy
of the electronic files for reference and safety. Save your files using the default extension of the program used. Back
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LaTex Documents:
If the LaTex file is suitable, proofs will be produced without rekeying the text.
The article should preferably be written using Elsevier's document class "elstart", or alternatively the standard document class "article".
The Elsevier LaTex package (including detailed instructions for LaTex preparation) can be obtained from the Quickguide: http://www.elsevier.com/latex.
It consists of the files: elstart.cls, guidelines for users of elstart, a template file for quick start, and the instruction booklet
"Preparing articles with LaTex".
Structure: Follow this order when typing
manuscripts: Title, Authors, Affiliations, Abstract, Keywords, Main text, Acknowledgements, Appendix, References, Figure Captions and
then Tables. For online submission, please supply figures imported into the text AND also separately as original graphics files. 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 to the contents list
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. Back to the contents list
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. Back to the contents list
Abstract: A self-contained abstract (without long formulas) 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 at least five 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: Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions:
use the international system of units (SI). If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI. Back
to the contents list
Maths: Number consecutively any equations
that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text). Awkward mathematical notations that require
special typesetting procedures should be avoided. Back to the contents list
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:
The list of references is arranged alphabetically and then numbered (numbers in square brackets). Examples: Reference to a journal
publication: [1] J. van der Geer, J.A.J. Hanraads, R.A. Lupton, The art of writing a scientific article, 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, How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: B.S. Jones,
R.Z. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age, E-Publishing Inc., New York, 1999, 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 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 to the contents list
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://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
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
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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
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to sign a "Journal Publishing Agreement" (for more information on this and copyright
see http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information.
An e-mail (or letter) will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing
Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.
If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s)
must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use
by authors in these cases: contact Elsevier's Rights Department, Oxford, UK: phone (+44) 1865 843830, fax (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail permissions@elsevier.com.
Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier homepage (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions). Back
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One set of page proofs
in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent
by post). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 available free
from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the
proofs. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return
to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections
and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail,
or by post. Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures.
Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor.
We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of
your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections
cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article
if no response is received. Back to the contents list
No page charges: Publication in this journal is free of charge.
Free offprints:
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints.
The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer
outlining the terms and conditions of use. Additional paper offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be
sent to the corresponding author.
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.
For enquiries relating to the
submission of articles (including electronic submission where available) please visit this journal's homepage at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/sysconle.
You can track accepted articles at http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an
article's status has changed, as well as copyright information, frequently asked questions and more. Contact details for questions arising
after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication.
