Double-blind Peer Review Process Research Articles

PREFACE: TECHNICAL COMMISSION I

Abstract. For ISPRS Technical Commission I (TC I), 76 submissions for the 2021 Congress edition of ISPRS Annals and ISPRS Archives were received. This included both full paper and abstract submissions from all over the world. Continuing the success of double blind paper reviewing in preparation of the 2016 Prague congress, the 2018 Karlsruhe symposium as well as the 2020 edition of the ISPRS congress, also this time, TC I organized a strict peer-reviewing process. This included double-blind reviewing for full papers as well as a two-stage evaluation of abstract submissions – first stage based on the submitted abstracts (“conditional acceptance”), and second stage after submission of the respective final papers.For the 2021 edition of the ISPRS congress, we received 32 full paper submissions and 46 abstract submissions, which underlines the trend towards full paper submissions compared to previous TC I events.17 full papers passed the double-blind peer-review process and were accepted for publication in the ISPRS Annals (acceptance rate 53%); none of the papers was reviewed by less than two reviewers; for the majority of full papers, three or four reviews were obtained. Abstract submissions and their respective final papers were reviewed by a team of professionals. In total, 28 papers were accepted to the ISPRS Archives.Strict peer-reviewing relies on many voluntary reviewers spending their time for reading and evaluating the submissions. We would like to express our thanks to our reviewing team – especially since they were again willing to contribute to the review process just after completion of the 2020 edition of the ISPRS congress.The manuscripts in both the ISPRS Annals and Archives cover a broad range of topics related to remote sensing platforms, technologies, systems and related methods and reflect the current trends in algorithmic research and developments in sensing and data acquisition methods. Noteworthy is that numerous contributions were again submitted to Intercommission WGs of TC I with TC II and TC IV, which underlines the continuing trend towards an integral approach to sensors, systems and methods in photogrammetry, remote sensing and mobile mapping.

PREFACE: TECHNICAL COMMISSION I

Abstract. For ISPRS Technical Commission I (TC I), 76 submissions for the 2021 Congress edition of ISPRS Annals and ISPRS Archives were received. This included both full paper and abstract submissions from all over the world. Continuing the success of double blind paper reviewing in preparation of the 2016 Prague congress, the 2018 Karlsruhe symposium as well as the 2020 edition of the ISPRS congress, also this time, TC I organized a strict peer-reviewing process. This included double-blind reviewing for full papers as well as a two-stage evaluation of abstract submissions – first stage based on the submitted abstracts (“conditional acceptance”), and second stage after submission of the respective final papers.For the 2021 edition of the ISPRS congress, we received 32 full paper submissions and 46 abstract submissions, which underlines the trend towards full paper submissions compared to previous TC I events.17 full papers passed the double-blind peer-review process and were accepted for publication in the ISPRS Annals (acceptance rate 53%); none of the papers was reviewed by less than two reviewers; for the majority of full papers, three or four reviews were obtained. Abstract submissions and their respective final papers were reviewed by a team of professionals. In total, 28 papers were accepted to the ISPRS Archives.Strict peer-reviewing relies on many voluntary reviewers spending their time for reading and evaluating the submissions. We would like to express our thanks to our reviewing team – especially since they were again willing to contribute to the review process just after completion of the 2020 edition of the ISPRS congress.The manuscripts in both the ISPRS Annals and Archives cover a broad range of topics related to remote sensing platforms, technologies, systems and related methods and reflect the current trends in algorithmic research and developments in sensing and data acquisition methods. Noteworthy is that numerous contributions were again submitted to Intercommission WGs of TC I with TC II and TC IV, which underlines the continuing trend towards an integral approach to sensors, systems and methods in photogrammetry, remote sensing and mobile mapping.

Editorial Policy

The Accounting Historians Journal (AHJ) is the official journal of the Academy of Accounting Historians Section of the American Accounting Association. AHJ is international in scope and addresses the development of accounting thought and practice. The journal embraces all subject matter related to accounting history, including, but not limited to, research that provides a historical perspective on the development of accounting as a discipline, contemporary issues, and the use of accounting techniques in companies, governments, and institutions broadly defined.Prospective authors may find the following guidelines helpful:Authors should adhere to the following guidelines when submitting manuscripts: Manuscripts are submitted using the AAA's Manuscript Submission and Peer Review System: https://www.editorialmanager.com/aahjThere is no submission fee to submit to Accounting Historians Journal.The title page should be submitted as a separate file from the main manuscript document to ensure an anonymous review process.The manuscript should be formatted according to the American Accounting Association's styleguide. This styleguide can be accessed here: https://meridian.allenpress.com/DocumentLibrary/AAAN/MANUSCRIPT_PUPARATION_AND_STYLE.pdfManuscripts under consideration by another journal or other publisher should not be submitted. The submitting author will be asked to verify this during the web-based submission process.Revisions should be submitted within 6 months of the request; otherwise, they will be considered new submissions. Extensions may be granted in some circumstances after consultation with the Senior Editor or Associate Editor.Authors are responsible for recognizing and disclosing any conflict of interest that could be perceived to bias their work. Conflict of interest disclosures includes, but are not limited to, grants or research funding, employment, affiliations, honoraria, stock options/ownership, royalties, consultancies, inventions, and patents. Authors will be asked to disclose any potential conflicts of interest during manuscript submission.In addition to conventional manuscripts, the Editors welcome submissions to the Salmagundi section of the journal. In this section, the editors seek shorter contributions of interest to the community of accounting historians. These contributions may take many different forms, such as responses to past articles, book reviews, historical syllabi, and preliminary explorative work. Thought pieces or work found in other sources that may enrich our readership are also considered. Authors are responsible for obtaining proper copyright permissions before submitting the latter. Material submitted to the Salmagundi section should be noted as such during the categorization stage in the Editorial Manager system. Salmagundi submissions are subject to editorial review as opposed to the regular double-blind peer-review process, but are expected to conform to normal referencing and attribution standards for scholarly writing as appropriate.The review process consists of the following: The editor reviews the submitted manuscript for proper format and consistency with the mission of the journal. The author(s) is notified at this point if the manuscript is deemed inappropriate for further consideration.Although most historical accounting manuscripts are not likely to be subject to Institutional Review Board (IRB) jurisdiction, authors are responsible for demonstrating and certifying IRB compliance when applicable.Manuscripts that pass the initial review are sent to an associate editor and a minimum of two reviewers for formal review.After review, the editor evaluates comments and recommendations of the reviewers and the associate editor and informs the author(s) of the decision regarding the publication of the manuscript (reject, accept, or revise/resubmit). The editor's decision and comments, without identifying information, are forwarded to the associate editor and reviewers.Requested revisions are returned to the same reviewers. In addition to the revised manuscript, the author(s) should submit responses to the reviewer comments that restate the comments and identify how and where each comment is addressed in the revised manuscript.The process will continue as described above until a final publication decision is made.Consistent with the American Accounting Association's Publications Ethics Policy, all articles are automatically processed through CrossCheck prior to publication to identify text taken from published and unpublished works, print or digital, that is not appropriately cited or quoted. The full policy document can be accessed here: http://aaahq.org/Portals/0/documents/about/Policies&ProceduresManual/PlagiarismPolicy.pdfThe review process outlined above is an overview of the actual process. The editor may, in some circumstances, vary this process at his or her discretion. The objective of the editorial process is to provide insightful and honest evaluation of research efforts through diligent independent review by qualified scholars, and to provide constructive guidance in a responsive and timely manner. We strive to be fair to authors and reviewers throughout the process.

Peer review declaration

All papers published in this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.• Type of peer review: Double-blind• Conference submission management system: All the conference papers were submitted and communication was done via conference mailid (icnadbe2021@gmail.com). The Papers received for the conference were subjected to double-blind peer-review process. Preliminary Review: • At first the✓ manuscript ID was assigned to the received papers, then✓ technical preparation of the paper,✓ language/grammatical errors,✓ formatting and✓ originality using Plagiarism Software’s were checked.• Then the internal publication committee checked the theme/scope of the conference and it has been forwarded to the independent reviewers. Review Process • After the preliminary review, the papers were assigned to the appropriate reviewers.• The review committee comprises both International and National experts, considering their domain or area of interest.• The reviewers assessed the originality of the paper in terms of✓ quality,✓ novelty,✓ subject matter,✓ depth of technical contents and✓ contribution towards sustainable environment.• The decision on the paper was notified to the author(s), as on the following:✓ Accepted as it is,✓ Accepted with minor revisions,✓ Accepted with major revisions, and✓ Rejected.• The reviewers’ comments/suggestions helped the authors for improving the quality of their paper.• The authors were given time to resubmit the revised paper within the given timeline.• The papers were then scrutinized by the internal technical committee for the incorporation of required amendments indicated by the reviewers. With the above process we were able to successfully organize the technical reviewprocess. • Number of submissions received: 102 Papers• Number of submissions sent for review: 92• Number of submissions accepted: 64• Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received X 100): 63%• Average number of reviews per paper: 3 Reviews• Total number of reviewers involved: 20• Any additional info on review process: - • Contact person for queries: Name : Dr.P.ManimegalaiAffiliation:Associate Professor,Biomedical Engineering DepartmentEmail : manimegalaip@karunya.edu

2021 International Conference on Computing, Communication, Electrical and Biomedical Systems ICCCEBS 2021 Peer review declaration

All papers published in this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.• Type of peer review: Double blind The ICCCEBS 2021 has a double-blind peer-review process. The submitted paper for the conference is reviewed by minimum three reviewers with expertise in the relevant subject area. Based on the reviewers’ comments, papers are accepted, rejected, or accepted with revision. The authors had the opportunity to make changes in the article after the Editor’s decision. Plagiarism checking Committee initially checks the plagiarism in the submitted paper by iThenticate plagiarism checking tool.• Conference submission management system: Easy chair submission system and Email • Number of submissions received: 642 • Number of submissions sent for review: 512 • Number of submissions accepted: 235 • Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received X 100): 36.43 % • Average number of reviews per paper: 3 • Total number of reviewers involved: 112 • Any additional info on review process:○ All submitted manuscripts received by the publication chair have been checked by an internal technical committee member to determine whether they are properly prepared and whether they follow the plagiarism and ethical policies of the ICCCEBS 2021 and IoP publication procedures. Manuscripts that do not fit the Conference policy or do not meet the publication standards have been rejected before peer-review.○ Manuscripts that are not properly prepared have been returned to the authors for revision and resubmission. After these checks, the publication chair has consulted the Conference chair to determine whether the manuscript fits the scope of the conference and whether it is scientifically sound. Reject decisions at this stage have been verified by the Conference chair.○ Once a manuscript passes the initial checks, it has been assigned to at least three independent experts for peer-review. A double-blind review is applied, where authors’ identities are unknown to reviewers. Peer review comments are confidential and have only been disclosed with the express agreement of the reviewer.○ Authors are given the option for all review comments and editorial decisions to be updated alongside their manuscript and after a paper has been accepted for publication.○ Accept after Minor Revisions: The paper is conditionally accepted after revision based on the reviewer’s comments. Authors are given seven days for minor revisions.○ Reconsider after Major Revisions: The acceptance of the manuscript would depend on the revisions. The author needs to provide a proper response to the reviewer’s comments. Authors have been asked to resubmit the revised paper within two weeks’ time frame, and the revised version has been returned to the reviewer for further comments.○ Reject: The article has serious flaws, and/or makes no original significant contribution. A rejected decision at this stage is final and cannot be reversed.○ Authors may appeal a rejection by sending an e-mail to the ICCCEBS 2021 conference chair. The appeal must provide a detailed justification, including point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ and/or Editor’s comments.○ Once accepted, the manuscript has undergone IoP paper format editing, proofreading by the authors with final corrections.• Contact person for queries: Dr. Arulmurugan Ramu (arulmurugan@presidencyuniversity.in)

Peer review declaration

All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.• Type of peer review: Double-blind • Conference submission management system: EasyChair • Number of submissions received: 110 • Number of submissions sent for review: 76 • Number of submissions accepted: 28 • Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received X 100): 25.45% • Average number of reviews per paper: 3 • Total number of reviewers involved: 260 • Any additional info on review process o The paper submission shall be through Easy Chair. o At least three independent reviewers will review the paper.o The review will be a double blind peer review process o A maximum of 2-3 papers would be assigned to a single reviewer.o Based on the reviews received, the technical program chair will send the final notification of the acceptance /rejection of the paper.o In case of any contradictory views of reviewers, The TPC chair would invite one more review of the paper to take the decision.o Plagiarism will be checked through Turnitin plagiarism software.The Technical Program Committee (TPC) is responsible for the peer review process.The committee is listed on the website of the conference.• Contact person for queries: Dr. Anil Chaudhary (hodit@skit.ac.in)

Peer review declaration

2021 International Conference on Chemical, Mechanical and Environmental Sciences ICCMES 2021All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.• Type of peer review: Double blind The ICCMES 2021 has a double-blind peer-review process. The submitted paper for the conference is reviewed by minimum three reviewers with expertise in the relevant subject area. Based on the reviewers’ comments, papers are accepted, rejected, or accepted with revision. The authors had the opportunity to make changes in the article after the Editor’s decision. Plagiarism checking Committee initially checks the plagiarism in the submitted paper by ithenticate plagiarism checking tool.• Conference submission management system: Easy chair submission system and Email • Number of submissions received: 435 • Number of submissions sent for review: 428 • Number of submissions accepted: 117 • Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received X 100): 26.89 • Average number of reviews per paper: 3 • Total number of reviewers involved: 64 • Any additional info on review process: ∘ All submitted manuscripts received by the publication chair have been checked by an internal technical committee member to determine whether they are properly prepared and whether they follow the plagiarism and ethical policies of the ICCMES 2021 and IoP publication procedures. Manuscripts that do not fit the Conference policy or do not meet the publication standards have been rejected before peer-review.∘ Manuscripts that are not properly prepared have been returned to the authors for revision and resubmission. After these checks, the publication chair has consulted the Conference chair to determine whether the manuscript fits the scope of the conference and whether it is scientifically sound. Reject decisions at this stage have been verified by the Conference chair.∘ Once a manuscript passes the initial checks, it has been assigned to at least three independent experts for peer-review. A double-blind review is applied, where authors’ identities are unknown to reviewers. Peer review comments are confidential and have only been disclosed with the express agreement of the reviewer.∘ Authors are given the option for all review comments and editorial decisions to be updated alongside their manuscript and after a paper has been accepted for publication.∘ Accept after Minor Revisions: The paper is conditionally accepted after revision based on the reviewer’s comments. Authors are given seven days for minor revisions.∘ Reconsider after Major Revisions: The acceptance of the manuscript would depend on the revisions. The author needs to provide a proper response to the reviewer’s comments. Authors have been asked to resubmit the revised paper within two weeks’ time frame, and the revised version has been returned to the reviewer for further comments.∘ Reject: The article has serious flaws, and/or makes no original significant contribution. A rejected decision at this stage is final and cannot be reversed.∘ Authors may appeal a rejection by sending an e-mail to the ICCMES 2021 conference chair. The appeal must provide a detailed justification, including point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ and/or Editor’s comments.∘ Once accepted, the manuscript has undergone IoP paper format editing, proofreading by the authors with final corrections.• Contact person for queries: Dr. Arulmurugan Ramu (arulmurugan@presidencyuniversity.in)

Importance of the peer review process in scientific publications - proposed way of working for a new journal

Typically, in scientific publications, peer review processes are used to maintain the quality standards of the research activity and its results presented in manuscripts submitted for publication, to improve performance, relevance and give them credibility. The peer review helps the publisher (editor-in-chief and editors, respectively the editorial board) decide whether the submissions should be accepted, considered acceptable with revisions (minor or major), or rejected. For many journals, all manuscripts submitted are subjected to a double-blind peer-review process, in which the authors and reviewers’ identities are kept secret from each other. The goal of double-blind peer review is for submitted papers to be judged on their scientific merit alone, and thus reducing publication bias (minimizing bias) and protecting identities. The double-blind peer-review model implies that the author's name and affiliation are not revealed to reviewers, and, in turn, the reviewers' name or any other information is never disclosed to the author or other reviewers of the manuscript. In order to ensure the quality of the publications, editors require that the reviewers have expert knowledge in their fields of research and have authored a substantial number of peer-reviewed publications. The selection of reviewers is the responsibility of the editor-in-chief, the editors and the editorial board, respectively.

Supervision, Advisement and Dialogic Pedagogy: present day issues and provocations for the future

This article is a reflection on the Dialogic Pedagogy Journal (DPJ) Special Issue on Supervision and Advisement. Altogether five articles made it through a rigorous double-blind peer review process and crossed the finishing line to become a part of this special issue. Supervision and advisement are areas of education where Dialogic Pedagogy approach is a welcome guest as learning and teaching constructs that are used in these areas require various forms of dialogue. This special issue is a humble but a promising beginning for the special issues on supervision and advisement in this journal. All the studies included in this special issue are good examples of well-done scientific endeavors that can be used as illustrations of how a good piece of research should be executed and reported. However, the question remains if the means of analyses used in these studies are satisfactory enough so that we could understand to the fullest the complexities of the co-lived lives of the participants in supervisory and advisement relationships and co-learned knowledge that all the participants have gained.

1st International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Energy Advancements (ICCIEA-2020), December 12-13, 2020 Virtual Format

Nishu Gupta1, Parvesh Kumar2, H. S. Pali3 1Electronics and Communication Engineering Department Vaagdevi College of Engineering, Warangal, Telangana, India 2Mechanical Engineering Department Vaagdevi College of Engineering, Warangal, Telangana, India 3Mechanical Engineering Department National Institute of Technology, SrinagarEmail: gupta_n@vaagdevi.edu.in, p_kumar@vaagdevi.edu.in, hspali@nitsri.ac.inInternational Conference on Computational Intelligence and Energy Advancements (ICCIEA-2020) is a prestigious event organized with a motivation to provide an excellent platform for the academicians, researchers, engineers, industrial participants and budding students around the world to share their research findings with the global experts. The conference aimed to provide researchers and attendees with prospects for global collaboration and networking among universities and corporate organizations for promoting research. ICCIEA-2020 was conducted in virtual format owing to the pandemic situation during 12th to 13th December 2020. It involved all classes of academia having research orientation.The conference was organized jointly by departments of ECE and ME, Vaagdevi College of Engineering and King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh, Saudi Arabia. As it was an event conducted in cyber form, the presentations were delivered using an online platform. Five different and parallel technical sessions were scheduled based upon the tracks of the articles and a Best Paper was awarded in each session. A total of 31 articles were selected for presentation after double blind peer review process. This proceeding issue compiles oral presentations that were presented by the authors and rigorously reviewed by a special committee designated by the editor team of the conference.The organizing and editorial committee of the ICCIEA-2020 hopes you enjoy reading the articles published in this volume of the JPCS. Besides, we wish to thank all the authors and participants for providing their valuable contributions for this proceeding as well as the reviewers for their constructive recommendations and criticism aiding to improve the presented articles. We are confident that this issue will serve as a reference for computational intelligence, industrial automation, energy advancements and sustainable technologies in the world of scientific research, engineering and technology.List of Organizing Committee, Steering Committee, Technical Program Committee, Industry Experts Committee, Editorial Committee, Invited Speakers, Organizing Institutions, Academic Partner are available in the pdf

Peer Review Declaration

International Colloquium on Computational & Experimental Mechanics (ICCEM2020) All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.• Type of peer review: Double-blind• Conference submission management system: conference email and online.• Number of submissions received: 86• Number of submissions sent for review: 70• Number of submissions accepted: 64• Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received X 100): 74%• Average number of reviews per paper: 2• Total number of reviewers involved: 22• Any additional info on review process: Verification and approval of the papers is carried out in three stages (Stage 1 – Title, abstract and full text evaluation by Chief Editor; Stage 2 – Review process; Stage 3 – Correction Approval). Each paper goes plagiarism check by Turnitin Software and a double-blind peer review process. At least two reviewer per paper is being assigned to check the quality of paper. Also check on novelty and continuity of flow along with the clarity of thought and correctness concerning the data. Upon satisfying the above-mentioned criteria, the papers were submitted for final publication with IOP. Upon completion of the review process, the papers and their reviews are submitted to the Editorial board for approval.• Contact person for queries: Assoc. Prof. M.S.M. Sani, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Malaysia, E-mail: mshahrir@ump.edu.my

Review on Brand Citizenship Behavior and Importance of Employees in Brand Strategy

Journal of Business & Technology (JBT) is an open-access journal published by the Department of the Commerce and Financial Management of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process and is published bi-annually (January, July). JBT aims to publish scholarly research, critical reviews, case studies, practitioner reviews and technology reviews in the fields of business and technology.

Dividend Payout and Firm Performance: Evidence from a Frontier Market

Journal of Business & Technology (JBT) is an open-access journal published by the Department of the Commerce and Financial Management of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process and is published bi-annually (January, July). JBT aims to publish scholarly research, critical reviews, case studies, practitioner reviews and technology reviews in the fields of business and technology.

The Moderating Effect of Personal Cultural Orientation on Brand Association and Conspicuous Consumptions: A Study in the Context of Luxury Fashion Brand Market in Sri Lanka

Journal of Business & Technology (JBT) is an open-access journal published by the Department of the Commerce and Financial Management of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process and is published bi-annually (January, July). JBT aims to publish scholarly research, critical reviews, case studies, practitioner reviews and technology reviews in the fields of business and technology.

Outlining NHRD as Practiced in Malaysia in its National Planning Context

Journal of Business & Technology (JBT) is an open-access journal published by the Department of the Commerce and Financial Management of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process and is published bi-annually (January, July). JBT aims to publish scholarly research, critical reviews, case studies, practitioner reviews and technology reviews in the fields of business and technology.

Editorial Note for Natural Products Chemistry & Research

I am pleased to introduce that the journal of Natural Products Chemistry & Research deals with chemical compounds found in nature that usually has a pharmacological or biological activity for use in pharmaceutical drug discovery and drug design. Natural Products Chemistry & Research emphasizes articles related to the study of chemistry and biochemistry of naturally occurring compounds or the biology of living systems from which they are obtained. Natural Products Journal is at higher echelons that enhance the intelligence and information dissemination on topics closely related to Natural Products. They provide a unique forum dedicated to scientists to express their research articles, review articles, case reports and short communications on an array of Natural Products research. The Natural Products Peer Reviewed Journal is proficiently supported by universally prominent Editorial Board members. Natural Products journal impact factor is mainly calculated based on the number of articles that undergo a double blind peer review process by competent Editorial Board so as to ensure excellence, essence of the work and number of citations received for the same published articles. Abstracts and full texts of all articles published by Natural Products Open Access articles are freely accessible to everyone immediately after publication.

Peer review declaration for ICCM 2020

All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.• Type of peer review: A double blind peer review process was adopted with a minimum of 2 reviews for each paper. Reviewer selection was carried out by the General Chair and technical chairs from a classified list of invited and consented reviewers, who are widely acclaimed, national and international authorities on the subject and registered in the database through the submission management system. In case of a split verdict, a 3rd review was also sought.• Conference submission management system: Easy Chair • Number of submissions received: 91 • Number of submissions sent for review: 91 • Number of submissions accepted: 40 • Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received X 100): 43.95% • Average number of reviews per paper: 2 • Total number of reviewers involved: 110 • Any additional info on review process:• Contact person for queries: Dr Rajesh Kumar, General Chair, ICCM 2020

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

“A doctor can save maybe a few hundred lives in a lifetime. A researcher can save the whole world.” - Craig Venter This annual Special Edition once again combines outstanding papers from two conferences: The 32nd annual conference of the Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering (SAIIE32) (4-6 October 2021, held in Muldersdrift, South Africa), The 22nd annual international conference of the Rapid Product Development Association of South Africa (RAPDASA) (3-5 November 2021, held in Pretoria, South Africa). After the first on-line conferences in 2020 due to COVID-19 regulations, it was excellent to see a return to some normality in 2021 – both these conferences were physical, and the participants were truly hungry for the physical networking opportunities. The Special Edition, introduced in 2016, continues to showcase the best research presented at these conferences. Papers undergo the same double-blind peer review process using the journal’s criteria; and the choice of those included in this Special Edition was based on rankings provided by the reviewers and on a final check of their quality and suitability by the editors of the journal. It was interesting to notice that, in 2020, both conferences focused on the road ahead after the period of uncertainty, with the following two themes: SAIIE32: Steps, and RAPDASA: Industry 4.0 – Digital manufacturing industrializing Africa. It demonstrates the resilience of humankind, and the drive to move forward. For this very reason, the feature article as selected by the chief editor, was authored by young Industrial Engineers, looking forward at what the future may hold, with the title: “Beyond The Industrial Engineering Frontier: A Few Steps In History And A Giant Leap Into The Future”. Although industrial engineers are a relatively small community of professionals, I am always inspired by the relevant, innovative, and far-reaching impact that we can have on every aspect of our society. As you read through the papers in this Special Edition, I trust that you will be inspired by the exemplary work that represents our discipline of industrial engineering. Teresa Hattingh Guest editor

Preface

This proceedings consists of the peer-reviewed papers from the 1st International Conference on Robotics, Intelligent Automation and Control Technologies (RIACT 2020), which was organized by the School of Mechanical Engineering at Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, India on October 2nd and 3rd, 2020. However, due to the COVID 19 pandemic the conference was held Online. The main objective of RIACT 2020 is to provide a platform for researchers and practitioners from both academic institutions and industries to meet and share cutting-edge developments in the areas of Robot Design, Development and Control, Rehabilitation Robots and Devices, Intelligent Automation and Fault Diagnosis, Agricultural Robots, Underwater Robots, Development of Drones, Control and Supervision Systems, Vision Systems, Actuators and Sensors, Mechatronics Systems, System Interface and Control, Sustainable Technologies and associated disciplines. This conference also provided an opportunity to exchange research evidence and innovative ideas and also the issues related to Robotics and Automation. This proceeding will include presentations on the latest research areas such as Agriculture Drones, Bio Mechanisms for rehabilitation applications and Deep learning in robotics. This conference had gathered an excellent group of keynote speakers from around the globe on different topics such as Robot Control Systems Using electroencephalography (EEG), electrooculography (EOG), and electromyography (EMG) signals, Future Robotics farming, Dynamic control of flexible manoeuvring systems, Intuitive Human-Robot Interaction in Teaching and for Care, Increase flexibility of industrial processes using advance 3D machine vision, Automation, Communications and Control for Demand Response: Potential Enablers for Decarbonisation, High-Performance Soft Wearable Robots for Human Augmentation: New Paradigm of Design and Control for Scientific Discovery, RPA: The 10 Points to Successful Projects, ST(R)EM generation: Alfa, Research and Education at the Convergence of Frontier Technologies, Warehouse Challenges and the Power of AutomationRIACT 2020 was graced with the following eleven keynote speakers namely Professor M. Osman Tokhi from London South Bank University, London, UK; Professor Dr.-Ing. Daniel Schilberg from University of Applied Sciences Bochum, Germany; Professor Minoru Sasaki from Gifu University, Japan; Professor Vikram Kapila from NYU Tandon School of Engineering, USA; Professor Michael Short from Teesside University, UK; Dr. Asuman Suenbuel from SAP Labs, Silicon Valley, USA; Dr. Hao Su from City University of New York, City College, USA; Dr. Milena Y Krumova, from European Institute for Technologies, Education and Digitalisation, Bulgaria; Mr. Vincenzo Marchica from VINCIX Group, Italy; Mr. Stefano Tonello from IT+Robotics, Italy; ing. EJ (Erik) Pekkeriet from Agro Food Robotics, Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands. This year, RIACT 2020 had more than 350 participants from around the globe. A total of 203 research articles were submitted and based on the double-blind peer review process 68 full length papers were accepted to be published with IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering after presentations. The evaluation of all the papers was performed based on the reports from anonymous reviewers. We would like to take this opportunity to deeply express our heartfelt appreciation to Dr. G. Viswanathan, Founder and Chancellor, Vellore Institute of Technology; Shri Sankar Viswanathan, Vice President, Vellore Institute of Technology; Dr. Sekar Viswanathan, Vice President, Vellore Institute of Technology; Shri G V Selvam, Vice President, Vellore Institute of Technology; Ms. Kadhambari S. Viswananthan, Assistant Vice President, Vellore Institute of Technology; Dr. Sandhya Pentareddy, Executive Director, Vellore Institute of Technology. Our special thanks to all our Keynote Speakers, Session Chairs, all the Committee Members and Reviewers involved in the technical evaluation of conference papers.List of Conference Chair, Advisory Committee and Technical Committee are available in this pdf.

‘Publish or Perish’ Trend: Fueling the Predatory Journals

In the past, journals were published only in the print, and the only way to access them was through the library. However, today we can easily access journals and articles with a click. There are more online journals which have made it possible and feasible for authors to submit their work. As an editor of a journal, I am often approached by younger aspiring authors for accelerated publication of their manuscripts. The journal is biannual and undergoes double-blind peer review process which in itself is time consuming. The authors also fear the reviewer’s comment about major corrections or even rejection of their article. The criteria of mandatory publication for academic promotion has compelled medical professionals to write and publish research articles. To get their articles published quick and easy, they sometimes fall prey to predatory journals. The ‘Publish or Perish’ trend should be discouraged and young researchers should be mentored and encouraged to publish in good impact journals.