Overview

International Journal of Sudan Research (IJSR) is published in the United Kingdom in partnership with Sudan Knowledge (SK)ISSN: 2042-6003 (Print); 2042-6011 (Online).

IJSR is the first international, multidisciplinary, refereed journal about Sudan. Its general theme is to discuss integrated approaches and strategies to achieve sustainable development (SD) in Sudan. IJSR is intended as a forum for practitioners, academics, and policymakers from around the world to exchange concepts, research, and best practices about Sudan.

IJSR aims to promote the international exchange of knowledge, ideas and information about the very best research undertaken about Sudan without promoting any kind of political views and/or ideologies among the different stakeholders in and outside Sudan. Therefore, IJSR will have a significant role to play in bridging the knowledge divide between Sudan and the rest of the world and help in the rapid generation and diffusion of knowledge within Sudan.

IJSR aims to consider new perspectives in the field of science, technology and innovation policy in Sudan, you can learn more details about IJSR Background and Subject coverage.

The journal is abstracted and indexed by: ABI/Inform (ProQuest)Cabell’s Directory of Publishing OpportunitiesCrossrefBritish Library and most top universities across the world such as OxfordHarvardCambridge, etc.

Location

Queen Mary University, London, England EC1M 6BE, United Kingdom

Country/Regions
Editorial Board

All members of our editorial committee are truly international in terms of their interests and range of specialisation. The validated academic background that they bring to bear on the quality of the review as well as their geographic areas of interest foster a uniquely different editorial experience.

WASD is very grateful for all our distinguished Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) and our Expert Reviewers which include distinguished international academic and professional experts in the different subject areas of the different journals. All our EAB members graciously offering their invaluable comments that have enriched the quality of the papers in all our publications and also for making available to us their valuable time and efforts.

We continuously looking for nominations for distinguished academic and professional colleagues who will be interested to join the Editorial Advisory Board to support our journals. Please contact Janet Snow (janet.snow@wasd.org.uk) if you have any question and/or you need any help. Please click here to learn more about your duties as member of the EAB. 

We would like also to congratulate all our Authors for their extremely valuable contributions and we hope they continue to support the journal and encourage all their colleagues and friends to also consider the journal for their research outcome.

Related Publications
WASD testimonies
Subject Coverage

WASD produces various publications, to spread information all over the world, and to promote its aims and activities through various other partners. WASD publications are developed to provide an overview of Sustainable Development (SD) and why it is important and to provoke forward thinking on the development of a more coherent approach to solving global problems related to sustainability. In doing so, a holistic approach is used to critically examine the inter-relationship between the natural, the governmental, the economic and the social dimensions of our world and how science and technology can contribute to solutions. And although science, technology and SD are the main focus of our publications, there is no limit as to the articles/chapters that will be considered.

The journal publishes original papers, review papers, conceptual papers, technical reports, case studies, conference reports, management reports, book reviews, notes, commentaries, and news. IJSR particularly encourages papers that significantly bring new knowledge to the area both for academics and practitioners.

Special Issues devoted to important topics about Sudan will occasionally be published. IJSR is intended to benefit ordinary people, students, academics, professionals, researchers, policymakers, businesses, etc from both Sudan and the rest of the world with the best available scientific evidence, to enable better understanding of the different opportunities and challenges facing Sudan.

Today, countries are increasingly judged by whether they are information-rich or information-poor. There is a growing literature in the Sudan and about Sudan but it is fragmented and often restricted to sector applications or to specific interests. It is therefore difficult for decision-makers in Sudan to access systematic information about the potential applications that are being developed and implemented and to consider how they could be applied to meet Sudan’s own development needs.

Unlike many other developing countries in the world, there has been a growing interest in Sudan and its culture over the past few years. Sudan is strategically very important as it is the largest country in Africa and 9th largest in the world and has also boasted the ‘largest farm in the world’ in the Gezira Irrigated Cotton Scheme. Sudan’s vast plains were seen by development experts as a potential ‘bread-basket’ – either for Africa or for the Arab World across the Red Sea.

Also, although the majority of Sudanese (80%) depend on agriculture, oil is considered one of the main Sudanese exports, particularly during the last fifteen years, providing revenues of millions of US dollars a day. However, the recent Darfur conflict, the aftermath of two decades of civil war in the south and the lack of basic infrastructure in large areas have kept much of the population at or below the poverty line for years despite rapid rises in average per capita income. What happens in Sudan will therefore have direct and indirect effects all over the region and that is why Sudan is rarely out of the headlines in all international news.

Sudan, like much of the rest of the developing world, has toyed with and abided by various approaches or strategies to achieve SD without reaping any significant socio-economic benefits. There are clearly opportunities for academic and research institutions in Sudan to contribute more effectively towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and SD. Sudanese universities and research institutions are therefore under increasing governmental pressure to make direct, visible, and relevant contributions to MDGs and SD strategies.

At all levels and on all scales of endeavour, the role of universities and research institutions is crucial to resolve the economic, social and environmental problems that make current development paths unsustainable. Sudanese universities and research institutions can make a leading contribution to tackling major problems such as: fighting disease; overpopulation and urbanization; the digital/information divide and the impacts of information technology systems on world financial markets; coping with climate change; confronting the water crisis; defending the soil; preserving forests, fisheries and biodiversity; trade in biotechnological products; and building a new ethic of global stewardship.

There is no limitation on the papers/topics that will be considered by IJSR. Papers can address topics theoretically or empirically through either a descriptive or critical approach. Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

  • Agribusiness, agrimarketing and agrieconomics
  • Animal production, research and technology
  • Agricultural sciences, research and technology
  • Accounting, finance and banking
  • Best practice in the promotion of technologies
  • Business ethics, values and social responsibility and management
  • Circular economy
  • Corporate governance and strategy
  • Development of research methods, validation of measures and calibration
  • Education
  • Environmental issues and environmental challenges for business and management
  • Engineering, industry and manufacturing
  • Evaluation of effectiveness of public health programmes or interventions
  • Food hygiene, quality assurance and control
  • Food irradiation and genetic modified food
  • Food and nutrition policies; legislation, regulation and enforcement
  • Food security policies
  • Future trends in intermodal transportation
  • Globalisation
  • Government involvement in transportation development
  • HACCP, hazard detection and analysis and good manufacturing practices
  • Health protection; control of communicable and non-communicable diseases
  • Health service effectiveness, management and re-design
  • Human nutrition and health sciences
  • Human resource management
  • Innovation and diffusion
  • Information and communication technologies, information systems/technology and e-commerce
  • Informal sector
  • Industrial engineering and management
  • Infrastructure development, maintenance, and upgrade
  • Intelligent transportation systems
  • Investment and trade
  • Impacts and challenges of AIDS, malaria and other chronic problems
  • Medical and biomedical sciences and research
  • Millennium development goals (MDGs)
  • Marketing and enterprise
  • Nutrition and public health
  • Operations and production management
  • Project management
  • Public health nutrition: practice and impact
  • Public health, health promotion and diseases prevention
  • Public health policy and comparisons
  • Public policy and administration
  • Pharmaceutical sciences and technologies
  • Pipeline operations
  • Privatisation
  • Research and development
  • Railroad development and involvement in intermodal transportation
  • Sustainable development strategies
  • Sustainable food production systems
  • Supply chain management and logistics
  • Strategic management and planning
  • Science, technology and innovation
  • Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
  • Security of the transportation system
  • Transportation planning
  • Technology transfer and commercialisation
  • Travel, transportation and tourism
  • UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
  • Water, energy and climate change
  • Veterinary sciences and research
Guidelines for authors

Before submitting your paper, please make sure you read and understand the full guidelines for submission below carefully before submitting your paper to ensure successful submission of your paper. This is a checklist to ensure you have followed the guidelines closely. Please note that we will return any papers that do not follow these guidelines for the errors to be corrected before the paper can be considered for suitability for our journals:

  1. Ensure you read and understand the various aspects of our publishing ethics policy and guidelines carefully in terms of authorship, research integrity and follow all aspects of our research conducts particularly the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
  2. Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N. B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper was not originally copyrighted and if it has been completely re-written).
  3. All papers submitted for publication in WASD journals are refereed through a double blind process.
  4. Please submit your paper in the form of an MS Word (not other format) file online.
  5. You have indicated the type of paper (see below different types of paper).
  6. You have produced a structured abstract (see below).
  7. You have included 6-10 keywords for your paper.
  8. Your paper is 3,000-5,000 words in length (see typescript preparation).
  9. Your paper does not have any author details. Author details should be provided in a separate document, including affiliation and email addresses.
  10. You have provided a short biography of 50-100 words for each author.
  11. You have provided HD photos for all authors.

Types of Papers:

The following types of papers are sought:

  • Conceptual (laying out the landscape, defining needs, proposing approaches and solutions, etc.). Papers are likely to be discursive and will cover philosophical discussions and comparative studies of others’ work and thinking.
  • Literature Review (papers cite any relevant literature). Main purpose of the paper is to annotate and/or critique the literature in a particular subject area.
  • Review (industries, systems, methodologies, research, national differences, industrial differences, cultural differences, etc.). Papers provide an overview or historical examination of some concept, technique or phenomena. Papers are likely to be more descriptive or instructional (“how to” chapters) than discursive.
  • Case Studies (empirical work, industry cases, test cases, pilot studies, etc.) are particularly welcome. Case studies describe actual interventions or experiences within organizations. They may well be subjective and will not generally report on research. A description of a legal case or a hypothetical case study used as a teaching exercise would also fit into this category.
  • Research (report on any type of research undertaken by the author(s). The research may involve the construction or testing of a model or framework, action research, testing of data, market research or surveys, empirical, scientific or clinical research.
  • Viewpoint (where content is dependent on the author’s opinion and interpretation, also includes journalistic pieces)
  • Technical (describes and evaluates technical products, processes or services)

Typescript Preparation

  • All authors must provide the following information: full name; position; department; institution; full postal address including email and approximately 50 words biographical notes per author, maximum 100.
  • Title as short as possible.
    References to successful applications within industry are a must.
  • Papers may be updates of other material previously written but must be original to the author and, once accepted for publication, cannot appear in any other periodical.
  • Papers must be double-spaced and emailed to the journal manager Janet Snow janet.snow@wasd.org.uk. Submitted in A4 size Word format, not PDF format.
  • Papers should be submitted with a word count of 3000-5000 (excluding figures), with double-spaced typing and focus on proven strategies and key management implications.
  • Figures in the final accepted manuscript may be included in the electronic text file and also provided as separate files.
    All papers must be written in UK English. If English is not your first language, please ask an English-speaking colleague to proofread your paper.

Abstracts

Abstract approximately 100 words, maximum 150. Write concisely and clearly. The abstract should reflect only what appears in the original paper. To produce a structured abstract, please complete the following fields about the paper using this template. There are four fields which are obligatory (Purpose, Design, Findings and Value); the other two (Research limitations/implications and Practical implications) may be omitted if they are not applicable to your paper.

  • Purpose: What are the reason(s) for writing the paper or the aims of the research?
  • Design/methodology/approach: How are the objectives achieved? Include the main method(s) used for the research. What is the approach to the topic and what is the theoretical or subject scope of the paper?
  • Findings: What was found in the course of the work? This will refer to analysis, discussion, or results.
  • Original/value of the paper: What is new in the paper? State the value of the paper and to whom.
  • Research limitations/implications (if applicable): If research is reported on in the paper this section must be completed and should include suggestions for future research and any identified limitations in the research process. How can the findings of this research be applicable to other country (ies) in the region? What implications for achieving sustainable development in the country and the region as a whole.
  • Practical implications (if applicable): What outcomes and implications for practice, applications and consequences are identified? Not all papers will have practical implications but most will. What changes to practice should be made as a result of this research/paper?

Keywords

  • Supply approximately 6-10 words or phrases which will be used for tagging the paper in the publisher’s database.
    Researchers will be more likely to retrieve the paper when conducting a keyword search of our database if the paper is suitably tagged.
  • Pick keywords that reflect the specificity of the paper. Avoid overarching terms like “Management” unless the paper discusses the topic with such a wide focus. Use the most common term for a concept. Do not make up new terms for an old concept.
  • Try to think broadly: if the paper discusses performance appraisal in an electronics factory it may be worthwhile supplying the industry as a keyword. If an activity/research takes place in a particular country then supply the country’s name as a keyword.

Style

  • Papers must get to the point early and succinctly and not sound like an advertorial for a country or a company.
  • Blatantly promotional material will not be published.
  • Keep paragraphs short and sentences short and uncomplicated.
  • Authors must write in the active voice and, where possible, avoid technical jargon.
  • Acronyms should be translated in full into English. Bear in mind that many of the readers do not have English as their first language.
  • It should not be assumed that the reader is familiar with specific national institutions or corporations.
  • Authors are encouraged to approach their chosen topic with an international perspective.
  • Countries and groupings of countries should be referred to by their full title (for example, ‘China’, ‘Europe’ and ‘America’ are all ambiguous).
  • Special attention should be paid to identifying units of currency by nationality.

References

  • Use the Harvard (name and date) short reference system for citations in the text with a detailed alphabetical list at the end of the paper. For example ‘Hamel (2000) suggests …’ or ‘Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) found that …’ or ‘A study of economic change (Nelson and Winter, 1982) has shown that …’
  • Footnotes should be avoided, but any short, succinct notes making a specific point, may be placed in number order following the alphabetical list of references.
  • References should be made only to works that are published, accepted for publication (not merely ‘submitted’), or available through libraries or institutions. Any other source should be qualified by a note regarding availability.
  • Full reference should include all authors’ names and initials, date of publication, title of paper, title of publication (italics), volume and issue number (of a journal), publisher and form (books, conference proceedings), page numbers.

Figures

  • All illustrations, whether diagrams or photographs, are referred to as Figures.
  • They should be black and white, not colour, and numbered sequentially.
  • Please place them at the end of the paper, rather than interspersed in text.
  • Originals of line diagrams will be reduced and used directly, so please prepare them to the highest possible standards.
  • Bear in mind that lettering may be reduced in size by a factor of 2 or 3, and that fine lines may disappear. Electronic copies of the figures are also required.

Translated Works

  • Difficulties often arise in translating acronyms, so it is best to spell out an acronym in English (for example, IIRP – French personal income tax).
  • Similarly, labels and suffixes need careful attention where the letters refer to words which have been translated.
  • The names of mathematical functions may change in translation – check against an English or American mathematical reference text.

Units of Measurement

Please follow the International System for units of measurement in your paper. Imperial units will be converted, except where conversion would affect the meaning of a statement, or imply a greater or lesser degree of accuracy.

Submission Preparation Checklist (all items required)

  • The submission has not been previously published in English nor is it before another journal/book for consideration; or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor.
  • The text meets the formatting requirements outlined above.
  • The submission file is in Microsoft Word document file format.
Guest Editor Guidelines

WASD encourages Guest Editors to submit proposals for Special Issues addressing particular (specific) issue(s) of the broad theme of any of the journals or focusing on a particular country or a region. The following general guidelines may help you in preparing and editing the special issue and you can also check our current call for papers for special issues. Please send your proposal to the Managing Editor (janet.snow@wasd.org.uk).
General Information
Please send the following details:

  • Name, title, specialisation, short CV, editorial experience, institution, country, full postal address (preferably with tel., fax and email address).
  • You are free to choose the topic of your special issue.
  • You need first to formulate the aims, and objectives as well as focus and subject coverage of the special issue in the form of ‘ call for papers ‘ (to send to invited authors).
  • Identify authors to invite; and appoint a panel of referees to help you in your task.
  • You can invite other Co- Guest Editors to help you in your task, if you may wish to do that.
  • At this stage there are no restrictions on the size and number of high quality papers accepted for publication in the special issue. However, if you would like to publish 12 – 15 papers, for example, you need to invite at least 30 experts to write papers for the special issue.
  • Guide for authors and sample papers as well as information about the refereeing process and information about other relevant journals can be obtained from our editorial office (janet.snow@wasd.org.uk).

Refereeing Process

  • Each paper is to be refereed by two referees, initially.
  • If one referee accepted the paper and one rejected it, the paper should be send to a third referee and his/her decision is final.
  • You can choose your referees to help you, as you may wish, from experts in the subject of the special issue.
  • Since the refereeing process is a blind one, you can also use some of the authors as referees if you have problems in appointing enough referees.
  • Refereeing forms of the journals are available upon request which can be adapted for the special issue.

Time Table

  • Allow four months for invited authors to submit the first draft of their papers.
  • Two month for the refereeing process and to inform the authors with the outcome of the refereeing process and any changes requested by the referees.
  • Two month for authors to resubmit to you the final manuscript of their papers after incorporating any changes requested by the referees.
  • When you receive the final manuscripts of all referees, corrected by authors and accepted papers, please send them to us to process for publication.
  • The publication process takes up to a period of six month from the date in which we receive all the accepted papers.
  • The corresponding author of each paper will receive, by email, the proofs of his/her paper to check. S/he must return the corrected proofs within fourteen days in order to avoid any delays in publishing the special issue.
  • It is the responsibility of authors to check and correct any errors in their papers before publication.

Paper Submission

  • a contents list of the special issue
  • a title of the special issue
  • a short Editorial to introduce the special issue each
  • complete paper should be supplied in MS Word to the Editor-in-Chief
  • title of paper
  • names of author(s) and complete addresses with email address of each author
  • keywords (up to 10 words)
  • biographical notes of no more than 100 words for each author
  • an abstract of no more than 50 words
  • references (using the Harvard short reference system)
  • each paper must have the Copyright form completed
Ethics

WASD undertakes all its publishing activities very seriously adhering to the top quality standards, procedures and ethics. WASD always with integrity, honesty and transparency with all our stakeholders including our authors. WASD is fully committed to all the research and publishing guidelines and flowcharts included in the CODE OF CONDUCT AND BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR JOURNAL EDITORS of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and our Founding Editor-in-Chief (Prof. Allam Ahmed) is a member of COPE. All submission should follow our Publishing Ethics Policy before submitting any manuscripts to our Journals/Books.

All our publications are either published in-house or in partnerships with international publishers and therefore, WASD is also fulling committed to various publishing ethics procedures and guidelines set-up by all our publishing partners: Emerald Publishing Research and Publishing Ethics; Palgrave Macmillan Ethics Policy; Routledge Taylor and Francis (including Greenleaf Publishing) Editorial Policies; Inderscience Publishers Ethical Guidelines for Authors; and Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) of the United Nations System Standards and Procedures.

WASD will always:

  • Act and adhere fully to all the guidelines and standards set by the  Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and all our leading publishing partners when dealing with all ethical matters and aspects of publishing.
  • Ensure all publications are processed through a minimum of double-blind peer review process (sometimes we use up to five blind reviewers).
  • Ensure all published papers are available FREE of charge (without passwords) to all people across the world particularly those in poor developing countries.
  • Assign DOIs to all accepted papers and chapters.

All authors should consider the following notes very carefully before making their submission.

  • Ensure you read and understand the various aspects of our publishing ethics policy and guidelines carefully in terms of authorship, research integrity and follow all aspects of our research conducts.
  • Ensure you follow the highest standards of research rigour and integrity.
  • Make sure your read and understand the above various research and publishing ethics polices and guidelines provided by our various publishing partners particularly the CODE OF CONDUCT AND BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
  • Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N. B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper was not originally copyrighted and if it has been completely re-written).
  • All papers submitted for publication in WASD journals are refereed through a double blind process.
  • All submitted articles/chapters should not include libellous, defamatory or unlawful statements.
  • Obtain all necessary approval/permission for any third-party material included in your submission.
  • Proof of consent has been obtained for any named individuals or organisations.
  • All submissions must be original, fully referenced and that all authors are represented accurately. Ensure authorship has been agreed prior to submission and no one has been ‘gifted’ authorship or denied credit as an author (ghost authorship).
Indexing

All our publications are listed and indexed in various international Indexing and Ranking platforms such as ScopusThomson Reuters Emerging Sources Citation IndexINSPECReadCube DiscoverABI/Inform (ProQuest)Cabell’s Directory of Publishing OpportunitiesBritish LibraryCrossref; Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) and the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD).

Our publications are also included in the various Databases and Ebooks managed by ProQuest: ProQuest Central, Central Essentials, Central Student, One Academic; ProQuest Research Library Prep; ProQuest Premium Collection (Business, Social Science, Health Research); Thomson Reuters Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI). All our publications are either published in-house or in partnerships with international publishers such as Emerald PublishingRoutledge/Greenleaf Publishing and others.

 

All our editorial committees are truly international in terms of their interests and range of specialization. The validated academic background that they bring to bear on the quality of the review as well as their geographic areas of interest foster a uniquely different editorial experience. WASD is very grateful for all our distinguished International Advisory Boards (IABs) which include distinguished international academic and professional experts in the different subject areas of the different journals. All our IABs members graciously offering their invaluable comments that have enriched the quality of the papers in all our publications and also for making available to us their valuable time and efforts.