SoSyM

Information about special sections

If you are interested in editing a special section or a special issue for the SoSyM journal, please contact the Editors-in-Chief.

Our policy is that we prepare special sections from highly innovative conferences and workshops in the modeling area. The conference organisers select the best papers and invite the authors to submit an extended and substantially enhanced version of their paper within a certain deadline. Under the supervision of the section editors the papers will be reviewed again and the accepted papers will then be published in a special section. Please note that the section editors may not invite themselves, their relatives or current work colleagues into a special section.

Editors-in-Chief Contact Information

Jeff Gray

Voice: 205-348-2847, Fax: 205-348-0219
Email: jeff.graysosym.org
U.S. Mail:
Department of Computer Science
University of Alabama
Box 870290
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0290, USA

Bernhard Rumpe

Voice: +49-241-80-21301
Email: Bernhard.Rumpesosym.org
German Mail:
Department of Computer Science 3
RWTH Aachen University
Ahornstraße 55
D-52074 Aachen, Germany

Submission/Review Process for Special Sections:

Interested program committee chairs submit a SoSyM Special Section proposal, containing information about the conference and its review process, (e.g. acceptance rate, total number of papers), the number of potential papers, some example titles and authors, short vitas of the authors, a proposed schedule and other helpful information.
Papers accepted to the conference (or workshop) must have been through a thorough review process prior to their acceptance.
After the conference, the program committee chair and program committee decide which papers to select as candidates for the special section.

Deadlines are defined. A useful pattern is given below, in weeks:

x-28 CfP for a special SoSyM section, candidates are papers with smaller versions already published in the conference/workshop.
x-19 Papers are submitted to SoSyM via the automated tool, Manuscript Central. The paper type is 'special section paper' and the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) is Bernhard Rumpe. Authors also indicate that the special section editor is the preferred editor, and note that the paper is being submitted to the particular special section. Beforehand a complete list of titles and authors of all expected papers is sent to the EIC.
x-18 Reviews are assigned by Program Committee Chair (who serves as editor of the special section), via Manuscript Central (necessary review time: 6-8 weeks) to reviewers. Name, affiliation and e-mails of all involved reviewers are sent to the Editor-in-Chief.
x-10 Check status of reviews; reminders are sent if necessary to the editors, who send them on to reviewers.
x-6 Reviews/acknowledgements are sent to authors by the Editor-in-Chief.
x-2 Final versions arrive at SoSyM, via Manuscript Central (Usually only minor changes can be handled in that time. Major revisions drop out of the SoSyM special section.)
x Editor or reviewers re-review minor changes and editor gives approval. Paper ordering in the special section is decided.
x Editorial arrives from Program Committee Chair.
x Additional information arrives to SoSyM: Final submission of each paper, author biographies, etc.

The CfP is published. This can go two ways: Either as a closed CfP to the invited papers or as an open CfP that is also made public.
The papers (as well as the reviews later) are submitted via the automated tool, Manuscript Central.
The special section editors act as supervisors for the papers. They assign at least three reviewers for each paper. These are acknowledged by the editors-in-chief. The special section editors also make the final recommendation, whether to accept the paper or not, and whether and how intensive the resubmitted paper is to be re-reviewed. The final decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief and he notifies the paper's contact author with the result of the review process, including reviewers' comments.
The review process for special issue papers doesn't differ much from the regular process, but the reviewers for the special issue papers can be to some extent reused from the programme committee.

Information to be provided by the Editors:

At the end of the process the Editors-in-Chief are informed about all the papers, and are provided the following information:

    Paper SOSYM-(keyword)-(PaperNo):
    Title:
    Authors:
    Contact-Email:
    Status: in review | accepted | rejected | ...
    Initial submission date:
    Revised submission date:
    Pages in Journal size: estimated
    Reviewers (Name + Email, one per line):
    History and additional information:

In addition the complete set of reviews, the submissions have to be made available to the Editors-in-Chief.
This information is given to the Editors-in-Chief at the following times:
- papers are collected (list + submissions)
- reviewers are assigned (list again)
- reviews are collected and suggestion is made (list + reviews)
- acknowledgements are sent
- updated versions are in and checked for correct updates (list + accompanying information + new reviewer comments)

Follow @sosym_journal