Submit a Manuscript to the Journal
Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems

For a Special Issue on
Systems Perspectives: Clarity through Examples

In 2020 the journal had a special issue (Vol 37, Issue 4) of “What is the Body of Knowledge for Engineers involved with Civil Engineering Systems?”.  As a follow up, this Special Issue “Systems Perspectives: Clarity through Examples” will contain concrete examples of how systems perspectives have been used in research and/or practice. Furthermore, while the journal admits considerable latitude as to what constitutes ‘systems’, some commonly accepted systems perspectives are

• hierarchical structuring and system boundaries;
• interaction and feedback loops;
• hard and soft systems; and
• uncertainty and resilience.

We hope the theme will stimulate discussion about the future niche and uniqueness of Civil Engineering Systems.

Three types of submissions are solicited:

1. Full length research papers that focus on a specific example and its links to systems perspectives.
2. Commentaries on work done and/or papers published already, with the commentary providing reflective clarification on the systems perspectives.
3. Thought pieces in the form of meta-reviews, conventional literature reviews, state of the art assessment papers, position papers, or program setters; these should provide synthesis, new insights, and pointers to future endeavours.

The type of perspective/treatment in all these submissions can range from philosophical (‘thinking’) through conceptual (‘approaches’) to methodological and computational (‘methods’), or a mix of the above. But the links to systems perspectives (see above) must be made explicit.

Contributions should be submitted (in the submission portal) as a ‘Research Article’ (for Full length research papers – type 1 above; or ‘Brief Report’ (for Commentaries and Thought pieces – types 2 and 3 above). You should also indicate (in the portal) that the submission is for a ‘Special Issue on Systems Perspectives’.  Submissions could be from 3,000 to 8,000 words in length with accompanying graphics – shorter lengths for commentaries and thought pieces, and longer ones for full length papers. Contributions can be made only on invitation from one of the editors.  Editors will solicit submissions from editorial board members and others, and editors can be approached by those with an interest in making contributions. Submissions are due by 1 July 2023, with intended publication in late 2023.

Instructions for AuthorsSubmit an Article