Innovative Approaches to Business, Information and Management in the Digitally Networked World

Inaugural Conference of the Business, Information and Management Academy (BIMA)

Proceedings Format

Instructions for Authors and Typists for BIMA Conference 2007

All instructions that follow are mandatory for the final copy of the paper. These instructions are laid-out in the format you shall use. Please be advised that submitted papers not formatted as per these instructions will not be published in the proceedings.

FORMAT INSTRUCTIONS

The title should be in Times New Roman (scalable) size 16 font, bold type, all capital letters, centered at the top of the first page, and beginning on or near the 1.5 inch line. Titles of more than one line should be single-spaced.

The name and affiliation of the author(s) should be centered and single-spaced, beginning on the second line below the title. Do not use titles such as Dr. or Assistant Professor, etc. Use Times New Roman (scalable) size 14 font.

All headings should be in bold type using Times New Roman (size 12). First-level headings should be centered and set in all caps. Second-level headings should be set flush left with initial caps. Do not use headings other than these two. Separate headings from preceding and succeeding text by one line space.

Abstract

Introduce the paper with an abstract of approximately 150-200 words. The abstract includes a centered first-level heading, but is NOT IN COLUMNS. Authors submitting only an abstract should limit the abstract to one page in length, single-spaced.

           
The body of the paper should be single-spaced and should follow the abstract. Use a first-level heading of some type after the abstract and before the first paragraph of the body of the paper to separate the two. The rest of the paper should be in Times New Roman (Scalable) size 12 font.

Figures and tables should be placed either “in-column” or at the top of the page as close as possible to where they are cited. First-level headings state the table or figure number and may be followed by second-level subheadings. The following is an example of an “in-column” table (TABLE 1) and a sample of a full-page table (TABLE 2) is on the next page.

Scalable fonts smaller than 12 may be used to fit a table “in-column” provided, in the author’s opinion, the data is still legible.

Column            Left                  Right
     1                 1.00”                4.00”
     2                 4.50”                7.50”

Space between Columns = 0.50”
 

The use of footnotes is strongly discouraged.

All equations should be placed on a separate line and numbered consecutively, with the equation’s number placed within parentheses and aligned against the right margin.

R1 = f(X)                                  (1)

References (Bibliography)

Since the bibliography should only include those references cited in the paper, it should be entitled “REFERENCES,” a first-level heading. References should be listed at the end of the paper and follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Abstract, 4th Edition.

Word Processing Software and Type Size

Papers are to be prepared using Microsoft Word. Submit the final version of your paper on a 3.5-inch disk OR through e-mail attachment (preferred). The preferred type is Times New Roman (scalable). This document is prepared in that type. If this is not available on your word processor, please use the type font that most closely matches Times New Roman.  

Spacing

Single space the body of the paper. Double space before and after all headings. Triple space after the last authors’ name preceding the abstract heading.

Page Numbers

Do not type in page numbers. Keep pages in sequence.

Headers

Do not include headers. Headers will be added after you submit your paper.

Layout and Margins

Except for the title and author(s) information, papers are to be laid out using Word’s Balanced Newspaper column feature. Set the column margins as follows:

Column            Left                  Right
     1                 1.00                 4.00
     2                 4.50                 7.50

All paragraphs should be indented 0.5 inch. Set the top and bottom margins of the paper at 1 inch. Use “Full Justification” and be sure to turn on Word’s hyphenation feature to obtain reasonable appearing spacing. Do not skip a line between paragraphs.

Appendices

Appendices should immediately follow the body of the paper, precede the references and should be referred to as “APPENDIX,” a first-level heading. If you have more than one appendix, number each consecutively with a second-level heading using Roman numerals.

Number of Pages      

Limited to 20 pages.

Submit your paper to:

Dr. Kustim Wibowo
Management Information Department
School of Business and Management
American University of Sharjah
P.O. Box 26666
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

An example of a “full-page” table

TABLE 2

Checklist for Papers

• Prepare using Microsoft Word 2003.
• Submit disk copy on 3.5-inch disk (final version only) OR through e-mail attachment (preferred)
  
• Use Times New Roman (scalable), size 12 (or the nearest thing to it available on your laser printer) for the body of the paper
  
• Title of the paper: all caps, bold type, single-spaced, centered across both columns, Times New Roman (scalable), size 16 font
• Authors: include affiliations, no titles, bold type, single-spaced, centered across both columns, Times New Roman (scalable), size 14 font
• Headings: Only two allowed: first level—all caps, centered in column, bold type; second level—initial caps, flush left, bold type. Times New Roman (scalable), size 12 font
  
• Scale tables and figures to avoid use of paste, glue or tape
  
• Layout: Two columns, except for title, authors, abstract and figures
  
• Margin: top and bottom margins—1.00”.    

• Headers: Do not type in headers
• Page numbers: Keep pages in sequence.
• Number of pages: Limited to 20