An Online "International Conference on Newfangled Methods" Wants Manuscripts for Two Journals

Today's email is a new one on me. The International Conference on Newfangled Methods of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (ICNMPCM) won't meet anywhere, but its "delegates" may have their papers published in two flaky journals..It is not unusual for single journals to have symposia on given topics, or for real conferences to have a journal or two consider the papers for publication as a group, but I have never before encountered a so-called conference that exists solely to funnel papers to questionable journals.

The newfangled conference website (http://www.icnmpcm.org.in/index.html) provides the following description (as of 6/27/18):

ICNMPCM welcomes author to present research work through online, it provide common platform for researches, professors and industry professionals. This conference is an ideal platform for keeping up advances to a consistently morphing fields. It is most innovative conference which has been leading and experts from around the global will be presenting the emerging thoughts through papers.
...
All registered papers will be submitted to International Journal of Engineering & Technology(UAE) for possible publication after the internal scientific check. ... All registered papers will be submitted to International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD)for possible publication after the internal scientific check. ...

The About Us page adds that "Our main arrow is to hit the world with new techniques. The Contact page provides no address. Aside from an HTML form, it gives email URLs for Prof.srajendra@gmail.com and mallaharsha84@gmail.com as well a Indian mobile telephone number. The domain name icnmpcm.org.in is registered by Endurance Domains Technology LLP for "Confer Professional Group of Conferences, Andhra Pradesh, India."

the "Guest Editors" are all Indian and Malaysian, except for "Dr. Sattar B. Sadkhan, Editor in Chief of IJACT in South Korea, Chair of IEEE ComSoc Iraq Chapter, Chairman of URSI Iraq Committee, Honorable Research Director of IRAQ for (BRCORP), Editor in Chief of many International scientific Journals."

The International Journal of Engineering & Technology (UAE) is a product of the United Arab Emirates' Science Publishing Corporation, whose journals include "International Journal of Scientific World." It welcomes "[e]xtensions of previously published high-quality articles ... if they have been recommended by the conference organizing committee." It lists Google Scholar among its "partners."

The other journal that this virtual conference will feed is published by nothing less than Transstellar Journal Publications and Research Consultancy Private Limited. The domain name tjprc.org is registered to TJPRC Journals, Tamil Nadu, India. Transstellar claims to have agents or offices in "Texas - USA, California - USA, London - UK, Ontario - Canada, Mesaieed - Qatar, Singapore and Chennai - India. It also has 14 journal editorial offices (research partners) around the world ... ." Zillow describes the Houston location (13218 Golden Field Dr) as "a single family home that contains 2,398 sq ft and was built in 1997. It contains 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms." The California office is a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment at 701 Gibson Drive, Apt. No. 1912, Roseville, 95678. The corporate office is in Transstellar Tower, Ground Floor, Plot No: 37A, City Park Layout , Old No: 34 / New No: 12, Egattur (near SIPCOT IT Park, OMR - Opp: FLSmidth), Chennai - 603103, Tamil Nadu, India.

Email

• From: akhil G [hcb3@icnmpcm.org.in]
  Date: June 27, 2018, 2:28 AM
  Subject: [untitled]
  Respected Professors,
  International Conference on Newfangled Methods of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (ICNMPCM). It is an online conference intends to be a global forum for researchers and engineers to present and discuss recent innovations and new techniques in Engineering Technology and Sciences.
  Important Dates: Today is the Last Date for Paper submission ... Date of Conference: 6th & 7th Aug 2018
  [no sender name]

The Media Gurus at Research Publications International Ltd

Research Publishing International Ltd is not a flaky academic journal. It is "a collective of dedicated media gurus." For the right fee, they will market your research. Its services include making videos, multimedia, and a "free Research Features magazine [that] contains the latest scientific news written by skilled journalists and presented in an intuitive format." It stirs up the social media to "help you reach the masses."

The domain names researchfeatures.com and researchpublishinginternational.com were registered by Data Protected Data Protected, with a mock address of 123 Data Protected, Kirkland, WA 98033, Phone: +1.0000000000, Fax: +1.0000000000, Email: noreply@data-protected.net.

Email

• From: Bradley Noades [bradley@researchfeatures.com]
  Date: June 26, 2018
  Subject: Deadly statistics quantifying an unacceptable risk in capital punishment - Research Features
  Please excuse the direct nature of this contact. I would like to speak with you regarding your work with the Deadly statistics quantifying an unacceptable risk in capital punishment study. Research Features are working in collaboration with research teams around the world assisting with their Public Outreach activity, through means of a professionally produced research feature article. Our team of editors, illustrators and Social Media Gurus produce this feature in collaboration with you. There is very little for you to do – on average under 1 hour total time investment from your side. Our team invest an average of 28 to 34 hours in production of each feature. The ethos behind our work is very simple - we take complex topics and translate this body of work into an easily understood feature, which is then accessed globally via Social Media, our hard copy and digital publication, and our website.
  Research Features is a free-to-access publication – no reader will be asked to pay or subscribe to read, download or share the content we create. We publish all work under the Creative Commons licence guidelines.
  I understand Public Outreach is a very important issue within the research community – it is often difficult to obtain large numbers of views and interaction and of course time consuming. We guarantee that a minimum of 85,000 people will see your article across all digital channels. Please do look at our social media channels, icons are shown on our website, for evidence of the impact of this initiative.
  We are currently working on a very special publication to be launched August 2018. This publication will feature a wide variety of disciplines. We would like you to be one of those featured. To achieve this goal we take background information, and previously published papers, and use this information to write an article which is easily understood by the broader audience. You will not have to write anything; our internal team will produce the article. We do ask you to approve everything we produce, so you will remain in control of all content.
  I have briefly looked over the details of your work and believe Research Features to be an interesting platform to complement your outreach. You will of course own the article and copyright, leaving your team with a professionally produced feature to be used on your web-page, at events or conferences etc. We also send you hard copies of the final publication and finally, a detailed report which explains who has interacted with your article. Please have a look at our website ... Please also look over our Social Media channels – to see how the global community react to the work we produce: ...
  Rather than writing any further detail, could we please find 5 minutes to discuss? During our call I will then answer any questions you have and explain in detail the requirements and cost for taking part. All the services we provide are paid for by the research teams we feature, and the cost for this edition is capped at £400 per page. This covers everything, there are no additional fees or charges. The publication is entirely free to download share and digest, and is not supported by advertising or external funding, as we are an independent scientific media agency. I hope you agree, our work is of a high quality and the results across social media have been outstanding.
  We hope to work with you, Thank you in advance
  Kind Regards,
  Bradley Noades
  Project Manager, T: +44 1453 822574 (UK) Central Office, bradley@researchfeatures.com
  IMPORTANT INFORMATION
  This email may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. It may not be used by, or its contents copied or disclosed to, persons other than the address(ees). If you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately and delete the email.
  Whilst Research Publishing International Ltd has taken every reasonable precaution to minimize the risk of viruses, we cannot accept liability for any damage that is sustained as a result of software viruses which may be contained in this email. ...

ITS wants you to "discuss the current and potential issues arising from the academic field"

From Hong Kong, International Technology and Science Publications (ITS) is "specializing in open access journals." In addition, the About Us page (viewed 6/18/18) promises

⊖ "a flexible open platform for researchers and institutions to ... discuss the current and potential issues arising from the academic field";
⊖ untold "quantities of distinguished editorial members and reviewers"; and
⊖ to "promote the development of the global significant researches."

Eighteen journals are listed, all with "ISSN pending." The nascent list includes "Waters" and "Environment."

Email

• From: press@itspoa.org
  Date: Mon Jun 18 at 6:45 PM
  Subject: Hey Dhkaye, Call for Papers from ITS 2018-6-19
  Dear Dhkaye,
  Free Publication Event in ITS Journals I am an editorial coordinator from the journal Urban Design. We noticed that you’ve published many papers, and based on the praisable quality of your paper, it is a great pleasure to invite you to contribute an article to ITS Journals for free before 30 July, 2018. [← Too bad the anonymous coordinator did not notice that I have published nothing on urban (or any other kind of) design.]
  ... Authentic Peer Review [← As opposed to 假的 (jia3de) peer review?]
  All articles submitted are subject to a rigorous peer review process by the expert reviewers. ITS adheres to the single blind peer-review procedure to ensure the contents on the journals meet ethical and scientific quality standards ...
  Articles submitted to Composite Science [← What happened to Urban Design?] come through a series of procedures, such as peer reviewing and editing. ITS is committed to finishing the whole process within 30 days. ...
  Special Issues focusing on certain aspects of a scientific research are published on ITS. ...
  Once published, articles on ITS are allowed be shared and adapted for their own purposes. ...
  We will answer back as soon as possible if we receive your manuscripts. Please send your reply by the earliest delivery. Looking forward to your contributions!
  Editorial Board
  International Technology and Science Publications (ITS)

SciDoc is "spreading the knowledge from the desks to the doors of the masses"

From the SciDoc website: "SciDoc Publishers achievements till date includes: ... Special Issues, which is roaring high."

Among the many journal titles listed there is the "JBR Journal of Translational Space dentistry, Medicine and Exploration (JBR-TSME)." The editor-in-chief is "Balwant Rai, Director of Space dentistry, Kepler Space Institute, USA." The Kepler Space Institute's home page explains that the institute "is dedicated to the expansion of human civilization from Earth into space. We believe this is necessary, both to acquire resources – based on the Law of Space Abundance to provide the fundamental needs of preserving peace and prosperity for humankind on this planet – and to extend life through our solar system and beyond." Mr. Rai's name does not appear on this website, but he is editor-in-chief of OMICS' JBR Journal of Interdisciplinary Medicine and Dental Science. That speaks volumes.

The International Journal of Forensic Science & Pathology (IJFP), which spammed me, is not listed on the journals page of the website. A word search of the website returns a link that generates a smattering of articles from other journals. If there are editors of and articles in this journal, they are not easily found.

The enterprising chap behind SciDoc may be Hari Sarangam, 2542 Rockhampton Rd, San Ramon, California 94582, 302-703-1005, Phonehari.s@scidoc.org. Mr. Sarangam is the owner of the domains scidocopenaccess.com, i2itechsolutions.com, scidoc.biz, and scidocpublishers.biz.

Email

• From: International Journal of Forensic Science & Pathology - SciDoc Publishers [forensic_sci_pathol@scidocopenaccess.com]
  Date: Thu 6/14/2018 12:59 AM
  Subject: Submission for Forensic Science Research
  Respected Dr. David Kaye,
  We hope this email finds you in good health. Myself Maddy Adams, Managing Editor at SciDoc Publishers- Open Access; managing the International Journal of Forensic Science & Pathology (IJFP). We would like to take this opportunity in congratulating you for getting the Research grant of National Science Foundation (NSF). [← Maddy seems to be confused. I have no such grant, although I am a co-PI on a recent grant application.]
  We are an Open Access publisher working to disseminate knowledge and to create an archival literature platform in Forensic Science & Pathology. We aim to publish high quality Open Access journals around the globe, with contributions from eminent authors like you. We would be very delighted to have your submissions in our journal, as your research work on “Forensic Science” fits well with the IJFP.
  We kindly request you to confirm us with respect to your interest of participation. Should you have any further queries, concerns or comments, please feel free to contact us, we will assist you. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
  Best Regards
  Maddy Adams
  SciDoc Publishers, USA.

SPG Is Another "Science Publishing Group"

"Science Publishing Group" is a nice name. It is used by SciencePG, which boasts about its 200+ questionable journals, and now (6/13/18) by the more diminutive SPG Journals, with a mere four journals. The domain name spg.ltd was registered by Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. d/b/a HiChina, raising a question about the putative Zurich address on the website and in emails.

The content of the email displays an abysmal lack of awareness of "this field." Inasmuch as the journal has no editorial board, that is not surprising. I cannot find any article titles -- let alone any articles -- in these journals.

Email

SPG Open

• From: P Stephane MSE [pstephane@spg-journals.org]
  Date: Wed 6/13/2018 3:19 PM
  Subject: Inquiry about "The good - the bad - the ugly: the NAS report on strengthening forensic science in America."
  Dear Dr. Kaye DH,
  I am editing the next several issues of SPG Open and am hoping I can discuss with you the idea of including an article from you. The paper you published entitled "The good - the bad - the ugly: the NAS report on strengthening forensic science in America." was interesting to me and I think another article related to this work would be valuable to our readership. If you could tell me more about your current work that would be very helpful. I think you will find that SPG Open is quite different from most journals in that we stay in communication with our authors during every step of the publication process and provide detailed feedback for each submission whether or not it is accepted for publication.
  If you have moved on from this field you could certainly prepare an article on a different topic. We don't have any theme issue in the near future so there is no restriciton [sic] on the scope of topics that may be submitted. The deadline for this is flexible and I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
  Please reply when you can and let me know whether or not this is feasible for you in the foreseeable future.
  Sincerely,
  Patrick Stephane M.S.E.
  Editorial Board, SPG Open
  Notice: SPG is committed to preventing fraudulent emails. If you receive an email or visit a website that does not contian our logo as pictured above, it is not affiliated with SPG. We have received reports of the existance of other publishers with similar names. If you suspect you have received a fraudulent email that claims to be from SPG please notify us by replying to this email our contacting us through our website.
  This message and any attachments to it are for use only by the addressee. If you are not the addressee please do not rely on the contents of this message and delete it from your computer immediately. To notify the sender write to Auf der Mauer 8, Zurich 8001, Switzerland. To stop future emails from this sender please reply and let us know. Do not open any attachments which you do not recognize as they may harm your computer. Copyright 2018 SPG. All rights reserved. This email is available both in HTML and plain text formats.|
  Followed four days later by "Dear Dr. Kaye DH, Could you please let me know whether or not this if [sic] of interest to you? May I send along more information about the journal?"

SPG BioMed

• From: K. Gyamdjyan, MD, Ph.D. [k.gyamdjyan@spg.eu.com]
  Date: Wed 4/25/2018 7:08 AM
  Subject: Your paper "The good - the bad - the ugly: the NAS report on strengthening forensic science in America."
  Dear Dr. Kaye DH,
  I am working on putting together the next few issues of SPG BioMed and wanted to get in contact with you because I think your work may be a good fit for the journal. The article you published titled "The good - the bad - the ugly: the NAS report on strengthening forensic science in America." was quite interesting and I think a new article that updates this research would be valuable. Or if you have moved on from this area you could certainly prepare an article on another topic.
  Are you still working in this field? I tried to find your Pennsylvania State University profile page but was unable to do so. [← It is hard to image how anyone could miss the Penn State page.] Could we discuss the idea of you preparing an article to submit?
  Sincerely,
  K. Gyamdjyan, MD, Ph.D.
  SPG BioMed, spg.ltd, k.gyamdjyan@spg.eu.com, +41 41 5082905
• From: Dr. E. Padron, Ph.D. [e.padron@spgb.email]
  Date: Sun 11/18/2018 5:39 PM
  Subject: Planning of 2019 special issue
  Dear Dr. Kaye DH,
  I hope this email finds you well. The biomedical journal which I serve as a board member is commencing a special issue entitled "Special issue: Medical Breakthroughs of 2018", and I am among those tasked with planning the topics which will be featured in the issue.
  Your name came up during my research as someone who has been active in research which may fit the scope of the issue. If you would think about assisting with the issue, either as an author or an advisor, it would be greatly appreciated by myself and my colleagues working on the issue.
  Would it be alright if I send you a PDF which contains a more detailed summary of the special issue?
  Best Regards,
  E. Padron, Ph.D.
  SPG BioMed
  a: Auf der Mauer 8 Zurich Switzerland 8001 p: +41 43 508 29 05
  Legal Disclaimer: The contents of this message are intended for only the recipient(s) specified in message. It is forbidden to share any part of this message with a third party, without written consent from the sender. To stop future emails from this sender please reply to this email.

Valley International Journals

From the Aboiut Us page (6/10/18): "Valley International are open access journals Publisher covering a wide range of academic areas. VIJ serves the world’s research and intellectual community... ." The address on the contact page is LIG 73 Megdoot Nagar Mandsaur, (M.P.) India - 458001.

At the moment, only two journals are listed. THEIJSSHI, as it is abbreviated, includes works such as "The Influence of Regulation Policy in Local Wisdom of Coastal Fisherman Welfare in Percut Sei Tuan Subdistrictdeli Serdangregency." If there is an editor-in-chief, that person is not part of the "editorial team."

The team includes "Wayne Marr, Professor, Business Administration, University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Fairbanks, ALASKA." Linkedin identifies him as the university's Vice Chancellor. The Chronicle of Higher Education lists his "current work" as "Retirement." As with THEIJSSHI, he is the only American on the editorial advisory board of the International Journal of Business & Management (published by the International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences), which boasts "Plagiarism Tolerance: Zero Level" as it "ascends a maiden flight across the globe."

Email

International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention

• From: Aaradhya [aradhyapatidar01 gmail.com]; on behalf of; Aaradhya [aradhyapatidar01 gmail.com]
  Date: Wed 3/21/2018 1:05 PM
  Subject: News Letter From THEIJSSHI (SOCIAL SCIENCE) JOURNAL
  .... Submission Window is Open between 25.02.2018 to 25.03.2018 ( For March issue, 2018 ) Volume 05 - Issue 03 March 2018 ... THEIJSSHI welcomes contributions on any topic in the field of social sciences and Humanity. We invite research papers, articles, case studies and book reviews etc. written in English for the volume 5 Issue 3 of The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention. Theijsshi accepts both quantitative and qualitative studies, particularly those that focus on a interdisciplinary approach - on topics pertaining to the Social science and Humanity.
  Thanks Regards,
  Editor-In-Chief
  THEIJSSHI JOURNAL 
• From: David james [theijsshi004=gmail.com@mail15.suw15.mcsv.net] on behalf of David james [theijsshi004@gmail.com]
  Sent: 6/30/18 3:34 am
  Subject: Submit Your article Today For July Issue 2018
  The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal, published by the Valley international journal. The journal is published Monthly in online versions. The Journal accepts article submissions online or by e-mail ...
  Open Access Policy: This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Copyright Policy: Copyrights for articles are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. Authors have rights to reuse, republish, archive, and distribute their own articles after publication. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work.
  Thanks Regards,
  Editor-In-Chief
  THEIJSSHI JOURNAL
• From: Mikki [theijssh@gmail.com]
  Date: Wed Feb 7, 2019 11:18 PM
  Subject: Invitation for article publication
  ...Volume 06 - Issue 02 February 2019
  Welcomes article submissions related to the Social Sciences and Humanities
  The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities is an international platform for scholars, researchers and practitioners to discuss interdisciplinary research and practices in the fields of Social Sciences, Humanities and all sub-fields are welcomed. The Journal accepts article submissions online or by e-mail: info@valleyinternational.net
  Thanks Regards,
  Editor-In-Chief
  THEIJSSHI JOURNAL
  web design Rajendra Nagar Indore 452001 India