Many observers agree that societies in industrialised countries find themselves in the initial stages of a new revolution in production and distribution processes, known also as Industry 4.0. This is a complex set of phenomena, generated by the favourable conjuncture of a series of technologies which facilitate innovation (known for several decades and now available at low cost) and theoretical models of design process, now applicable in an integrated way to the manufacturing process, which have a considerable impact on the types of goods and services available, their characteristics and quality, their circulation, consumption and use.
Accelerated by the digital revolution, Industry 4.0 is characterised by two nuclei of factors, which interact with each other:
_ on the one hand the production process is heavily guided by digital models which, beginning with the concept and design, condition the entire structure of the product's "value chain" right up to the end client;
_ on the other hand, information - also digital - generates a constant two-way flow of data between producer and consumer/user: in this context, created by the digital revolution, the producer can now implement product-systems which incorporate large amounts of information (IOT) and services, while the end client generates - as an active, connected consumer - information about his or her behaviour, tastes and choices, which can be recorded in real time by the producer and turned into new potential projects.
We are faced with a strategy of innovative industrial reconfiguration, which affects both organisational tools and processes of manufacturing, and production and distribution networks; the most obvious consequence is the transformation of the relationship between factory and market, by which B2B models (Business To Business) can turn into B2C (Business To Consumer) and vice versa. In these unprecedented circumstances, there is plenty of room for design to intervene and plan - since it is equipped with tools for interpretation and conception (design thinking), executive techniques (design doing) and cognitive assets (design cultures) - beyond the mere engineering of solutions (predominantly geared to performance development), and put itself forward as a co-protagonist of this revolution.
In the setting of Industry 4.0, the entire conception and formalisation process - conceptualisation, ideation, modelling, prototyping, production trials - is digital, in other words organised and ordered by devices and software which are increasingly autonomous and able to learn.  
Simultaneously, information built into goods and services is gaining importance; information as a cognitive scenario which opens up new user experiences and new business models, transforming traditional types of product and their market presence (and life cycle).
Furthermore, the integration of B2B and B2C tends to generate a breakdown in the classic model of division of skills which gave engineers control of the factory and the production process, the designer-designer the task of formalising the product and the designer-communicator the storytelling aimed at the market and the consumer. Today, each of these figures can have a field of action which is at the same time production and consumption.
The fourth edition of MD Journal aims to carry out an in-depth exploration of this revolution, sharing the ongoing (or pending) transformations among researchers and examining the potential contribution of design. In particular, several topics will be focused on:

_ What knowledge the discipline of design needs to have in order to address this transformation.
_ How the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0 change the way artefacts, systems and services are produced.
_ Which products and services represent meaningful case studies of the digital revolution.
_ How design can encourage mediation between operators.
_ Besides the factory, what the effects of Industry 4.0 are on individual and collective lives.
_ How the relationship between the object and the subject's physical dimension (embodiment) changes.

Announcement and Submission Instructions:
http://www.materialdesign.it/en/journal-md/sinapsi_61.htm

Important dates:
Abstract submission April 20th, 2017
Notification of Abstract Review Results April 30th, 2017
Submission paper June 30st, 2017
Notification of Peer Review Results September 15th, 2017
Submission of final version October 15th, 2017
Publication December 2017

#4 Issue Editors:
Flaviano Celaschi, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna
Loredana di Lucchio, Sapienza Università di Roma
Lorenzo Imbesi, Sapienza Università di Roma

Publishing process
Researches are invited to send to the Scientific Section of the MD Journal an abstract of 2000 maximum 4000 characters (including spaces), written in Italian (only foreign authors may write in English), by April 20th, 2017.
The abstract, written in a clear, succinct manner, must be pertinent to the topic of the Call, set forth the objectives and purposes of the paper and be accompanied by keywords that highlight the project’s main points.
Abstracts must be sent to  mdjournal@unife.it
Authors will receive a notification of acceptance by April 30th, 2017.
After that, authors must send the articles (including all documentation, see link below), by June 30st, 2017,
to the same email address: mdjournal@unife.it
Following the review by peer referees, comments will be notified to authors by September 15th, 2017.
and they will have to send the final version of the article to mdjournal@unife.it, by October 15th, 2017.
The e-version of the open-class MD Journal 4/2017 is free and will be published on December 2017.
The magazine will also be printed and sent to the authors and to the main national libraries.

Nature and style of MD Journal scientific articles.
Please be reminded that scientific articles must comply with the following:
- definition and development of research topics;
- peer to peer argumentative intersubjective structure and style
- introduce connections and comparisons with established knowledge
- explicit references (notes, bibliography, sources).

Please refer to http://www.materialdesign.it/en/journal-md//_68.htm
Articles must be written in Italian; only foreign authors may write in English.
Authors must comply with the Editorial Rules.
Please refer to http://www.materialdesign.it/en/journal-md//_61.htm