Publication Ethics
I. AUTHORS: General duties and responsibilities
• To read and comply with the "Instructions for contributors" (see below);
• To present the permission obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including images, or the Web);
• To present documentation for any citations to unpublished work (e.g., articles in press/personal communications);
• To fill in, sign, and send along with the manuscript the "Disclosure Statement and Copyright Assignment" (see below).
II. JOURNAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: General duties and responsibilities
1. The Editor-in-chief is accountable for everything published in the Journal. Therefore, the Journal Editor-in-chief may refuse the publication of proposed manuscripts or may consider retracting a publication if any of these situations are detected:
• Plagiarism;
• Redundant publication;
• Clear evidence that the text has previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission or justification (i.e., cases of redundant publication).
2. The Editor-in-chief should strive:
• To meet the needs of referees and authors;
• To ensure that all manuscripts are reviewed by suitably qualified reviewers and receive an objective and unbiased evaluation;
• To provide guidance to reviewers on everything that is expected of them including the need to handle submitted material in confidence;
• To require reviewers to disclose any potential competing interests before agreeing to review a submission;
• To ensure that peer reviewers’ identities are protected;
• To send reviewers’ comments to authors in their entirety unless they contain offensive or libelous remarks;
• To acknowledge the contribution of reviewers to the journal;
• To respect requests from authors that an individual should not review their submission, if these involve conflicts of interest;
• To ensure timely peer review and publication for papers they receive;
• To constantly improve the Journal;
• To maintain the integrity of the academic record;
• To always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.
III. THE EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: General duties and responsibilities
• To provide accurate and timely reviews of the submitted manuscripts;
• To cooperate with the Editor-in-chief in actively seeking appropriate peer-reviewers;
• To actively encourage submissions;
• To cooperate with the Editor-in-chief in supporting, promoting the Journal, and acting as their ambassadors;
• To attend and contribute to editorial board meetings or forums of discussion online.
IV. NEW EDITORS
New Editors should not overturn decisions to publish submissions made by the previous editor unless serious problems are identified.
V. ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGES (APCs)
The Journal does not have any ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGES (APCs).