Publication Ethics

• Comprehensive and Transparent Acknowledgment: All sources of information must be properly cited. This includes not only scholarly publications but also unpublished work and personal communications. Furthermore, all individuals and institutions that contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship (e.g., technical support, writing assistance, departmental chairpersons who provided general support) should be acknowledged in a dedicated section. All sources of financial support including social services must be explicitly disclosed.
• Conflict of Interest Disclosure: A conflict of interest exists when an author's private interests (financial, professional, personal, or academic) could be perceived as inappropriately influencing the objectivity of their research, analysis, or conclusions. Full transparency is required, and a disclosure statement will be published with the article.
• Ethical Oversight for Human and Animal Subjects: For any research involving human participants, authors must include a statement within the manuscript confirming that the study was approved by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent ethics committee, and that informed consent was obtained from all participants. For animal studies, authors must provide evidence of approval from an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent, adhering to internationally accepted guidelines for animal welfare.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer reviewers are essential custodians of academic quality, providing a vital service to the journal and the wider scholarly community.

• Objective, Constructive, and Timely Evaluation: Reviews should be conducted objectively, focusing on the scholarly merit, methodology, validity, and significance of the work. Personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate. Reviewers should provide constructive, detailed, and evidence-based feedback to help authors improve their manuscripts. They are also expected to submit their reviews within the agreed-upon timeframe.
• Strict Confidentiality and Non-Usurpation: The manuscript under review is a confidential document. Reviewers must not discuss the unpublished work with others or use knowledge of the work for their own research or personal advantage without the explicit, written consent of the author.
• Proactive Declaration of Competing Interests: Reviewers must decline to review a manuscript if they possess any competing interests that could compromise their objectivity. This includes, but is not limited to, recent (e.g., within the past 36 months) collaborative projects, direct personal relationships, financial ties, or a strong intellectual rivalry with the authors.
• Vigilance for Ethical and Scholarly Overlap: Reviewers should alert the editor to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they are aware. They are also encouraged to identify cases where relevant citations to the reviewer's own work have not been included by the author, while avoiding any suggestion of self-promotion.

Elaborated Responsibilities of Editors

Editors act as stewards of the journal, responsible for maintaining its academic standards and ensuring the integrity of the publication process.

• Decisions Based on Scholarly Merit: Editorial decisions to accept or reject a manuscript are made solely based on the work's importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope. The authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, citizenship, or political philosophy are not considered.
• Robust and Impartial Peer Review: Editors are responsible for securing a fair, unbiased, and timely peer-review process. This involves selecting reviewers with appropriate expertise, ensuring that reviews are thorough and constructive, and mediating interactions between authors and reviewers.
• Proactive and Transparent Management of Ethical Concerns: Editors have a duty to act upon any suspected ethical breaches, whether raised by reviewers, readers, or identified internally. Such concerns are investigated promptly and thoroughly, following prescribed COPE flowcharts, with fairness and transparency to all parties involved.
• Recusal in Cases of Conflict of Interest: Editors and editorial staff must recuse themselves from any involvement in the processing of manuscripts where they have a competing interest, whether financial, collaborative, institutional, or personal. In such cases, the manuscript will be assigned to another editor.