Conflict of Interest Policy for Reviewers

The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity, fairness, and confidentiality of the peer-review process through a double-blind review system in which the identities of both authors and reviewers remain concealed throughout the review process. Reviewers are expected to conduct reviews objectively, professionally, and ethically while avoiding any conflicts of interest that may compromise, or appear to compromise, their ability to provide an impartial evaluation.

A conflict of interest may exist when a reviewer has a personal, professional, financial, academic, supervisory, collaborative, or competitive relationship with an author, institution, organization, or topic connected to the manuscript under review. Reviewers should decline invitations to review manuscripts when:

• They believe they may be able to identify the author(s) and feel unable to remain impartial
• They have collaborated with the author(s) within the past five years
• They have a current or recent supervisory, mentoring, or personal relationship with the author(s)
• They may benefit professionally, financially, or personally from the publication or rejection of the manuscript
• They hold strong biases or competing interests that may interfere with an objective review

Reviewers are expected to immediately disclose any actual or perceived conflicts of interest to the editorial team upon receipt of a manuscript invitation. All manuscripts and review materials must be treated as confidential documents and may not be shared, discussed, copied, or used for personal or professional advantage.

The editorial team reserves the right to remove reviewers from the review process when conflicts of interest are identified or when ethical review standards are not upheld.

Policy for Editorial Board Members and Editors Submitting Manuscripts

The journal recognizes that editors and editorial board members may also engage in scholarly work appropriate for publication within the journal’s scope. To maintain the integrity, fairness, and transparency of the double-blind peer-review process, all submissions authored or co-authored by editors, editorial board members, or individuals involved in editorial decision-making will be managed independently and without involvement from the submitting editor.

Editors and editorial board members who submit manuscripts to the journal:

• Will receive no preferential treatment during the review or publication process
• Will not participate in the selection of reviewers, editorial decisions, or communication related to their submission
• Will be fully excluded from all access to reviewer identities, reviewer comments, and editorial deliberations associated with their manuscript
• Will have their manuscripts assigned to an independent editor or guest editor with no conflict of interest

All editor-authored submissions will undergo the same double-blind peer-review standards, editorial expectations, and acceptance criteria required of all other submissions to the journal.

The journal is committed to ensuring that all manuscripts are evaluated solely on scholarly merit, originality, relevance, and contribution to the field, regardless of the author’s role or affiliation with the journal.

Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism Policy

The journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity, originality, and ethical scholarship. All manuscripts submitted to the journal must represent the original work of the author(s) and appropriately acknowledge the ideas, words, data, images, and contributions of others through proper citation and referencing practices. The journal also prohibits self-plagiarism or redundant publication. Self-plagiarism occurs when authors reuse substantial portions of their own previously published, submitted, or copyrighted work without appropriate disclosure, citation, or justification. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all submitted manuscripts are original and properly cited. Manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism detection software during the review process. If plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical scholarly conduct is identified before or after publication, the journal reserves the right to reject, retract, or remove the manuscript and may prohibit future submissions from the author(s).

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use and Disclosure Policy

The journal recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly being used to support academic writing, editing, research organization, data visualization, and manuscript preparation. Authors may use AI-assisted tools in limited and ethical ways to support the development of their manuscripts; however, the author(s) remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and scholarly quality of all submitted content.

Acceptable uses of AI may include:

• Grammar, spelling, and language editing
• Formatting and organization assistance
• Data visualization, tables, or figure generation
• Reference management support
• Assistance with readability or accessibility improvements
• Brainstorming or outlining support

AI tools may not be used in ways that compromise academic integrity, originality, confidentiality, ethical research standards, or authorship responsibility. AI-generated content must not replace the author’s intellectual contribution, critical analysis, interpretation, or scholarly voice.

Authors are required to disclose the use of AI-assisted technologies within the manuscript at the time of submission. Disclosure should include:

• The name of the AI tool or platform used
• The purpose for which the tool was used
• A brief description of how the AI assisted in manuscript preparation

AI technologies may not be listed as authors or co-authors, as authorship requires accountability, intellectual responsibility, and the ability to respond to questions regarding the work.

The editorial team reserves the right to request additional clarification regarding AI use and may reject manuscripts where AI usage is found to be undisclosed, excessive, unethical, misleading, or inconsistent with the journal’s standards for scholarly integrity.

Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Revisions Policy

The journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy, integrity, and transparency of the scholarly record. Authors, reviewers, editors, and readers share a collective responsibility to ensure that published content remains trustworthy and academically sound. When errors or concerns are identified after publication, the journal will take appropriate action to correct or clarify the published record.

Post-Publication Corrections

Authors are expected to promptly notify the editorial office if they discover a significant error, omission, or inaccuracy in their published work. Corrections may be issued when errors impact the clarity, interpretation, citation, or understanding of the manuscript but do not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions of the work.

Examples of issues that may warrant a correction include:

• Typographical or formatting errors that affect interpretation
• Errors in author affiliations or acknowledgments
• Incorrect citations or references
• Minor data reporting errors
• Figure or table labeling issues
• Omitted disclosures or funding acknowledgments

When appropriate, the journal may publish a formal correction notice linked to the original article. Minor editorial changes that do not affect the scholarly content of the article may be corrected without a formal notice at the discretion of the editorial team.

Retractions

A retraction may occur when a published manuscript is found to contain serious ethical violations or substantial errors that invalidate the integrity or reliability of the work. Grounds for retraction may include, but are not limited to:

• Plagiarism or self-plagiarism
• Fabrication or falsification of data
• Duplicate publication
• Unethical research practices
• Significant undisclosed conflicts of interest
• Major methodological or analytical errors that compromise findings

Retraction decisions will be made by the editorial team following a review of the concern and, when appropriate, communication with the author(s), reviewers, or affiliated institutions. Retraction notices will remain publicly accessible and linked to the original publication to preserve the integrity of the academic record.

Author Responsibility

Authors are responsible for carefully reviewing proofs prior to publication and ensuring the accuracy of all submitted content, including data, citations, authorship information, and disclosures. Requests for substantive revisions that alter the central findings, interpretation, or scope of the article after publication may require editorial review and may not be permitted without a formal correction or retraction process.

The journal reserves the right to determine the appropriate course of action regarding all post-publication corrections, clarifications, expressions of concern, or retractions in accordance with ethical publishing standards and best practices in scholarly communication.

Archiving and Digital Preservation Policy

The journal is committed to the long-term preservation, accessibility, and integrity of all published scholarly content. To support permanent access to the academic record, the journal utilizes the PKP Preservation Network (PKP-PN) as its primary digital archiving and preservation service. Through PKP-PN, published articles are securely preserved to ensure continued availability and protection against data loss, technological failure, or platform disruption. In addition to PKP-PN preservation, the journal supports open-access principles and recognizes the importance of maintaining scholarly accessibility for future researchers, practitioners, educators, and communities. In the unfortunate event that the journal ceases publication, operations, or maintenance, reasonable efforts will be made to preserve and transfer published content to a stable and publicly accessible repository, including the Internet Archive, to ensure continued public access to previously published works.

The journal reserves the right to maintain, migrate, or preserve content through additional archiving services or repositories as needed to support long-term digital preservation and accessibility.