Publication Policies

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

The principles and obligations outlined here draw upon recommendations established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

Proceedings of the International Conference of Contemporary Affairs in Architecture and Urbanism – ICCAUA

In addition to their overarching obligation to safeguard the scholarly quality, integrity and standing of the journal, editors must comply with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and Code of Conduct.publicationethics.org The specific responsibilities set out below integrate those standards with the needs of our interdisciplinary community.

Editorial Board

The Editorial Board comprises recognised scholars and practitioners whose expertise reflects the journal’s thematic breadth and geographic reach.

  • Appointments & term limits. Members are invited by the Editor-in-Chief following transparent criteria: scholarly reputation, reviewing experience, diversity of perspectives and willingness to contribute. Membership is normally for three years, renewable once.
  • Transparency. An up-to-date list of every member’s full name, institutional affiliation, ORCID iD and contact e-mail is displayed on the journal website.publicationethics.org
  • Engagement & performance. Board members are expected to review manuscripts promptly, advise on policy, promote ethical standards and act as ambassadors for the journal. Inactive members may be rotated off the board.

 

Publication Decisions

The Editor-in-Chief has full editorial independence. All decisions are based solely on a manuscript’s scholarly merit, originality, methodological rigour, clarity and relevance to the journal’s aims, irrespective of the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship or political philosophy. Legal requirements on copyright, libel and plagiarism are also considered.

Where appropriate, the editor will consult Associate Editors or the Editorial Board before reaching a decision, especially in cases involving appeals or suspected misconduct.

 

Peer Review Process

  • Initial screening. Submissions undergo desk assessment for fit, originality and ethical compliance. Manuscripts that fail to meet minimum standards are rejected without external review.
  • Double-blind review. Suitable manuscripts are sent to at least two independent experts under a double-blind model; reviewers remain anonymous to authors and to one another.
  • Reviewer guidance. Clear criteria and COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers are provided to ensure fair, constructive and timely reports.
  • Editorial oversight. Editors verify that reviewers’ comments are coherent, courteous and free from bias, and must record and justify any deviation from standard procedure.
  • Revisions & rebuttals. Authors receive consolidated feedback and are given adequate time to address reviewers’ points. Revised submissions may be re-reviewed where necessary.
  • Final decision. Outcomes are: accept, accept with minor/major revision, or reject. Decisions will only be reversed if compelling ethical or methodological issues emerge post-decision.

 

Fair Play

Editors evaluate manuscripts exclusively on intellectual content, never on author identity or commercial interests. Sponsorship, conference affiliation or advertising revenue does not influence editorial judgement.

 

Editorial Independence & Accountability

Editors act without interference from the conference organising committee, sponsoring institutions or the publisher. Any attempt to exert undue influence must be reported to the journal’s Ethics Committee and, where necessary, COPE.

 

Handling Complaints & Appeals

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a written rationale within 30 days. Appeals are reviewed by an independent Associate Editor or designated board member not involved in the original decision. If the appeal raises credible issues, a fresh review may be commissioned. Complaints concerning editorial conduct follow COPE flow-charts for resolution.

 

Digital Archiving

All published content is deposited in Keeper Public Knowledge Project PLN-PKP PLN to guarantee long-term digital preservation and open accessibility.

 

Confidentiality

Manuscripts, reviewer identities and all communications are confidential. Information is shared only with those directly involved in the review and publication workflow (authors, reviewers, editorial advisers and the publisher). Data are processed in accordance with GDPR and other applicable privacy regulations.

 

Disclosure & Conflicts of Interest

Editors must declare any potential conflict (financial, institutional, collaborative or personal) and, where one exists, recuse themselves from the manuscript. Unpublished material disclosed in submissions may not be used in an editor’s own research without the authors’ explicit, written consent.

 

Data Integrity & Reproducibility

Editors encourage authors to deposit underlying data, code and supplemental materials in recognised repositories, include data availability statements, and follow discipline-specific best practice for open research. Where appropriate, editors may require raw data during review and support the use of tools to detect image or data manipulation.

 

Corrections, Retractions & Expressions of Concern

Editors are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the record. When errors, redundant publication or misconduct are substantiated:

  • Corrections are issued for honest mistakes that do not invalidate the findings.
  • Retractions are published for pervasive errors, plagiarism, fabrication or unethical research.
  • Expressions of concern alert readers to potential issues pending investigation.

All notices are linked to the original article and are freely accessible.

 

Ethical Oversight & Misconduct Procedures

Anyone may report suspected misconduct. Allegations are handled confidentially, following COPE flow-charts.Fondazione Giorgio Cini Steps may include:

  1. Seeking a response from the author(s).
  2. Referring the matter to the author’s institution or funding body.
  3. Publishing corrections, retractions or apologies as appropriate.
  4. Imposing submission bans for severe, verified malpractice.

Minor breaches (e.g., unintentional citation errors) are resolved through author education and correction; major breaches (e.g., data fabrication) trigger formal investigation and possible retraction.

 

Diversity & Inclusion

The journal strives for gender, geographic and disciplinary diversity across its editorial structures, reviewer pool and author base, actively combating systemic bias and promoting under-represented voices.

 

Editorial Training & Continuous Improvement

Editors undertake regular training on publication ethics, implicit bias, data presentation and emerging best practice, and review journal policies annually to ensure alignment with the latest COPE guidance.

 

 

Duties and Responsibilities of Authors

Proceedings of the International Conference of Contemporary Affairs in Architecture and Urbanism – ICCAUA

All authors must observe the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and the ICMJE recommendations that underpin responsible research publication.publicationethics.orgICMJE The policies below incorporate those standards and apply to every submission.

 

 

Open Access Policy

The journal publishes under the CC BY 4.0 licence, granting immediate, free access to all content. Users may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search or link to the full text, provided proper attribution is given to the author(s) and source.

 

Repository Policy

Authors may deposit pre-prints, accepted manuscripts and Version of Record in institutional or subject repositories without embargo, provided full citation details and a DOI link to the journal version are included. See the full policy at https://journal.iccaua.com/jiccaua/rp.

 

Reporting Standards

Research must be reported accurately, completely and transparently. Methods, data sources, software and statistical approaches must be described in sufficient detail to allow replication. Opinion or commentary pieces must be clearly labelled as such and separated from empirical findings.Wiley Author Services

 

Research Ethics and Compliance

  • Human / animal studies. Submissions involving humans or animals must state ethical-committee approval, reference number and informed-consent procedures.
  • Hazardous materials. Studies using hazardous chemicals, fieldwork in protected sites or dual-use research must document appropriate licences and risk-mitigation measures.
  • Clinical trials. All interventional trials must be registered in a publicly accessible registry (e.g. ClinicalTrials.gov) and include a data-sharing statement in line with ICMJE policy.ICMJE

 

Data Access and Retention

Authors agree to preserve raw data, software code and analytic protocols for a minimum of five years and to provide them to the editor, reviewers or qualified researchers on request, unless legal or privacy constraints apply. Where possible, data sets should be deposited in discipline-specific repositories with a persistent identifier.

 

Originality and Plagiarism

Manuscripts must be entirely original. Overlap with published or submitted work (including the authors’ own) must be disclosed and appropriately cited. Plagiarism, text recycling, image duplication and data fabrication will result in rejection or retraction and may trigger further sanctions. The journal screens submissions with similarity-checking software named as Ithenticat.

 

Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication

Simultaneous submission to another journal, conference proceedings or book is prohibited. Publication of the same results in more than one primary venue, or submission of slices of the same study (“salami publishing”), constitutes unethical behaviour. When the CC BY licence is used to republish previously issued work (e.g. in an edited volume) the first publication in ICCAUA Proceedings must be fully cited.

 

Acknowledgement of Sources

All quotations, data, figures and ideas originating elsewhere must be fully referenced. Information obtained privately (e.g. peer review, personal correspondence, archival material) requires the written permission of the source before inclusion.

 

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship credit follows the ICMJE four-criterion model (substantial contribution; drafting or critical revision; final approval; accountability).

  • Author contribution statement. A CRediT roles table must accompany each submission.
  • Order changes. Additions, removals or rearrangements of authors after submission require written consent from all authors and the editor’s approval.
  • Group or consortia authorship. A guarantor must take overall responsibility for the work.

 

Artificial Intelligence Tools

The use of generative AI or large-language-model software (e.g. ChatGPT) must be declared in the Methods or Acknowledgements, specifying the tool, version, prompt and the human author’s oversight. AI tools may not be listed as authors, and authors remain fully accountable for the integrity of the content.

 

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All financial and non-financial interests—including consultancies, stock ownership, patents, paid expert testimony, research funding or political/ideological commitments—must be disclosed in a Competing Interests section of the manuscript. If no competing interests exist, authors should state: “The authors declare no competing interests”.

 

Copyright & Licence

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal a non-exclusive licence to publish under CC BY 4.0. Authors must obtain written permission to reproduce any third-party material (figures, tables, extended quotations) that is not licensed for free reuse.

 

Image Integrity and Figure Preparation

Images must not be altered in a way that misleads readers. Adjustments (brightness, contrast, colour balance) are acceptable only if applied to the entire image and do not obscure or eliminate information. Composite images must be clearly demarcated and explained in the legend.

 

Post-Publication Responsibilities

Authors must:

  • Respond promptly to requests for data, clarification or methodological details.
  • Cooperate with editors in issuing errata, corrigenda, retractions or expressions of concern where warranted.
  • Cite the published version of record in subsequent works.

 

Fundamental Errors in Published Works

When a significant error or inaccuracy is discovered, authors must notify the editor immediately and work with the journal to publish a correction or retraction. If the editor learns of an error from a third party, authors must provide evidence of accuracy or agree to the necessary amendment.

 

Sanctions for Misconduct

Confirmed breaches of these policies may lead to: rejection of the manuscript, retraction of the published article, notification to the authors’ institution or funding agency, and/or a submission ban for up to three years, in accordance with COPE flow-charts.publicationethics.org

 

 

Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

Proceedings of the International Conference of Contemporary Affairs in Architecture and Urbanism – ICCAUA

Peer reviewers uphold the integrity, quality and fairness of scholarly communication. The following policies incorporate the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers and must be observed for every manuscript handled.publicationethics.orgpublicationethics.org

 

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Reviewers provide expert, evidence-based assessments that enable editors to reach impartial decisions and guide authors in improving their work. Constructive, courteous feedback that highlights both strengths and weaknesses is expected.councilscienceeditors.org

 

 

Confidentiality

  • Manuscripts, data and supplementary files received for review are strictly confidential.
  • Do not share, discuss or store them with any third party without explicit editorial permission.
  • Public, cloud-based generative-AI or LLM platforms (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot) must never be fed the manuscript text, figures or data, as this breaches confidentiality.fs.unm.edu

 

Standards of Objectivity

  • Reviews must be impartial, evidence-driven and free from personal criticism.
  • Evaluate the science, methodology, originality and clarity, not the authors.
  • Provide clear, numbered comments and, where appropriate, actionable recommendations for improvement.

 

Acknowledgement of Sources

  • Identify relevant work not cited by the authors and provide full references.
  • Alert the editor to any substantive overlap, duplication or plagiarism you detect between the manuscript and other published or submitted material.

 

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

  • Declare any competing interests—financial, institutional, collaborative or personal—that could influence your judgement, and decline the review when a conflict exists.
  • Unpublished information or ideas obtained through peer review must not be used for your own research or personal advantage without the authors’ written consent.

 

Reviewer Expertise and Competence

Reviewers should accept assignments only for manuscripts that match their current scholarly competence. If, during review, it becomes clear that substantial expertise is lacking in a particular area, notify the editor and, if appropriate, suggest an additional specialist reviewer.fs.unm.edu

 

Ethical Compliance Check

Reviewers must verify that:

  • Ethical approval and informed-consent statements are included for studies involving humans or animals.
  • Data, images and statistics appear free from manipulation or fabrication.
  • Any use of generative-AI tools by the authors has been transparently disclosed.publicationethics.org

If serious ethical concerns arise, confidentially alert the editor with documented evidence.

 

Use of Generative AI and Assisted Technologies

  • AI tools may be employed only to improve the clarity of the reviewer’s own report (e.g. grammar checking).
  • AI must not generate review content, interpret results or replace human scholarly judgement.
  • Any AI assistance must be disclosed in the review’s closing note to the editor.EASE

 

Anonymity and Identity

ICCAUA operates a double-blind peer-review model. Reviewers must not attempt to identify the authors, nor reveal their own identity within comments intended for authors. Anonymous self-citation requests are permissible only when genuinely essential for completeness and must be justified to the editor.

 

Review Quality and Timeliness

  • Submit the report through the journal’s online system using the structured template provided.
  • If extra time is needed, request an extension before the deadline. Repeated late or sub-standard reviews may lead to removal from the reviewer pool.

 

Post-Review Responsibilities

  • Respond promptly to editorial queries arising after submission of your report.
  • Maintain confidentiality of the manuscript and review, even after publication, unless the journal adopts an open-review policy and the author agrees to disclosure.
  • Refrain from citing or disseminating any version of the manuscript until it is publicly available.

 

Breach of Reviewer Responsibilities

Confirmed violations—such as misuse of confidential material, discriminatory language, or unreported conflicts—will result in removal from the reviewer database and notification to the reviewer’s institution or funder where appropriate, in line with COPE flow-charts.virtusinterpress.org