Policies

OPEN ACCESS POLICY
UNEC Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Full-text access to scientific articles of the journal is presented on the official website in the Archives section.

The author(s) of a manuscript agree that if the manuscript is accepted for publication in UNEC Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the published article will be copyrighted using a Creative Commons CC BY. This license allows full use, and reuse rights to everyone, as long as the work is attributed to the original authors. Please also see our copyright statement.

PUBLICATION ETHICS
UNEC JEAS adheres to the publication ethics guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

PEER REVIEW POLICY
UNEC Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences operates a single-blind peer-review system until the publication of papers. Aiming to publish only high-quality papers, we evaluate them through strong peer review process that mainly considers:

The manuscript should not be simultaneously submitted to multiple journals.
Manuscripts should align with the scope of the journal.
UNEC JEAS strongly condemns all forms of plagiarism. Submitted manuscripts undergo thorough software checks to detect any instances of copied text, results from other sources, or self-plagiarism.
The manuscripts undergo review by two experts as recommended by the editorial board. Editors may also request additional reviews in certain cases.
If reviewers request revisions, authors must revise their manuscript accordingly and resubmit it to the journal for further evaluation by the reviewers.
The Editors-in-Chief make the final decision on the manuscript based on the referees' reports. Authors are promptly notified of the decision.
Rejected submissions will not be returned to the authors, but they will be informed of the editorial decision.
The submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents. We advise all our editors and reviewers to uphold the confidentiality of manuscripts.
We remind our Editors and Reviewers to disclose any conflicts of interest arising from direct competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors. In such cases, they are excluded from the evaluation process.
The review process is confidential, and we maintain anonymity regarding the individuals involved in this process.

EDITORS

Editors assess manuscripts submitted to the journal solely on their merit, considering factors such as importance, originality, study validity, and clarity, as well as their relevance to the journal’s scope. This evaluation is conducted without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, citizenship, religious belief, political philosophy, or institutional affiliation. Editorial decisions are independent of external influences, including government policies or other agencies. The Editor-in-Chief holds full authority over the journal’s content and publication schedule.
Editors and editorial staff maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, sharing information only with the authors, peer reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher as necessary. They do not use unpublished information or ideas obtained from handling manuscripts for personal gain unless explicitly permitted by the authors.
Editors abstain from evaluating manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors, associated companies, or institutions.
The editors ensure that all manuscripts submitted for publication undergo thorough peer review by experts in the field.
The Editor-in-Chief holds the responsibility of determining the manuscripts to be published in the journal, assessing their validity, significance to researchers and readers, reviewers' feedback, and compliance with legal standards.
The Editor-in-Chief reserves the option to seek input from other editors or reviewers when making decisions.
Editors are committed to promptly addressing any ethical concerns raised regarding a submitted manuscript or published paper, even if the issue comes to light years after publication.

PEER REVIEWERS
Reviewers who feel unqualified, unavailable, or have conflicts of interest regarding the manuscript should promptly inform the editors and decline the invitation. Reviewers should formulate their statements clearly in a sound and reasoned way so that authors can use the reviewer’s arguments to improve the manuscript. Personal criticism of the authors should be avoided.

Confidentiality. Reviewers should treat the contents of the manuscript under review as strictly confidential and refrain from using, disclosing, or sharing them with others.

Conflicts of Interests. Reviewers are asked to inform the editor of any conflicts of interest when evaluating a manuscript. Such conflicts may arise if the reviewer is asked to assess a paper by someone from the same organization, a former or current student, advisor, or closely related individual. Another conflict may occur if the reviewer competes directly with the author for a grant. If the conflict is significant, the reviewer should excuse themselves from the review process.

AUTHORS

Authors must ensure that they submit only entirely original works.
Authors must appropriately cite any work, information, or words used from others and avoid submitting work or manuscripts copied entirely or in part from others as their own, refraining from copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another's paper without proper attribution.
All forms of plagiarism, including duplicate publications, redundant publications, text recycling, and self-plagiarism, are unethical and unacceptable in publishing and should be avoided.
Only individuals who meet the authorship criteria outlined below should be listed as authors of the manuscript, as they must be able to take public responsibility for its content.
- made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition, or analysis/interpretation of the study;
- drafted the manuscript or revised it critically for important intellectual content;
- reviewed and approved the final version of the paper and agreed to its submission for publication.
Individuals who provided substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript, such as technical assistance, writing and editing support, or general guidance, but do not meet the criteria for authorship, should be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgments" section rather than listed as authors.
The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all relevant co-authors are listed, and must confirm that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript, and have agreed to its submission for publication.
Authors should disclose any conflicts of interest that could potentially influence the results or their interpretation in the manuscript.
All sources of financial support for the work should be disclosed, including any grant numbers or other reference numbers, if applicable.
Privately obtained information, whether from conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit written permission from the source.
Authors must refrain from using information acquired while providing confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, unless they have obtained explicit written permission from the author(s) involved in those services.
Authors are expected to systematically address reviewers’ comments point by point and promptly revise and resubmit their manuscript to the journal.
Authors have a responsibility to promptly notify the journal’s editors and collaborate with them to correct significant errors or inaccuracies discovered in their published work, either through an erratum or by retracting the manuscript or article.
If the editors become aware from a third party that a published work contains a significant error or inaccuracy, authors are obligated to promptly correct or retract the paper or provide evidence of its correctness to the journal editors.

PLAGIARISM POLICY
Authors must submit original and unpublished manuscripts to UNEC JEAS. Each manuscript should include appropriate citations to prevent plagiarism or duplication of the authors' prior work. The editorial board of UNEC JEAS will reject any manuscript found to contain plagiarism at any stage of the publication process. Additionally, manuscripts submitted elsewhere will not be considered for publication.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) USE POLICY

1. Permissible Use of AI Tools in Manuscript Preparation.
Authors are permitted to utilize generative AI or AI-assisted technologies (e.g., ChatGPT, DeepL, Grammarly) exclusively for linguistic enhancement purposes, such as improving grammar, style, or translation. Use of such tools must be limited to editorial assistance and must be conducted under direct human oversight.

AI tools must not be employed to:

Generate or interpret research data or results
Draft sections involving critical analysis or scientific claims
Draw conclusions or construct the manuscript’s core intellectual content
Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and academic integrity of all submitted material.

2. Disclosure of AI Tool Usage.
Any use of generative AI in the preparation of a manuscript must be clearly acknowledged in a dedicated section of the submission, such as the Acknowledgments or Methods.
Sample Disclosure Statement:
“The authors acknowledge the use of [Tool Name, e.g., ChatGPT by OpenAI] to assist with language and stylistic editing during manuscript preparation. All substantive content was developed and verified by the authors.”
Failure to disclose the use of AI tools constitutes a breach of transparency and may be considered a violation of ethical standards.

3. Authorship Criteria and AI.
In accordance with international publication ethics (COPE guidelines), AI tools do not meet the requirements for authorship. They lack the ability to assume accountability for research integrity, interpret findings, or respond to editorial or ethical concerns. Consequently, no AI application or tool may be listed as an author or co-author.
All authors listed must have made verifiable intellectual contributions and must take collective responsibility for the final work.

4. AI in Peer Review and Editorial Evaluation.
Peer reviewers and editors are strictly prohibited from uploading manuscript content to publicly accessible AI platforms or tools for analysis, summary, or evaluation. Doing so may compromise confidentiality, violate data protection policies, and undermine the integrity of the review process.
All assessments must be carried out independently by human reviewers, without reliance on automated systems for decision-making or critique.

5. Use of AI-Generated Figures, Visuals, or Data.
Visual or data representations produced using AI technologies are generally discouraged unless:

Their generation is explicitly described in the manuscript
The use of AI is scientifically justified and subject to peer scrutiny
They are clearly labeled as AI-generated or AI-assisted
Any AI-derived imagery used to manipulate, fabricate, or misrepresent results constitutes research misconduct and may lead to manuscript rejection or retraction.

6. Ethical Compliance and Oversight.
This journal adheres to the ethical publishing principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Misuse of AI tools, failure to disclose AI involvement, or attempts to circumvent authorship responsibilities will be treated as ethical violations and addressed in accordance with COPE-recommended procedures.

ARCHIVING
Our journal offers readers full access to published articles, seamlessly accessible online through our website or downloadable as PDFs for offline reading.

Our entire digital content, encompassing the website, manuscripts, and more, is distributed across two distinct sources. While one server hosts the online content for reader accessibility, an identical backup copy is securely maintained on another source. In the event of server failure, the content can swiftly be restored from the alternate source, ensuring website accessibility within a timeframe of less than 24-36 hours.

Authors are encouraged to self-archive the final version of their published articles into institutional and public repositories. For this purpose, authors are strongly encouraged to use the final PDF version published on the website of the journal.