Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or in LibreOffice file format.
  • The submission file has been proof read and is deemed ready for review.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
  • The submission is anonymised as to ensure blind review.

Author Guidelines

Making sure that your contribution fits to the aims and scope of the  Journal of Awareness-Based Systems Change 

  • Review the criteria under "About the Journal", especially in relation to the journal's section policies (Original Articles & "In the Making"). If in doubt, whether your article is in scope with JASC please approach a member of the Editorial Team via mail.
  • Full paper submissions of Original Articles can be made within the stated deadline for the respective issues.
  • If you intend to publish an "In the Making" contribution, please first send an abstract to the Editor-In-Chief.

Criteria used to evaluate rigor and relevance of your work

  • Upon receipt of any Original Article submitted for peer review, a first and thorough 4-eye principle Editorial Review will be conducted coordinated by the Editor-in-Chief.
  • Apart from checking formal requirements the following quality criteria will be applied to evaluate the rigor and relevance of your work.  

Theoretical Grounding: The article should be theoretically grounded, drawing on relevant literature and established theoretical frameworks within, adjacent, or relevant to the field of Awareness-Based Systems Change. The authors should demonstrate an understanding of existing theories and how their article connects, departs from, or extends this knowledge base.

Contextualization of Knowledge: The article should explicitly address how the knowledge produced is situated within specific contexts. It should highlight the socio-cultural, organizational, and environmental factors that shape the research outcomes and emphasize the importance of context in understanding and interpreting the findings.

Implications for Systems Change: All submissions must be closely aligned with Awareness-Based Systems Change. They should either demonstrate or at least indicate how the knowledge they present has tangible implications for systems change efforts.


Onto-Epistemological Stance: Articles should adopt an onto-epistemological perspective that underscores the context and embeddedness of knowledge. They should recognize the relational and embodied nature of knowledge production and show how social, cultural, and historical factors influence the author's standpoint, comprehension, and the research itself.

Additional Criteria for Empirical Articles:

  1. Straightforward Research Question: The empirical research should clearly articulate a specific research question that aligns with Awareness-Based Systems Change. The question should address the embeddedness of research findings in data and highlight the importance of understanding the context in which the data was collected.
  2. Rigorous Methodology: The research should employ a rigorous methodology that ensures data collection and analysis are systematically and culturally appropriate for the research question and context and demonstrate an understanding of the embedded nature of data from which it arises. The research should utilize data collection and presentation techniques that capture the richness and complexity of the context in which the research is conducted in favor of decontextualized approaches and overly generalizable reasoning. 
  3. Contextual Description: The research should provide a comprehensive and detailed description of the socio-cultural context (field conditions) in which the data was collected. 
  4. Data Analysis and Interpretation: The research should employ appropriate data analysis techniques that align with the research question and the nature of the data. The analysis should be transparent and clearly described, allowing readers to follow the process and understand how the findings emerge from the data. 
  5. Reflexivity and Transparency: The research should demonstrate reflexivity by acknowledging the researcher's role, positionality, and potential biases in data collection and analysis. 
  6. Contribution to the Field: The research should clearly articulate how the embeddedness of the research findings in data contributes to the field of Awareness-Based Systems Change. It should highlight the implications of the results for theory and practical applications geared toward systems change. 

Exclusion Criteria:

Lack of Relevance: The article does not directly address Awareness-Based Systems Change or fails to demonstrate a clear connection to the topic.

Epistemological Oversights: The article neglects to acknowledge the embeddedness and contextualization of knowledge production or lacks an understanding of the relational nature of knowledge.

Weak or non-existing Theoretical Foundation: The article lacks appropriate theoretical grounding, failing to engage with relevant literature or established theoretical frameworks within the field.

Ignoring Contextual Factors: The article overlooks the importance of context in understanding and interpreting research findings, providing insufficient information about the socio-cultural, organizational, or environmental factors (field conditions).

Insufficient Substantiation: The article lacks empirical evidence, data, or logical reasoning to substantiate its claims and arguments. The research methods may be flawed, and the authors may not report limitations or biases transparently.

Lack of Clarity and Coherence: The article is poorly written, lacks logical organization, or does not effectively communicate ideas and arguments. The language and terminology may be inappropriate or confusing, making it difficult for the reader to understand the content. 

  • Only articles passing this first initial Editorial screening will be forwarded to the respective peer review protocol and authors informed. In case of minor issues, the authors will receive information upon the return of the final Editorial Statement together with the results of the peer review. Authors are expected to treat Editorial comments with the same diligence as the peer review results. The Editorial Team reserves its right to issue a commented Desk refusal statement if major deviations are noted during this first initial screening.

Preparing Your Text

  • Manuscripts should be submitted in Word or in Libre Office
  • The length of your text should adhere to these word limits, excluding references:
    • Original articles: 8000 words 
    • In the Making 4500 words 
    • Discussant to In the Making: 3000 words
    • Innovations in Praxis: 5000 words 
  • Make sure your texts are fully proof read by a native speaker – articles with obvious mistakes and/or grammatical errors will be returned and will not proceed to peer review.
  • Use a normal, plain font (e.g., 12-point Times Roman, Calibri, arial) for text.
  • Please ensure your heading levels are clear, and the sections clearly defined. Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings and adhere to the APA guidelines.
  • Use only italics for emphasis.
  • Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter.
  • Footnotes can be used to give additional information. They should not include the citation of a reference included in the reference list. They should also not contain any figures or tables. Footnotes to the text should be numbered consecutively. Always use footnotes instead of endnotes.
  • Use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages.
  • Do not use field functions, this includes the use of Hyperlinks.
  • Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar.
  • Prepare a separate abstract of 150 to 250 words, which should not contain any undefined abbreviations or unspecified references. The abstract will be uploaded separately during the submission process. 
  • Prepare a list with 4 to 6 keywords which can be used for indexing

Using Tables

  • Use the table function to make tables.
  • All tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.
  • Tables should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order. 
  • In order to ensure accessibility, each table must include a table caption (title) explaining the components of the table.
  • Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the table caption.

Including Artwork

  • You can incorporate illustrations, pictures and graphs in your papers. When using MS Word you can include your Illustrations in the intended section of your article. Additionally, please add a placeholder note in the running text (i.e. “[insert Figure 1.]"). Please make sure that the artwork is saved under the same heading as indicated in the placeholder.
  • All Artwork must be supplied separately in the highest quality using standard file formats for pictures (e.g. TIFF, JPEG) during the process of submission
  • In order to ensure for accessibility all Artwork must be submitted with descriptive captions
  • Ensure you adhere to copyright guidelines when using images that are not your own and, where necessary, obtain permission to reproduce from the publisher or artist/author.
  • Important: For quality purposes, we will require images at a resolution of 300dpi. Please send the original source files, whether that be InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, PowerPoint, or any other application.

Citation Style and Reference List

  • References should be prepared according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA-Style citation, 7th edition).
  • The list of references should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been published or accepted for publication. Personal communications and unpublished works should only be mentioned in the text. Do not use footnotes or endnotes as a substitute for a reference list.
  • Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last names of the first author of each work. Order multi-author publications of the same first author alphabetically with respect to second, third, etc. author. Publications of exactly the same author(s) must be ordered chronologically.
  • Make sure that self-citations in the original article are replaced by the place holder “Author & year” to ensure anonymity for double blind peer review.
  • During the upload process you will be asked to insert all your references in a separate upload window, which is used for cross-referencing purposes. Please adhere to the following format.
    • Journal article: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Article title. Journal Name, no.(issue no.), page range. DOI or URL
    • Book: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Book title (edition). Publisher.
 
    • Chapter in book: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Chapter title. In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Book title (pp. xxx–xxx). Publisher.
    • Website: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year, Month date). Title of work/page or section. Site Name/Source. URL
    • Conference paper: Contributor, A. A., Contributor, B. B., & Contributor, C. C. (date). Title of contribution [Type of contribution]. Conference name, location. DOI or URL
    • Blog: Author, A. A. (year, month date). Title of Blog. Blog title. URL 
    • Video (e.g. Youtube): Author, A. A. (year, month date). Title of the video [Video]. YouTube. URL 
    • Newspaper article: Author, A. A. (year, month date). Title of the newspaper article. Title of the newspaper. URL 
    • Dissertation or thesis: Author, A. A. (year). Title of the dissertation [type of thesis, University]. Repository where thesis is published. URL.

Common Stylistic Errors

Please watch out for these common mistakes:

  • Ensure that you are using “en” dashes for all page ranges, e.g. pp. 23–35; Use “em” dashes when separating words within the text, e.g. We note that—despite popular opinion—
  • Ensure that you include a DOI for each article you cite; DOIs need to be showcased in the following order: https://doi.org/xxxxxxxx 
  • All book, article, and chapter titles must be in sentence (lower) case.
  • APA 7 has dropped the requirement to showcase the city and place of publication. Please indicate ONLY the name of the Publisher.

Preparing Your Text for Double Anonymous Review: This requirement is only necessary when the double anonymous review protocol is chosen or no preference is indicated.

  • Make sure that your text file does not include any of the authors names. Authors names will be added separately in the process of uploading your files. 
  • In case of self-citation make sure you have deleted the names from the text, footnotes and references. Instead of the name and title replace them with "Author" and year.
  • Make sure to remove all personal information from the file properties by taking the following steps:
    • Microsoft Word for Windows:
      • Go to File
      • Select Info
      • Click on Check for Issues
      • Click on Inspect Document
      • In the Document Inspector dialog box, select the check boxes to choose the type of hidden content that you want inspected.
      • Click Remove All
      • Click Close
      • Save the document
    • Microsoft Word for MacOS:
      • Go to Tools
      • Click Protect Document
      • Select Remove personal information for this file on save
      • Click OK and save the file

Uploading Your Submission

  • Create a user profile.
    • Please enter only the Mail-adresses you want to see appear in the printed version of your paper.
    • Please list your affiliations
    • You have the opportunity to enter a personal description. This will appear on the website thread of your article.
    • Please include - if applicable - your ORCID number. Any published article with ORCID will automatically be added to your ORCID account.
  • Go to Submissions and click “Make a new submission”
  • You will then be asked to read and individually acknowledge that you've completed all the requirements below before proceeding by ticking the respective boxes.
  •  You then have the option to leave Notes and/or comments for the editor.
  •  Next you must  agree to the collection and storage of your data according to the JASC privacy statement.
  • You will then be able to upload your files. First upload your original article (prepared as mentioned above)
  • Any Images or Artwork must be uploaded individually. ou also have the opportunity to upload any other relevant research materials.
  • Next you can review details and change the names of the files to ensure  your name is not included).
  • You will then  be asked to enter the “meta-data” listed below. Please note that this information will appear on the JASC website page for your article if/when it is published.
    • Article title and subtitle 
    • Abstract
    • 4-6 keywords
    • All authors  in sequence of authorship  (first author, second author, etc.)
    • An indication of any supporting agencies 
    • Declarations of potential conflicts of interest
    • Reference List  (please make sure that each entry is in a new line)
  • Once you click finish submission the article will be sent to the editorial team
  • You will receive an automated response when your article is being sent to review.

Invited Article

by invitation only

Privacy Statement

Peer Review Process

The Journal of Awareness Based Systems Change operates on a full spectrum peer review process.

Publication Frequency 

JASC  publishes two times per year, on May 31st and November 30th.

Open Access Policy

This is an open access journal, licensed

  • under a CC BY license, which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author, but giving appropriate credit.
  • Authors are permitted to deposit all versions of their paper in an institutional or subject repository including:
    • Preprint
    • Author's Accepted Manuscript
    • Published article (Version of Record)
  • There is no embargo on listing articles in repositories outside of JASC.

Authors are not charged any APCs (Article Processing Charges) or other publication fees.

Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse articles published in this journal, provided that reuse is in line with the article's Creative Commons license and attribution to the author(s) and the published article is maintained. Please note that these terms do not extend to any material that has separate licensing terms specified or any material that is identified as being the copyright of a third party. Permission to reproduce third-party material must be obtained directly from the copyright holders concerned.

Archiving

This journal utilizes the PKP-PN achieving system to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. If, for any reason, the PKP platform were to shut down, archived issues of JASC would be housed and made available at https://www.u-school.org/research .

Disclaimer

The content of the papers published in JASC represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility.

The Journal of Awareness Based Systems Change and editors disclaim any liability of violations of other parties' rights, or any damage incurred as a consequence to use or apply any of the contents of JASC.

In submitting a paper to JASC the author warrants that the article is original and has not been published or presented for publication elsewhere and that nothing in the article violates any right of privacy or infringes any intellectual property rights or other rights of any kind of any person or entity.

Journal Sponsorship

Complaints and Appeals Policy

If you have any concerns or appeals related to the conduct of our editors and/or peer reviewers, such as potential breaches of confidentiality, unacknowledged conflicts of interest, inappropriate use of confidential information, or disagreements about retraction decisions, please reach out to katrin.kaeufer@presencing.org. This also applies to administrative issues like unusual editorial procedures or lack of responsiveness from journal staff. We assure that all such matters will be addressed promptly and appropriately.

Research Misconduct Policy

Research misconduct is defined as significant violations of ethical and professional norms in the planning, execution, reporting, or dissemination of research. This term broadly covers activities such as fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and any other actions that jeopardize the integrity and authenticity of scholarly work.

If there are allegations of research misconduct, they should be directed to oliver.koenig@suttneruni.at. Upon receiving such an allegation, the JASC Editorial Team will engage in a thorough review of the claims and undertake an impartial and confidential investigation. The team is committed to communicating the findings of this investigation to the concerned author within three months from the date of the allegation.

Conflict of Interest Policy

It is the collective responsibility of authors, reviewers, editors, staff, and the journal's publisher/owner to disclose any conflicts of interest. These conflicts may encompass a range of issues, including but not limited to personal relationships, affiliations, biases towards certain groups, connections with relevant organizations, financial incentives, personal benefits, academic competitions, or ideological beliefs that could potentially compromise the objectivity of their work or assessments. In instances of a conflict of interest, JASC reserves the right to take appropriate actions, which may include halting the publication process or retracting a previously published article.

Ethical Oversight Policy

Authors are responsible for adhering to all guidelines for ethical practice as established under the codes of conduct set for by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the American Psychological Association (APA). 

Take Down Policy

What the Journal of Awareness Based Systems Change will do if you believe content in this journal infringes any person's rights, or applicable EU laws.

We make every effort to ensure that published content does not infringe any person's rights, or applicable laws.

Should you discover content in this journal that you believe to be illegal, or infringes any of your statutory rights, you may contact the Editor who will review the complaint.

On receipt of your complaint, the Editorial team will:

  1. Make an initial assessment of its validity
  2. Acknowledge receipt of the complaint by email
  3. For all but spurious complaints, cease access to the item that is subject to complaint
  4. Seek to verify your identity and authority as a complainant.

When the authenticity of your complaint has been verified and the Editor has been advised that it is ostensibly legitimate, the item will be removed from public access. If it is confirmed that it does not breach any law then the item will be reinstated.

Corrections Policy

Prior to publication, authors will be asked to submit the most current meta-data (authorship order, affiliations, emails, keywords and abstract) through a standardized form. It is the authors responsibility to ensure that this information is accurate as changes will not be made after publication. 

In addition, authors will be asked to review and approve recommended copy edits and check their manuscript for accuracy. In the case that typos or formatting errors occur in the production process, authors are asked to contact the Editorial Team specifying the location and nature of the error and we will make the necessary corrections.

Privacy and Consent Policy 

The data collected from registered and non-registered users of this journal falls within the scope of the standard functioning of peer-reviewed journals. It includes information that makes communication possible for the editorial process; it is used to inform readers about the authorship and editing of content; it enables collecting aggregated data on readership behaviors, as well as tracking geopolitical and social elements of scholarly communication.

This journal’s editorial team uses this data to guide its work in publishing and improving this journal. Data that will assist in developing this journal platform (Open Journal Systems – OJS) may be shared with its developer Public Knowledge Project (PKP) who provide this journal platform, in an anonymized and aggregated form, with appropriate exceptions such as article metrics. The data will not be sold by this journal or PKP nor will it be used for purposes other than those stated here.

Registered Users

Users who register with this journal, including authors and peer reviewers where applicable, consent to having the personal information being stored in JASC hosting platform (OJS) and processed by the platform and journal editorial teams.

Authors

Authors who make a submission to this journal consent to the personal information they supply as part of the submission being stored on the JASC hosting platform (OJS) and processed by the platform and journal editorial teams. Authors who make a submission have the responsibility to ensure that all contributors have read this Privacy and Consent policy and consent to having their personal information that is supplied as part of the submission process being stored in JASC hosting platform (OJS) and processed by the platform and journal editorial teams. Authors published in this journal are also responsible for the human subject data that figures in the research reported in the journal.

Website Visitors

JASC hosting platform (OJS) collects anonymized usage log data, including IP addresses, pages visited, date visited, browser information, and geographical data. This information is not used to identify visitors personally and it is not used for any purpose other than what is described here.

Rights of the Individual

Those involved in editing this journal seek to be compliant with industry standards for data privacy, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provision for “data subject rights” that include (a) breach notification; (b) right of access; (c) the right to be forgotten; (d) data portability; and (e) privacy by design. The GDPR also allows for the recognition of “the public interest in the availability of the data,” which has a particular saliency for those involved in maintaining, with the greatest integrity possible, the public record of scholarly publishing.

All users whose details are stored in JASC OJS installation can exercise their rights of the individual, as they are detailed in the GDPR.

If you have a user account and wish to have it deleted, please email a member of the editorial team.