PEM Statement

Publication ethics and malpractice statement (PEMs)

Asian Agri-History Foundation (AAHF) is a not-for-profit, charitable Trust established to facilitate the dissemination of information and knowledge concerning the agri-history of Asia, and thereby to promote research on sustainable agriculture globally. AAHF believes that the available knowledge of Asia’s ancient and medieval agriculture should be widely disseminated to promote sustainable agriculture that is likely to benefit the current and future generations.

AAHF publishes a Quarterly Journal (starting 1996) to disseminate ancient and historical information and knowledge regarding agriculture in Asia. As a Publisher, AAHF publishes the guidelines for preparing, accepting, publishing and retracting of articles; and will strive to maintain the integrity of the Foundation’s objectives. AAHF will publish corrections, clarifications and retractions as and when needed; and ensure avoidance of plagiarism and use of fraudulent data. AAHF will also avoid conflicts of interests involving its Trustees/ Officers, including Editors.

In conformity with the standards of ethical behavior in publication, AAHF adheres to and expects all the stakeholders involved, such as Editors, Reviewers, and Authors. Given below is a summary of the Publication Ethics and Malpractice statement (PEMs) as per the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and more detailed description of PEMs can be found on www.publicationethics.org

Editors should be responsible for the material published in their journal, and. ensure that the needs of journal, readers and authors are met; strive to maintain the integrity of the journal and enhance the quality of publications; and be willing to publish any corrections or modifications as found necessary. Editors should respect freedom of expression, and also not use any information from the papers submitted without expressed permission from the authors. Editors should also take measures to avoid conflict of interest when reviewing or publishing papers from AAHF Trustees/ officers, and take appropriate measures when ethical complaints are made regarding a submitted manuscript or a published paper.

Reviewers must treat the manuscripts received as confidential documents, and the information obtained through the review process must be kept confidential and not used for personal purposes. Reviews should be objective, and review commentsneed to be clear with supporting statements, to facilitate the authors to improve the paper during revisions. Reviewers should alsoavoid conflicts of interest that may arise from relationships or connections with any of the authors, or institutions connected to the papers.

Authors responsibilities include an assurance that the materials in the manuscript is their original works, and acknowledge properly if any materials and/or results of others have been used. AAHF strictly prohibits any kind of plagiarism as it constitutes unethical publishing behavior. Authors should avoid submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously, and should also not submit manuscripts with essentially the same research to more than one journal. Authors should prepare manuscripts unambiguously and clearly so that the readers are able to follow the procedures/ methods. Use of fraudulent data/ information and wantonly making inaccurate statements are also unacceptable since they also constitute unethical behavior. Authors submitting review articles should ensure that the manuscript is a comprehensive and accurate accounts of the ancient knowledge or the current state of the art. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that all co-authors have agreed and approved the final version of the manuscript and its submission to AAHF for publication.

A more detailed version of the Publication Ethics and Malpractice statement (PEMs) can be found on www.publicationethics.org