The ethical code of the semi-annual journal OrizzonteCina conforms to the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for an ethical approach to the publication of scientific works. The Editorial Committee of OrizzonteCina embraces and is inspired by the spirit of COPE’s recommendations to ensure the continuous and rigorous implementation of best international practices regarding the ethical correctness of the journal's publication process.

It is expected that all parties involved – Editors in Chief, Editorial Committee, Authors, and Reviewers – are aware of and share the following ethical principles.

Duties of the Editors in Chief and the Editorial Committee

The Editors in Chief of OrizzonteCina, consisting of the Director and Co-Director, ensure the correctness of the processes used to evaluate, accept, or reject articles submitted by Authors and particularly oversee the peer-review process and the anonymity of Reviewers regarding the specific article under review.

The Editorial Committee approves the progressive integration of the list of external Reviewers based on criteria of scientific maturity, competence, and professionalism. If serious errors, conflicts of interest, or cases of plagiarism in a published article are detected, the Editors in Chief prepare an erratum and, upon approval by the Editorial Committee, publish it in the first available issue of the journal.

Publication Decisions

The Editors in Chief are responsible for the decision to publish or not the articles proposed to the journal based on:

• A double-blind peer-review conducted by an external Reviewer, expert in the themes addressed in the article, who guarantees an adequate evaluation of the article for publication;
• A single-blind review performed by a member of the Editorial Committee related to the disciplinary approach of the article;
• Should the two aforementioned reviews result in significantly discordant opinions, the Editors in Chief must prioritize the opinion of the external Reviewer or may request a further evaluation by a second external Reviewer.

The Editors in Chief promptly communicate to the Authors the outcome of the revision process, respecting the anonymity of the Reviewers. Authors have a maximum of 15 days to amend their article in case of "minor revisions" and 45 days in case "extensive revisions" are needed. Upon receiving the amended version of the article, the Editors in Chief decide whether to send it back to the Reviewers for further evaluation. At the end of the review process, the Editors in Chief communicate their decision regarding the publication of the article to the Authors, and in the case of a positive decision, the issue to which it will be assigned.

In their decisions, the Editors in Chief are required to respect the strategies and editorial policy of the journal, as developed within the Editorial Committee, which meets in plenary session at least once per calendar year.

Principles of Fairness and Non-Discrimination

The Editors in Chief base their decisions exclusively on the scientific value, relevance, and originality of the content of the articles submitted for publication, starting from the evaluations of the Reviewers, without discrimination based on gender, race, religion, ethnic origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or political orientation of the Authors.

Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest, and Prohibition of Use or Disclosure

The Editors in Chief and the Editorial Committee commit not to disclose information about the articles proposed for publication to persons other than the Author and the Reviewers, and pledge not to use the contents of unpublished articles for their own research without the express written consent of the Author.

Duties of the Authors of Articles Submitted for Publication

Scientific Originality of the Article

The Author guarantees that the article submitted for evaluation is unpublished, scientifically original, and not submitted simultaneously to other journals, volumes, or periodicals, unless with the express prior consent of OrizzonteCina’s Editors in Chief. If the article is to be published later at other publishing venues, the Editors in Chief must be informed and consent, provided that there is an explicit reference to the publication in OrizzonteCina. The Author is also required to cite appropriately the texts used following the editorial rules indicated for publication in OrizzonteCina, ensuring that the work and/or words of other authors are adequately paraphrased or quoted verbatim with appropriate evidence of the sources.

Integration of the article

The Editors in Chief may ask Authors to make corrections and integrations deemed appropriate, also following the anonymous evaluation by Reviewers, which will be made known to the Author promptly, respecting the anonymity of the Reviewers. Authors can express their observations or objections about this, on which the Editors in Chief will make a final, indisputable judgment.

The Editors in Chief reserve the right to make editorial changes after the proofreading, also to maintain the homogeneity of the journal.

Attribution of the Article

The attribution of each article must be clear: all those who have made a significant contribution to the creation of the article must appear as co-Authors. The contribution made by other people significantly at some stages of the research must also be explicitly recognized.

Conflict of Interest

The Author must not present conflicts of interest that could have influenced the results achieved, the theses upheld, or the interpretations proposed. The Author must also indicate any funders of the research or the project from which the article derives.

Acquisition of Consents and Releases forms

The Author guarantees compliance with disciplinary standards and any confidentiality constraints, in compliance with current regulations, regarding the ethical aspects of research practices concerning the acquisition of consents and releases for the publication and accessibility of the collected empirical data.

Amendment of Inaccuracies in the Article

If an Author identifies an error or significant inaccuracy in their published article, they must promptly inform the Editors in Chief and provide all necessary indications to note in the footnote or appendix of the article the necessary corrections.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to the Editorial Decision

The peer-review is the process of evaluating the scientific value of the article that allows the Editors in Chief to assess its potential publication, while also enabling the Author to improve their research work.

Respect for Timing

The Reviewer who does not feel sufficiently qualified to review the research reported in the article submitted to the journal, or who is unable to review it within the indicated times, is required to communicate this with utmost promptness to the Editors in Chief of the journal, withdrawing from the review process.

Correctness and Objectivity

The peer-review must be conducted in a correct and objective manner. Reviewers are invited to motivate their evaluations of the article sent to them adequately and documentedly. Any personal judgment about the Author is inappropriate. Observations must be formulated rigorously and cannot be criticisms of an ideological nature or otherwise arising from personal scientific-cultural assumptions. Every statement, observation, or argument reported should preferably be accompanied by a corresponding citation and/or documentation.

Possible Indication of bibliographic references

The Reviewer is invited to precisely indicate the bibliographic details of essential works overlooked by the Author in the article. The Reviewer must also report any similarities or overlaps of the text read with other known works.

Conflict of Interest and Disclosure

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown or discussed with anyone except with prior written authorization from OrizzonteCina’s Editors in Chief. Confidential information or indications obtained during the peer-review process must be considered fiduciary and confidential: they cannot be used for personal advantage.

Reviewers are required not to accept articles for review if a conflict of interest due to previous specific relationships of collaboration or competition with the Author (who is unknown but nonetheless identified by deduction) and/or connections with the Authors, entities, or institutions connected to the manuscript emerges.

Methods for Managing Conflicts of Interest and Disputes

Each of the parties involved – Editors in Chief, Editorial Committee, Authors, and Reviewers – is required to respect the specific principles regarding conflict of interest indicated in their respective sections of this Ethical Code.

Anyone who identifies situations of conflict of interest in a published article may make a special report to the Editorial Committee by writing to orizzontecina@tochina.it. The Editors in Chief will promptly communicate this to the Author of the article. If the conflict of interest situation is confirmed, the Editors in Chief prepare an erratum and, upon approval by the Editorial Committee, publish it in the first available issue of the journal.

Methods for Managing Practices Contrary to Scientific Integrity

The Editors in Chief, with the collaboration of the Reviewers, ensure the strict respect of the principles of scientific integrity in the articles submitted to OrizzonteCina.

Anyone who identifies cases of plagiarism, textual reproduction from already published works without quotation and/or mention of the source, or data falsification in a published article may make a special report to the Editorial Committee by writing to orizzontecina@tochina.it. The Editors in Chief will promptly communicate this to the Author of the article. If plagiarism or another practice contrary to scientific integrity is confirmed, the Editors in Chief prepare an erratum and, upon approval by the Editorial Committee, publish it in the first available issue of the journal.

Amendment of Inaccuracies in the Article and Debate Following Publication

If an Author identifies an error or significant inaccuracy in their published article, they must promptly inform the Editors in Chief and provide all necessary indications to note in the footnote or appendix of the article the necessary corrections.

OrizzonteCina fosters scientific debate following the publication of articles, encouraging members of the scientific community to submit their comments and reactions in the form of letters to the Editors in Chief, to be sent to orizzontecina@tochina.it. After evaluating the contribution to the scientific debate and consulting the Editorial Committee, the Editors in Chief may decide to publish them in the first available issue of the journal.

Intellectual Property

OrizzonteCina provides open access to its contents, believing that making research freely available to the public enhances the exchange of knowledge. OrizzonteCina applies a Creative Commons license: CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 to all published material. With the CC-BY-NC-SA license, Authors maintain copyright over their contributions, yet guarantee anyone the ability to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and/or copy the published materials, provided that the Author and the journal title are correctly cited.