Editorial policy & originality guidelines It is MAER's editorial policy to welcome submissions for consideration which are original and not under consideration for any other publication at the same time. All authors should be aware of the importance of presenting content that is based on their own research and expressed in their own words. As part of the MAER Copyright Policy, we have prepared these guidelines to assist authors in understanding acceptable and unacceptable practice. Our approach is specifically aimed at promoting and protecting authors' work. MAER’s preprints policy MAER does not consider the upload of a preprint to a preprint server prior publication, and would not request its removal. However, this policy is only applicable if: • The author declares to the MAER editor on submission of their article that a preprint is hosted on a preprint server; • The author has not assigned copyright to the pre-print server. Where possible, MAER will take steps to minimize the impact upon the anonymity of the double blind peer review, such as asking editors to strike out any reference to a preprint before sending the paper out to review. If the submitted article is accepted for publication, MAER would expect the preprint to be amended to state ‘This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in the journal’. Conference papers policy Over the course of a researcher’s career, MAER understands that working papers and conference papers will be submitted, and occasionally hosted online. The existence of a conference paper on a conference website or the presentation of a paper at a conference does not disqualify the paper from being considered for publication. Additionally, MAER would not expect a conference paper to be removed from a conference website. Authors must be aware that very rarely are conference papers ‘journal-ready’, and should expect to further develop their paper prior to submission. However, this policy is only applicable if: • the author declares to the MAER editor on submission of their article that a conference paper upon which the paper is based is publicly available; • the submitted article is substantially developed from the conference paper, be it with further discussion or a different conclusion; • any working paper must be fully referenced on the submitted article, such as ‘This article is based upon a conference paper X, hosted on X.’; • authors should not assign copyright when presenting their work at a conference. Where possible, MAER will take steps to minimize the impact upon the anonymity of the double blind peer review, such as asking editors to strike out any reference to a conference before sending the paper out to review. Please note this policy does not apply to any work that has been included in a conference proceeding volume or publication which has been assigned an ISSN or ISBN. The following types of ethical misconduct should be avoided: Verbatim copying Verbatim copying of more than 10 per cent (or a significant passage or section of text) of another person's work without acknowledgement, references or the use of quotation marks. Paraphrasing Improper paraphrasing of another person's work is where more than one sentence within a paragraph or section of text has been changed or sentences have been rearranged without appropriate attribution. Significant improper paraphrasing (more than 10 per cent of a work) without appropriate attribution is treated as seriously as verbatim copying. Re-using parts of a work without attribution Re-use of elements of another person's work, for example a figure, table or paragraph without acknowledgement, references or the use of quotation marks. It is incumbent on the author to obtain the necessary permission to reuse elements of another person's work from the copyright holder. Self plagiarism MAER requires that all authors sign a copyright form that clearly states that their submitted work has not been published before. If elements of a work have been previously published in another publication, including an MAER publication, the author is required to acknowledge the earlier work and indicate how the subsequent work differs and builds upon the research and conclusions contained in the previous work. Verbatim copying of an author's own work and paraphrasing is not acceptable and we recommend that research should only be reused to support new conclusions. We recommend that authors cite all previous stages of publication and presentation of their ideas that have culminated in the final work, including conference papers, workshop presentations and listserv communications. This will ensure that a complete record of all communication relating to the work is documented. Republication of original work Original work is published in MAER journals with a small number of exceptions only. These exceptions include conference papers, archival papers that are republished in an anniversary or commemorative issue, papers that are of particular merit and that have received only limited circulation (for example through a company newsletter). These papers are republished at the discretion of the editor. The original work is fully and correctly attributed and permission from the appropriate copyright holder obtained. Attributions will be added to archive content that has been found to have been republished in an MAER journal in the past. Attribution References to other publications must be in Harvard style for MAER journal and conference. All references should be carefully checked for completeness, accuracy and consistency. You should include all author names and initials and give any journal title in full. When referring to ideas or research by another author, you should cite publications in the text using the first named author's name in one of two ways: • The value of individualism emphasizes an 'I' orientation (Wheeler, 2002). Or • Wheeler (2002) states that the value of individualism emphasizes an 'I' orientation. When copying part of a sentence verbatim, always use quotation marks and correctly cite the original author. For example: • Wheeler (2002) states that "the value of individualism emphasizes an 'I' orientation" When copying a section of text verbatim, always indent the paragraph. For example: Wheeler (2002) asserts that: Masculinity/femininity is another important value that relates to differences between cultures. In strongly masculine societies, the dominant values in society are material success and progress, and men are supposed to be assertive, ambitious, and tough. In feminine societies, the dominant values are caring for others, and people and warm relationships are important. If no author is given, use 'Anon'. At the end of the paper a reference list in alphabetical order should be supplied: For books: surname, initials, (year), title of book, publisher, place of publication, e.g. Fallbright, A. and Khan, G. (2001), Competing Strategies, Outhouse Press, Rochester. For book chapters: surname, initials, (year), "chapter title", editor's surname, initials, title of book, publisher, place of publication, pages, e.g. Bessley, M. and Wilson, P. (1999), "Marketing for the production manager", in Levicki, J. (Ed.), Taking the Blinkers off Managers, Broom Relm, London, pp.29-33. For journals: surname, initials, (year), "title of article", journal name, volume, number, pages, e.g. Greenwald, E. (2000), "Empowered to serve", Management Decision, Vol. 33 No. 5, pp. 6-10. Treat conference proceedings in the same way that you would a journal article, but insert the full conference title and dates where the journal title would normally appear. For websites: surname, initials (year), "title of cited work", available at: website link (accessed on appropriate date), e.g. Smith, R. (2004), "Managerial roles and coping responses", available at http://www.managerial.roles.coping.responses/ (accessed 29th June 2005). If an author name is not given, begin with the title of the cited work. Handling allegations of plagiarism MAER seeks to uphold academic integrity and to protect authors' moral rights. We take all cases of plagiarism very seriously. MAER is also aware of the potential impact an allegation of plagiarism can have on a researcher's career. Therefore, we have procedures in place to deal with alleged cases of plagiarism. In order for us to take an unbiased approach, we investigate each case thoroughly, seeking clarification from all affected parties. MAER was the first academic publisher to adopt the iParadigms software (iThenticate) to help inform us when an alleged case of plagiarism is brought to our attention. If we are approached by a third party with an allegation of plagiarism, we would always seek a response from the original author(s) or copyright holder(s) before we decide on a course of action. We will not be influenced by other parties and will form our decisions in an unbiased and objective manner. MAER is not obliged to discuss individual cases of alleged plagiarism with third parties. MAER reserves the right not to proceed with a case if the complainant presents a false name or affiliation or acts in an inappropriate or threatening manner towards MAER editors and staff.