Publication Decisions. The journal editor is responsible for deciding which of the papers submitted to the journal will be published. The journal editor evaluates manuscripts without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. Publication decisions are based on the paper’s importance, originality and clarity, and the validity and relevance to the journal’s scope, as well as legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

Confidentiality. The journal editor and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author(s), reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted paper will not be used by the journal editor or other members of the editorial board for their own research purposes without the author’s explicit consent.

Reviewer Responsibility

Contribution to Editorial Decisions. The peer-review process assists the journal editor and the editorial board in making editorial decisions and may also serve the author in improving the paper.

Promptness. If any selected reviewer feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the journal editor and withdraw from the review process.

Confidentiality. Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be disclosed to or discussed with others, except as authorized by the journal editor.

Standards of Objectivity. Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. FiT journals follow a double-blind peer review process.

Acknowledgement of Sources. Reviewers should identify cases in which relevant published work referred to in the paper has not been cited in the reference section. They should point out whether observations or arguments derived from other publications are accompanied by the respective source. Reviewers will notify the journal editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections to any of the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the papers.

Author Responsibility

Reporting Standards. Authors of original research reports should present an accurate account if the work performed, as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention. Authors could be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the paper for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least ten years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center), provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and legal rights concerning proprietary data do not preclude their release.

Originality, Plagiarism, and Acknowledgement of Sources. Authors will submit only entirely original work or will appropriately cite or quote the work and/or words of others. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work should also be cited.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication. In general, papers describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal. Submitting the same paper to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Manuscripts that have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted. In addition, manuscripts under review by the journal should not be resubmitted to copyrighted publications.

Authorship of the Paper and the use of AI. Authorship carries accountability for the accuracy, integrity, and ownership of the work, ensuring that all parts are appropriately investigated and resolved. Authorship also requires the ability to review and approve a final version of the work for submission and for publication. Therefore, authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), or machine-assistive technologies that generate content is not permitted.

The corresponding author ensures all contributing co-authors and no uninvolved persons, AI or machine-assistive technologies are included in the author list. The corresponding author will also verify that all co-authors have approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works. When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and to cooperate with the journal editor to retract or correct the paper in form of an erratum.