EDITORIAL ROLES

1. Publishing Decisions:
   • Responsibility: The editor at GAS Publishers holds the pivotal role of deciding which submitted papers will be published. Determinations should be rooted in the work’s validity and significance to the academic and reader community.
   • Guidelines: The editorial board’s regulations regarding libel, copyright infringement, plagiarism, and legal requirements act as guiding principles. Consultation with other editors or reviewers is encouraged for well-informed decisions.
2. Retractions, Corrections, and Errata:
   • Responsibility: The editor should be prepared to publish retractions, corrections, and errata whenever necessary. Professional demands should not compromise moral obligations, ensuring the upholding of academic work and records’ integrity.
3. Ethical Considerations:
   • Principle: Evaluation of articles should be based solely on intellectual quality, devoid of considerations like race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, or political ideologies of the authors.
4. Confidentiality:
   • Guidance: Information about a submitted manuscript should only be disclosed to the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher. Upholding confidentiality is paramount.
5. Research Integrity:
   • Principle: Integrity is integral to enhancing research integrity. Any suspicion of research misconduct should be promptly investigated by competent authorities. Shady behavior observed during peer review should be thoroughly examined.
6. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest:
   • Guideline: The editor must not use unpublished information from a manuscript submission in their own study without the author’s written agreement. Peer review knowledge is to be kept confidential. Editors should abstain from reviewing manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest and disclose any competing interests. Revisions should be published if competing interests are discovered post-publication.
7. Participation and Cooperation in Investigations:
   • Responsibility: When ethical concerns arise, the editor collaborates with the publisher to take remedial measures. This may involve communicating with the author, relevant institutions, and research bodies. Upheld complaints may lead to corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, or other necessary notes. Every reported instance of unethical publishing activity, even if discovered years later, requires investigation.

Adherence to these editorial roles ensures the maintenance of ethical standards, the credibility of academic work, and the commitment to providing valuable contributions to the scholarly community.