Publication Ethics, Malpractice Statements, and Guidelines

Editors of the proceedings are committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards for all parties involved in the act of publishing a set of peer-reviewed proceedings, i.e., the authors, the reviewers, the editors of the proceedings, copyeditors, and the publisher.

To ensure the outcome of providing our readers with scientific proceedings of the highest quality, the proceedings are guided by the following principles:

Reporting Standards

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of 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.

Authors' Responsibilities

All authors must have contributed meaningfully to the research, and all authors must have seen the final version and given their consent before the manuscript is uploaded to the website. All authors must respond promptly and fully to all reviewer comments. For this, authors must submit an itemized response sheet which must outline exactly how the authors have improved their manuscript.

Originality and Plagiarism

The authors must ensure that they have written entirely original works, and, if the authors have used/copied the work and/or words of others, authors must ensure that this work has been appropriately acknowledged, cited, and quoted.  As a special policy, if authors use others' tables and figures without modification, they must warrant they have permission to do so.  Else, all such tables must be significantly modified and the work must be appropriately acknowledged, cited, and referenced.

Publication Decisions

The editors of the proceedings are responsible for deciding which of the papers submitted to the conference should be published.  The editors may be guided by the editorial policies of the conference, and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.  The editors may confer with the members of the technical program committee in making this decision.

Peer Review Process

All submitted manuscripts are subject to a strict peer-review process by at least two international reviewers who are experts in the field of the particular paper, as well as by an editor. All manuscripts are reviewed single-blind, i.e., the reviewers know who the authors are but the authors do not know the reviewers. However, the abstracts, which are submitted prior to the manuscripts, are reviewed double-blind by at least two international reviewers and an editor.

Reviewers' Responsibilities

Reviewers are asked to not review a manuscript if they have any conflict of interest. Decisions made and judgements given by reviewers should be impartial, fair, and objective. In no way should reviewers allow their own opinions come in the way of an unbiased review. Reviewers are obligated to keep their review confidential and not share the abstract/manuscript with anyone, nor use it themselves.

Copy Editing

All manuscripts ready for publication are copy edited for strict conformance to ISEC format guidelines.  Authors may be asked to revise their submission to conform to format.  Strict attention is paid to ensuring that all citations are referenced, and that all references are cited.

Fair Play

The editors and the reviewers evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality

The editors, the members of the technical program committee, and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the authors of the manuscript, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.  All reviewers are asked to destroy copies of the abstract/manuscript they download once the review process is over and editor has made a final, terminal judgement.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript will not be used in the research of the editors or the members of technical program committee without the express written consent of the author.

Questions and Complaints

Any author who has questions regarding the review process or complaints against the reviewers or editor should contact the publisher at isec.sec@gmail.com.