Shima

Shima is a SCOPUS registered peer-refereed academic journal that is published twice a year by Shima Publishing (Sydney, NSW 2066) in open access online form and has been registered with the Directory of Open Access Journals since 2007.

Shima publishes:

• Theoretical and/or comparative studies of island, marine, lacustrine or riverine cultures
• Case studies of island, marine, lacustrine or riverine cultures
• Accounts of collaborative research and development projects in island, marine, lacustrine or riverine locations
• Analyses of "island-like" insular spaces (such as peninsular "almost islands," enclaves, exclaves and micronations)
• Analyses of fictional representations of islands, "islandness," oceanic, lacustrine and riverine issues
• In-depth "feature" reviews of publications, media texts, exhibitions, events etc. concerning the above
• Photo and Video Essays on any aspects of the above

Shima (ISSN: 1834-6057) is a double blind, peer-refereed research published by Shima Publishing (Australia).

All material in the journal is open access. No processing or publishing fees (or recommended donations) are charged to authors.

e-correspondence address: phayward21c@gmail.com

The opinions expressed in articles in this journal are those of the authors alone. Authors are responsible for clearing any necessary permissions on uses of visual material included in submissions. Submission tracking is provided to submitting authors.

The editor selects appropriate peer reviewers but will consider any request for the exclusion of any specific reviewer (such as, for example, concern over conflict of interest).

The editor’s decision on submissions is final. Retraction or revision of published material is possible, when suitable reason is provided, at the discretion of the editor. The journal will also publish correspondence on matters arising, either on the journal website or, for more substantial submissions, in the main body of the journal.

The journal is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Articles accepted for publication in Shima may be posted in open access repositories and/or on author’s personal research pages upon completion of the journal’s proofing processes in the form supplied to the authors (and identified as forthcoming).

The contribution of any funding agency to research for articles accepted for publication must be stipulated at the conclusion of the article.

The journal operates within and directs intending authors to the NCREN ‘Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences, Law and Humanities.’ All articles are published with information as to date of original submission and final acceptance.

Publication Policies

Shima has the following Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Policies*

• Editor’s responsibilities

  The editor is responsible for deciding which of the papers submitted to the journal will be published. The editor will evaluate manuscripts without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. The decision will be based on the paper’s importance, originality and clarity, and the study’s validity and its relevance to the journal's scope.

  The editor and any editorial staff will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers and/or other editorial advisers as appropriate.

• Disclosure and conflicts of interest

  Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted paper will not be used by the editor or the members of the editorial board for their own research purposes without the author's explicit written consent.

• Reviewers’ responsibilities

  The peer-reviewing process assists the editor and the editorial board in making editorial decisions and may also serve the author in improving the paper.

  Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.

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

  Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

  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 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 with any of the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the papers.

• Authors’ duties

  Authors of original research reports 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.

• 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 works, and 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

  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 which 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. However, by submitting a manuscript, the author(s) retain the rights to the published material.

• Authorship of the paper

  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 corresponding author ensures that all contributing co-authors and no uninvolved persons 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.

• Disclosure and conflicts of interest

  All authors should include a statement disclosing any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that may be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

• 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 editor to retract or correct the paper.

* Shima’s Publication Ethics and Malpractice policies are derived from those of Psych Open Publishing.