The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board are responsible for maintaining the academic quality, integrity, and professional standards of JACKPOT.

The Editorial Board shall:

1. Ensure that manuscripts are evaluated according to their scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, and contribution to the scope of the Journal.
2. Maintain editorial independence and make publication decisions without discrimination or improper influence.
3. Ensure that all manuscripts are handled fairly and confidentially.
4. Maintain the integrity and credibility of the peer-review and publication process.
5. Ensure that the Journal’s stated editorial and ethical policies are consistently applied.
6. Ensure that appropriate measures are taken in cases of suspected plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, authorship disputes, conflicts of interest, or other forms of misconduct.
7. Protect the anonymity of authors and reviewers during the double-blind peer-review process.
8. Ensure that editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit rather than the author’s nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, political affiliation, institutional association, professional status, seniority, or geographical location.
9. Maintain appropriate records of submissions, reviews, editorial decisions, and publication-related correspondence.
10. Review and update the Journal’s policies periodically in light of developments in scholarly publishing and research ethics.

JACKPOT is committed to fair and impartial editorial treatment.

Manuscripts shall be evaluated without discrimination on the basis of:

• Nationality or geographical location;
• Race or ethnicity;
• Gender or gender identity;
• Religion or belief;
• Political affiliation or viewpoint;
• Institutional affiliation;
• Academic rank or seniority;
• Professional background; or
• Personal characteristics unrelated to the scholarly quality of the manuscript.

The Journal welcomes contributions from scholars and professionals from all parts of the world, subject to the Journal’s scope and academic standards.

Editorial decisions shall be made independently on the basis of academic and scholarly considerations.

No author, institution, sponsor, government agency, military organization, commercial entity, Editorial Board member, or other external party may improperly influence the editorial or peer-review process.

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board shall not reverse or alter an editorial decision for personal, institutional, financial, political, or other improper reasons.

JACKPOT follows a double-blind peer-review process.

The identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other to the extent reasonably possible throughout the review process.

Reviewers are selected on the basis of subject expertise, scholarly competence, professional standing, and absence of relevant conflicts of interest.

The Editorial Board may appoint additional reviewers where necessary, particularly where a manuscript addresses specialized or interdisciplinary subject matter.

The final publication decision rests with the Editorial Board and is informed by the peer-review reports and editorial assessment.

All manuscripts submitted to JACKPOT shall be treated as confidential documents.

Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff shall not:

• Disclose the contents of an unpublished manuscript to unauthorized persons;
• Share manuscripts outside the authorized review process;
• Use unpublished information for personal or professional advantage;
• Copy, reproduce, or distribute submitted manuscripts without authorization; or
• Discuss the substance of an unpublished manuscript except where necessary for the legitimate editorial or peer-review process.

Reviewers must not retain or use unpublished manuscripts or research materials after completing their review.

Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical conduct of their research.

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that:

1. The manuscript represents original work.
2. The manuscript has not been published previously in substantially the same form.
3. The manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal or publication.
4. All significant sources, data, ideas, quotations, figures, tables, and other borrowed materials have been appropriately acknowledged.
5. The research has been conducted according to applicable ethical standards.
6. The information presented is accurate to the best of the authors’ knowledge.
7. Fabricated, falsified, manipulated, or knowingly misleading data have not been used.
8. All listed authors have made a substantial contribution to the work.
9. All authors have approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission.
10. Relevant conflicts of interest have been disclosed.
11. Sources of financial or institutional support have been disclosed where applicable.

JACKPOT maintains zero tolerance for plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• Direct copying of another person’s words without appropriate quotation and citation;
• Presenting another person’s ideas, arguments, data, findings, or intellectual contribution as one’s own;
• Inappropriate paraphrasing without attribution;
• Self-plagiarism or substantial reuse of one’s previously published material without appropriate disclosure;
• Unauthorized reproduction of figures, tables, images, or other copyrighted material; and
• Any other attempt to misrepresent previously published or externally generated material as original work.

All submissions may be subjected to similarity screening. A similarity report is an editorial screening tool rather than an automatic determination of plagiarism. The Editorial Board will consider the nature, source, extent, context, and attribution of any identified overlap before making an editorial decision.

Where plagiarism or other serious academic misconduct is established, the manuscript may be rejected or, where necessary, appropriate post-publication action may be taken.

JACKPOT considers the following serious forms of research misconduct:

• Fabrication of data, evidence, sources, interviews, results, or findings;
• Falsification or manipulation of research data or results;
• Deliberate misrepresentation of research procedures or findings;
• Manipulation or deceptive alteration of images or figures;
• Misrepresentation of authorship or contribution;
• Unauthorized use of confidential or restricted information;
• Duplicate or redundant publication; and
• Other practices that seriously compromise research integrity.

Where concerns arise, the Journal may request supporting documentation, clarification, research data, methodological information, ethical approvals, or other relevant evidence from the author(s).

Authors must not submit substantially the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal.

Authors should disclose any previous publication, working paper, conference paper, report, dissertation, or other related publication that substantially overlaps with the submitted manuscript.

A manuscript based on previously presented or published research may be considered where the new submission makes a clearly identifiable and substantive contribution and appropriately acknowledges the earlier work.

Any secondary publication must comply with applicable copyright and publication-ethics requirements.

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual or scholarly contributions to the research and manuscript.

Substantial contributions may include:

• Conceptualization;
• Research design;
• Theoretical development;
• Data collection or analysis;
• Interpretation of findings;
• Significant drafting or substantive revision; and
• Approval and responsibility for the final manuscript.

Individuals who provided limited assistance, administrative support, technical assistance, language editing, or other contributions that do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.

Guest, honorary, gift, ghost, or coerced authorship is not acceptable.

The corresponding author is responsible for confirming that:

1. All appropriate contributors are included as authors;
2. All listed authors have approved the manuscript;
3. All authors have agreed to the order of authorship; and
4. No individual who has made a substantial authorship-level contribution has been improperly excluded.

Changes to authorship after submission require a clear justification and the agreement of all affected authors.

Authors must appropriately acknowledge:

• Previous scholarship;
• Data sources;
• Research assistance;
• Technical assistance;
• Institutional support;
• Funding;
• Fieldwork assistance;
• Professional or editorial assistance where appropriate; and
• Other substantive contributions that do not qualify for authorship.

Authors should make reasonable efforts to cite original and authoritative sources relevant to their research.

Authors, reviewers, editors, and Editorial Board members must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence the research, review, or editorial decision.

Conflicts may include:

• Financial interests;
• Employment relationships;
• Consultancy;
• Research funding;
• Personal relationships;
• Institutional competition;
• Collaborative relationships;
• Professional relationships;
• Intellectual or academic interests; or
• Other circumstances that could reasonably affect impartiality.

Where a significant conflict exists, the individual concerned may be excluded from the relevant editorial or peer-review process.

Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the scholarly quality and credibility of JACKPOT.

Reviewers are expected to:

1. Accept review assignments only when they possess appropriate expertise.
2. Decline a review where they cannot provide an objective assessment.
3. Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe.
4. Inform the Editor promptly if additional time is required.
5. Evaluate manuscripts objectively and constructively.
6. Base their assessment on scholarly quality rather than personal opinion or disagreement with the author.
7. Provide clear, specific, and professionally expressed comments.
8. Identify significant methodological, conceptual, evidentiary, or ethical concerns.
9. Identify relevant sources that may have been overlooked where appropriate.
10. Maintain strict confidentiality concerning the manuscript.
11. Declare any actual or potential conflict of interest.
12. Avoid using unpublished information from the manuscript for personal or professional purposes.

Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents.

A reviewer must not:

• Share the manuscript with another person without authorization from the Editor;
• Discuss the manuscript publicly;
• Use unpublished information contained in the manuscript for personal research;
• Contact the author directly about the manuscript without editorial authorization; or
• Attempt to identify or disclose the identity of the author.

Reviewer comments should focus on the manuscript and should not contain personal, offensive, discriminatory, or defamatory remarks.

A reviewer should decline an assignment where a conflict of interest could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, impartiality.

Potential conflicts may include:

• Current or recent collaboration with an author;
• Personal or professional relationships;
• Direct competition over research findings;
• Institutional conflicts;
• Financial interests;
• Significant intellectual disputes; or
• Any other circumstance that may reasonably affect the reviewer’s objectivity.

Where uncertainty exists, the reviewer should consult the Editor before proceeding.

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional requirements.

Where applicable, authors should obtain appropriate ethical approval or clearance before conducting the research.

Authors must respect:

• Informed consent;
• Privacy and confidentiality;
• Protection of personal information;
• The dignity and welfare of participants; and
• Applicable legal and institutional requirements.

Where identifiable information is necessary for scholarly purposes, appropriate informed consent should be obtained unless a recognized ethical or legal exception applies.

Given the specialized scope of JACKPOT, authors may submit research involving military organizations, defence technologies, weapons systems, operational concepts, cyber capabilities, space systems, intelligence, and other sensitive subjects.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted material is lawfully obtained and appropriate for publication.

Authors must not submit:

• Classified information;
• Restricted or protected information obtained without authorization;
• Personally identifiable information obtained without appropriate consent;
• Operational information whose disclosure is prohibited by applicable law or authorization; or
• Proprietary technical information reproduced without permission.

Publication in JACKPOT does not constitute authorization to disclose classified, restricted, or otherwise protected information.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of all figures, tables, maps, photographs, datasets, diagrams, and other research materials submitted for publication.

Images must not be manipulated in a manner that misrepresents the underlying evidence.

Where images or other copyrighted materials are reproduced, authors must obtain the necessary permissions and provide appropriate attribution.

Authors should retain relevant research data and supporting materials for a reasonable period and should be able to provide appropriate supporting information to the Editor where legitimate questions concerning the integrity of the research arise.

JACKPOT recognizes the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and generative AI technologies in research and scholarly communication.

Authors may use AI tools for appropriate purposes such as language improvement, formatting, coding assistance, data organization, or other legitimate research-support functions, subject to the following principles:

1. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and intellectual content of their manuscript.
2. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
3. AI-generated factual claims, citations, quotations, data, or references must be independently verified by the authors.
4. Substantive use of generative AI in developing the manuscript should be appropriately disclosed where required by the Journal.
5. Confidential manuscripts, unpublished research, personal data, classified information, or restricted material must not be entered into AI systems where such disclosure is unauthorized or could compromise confidentiality.
6. Reviewers must not upload or disclose confidential manuscripts or unpublished material to generative AI systems without explicit authorization from the Editor and appropriate safeguards.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that material submitted to JACKPOT does not infringe the copyright or intellectual property rights of others.

Where required, authors must obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted material.

The Journal may require authors to complete an appropriate publication or copyright agreement before publication.

Editorial decisions are based on:

• Relevance to the Journal’s scope;
• Originality;
• Scholarly contribution;
• Methodological quality;
• Evidence and analysis;
• Academic writing and presentation;
• Ethical compliance; and
• The outcome of the peer-review process.

A manuscript may be rejected where it:

• Falls outside the Journal’s scope;
• Lacks sufficient scholarly contribution;
• Contains serious methodological or analytical weaknesses;
• Contains substantial plagiarism or other misconduct;
• Contains fabricated or falsified material;
• Violates copyright or other legal requirements;
• Has unresolved authorship or conflict-of-interest issues; or
• Fails to satisfy the Journal’s publication standards after reasonable opportunity for revision.

The Editorial Board retains the final authority regarding publication.

Authors may appeal an editorial decision where they believe that:

• A significant procedural error occurred;
• The decision was based on a demonstrable misunderstanding of the manuscript;
• Relevant evidence was overlooked; or
• A reviewer conflict of interest or other serious irregularity affected the process.

An appeal should be submitted in writing to the Editor-in-Chief and should clearly explain the grounds for the appeal.

An appeal does not guarantee reversal of the original decision. The Editor-in-Chief may seek an additional independent assessment where appropriate.

Editorial decisions will not be reconsidered solely because an author disagrees with the scholarly assessment of a reviewer.

JACKPOT welcomes legitimate complaints concerning editorial procedures, publication ethics, conflicts of interest, peer review, authorship, or other aspects of the publication process.

Complaints should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief with sufficient information to permit an appropriate investigation.

The Journal will seek to address complaints fairly, confidentially, and in a timely manner.

JACKPOT recognizes its responsibility to maintain the integrity of the published scholarly record.

Where a published article is found to contain a significant factual, methodological, ethical, authorship, or publication-related problem, the Journal may issue:

• A correction;
• An editorial note;
• An expression of concern; or
• A retraction,

depending upon the nature and seriousness of the issue.

Post-publication concerns will be assessed on the basis of available evidence and appropriate publication-ethics principles.

Members of the Editorial Board and editorial staff may contribute scholarly work to JACKPOT, provided that appropriate safeguards are maintained.

Where an Editorial Board member submits a manuscript to the Journal:

• The author must not participate in the editorial decision concerning their own manuscript;
• The manuscript must undergo the same independent peer-review standards applicable to other submissions; and
• Any relevant conflict of interest must be disclosed and managed appropriately.

No editor or Editorial Board member may require, pressure, or induce authors to include them as an author without a legitimate and substantial scholarly contribution.

Where research has received financial, institutional, governmental, military, commercial, or other support that could reasonably be relevant to the interpretation of the research, authors should disclose the source of such support.

Authors should, where appropriate, indicate the role played by the funding or supporting institution in:

• Research design;
• Data collection;
• Analysis;
• Interpretation;
• Manuscript preparation; or
• The decision to submit the work for publication.

JACKPOT is committed to promoting a scholarly environment in which originality, intellectual independence, methodological rigor, transparency, professional respect, and research integrity are upheld.

The Journal expects all participants in the publication process to contribute to the integrity of the scholarly record and to cooperate with reasonable investigations into suspected ethical or publication-related misconduct.

These Ethical Guidelines shall be interpreted together with the Journal’s Author Guidelines, Peer-Review Policy, Editorial Policy, Copyright Policy, and other applicable publication policies.

JACKPOT reserves the right to update these guidelines periodically to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, research ethics, emerging technologies, and international best practices.