Our journal.

OPEN ACCESS POLICY & COPYRIGHT: 
The authors of manuscripts accepted for publication grant the right to electronically publish and archive their text, thus making it permanently accessible for consultation. The copyright remains with the authors, who can republish their articles online quoting the source. Authors are not asked for contributions to publish their articles.
Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print or create links to the articles in their entirety.

GOAL
Writing is without doubt one of the most important forms of communication. Writing remains, said the Romans. But when was writing born? For what reason? We don’t know for sure and there are many theories, destined to remain such. We can though look backwards and find out what was said when writing was born as a conveyor of meaning. The story is the biblical one of Cain and Able. Cain kills his brother Abel and God sentences him to wander the earth which was screaming due to the innocent’s blood that was spilled upon it. Cain believes his punishment to be too harsh and is scared of the thought that anyone he comes across could in turn kill him. So “the Lord put a mark (’ot in Hebrew, sêmeion in Greek) on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him” (Genesis 4:15 – NIV). So, history’s first symbol would have brought a message to all peoples, urging them not to be vengeful and not to lay hands on another human, not even a murderer.
We don’t know what the symbol was. Writing? A Drawing? It doesn’t matter. What counts is that it was clear to everyone and it stood for a word or an object (rhêma) which served as a message to the people (ethnos).
This is what communication in all its forms should be, a means of positive relations between humans. Also a medium of reflection which leads to action. Sadly we know that this often isn’t the case, because the model and meaning of that first sign wasn’t understood and followed.
Through the articles in our publication, our aim is to learn more about the manifestations of cultures and in doing so understand them. These can range from linguistic aspects to popular traditions, a page in history and much more. Thus we would like our contributors to have not only technical knowledge, but also open eyes, an open mind and the willingness to learn from others to then pass on the knowledge acquired.
The journal is only one aspect of Ethnorêma’s body of work, which is primarily cultural promotion. Many of us regularly work in the field, wandering between languages, peoples and cultures. Many form a bond through these situations, giving birth to relations, affection and concrete action.
This is our goal, the mark we would like to make.

CODE OF ETHICS
Ethnorêma is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Voluntary Association Ethnorêma. The Ethnorêma Association and all components of the journal (authors, Editor in Chief, the Editorial Board, the Scientific Committee and proofreaders) are committed to following and upholding the ethical standards through all phases of the publishing process, based on the ethical code for publications developed by the COPE, Committee on Publication Ethics, Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (revised 7^th of March 2011). Please refer to said source for more information on our ethical guidelines.

1. Editor in Chief’s and Editorial Board’s duties 
1.1 The Editor in Chief and the Editorial Board are responsible for the contents published in the journal. Furthermore, they have to guarantee the integrity of the published works and strive towards the continuous improvement of the journal’s quality.
1.2 The Editor in Chief, assisted by the Editorial Board, decides whether a manuscript is to be accepted or refused. The criteria are based on relevance, originality, clarity and conformity with the editorial line of the journal.
1.3 Ethnorêma adopts the double blind process of revision, assuring anonymous revisions by qualified reviewers without conflict of interest with the authors. The Editor in Chief and the Editorial Board are responsible for guaranteeing the confidentiality of the authors, the reviewers and the manuscripts, and for the appropriate conservation of the documentation regarding the review process.
1.4 The Editor in Chief and the Editorial Board have to guarantee that there will be no discrimination based on gender, religion, political belief, ethnicity, place of origin etc. of the authors of the manuscripts received by Ethnorêma.

2. Authors’ duties
2.1 The Authors have to guarantee the originality of their manuscripts, that their work was not copied, even partly, from other works, that the manuscript was not previously published in other journals or simultaneously sent to other journals with a view to publication. Ethnorêma reserves the right to verify that the authors have not violated these requirements.
2.2 The authors have to guarantee the timely delivery of their manuscripts, adhering to the editorial guidelines within a pre-established time frame. They are also required to perform a rapid review of their work following the indications of the reviewers, should the need arise. The Editor in Chief will decide, if the authors explicitly request it, whether a give the authors more time, both for the delivery of the manuscript and their revision.
2.3 Should the authors find mistakes in the published article, it is their responsibility to inform the Editor in Chief as soon as possible, arranging with him the rectification or withdrawal of the article.
Should the mistake be pointed out by others, the Editor in Chief will ask the author to write a retraction in the journal’s next issue and/or the website where the article is published.

3. Rieviewer’s duties
3.1 The reviewers are committed to reviewing each manuscript in an objective and impartial manner, without any form of prejudice, avoiding any form of personal attack on the author.
3.2 The reviewers are required to refuse to review a manuscript if they find themselves in conflict of interest or in competition with persons or institutions related to the manuscript. Similarly, they may not proceed with the review should they have already personally provided the author with notes on the manuscript or previous versions thereof.
3.3 The reviewers guarantee that they will deliver their revisions on time or inform the Editor in Chief as soon as possible should in not be feasible. In such cases, the Editor in Chief reserves the right to pass on the review of the manuscript to others.
3.4 The reviewers guarantee absolute confidentiality of the manuscripts and the information therein, not discussing it with anyone except the Editor in Chief and the Editorial Board.

4. Scientific Committee’s duties
4.1 The Scientific Committee, composed of Italian and international qualified experts, will supervise to make sure that the nature and originality of the journal’s content conform to international scientific standards.
4.2 The members of the Scientific Committee may also act as reviewers following the criteria described in paragraph 3 and its subparagraphs. The Scientific Committee will be responsible for cooperating with the Editor in Chief to identify other qualified reviewers.
4.3 The Scientific Committee undertakes to promote the journal, seeking and suggesting new qualified authors in order for them to submit their manuscripts to Ethnorêma.