Policy (‘Constitution’)

jeXed[1]

(Journal of ExoTechnology and Education)

ASSAF Best Practices for Journals

It is the intent of this Journal to adhere to the ASSAF Best Practices for Journals.

 Open Science Statement

jeXed aims to improve the transparency and replicability of each article in the ways indicated below.

Open Access Journal

jeXed is an open access, double-blind peer-reviewed, multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary academic Journal focused on the implementation and use of cutting-edge technologies (including AI) and innovative, effective (higher) education. The content on our website (SciELO) is freely available as Open Access without any charge to the reader. Readers are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purposes, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author/s, provided that the work is appropriately cited according to the specifications of the CC BY-NC license.

Additionally, the authors are allowed to also include in their articles – apart from the normal figures and tables – videos, podcasts, apps, animations, clips, screenshots, data sets, robotics, coding, practice in motion, and other material related to the article. They may even present their articles in the form of a PowerPoint or other presentation, or in any of the abovementioned forms, provided that the presentation meets the requirements of DHET for accreditation.

 Should an author, with specific reasons and with the consent of the Editor-in-Chief, not want to make their research available to other researchers, it should be indicated in the first footnote of the article. This includes the author’s designs, data, conclusions, etc.

 jeXed acts as the official academic journal of the SSG (Symposia on Serious Games) under the curatorship of Proff Maria Frahm-Arp and Erna Oliver. The SSG endeavours to publish groundbreaking information on the use of technologies in/and related to (higher) education. This Journal will therefore publish academic articles, presentations in different formats, and book reviews on the broad spectrum of (the combination of) technology (including AI), (educational) gaming, and/or education. jeXed is an open access Journal that adheres to a double-blind peer-review policy for academic articles. The Journal is proud to join hands with the University of Johannesburg and UJ Press. 

jeXed welcomes innovative and extraordinary submissions in the field of technology (including AI), gaming, and/or (higher) education.

 Mission

• To guide Africa and the Global South into the era of new technology focused on technology and (higher) education.
• To establish innovative and disruptive elements in technology and (higher) education, like (serious) gaming and AI.
• To guide educators to invent personalised curricula for undergraduates, containing the abovementioned elements.

Vision

• To grow and develop into a leading Journal on technology and education for the Global South, and specifically for Africa.
• To consistently publish high quality articles by novices, established scholars, and international scholars.
• To reach ISI status within 10 years.

Ethics Statement

If an author involves live subjects (humans) in their article, they must provide the official ethical clearance number obtained from their institution of higher education when they submit their article. The author should add it as a footnote to their article. Should the Journal receive the article without the official ethical clearance number, it will be returned to the author.

 SDGs in Articles

Authors are encouraged to address the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the United Nations in their articles. This must be indicated in their keywords, e.g., SDG Goal 4: Quality Education; SDG Goal 5: Gender Equality.

 Replication

jeXed encourages articles containing direct and conceptual replication/s on other studies, debating about specific topics.

 Data Availability Policy of jeXed

When an author has used research data (obtained from an external source), they must properly indicate by way of a link where the reader can get hold of the original data and under what conditions. Data that have been personally obtained by way of qualitative research, can also be made available as long as the privacy of the participants is kept.

 File Formats (for Authors)

jeXed publishes academic articles etc. and book reviews on technology and/or (higher) education in PDF, EPUB, XML, and Audio format.

 Academic articles

An academic article could be qualitative or quantitative of nature, consisting of original research, and containing the following elements: An abstract, an introduction, method/ology, a body, and a conclusion. The length of academic articles should be between 5,000 and 10,000 words. This includes in-text references and the Reference list. Articles may include supporting material such as figures, tables, videos, podcasts, photos, apps, animations, clips, screenshots, data sets, robotics, coding, and other relevant material.

Book reviews

jeXed welcomes reviews of books related to its scope. Book reviews must be between 1,000 and 3,000 words in length.

Authors are requested to adhere to the following guidelines when preparing their manuscript for submission:

• For reasons of typesetting, articles should be submitted via the website of jeXed on the UJ Press OJS (Open Journal System) at the University of Johannesburg, or by e-mail to the Editor-in-Chief, assisted by the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, using Microsoft Word.[2] (Articles submitted in printed form or handwriting will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.)
• The submission of an article implies that it has not been previously published and is not simultaneously considered for publication elsewhere. The responsibility for opinions expressed and for the accuracy of facts published in articles and reviews rests solely with the individual author/s. The preferred length of articles is between 5,000 and 10,000 words and for reviews between 1,000 and 3,000 words.
• The author/s must provide their preferred titles and e-mail addresses, the institution/s of higher education with whom they are affiliated, and their ORCID links.
• After the heading, a submitted article must have an abstract of approximately 250 words, summarising the main contentions of the article, and between 5 and 10 keywords.
• Academic articles should have a clear purpose.
• These articles must be based on original research.
• The research methodology must be clear and accurate, and reflected inside the contents of the article.
• The structure and systematisation of the manuscript should be in order.
• Articles must be submitted in full, containing a completed Reference list, as well as all the figures, tables, videos, podcasts, apps, animations, clips, screenshots, data sets, robotics, coding, etc. (alternative formats). All the alternative formats should be named according to their placement (e.g., Figure 1 page 3 after second paragraph). (The copyeditor will not redraw any figure unless the author pays for the cost of such work.)
• The quality and quantity of the sources in the Reference list must be acceptable – mostly within the critical five-year window.
• The submission will be subjected to iThenticate to ensure that the manuscript is free from plagiarism.
• jeXed supports the use of non-biased, gender-inclusive language.
• Please use footnotes and not endnotes.
• If AI or generative AI has been used in the development or writing of the article, it must be clearly stated and indicated through referencing.
• Submit the electronic copy in normal MS Word format. All the alternative formats must be added in separate files. All graphics should be named according to their placement (e.g., Figure 1 page 3 after second paragraph).
• Spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, and abbreviations should be consistent.
• UK English (not US English) should be used, except in direct quotes and source references where other languages could be used (if not in English, please give the translation in a footnote).
• The Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, sub-editors, section editors, and copyeditor reserve the right to copyedit and proofread all articles accepted for publication. Authors will first receive their copyedited manuscripts in Word format and finally in PDF format.
• Article processing fees: After the first three years of the existence of the Journal, articles which are published in jeXed will be subject to an article processing fee (or page fee) of R400.00 per page for South African authors and R500.00 per page for oversees authors. On acceptance, the author/s of the article will receive an invoice for the amount due. Should the author/s experience difficulties to afford these fees, they may contact the Editor-in-Chief.

Retraction, Errata, and Corrigendum Policy

 1    Retraction

Should an author that has submitted their article/review want to subtract it from this Journal for whatever reason, they are permitted to do so before the article has been approved by the peer reviewers. The moment the article has been approved, the Journal retains the right to publish the article and it is then impossible to retract it anymore.

2    Errata and Corrigendum

Errata must be sorted out during the copyediting process with the copyeditor. Once the article is published, no more corrections can be done. However, if the author can prove that the copyeditor is responsible for an erratum without the knowledge of the author, then the author must send an e-mail to the Editor-in-Chief and request a correction.

 ‘Additional Information Space’

Since jeXed is encouraging alternative types of submissions or artifacts, the Journal also aims to include an Additional Information Space (not for DHET purposes) where an author can highlight certain key-opinion leaders in AI and technology, game-based learning, gamification, and (higher) education, with a direct permanent link to their website and a short reflection or recommendation based on a video (YouTube or any other video), blog/vlog, or other output.

 Periodicity (Rolling Publication of Articles)

jeXed will be published biannually during June and November. However, articles will be published after copyediting has been done and the author/s is/are satisfied with all the corrections. The indication will still be if the article is assigned to the first or the second semester, e.g., jeXed 1(1) or jeXed 1(2).

Content Strategy

jeXed plans to have a broad approach regarding technology and (higher) education. Especially in its first three years it will serve as an introduction to these topics, accompanied by specified topics, depending on the symposia that will be held on a biannual level – in March and September. One part of jeXed will be devoted to articles originating from the symposia, while another part will contain other (approved) submitted articles, book reviews, etc.

Editorial Board

The Editorial Board will consist of not more than 30 or less than 10 scholars. Scholars who have already established themselves in the fields of technology and education will be invited to serve on the Board. Every three years the Board will elect an Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, two sub-editors (one for technology and one for education), and four section editors, two for technology and two for education, and then members who will assist when requested – all of them will be elected for a term of three years. Both the Editor-in-Chief and Deputy Editor-in-Chief will be responsible to oversee the timely arrival of articles, peer reviews, and the publishing of the articles and book reviews. The sub-editors will be responsible for the timely distribution of the articles to the section editors to distribute it to two or three competent scholars for the double-blind peer review process, for accepting/rejecting the articles. The section editors and sub-editors will be responsible for the acceptance/rejection of the article, whereupon the section editors will send them back to the author/s for corrections. The curators of the Journal will be the two Professors who initiated the idea of this Journal – Proff Maria Frahm-Arp and Erna Oliver. They also serve on the Editorial Board. All these members will serve as the executive of the Journal and will determine and revise the policy of the Journal on an annual basis.

Organisation and Operations

jeXed will be a Journal that is sponsored by the University of Johannesburg. For the first three years this journal will not receive page fees from the authors, but after accreditation, page fees of R400.00 per A5 page will be paid by scholars from South Africa. International contributors will be charged R500.00 per A5 page. The Journal aims to keep close ties with the University of Johannesburg.

Workflows

• The two curators will join the Editorial Board in the decision making process.
• The Editor-in-Chief, assisted by the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, will oversee the process of peer reviewing and will have the final say – in collaboration with the sub-editors and section editors – when it comes to the publishing of an article or book review. The Editor-in-Chief will also determine the amount of articles/book reviews published per edition and will be responsible for the foreword to each edition.
• Should there be a Special Edition, the Editor-in-Chief and the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, together with the Editorial Board, may decide to assign a Special Edition Editor-in-Chief for that specific edition. The Journal’s Editor-in-Chief will still have the responsibility to oversee everything.
• When an article is submitted to the Journal, the Editor-in-Chief will send it to one specific sub-editor who will send it to a section editor who will be responsible to send it to two or three competent peer reviewers. When the section editors have received the peer reviews back, they will make a decision, together with the sub-editors on the acceptance/rejection of the article and inform the author.
• When a book review is submitted to the Journal, the sub-editors will make a decision on the acceptance/rejection of the review.
• The secretary will do all the admin work for the Editor-in-Chief and the sub-editors, should they not be able to do it. In the absence of a secretary, these editors will do the admin work as well.
• After an article/book review is accepted, the section editor will send it to the copyeditor to do full copyediting on the document. The copyeditor will send the document to the author (cc to sub-editor, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and Editor-in-Chief) for corrections till they are both satisfied with the document.
• The copyeditor will then send the document (cc to sub-editor and Editor-in-Chief) to the Manager of UJ Press to publish it.
• The Manager of UJ Press is responsible for loading the document on the back end under the heading of the specific volume, number, and year of the Journal.

The Process of Peer Reviewing

When the Editor-in-Chief receives an article, they immediately send it to the relevant sub-editor, who will pre-evaluate it before sending it (as soon as possible) to the relevant section editor who will send it out to at least two competent peer reviewers. The peer reviewers have three days to accept or decline the peer review request. After a positive response, the peer reviewer has four weeks to complete the peer review and send the article together with remarks back to the section editor. After having received back all the peer reviews for an article, the section editor, in collaboration with the sub-editor will then decide to accept or reject the article and inform the author accordingly.

Journal Management Systems

jeXed will be an open access journal and will therefore make use of the OJS tool set. The Journal will be published online and be ready for downloading by all users.

Distribution and Marketing Channels

The Manager of UJ Press will register jeXed with the Directory of Open Access Journals and develop a multi-channel distribution strategy. This includes the front and title pages of the Journal, direct e-marketing, indexing, metrics and analytics, and repositories and archiving.

Sustainability

Our aim is to get grants to finance jeXed for at least the first three years. In the meantime the Editorial Board will decide on a strategy to strengthen the Journal’s funds. After the accreditation of the Journal, page fees will be required from all the authors in South Africa at R400.00 per A5 page, while international contributors will be charged R500.00 per A5 page.

The aim is to publish at least 5 articles per edition (for the first three years) and to market jeXed in such a way that scholars would like to publish their articles and book reviews in this Journal.

Open Access Licenses

jeXed will be an open access Journal published with a CC BY-NC license. On acceptance of the article, the author/s will still retain copyright of their articles.

 [1]    Jex means something excellent or impressive. The aim of this Journal (jeXed) is therefore to become jeX-ed – made excellent and impressive.

[2]    For the period 2024-2026, Dr Herman Myburgh will act as Editor-in-Chief. His e-mail is hermanm@uj.ac.za.