Kotahi te kākano, he nui ngā hua o te rākau.
A tree comes from one seed but bears many fruit.
Overview
Te Ao O Rongomaraeroa National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (TAOR-NCPACS) Working Paper Series (or “the Series”) is an open access, student and community-run working paper series for peace and conflict-related research. It aims to be a central place to share innovative peace-related research with a wide audience of academics, practitioners and policymakers, and the general public.
The Series is open for submissions from students, staff, practitioners, activists, community members, and the general public. Submissions are especially welcome from tangata whenua, Indigenous persons, persons from the global south, the LGBTQIA+ community, and members of communities particularly affected by structural violence and direct conflict.
Submissions to the Series may be on any subject related to peace and conflict studies, as well as practice-based research and reflection. There is no intention to reject papers, as the team aims to work with the author to make the writing ready for publication.
Papers published in the Series face no copyright restrictions in relation to future publications. Papers in the Series are working papers, so may go on to be published in other academic journals. The Series follows an open access policy in which articles are available free of charge and authors retain rights to their work.
Guiding principles
As part of our ongoing commitment to Te Reo me ona tikanga, we are in process of consulting with mana whenua to ensure the descriptive terminologies we aspire to using in future are correct.
The Series, based in Aotearoa, supports and seeks to embody principles outlined by Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We are especially committed to encouraging tangata whenua of Aotearoa to contribute and will do so by adopting the following:
The Series commits to centre Māori and Moriori research and researchers through this publication series by:
- Ensuring that Indigenous communities in Aotearoa have been consulted before having data or research from their communities published in the Series
- Guaranteeing that Māori and Moriori communities always have a right of refusal for publication in the Series at any time, especially where intellectual property is concerned
The Series promotes equity for members of Māori and Moriori communities through the following:
- Normalising and using Te Reo Māori and Ta Rē Moriori
- Accepting contributions in Te Reo Māori and Ta Rē Moriori
- Ensuring the structure of the Series places value on place-based and community knowledge and writing in formats, like kōrero
- Placing no requirement for specific referencing, especially for work that is based on community knowledge and practice
- Ensuring that there has been a reciprocal relationship between the researcher and any participants or communities involved in the research
The Series makes space for participation from Māori and Moriori communities by:
- Inviting submissions from members of Māori and Moriori communities
- Promoting participation by members of Māori and Moriori communities within the Editorial Team
- Inviting submissions from organisations, groups, and individuals
- Encouraging authors to use whatever writing format is the most appropriate for the nature of their work, rather than conform to any standard
- Maintaining open channels for feedback and participation through direct contact with the TAOR Student Association or the Centre
Working Papers
Should you wish to cite these publications, citations should include the author’s name, the date of publication, the paper title, list the publication as The Working Paper Series, and reference the web address for the Series.
If a paper is subsequently published elsewhere, we will provide the link on our website to the location of its new publication, and all citations should be directed there.
Submission guidelines
Review standards
In an effort to ensure reciprocity in the research published in the Series, in your submission email, please consider and inform the Editorial Team of the following:
- What steps you have taken to ensure reciprocity with the participants/community involved in the research
- The risks and benefits of publication, and whether that has been shared with the participants/community involved in the research
Formatting the submission file
- Contents: Please include title, author name, abstract (around 200 words), paper, bibliography, any annexes/appendices, and a short author biography of around 100 words.
- Presentation: Please ensure your document is free from typographical and presentational errors.
- Word count: Papers do not have a specific page limit or word count. However, we may ask for some cuts during the review process to enhance readability.
- References: Please cite your sources consistently with your chosen style. However, we recognise in some cases it is not possible or appropriate to include a reference section, and submissions without references will still be accepted for publication. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts are consistently referenced if a system is used, as the Editorial Team will not necessarily check reference formatting.
- File type: Please submit your paper as an attachment in a Word document format with “TAOR-NCPACS Working Paper Series” in the subject line to peaceandconflict@otago.ac.nz.
Process
Submissions are handled by a submissions officer who is a part of the Editorial Team. This person identifies reviewers for the paper. Reviewers do not act as gatekeepers, instead, they will work together with authors to get the paper in a state ready for submission.
Please ensure you have addressed the Review standards (above) in the body of your email and the section on Formatting the Submission file (above) in your attached file.
Normal submission
- Authors will receive comments and proposed changes in their document via track changes and make necessary changes and return to the student submissions officer, ideally within 2 weeks.
- The submission officer will input the article into the Working Paper Series layout and submit it to the university web team for posting.
- The article will be posted on the website and links may be shared through the Centre and Student Association’s social media or email listservs. A link will be shared with the author.
Rapid release
We acknowledge that there are times when normal submission for the paper might not be preferred such as, but not limited to: timely topics needing rapid release or papers that have already had extensive feedback. In these cases, please contact us and we can expedite the process, allowing a rapid release.
Publication on another site
If the author subsequently publishes the working paper elsewhere as an article, book chapter, etc. the author can notify the Centre which will then will work with the Editorial Team to update the webpage and provide a link to the new publication so that future readers can be directed to the new location of the work. The author can choose to remove the working paper copy if they so desire.
Miscellaneous
- Plagiarism: Please note, all submissions will be checked for plagiarism in a plagiarism checker.
- Other versions: Papers submitted to the Series should be original contributions and should not be derived from existing publications. If another version of the article is under consideration by another publication, or has been, or will be published elsewhere, authors should clearly indicate this at the time of submission. Papers are expected to be of first submission, if this is not the case, a waiver giving us the right to publish the paper must be included.
- Multiple authors: Papers with multiple authors, group authors, or a collective organisational author are accepted.
- Languages: Papers in Te Reo Māori, Ta Rē Moriori, and other languages are accepted, and we will do our best to find reviewers who can give feedback in that language. In this instance, the review process may take more than 2 weeks. Please contact us if you are interested in publishing in a specific language.
If you have a question about the submission process that is not answered here, please contact:
TAOR Association
Email ncpacs.sa@gmail.com
Editorial team and reviewers
The Series is a collection that is edited and reviewed by the community (staff, students, and community members) of the TAOR-NCPACS Centre. Editors are not gatekeepers, rather they work with the author to make the paper ready for publication, providing community support.
We may invite specific reviewers to accommodate particular topics or publication languages.
Anyone can join as a member of the Editorial Team or a reviewer. If you would like to join the Editorial Team or become a reviewer, please contact:
TAOR Student Association
Email ncpacs.sa@gmail.com
Feedback
If you have comments on how we are doing or suggestions for improvement, please contact:
TAOR Student Association
Email ncpacs.sa@gmail.com
Te Ao o Rongomaraeroa
Email peaceandconflict@otago.ac.nz