OMB Scientific Journal

OMB Scientific Journal | The Scientific Journal of The Observatory of Mediterranean Basin, in cooperation with IDUAP / Ferrara University, published by POLIS Press, is the only scientific and cultural magazine in Albanian-speaking countries for the fields of urban planning and environment management. This magazine is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science, the Academic Degrees Evaluation Committee and has an ISBN international registration code ISBN / 978-9928-4459-8-8 (OMB series) and ISSN (Print) 2959-4081 and ISSN international registration code (2959-4081). The magazine is published in English language and contains a package of scientific, informative articles and analysis. OMB Scientific Journal has more than ten years of publication activity and more than twenty numbers already available; since its foundation it has been a point of reference for the academic and scientific debate in all of the Mediterranean Area.

Aim and Scope
OMB Scientific Journal’ Code of Ethics (“Journals Code of Ethics”) is binding on all persons involved in matters or activities involving the Journal.
The scope of the OMB Scientific Journals’ Code of Ethics does not apply to matters and activities involving non-Journal member. However, members in good standing are expected to know the Journals Code of Ethics and, where appropriate, to follow these policies for peer review and publication ethics in all their scholarly publication.

Our journal website upholds a commitment to accessibility by refraining from imposing any fees for the submission of scholarly papers, ensuring an inclusive platform for academic contributions.

Board of Directors _ which represents the chief editors and promoters of the publication:
1. Prof. Dr. Besnik Aliaj – Polis University Rector, Editor in Chief
2. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sotir Dhamo – Polis University Administrator
3. Dr. Dritan Shutina – Co-Plan Institute, Executive Director

Editorial Committee – which aims promoting the publication, and 2/3 of it comes from OECD countries consisting of international partners:
1. Prof. Dr. Roberto Giulio – University of Ferrara, Italy
2. Prof. Dr. Theo Zaffagnini – University of Ferrara, Italy
3. Prof. Dr. Maroš Finka – Polytechnic of Bratislava, Slovakia
4. Prof. Dr. Stephan Pinkau – University of Anhalt / Bauhaus, Germany
5. Prof. Dr. Luís M. Bragança M. Lopes – University of Minho, Portugal
6. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Godiva Rëmbeci – Polis University, Albania
7. Dr. Loris Rossi – Manchester School of Architecture, UK
8. Dr. Llazar Kumaraku – Polis University, Albania
9. Dr. Ilda Rusi – Polis University, Albania
10. Dr. Kejt Dhrami – Co-Plan Institute, Albania

The Scientific Committee – OECD countries.
1. Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Mincolelli –University of Ferrara, Italy
2. Prof. Dr. Pantelis Skayannis – University of Thessaly, Greece
3. Prof. Dr Maria Manuela O. G. Almeida – University of Minho, Portugal
4. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Skender Luarasi – Rhode Island School of Design, USA
5. Dr. Jim Stevens – Clemson University, USA
6. Dr. Peter Niented – NCOI University, Netherlands
7. Dr. Elona Karafili – Polis University, Albania
8. Dr. Ledio Allkja – Co-Plan Institute, Albania
9. Dr. Artan Kacani – Polis University, Albania
10. Dr. Enrico Porfido – Universitat de Lleida, Spain

Current Editorial team
• Sadmira Malaj – Polis University, Albania
• Armela Reka – Polis University, Albania
• Eneida Muhamuçi – Polis University, Albania

Issue Reviewers
Prof. Dr. Besnik Aliaj – Polis University, Rector; Co-chair of PhD Academic Board, Editor in Chief.
Assoc. Prof. Skender Luarasi – Polis University, Dean of the Faculty of Research & Development
Dr. Llazar Kumaraku – Dr. Llazar Kumaraku – Dean of the Faculty of Planning, Environment and Urban Management

Open Access Statement
All OMB Research Series’ publications, including the e-journals, are open access, without any costs
(submission, processing, publishing, open access paid by authors, open access paid by readers etc.) and
they are independent of the presentations made at any of the many small events (conferences,
symposiums, forums, colloquiums, courses, roundtable discussions) organized by OMB throughout the
past 10 years. OMB Research Series does not require the transfer of any copyright. The authors retain the
full intellectual property rights of their paper.

Important note
All OMB Research Series’ publications, including the e-journals, are open access, without any costs
related to publication charged to the author or to the reader which includes their host institutions as
well. OMB Research Series, follows the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) example
of promoting academic discourse and therefore are free. Since the publications are open access, the
intellectual property rights of a paper remain with its author. The review process for a submission varies
according to the complexity of the paper and the availability of readers, although a decision on
acceptance typically is made within six months. Publication will follow within six to twelve months as a
rule. Before submitting a paper, an author must ensure that the paper meets the basic academic
standards, which include clear and proper English; referees are instructed to reject a paper that is poorly
argued and poorly written.

Basic Academic Standards
Authors submitting their papers to be considered for publication in one of OMB Research Series’
publications should make a note of the following:
1. All ATINER’s publications, including the e-journals, are open access, without any costs (submission,
processing, publishing, open access paid by authors, open access paid by readers etc.) and they are
independent of the presentations made at any of the many small events (conferences, symposiums,
forums, colloquiums, courses, roundtable discussions) organized by Polis University and OMB Research
Unit throughout the year. The intellectual property rights of the submitted papers remain with the author
and there is no request of copyright transfer.
2. Before submitting your full paper, make sure it is written in proper English and following the author
guidelines.
4. All papers are reviewed by at least two independent academics. The final decision is made by one of
the editors, based on (a) Research Design & Methodology, (b) Theoretical Background, (c) Review of the
Relevant Literature, (d) Significance of Themes, (e) Relevance of Themes, (f) Clarity and Communication
of Arguments Presented, (g) Clarity of Conclusions, and (h) Overall Quality of Analysis.

License information
For the research field classification on Polis Press, and on the OMB Research Series, we follow the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED).
These Articles Publications are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.

Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism
All work in the manuscript should be free of any plagiarism, falsification, fabrications, or omission of significant material.

Plagiarism takes many forms, from deliberately misrepresenting another’s paper as the Author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper without attribution, to claiming results from research conducted by others. Authors are expected to explicitly cite others’ work and ideas, even if the work or ideas are not quoted verbatim or paraphrased. This standard applies whether the previous work is published, unpublished, or electronically available. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Redundancy (or “self-plagiarism”) is unacceptable publishing behavior. Redundancy can occur in at least two ways: (1) Authors recycle portions of their previous writings by using identical or nearly identical sentences or paragraphs from earlier writings in subsequent research papers, without quotation or acknowledgement; or (2) Authors create multiple papers that are slight variations on each other, which are submitted for publication in different journals but without acknowledgement of the other papers. Authors can and often do develop different aspects of an argument in more than one manuscript. However, manuscripts that differ primarily in appearance, but are presented as separate and distinct research without acknowledging other related work, constitute attempts (whether unintentional or deliberate) to deceive reviewers and readers by overinflating the intellectual contribution of the manuscript. Since publication decisions are influenced by the novelty and innovativeness of manuscripts, such deception is inappropriate and unethical.

Authors should minimize their recycling of previous writings. If recycling is unavoidable, the Author should inform the Editor at the time of submission and reference the previous writings in the manuscript. Such self-referencing should be worded carefully to avoid compromising the double-blind review process.

Background/Structure
The COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors is designed to provide a set of minimum standards to which all COPE members are expected to adhere. The Best Practice Guidelines are more aspirational and were developed in response to requests from editors for guidance about a wide range of increasingly complex ethical issues. While COPE expects all members to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Journal Editors (and will consider complaints against members who have not followed it), we realize that editors may not be able to implement all the Best Practice recommendations (which are therefore voluntary), but we hope that our suggestions will identify aspects of journal policy and practice that should be reviewed and discussed. In this combined version of the documents, the mandatory Code of Conduct for Journal Editors standards are shown in regular script and with numbered clauses, and the more aspirational Best Practice recommendations are shown in italics.

Conflicts of Interest
Authors should avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest throughout the research process. A conflict of interest is some fact known to a participant in the publication process that if revealed later, would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived (or an Author, Reviewer, or Editor feel uncomfortable as to the integrity of the process). Conflicts of interest may influence the judgment of Authors, Reviewers, and Editors. Possible conflicts often are not immediately apparent to others. They may be personal, commercial, political, academic, or financial. Examples of financial interest conflicts may include employment, research funding (received or pending), stock or share ownership, patents, payment for lectures or travel, consultancies or non-financial support.

Double-Blind Review
OMB Scientific Journal uses double-blind peer review. This means both the reviewer and author identities are
hidden from one another during every step of the process. Authors will need to prepare their manuscript in a way that does not expose any identifying information. Identifying information most commonly refers to authors’ names and institutions, as well as any photos of the authors. These are mandatory requirements to be considered for publication in the journal.

Copyright Law
Authors should check their manuscripts for possible breaches of copyright law (e.g., where permissions are needed for quotations, artwork, tables or any protected content taken from other publications) and secure the necessary permissions before submission.

Authors should avoid anything in the text of the manuscript that might be actionable, such as defamation. Authors should avoid using sexist and biased language that could be interpreted as denigrating to ethnic or other groups; for example, plural rather than single pronouns (“they” rather than “he”) are recommended.

For further additional information, kindly download the complete document below.

Submission Format
We are excited to welcome your submissions for our upcoming issue. To ensure a smooth and efficient paper submission process, please use the designated email address provided below for all paper submissions: Email Address: omb@universitetipolis.edu.al

Here are a few important points to keep in mind when submitting your papers via email:

-Use the Subject Line: When sending your email, please use a clear and specific subject line that includes the name no. of the volume and the title of your paper. This will help us in organizing and processing your submission promptly.

-Required Attachments: Ensure that your paper and any required documents (such as an abstract, cover letter, or author information) are attached to the email. Follow the submission guidelines provided in the call for papers.

-Contact Information: Include your contact information within the body of the email, such as your full name, affiliation, and a reachable phone number.

-Confirmation of Receipt: Upon successful submission, you will receive an acknowledgment email to confirm that your paper has been received. If you do not receive this confirmation within a reasonable timeframe, please contact us.

-Technical Issues: If you encounter any technical difficulties or have questions related to the submission process, please feel free to contact us at omb@universitetipolis.edu.al for assistance.

We appreciate your interest and look forward to receiving your submissions. If you may have any questions or need further assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to us at omb@universitetipolis.edu.al.

Thank you for your participation, and we look forward to your submissions.