About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Peer review process

Open acess policy

Plagiarism policy

Ethical aspects and conflicts of interest

Data Availability Policy

Periodicity

Archive

Privacy statement

Publisher

Sponsor

History of the Journal

 

Focus and Scope

The journal Agua y Territorio / Water and Landscape (AYT / WAL) is a digital publication, of a biannual nature, with free access, whose objective is to address from different scientific fields the problem of the use and management of water and its use for sustainable development. In particular, it covers the following topics:

  1. a) Public policies and citizen participation. Proper water management is the main tool for solving water supply and sanitation problems in today’s society. In this area, the social participation and citizen movements are perceived as the element capable of countering the environmental and social conflicts that arise around water. The study of water companies, their evolution and the assessment of their levels of failure and success also occupy an important place in this line of research.
  2. b) Water as a natural resource: development and environmental models. The accelerated industrial, urban and demographic development of the past two centuries has been a major challenge in preserving the quality of water and its natural environments. It has also had to deal with the major problem of supplying drinking water to a growing population and counteracting the polluting potential of water.
  3. c) Water and landscape. Water has shaped human events since prehistoric times and has also shaped the rural landscape in a characteristic way. Water landscapes are a clear example of the multiple facets of water as a configurator of territories in which cultures that have left their mark on the landscape have developed.
  4. d) Water and memory. Throughout the historical relations that humans have had with water, it has marked the memory of many generations that have elaborated a peculiar culture associated with it: fountains, canals, ditches, beliefs, festivities, among many other manifestations, have constituted the rich material and immaterial heritage that societies have left to present generations. In this area, it is important to be able to gather the testimonies of the generation that has experienced the end of the whole system of classic water supply, witnessing the emergence of modern systems of supply and sanitation.
  5. e) Water and health. Water has been intimately linked to health issues since many human groups settled near rivers or springs. Since then, the quality of water in human environments has been a clear symptom of the quality of life that characterized them.
  6. f) Water resources. The importance of water for the maintenance of life has motivated humanity to try to solve since ancient times multiple challenges such as how to obtain it, store it, transport it... , giving rise to a rich and varied material heritage, but also to multiple forms of intangible heritage linked to water and its way of use and management.

The journal is promoted by the Permanent Seminar Water, Territory and Environment (Escuela de Estudios Hispanoamericanos, CSIC), and is edited electronically by the University of Jaen.

The journal is aimed at the scientific community, which from various scientific perspectives is interested in the social, economic, territorial and historical approaches that enable water studies in the Ibero-American and Mediterranean context.

The journal will encourage exchanges of experience across the Atlantic on common themes. These issues will be addressed both in the Dossier and in the Miscellaneous section. The research lines of the Permanent Seminar will also be taken into account: the economic, environmental, cultural, health and social implications of water policies. The journal arises with the idea of serving as a platform for studies on water in the Mediterranean and Ibero-American context, from a multidisciplinary perspective and a broad geographical coverage that gathers very diverse realities, with economic differences, very marked social, cultural and environmental. Therefore, in addition to this broad theme, the journal addresses it from very different territories, with heterogeneous physical bases.

The publication of the journal Agua y Territorio / Water and Landscape (AYT / WAL) aims to achieve a publication of quality and prestige. For this reason, we want to meet the requirements required in the best academic and scientific journals, both in their formal aspect and in their scientific quality. Therefore, regularity in publishing, double anonymous evaluation, the participation of authors external to the Editorial and Advisory Board are essential points for its development. At the same time, a complete transparency in the selection process of the articles is sought.

Another important objective is to achieve the widest possible dissemination of published articles through compliance with quality standards and through electronic support.

It is essential to stimulate the spaces for dialogue between the different scientific disciplines interested in observing the management of water, its social appropriation and transformation into resources. To achieve this, it is proposed to create a space for dialogue between disciplines, groups of researchers and stakeholders in the very diverse and complex water issues.

Agua y Territorio / Water and Landscape (AYT / WAL) aims to serve as an instrument for consultation between social groups and governments involved in the many conflicts and disputes over the use of water, the search for a new development model and the promotion of possible alternatives to contain the degradation of ecosystems.

Peer review process

Any article postulated for publication must be original, unpublished and may not be simultaneously postulated in other journals or editorial bodies.

Each text is previously evaluated by the Editorial Board, reviewing the compliance with the editorial standards, the quality of the writing, its subject matter, etc.

The evaluation process is carried out by external evaluators, specialists in the thematic areas of the journal, and is doubly anonymous, not revealing neither the identity of the author, nor those of the evaluators, which will be three in case of diversity of opinions. The informant may receive the report issued by another evaluator. Authors may suggest three possible evaluators.

The evaluator acknowledges the reserved nature of the articles under evaluation. Evaluators are required to point out any conflicts of interest before issuing their report, as well as any other reason that may justify their abstention from the evaluation process. They must be impartial, honest and carry out their work confidentially, diligently and respectfully within three weeks of the arrival of the article. The evaluators will carry out their work evaluating the article globally, their contributions and issuing a final report.

The journal will publish at the end of each year a list of the informants involved in the evaluation process.

The journal's internal and external evaluation forms can be obtained by clicking on the following links:

internal evaluation form

peer review form

 

Open access policy

This journal provides free and immediate access to its content. Free exposure of research promotes exchanges and an improvement in global knowledge.

The assignment of rights implies the authorization of the authors to have the work disseminated through the databases that the editor considers appropriate for indexing, with a view to increasing the visibility of the publication and its authors.

Likewise, our journal promotes and supports the movement of open access to scientific-academic literature therefore its editions have no charges for the author or for the reader, and encourages authors to deposit their contributions in other institutional and thematic repositories after publication of the work in the journal, with the certainty that culture and knowledge are a good for all and for alls.

The journal has published its articles under licence Creative Commons CC-BY-SA until issue 17 of 2021. From issue 18 of 2021 onwards it will publish under Creative Commons licence CC-BY

Plagiarism policy

The policy of the journal is to publish original works, written by those who declare their authorship, and unpublished, may not have been previously published in any print or electronic media.

Given the limitations of automatic detection programs plagiarism with the Spanish language and in order to respond to broader aspects that are inscribed as plagiarism practices —including translations, fragmentation of results or "salami slicing", duplication, among others— the journal implements a specific procedure to avoid it, namely:

  1. At the time of submission of an article, the authors/s are requested to declare that the article has not been previously published or sent to other journals for evaluation. In addition, they are asked to state that they are following the Guidelines for Authors, which state that the articles to be submitted must be original.
  2. Upon receipt —and prior to the beginning of the evaluation process— search tools are used on the Internet, in order to track other works of the authors/s and collate the title, excerpts of the abstract, the methodological section and the results of the article submitted for review, in order to corroborate originality and avoid plagiarism practices.
  3. When sending it to evaluate peer reviewers, evaluators are also asked to pay attention to possible indicators of plagiarism, since they are the ones who know the sources and literature on the subject.

The journal considers as plagiarism the practices listed and explained below:

  1. Direct plagiarism. This type is incurred when:
  1. There is authorship omission and it is not indicated with quotation marks what is taken from another text.
  2. Minimal changes are made to the text of another (sentence structure is modified, lowercase is replaced with uppercase or vice versa, synonyms are used, etc.) and is presented as original.
  1. Plagiarism by improper use of paraphrase, is performed when:
  1. Although authorship is noted, the original text is reproduced with a few changes that do not constitute paraphrases.
  1. Complex plagiarism using a reference is committed when:
  1. The original authorship reference exists, but the pages of the source are pointed out inaccurately.
  2. Paraphrase summarizing lengthy texts, but with little or no indication that they correspond to paraphrase.
  3. Absence of quotation marks in words and phrases from the original text reproduced verbatim.
  1. Plagiarism with quotation marks is performed when:
  1. A quotation continues to be reproduced once quotation marks have been closed or the above phrases have been omitted from the same quotation.
  1. Paraphrasing as plagiarism occurs when:
  1. There is paraphrasing and the original source reference is not noted.
  2. Paraphrasing is continuous and extensive, no material is added that allows interaction or enriches information, although the source is mentioned.
  3. Academic works —which require original thoughts and critical reflections on the views of others— become texts that do not exceed the repetition of other academic texts.
  4. Paraphrased passages are not clearly identified as such. It is not considered plagiarism when:
    1. It does not dominate over the work of the writer.
    2. It is used to allow the author to critically interact with the views of another person.
    3. The argument of the original text is rewritten in different words.
  1. "Auto-plagiarism" or recycling fraud is committed when:
  1. The appearance of a job is changed and presented as if it were a different job.
  2. It omits the indication that the work is being recycled, that is, that it is a previously published work but with corrections or new additions.
  3. Autoplage is not considered when:
    1. The previous work is the basis for a new contribution, and key parts should be repeated to explain and defend the new arguments.
    2. The author considers that what he has already said cannot be better said for the new publication.
    3. Repetition does not exceed 25 per cent of the original work.

Ethical aspects and conflicts of interest

The publication of Agua y Territorio / Water and Landscape (AYT / WAL) is the collective result of the work and effort of authors, editors and evaluators who are interested in the development of science for social and cultural development. For this reason, and within the framework of the open access policy promoted by the Universidad de Jaén, the journal will not charge authors any fee for publication, and articles will be made available immediately in open access.

The editors are committed to avoiding any conflict of interest between the actors involved in the production. All texts submitted will be evaluated for their intellectual content, avoiding that the ethnic or national belonging of the authors, their gender, their sexual orientation, their religious beliefs, or their political philosophy interfere in the process. Likewise, external evaluations that interfere with the quality of the work will be rejected.

Authors and evaluators are asked to declare in advance any relevant conflicts of interest they might have, so that they can be taken into account when assigning evaluations. Should any conflict arise after the publication of the contribution, a retraction or statement of fact will be made if necessary.

A "conflict of interest" is a situation in which there is a divergence between an individual's personal interests and his or her responsibilities in respect of the scientific activities he or she carries out, whether as an author, a reviewer or a member of the editorial board, which may influence his or her critical judgement and the integrity of his or her actions. Conflicts of interest can be:

  • Economic: when the participant (author/reviewer/editor) has received or expects to receive money for activities related to the research and its dissemination.
  • Academic: when reviewers or editors adhere to a certain methodological or ideological trend in such a way that they may be biased in evaluating the work of others. For this reason they are asked to express themselves in advance.
  • Personal or work relationships: when the participants (authors/reviewers/editors) have some kind of friendship, enmity or work relationship. To avoid this, publishers should take into account the sources of funding and the affiliation of the authors, in order to choose evaluators who do not belong to those specific circles.

Data Availability Policy

Agua y Territorio / Water and Landscape (AYT / WAL) promotes transparency and reproducibility of published research so that other researchers can replicate the studies described in their articles, either to corroborate or to refute the results obtained.

In order to promote the reproducibility of results, the journal requires that authors make available, without restriction, the data sets with which they have carried out the research described in their article. If there are limitations due to ethical or legal reasons, the authors must indicate how other researchers should access these data.

Authors are encouraged to deposit their data in any research data repository (such as FigShareMendeley Data o Zenodo), before submitting their contribution to the journal. In this way, when sending the article, only the URL where the research data are located should be indicated.

Authors are requested to use formats that maximise the accessibility and reusability of the data (for example, in the case of using tabular data it is suggested that a spreadsheet be used). If necessary, it is recommended that the algorithms or treatments (pipelines) to be carried out on the data for their correct interpretation be published together with the data.

Periodicity

Agua y Territorio / Water and Landscape (AYT / WAL) is a biannual publication that appears in January and July, covering the periods January-June and July-December.

Archive

This journal uses the LOCKSS system to create an archive distributed among the participating libraries, allowing these libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for preservation and restoration purposes. More information...

Privacy statement

The names and e-mail addresses entered in this magazine will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this magazine and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other person.

Publisher

University of Jaén (Jaén-Spain)

ISNN: 2340-8472

ISNNe: 2340-7743

DOI: 10.17561/at

Permanent Seminar Water, Territory and Environment (ATMA). Escuela de Estudios Hispanoamericanos (CSIC).

History of the Journal

The journal Agua y Territorio / Water and Landscape (AYT / WAL) has its origin in the previous activity of the Permanent Seminar Water, Territory and Environment (CSIC). This Seminar was created in 2006 at the School of Hispanic American Studies (CSIC) on the initiative of Dr. Jesús Raúl Navarro García with the participation of a good number of professors from different Spanish and Latin American universities. Several meetings in 1993, 1994 and 2003 and the publication of several research papers helped this union of interests. All of this laid the foundations for collaboration with research groups from the Universidad de Sevilla, the Universidad Pablo de Olavide and the Universidad de Jaén, with the Seville and Andalusian business world in the field of water management, and with the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Programme in Peru. The researchers from these groups contributed decisively to the emergence of this Permanent Seminar.

In 2005, with the debate raised at the EEHA to approve its Strategic Plan, and given the need to encourage its evolution towards a centre for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the creation of this Permanent Seminar was proposed as an instrument for this change, and in 2006 the first Meeting on the History and Management of Water in Andalusia and Latin America was organised.

The main objective of this Permanent Seminar was to serve as a plural space of discussion in which to present the results of unpublished research on water, with its multiple perspectives and from fields such as History, Anthropology, Sociology, Geography, Biology and Economics, among others, in an attempt to permeate the thematic boundaries and encourage research of a transversal nature, paying special attention to the role of Andalusia in the circulation of knowledge on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Permanent Seminar also seeks to promote dialogue with the university environment, attempting to structure collaboration between Spanish and American teachers and researchers through the exercise of criticism and the exchange of ideas, as well as collaborating in postgraduate training. To this end, it will promote efforts to create networks with Latin America as part of its policy of international commitment to facilitate academic exchange, reflection and transnational research that will allow external teams to be incorporated into its activities.

Another of the main functions of the Permanent Seminar is to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and the interrelationship with the Andalusian environment through the signing of agreements with private companies, sectors of civil society and local and regional administration bodies, assuming the responsibility that it has in the scientific field to respond to the new needs of society.

Its members meet periodically, inviting new researchers and speakers with proven academic, work or scientific backgrounds in order to increase the international contacts of its members and to expand the network of researchers of the Permanent Seminar. Many researchers and professors from Andalusian, Spanish, European and American universities and research centres have participated.

Since 2006, the Permanent Seminar has also organised an annual meeting on a specific water-related topic, either at the Permanent Seminar's headquarters in Seville or on the occasion of a relevant international congress.