Section II
The stakeholders
Article 1. The Director
The Rector appoints the Director of the Antonine University Press (PUA), designated by DPUA, for a three-year term, renewable up to three times. He is responsible for directing this department and, as such, he
- develops the editorial strategy, policy and line of the PUA and submits them to the Rector who studies and amends them, and submits them to the Administrative Council for study and validation;
- elaborates the annual editorial project, which is integrated into the annual action plan, this plan giving rise to the annual provisional budget of the PUA. Then he submits them to the Rector who studies and amends them, and submits them to the Administrative Council for study and validation;
- supervises the implementation of the approved annual editorial project and action plan in accordance with the agreed upon editorial and budgetary lines;
- coordinates with the editors of the Antonine University (UA)'s regular periodicals, as well as those of the annual thematic works, the production of the numbers of these periodicals and annual works, while ensuring that these publications comply with the declared editorial standards and policy of the PUA;
- elaborates agreements for co-publishing, co-production, distribution (paper and / or electronic), subsidy and all forms of editorial cooperation with bodies external to the UA and submit them to the Rector for amendment, validation, and signature;
- elaborates contracts between the UA and the authors of individual works and submit them to the Rector and the authors for amendment, validation and signature;
- defines and distributes the technical production tasks at the attention of the PUA Coordinator and of the internal and external production services of the UA;
- sollicits the technical editorial collaboration of the prepress service GAMM (UA Multimedia Graphic Workshop), when a particular editorial process requires it, and this, through the authority of the Secretary General;
- supervises the completion of authors' contracts as well as co-publishing and distribution agreements;
- writes an annual report to the Rector, summarizing and evaluating the work results in terms of editing, co-publishing, distributing and marketing.
Article 2. The official scientific periodical
2.1. Set up of the periodical
At the request of scientific bodies of the UA, the Rector gives his agreement for the creation of regular scientific periodicals, which are then produced by and attached to these bodies.
2.2. Government
The administration of a scientific periodical is assumed by a chief editor, who must be a teacher-researcher (full or part time) of the UA and who is appointed as such by the Rector, on the proposal of the connecting research body and after the “Antonine University Press” director’s approval. The chief editors assisted in his duties by an editorial committee, made up of researchers (internal and external to the UA) recognized in the chosen disciplinary field (s), and who can be elected to on a national or international scale. The editorial board may include an editorial secretary, responsible for monitoring the editorial process under the direction of the chief editor.
2.3. Function
A specification is established for each periodical assigned at the time of its creation. It describes the objectives, the disciplinary field, the standards, the frequency of publication and the main editorial lines. The editorial committee ensures compliance with these specifications. In accordance with the specifications, the editorial committee, chaired by the chief editor, draws up the editorial policy for the periodical and chooses experts (who may be part of the scientific committee) to ensure anonymous joint control of the articles submitted to the periodical. These experts are called upon on a case-by-case basis by the chief editor according to the configuration of the articles submitted to him. An evaluation of the periodical's activity is carried out on a triennial basis by the DPUA, according to the specifications and the achievements of the past triennium.
2.4. List of regular periodicals
The UA credited three scientific periodicals:
- The Revue des Traditions Musicales (RTM), a musicological journal issued in the French language and published on an annual basis;
- The Revue Pertinence, an interdisciplinary journal issued in the French language and published on an annual basis;
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The Revue des Sciences de l’Education Musicale (RSEM), a musicological journal issued in the Arabic language and published on an annual basis;
All three journals have international reading committees.
In addition, two annual thematic works are published by the PUA:
- The Mélanges Ism ‘Alam, dedicated to the work of intellectuals and contemporary Lebanese public figures;
- The Rector's annual speech.
Article 3. The Author
The designation of “Author” is applied to:
- The chief editor of a regular UA periodical, as the representative of the co-authors of successive issues of the periodical;
- The chief editor of an UA themed annual thematic work, as representative of the co-authors of the annual works;
- The chief editor of a collective work (such as the proceedings of a conference, etc.);
- The author of an individual work;
- The engineer authoring a computer project;
- The musician responsible for an audio CD project;
- The artist responsible for a video project.
The Author may be external to the UA or part of internal UA teams. An author's contract is signed between the Rector and the Author to govern copyright and other related matters.
Article 4. The assessor
The evaluation of publication projects (periodicals as well as collective and individual works) is entrusted to the anonymous review of peer experts.
4.1. Designation
Experts called upon to exercise joint control are appointed from national or international university researchers in different fields of specialization, depending. The project is generally submitted to two assessors (double-blind control). Their advice may include:
- the Editor-in-Chief of the scientific periodical to which the manuscript is submitted;
- the Editor-in-Chief of the collective work (annual thematic work, conference proceedings, etc.);
- the DPUA, when chapters of the collective work, or the conference’s proceedings have not been subjected to the anonymous peer review procedure;
- the DPUA, for individual scientific works.
4.2. The exercise of Control
The project is generally submitted to two assessors with double-blind control. Their opinion can take three forms:
- approval;
- approval subject to modifications of the text to be made imperatively by the Author;
- rejection.
This opinion is taken into account in the final editorial decision.
Article 5. The PUA Coordinator
The PUA Coordinator (CPUA) assists the DEUA in all day-to-day tasks among others. He
- ensures the complete monitoring of the production and editing of each publication, from the submission of the project by the Author to its release and distribution, and this, through directly supervising the work of the ad hoc production service and that of the distribution circuit;
- controls the correct typographical entry of the documents, their linguistic correction and their graphic production, in conjunction with the Author and the DPUA; this task (subject to budgeted compensation) is generally subcontracted to parties inside or outside the UA;
- monitors the implementation of the co-edition, co-production, distribution (paper and /or electronic) and grant agreements with external bodies;
- ensures the proper distribution of UA publications, through distribution networks at national and international levels, in collaboration with the concerned Authors;
- centralizes all publication orders (paid or free) from internal and external bodies of the UA.
Article 6. Ad hoc production services
Depending on the basis and nature of the publication agreed by the DPUA, the latter entrusts the technical finalization to an ad hoc production body under the supervision of the CPUA.
6.1. Correction and layout
This task can be assumed by a single person, responsible, if necessary, for the correction (spelling and typography) and the layout of the text and / or the layout of the cover. This person can be internal or external to the UA and receives a fee for the task. When it is a graphic designer of the prepress service GAMM, this collaborative task is made under the control of the Secretary General and does not entail any additional remuneration. In the case of an artistic product, there will be a postproduction unit or a studio responsible for mastering the CD, coupled with a graphic designer responsible for the technical production of the CD cover.
6.2. Printing and / or pressing
The processes of paper printing and pressing of CDs or DVDs are subcontracted on a case-by-case basis by companies approved by the UA Administration.
Section III
Procedures
Article 7. Editorial strategy and policy
7.1. Editorial strategy and policy
The DPUA develops both the editorial strategy and policy according to the mission of the PUA based on the three-year plans, and submits them to the decision-making authority of the Rector and the Administrative Council (AC).
7.2. Annual editorial project
The editorial project is developed by the DPUA from five sources:
- regular scientific periodicals: the annual editorial project of the PUA includes the provisional publications of the official scientific periodicals of the UA, at the rate of one or two issues per year and per periodical, and this, depending on the projects conveyed by the respective editorial committees of these periodicals;
- annual thematic works;
- rectorial proposals: the Rector proposes annual publication projects in line with the mission and vision of the UA;
- unit proposals: UA faculties and research units propose in their annual action plans some publication projects which are in line with their respective missions and visions. Faculty deans and directors of research units must submit these projects to the DPUA in April of the preceding year for prior study and budgeting, before including them in the action plan and the provisional budget of the said unit. All documents are submitted for final arbitration to the Rector and the Administrative Council;
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editorial projects directly submitted to the PUA: authorities or authors (internal or external to the UA) may propose publication projects that comply with the editorial policy of the PUA. It is the responsibility of the DPUA, with the help of a third-party expert, to judge the relevance of such projects before including them in the annual editorial project.
The DPUA submits the annual editorial project and annual provisional budget to the Rector, who decides on the subject in consultation with the AC, and submits the validated project to the DPUA in July. Priority is given to the publication of UA regular periodicals, thematic books, and conference proceedings organized by UA units. However, a review of the commitments of the PUA in relation to each periodical is carried out triennially. This revision, carried out by the DPUA, may lead to the suspension or the cessation of the publication of a periodical or to the amendment of its specifications. The decision on other publications rests with the DPUA, under the aegis of the Rector.
Article 8. Publication of periodicals
The subject and content of each issue of an accredited scientific periodical are determined by its editorial board.
8.1. Submission of articles
Articles are submitted to the editor, following a call for papers or a solicitation of the author by the editor.
8.2. Items control
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Selected articles are subjected to the process of double blind review by peers who may belong to the scientific committee of the periodical, and who are renowned for their scientific expertise in the disciplinary area of the examined article. Evaluators are requested to give their opinion no later than one month following submission. Their advice may include:
- approval;
- approval subject to modifications of the text to be made imperatively by the Author;
- rejection.
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The chief editor
- takes note of the evaluators’ opinions in the event of convergence; 2.2. arbitrates between the opinions of the assessors in the event of a discrepancy.
- The approval or the required modifications are communicated by the chief editor or by the editorial secretary to the author, who is supposed to make necessary modifications if needed to obtain approval for his article;
- once the final layout is approved by the author of the article and, if necessary, technical control and finalization are done with the help of a third party, printing is authorized and the distribution process inducted;
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the content of the number approved by the editorial committee is entrusted (at least one month before the publication deadline decided) to the CPUA to ensure:
- technical control and finalization, if necessary, with the help of a third instance, including, where applicable, the co-editor of the periodical;
- printing (after approval by the chief editor and the DPUA) by the body approved by the Commissary;
- the induction of the distribution process.
Article 9. Publication of non-periodic documents
Besides regular periodicals, the publication of other documents is subject to a specific procedure, consisting of the following stages:
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a publication proposal is first submitted by the Author or an UA body (Rector, vice-rector, dean or director of a research unit) directly to DPUA. The latter chooses two reviewers (depending on the field and discipline concerned) and entrusts them with the project while respecting the anonymity of the Author. The reviewers are requested to give their opinion no later than one month after submission. Their advice may include:
- approval;
- approval subject to modifications of the text to be made imperatively by the Author;
- rejection.
- The DPUA takes note of the evaluators’ opinions in the event of convergence or arbitrates between the opinions of the assessors in the event of a discrepancy;
- the acceptance or the required modifications are communicated by the DPUA or the CPUA to the Author who is supposed to make, if necessary, these modifications to obtain approval for his article;
- surface corrections and layout are carried out by the responsible body and submitted to the Author for final approval;
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the content of the project approved by the DPUA is entrusted to the CPUA at least two months prior to the publication deadline to ensure:
- technical finalization (graphic design, CD or DVD mastering, etc.) within the ad hoc production body;
- rinting and / or pressing (CDs and DVDs) within subcontracting companies approved by the UA; distribution, through national and international co-publishing and distribution networks and ad hoc subscription systems, this being carried out in collaboration with the editors-in-chief of the periodicals concerned or with the Authors concerned (for non-recurring projects).
Article 10. Orders
The CPUA centralizes internal and external ordering processes for publications, whether paid for or freely granted.
10.1. Sale
In the event of a sale (direct or indirect through a co-publisher or a distributor), a payment slip is prepared for the attention of the sponsor and registered with the Economist of the UA.
10.2. Free copies
Concerning free copies for promotional or gifting purposes, the CPUA issues special “free” order slips. These orders are managed in conjunction with the Accounting Department of the UA and the “Central Depot”.
In addition to free copies reserved for the authors and those reserved for promotions (not exceeding 10% of available stocks), the governing bodies of the UA may request free copies for all publications, subject to stock availability.
Article 11. Promulgation of the Internal Regulations of the Editions of the Antonine University
The Administrative Council of the Antonine University adopted the amended text of the Internal Regulations of the Press of the Antonine University at its meeting on March 2, 2017.
Hadat – Baabda, March 2, 2017