Accessibility Policy

1. Accessibility Commitment

The Journal of Personnel Management (JPM), published by SMARCONS (Society of Management Research and Consultancy), is committed to promoting accessibility, inclusivity, and equal access to scholarly knowledge for all readers, authors, reviewers, editors, and other stakeholders, including individuals with disabilities.

JPM recognizes accessibility as an essential component of responsible scholarly publishing and aims to ensure that its journal website, editorial information, and published research content are accessible and usable across different devices, browsers, and assistive technologies.

The journal strives to minimize technological, physical, visual, auditory, and cognitive barriers that may restrict access to academic research. It is committed to continuously improving the usability and accessibility of its digital publishing environment.

Accessibility considerations are integrated into the journal's publication practices wherever technically and operationally feasible.

2. Web Accessibility Standards

JPM works toward alignment with the internationally recognized Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

The journal uses the four fundamental WCAG principles as a framework for improving digital accessibility:

  • Perceivable: Information and user interface components should be presented in ways that users can perceive, including through alternative text, readable content, and appropriate visual presentation.

  • Operable: Website navigation and interactive features should be usable through different input methods, including keyboard navigation and assistive technologies.

  • Understandable: Website content, navigation, instructions, and user interface functions should be presented clearly and consistently.

  • Robust: Digital content should be structured to support compatibility with commonly used browsers, devices, and assistive technologies.

JPM aims to progressively improve its website and published content with reference to applicable WCAG 2.2 recommendations, including Level AA success criteria where feasible.

The journal does not claim full WCAG conformance without appropriate accessibility evaluation and verification.

3. Accessible Journal Website

JPM publishes its scholarly content through Open Journal Systems (OJS) and seeks to maintain a digital environment that supports accessible navigation and interaction.

The journal aims to promote accessibility through the following practices:

  • Clear and consistent website navigation.

  • Meaningful page titles, headings, and content organization.

  • Readable typography and appropriate text presentation.

  • Sufficient visual contrast between text and backgrounds where feasible.

  • Descriptive hyperlinks that communicate their intended purpose.

  • Keyboard-accessible navigation and interactive features where supported.

  • Compatibility with commonly used screen readers and assistive technologies.

  • Responsive presentation across desktop computers, tablets, and mobile devices.

  • Clear instructions for manuscript submission and other journal-related activities.

The accessibility of individual website functions may depend on the capabilities of the OJS platform, installed themes, plugins, and associated technologies.

JPM seeks to identify and address accessibility limitations as part of its ongoing website maintenance and improvement activities.

4. Accessibility of Published Articles

JPM publishes scholarly articles in commonly supported electronic formats, including PDF and/or HTML, according to the journal's publication workflow.

The journal strives to make published articles readable, navigable, and accessible to individuals using different technologies and reading methods.

Where feasible, article preparation and publication practices should incorporate:

  • Properly structured article titles, abstracts, headings, and subheadings.

  • Logical reading order and consistent document organization.

  • Legible fonts and appropriate formatting.

  • Selectable and searchable text rather than image-only text.

  • Meaningful captions for tables, figures, illustrations, and other visual material.

  • Descriptive alternative text for informative images and graphical content.

  • Clearly identified table headers and understandable table structures.

  • Accessible mathematical expressions and scientific notation where technically supported.

  • Functional hyperlinks and appropriately structured references.

  • Document metadata supporting identification and navigation.

Authors are encouraged to prepare their manuscripts using accessible document structures and to avoid unnecessary formatting practices that could create barriers for readers using assistive technologies.

The journal acknowledges that not all historical publications or article formats may fully satisfy contemporary accessibility expectations and aims to address identified limitations where reasonably possible.

5. Assistive Technology Compatibility

JPM recognizes the importance of compatibility with assistive technologies used by individuals with visual, hearing, mobility, cognitive, and other disabilities.

The journal aims to support access through commonly used accessibility tools and functions, including:

  • Screen-reading software.

  • Keyboard-only navigation.

  • Browser-based text enlargement and zoom features.

  • Text-to-speech technologies.

  • Operating system accessibility settings.

  • Assistive input and navigation tools.

Compatibility may vary depending on the user's device, browser, software, and the format of the published material.

Where an accessibility barrier is identified, JPM will make reasonable efforts to investigate the issue and identify an appropriate solution or alternative means of access.

6. Alternative Formats and Accessibility Assistance

JPM recognizes that some readers may experience difficulty accessing specific publication formats or website functions.

Readers who encounter accessibility barriers may request assistance from the journal's editorial office.

Accessibility-related requests may concern:

  • Difficulty reading or navigating article PDFs.

  • Inaccessible figures, tables, or graphical representations.

  • Problems using a screen reader or keyboard navigation.

  • Difficulty accessing article text through assistive technologies.

  • Requests for a more accessible electronic version of published content.

  • Other barriers affecting access to scholarly material.

Upon receiving an accessibility request, the editorial office will make reasonable efforts to evaluate the concern and provide assistance or an appropriate alternative format where technically feasible and permitted by applicable rights.

The availability of alternative formats may depend on the original source files, document complexity, technical resources, and the nature of the requested adaptation.

Readers are encouraged to provide sufficient information about the accessibility difficulty to assist the editorial office in identifying an appropriate response.

7. Author Responsibilities for Accessible Content

JPM encourages authors to consider accessibility during manuscript preparation and submission.

Authors should:

  1. Use clear and meaningful headings and subheadings.

  2. Prepare tables with understandable structures and descriptive captions.

  3. Provide descriptive captions and alternative text for informative figures where applicable.

  4. Avoid unnecessary reliance on color alone to communicate important information.

  5. Use readable text and consistent document formatting.

  6. Ensure that visual material remains understandable when reproduced electronically.

  7. Provide appropriate descriptions or explanations of complex diagrams, charts, and graphical information.

  8. Respond to reasonable editorial requests intended to improve the accessibility of published material.

These practices help improve the usability of scholarly publications for readers with different accessibility needs.

8. Open Access and Inclusive Scholarly Communication

JPM is a fully open access journal committed to providing immediate, free, and unrestricted access to published scholarly research.

All published articles are made available online immediately upon publication without reader subscription fees, paywalls, mandatory registration, or embargo periods.

JPM publishes articles under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Under this license, users may read, download, copy, distribute, reproduce, adapt, translate, and reuse published research for lawful purposes, including commercial and non-commercial applications, provided that the applicable attribution requirements are satisfied.

Users must appropriately credit the original author(s), acknowledge the original publication, provide a link to the license, and indicate whether modifications have been made.

JPM does not impose additional legal or technical restrictions that conflict with the permissions granted under CC BY 4.0.

The journal's open access arrangements support accessibility by reducing financial, subscription-based, and permission-related barriers to scholarly information.

Further information is available in the journal's Open Access Policy and Copyright & Licensing Policy.

9. Long-Term Preservation and Persistent Accessibility

JPM recognizes that accessibility also includes the continued availability and discoverability of scholarly content over time.

The journal supports long-term access to published research through appropriate digital archiving practices, preservation arrangements, and persistent identifiers.

JPM's preservation framework may include recognized archiving mechanisms such as the Internet Archive and the Public Knowledge Project Preservation Network (PKP PN), which uses LOCKSS-based preservation technology, subject to the journal's actual participation and technical arrangements.

The journal also supports the use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), where assigned, to facilitate stable citation, identification, linking, and scholarly discovery.

The details of active preservation services and archiving arrangements should be maintained in the journal's separate Digital Archiving and Preservation Policy.

These measures are intended to reduce the risk of permanent loss of scholarly content and support continued access to published articles.

10. Accessibility Feedback and Continuous Improvement

JPM welcomes constructive feedback from readers, authors, reviewers, and other stakeholders regarding the accessibility and usability of its website and published content.

Accessibility feedback may address:

  • Website navigation difficulties.

  • Inaccessible published files or article content.

  • Incompatibility with assistive technologies.

  • Unclear instructions or submission interfaces.

  • Visual readability and document structure concerns.

  • Suggestions for improving inclusive access.

The editorial office will make reasonable efforts to evaluate reported concerns, identify practical improvements, and coordinate necessary changes with the relevant publishing or technical personnel.

Accessibility improvements may be implemented progressively according to their urgency, technical feasibility, and available resources.

11. Policy Review and Updates

JPM will periodically review this Accessibility Policy to ensure that it remains consistent with the journal's publishing practices, technological capabilities, and evolving digital accessibility guidance.

Updates may be introduced in response to changes in accessibility standards, OJS platform functionality, assistive technologies, scholarly publishing practices, or user feedback.

Significant changes to the policy will be communicated through the official journal website.

The journal remains committed to progressively improving digital accessibility while providing transparent information about its current capabilities and limitations.

12. Contact Information

Readers, authors, and other stakeholders experiencing accessibility difficulties or requiring assistance may contact:

Editorial Office
Journal of Personnel Management (JPM)
Publisher: SMARCONS (Society of Management Research and Consultancy)
Journal Website: https://journals.smarcons.com/index.php/jpm/index
Contact Page: https://journals.smarcons.com/index.php/jpm/about/contact

Accessibility requests should, where possible, identify the affected webpage or article, describe the barrier encountered, and indicate the type of assistance or alternative format requested.

13. Policy Commitment

The Journal of Personnel Management (JPM), published by SMARCONS (Society of Management Research and Consultancy), is committed to promoting equal access to scholarly information and fostering an inclusive digital publishing environment.

Through accessible publication practices, open access licensing, assistive technology considerations, responsive reader support, and continuous improvement, JPM seeks to reduce barriers to research accessibility and strengthen the availability of scholarly knowledge for all readers.

Relevant International Resources