The APHTN-HAN Proceedings upholds the principles of academic integrity, originality, and ethical scholarly publication. Plagiarism in any form is considered unacceptable and constitutes a serious violation of academic ethics. Therefore, the Editorial Board has established the following plagiarism policy to ensure the quality and credibility of all published manuscripts.

All submitted manuscripts will undergo an initial plagiarism screening using plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin. The screening process is conducted by the Editorial Team upon receipt of the manuscript. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 20%, excluding properly cited quotations, references, and bibliographies, may be rejected without further review.

Plagiarism refers to the use, imitation, or reproduction of another person’s ideas, arguments, data, language, or intellectual work without proper acknowledgment, and presenting them as one’s own original work. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Direct copying of text without citation;
• Paraphrasing without proper attribution;
• Unauthorized use of data, tables, figures, or graphics;
• Self-plagiarism or duplicate publication; and
• Submitting substantially similar manuscripts to multiple publications simultaneously.

All manuscripts submitted to the APHTN-HAN Proceedings must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all sources are properly cited and acknowledged in accordance with academic standards.

Any material reproduced from other publications, including the author’s own previous works, must be clearly identified and appropriately referenced. Reproduction of substantial text, figures, tables, or other copyrighted material may require permission from the copyright holder and proper acknowledgment of the original source.

Minor plagiarism involves limited copying of text without significant appropriation of ideas, arguments, or research findings.

Action:
The author(s) will receive a warning and be required to revise the manuscript and provide proper citations before the review process continues.

Intermediate plagiarism involves substantial copying of text, arguments, or structure from another work without adequate acknowledgment.

Action:
The manuscript will be rejected, and the author(s) may be prohibited from submitting manuscripts to the APHTN-HAN Proceedings for a period of one year.

Severe plagiarism involves extensive reproduction of another author’s original ideas, findings, data, or scholarly work, including duplicate publication or fraudulent representation of authorship.

Action:
The manuscript will be rejected immediately, and the author(s) may be prohibited from submitting manuscripts to the APHTN-HAN Proceedings for up to five years or permanently, subject to the Editorial Board’s decision.

Self-plagiarism occurs when authors reuse substantial portions of their previously published works without proper citation or acknowledgment. Authors must clearly indicate any overlap between submitted manuscripts and prior publications.

Manuscripts derived from conference papers, working papers, theses, or presentations may be considered for publication provided that:

• the prior publication or presentation is properly disclosed;
• substantial revisions or developments have been made; and
• permission has been obtained where necessary.

Simultaneous submission of substantially similar manuscripts to multiple journals or proceedings is strictly prohibited and will be treated as a serious ethical violation.

All authors listed in a manuscript are collectively responsible for the originality and integrity of the submitted work. By submitting a manuscript to the APHTN-HAN Proceedings, authors confirm that the manuscript is their original work and complies with this plagiarism policy.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject, withdraw, or retract manuscripts found to violate this plagiarism policy at any stage of the editorial or publication process. The Editorial Board may also take further measures deemed necessary to maintain academic integrity and publication ethics.

This plagiarism policy forms an integral part of the submission and publication procedures of the APHTN-HAN Proceedings and is communicated to all authors upon manuscript submission.