The Security Policy Papers are peer-reviewed scientific publications that focus on monitoring and analyzing a policy or specific issue in the security field within its comprehensive concept. The policy paper provides clear recommendations for the decision makers and are published in Arabic and English languages. The Security Policy papers are free access (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) and official publications issued by the Security Research Center at Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Categories of the Security Policy papers

The Security Policy papers are issued according to the following categories:

Security Policy Analysis Policy papers

The Security Policy Analysis are short, neutral summary of what is known about a particular security issue or problem.  They are a form of report designed to facilitate policy-making and decision maker. These policy papers provide basic information that assist in understanding the issue or problem, and why it should be addressed. Also, these policy papers highlight the alternatives or options related to policies and provide a clear evaluation of their possible outcomes. Finally, the policy papers present arguments through scientific and factual evidences that support their recommendations, and defend their option being the best possible option among several others. The Security Policy Analysis papers are published in accordance with the Security Research Center procedures manual.

Security Concepts

Concepts are of central importance in science and represent an indication of its development level. Therefore, the Security Research Center has attached great importance to incorporate the theme of "Security Concepts" in its publications, through which it introduces the most basic and modern concepts in the field of security sciences and those used in security institutions.

 

General Controls of the Security Policy papers

1. The policy paper should be relevant to the vision and mission of Naif Arab University for Security Sciences and the interests of the Security Research Center.
2. The policy paper should focus on providing solutions and alternatives that decision-makers can benefit from in addressing an issue or problem related to the State public policies.
3. The policy paper should be written in an easy and simple language, and in a straightforward manner, and should not use scientific jargons.
4. The policy paper should be supported by important and official data and statistics in order to describe the issue or problem.
5. To monitor and analyze the general trends of the various opinions concerning the public opinion in the Arab countries on a specific issue or problem, supporters and opponents and conservatives, popular opinion, and official and international media, if any.
6. The policy paper should derive the information and facts related to the issue or problem from their original sources, whether from concerned authorities or institutions or through interviews (with prior approval of the Security Research Center), in order to reach sound results, and develop alternatives or recommendations based on real facts.
7. To determine the issue or problem (the topic of the policy paper), and to provide extensive monitoring and analysis of the policy paper, in order to determine the courses of action.
8. To determine the options, alternatives, or proposed scenarios to solve the issue or problem.
9. To evaluate each option, alternative, or scenario to ensure it is the best solution to the issue or problem.

• To develop an executive perception for the alternative or scenario to ensure it is the best alternative and it is executable.
• The policy paper should provide alternatives to the followed policies or procedures in the issue or problem of the policy paper.
• The policy paper should offer a number of recommendations, arguments, or executive suggestions to address its topic.

Security Concepts Submission Preparation Checklist

1. Title: It should be short and should not exceed three words.

2. Main Text: It should address concept definitions, history of its inception and development, in addition to the theoretical trends that attempted to define it. It should also focus on the most common and agreed upon definitions and avoid controversy.

3. It is necessary to rely on relevant original sources, dictionaries, and modern encyclopedias in both Arabic and English languages.

4. The introduction of the concept should be objective and neutral, and should provide a general, broad, and encyclopedic perspective or approach. Also, it should not call for specific viewpoints, and should not raise ideological differences around the concept. Authors should take into consideration that the primary objective of this introduction is to present the concept, its definitions and uses in security institutions in a simple and easy way to achieve comprehension and understanding for the public.

Publishing Terms and Conditions

The Security Research Center welcomes contributions submitted by scholars, researchers, academics, experts and practitioners in the security field and related fields from all over the world, in accordance with the following terms and conditions:

• Policy papers should be written in Arabic or English.
• Policy papers written in Arabic should also have an abstract in English. Similarly, policy papers written in English should have an abstract in Arabic.
• Authors who are unable to provide an abstract in Arabic must submit a written request to the Editor-in-Chief attached to the scientific paper for the Arabic translation of the abstract written in English.
• Each scientific paper should be accompanied by a letter indicating that the paper has not been submitted for publication anywhere else neither in Arabic nor in English, unless it was a scientific paper presented at a conference. If it is a conference paper, then this should be indicated in the submitted letter and it should be completely re-written, and that either:
• It was not originally copyrighted
• A letter of necessary permissions from the copyright owner should be submitted if it has been previously copyrighted
• Previous scientific policy papers (publications) submitted in another language should be disclosed.
• All submitted policy papers shall be subject to review, the editorial team reserves the right to reject any scientific policy paper, whether in the form of invitation or otherwise, and to make suggestions or modifications before publishing.
• Security Policy Papers should place great emphasis on the originality and quality of the published papers. Where the papers submitted for the first time should be reviewed by the editorial team, which has the right to accept or reject the paper.
• Peer-Review Process

A review process is applied, in which policy papers are sent to experts for their review. The Security Research Center seeks the opinions of experts to evaluate the submitted policy paper with regard to its significance, relevance, quality, and clarity. On receipt of all reviewers’ comments, and potentially further consultation amongst other reviewers, a decision is rendered by the editorial team, who will send the decision to the author of the submitted policy paper. The entire process may take one month.

Possible decisions include:

• Accepted
• Accepted with minor modifications
• Resubmission with major modifications
• Rejected

Publishing Policy

The Security Policy papers are free access publications and follow the free access approach in accordance with the following licensing rules: Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) shown at the following link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

where it is possible to print or download the content from the Policy papers website or their publications for scientific, private, or non-commercial personal use only, provided that all copyright and other proprietary notices are not violated. It is not permissible to modify, publish, reproduce, transmit, translate, or create works derived from others, sell, rent or license all or any part of the content for each of the products or services obtained from the Security Policy papers website or their publications by any means and for any person, except for what is expressly permitted within the followed rules, and by agreement concluded with the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences.

The Security Policy Papers strictly follow the requirements of scientific integrity, citation standards and publishing policies of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regarding confidentiality, conflict of interests and ethical standards.

Ethical Standards

In case the study of submitted papers included the human element in experiments or questionnaires, then it should be made clear whether the procedures followed are in accordance with the ethical standards of the committee responsible for human experimentation at the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, or in accordance with the institution of the author of the paper and/or with the 1975 Helsinki Declaration, as revised in 1983. Personal information of the patient or the researched individual may never be disclosed, particularly in the explanatory material. Every possible effort must be made to protect the identity of patients, researched individuals, victims, or their families. In case the submitted papers included animal experimentation, then it should be indicated whether the institution follows the care and use of laboratory animals policy, and that the required ethical approvals are provided.

The Security Research Center is committed to following up and maintaining the highest standards of research and publication ethics, international guidelines, procedures and policies (such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and The Office of Research Integrity (ORI)) when dealing with any suspected ethical misconduct. If necessary, the Center may exchange relevant information with the necessary third parties (for example, the authors' institutions). All information is treated strictly in a confidential, factual, and non-rushed manner in passing judgements. The journal will also reserve the right to pursue any cases of moral misconduct even after the paper submitted to the journal has been rejected or withdrawn.

Preparation of the Policy paper Template

The following guidelines integrate the standard requirements for scientific policy papers templates submitted to the peer-reviewed to the Security Research Center at Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, and are intended to help authors prepare their policy papers to meet the specific requirements of the Security Research Center so that their work may proceed smoothly through the steps of the publishing process.

Policy papers can be written in Arabic or English and should be submitted via the Security Policy papers website http://spp.nauss.edu.sa/spp .

 

• Text Formatting

Pages of the submitted policy paper must have double line spacing, and shall include text, references. Figures, and tables legends should be uploaded as separate files on the website when submitting the policy paper. Figure legends should be included on separate pages from the figures themselves. If the title page and the abstract are not typed directly in the body of the policy paper, then they should be submitted as a separate upload.

Submitted policy papers, including tables legends, figures and references should be typewritten in (Times New Roman) with a font size of 12, on 8 1/2 x 11 inch (21.5 x 28 cm) or size A4 policy paper, with margins of at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) and double line spacing. Pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page to the last page of the policy paper.

 

• Word Limits

The number of words should be up to 4000 words, (excluding abstract and references). It can be raised to 5000 words in specific cases, policy papers can contain list of references, and submitted policy papers can include a maximum of 6 tables and/or figures in total. As for the English text, the following should be translated to Arabic: (1) the title of the article, (2) the name and institution of each author, and (3) the abstracts. And vice versa for the Arabic text.

 

• Title Page

The title page should include (1) the title of the article in both Arabic and English, with no more than 15 words. (2) the given name, middle name, and last name of each author in addition to the highest degree for each author, not more than two degrees in a particular order. (3) Arabic translation of all authors names. (4) any waivers and (5) the title of the page footer (short title) of no more than 40 characters (including letters and spaces).

The title page in both English and Arabic should include (6) the name and address of the department(s) and the institution(s) where the policy paper was prepared for each author; the address should be where the author is currently working. If the submitted policy paper was prepared in a different department or institution, or in which the author(s) has previously worked, then it should be referred to as "previously ....". (7) corresponding author, current position, address, phone number, fax number, postal address, and e-mail address if different from the first author.

 

• Key Points

The key points should be in the form of three to four sentences, at most, brief and express in a concise and focused manner the main recommendations of the submitted policy paper.

 

• Abstract

The abstract should be in both Arabic and English for all submitted policy papers and should not be more than 250 words.

 

• Keywords

The author should submit at least five keywords that will assist the classifiers in cross-indexing the submitted policy paper. The first word of the keywords should be “Security Studies”. The second and subsequent words should assist in the correct classification of the work so that the work can be found in the databases by interested researchers. Often, the second word can represent one of the security fields, and it is not recommended to use abbreviations for keywords.

 

• Text Structure

7.1 Context and importance of the problem

The introduction to policy papers should focus on the accurate definition of the addressed issue. A clear statement of the problem or issue in focus. A short overview of the root causes of the problem.  A clear statement of the policy implications of the problem that clearly establishes the current importance and policy relevance of the issue.

7.2 Critique of policy option(s)

The aim of this element is to detail shortcomings of the current approach or options being implemented and therefore, illustrate both the need for change and focus of where change needs to occur. In doing so, the critique of policy options usually includes the following:

1. A short overview of the policy option(s) in focus
2. An argument illustrating why and how the current or proposed approach is failing.

It is important for the sake of credibility to recognize all opinions in the debate of the issue.

7.2 Policy recommendations

The aim of the policy recommendations element is to provide a detailed and convincing proposal of how the failings of the current policy approach need to change. As such this is achieved by including:

1. A breakdown of the specific practical steps or measures that need to be

implemented

2. Sometimes also includes a closing paragraph re-emphasizing the importance of action

 

 Body (Body of the Policy paper)

The body of the policy paper should contain several paragraphs, and each paragraph should contain a main concept or idea that clarifies part of the current situation supported by facts and events. The facts and evidence supporting the situation shall be in accordance with the following:

• To use the original texts and published expert opinions in preparing the policy paper.
• To track the variables associated with the studied phenomenon, and to rely on reliable sources and statistics, if any, and quotations and their sources.
• To reach the main concept through logical extrapolation, and to discuss the background of the case and to present the consent of the parties to the case.
• Not to mention the intuitions and side details since that the policy paper will be viewed by people aware of the case.
• To determine general trends of different opinions on the issue: supporters, opponents, conservatives, the popular opinion, and the official and international media, if any.
• To discuss the alternatives or available policy options, the pros, and cons of each alternative or option and to support that with logical and scientific arguments and evidences.
• The used language should be academic and understandable to non-specialists, while avoiding very specialized scientific terms.

 

Citation in the Body of the Policy paper

References are cited in the body of the research without margins, and references should be listed at the end of the research following the American Psychological Association (APA 7th edition) reference style. You can refer to the following website to review the citation method in detail: https://apastyle.apa.org/

 

• Tables

Tables should be submitted in double spacing in a separate file and should not be submitted as pictures. Tables should be numbered consecutively according to their order in the body of the policy paper. A "stand alone" legend should be submitted for each table in Arabic and English. Each column should be given a short or abbreviated title. Explanatory comments should be placed in the footnotes of the table (at the bottom of the table) and not in the title. All non-standard abbreviations used in each table should be annotated in the footnotes. In order to use the symbols within the footnotes, this sequence should be followed *, †, ‡, § **,, ††, ‡‡, §§, etc. If the table was previously published, the original source should be clarified.

Bar graphs and pie charts should only be used where indicated and should be presented in colors. Preferably, wherever possible, the information should be presented in the form of a table.

Legends for Tables

Legends for tables should follow the following pattern [Table 2 - The average height and weight of the patient ...... "]. And in the body: [Table 2 indicates the average height, and ......")

 

• Illustrations (Figures)

Figures can be saved in regular format such as Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) or Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Please do not use PowerPoint, Harvard Graphics, or Paint for Windows, and do not import illustrations into Word. Scanned figures should be in TIFF format with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (images) or 600 to 1200 dpi (illustrations).

Figures should be numbered consecutively according to their order in the body. A "stand alone" legend for each figure should be submitted in Arabic and English, and if the figure was previously published, the original source should be indicated and a written permission from the copyright holder should be provided to republish these figures. Permission is required regardless of the author or publisher, except for documents in the public domain.

As a general rule, the Security Research Center saves the original figures and images in the file of the submitted policy paper during the processing or revision of the policy paper. If figures are added or removed during the processing/revision cycle, then the authors should clearly indicate to the editor to make the appropriate changes.

Legends for Illustrations and Figures

Legends for figures and illustrations should be submitted in a separate file in Arabic and English, doubly spaced and numbered in Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations, for example, [Figure 1- Effects of temperature on DNA concentration]. And in the body: [Figure 1 shows the effect of .........]. Symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters used to describe the parts of the illustrations should be clearly identified and explained in the legends.

 

• Units of Measurement

Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (meters, kilograms, liters, or their decimal multiples). Temperatures should be represented in degrees Celsius. Blood pressure should be represented in millimeters of mercury. Hematological and clinical chemistry measurements should be expressed in the metric system of the International System of Units (SI). In some cases, non-metric units are only permitted if they are the standard in their field of use.

 

• Abbreviations and Symbols

Terms and nomenclature in all disciplines shall be in accordance with current standards and approved lists or with lists approved by appropriate international committees and organizations, the International Anatomical Nomenclature Committee, I.U.P.A.C., I.U.B., the Enzyme Commission, the Committee on International Standardization of Gene Nomenclature (ISGN), etc. Only standard abbreviations should be used. In general, abbreviations in the title, abstract and keywords should be avoided. The full meaning of the abbreviation should be mentioned at its first use in the body unless it is a standard unit of measurement. Liter is abbreviated as L, and micro is abbreviated as μ.

 

• Financial Support

Reference should be made to the donor or the financial supporter for the completion of the submitted paper or any of its works.

 

• Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement should conform to the standard requirements for scientific journals which state: to provide a list of all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship - such as a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department head or persons who provided only general support. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged. Groups of persons who have contributed materially to the paper but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be listed under a heading such as “Clinical Specialists” or “Participating Researchers,” and their function or contribution should be identified and described, for example, “served as scientific advisors”, “critically reviewed the study”, “data collection” or “provided care for study patients”. Since readers may infer that acknowledged persons endorse the data and conclusion in the paper, a written permission should be provided from all acknowledged persons.

 

• Sources and References

The sources and references should be cited in the body of the research without margins, references should be listed at the end of the research by following the American Psychological Association (APA 7th edition) reference style. To review the citation method in detail, you may refer to the following website: https://apastyle.apa.org/.

• Electronic Submission of Policy papers

Policy papers are submitted for electronic publication via the Security Policy papers website: http://spp.nauss.edu.sa , first by registering in the website and then submitting the policy paper by logging in using your username and password. The following items should be checked before uploading the policy paper:

• Policy paper Submission Letter: This letter should contain basic information, including the main author, and a statement signed by the co-authors stating that written permission has been obtained from all the authors whose names appear in the policy paper (template).
• Title Page: As shown in the Guidelines for Authors manual. It should contain the name, address, work telephone number, and e-mail address of the main author.
• Authors’ Contribution: When listing co-authors in the system.
• Key Points of the Policy paper: As shown in the Guidelines for Authors manual.
• Abstract Page: Abstract in Arabic and English with keywords as shown in the Guidelines for Authors manual.
• Body of the Policy paper: The body should be submitted in a separate document as described in the Guidelines for Authors manual and the approved policy policy paper template.
• References: All references should be checked following the APA 7th guidelines for accuracy and completeness.
• Figures: (if any) should be numbered sequentially and should be placed in a separate file with titles in Arabic and English.
• Tables: (if any) should be numbered sequentially and should be placed in a separate file with the titles in Arabic and English.
• Supplementary Files: (if any) should be placed in a separate file with the titles in Arabic and English.
• Acknowledgment of any funding or support for conducting the policy paper.
• Declaration of any conflict of interests.

The following issues should be taken into consideration upon submission:

• Upon approval of the policy paper submitted for publishing, the author(s) is required to provide the original copy of the Copyright Assignment Form duly signed by all authors.
• Publication request and permission to re-publish previously published materials should be submitted, or explanations and data for identifying persons should be used with the policy paper submitted initially.
• The editorial team reserves the right to publish any policy paper submitted under a different category from that specified by the author.
• All factors that may cause conflict of interests, such as possible repeated publication, financial factors, or any other factors should be indicated in the publication request, and the editorial team should be provided with any other information that may be necessary to make a decision in such cases.
• Written permissions should be provided when submitting sensitive personal information that may identify people.
• Written permissions should be provided when people include their contributions.
• In order to publish the submitted policy paper, the Copyright Assignment Form should be signed by the authors. This indicates that all the required approvals and/or statements and/or reviews have been obtained.
• The editorial team reserves the right to request written individual statements or clarifications from the authors.
• Submission of scientific policy papers from a third party will not be accepted without the express written permission from the author(s).

 

• Privacy Policy

Names, e-mail addresses and personal information of the authors and participants in the Security Policy papers entered into the Security Policy Policy papers website will be used exclusively for the purposes specified for these policy papers, and they will not be made available for any other purpose or for any other party, in accordance with the privacy policy at Naif Arab University for Security Sciences.

 

• Disclaimer of Warranty and Liability

The Security Research Center and Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) do not claim ownership of any product to second party, nor do they endorse it or bear responsibility for its contents, including data, information, guidelines, materials, methodology, work methods, and services that can be provided or that are advertised or that are included in the contents of the products available on the Security Policy Policy papers website or their distributed publications. Likewise, the Center and NAUSS do not bear any responsibility for the unauthorized use (in all its forms) of all that has been mentioned previously by any third party, nor they are responsible for any damages or injuries resulting from the use of the products' content by any other party.

 

• Restrictions on the Use of Content

The Security Policy papers are free access publications that follow the free access approach in accordance with the following licensing rules: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) showed at the following link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ where it is possible to print or download the content from the Policy papers website or their publications for scientific, private, or non-commercial personal use only, provided that all copyright and other proprietary notices are not violated. It is not permissible to modify, publish, reproduce, transmit, translate, or create works derived from others, sell, rent or license all or any part of the content for each of the products or services obtained from the Security Policy papers website or their publications by any means and for any person, except for what is expressly permitted within the followed rules, and by agreement concluded with the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences.