Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right to first publish this work under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution License International CC-BY  (CC BY 4.0).

2. Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.

3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as this can lead to productive exchanges and earlier and greater citations of published work.

Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing

The below guidance only refers to the writing process and not to the use of AI tools to analyze and draw insights from data as part of the research process.

Where authors use generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, authors should only use these technologies to improve readability and language. Applying the technology should be done with human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and edit the result, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as an author or co-author or be cited as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans, as outlined in Elsevier’s AI policy for authors.

Authors should follow the instructions below to disclose in their manuscript the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process. A statement will appear in the published work. Please note that authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.

 Disclosure instructions

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by adding a statement at the end of their manuscript in the core manuscript file, before the References list. The statement should be placed in a new section entitled ‘Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process.’

Statement: During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and took (s) full responsibility for the publication's content.

This declaration does not apply to essential tools for checking grammar, spelling, references, etc. There is no need to add a statement if there is nothing to disclose.