Focus and scope

ACTIO Journal of Technology in Design, Film Arts, and Visual Communication is an annual journal created, and published since 2017, at the National University of Colombia. Participants are the Bogotá Campus, through the School of Graphic Design, the School of Industrial Design, the School of Cinema and Television, the Technological Research Institute, and the Institute of Studies in Communication and Culture (IECO); the Medellín Campus, through the School of Architecture; and the Palmira Campus, through the School of Engineering and Administration. The journal’s main objective is to publish original, previously unpublished articles that are the result of creation and research in the thematic areas of technology in design, film arts and visual communication, for disciplinary and transdisciplinary teaching of these areas. The journal publishes articles in Spanish, English, French, Italian and Portuguese.

ACTIO Journal of Technology in Design, Film Arts, and Visual Communication endeavors to be a teaching and communication platform for national and international communities of design (architectural, graphic, industrial, among others), film arts and visual communication. At the same time, it aims to be an instrument for catalyzing transdisciplinary debate through the dissemination of works of creation, research and reflection on issues relevant to the fields, not only Latin American and Colombian, but global as well, understanding that technology transcends continental borders. Technology is conceived on the basis of a broad vision: as artefacts, as knowledge, as an imposition of the market, politics and industry. It is an invitation to reflection from the perspective of doing, knowledge and power. ACTIO thus hopes to contribute to the building of more informed, critical and active communities in the areas of interest.

ACTIO Journal of Technology in Design, Film Arts, and Visual Communication is aimed at national and international undergraduate and graduate students, professors and professionals in the fields of design, film arts and visual communication, which include the arts, humanities and engineering in general, since technology is something that includes technical and social aspects in a seamless fabric.

The journal has the following sections: “Editorial,” in which the publication is introduced and contextualized, and the most relevant aspects of each edition are highlighted; “Articles,” which includes the texts that address different topics around technology in design, film arts and visual communication; and “Reviews,” which highlights recent publications that are relevant to technology in design, film arts and visual communication. The journal may publish thematic or special editions, based on the interests of the editors. The Editorial Committee may also decide to add other types of texts (dialogues, discussions, letters to the editor).

ACTIO Journal of Technology in Design, Film Arts, and Visual Communication has an open-access policy, and so all of the published contents can be consulted for free on the Internet and downloaded for academic and professional purposes. The use of the journal’s contents is conditioned on the proper citation of articles, authors and texts. Reproduction of the contents is subject to prior consultation with, and authorization by, the publication’s Editorial Committee.

Section policies

Articles

Submissions are accepted. Articles are reviewed by peers, based on the “Peer Review Process.”

Reviews

Submissions are accepted. Reviews are evaluated by peers, in accordance with the “Peer Review Process.”

Other texts and graphics

Dialogues, discussions and other texts and graphics (in different formats, e.g., sound, video) may be requested from specific authors. These documents are reviewed by peers, in accordance with the “Peer Review Process.”

Peer Review Process

Article review stages

The article referee process is without cost to the journal’s collaborators. All articles submitted for publication will be reviewed in the following three stages, depending on the first review:

The article will be reviewed by a member of the Editorial Team, who will make sure that the text complies with editorial rules and the journal’s guidelines. If it does, then it will be sent to peer reviewers.
If it appears that the article does not comply with the rules and guidelines, it will be passed to a member of the Editorial Committee, who will review the text in more depth and will decide whether to send it to peer reviewers or to reject and archive it. The Committee member will issue a “pre-opinion,” which will be sent to the author of the text for his or her information.
An article that receives a positive review from the Editorial Team or the Editorial Committee will be reviewed by two (or more) referees outside the institution who are experts on the subject. These reviews will give rise to one of three types of results: publishable, publishable with modifications, or not publishable.

These reviews will be sent to the author of the text so that he or she can make the relevant corrections or learn about the final decision. In some cases, when the required modifications are important, the text will be forwarded to a member of the Editorial Committee for an opinion on its progress.

Possible results

The articles will be accepted for publication under two results: publishable and publishable with modifications. The latter means that the article will be returned to the author to make the changes required by the peer reviewers. Once it receives the final version, the Editorial Committee will determine whether or not the article complies with the final publication criteria.

Review method

All of the review processes, from the Editorial Committee to the peer reviewers, use the double-blind peer review system. None of the people who review the text know the author’s data, and the authors will not have knowledge of the person reviewing their texts.

The reviewers are selected from a database that is constantly being built and updated.

Review criteria

The review criteria will consist of technical and scientific quality; innovation in method, results or applications; clarity of presentation; and whether the article falls within the scope of this journal. Correct and clear citation of references and textual unity will also be taken into account.

Disputes

ACTIO Journal of Technology in Design, Film Arts, and Visual Communication is committed to resolving disputes, through the Editorial Committee, when peer reviewers indicate that they have a conflict of interest with respect to the text to be reviewed. The journal guarantees that it will select the most suitable reviewers in terms of thematic and academic compatibility. In cases of doubt, the Editorial Committee will always resolve these cases.

Review of other types of text and graphics

Reviews, dialogues and discussions will not necessarily go through these three reviews. These kinds of texts are sent directly to a member of the Editorial Committee, who will make the final decision.

Style review

Articles in Spanish will undergo a style review once they are accepted for publication. Articles submitted in other languages (English, French, Italian or Portuguese) must be submitted to a style review at the author’s expense. Therefore, the authors must send a certificate of style review by a professional.

Contact for article submissions and information

actio_nal@unal.edu.co

Information on open access and use of images

The content and opinions included in the articles published by ACTIO Journal of Technology in Design, Film Arts, and Visual Communication are, to all effects, the exclusive responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the journal’s point of view. Any legal liability affecting the articles and their content (in any format they may have, written, sound, graphic, video) is the exclusive responsibility of the signer.

The Journal is not responsible for aspects related to copy, plagiarism or fraud affecting the articles published therein, both regarding texts, images or other protected content. It therefore asks the authors to respect and abide by all national and international norms regulating these materials, including the right to quote. The content of the articles is the exclusive responsibility of the authors.

The articles published have open access, allowing to copy and redistribute the published articles, under the following conditions:

The author and original source of publication (name of the journal, volume, number, page numbers, year of publication, title of article, publisher and article’s URL) are quoted;
The articles are not used for commercial purposes;
No part of the published material is modified;
Due authorization for the reutilization or reedition of the published material is requested; and
The existence and specifications of this license of use are mentioned.

Ethics and good publishing practices

ACTIO Journal of Technology in Design, Film Arts, and Visual Communication ensures the confidentiality and quality control of information. It will reject works that are not unpublished and original; that fabricate, falsify or manipulate data; that would constitute redundant publication; that involve improper or fictitious authorship; that would constitute fragmented, duplicate or self-plagiarized publication; and that include excessive self-citations and references that have not been consulted. Authors will not be asked to cite production of the journal ACTIO for any reason. ACTIO will not publish articles that present a conflict of interest or that have problems with human ethical reviews derived from experimentation. If an article that has already been published contains fundamental errors detected by the author that impair its scientific quality, the author may request its withdrawal or correction. But if a third party detects plagiarism or errors, the author will be obligated to retract the article, which will lead immediately to the article’s withdrawal or public correction.

Editorial structure

Co-editors-in-Chief

Considering its disciplinary and transdisciplinary nature, the journal has three Co-editors-in-Chief, one for each area: design, film arts and visual communication. ACTIO Journal of Technology in Design, Film Arts, and Visual Communication also has editors associated with the different units of the university that make up the journal.

Editorial Committee

The Editorial Committee is made up of the Co-editors-in-Chief and a group of two experts for each area, associated with national and international universities.

International Scientific Committee

This committee is made up of national and international experts who collaborate on the review process and generally support the publication in order to guarantee its quality.