Perspective Articles

As the name indicates, Perspective articles can take a look at a subject from a slightly different perspective. These articles cover personal viewpoints of a field or topic, emerging research trends and techniques, and ethical, legal and societal issues. These articles are targeted towards post-graduate students and researchers (in academia and industry), and should be accessible to readers working in scientific environmental research, sustainability and peace.

 

Manuscript elements

Title

The title should be concise and informative: Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible. The title should be a maximum of 90 characters, including
spaces. Abbreviations and punctuation should be avoided.

Author names and affiliations

Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. Present the authors' affiliation (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a superscript number immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate affiliation.

Corresponding author

Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.

Abstract 

The unstructured abstract of up to 150 words should introduce the main themes of the article in a succinct, easily digestible way to engage a broad readership. All information mentioned in the abstract must be addressed in the main article. The abstract should contain minimal specialist details, no references and no display item citations.

Introduction 

The opening section of the manuscript should provide vital background information and highlight why the topic is of importance. It should also make clear why it is timely to write on this topic. We recommend that you round off this section with a guiding paragraph that states clearly what will be discussed in the article.

Main headings 

Main headings should be used to break up the text. They should be no longer than 32 characters, including spaces, and should avoid abbreviations. Each heading should appear on its own separate line. Headings should be numbered 1. (then 2., 3., ...).

Subheadings 

Subheadings should be used to subdivide main sections to help guide non-specialist readers. Up to two levels of subheadings are permitted, with a maximum of 32 and 70 characters, respectively, including spaces. Subheadings should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc.. Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing. Any subsection may be given a brief heading.

Concluding section 

The article should end with a brief summary of the main points of the article, and include a discussion of the implications of the latest work and possible future research directions.

Acknowledgements (optional)

Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.). You may also use this section to thank any funding bodies.

References 

Approximately 25 references per 1,000 words of article text are recommended. Please keep the reference list as up to date as possible and avoid referring extensively to your own published work. Citations of personal communications should be kept to a minimum and not included in the reference list.

Papers in the numbered reference list must have been published or accepted for publication by a named publication. For in‑press articles, embargo times must be considered, and an e‑mail confirming acceptance from the editors of the original research journal may be required. Meeting abstracts and presentations, or articles deposited in recognized preprint servers, should be avoided but may be included at the editor’s discretion.

In the text, references should be cited by author and year (e.g., Mutembei 2018; Mutembei and  Kavisi 2018; Mutembei et al. 2018) and listed in alphabetical order in the reference list. If there is more than one work by the same author or team of authors in the same year, a, b, etc. should be added to the year both in the text and in the list of references.

*Journal papers: name(s) and initial(s) of all authors; year; full title; journal title; volume number; first and last page numbers. If available, the DOI of the cited literature should be added at the end of the reference in question.

Examples

Mutune, J. M., Hansen, R. E., Wahome, R. G., and Mungai, D. N. (2017). What rights and benefits? The implementation of participatory forest management in Kenya: The case of Eastern Mau Forest Reserve. Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 36, 230-249.

Kavisi, K. M., Mutembei, H. M., and Kaunga, J. M. (2018). Demographic Factors that Affect Adoption of Biogas Technology in Kiambu County, Kenya. International Journal of Innovative Research and Knowledge, 3, 48-57.

Web references

As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given.

General websites can be provided in a ‘further information’ box, but specific online articles should be cited
as a reference using the following format:
Author. Title of online article. Website name. http address (2015).

Display Items

Perspective articles typically contain up to seven display items (Boxes, Figures or Tables) to help explain specific points made in the main text or to explain the background science. These items must be cited in the correct order within the main text in the format (figure 1). We prefer to avoid reproducing material from other publications, unless it is exceptionally informative. For further information, please see the Materials from third parties section.

Boxes
Boxes should be provided as part of the article document. These display items can be useful for explaining basic concepts or for providing peripheral discussions of interest. Boxes must have a short title, can contain a maximum of 300 words and may include an illustration, a table or equations. Subheadings and bullet points are also permitted. Footnotes may be used sparingly.

Figures
Figures can include drawn schematics, photographs, histology slides, medical imaging scans and/or graphs. Each figure must be fully labelled, have a short title and have a concise legend that guides the reader through each component of the figure. All abbreviations must be defined in the legend.

Timeline figures are used to summarize the chronology in which important discoveries took place. Timeline information should be provided in the article document with a figure legend. Schematics will be redrawn and developed by our in-house team of art editors in consultation with the handling editor after the article has been peer reviewed.

Multiple panels (designated a, b, c, and so on) can be included in a single figure. Please bear in mind the following when drafting your figures: be clear in what the figure is meant to show; avoid unnecessary imagery; have a logical flow of information; use colour consistently; and provide additional reference material if necessary.

Photographs should be supplied in at least 300 dpi resolution at their final published size. We support the following image formats: JPEG, TIFF, PSD and EPS. Ideally, photographic files will be in CMYK colour format rather than RGB. We will need to obtain consent to use photographs in which individuals can be identified; please discuss this with the handling editor. Sensitive images will be included in the PDF and print versions of the article only (not the HTML version).

Tables
Tables should be provided as part of the article document. These display items should be clear and as simple as possible, have a short title, no legend, contain at least three columns of data and preferably fit on one portrait oriented A4 page. All cells must have an entry, footnotes may be used and definitions of all abbreviations must be provided. For tables with large amounts of graphical content (for example, chemical structures), please provide separate image files.

Videos
Videos can be included as supplementary information online. We support the following video formats: MP4, AVI, MOV, MPG, QT, WMV and RV. The maximum file size supported is 2 GB.

Submission
Articles should be submitted via our web-based manuscript tracking system. The article files should contain the article and any tables, figures or boxes in a single Microsoft Word document. When the files have been successfully uploaded and received by the handling editor, you will receive an e‑mail acknowledgement.

Please submit the text of your manuscript as a Microsoft Word file (.docx, .doc) and not as a PDF.