The journal recognizes that authors may, under certain circumstances, request the withdrawal of a manuscript before the publication process has been completed. Withdrawal requests must be handled responsibly and in accordance with the stage of the editorial and peer review process.

Authors who wish to withdraw a manuscript must submit a formal written request to the journal. The request should clearly identify the manuscript and provide the reason for withdrawal. Where a manuscript has multiple authors, the journal may require confirmation that all authors have agreed to the withdrawal.

A manuscript may generally be withdrawn without penalty during the early stage of editorial processing, provided that the withdrawal request is legitimate and does not involve an attempt to circumvent the journal's editorial, peer review, or publication ethics procedures.

Once a manuscript has entered peer review, authors should carefully consider the consequences of withdrawal. Withdrawal at this stage may be accepted at the discretion of the editor, particularly when there is a legitimate academic, ethical, legal, or technical reason. The journal may request an explanation before approving the withdrawal.

Authors should not submit the same manuscript to another journal while it is under active consideration by this journal. Simultaneous submission or withdrawal for the purpose of submitting the manuscript elsewhere without appropriate communication may be considered a violation of publication ethics.

A manuscript that has already been formally accepted or published cannot normally be withdrawn through the ordinary manuscript withdrawal process. Once an article has entered the published scholarly record, any necessary removal or change will be handled through the journal's applicable correction, retraction, or post-publication policy.

If a withdrawal request is associated with suspected plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, authorship disputes, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research practices, or other forms of publication misconduct, the journal may investigate the matter before deciding whether the manuscript can be withdrawn.

The journal may decline a withdrawal request when the request appears intended to avoid an ongoing ethical investigation, prevent the resolution of legitimate reviewer or editorial concerns, or otherwise undermine the integrity of the publication process.

Where a manuscript has been withdrawn after being made publicly available online, the journal may retain an appropriate bibliographic or withdrawal record to maintain transparency and preserve the integrity of the scholarly record. The record may indicate that the manuscript has been withdrawn and, where appropriate, provide a general reason for the withdrawal.

Withdrawal of a manuscript does not automatically remove the authors' responsibility for ethical or legal issues associated with the submitted work. Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, authorship, ethical compliance, and lawful use of materials contained in the manuscript.

The journal will handle withdrawal requests fairly, objectively, and confidentially. Decisions will be made by the appropriate editor based on the circumstances of the request, the stage of the publication process, applicable publication ethics principles, and the need to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Through this Withdrawal Policy, the journal seeks to provide a clear and responsible procedure for manuscript withdrawal while preventing inappropriate withdrawal practices and safeguarding the fairness, transparency, and integrity of the editorial and peer review process.