The Journal of Systems Thinking (JoST)

ISSN 2767-3847

The Journal of Systems Thinking (JoST) is the first and only Diamond Open Access (OA), Minimized Editorial (ME), Scientific-Not-Academic (SNF), Post-Publication Peer Review (PPPR) journal dedicated to advancing systems thinking as a science—not as jargon, ideology, or academic subculture. JoST publishes original work that investigates the nature, structure, and measurable effects of systems thinking across cognitive, empirical, ontological, and practical domains. No Gatekeepers. No Black Box.

Open Access (OA)

JoST is a Diamond Open Access journal—no subscriptions, no article processing charges (APCs), no paywalls. Authors don’t pay to publish. Readers don’t pay to access. Because science should be public, not pay-to-play.

Minimized Editorial (ME)

JoST operates with a Minimized Editorial model—no discretionary curation, no subjective decision-making, no editorial veto. Publication is based solely on meeting clear, public submission standards. Once published, all papers enter open peer review, governed by transparent review criteria. Editors manage process and compliance, not content. Because science needs structure, not gatekeepers.

Scientific-Not-Academic (SNF) Publishing

Post-Publication Peer Review (PPPR)

JoST uses a Post-Publication Peer Review model—no pre-publication gatekeeping, no anonymous veto power, no secret accept/reject decisions. If a submission meets the objective criteria, it’s published. Peer review happens after publication, in full public view. Reviews are signed, visible, citable, and open to response. Because science should be judged by evidence, not by editorial opinion.

Accessibility and Cost

JoST is 100% open access and does not charge:

• Submission fees

• Publication fees

• Page fees

Participation in science should never be gated by financial or institutional privilege.

No Curtain. No Politics.

Every part of JoST’s process—from submission to peer critique—is public, attributable, and fully visible. There are no secret rejections, no anonymous retractions, and no editorial interference. What you see is what happened. What gets published is what meets the criteria

Submission Preparation Checklist

JoST invites work that examines the core physical and cognitive patterns of organization —distinctions, systems, relationships, and perspectives—that underpin how we model, understand, and engage with complex phenomena.

JoST does not act as a content gatekeeper. Editorial decisions are procedural only: formatting, compliance with submission requirements, and ethical integrity. All submissions must pass the objective publication criteria and requirements outlined below. If they do, the work is formally published and assigned a DOI. Submissions will be published if they meet the following criteria. Editors may only reject submissions that fail to meet these objective requirements—never based on content, topic, or perceived merit.

Publication Requirements

• The publication clearly meets JoST’s Publication Criteria

• The manuscript has been edited for spelling, grammar, and readability

• All image/figure permissions are secured and documented

• The submission is under 10,000 words (excluding references) unless prior editorial approval was granted

• The citations use the PNAS bibliography style and a BibTeX file is uploaded

• The manuscript is submitted using the JoST Word template

Publication Criteria

All published articles must:

• State a clear claim or research question

• Describe replicable methods

• Present evidence or theoretical rigor grounded in science (not merely citation)

The editorial team does not judge importance, popularity, or ideological alignment—and neither should reviewers.

JoST’s PPPR model works because editorial decisions are replaced by transparent, rule-based publication criteria. All accepted publications must be one or more of the following:

• Empirical papers with replicable methods, observed data, and clear reporting—even if descriptive or exploratory.

• Theory papers grounded in data and designed to explain or predict phenomena.

• Systems Literature Reviews (SLRs) based on systematic, reproducible selection methods and aimed at mapping or evaluating systems thinking scholarship.

• Theory competitions—direct comparisons between frameworks using empirical evidence, structured critique, and testable claims (e.g., “cage matches”).

Rejection Policy

Submissions may only be rejected if they:

• Fail to articulate a claim, describe a method, or present evidence;

• Contain plagiarism, fabrication, or falsification;

• Include abusive, defamatory, or malicious content;

• Violate submission format or ethical standards.

They may not be rejected due to tone, ideology, novelty, or perceived impact.

JoST Reviewer Guide: Science, Not Opinion

At JoST, peer review is a scientific practice—not an editorial or opinion exercise. Your job is to analyze whether the structure of reasoning and method is sound, not whether you agree with the ideas or find them interesting. Traditional reviews rooted in taste, ideology, or gatekeeping will be flagged and removed.

What Peer Review Is For

Peer review exists to:

• Test ideas publicly in open scientific dialogue.

• Improve rigor through constructive, structured feedback.

• Hold scientific reasoning accountable, not suppress it.

It is not a platform to:

• Showcase your opinions about the topic.

• Persuade authors to adopt your worldview.

• Increase your own citations by coercing authors to cite you.

• Write your own alternative paper in the review section.

Misuse of Review: Common Academic Habits That Don’t Belong Here

Reviews that include the following will be removed or redacted:

• Rambling, unstructured commentary that functions as a monologue or editorial.

• Personal manifestos disguised as critique.

• Demands for self-citation that serve personal citation metrics.

• Meta-commentary about the author’s choice of topic, framing, or theoretical lens—unless these directly impair clarity or validity.

• Rewriting the paper according to your personal agenda.

If you wish to approach the topic differently, submit your own article.

What Counts as a Valid Review

A valid review must assess these four scientific pillars:

Review is not about agreement, interest level, or worldview—it’s about structure and support.

Required Review Structure

All written reviews must include numbered items in the following format:

1. Major Points: Identify any methodological, logical, or evidentiary problems. 

2. Minor Suggestions: Offer practical suggestions for improving clarity, organization, or transparency.

3. Overall Assessment: Summarize whether the paper meets scientific standards.

4. Star Ratings (1–5)
Required for:

• Importance

• Validity

• Completeness

• Comprehensibility

Examples: Appropriate vs Inappropriate Review Comments

Who Can Review

You may review if:

• You have a ScienceOpen account and valid ORCID.

• You agree to publish your real name, ORCID, and comments publicly.

• You follow the JoST criteria and structure above.

Reviews may be:

• Invited by authors, editors, or ScienceOpen members.

• Public and unsolicited, if you meet the criteria.

All reviews are:

• Constructive

• Citable (DOI assigned)

• Licensed (CC-BY 4.0)

• Linked to ORCID

Malicious or Bad-Faith Reviews

Strong critique is encouraged—but it must be evidence-based, logical, and professional.

The following violate JoST policy:

• Personal attacks or ad hominem

• Dismissive commentary without justification (“This is nonsense”)

• Ideological policing instead of scientific critique

• Undisclosed conflicts of interest

• Copy-paste or unstructured reviews

• Deliberate misrepresentation of the paper

Dispute Resolution

• Retain: Review is compliant.

• Redact + Annotate: Minor violations documented.

• Remove: Malicious or non-compliant review is replaced with a public audit note. 

• No single editor may remove a review. All decisions are transparent and logged.

JoST Board

Systems thinking is a basic and applied science, thus our editorial board members are comprised of an array of scholars and practitioners from the public, private and academic sectors, as well as notable faculty and advanced students of systems thinking. They hail from many disciplines with expertise in many systems approaches from across the globe. We especially encourage advanced graduate students to participate in academic publishing in the field as well as involvement in the journal.

Derek Cabrera, Ph.D., Cornell University, Cabrera Lab, STSI Science Board

Dave Silberman, Ph.D., Boston University, Cabrera Lab, STSI Science Board

Gerald Midgley, Ph.D., University of Hull, Centre for Systems Studies

Fran Ackermann, BA, Ph.D., FBAM, GAICD, John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Strategy and International Business Discipline, School of Management and Marketing, Curtin Business School

Gabriele Bammer, Ph.D., Professor of Integration and Implementation Sciences, The Australian National University

Nora Bateson, President of the International Bateson Institute

Kelvy Bird, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Presencing Institute

Stefan Blachfellner, Managing Director, Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science

Sarah Brown, MPA, Strategy Advisor

Cathal MacSwiney Brugha, Ph.D., MSc, MBA, FMII, Emeritus Professor of Decision Analytics, University College Dublin President, Analytics Society of Ireland

Laura Cabrera, Ph.D., Cornell University, Cabrera Lab, STSI

Kristin Vincenzes, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, ACS, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania

Deeanna Burleson, Ph.D., LtCol (ret), Full Spectrum Solutions, Owner, Systemic Excellence Global, Co-Owner

Danny Burns, Professor, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK

Arturo Castellanos-Canales, J.S.D., Co-Founder and Creative Director at Demos Justice

Iffat Sabir Chaudhry, Ph.D., Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi Campus, United Arab Emirates

Shiang Chin, Ph.D., Systems Engineering, Cornell University

Alexander N. Christakis, Ph.D., Institute for 21st Century Agoras

Josep M. Coll, Ph.D., Professor of Strategy, Sustainability and Innovation at EADA Business School

Christa Court, PhD, Assistant Professor of Regional Economics, Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida-Gainesville

Angela M. Espinosa, Ph.D., Fellow of the British Cybernetics Society, Emeritus Fellow, Centre for Systems Studies, University of Hull

Thomas R. Flanagan, Ph.D., Board President of the Institute for 21st Century Agoras

Jeff Foote, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Department of Management, University of Otago, New Zealand

Ramses Fuenmayor, Ph.D., M.Sc., Universidad de Los Andes - Venezuela

Emily Gates, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, & Assessment Department, Boston College

Catherine Hobbs, BSc (Hons) Psychology, Msc Local Governance, Ph.D. Systems Science, Independent, Visiting Fellow at Northumbria University

Ana Magdalena Hurtado, Ph.D., Professor, Arizona State University

Tadeja Jere Jakulin, Ph.D., Full Professor, University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism Studies - TURISTICA.

Bryan Jenkins, BE(Hons), ME, Ph.D., MAdmin, FEIANZ, FIEAust, Adjunct Professor, University of Adelaide; President, Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand

Jennifer Kushner, Ed.D., Assistant Director, CALS Global, University of Wisconsin.

Paulina Lucio-Maymon, MPA & J.D., Juris Doctor and Public Interest Public Service Scholar at American University Washington College of Law.

Ignacio J. Martinez-Moyano, Ph.D., Computational Social Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory and Lecturer at The University of Chicago.

Janet McIntyre, Ph.D., Adjunct Associate Professor,, Flinders University

Anita Mirijamdotter, Ph.D., Professor of Informatics, Linnaeus University, Sweden.

Raquel Muñiz, J.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Law and Education Policy, Boston College.

Eriberta B. Nepomuceno, Ph.D., International Scientist, Director of Albay Research and Innovation Center (ARIC), Office of the Governor, Albay Farmers Bounty Village, Cabangan, Camalig Albay, Philippines.

Nam Nguyen, Ph.D., Director Australia and Southeast Asia, Malik Management Institute, Switzerland

Luis Arturo Pinzon-Salcedo, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Los Andes, Colombia

John Pourdehnad, Ph.D., Visiting Professor at IESE Business School Doctoral faculty, Strategic Leadership Doctorate, and Executive Education, Research and Consulting, Thomas Jefferson University

Roberto Poli, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy of Science, UNESCO Chair in Anticipatory Systems,University of Trento

Raghav Rajagopalan, Ph.D. (Systems Sciences), Fellow (Sumedhas), Fellow, Centre for Systems Studies, Hull; Fellow, European School of Governance, Berlin

César Augusto Ramirez Corzo, Ph.D., Universidad Militar Nueva Granada UMNG: Law Faculty- and Catholic University: Law Faculty.

Jessica Riehl, M.S., M.F.A., Visual Practitioner, Jessica Riehl Consulting, LLC.

Luis Gomes Sambo, MD, Ph.D., D.Litt, Dr.h.c., Specialist in Public Health Professor at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and Honorary Professor at the University of Hull.

Shankar Sankaran, Ph.D., Professor of Organizational Project Management, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala

Anne Stephens, MBA, PhD, BEd, BA Director, Ethos of Engagement Consulting

Resham Thapa-Parajuli, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Central Department of Economics, Tribhuvan University, Nepal Research Fellow, Global Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, Nepal

Priscilla Koo Wilkens, MPA, Cornell University

Susan A. Yoon, Ph.D., Professor of Education, University of Pennsylvania

Jae Eon Yu, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Keimyung University, South Korea
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