The co-chief editor of a new research journal hopes more Bermudians will submit work for the publication’s second edition.

Kyaida Lanthier and Ywione Darrell, co-chief editors of the Bermuda Journal of Academic Research, helped launch the publication last year as a way to connect researchers and shape policy on the island.

Ms Lanthier hopes the journal’s first edition, published online this month, will inspire more Bermudians to contribute research.

She explained: “When we first talked about the journal to our peers and family members, a lot of them didn’t know what an academic journal was, so I think after reading it, we’re more likely to get more local submissions this time.”

Mr Darrell said: “Hopefully [this journal] breeds more research here, but that may also breed better policy and other non-research-oriented outcomes that are beneficial to the island.”

The journal is accepting submissions for its second edition, which the team hopes to publish by the end of this year, from March 29.

Mr Darrell said: “We’re having discussions about a conference over the summer, we’re looking for sponsors and individuals in the community to help facilitate this conference, and I think the deadline for submissions will be around then.

“We’re thinking of either before or after Cup Match as a deadline, but we’ll also be flexible with that, it’s in the early planning stages.”

He also provided guidelines for those interested in submitting research, adding: “We don’t want this to be like you’re going down to a pub and having a conversation with somebody across the bar from you, you want to meaningfully engage with the literature, present your argument in a nuanced way and we don’t want these to just be opinion pieces.”

Lawyer Ryan Robinson Perinchief, of the University of Durham, explores cannabis prohibition, its disproportionate impact on minority groups and the case for reform in the journal’s first peer-reviewed submission.

The abstract for the article summarises that the “war on cannabis” was linked to racial prejudice and discrimination, leading to disproportionate criminalisation and social exclusion.

It states: “This dissertation contends that the current regime of cannabis prohibition does not justify its disproportionate and negative effects, which are contrary to democratic equality.

“Furthermore, in consideration of shifting attitudes in global cannabis policy and emerging trends towards legalisation and commercialisation, an equality-based approach must be adopted to remedy injustices directly inflicted by prohibition and restore full enjoyment of democratic equality.”

The 56-page journal also features four submissions from aspiring researchers, reviewed and edited by the BJAR editorial team.

Liyah Anjum of King’s College London submitted an article centred on gender, socio-economic status and violence in partition narratives, while Ana Van Der Ree of the University of Oxford completed an article on how agricultural households are impacted by labour supply shock.

Meanwhile, Njavwa Sanga of the University of Oxford presented an article on Zambia’s 2020 debt default and Jude Snelling of the University of Exeter authored a paper on gauging the impact of economic costs of trade conflicts.

Ms Lanthier and Mr Darrell thanked the entire journal team and the editorial board comprising Carika Weldon, Tracey Harney, Craig Simmons, Kim Dismont-Robinson and Steven Klein for their support.