Conflicts of Interest

The Journal of Computers, Mechanical and Management requires all authors, reviewers, and editors to declare any personal, financial, institutional, or intellectual interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence their conduct in relation to a manuscript. Transparent disclosure protects the integrity of the editorial process and supports informed reading of the published literature.

What counts as a conflict of interest

The journal recognises the following categories, in line with ICMJE guidance:

• Financial interests: employment, consultancy, stock ownership, honoraria, grants, patents, expert testimony, or other financial relationships with any organisation that could be perceived as benefitting from the work.
• Personal relationships: close personal, familial, or romantic relationships with another individual involved in the manuscript or its review.
• Institutional relationships: shared institutional affiliations between authors and reviewers or editors at the time of the work.
• Intellectual relationships: recent co-authorship (within five years), supervisory relationships, or sustained academic disputes that could compromise impartial judgement.
• Other interests: any other relationship or activity that the individual believes a reasonable observer might consider relevant to their participation in the editorial process.

Author declarations

Every manuscript must include a Conflicts of Interest section, listing all relevant interests for each author or stating that there are none. The section is published with the article. Authors who are uncertain whether to declare a particular interest should err on the side of disclosure.

Reviewer declarations

Reviewers must decline invitations where they have a conflict of interest with the authors. Where a conflict emerges after a review has commenced, the reviewer must notify the handling editor immediately. Detailed expectations are on the Reviewer Guidelines page.

Editor declarations

Editors complete an annual conflict-of-interest declaration covering personal, financial, institutional, and intellectual interests. Editors recuse themselves from any submission in which they have a competing interest. The handling of submissions authored by editors is described on the Editorial Independence page.

Publisher independence

The publisher, AAN Publishing, plays no role in editorial decisions on individual submissions. Full details are on the Publisher page and the Editorial Independence page.

How to declare

Authors declare in the manuscript itself, in a dedicated Conflicts of Interest section. Reviewers declare on the OJS review form. Editors declare to the Editor-in-Chief and recuse themselves through the OJS workflow.