Conflict of Interest Policy

Learning Nexus of Computing (LNC) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, fairness, and objectivity in scholarly publishing. To preserve the credibility of published research and ensure impartial editorial decisions, all participants in the publication process—including authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the Editorial Board—must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily imply misconduct; however, failure to disclose relevant interests may compromise the integrity of the peer-review process and public confidence in the published work.

This policy is intended to promote transparency and enable informed editorial decisions throughout the publication process.

2. What is a Conflict of Interest?

A conflict of interest exists when an individual's personal, financial, professional, institutional, or other relationships could influence—or reasonably be perceived to influence—the objectivity, integrity, or impartiality of research, peer review, or editorial decisions.

Conflicts of interest may be financial or non-financial, actual, potential, or perceived.

3. Author Responsibilities

All authors are required to disclose any interests that could influence the interpretation or presentation of their research.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • Research funding or grants.

  • Employment or consultancy.

  • Honoraria or speaker fees.

  • Equity ownership, stocks, or shareholding.

  • Patents or patent applications.

  • Paid advisory roles.

  • Personal or professional relationships.

  • Institutional affiliations that may influence the study.

  • Any commercial or financial interest related to the research.

Where no conflicts exist, authors should include the following statement in the manuscript:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial or non-financial interests that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

4. Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers play a vital role in maintaining the quality and integrity of the peer-review process.

Reviewers must decline or promptly inform the Editorial Office if they have any conflict of interest, including:

  • Collaboration with any author within the recent past.

  • Employment at the same institution as an author.

  • Personal, academic, or financial relationships with the authors.

  • Competitive or conflicting research interests.

  • Any circumstance that may affect their ability to provide an objective review.

Reviewers must:

  • Maintain confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts.

  • Use manuscript information only for the purpose of peer review.

  • Not share, copy, or distribute unpublished material.

  • Provide fair, constructive, and unbiased evaluations.

5. Editor Responsibilities

Editors and members of the Editorial Board must perform their duties independently and objectively.

Editors must not participate in editorial decisions if they have a conflict of interest arising from:

  • Personal relationships with the authors.

  • Institutional affiliation.

  • Financial interests.

  • Collaborative research.

  • Academic competition.

  • Any circumstance that could compromise editorial independence.

Where a conflict exists, editorial responsibility shall be transferred to another qualified editor.

Editorial decisions are based solely on:

  • Scientific quality.

  • Originality.

  • Technical merit.

  • Methodological soundness.

  • Ethical compliance.

  • Relevance to the journal's scope.

Financial considerations, sponsorship, or Article Processing Charges (APCs) shall have no influence on editorial decisions.

6. Editorial Board Members

Editorial Board members are expected to disclose any conflicts of interest before participating in editorial decisions or peer-review activities.

Board members should recuse themselves from handling manuscripts whenever a conflict exists.

7. Financial Conflicts of Interest

Financial conflicts may include:

  • Research grants.

  • Consultancy fees.

  • Employment.

  • Stock ownership.

  • Equity interests.

  • Patents.

  • Royalties.

  • Paid expert testimony.

  • Sponsored travel or accommodation.

  • Commercial partnerships.

Such interests must be fully disclosed during manuscript submission.

8. Non-Financial Conflicts of Interest

Non-financial conflicts may include:

  • Personal relationships.

  • Professional rivalries.

  • Academic competition.

  • Institutional affiliations.

  • Political beliefs.

  • Religious beliefs.

  • Intellectual passion or advocacy related to the research topic.

These interests should also be disclosed whenever they may reasonably influence professional judgment.

9. Funding Disclosure

Authors must clearly disclose all sources of financial support received for the research.

The Funding Statement should identify:

  • Funding agency.

  • Grant number (where applicable).

  • Project title (where applicable).

If the research received no external funding, authors should state:

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this research.

10. Disclosure During Submission

During manuscript submission, the corresponding author must:

  • Declare all conflicts of interest on behalf of all authors.

  • Confirm the accuracy of the disclosed information.

  • Update the Editorial Office if any conflicts arise during the review or publication process.

The Editorial Office may request additional information whenever necessary.

11. Editorial Assessment

The Editorial Office will evaluate disclosed conflicts to determine whether they could affect the integrity or objectivity of the editorial process.

Where appropriate, the journal may:

  • Request additional clarification.

  • Assign alternative reviewers.

  • Transfer editorial responsibility.

  • Publish disclosed competing interests alongside the article.

Disclosure does not automatically prevent publication; rather, it enables transparent editorial decision-making.

12. Failure to Disclose

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest may result in one or more of the following actions:

  • Rejection of the manuscript.

  • Suspension of editorial processing.

  • Publication of a correction.

  • Expression of Concern.

  • Retraction of the published article.

  • Notification of the author's institution or funding agency where appropriate.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to investigate any suspected undisclosed conflicts.

13. Post-Publication Conflicts

If a previously undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after publication, the Editorial Office will investigate the matter in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics Policy.

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, appropriate editorial actions may include:

  • Publication of a correction.

  • Publication of a disclosure statement.

  • Expression of Concern.

  • Retraction of the article where warranted.

14. Confidentiality

All conflict of interest disclosures submitted to the journal will be handled confidentially and used solely for editorial evaluation and publication purposes.

Information will be disclosed publicly only where necessary to ensure transparency in the published scholarly record.

15. Compliance with International Standards

Learning Nexus of Computing aligns its Conflict of Interest Policy with internationally recognized principles of publication ethics and responsible scholarly publishing.

All participants in the publication process are expected to cooperate fully in maintaining transparency, fairness, and academic integrity.

16. Contact

Questions regarding conflicts of interest or disclosure requirements should be directed to the Editorial Office through the official communication channels available on the Learning Nexus of Computing website.

The Editorial Office will be pleased to provide guidance regarding disclosure obligations and the implementation of this policy.