RAME PUBLISHERS

A conflict of interest (or competing interest) exists when professional judgment concerning the primary interest—such as the validity of research, objectivity of peer review, or editorial decisions—may be influenced or compromised by a secondary financial, personal, or institutional interest. RAME Publishers and this journal require all participants in the publication process (authors, peer reviewers, and editors) to declare any real, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.

• Mandatory Disclosure: At the time of manuscript submission, corresponding authors must submit a completed Conflict of Interest statement on behalf of all contributing authors.
• Financial Interests: Authors must disclose all funding sources supporting the submitted work, including research grants, commercial sponsorships, honoraria, stock ownership, advisory roles, patents, or paid expert testimonies received within the previous 36 months.
• Non-Financial Interests: Authors must disclose relevant non-financial connections, such as unpaid board or advisory memberships, personal relationships with editorial board members, or strong ideological/political affiliations that could appear to bias the work.
• Declaration Placement: If no conflicts exist, the published article must include an explicit statement within the manuscript:

Peer reviewers must decline the invitation to evaluate a manuscript if they:

• Maintain a recent or active collaborative, supervisory, or mentorship relationship with any listed author.
• Stand to gain or lose financially from the publication or rejection of the manuscript.
• Have direct commercial or academic competition with the findings presented.

Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors will recuse themselves from handling any manuscript authored by colleagues from their immediate department, close personal associates, or projects in which they have a financial stake. In such events, an independent editorial board member is designated to manage the review process and final decision.