Background
DECENT Database is an Australian owned project with a mission to develop a decentralised database for research materials that are affordable, rewarding, and accessible from all over the world.
This document highlights the privacy policy for the collection of online datasets, the usage policies and practices of such datasets as it applies to DECENT Database and assures users of our commitment to protecting personal information. We endeavour to comply with Australian laws and regulations that apply to collecting, preserving, and protecting personal information. We are, however, not limited to the Australia Privacy Act 1988 but will also ensure that we adhere to US privacy laws, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other relevant laws. However, it must be noted that the DECENT Database website may contain, in some pages, links to other websites that contain content over which we have no control. Thus, we are not liable for the privacy policies or practices of other websites that you may visit through a link on the DECENT Database website.
The DECENT Database privacy policy is designed to inform you how we collect and use your data (personal information) in association with our business when you access our website through a computer, mobile phone, or other devices. This Privacy policy also explains what rights you have to access or change your data. Thus, the DECENT Database privacy policy does not apply to information collected in any other way such as offline.
By registering or using our website, you fully consent to abide by our Privacy policy (subject to improvement over time) as regards to the collection, storage, and use of your personal data. If you do not agree with any of the policies, please do not use the website(s) in any way or provide us with your personal identity. Note that the terms and conditions of this privacy policy apply only to the extent that they are agreeable with the applicable laws in respective countries where the DECENT Database is been used.
1. Definition of terms
In this privacy policy:
• “Site” means our website https://www.decentdatabase.com/
• “Database” means a collection of organised information in the regular structure of a website.
• “Contribution” means any submissions, edits, data, or information (in any form) you make available via your account including, but not limited to, uploading of any articles or edits to articles.
• “Personal data” means any information relating to an individual who can be identified by reference to an identifier such as a name and physical address, email address/es, an online identifier, telephone numbers, location data, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, genetic, or social identity of that person.
• “Conflict of interest” means matters outside the research which could be rationally perceived to affect the objectivity or neutrality of the work or its assessment.
• “Author” means an individual who creates an article and submits such to be considered for publication in one of our journal outlets.
• “Editor” means an individual who reviews submitted articles on the DECENT Database.
• “Reviewer” means an individual who is engaged by DECENT Database for peer review. Submitted articles are assigned to reviewers for critical assessment, and the recommendations of the reviewers contribute to the decision of whether the article will be rejected or accepted for publication in one of the journal outlets of DECENT Database.
• “You” and “your” means an individual visiting the Site (DECENT Database), registering an account with DECENT Database, or using any of the services on the DECENT Database website.
2. Information we collect
When you visit the DECENT Database website, you might provide some information to us. Such information includes contact information you knowingly choose to reveal, your location, billing information to undertake a purchase or any form of transaction on the DECENT Database platform, demographics and additional individual information, and technical information collected as you access our website.
Contact information
While interacting with the DECENT Database website, especially when registering for the first time as an Author, Editor or Reviewer, we may request that you provide personal information including your name, physical address, institutional affiliation including job title, ORCID ID, email address, and telephone number. This information may also be requested from users who registered incompletely, ab initio.
Information regarding institutional affiliations is particularly crucial in the event of organising and managing subscription package services for institutions, in which case an institutional user ID will eventually be requested/required.
Billing information
We may request that you provide your credit card number and other transactional details to process payment for articles to be published or when making purchases on the DECENT Database website.
Demographic information
In some areas of the DECENT Database website, we may collect demographic information such as your gender, educational degrees, age, career focus and discipline, ethnic background, interests, location etc.
Technical information
We may collect information without limitation, about the computer, mobile phone, or other devices you use to access the DECENT Database website. The information, which may be collected automatically by DECENT Database, may include the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the device or computer network used to access our website, browser type and language, the website that linked a user to our site, domain names, time zone settings referral source, specific searches and queries that you conducted via our websites and referring invitation link. This type of data will be collected automatically through servers, using cookies and other established technologies. Cookies will also be used to enable the website to remember user’s actions and preferences such as login, language, and different display preferences so that, over time, you do not have to re-enter such information repeatedly. Use of cookies is strictly in the interest of enhancing the user experience of our website. However, a user of DECENT Database has the right to control the use of cookies. You can delete all cookies and set your browser to prevent them from being placed but blocking cookies may obstruct the ability to register, login, and gain unlimited access to areas on the DECENT Database platform.
Information provided by users
Any information provided to DECENT Database may be collected when you:
• Register via the website as an author.
• Submit, resubmit, edit or review a manuscript via the website’s database depending either as an author, editor, reviewer or administrative staff.
• Submit correspondence to us either by post, email or via our site.
• Contact DECENT Database to make an enquiry, provide feedback or make a complaint over the phone, by email, or on our Site. Such contact may be made by anyone contacting DECENT Database to make enquiries, purchases, discuss or subscribe to institutional memberships or for any other reasons.
• Subscribe to our mailing lists or blog.
• When a user “follows”, “likes”, posts to, or interacts with our social media accounts.
• Contact DECENT Database by email or over the phone.
• Visit our office in person.
3. The use of your information
In order to shape your user experience and provide the best services possible, DECENT Database may use the collected information for the following purposes:
• Internal research and development purposes in addition to testing and improving the quality of our Website.
• To communicate with users through email, postal mail, or other communication services. The communications could be, but are not limited to, information about updates and additional listings which may be of interest to you.
• To improve both the user experience and the effectiveness of the site.
• To identify any possible or actual Conflict(s) of Interest, which may compromise the objectivity or neutrality of an article or its review process (for academic publication purposes or by your approval where we have requested it).
• To help create, customise and personalise contents on the Website, facilitate its use, improve quality, track invitation links, and evaluate page response rates.
• To exchange information, communicate, manage, organise, administer or regulate our relationship with you, which may include notifications about changes to our privacy policy, and requests for reviews and surveys on the website.
• To carry out anonymised and aggregated research about general engagement with our Site and the research materials made available.
4. Retention and deletion of information
DECENT Database retains indefinitely all the personal information gathered about authors, editors, reviewers, and other users or subscribers as required to fulfil our legitimate business interest in conducting and managing our business and our relationship with you, which includes the legitimate interest we have in:
• Providing an excellent publication meeting the expected standards of academic quality and research integrity.
• Improving optimisation and security of our network, sites, and services.
• Limiting access of your personal information to those in our company who need to use it in the course of their work.
• Enhancing, personalising, and improving the services and/or communications that we provide to you.
• Ensuring optimal levels of physical and digital security of our equipment and devices by employing the use of password protection and encryption.
• Fraud prevention and detection, including operating a safe and lawful business.
Your personal information will be kept for as long as your account is active. This practice complies with our legal obligations (which honours opt-outs), dispute resolution, and the enforcement of our agreements to the extent permitted by law. If there is no legal source or other requirements for keeping your data and following several months of dormancy or no activity from you, any information that is no longer required will be removed.
5. How we share information
DECENT Database does not disclose or share your personal information to third parties except as set into the view of the following:
Contact information
If your manuscript is submitted via the DECENT Database website for publication, it is our policy to send your name, title, and an abstract of your paper to our editors and reviewers for the legitimate purpose of gauging their interest in reviewing your paper.
Billing information
DECENT Database may reveal your personal information to third parties that perform specific roles on our behalf, such as process transactions and payments. In such cases, however, we require that such authorised third-party service providers institute safeguards to protect the confidentiality of your personal information.
Technical information
DECENT Database may reveal your information to third parties that perform specific roles on our behalf, such as shipping agents and IT service providers, web and technical support providers, analytics and site usage information, and advertising and promotional assistance in order to provide outsourced help with the operations of the Web Service functions and provide other services related to the operation of our business. We require third parties to maintain appropriate security to protect your information from unauthorised access or processing.
6. International transfer of your information
DECENT Database is located in Brisbane Queensland, Australia. However, personal data captured on the DECENT Database website may be accessed, transferred to, and stored globally at destinations outside the European Economic Area (hereinafter "EEA"). Many of the external third-party entities that provide services to us such as providing hosting and IT services, web, and technical support and journal production servers are based outside the EEA. Thus, processing of your data may involve a transfer of data outside the EEA. Please note that by providing your personal information you give express consent to the international transfer of your data.
7. Your rights over personal information
Every user of DECENT Database has certain rights in respect of the information held about them (you). These rights include:
• The right to request from us access to personal data we store about you.
• The right, in certain circumstances, to ask us to stop processing information about you.
• The right to opt out of having your personal information used by DECENT Database to send you promotional correspondences.
• The right to object to direct marketing from DECENT Database.
• The right to demand that we correct or rectify any information that we hold about you which is incorrect or out of date.
• The right to object to processing for purposes of scientific, historical research and statistics.
• The right to be kept up to date on how we use your information, as we seek to do in this privacy policy.
8. Child protection
DECENT Database website is modest, and effort will be made to keep the contents and communications decent. However, the website is designed for adults aged 18 years and above, and not children. Thus, we will not deliberately collect information of individuals much younger as we make effort to abide by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA).
9. How to contact us
For any concerns, questions or suggestions about the processing of data, how you may exercise your rights or about our privacy policy, we can be contacted at:
Address
Brisbane, Australia.
Email address
admin@decentdatabase.com
10. Changes to this privacy policy
The management of DECENT Database reserves the right to change the current privacy policy periodically. However, we will post any changes to our site or notify you of any material changes by email, and efforts would be made to ensure that changes are applied prospectively. This privacy policy was last updated September 2019.
Thank you for using DECENT Database website.