GEOSCIENCEWORLD PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy describes GeoScienceWorld’s privacy practices (“GSW,” “our,” “we,” or “us”) concerning personal information.  If you provide us with or we obtain certain personal information by which you can be identified, including when using any GSW website (these include www.geoscienceworld.org, www.community.geoscienceworld.org, https://lithosphere.kriyadocs.com/submission/gsw/lithosphere and any others released by us in the future (“GSW Websites”)), this information will be used in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy explains what happens to any personal data that you provide to us or that we collect from or about you.  It also explains how you may control the use of your personal information by us.  In circumstances where GSW is collecting personal information on behalf of a third party (such as a GSW member society (a “Member Society”)), that Member Society’s privacy policy will apply.

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time by updating this page. If this occurs, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it. You should check this page from time to time.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect information in a variety of ways, depending on the way we are interacting with you.  This information includes information we collect when you use the GSW Websites, information you provide to us (such as when you make an account as a registered user) and information we receive from third parties.

Information we Collect Through Cookies and Analytics Tools

When you visit our Websites or interact with our communications, GSW and our third-party partners automatically receive and record information on our server logs from your browser or device such as the name of the domain and host from which you are accessing the internet, the internet protocol (IP) address of your computer or other device, the type of browser software you are using, and the resources that you access. The technologies we use to collect this data may include cookies and analytics tools, including Google analytics, that store unique identifiers or other information on your device for later use.  We may use pixel tags and cookies in the emails we send to you in order to analyze how and whether you interact with those messages.  Additional information will be added here as it becomes available. For additional information on your personal data and Google analytics, please see https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.  To prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics, download and install the browser add-on.

Information we Obtain from you

We also collect information that you provide to us when you do any of the following:  register for an account on a GSW Website (such as name, email address, phone number, employer, job title, user name, password), complete forms on a GSW Website, such as when you signup to receive email alerts or register for personalization options on a GSW Website (including information about your preferences and interests), visit our booth at a conference or event, apply for employment, submit a manuscript to our journal Lithosphere, and or communicate with us for any reason, including purchasing a product or service, completing a survey or submitting a question or request through the feedback and contact us forms on the GSW Websites.  You can update or delete your account and preference choices at any time through your account or by emailing us at [email protected].

Information we Obtain from Third Parties

We also may receive personal information about you from third parties such as vendors, service providers, your organization, affiliates, and publicly available sources (such as information services, social media, and websites).  GSW sometimes is retained by our Member Societies to provide administrative or other services to their members.  Under those circumstances, GSW is collecting information on the Member Society’s behalf and according to their instructions and Privacy Policies.  GSW also collects personal data from or about researchers in the geosciences that may be interested in publishing in a GSW journal or suggested as a reviewer.

LEGAL BASES FOR PROCESSING

We “process” or use your personal information on the following legal bases.

Our Legitimate Interest

            In many cases, we process your personal information based on our legitimate business interests.  These legitimate business interests may include providing you with products or services, providing our publishing or technology partners with the information they need to perform contracted services, providing you with information through a variety of channels about our products and services that may be of interest to you, publishing scholarly journals and understanding our customers.  These processing activities include, but are not limited to, for example, recording your communication and marketing preferences, so we provide you with the information you have requested or do not contact you if you have asked us not to do so.

Contract

            We also may process your personal information, including financial information, based on contracts we have entered with you to provide you with products or services or in the case of employment or anticipation of employment. 

Consent

            In circumstances where you have given us permission to process your personal information for a specific purpose, such as signing up for a mailing list, we process your personal information based on your consent. 

Legal Necessity

            In other circumstances, we may process your personal information where we are required to do so by law, such as when we are ordered to do so by a court of law or government regulation.

HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect and use your personal information for the following purposes:

To Provide you with our Products and Services

We process your personal data to provide you with our products and services.  For example, we need your email address to provide you with updates you have requested, respond to your inquiries, or to notify you of the availability of a service. 

To Better Understand our Users and Improve our Products and Services

We also may receive personal information about you from third parties such as vendors, service providers, affiliates, and publicly available sources (such as information services and websites) to better understand our users and improve our products and services.

To Understand how our Websites are Being Used

When you visit our Websites, GSW and our third-party partners automatically receive and record information on our server logs from your browser such as the name of the domain and host from which you are accessing the internet (for example, aol.com or stanford.edu), the internet protocol (IP) address of your computer or other device, the type of browser software you are using, and the resources that you access. This information is used to understand how our Websites are being used.

To Bill our Customers

We use your personal data to complete ecommerce transactions, monitor for fraudulent activity and minimize credit risk.  Ecommerce transactions on our sites are managed by third party transaction providers, such as PayPal and its affiliates or Copyright Clearance Center. Credit card or account numbers are not visible to GSW employees.

To Personalize our Products and Services

We improve your user experience by using your personal data to provide you with seamless access to the information you have requested or are most likely to use.

To Monitor Compliance with our Terms and Conditions, including our Copyright Policies

We use your personal data to monitor the use of our GSW Websites to ensure such use complies with our terms and conditions, applicable subscription and other use agreements, and to ensure copyrights to the content are respected. 

To Keep in Touch with our Customers

We use your personal data to keep in touch with you as a user of our GSW Website(s) and user or potential user of GSW products and services to inform you of your orders, subscriptions, new products and services, and other information we believe will be of interest to you. 

To Reach out to Authors, Reviewers, and Potential Authors and Reviewers

GSW collects personal information of authors, reviewers, and potential authors and reviewers and uses that information to reach out to those individuals to invite them to publish in or review articles to be published in our journal Lithosphere.

To Publish our Scholarly Journals

GSW collects personal information of individuals submitting manuscripts for publication in Lithosphere and uses that data to process those submissions and publish Lithosphere.

HOW WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Participating Publishers, Governing Bodies, Members of our Staff

As a nonprofit collaborative organization, we may share some customer data (including your personal information) with our staff, Member Societies, participating publishers, and governing bodies. We provide our publishers with aggregate statistical information about our visitors, compiled from registration data and log file data. If you sign up for email alerts, your contact information will be provided to the publishers of those publications, and they may use this information for marketing purposes.  Typically, customer-level information may be shared in order to:  a) generate price quotes; b) report business results; c) calculate content royalties; d) troubleshoot technical issues; or e) investigate issues having to do with usage or suspected piracy or misuse of content.  

Service Providers and Technology Partners

Because we employ third-party technology partners, we may share information with these technology vendors to support our core business functions such as technology services, resolve technical issues, or investigate issues relating to data reporting or suspected misuse of content, and our internal operations.  For additional information on your personal data and Google analytics, please see https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.  To prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics, download and install the browser add-on. 

Institutional Customers

We will share personal information with our institutional customers if we believe that our content is being misused in order to identify the source of and prevent further misuse.

For Legal Purposes

Within our reasonable judgment, we may disclose information (a) to respond to subpoenas, warrants, court orders, or government requests, (b) to comply with relevant laws, or (c) to establish or exercise our rights, to defend against a legal claim, or to act regarding possible illegal activities, fraud, or a violation of our terms and conditions or other policies.

USE OF COOKIES

We may gather information about you by using a cookie file. A cookie is a small file, which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. The cookie helps analyze web traffic or identifies when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

All computers have the ability to automatically accept or decline cookies. This can be done by activating the setting on your browser, which determines how to deal with cookies. Please note that should you choose to decline cookies, you may be unable to access particular parts of our website.  Cookies are a required feature to support the personalization features within the GSW site. You can still use our site without cookies being involved as long as you do not register, sign in, or use the personalization features.

GSW does not use cookies to track what other sites you have visited. GSW does not look at or track any personal or confidential information about our users. Cookies created while visiting the GSW site are deleted when you click "Sign Out". If you do not sign out, then the cookies will remain until you quit your browser.

HOW WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL DATA SECURE

The personal data that you provide or we obtain is stored on our secure servers. Details relating to any transactions entered into on our site will be encrypted to enhance its safety. The transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure and therefore we cannot guarantee the security of data sent to us electronically and transmission of such data is therefore entirely at your own risk. Further, we cannot guarantee that information stored on our system or otherwise in our care will be immune from unintended release or unauthorized intrusion. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password so that you can access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential as well as avoiding the use of unsecured or unencrypted networks.

We operate a global business, so your personal information may be processed and stored outside of the country in which you reside. Where appropriate, we put safeguards in place, including standard contractual clauses, to protect your personal information when it is transferred.  

THIRD PARTY LINKS

You might find links to third party websites on our site. You should be aware when you leave our website, which will operate under their own privacy policies, which you should check. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for third party policies over which we have no control.

YOUR RIGHTS

You may have rights and choices regarding the personal data we hold about you. These rights include:

• the right to object to direct marketing. Your preferences, including the right to refuse direct marketing, can be found in your account.  If you decline marketing information, GSW still may send you information regarding your account and purchases;
• the right to access the personal data that we process about you;
• the right to request the deletion of your personal data; and
• the right to request the correction of your personal data. 

You can exercise these rights through your account or by contacting us at [email protected].  Please be aware that, in order to protect your personal information, we must first be able to verify your identity, which will require processing your personal data. 

If you are a resident of California resident, once per calendar year, you may request information regarding whether we disclosed your personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes and also may request access to or deletion of your personal information. To make such a request, please email your request to [email protected].

REMOVING YOUR INFORMATION

If you would like to correct or remove your personal information, email your request to [email protected]. Please provide complete information about your concerns and which information you want corrected or removed.