This website is owned and operated by Elsevier Limited. Registered Office: The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, United Kingdom, Registered in England and Wales, Registration No. 1982084, VAT No. GB 494627212.
We are committed to maintaining your confidence and trust with respect to the information we collect from you. This privacy policy sets forth what information we collect about you, how we use your information, and the choices you have about how we use your information.

Collection of Information Provided By Your Browser And Through Use of Cookies
This Site automatically collects information on our server logs from your web browser regarding your use of the Site. Examples of information we collect automatically from all users include the Internet Protocol ("IP") address used to connect your computer to the Internet; computer and connection information such as browser type and version, operating system, and platform; and full Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") click stream data, including date and time, and content you viewed or searched for on the Site.
This Site also collects information through the use of "cookies." Cookies are anonymous, unique alphanumeric identifiers sent to your browser from a web site's computers and stored on your computer's hard drive. The type of information we collect as a result of a cookie being stored on your computer is specific to your computer. We use "session" cookies to collect information about your use of the Site (e.g., whether you are logged in) and so that you may view articles, abstracts or other records and browse from page to page. These cookies are temporary and are deleted when you close your browser. We use "persistent" cookies to give you a more personalized browsing experience and help you navigate the Site more efficiently.
We collect and use, and may from time to time supply third parties with this information only as anonymous, aggregated user data for the purposes of usage analysis, quality control and administering and improving the Site.
You can prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or disable cookies altogether by accessing your browser's preferences menu. If you choose to disable cookies altogether, you can use the Site but will not be able to register, login to the Site with a personal User Name and Password, or make use of the advanced personalization features of the Site, although the basic features and functionality offered to unregistered users of the Site will be possible to use.

Collection and Registration of Personal Information
We sometimes request users of the Site to provide personal information. The information collected from a user is strictly voluntary and may include contact information such as the user's name, e-mail address, and postal address.
In order to access certain content and to make use of the full functionality and advanced personalization features of the Site such as alerts, saved searches, access to full text articles, search history and purchase history we may ask you to register and obtain a personal User Name and Password. You may be prompted to register when you:

• Choose the Register link from the home page or login screens;
• Use personalization features;
• Create an e-mail alert or save a search;
• Order an item;
• Provide feedback;
• Access second-level content such as article abstracts, tables of contents or news stories

The information collected from the registration form that is presented to users when they choose to register may include contact information such as the user's name, e-mail address, postal address, job title, profession, subject area of interest, and country ("Registration Information"). The Registration Information is linked directly to a personal User Name and Password chosen by the user and can only be retrieved by supplying the correct User Name and Password that is linked to that profile.

How Personal Information Is Used
We use the personal information that you provide for such purposes as:

• Completion and support of the activity for which the information was provided, such as allowing access to or delivery of our products or services, processing or fulfilling an order, or responding to your requests or inquiries
• Website and system administration, such as for the technical support of the Site and its computer system, including processing computer account information, information used in the course of securing and maintaining the Site, and verification of Site activity by the Site or its agents
• Research and development to enhance, evaluate and improve the Site and our services
• Tailoring or customizing content or design of the Site during a single visit to the Site and individualized personalization of the Site on repeat visits
• Pseudonymous analysis to create a profile used to determine the habits, interests or other characteristics of users for purposes of research, analysis and anonymous reporting
• Communicating with you about changes or updates to the Site and our services and, with your consent, special offers, promotions or market research surveys

Disclosure of Personal Information to Third Parties
Access to your personal information is restricted to our employees, agents, representatives and service providers, such as our data processing, printing and fulfillment operations, and entities for whom we are acting as an agent, licensee or publisher, such as societies and our affiliated group companies for the purposes set forth above. If you are an authorized user of an organization with a license agreement with us, your Registration Information and usage activity statistics may be shared with your organization's administrator(s) for the purposes of usage analysis, quality control and administering and improving the Site.
Your personal information may be used by all of our trading names and transferred to countries outside of the European Economic Area ("EEA"), including to the United States, for processing. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to the EEA. If we transfer your information outside of the EEA in this way, we will take steps to ensure that your privacy rights continue to be protected. In addition, if you access the Site while you are outside of the EEA, your information may be transferred outside of the EEA in order to provide you with such access.
With your consent, we also may share your personal information with our affiliated group companies located both inside and outside of the EEA in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United States and/or with non-affiliated third parties located inside and outside of the EEA that wish to send you information about their products and services that may be of interest to you, and users who have consented to receive such information may receive communications from these third parties. If you wish us to pass your personal information to third parties, please tick the appropriate check box when you register for personalized services.
We will not otherwise disclose any personal information without your consent except under the following circumstances:

• in response to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process, or to establish or exercise our rights to defend against legal claims;
• if we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, safety of person or property, violation of our policies, or as otherwise required by law; and
• if Elsevier, this Site or a related asset or line of business is acquired by, transferred to or merged with another company.

Chat rooms, newsgroups, notice boards, online forums, directories, etc.
If at any time this Site offers any chat rooms, newsgroups, notice boards, online forums, directories, etc. we may collect the information that you disclose. Such information will be used in accordance with this privacy policy. Please note that we cannot be responsible for other parties' use of the information that you make available to such third parties through any chat room, notice board, newsgroup, online forum, directories, etc. on this Site. Please be careful about what information you disclose in this way.

Access and Changes to Your Registration Information and Preferences
Registered Users may access their identified contact information and other Registration Information and correct any discrepancies or update information by contacting our Customer Service Department at the address or telephone number detailed below. The accuracy of such information is solely the responsibility of the user. No access is given to other data that may have been collected about users.
If you wish to receive alerts, newsletters, new product announcements, market surveys, special offers or promotions, please tick the appropriate check box when you register for personalized services or access. If you wish to cease receiving any of this information, amend your preferences either by contacting our Customer Service Department at the address or telephone number detailed below or by using the "opt-out" or unsubscribe option or other means provided within the communications you receive. We reserve the right to notify you of changes or updates to the Site whenever necessary.

Retention of Personal Information
We retain the personal information we collect from you for as long as the information is relevant to our business purposes or until you request that we remove the data by contacting our Customer Service Department at the address or telephone number detailed below.

Our Commitment to Data Security
We recognize that your privacy is important to you, and therefore we endeavour to keep your personal information confidential. The personal and demographic information about each user is stored on our servers that are behind a firewall and physically housed within a secured data centre. Furthermore, our internal practices help protect your privacy by limiting employee access to and use of such information. However, we do not represent, warrant, or guarantee that your personal information will be protected against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alterations, and do not accept any liability for the security of such information submitted to us nor for your or third parties' use or misuse of such information.

About This Privacy Policy
The foregoing is the current privacy policy of the Site. We reserve the right to change this policy at any time without notice. Any changes to this policy will be posted on this webpage. Our policy does not create a contract or any legal rights.
This privacy policy applies solely to the information you provide while visiting this Site. The terms of this privacy policy do not govern personal information furnished through any means other than this Site (such as via telephone or postal mail).
This Site may contain links to other websites that are beyond our control. Other websites to which you link may contain privacy policies that are different from this privacy policy. We encourage you to check the privacy policy of each website you visit before submitting any information to them.

Questions, Complaints and Dispute Resolution
If you have any questions or comments regarding this privacy policy, please contact our Customer Service Department at:
Email: Customer Services
Post: Elsevier Customer Services, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1865 844644
Fax: +44 (0)1865 853301
Text/SMS: We now offer a limited service through Text/SMS. Contact us on 07781482796 (please note this number is for text messaging only and cannot be dialled). Text messages to Elsevier cost your usual network rate, and we do not charge you for text messages sent to your mobile. For your own security, please do not send personal or banking details by SMS.
If at any time you believe that we have not adhered to this privacy policy or you have a complaint regarding the way your personal information is being handled, please contact our Customer Service Department. Disputes under this privacy policy will be resolved by our Customer Service Department, which will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly investigate, and if necessary, to correct any problem.

Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd., its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.