1. Scope of This Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement applies to personal information collected through the JBMA journal platform and associated journal activities involving authors, reviewers, editors, editorial-board members, readers, registered users and other individuals who interact with the journal.

JBMA is published by UUM Press and managed within Universiti Utara Malaysia. Personal information may therefore be processed as part of legitimate journal administration and scholarly publishing activities undertaken through the journal's institutional publishing infrastructure.

2. Information We May Collect

Depending on how an individual interacts with JBMA, the journal may collect information such as:

• name;
• email address;
• institutional affiliation;
• country or location information provided by the user;
• academic or professional title;
• ORCID iD;
• research interests and areas of expertise;
• biographical information voluntarily provided to the journal;
• author, reviewer, editor or reader roles;
• manuscript submission and peer-review information;
• editorial correspondence and communication records;
• reviewer recommendations and review-history information;
• funding, conflict-of-interest or authorship declarations where relevant; and
• technical information generated through use of the journal platform, where applicable.

Technical information may include information such as browser or device characteristics, access logs, IP-related information or other system records generated through operation of the journal platform.

3. How Personal Information Is Used

Personal information may be used for legitimate journal and scholarly publishing purposes, including:

• creating and maintaining user accounts;
• receiving and managing manuscript submissions;
• conducting editorial screening and peer review;
• identifying and inviting appropriate reviewers;
• communicating editorial decisions and revision requests;
• managing author, reviewer and editorial workflows;
• publishing author information and article metadata;
• registering Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and other publication identifiers;
• supporting indexing, abstracting, discovery and preservation services;
• maintaining the integrity and provenance of the scholarly record;
• responding to publication-ethics concerns or allegations of misconduct;
• communicating legitimate journal announcements and scholarly opportunities;
• administering the journal website and technical systems; and
• meeting applicable institutional, ethical or legal obligations.

5. When Information May Be Shared

JBMA does not sell personal information to advertisers or unrelated third parties.

Personal information may, however, be shared where reasonably necessary with:

• editors and authorised editorial staff;
• peer reviewers and potential reviewers, subject to the journal's peer-review model;
• UUM Press and relevant authorised personnel of Universiti Utara Malaysia;
• technical or publishing service providers supporting journal operations;
• DOI registration services;
• indexing and abstracting databases;
• digital preservation or repository services;
• research-integrity experts or relevant institutions where ethical investigation is necessary; and
• other parties where disclosure is reasonably required by law, institutional policy or the integrity of the scholarly record.

6. Information That Becomes Public

Certain information associated with published articles forms part of the permanent scholarly record and is intended to be publicly accessible.

This may include:

• author names;
• institutional affiliations;
• ORCID iDs where provided;
• corresponding-author contact information where published;
• article titles and abstracts;
• keywords;
• funding information;
• conflict-of-interest declarations;
• author-contribution statements; and
• other bibliographic and publication metadata.

Once information becomes part of the published scholarly record, it may also be disseminated through indexing services, repositories, citation databases, institutional systems and other scholarly discovery platforms.

7. Retention of Information

JBMA may retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to support journal administration, the integrity of editorial processes, publication history, scholarly attribution, research-integrity requirements and preservation of the academic record.

Some information relating to submitted and published manuscripts may need to be retained even after an account is closed or a manuscript is withdrawn because it forms part of the journal's editorial, ethical or publication record.

8. Access, Correction and Privacy Requests

Users may contact the Editorial Office regarding personal information associated with their journal account, including requests to correct inaccurate information or raise concerns about how their information is being used.

Requests will be considered in accordance with applicable institutional and legal requirements and the journal's responsibility to preserve an accurate scholarly and editorial record.

Certain information associated with published articles, editorial decisions, peer-review records or publication ethics may not be removable where retention is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

9. Journal Communications and Direct Marketing

JBMA may communicate with registered users and relevant members of the scholarly community regarding legitimate journal activities such as:

• Calls for Papers;
• new issues;
• reviewer invitations;
• editorial updates;
• special themes;
• journal workshops and scholarly events; and
• other activities directly related to JBMA.

JBMA does not sell user information for unrelated commercial marketing.

Where applicable, recipients may request removal from non-essential promotional communications. Essential editorial and submission-related communications may still be required where an individual remains involved in an active journal process.

10. Cookies and Journal Platform Services

The JBMA journal platform may use cookies or similar technical mechanisms that are necessary for user authentication, session management, security, preferences and normal operation of the website.

Additional technical services may also process limited usage information where required for reliable operation, security, analytics or maintenance of the journal platform.

11. Information Security

JBMA and its institutional publishing infrastructure take reasonable administrative and technical measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, inappropriate disclosure, alteration, loss or misuse.

However, no electronic system or internet-based service can guarantee absolute security. Users are therefore encouraged to protect their login credentials and notify the journal if they suspect unauthorised access to their account.

12. External Links and Third-Party Services

The JBMA website may contain links to external services, databases, institutional websites, DOI services, repositories or other scholarly resources.

JBMA is not responsible for the privacy practices of independently operated external websites. Users should review the privacy policies of those services where appropriate.

13. Publication Ethics and Misconduct Investigations

Where concerns involving suspected research or publication misconduct arise, relevant information may need to be reviewed or shared with editors, publishers, institutions, research-integrity offices or other appropriate parties for the purpose of investigating the concern and protecting the scholarly record.

Such information will be handled as confidentially as reasonably possible while allowing legitimate investigation and editorial action to proceed.

14. Changes to This Privacy Statement

JBMA may revise this Privacy Statement from time to time to reflect changes in journal operations, publishing practices, technology or applicable institutional and legal requirements.

The current version published on the official JBMA website will represent the journal's prevailing privacy practices.

15. Contact

Questions, concerns or requests relating to privacy and the use of personal information may be directed to the JBMA Editorial Office through the journal's official contact channel.

Please provide sufficient information for the Editorial Office to identify and respond appropriately to the request.