From cgamble at aaas.org Fri Jul 6 11:49:25 2007 From: cgamble at aaas.org (Caitlin Gamble) Date: Fri Jul 6 11:27:06 2007 Subject: [PER] AAAS Professional Ethics Report- Spring 2007 Message-ID: Professional Ethics Report (PER) is published by the AAAS Scientific Freedom, Responsiblity and Law Program (SFRL), in conjunction with its Professional Society Ethics Group and the AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility. SFRL is pleased to announce the completion of the 2007 Spring Edition of PER. The quarterly newsletter, which has been in publication since 1988, reports on news and events, programs and activities, and resources related to professional ethics issues, with a particular focus on those professions whose members are engaged in scientific research and its applications. Both html and pdf versions of PER can be found at http://www.aaas.org/spp/sfrl/per/per.htm. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://listserv.aaas.org/pipermail/per/attachments/20070706/279e680f/attachment.html From cgamble at aaas.org Fri Jul 6 13:54:19 2007 From: cgamble at aaas.org (Caitlin Gamble) Date: Fri Jul 6 13:42:26 2007 Subject: [PER] Nominations- AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award Message-ID: NOMINATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE AAAS SCIENTIFIC FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY AWARD IMPORTANT: PLEASE NOTIFY DEBROAH RUNKLE NO LATER THAN AUGUST 1 IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT A NOMINATION. THE COMPLETE NOMINATION CAN FOLLOW. Deborah Runkle 202.326.6794 The award is given to scientists or engineers or their associations whose exemplary actions have served to foster scientific freedom and responsibility. Such achievements can include: acting to protect the public's health, safety or welfare; focusing public attention on important potential impacts of science and technology on society by their responsible participation in public policy debates; or establishing important new precedents in carrying out the social responsibilities or in defending the professional freedom of scientists and engineers. To submit a nomination... * Send the names, addresses, phone number, and e-mail of both the nominator and the nominee. * A summary of the action(s) that form the basis for the nomination (about 240 words). * A longer statement (no more than three pages) providing additional details of the action(s) for which the candidate is nominated. * At least two letters of support, with addresses and phone numbers. * The candidate's vita (no more than three pages). * Any documentation (books, articles, or other materials) that elucidates the significance of the nominee's achievement may also be submitted. (All materials become property of AAAS.) NOMINATIONS ARE DUE AUGUST 1, 2007 You may see information about the award on the AAAS web site at http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/freedom/index.shtml Deborah Runkle welcomes phone calls or e-mail inquiries from persons wishing to make a nomination, in order to give these individuals guidance before they begin the nomination process. Thanks for you help. Deborah Runkle Senior Program Associate American Association for the Advancement of Science 1200 New York Ave., NW Washington, DC 20005 phone: 202.326.6794 fax: 202.289.4950 e-mail: drunkle@aaas.org This prestigious award has been given by the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1980. The successful candidate receives a plaque and $5000 and is honored at a lovely ceremony at the AAAS Annual Meeting (next February in Boston). The 2006 award was given to ten individuals who defended the integrity of science both locally and nationally. When school boards tried to introduce "intelligent design" (ID) into science classrooms as an alternative to evolutionary science, collectively and singly they fought back, helping to ensure that, at a time when quality K-12 science education is needed more than ever, non-scientific ideas will not enter our classrooms disguised as scientific thinking and methods. The winners were: Dr. Eugenie Scott is the director of the National Center for Science Education, an organization established to defeat the efforts of creationists and ID advocates to have religious ideas of creation inserted into public school curricula in the guise of an alternate scientific theory of natural phenomena; the eight teachers of the science department at the Dover High School who refused to read a statement supporting ID to their students, although directed to do so by the district's superintendent; and Dr. Wesley McCoy, the chair of the science department at North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia who publicly opposed his school board's decision to place a sticker in high school biology texts stating that evolution was "a theory not a fact." Some past winners are: Dr. David Michaels: During his tenure as Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health at the U.S. Department of Energy, he led an effort to have the U.S. government admit, for the first time, that workers who manufactured and tested nuclear weapons were developing chronic and often fatal illnesses and was the chief architect of legislation to help these workers. Dr. Michaels has also been a leader in focusing attention on how science is used and misused in government decision making and legal proceedings. Dr. Walter Reich: Dr. Reich, the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Professor of International Affairs, Ethics and Human Behavior at George Washington University, worked assiduously to educate policymakers and members of the scientific and psychiatric communities regarding the adoption of a pseudo-scientific psychiatric diagnostic system used in the Soviet Union served to curb dissent and stifle dissenters. Dr. Reich's persistence paid off when the World Psychiatric Association adopted a resolution condemning these practices, despite the objections of the Soviets and their allies in communist and third world countries. Dr. L. Dennis Smith: As president of the University of Nebraska, he staunchly defended academic freedom and was an advocate for the responsible conduct of scientific research. In the face of intense opposition from the governor and members of the state legislature, he defended scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical School, who were conducting important research that used tissue from aborted fetuses. Additionally, he set a precedent for the responsible conduct of research by establishing the first university bioethics commission in the country. Anatoly Koryagin: A psychiatrist in the Soviet Union, Dr. Koryagin made public the fact that political opponents of the Soviet government were being falsely diagnosed as having psychiatric disorders, hospitalized in special institutions, and treated with strong and potentially dangerous medications. He was imprisoned for making these revelations, lost his ability to practice medicine in his country, and was subsequently deported. Colegio Medico de Chile (Medical Association of Chile): This association took a public stand protesting the practice of torture by the government of Child, particularly decrying the role of some physicians in tacitly supporting the practice by hiding it through the issuance of false certificates of death. Adrian Morrison: A veterinarian whose scientific research focuses on the neural mechanisms associated with sleep, Dr. Morrison defended the right of scientists to use animals in their research and promoted responsible research practices among those scientists. Dr. Morrison continued to speak out even when his life was threatened and his adult children received threatening telephone calls. Daniel Albritton and Robert Watson: Drs. Albritton and Watson not only spent their careers conducting research on crucial environmental issues, but also served as effective advocates in the public policy arena to help promote international cooperation and action to reverse the potentially dangerous effects of the disappearance of atmospheric ozone. Mathilde Krim and June Osborn: Long before it was fashionable, Drs. Krim and Osborn were outspoken in their promotion of research efforts to find treatments for AIDS, to stem the spread of HIV through prevention and education, and to dispel ignorance about the disease and fear of those who are infected. Vil Sultanovich Mirzayanov: A chemist in the Soviet Union, Dr. Mirzayanov exposed that country's continuing manufacture of dangerous chemical weapons, in the face of official denials and in violation of the spirit of international agreements. Dr. Mirzayanov was arrested, imprisoned and, after his release, denied employment. Daniel Callahan: Dr. Callahan is the co-founder and for many years was president of the Hastings Center, an institution that has greatly furthered interdisciplinary dialogue on the responsible conduct of science. His leadership and guidance led to the establishment of a world center that serves as a home for scholars and fellows, from both the humanities and the sciences, to pursue interests in education and research on ethical and policy issues in the life and social sciences, in medicine and in the professions. Salim Kheirbek: As an active member of the Syrian Engineers Association, Mr. Kheirbek spoke out on behalf of the civil rights of all Syrians and protested the government's disbanding of all independent professional associations. Because of his outspoken defense of the rights of engineers and other professionals to form their own societies independent of state control, he was arrested and imprisoned for more than 12 years. Further, he refused to sign a document pledging loyalty to the state, thus paying the price of prolonged imprisonment. Dr. Howard Schachman: A Professor of the Graduate School and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and former chairman of the Department of Molecular Biology, Dr. Schachman was honored for his outstanding contributions, over a fifty-year period, to protect and promote values key to the scientific enterprise. While strongly supporting government efforts to curb fraud in science, Dr. Schachman began a decade-long struggle to insure that regulations would not impinge on the freedoms that allow scientists to be creative in their pursuit of knowledge. The NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC): The RAC established guidelines for the safe conduct of recombinant DNA research, thus alleviating the concerns of the public regarding this new technology. In recent years, the RAC has registered and reviewed all NIH-funded trials of gene therapy. The RAC model of diverse committee membership and open meetings has ensured a public voice in the review of the safety and ethics of gene therapy research among academic and industrial investigators. While some of the awardees have risked their freedom and even physical safety by their actions, others are honored for activities that demonstrate their devotion to the values most honored in the scientific community. Additionally, while some award winners are distinguished scientists or scholars, this is not a requirement for award selection. Any help you can provide in spreading the word about the AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award would be appreciated.