What is Recklessness in Scientific Research? The Frank Sauer Case

On May 22, 2017, administrative law Judge Leslie Rogall of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Departmental Appeals Board, Civil Remedies Division, ruled in favor of the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) concerning its decision to charge former University of California at Riverside biochemistry professor Frank Sauer with research misconduct for fabricating or falsifying digital image data included in three papers and seven grant applications submitted to the National Institutes of Health. More specifically, Sauer was deemed responsible for manipulating, reusing, and falsely labeling images of autoradiograms and gels in his research in epigenetics. One month after this decision, ORI announced its final ruling concerning Sauer, which barred him from serving in any advisory capacity to the Public Health Services and required him to retract affected papers. The case raises some interesting and important questions concerning research integrity because it focused on the legal issue of what constitutes recklessness in scientific research.     

Whistle blowing and research integrity: Potential remedy for research misconduct in Malaysian institutions of higher education

This study found that less than half of the respondents are willing to blow the whistle. The results reveal that a lack of protection with regard to the whistleblower’s identity, the tedious investigative process, and the notion of avoiding confrontation, which is more apparent in Asian cultures as compared to the West, are among the reasons why individuals who witnessed misconduct chose to remain silent. Adhering to the Asian cultural upbringing where the young must respect the old, those of lower rank must obey those with higher authority, and subordinates do not question the actions of their superior, has become a norm even in the working environment. Therefore, emphasize the need for better protection for whistleblowers including using experienced individuals with a research ethics background to handle allegations from whistleblowers. In addition, established guidelines and procedures for whistleblowers with regard to voicing their allegations against colleagues engaged in research misconduct is still lacking or, to a certain extent, is still unknown to researchers. Thus, the concern indicates a need for institutions to create awareness among researchers regarding the existing platform for whistleblowers, or to develop a systematic and clear procedure which is reliable and independent to promote professionalism in academia.     

基于实证的学术不端成因分析及对基金管理的启示

科研诚信缺失是现在学术界研究和政府关注的热点问题.首先梳理了科研诚信缺失行为的概念内涵,然后探讨了影响科研诚信缺失行为的影响要素,最后对这些要素进行了实证检验和结构方程模型分析.研究发现:科研工作者周围的诚信环境、竞争压力、科研收益、资金规范状况及科研能力将显著影响其科研诚信行为.     

Exposing School Employee Sexual Abuse and Misconduct: Shedding Light on a Sensitive Issue

ABSTRACT

While the media continue to report incidents of school employee sexual misconduct, few empirical studies focus on this issue. To address this gap in the literature, expand knowledge and awareness around the problem, and inform future research and programs, this research intends to document and analyze the characteristics of school employee sexual misconduct cases reported in the media. The authors conducted a landscape analysis of 361 published school employee sexual misconduct cases in the United States from 2014, documenting factors such as offender and victim characteristics, type of incident, technology use, location of offense, and resulting disciplinary actions by schools and law enforcement. These analyses showed that offenders were most often male and general education teachers, with approximately a quarter identified as athletic coaches. Offenders’ average age was 36 years, while the average age of victims was 15. More than half of incidents took place at school or school-related events. Results also showed that school employee sexual misconduct incidents most often involved physical contact; however, technology (i.e., cell phones, computers, cameras/video recorders, and storage devices) played an important role in three out of four cases. Finally, analyses of the criminal and school-related consequences showed that over half of offenders were placed on administrative leave or resigned immediately following their arrest and almost all were convicted of their crimes. Additional findings concerning this topic are also reported in this article.     

The Characteristics of Child Sexual Abuse in the School Environment in Turkey

School may represent a protective factor, boosting the mental health of the student body, while also representing a risk factor that heightens the potential for mental health problems. The present study aims to identify the individual and familial characteristics associated with the incidents of child sexual abuse (CSA) in Turkey’s school environment. The incidents involving school-related CSA constituted 5.6% (N = 125) of 2,238 cases. The following was discovered: an adult committed the majority (64%) of CSA in the school environment; most adult perpetrators were teachers (62.5%). This study determined that the perpetrators manipulated the victims via methods that included physical abuse (11.2%), threats (19.2%), tricks/deception (15.2%), and taking photographs/videos with sexual content (3.2%); and CSA incidents involved intercourse (15.2%); and almost three-quarter of the victims of CSA in the school environment reported the incident late. This study indicates that peer perpetrators abuse younger victims and a greater proportion of male victims relative to adult perpetrators. In light of these findings, school security must be improved, especially in public schools, and trainings aimed at preventing bullying and sexual abuse (SA) should be given to all school staff, students, and parents.     

建筑市场注册执业人员激励机制与监管博弈分析

建筑市场注册执业人员执业信用缺失影响经济资源的合理配置,危害市场经济秩序。本文通过构建政府监管部门与注册执业人员之间的静态博弈,引入经济惩罚与社会福利两变量,解释了在建筑产业快速发展时期不良行为频发而治理效果不佳的原因。引入奖励机制考察执业人员之间的动态博弈,证明了如果政府的奖励措施是长期行为并且能够为执业人员带来适当的收益,将会形成注册执业人员群体主动选择诚信的进化稳定策略。因此政府应该在充分考虑社会福利的基础上,充分利用信号传递机制与信用激励机制,通过奖励与惩罚措施,构建长期的有效的建筑市场注册执业人员信用监管模式。     

论电视民生新闻负面报道失当的危害

由于报道量、报道方式、编排形式等因素所导致的电视民生新闻中负面报道失当的问题日益突出,这往往会误导受众和新闻报料人,产生负面报道通胀效应并破坏收视情绪。媒介从业人员应树立正确的新闻价值观,坚持正确的舆论导向,使负面报道产生正面的社会效应。     

美国防范科研不端行为的顶层与专门监管机制

除了美国国会和司法部门的相应对策以外,在白宫科技政策办公室(OSTP)-国家科学技术委员会(NSTC)-总统科技顾问委员会(PCAST)等总统行政机构的统一协调下,美国防范科研不端行为的顶层监管机制主要由联邦政府和非政府部门的分工与互补机制构成;以卫生部ORI为主与以政府各部门OIG为辅形成了美国防范科研不端行为的专门监管机制。尽管这两种监管机制并非完美,但其顶层监管机制的权威性与统一性、协调性与互补性,以及专门监管机制的独立性与透明性、公平性与效率性,却既独具特色又值得效仿。     

科研不端行为的刑法规制

刑事立法的漏洞在所难免,实现科研不端行为的刑法规制不能坐等刑事立法的完善。依托现有立法资源,加强刑法解释工作,才是科研不端行为刑法规制的最现实途径。但并非所有的科研不端行为都能经由刑法解释的办法得以规制,因此,对那些不能经由刑法解释工作予以规制的科研不端行为应适时弥补立法漏洞,严密刑事法网。科学共同体不能成为刑事司法的＂特区＂,实现科研不端行为的刑法规制,当下最为重要的是坚持刑法基本原则,做到平等适用刑法。     

知识诚信与知识产权:学术不端法律调整的理论思考

学术不端的行为主体——知识创造和传播主体应享受的学术自由和学术领域的自治要求使得法律调整学术不端时只能限制于程序领域而不能判断具体学术问题,否则便是干涉了学术自由。学术不端与知识产权侵权没有必然联系表明知识产权法虽然能够调整部分学术不端行为,但是受到很大局限。通过分析知识诚信与知识产权的联系与区别,揭示了法律不能有效调整学术不端行为的根源。