ASIPI: Science Serving the Public Good www.public-science.org
Preamble
The pursuit of science provides insight into nature, technology, humankind, and good public policy. Yet science per se does not necessarily serve the public interest, nor can scientists alone define that interest. Only society as a whole can determine what lies in its own interest.
The purpose of this code of ethics is to define public interest science and the principles governing its conduct. These principles shall serve as guidelines for members of the Association for Science in the Public Interest and others who conduct scientific research in the public interest, either in the course of their primary profession or under special circumstances.
Definition of Public Interest Science
Science in the public interest is research carried out primarily to advance the public good. Key characteristics distinguishing public interest science from other science include the following:
* The primary beneficiary is society as a whole, future generations, or a specific "public" unable to carry out research on its own behalf;
* Research outcomes are freely available, that is, not patented, proprietary, or requiring proprietary means to access;
* Research outcomes are developed in consultation or collaboration with members of the public; and
* Any assumptions or values underlying or providing a context for the research are made explicit.
Principles of Public Interest Science
The following principles are appropriate for all scientists but are especially important to the practice of science in the public interest:
Principle of Scientific and Personal Integrity
Scientists accept the obligation to maintain the integrity of the scientific endeavor. This includes honesty and fairness in the practice of science as well as in dealings with peers, students, and members of the public. Scientists committed to the public interest shall inform the public of possible conflicts of interest in connection with written or oral presentations of their research, opinions, and expertise.
Principle of Precaution
Science is crucial in establishing the factual basis on which society must act to preserve public health and a healthy environment. Yet scientists who act in the public interest must also make clear the limits of science in these important arenas, where data are often uncertain, causation cannot easily be established, and conclusions may be based on inference rather than demonstration. Therefore, when an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, scientists acting in the public interest will support precautionary measures even in the absence of conclusive scientific proof.
Principle of Collegiality and Respect
Scientific issues of interest to the public and to communities are often complex and require multidisciplinary approaches. Pursuit of science in the public interest to address these problems will necessarily involve members of the public. Scientists participate in such research cooperatively rather than as outside experts and accept the obligation to treat all fellow problem-solvers, scientists and members of the public alike, with respect, collegiality, generosity, and professionalism. Respect must also be extended to the environment and public health. Public interest scientists shall do
no harm.
Principle of Public Service
Not all research constitutes public interest science. But all scientists, whose training and professions are often subsidized by the public, have an ethical and professional obligation to use their skills and expertise in service to the public. Members of ASIPI pledge to fulfill this obligation through service on local, state, and federal committees; through pro bono assistance to community groups; or through other related activities.
Association for Science in the Public Interest (ASIPI)
(www.public-science.org)
Science Serving the Public Good
Zend Optimizer not installed
This file was encoded by the Zend Guard. In order to run it, please install the Zend Optimizer (available without charge), version 3.0.0 or later.
Seeing this message instead of the website you expected?
This means that this webserver is not configured correctly. In order to view this website properly, please contact the website's system administrator/webmaster with the following message:
The component "Zend Optimizer" is not installed on the Web Server and therefore cannot service encoded files. Please download and install the Zend Optimizer (available without charge) on the Web Server.
Note: Zend Technologies cannot resolve issues related to this message appearing on websites not belonging to Zend Technologies. What is the Zend Optimizer?
The Zend Optimizer is one of the most popular PHP plugins for performance-improvement, and has been available without charge, since the early days of PHP 4. It improves performance by scanning PHP's intermediate code and passing it through multiple Optimization Passes to replace inefficient code patterns with more efficient code blocks. The replaced code blocks perform exactly the same operations as the original code, only faster.
In addition to improving performance, the Zend Optimizer also enables PHP to transparently load files encoded by the Zend Guard.
The Zend Optimizer is a free product available for download from Zend Technologies. Zend Technologies also developed the PHP scripting engine, known as the Zend Engine.
