PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND PRACTICES - COLUMN 176
Topical Index-Table of Contents to the Professional Ethics and Practices Columns
A topically based Index-Table of Contents, “pe&p index.xls” cov ering columns, articles, and letters to the editor that have been referred to in the PE&P columns in Excel format is on the AIPG web site in the Ethics section. This Index-Table of Contents is updated as each issue of the TPG is published. You can use it to find those items addressing a particular area of concern. Suggestions for improvements should be sent to David Abbott,
dmageol@msn.com
Compiled by David M. Abbott, Jr., CPG-04570 5055 Tamarac Street, Denver, CO 80238 303-394-0321,
dmageol@msn.com
Diversity and inclusion webinars
I’ve seen ads for and have participated in a couple of webinars on diversity and inclusion and unconscious bias sponsored by different geoscience organizations over the past six months or so. I’ve found them interesting and informative. AIPG has an ad hoc committee addressing diversity and inclusion issues. Standards 4.3 and 4.4 of the AIPG Code of Ethics specifically address diversity and inclusion as does the AIPG Events Code of Conduct. Participating in such webinars counts (or should count) towards Continuing Professional Development requirements.
The ethics of hosting and recording technical presentations via Zoom.
The increasing number of technical talks being offered by various geoscience and other groups via Zoom and other tele- conferencing programs over the past nine months has been a great way of providing professional development opportunities while maintaining social distancing and eliminating geograph- ic constraints—time zones are something else. I appreciate this development and have taken advantage of some of the opportunities presented.
However, recently the CPG speaker at one of these ses- sions expressed his concern on learning just before giving a talk that he thought was strictly for a student group was in fact being offered to a wider group of professionals and that the session was being recorded. As the speaker wrote the leader of the student group, “As you evolve professionally you will appreciate that your time and intellectual property is your stock in trade. Spreading some bread on the waters is called sharing (or advertising), but having your product dis- seminated gratis...or even for profit to the recorder is another thing entirely.” So, let your speaker know when arranging for the talk who will be in attendance. Inform the speaker if you intend to record the presentation and what will be done with the recording. If the recording will be made publicly available, and, particularly if sold, the speaker should receive some royalty income.
Updated Geological Society of London Code of Conduct
In June 2020, the Geological Society of London (GSL) updated its Code of Conduct. Some of the changes are interesting. In §4.4 reference is made to other professional organizations’ Code of Conduct with which GSL Fellows must comply includ- ing the AGI’s Guidelines for Ethical Professional Conduct. This is because the GSL is an AGI member. GSL Fellows who are members of the European Federation of Geologists or the America Association of Petroleum Geologists must comply with their respective Codes of Ethics. This requirement applies to
www.aipg.org
all grades of GSL Fellowship “or whether they are acting in a professional or personal capacity.” The explicit extension of the Code of Conduct to personal activities is new and noteworthy. Section 5 of the GSL Code states, “Positive behaviours should always govern the way Fellows act both within and outside of the workplace. Acting professionally and ethically is the bare minimum requirement of anyone working within the sci- ences, as outlined by the Universal Ethical Code for Scientists. Actions by Fellows, including posts on social, business or other media in the public domain, that are abusive, discriminatory or defamatory, may be perceived as bringing the Society into disrepute and will not be tolerated. There are disciplinary regulations and procedures in place to maintain the Society’s high professional standards.” The updated GSL Code also incorporates guidance on the GSL’s Code of Publishing Ethics and the GSL’s Code of Conduct for Meetings and Other Events.
Some specific items in the new GSL Code warrant comment. Item 7 (of 17 total items) states, “A Fellow who is not Chartered must, if called upon to act in an expert professional capacity, ensure that a client or employer is aware of their status and that their professed competence has not been independently verified.” I urge that “by the Society” should be added to this item. Having a competence credential from another organiza- tion should be recognized, for example, an AIPG Certification or a US State geoscience license.
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Acting professionally and ethically is the bare minimum requirement of anyone working within the sciences, as outlined by the Universal Ethical Code for Scientists.
Item 11 states, “Fellows must not be negligent in the practice of geology, and must take all reasonable precautions to avoid any act of commission or omission which might endanger life, adversely affect the health and safety of others, result in need- less financial loss, or endanger or damage the natural and/ or built environment.” As I observed in my article, “Natural resources and sustainability: geoethics fundamentals and real- ity,” in the last edition of TPG, society needs natural resources to sustain our lifestyles (even cave men needed flint, clay for pots, and pigments for cave wall art) and extraction of those resources necessarily involves some amount of environmental
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