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PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND PRACTICES - COLUMN 159


cited examples are General Motors’ igni- tion switch failures, Volkswagen’s use of testing software to deceive emissions tests on diesel-engine cars, and the Takata Corp’s defective airbag inflators. Boykin suggests that these failures stem from corporate cultures that put profits ahead of the protection of the public’s health, safety, and welfare. Protecting the public’s health, safety, and welfare by reporting unsafe situations is the primary obligation in engineering ethics and in AIPG’s Code of Ethics. When an unsafe condition or fraudulent activ- ity occurs, the professional engineer or geoscientist should bring the situation to the attention of corporate management or a client. If such notification fails to result in correction of the situation, then the professional engineer or geoscientist is required withdraw from the proect and potentially to report the situation to appropriate authorities. While such reporting may result in adverse conse- quences to the reporting, professional integrity demands that reporting occur when necessary to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare. The pre- ceding topic, “Competent and Ethical Practice Versus Client Desires,” is an example of such integrity.


Boykin quotes Allan McDonald,1 “A common thread in all of these recent [scandals] is that they really shouldn’t have happened because there were knowledgeable people well aware of the problem very early in the process, but they either didn’t step forward or didn’t get in contact with the right people… Then you saw a lot of energy being used to cover it up or point fingers elsewhere.” Just how to proceed when faced with this sort of ethical problem can be very diffi- cult. Are you really aware of all the facts? To whom and how should your concerns be addressed? Discussing the situation in generic terms with someone whose knowledge and experience with simi- lar situations you trust is often a good first step. These questions have been discussed in previous columns: “Whistle- blowing and tattletales” in column 82, Mar 03; “Something bad has happened; who do you tell?” in columns 115, May/ Jun 08 and 117, Sep/Oct 08; “Oral but not written disclosure to a client about a potential problem” in columns 127, May/Jun 10 and 138, Mar/Apr 12; “Client confidentiality, reporting illegal activities and Colorado’s liability safe


harbor” in column 105, Sep/Oct 06; and “Confidentiality agreements versus pub- lic health and safety; conflict of interest” in column 124, Nov/Dec 09.


Should Scientific Papers Be Available for Free?


The issue of whether scientific papers should be freely available was first addressed in column 158 (Apr/May/ Jun16). The January 2016 issue of the SEG Newsletter addressed the Society of Economic Geologists position on this issue in “Publishing with SEG: All About the Copyright Agreement.” Basically, the standard assignment of copyright agreement that authors sign with pub- lishers gives the publisher exclusive control over when, how, and by whom the paper may be copied. When an author allows or facilitates unauthorized post- ing of published manuscripts on various websites, the author is in clear violation of copyright laws. SEG does provide an option for Open Access publishing when the author enters into an agreement for this with SEG and pays a fee that allows SEG to recover in advance some of the costs incurred in reviewing, editing, and publishing the paper. SEG is also implementing a “green” Open Access option pursuant to which a paper is pub- lished with the usual copyright restric- tions but then the author is allowed to place a post-peer review version of the manuscript online after an embargo of 12 months after the publication date (the publication month of the ournal, etc.) This “green” version is what the editor has approved for publication and for which the editor has given the author instructions for sending along to produc- tion but which has not been through copyediting, layout, final proofing, and publishing with the SEG logo. Under no circumstances can this manuscript be the final version published by SEG.


Like most scientific publishing organi- zations, SEG depends on its publication sales, via print and online through the SEG bookstore and GeoScienceWorld, to generate the income that keeps the costs low for Society services—including stu- dent programs, memberships, and pub- lications. Commercial publishers also must recover their costs of production through sales. The costs of the publish- ing process are real and must be paid for somehow. Open access has a price.


Email Address Spoofing Attempts to Obtain Section Funds


A couple of AIPG Sections have recently been involved with attempts to misappropriate Section funds. The attempts went like this. The Section Treasurer received an email purportedly sent by the Section President requesting that an invoice for a stated amount be paid. In both known cases, the Treasurer noted something fishy about the email and called the President to check on the message. The President’s email had been spoofed and the request for pay- ment didn’t come from the President. I gather such spoofing is relatively easy. While no harm was done, these instances do point out that such attempts can occur. Publication of Section officers’ names and email addresses on Section websites, newsletters, etc. provide the scammers with the basic information needed to spoof a message and attempt a scam. These incidents also serve as a reminder that such spoofed emails may be sent in other contexts. For example, someone seeking confidential informa- tion may create a spoofed email from a client requesting an additional copy of a report or other data. Pay attention and if there is any hint of something unusual, pick up the phone and check things out.


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1. McDonald is an ethics lecturer and author of Truth, lies, and O-rings: inside the space shuttle Challenger. McDonald refused to sign the launch authorization for the Challenger but was unable to stop the launch.


 www.aipg.org


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