Editor's Buzz - Sept 3/09
'I do think that we're entering an age when scientists are increasingly aware of the social and political implications of their work." - Dietram Scheufele, Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison
| with Pam Ahlberg |
This month's cover story, which should be on your desk or lab bench next week, looks at the issue of social responsibility. In the article, the author puts forth the following: "There is, increasingly, a new coin of the realm--a set of socially responsible behaviors that embrace a more humane global perspective, made manifest through bioethics, environmental and energy initiatives, community outreach, transparency and data sharing, safety and security, affordability and access, inclusion, employee rights, and other benchmarks.
And as the social responsibility paradigm matures, lab managers and bench practitioners realize greater opportunity to act on it."
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Would you agree? And would you also share examples of how your lab, if at all, addresses the issue of social responsibility. Have you seen more attention paid to this over the past few years or do you think it's just a passing fad or lip service?
Oddly, and somewhat contradictory, recent survey results indicated that for the majority of our readers an institution's social responsibility record has very little influence on their decision to work there or not.
Please weigh in.
Pam Ahlberg
Editor-in-chief
Lab Manager Magazine
pam@labmanager.com