Code of Conduct

The Cedar Science Steering Committee is committed to providing a safe, productive, equitable, and welcoming environment for all participants in activities affiliated with CEDAR. All participants in CEDAR-related activities are therefore required to abide by the Code of Conduct outlined below. This includes participation in conferences, workshops, field work, or other CEDAR-sponsored research or events, at any location throughout the world. It is adapted from codes previously adopted by various agencies, including AGU, UCAR, and National Science Foundation (NSF). This code is required by and is compliant with specifications outlined in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide. 

This code covers conduct that may occur both in-person (for example at scientific meetings) and also more generally,  while performing scientific studies or reporting scientific results.

Expected Behavior:

Ethical conduct is required for all aspects of CEDAR-related activities. This includes respectful treatment of everyone – regardless of gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, age, body size, race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, level of experience, political affiliation, veteran status, pregnancy, genetic information, as well as any additional characteristic protected under state or federal law. 

Expected in-person behaviors for all participants in CEDAR activities includes, but is not be limited to:

• Abide by this code of conduct.
• Maintain a collegial, collaborative, and respectful demeanor.
• Treat all other participants with respect and consideration, valuing a diversity of views and opinions.
• Ensure that comments and critiques are addressed toward the research ideas and findings presented, rather than towards individuals.  
• Ensure that critiques of scientific content are presented in a spirit of open inquiry, and avoid overly broad or judgmental language. Such interactions may include questions on methodology, interpretations, and findings; these are not a sign of disrespect but, rather, of community interest.  
• Avoid personal attacks directed toward other participants.
• Be respectful of your surroundings. 
• Abide by all additional rules and policies adopted by the workshop, conference, field project site, hotels, or any other venue.
• Report any observed instances of dangerous situations, people in distress, medical emergencies, or violations of this code of conduct.

Expected broader scientific practices include, but are not limited to:

• Abide by this code of conduct.
• Ensure, to the best of the presenter’s knowledge, that all scientific results are genuine, and that all ensuing findings and interpretations are consistent with the data and with plausible physical reality.
• Credit all individuals contributing to the work presented; avoid taking credit for unrelated work performed by others.
• Preserve confidentiality of intellectual property and classified or confidential information.
• Abide by all regulations governing workplace practices & safety, environmental & cultural protections, ethical inquiry, and acceptable uses of research funding.

Unacceptable Behavior:

Unacceptable in-person behavior includes, but is not limited to:

• Harassment, intimidation, threats, stalking, personal attacks, physical or verbal abuse, humiliation –  by anyone, to anyone, including but not limited to a CEDAR participant, a member of the public, a guest, or a member of any participating or sponsoring institution.
• Unwelcome sexual attention, advances, or assault.
• Any other form of physical or verbal behavior that is unwelcome, offensive, indecent, alarming, intimidating, threatening, disorderly, hostile, or illegal.
• Inappropriate display of images or videos depicting nudity, sexual content, violence, or other disturbing content in public spaces or in presentations.
• Theft of physical or intellectual property.
• Inappropriate promotion of products, services, or ideologies that are not legitimately relevant for advancing the meeting objectives.
• Violation of the US National Science Foundation’s non-discrimination policy (https://www.nsf.gov/od/oecr/).
• Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting.

Unethical scientific practices include, but are not limited to:

• Misleading manipulation or outright fabrication of scientific data. 
• Promotion of scientific ideas or theories that the presenter knows or has reason to believe to be incorrect based on existing peer-reviewed research.
• Plagiarism. (Plagiarism is defined here as taking creative products produced by others, and claiming them as your own original work. This includes abstract creativity in the form of original ideas and concepts, as well as more specific products such as written passages, images, movies, sounds & songs, 3D sculptured items, designs, algorithms, computer codes, etc.)
• Failure to acknowledge appropriately all relevant contributors when presenting scientific ideas or results.
• Failure to follow applicable rules-of-the-road and licenses when using other's data.
• Inappropriate use of scientific meetings or literature to promote or advertise commercial products or services.
• Failure to abide by all relevant regulations during experimental work, such as regulations designed to ensure occupational safety, to protect biosecurity, to avoid environmental harm, or to respect cultural and/or historical values, etc.
• Misuse of research funding.
• Failure to preserve confidentiality of proprietary ideas and intellectual property (e.g., ideas presented in proposals under review.)   
• Presentation or publication of classified information, or controlled unclassified information, as well as unauthorized actual or deemed export of such information.

Reporting and Consequences:

Reporting

Any observation of an actual or suspected violation of this code-of-conduct should be reported as soon as possible. Depending on circumstances, violations should be reported to one or more of:

• The Cedar Science Steering Committee chair.
• The Cedar Science Steering Committee liaison officer for the CEDAR support contract.
• Any Cedar Science Steering Committee member.
• Any CEDAR conference organizational staff.
• The CEDAR DEI Task Force chair.
• Any National Science Foundation representatives present.
• Venue staff and/or security personnel.
• Local law enforcement.

In the event of a complaint involving a person on the above list, please use discretion and judgment to report to one or more alternative individuals on the list.

Consequences

• Anyone requested to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. 
• Behavior that appears illegal or threatening will be immediately reported to local law enforcement agencies and to security staff at the venue, if available.
• Violators may be subject to immediate removal from the event, conference, workshop, field project, or facility without warning or refund. 
• The Cedar Science Steering Committee reserves the right to prohibit attendance at future CEDAR events, conferences, workshops, or field projects. 
• In cases where there has been a potentially serious code of conduct violation the Cedar Science Steering Committee will notify the offender's home institution. If the violation involves misconduct in research, the CSSC will also notify any relevant funding agencies, journals, collaborators, institutions, and/or scientific organizations.