mBio: Gender Analysis Of Scientific Misconduct

 

UPDATE:  The link to this study on mBio is now live:

Males Are Overrepresented among Life Science Researchers Committing Scientific Misconduct

Ferric C. Fang, Joan W. Bennett and Arturo Casadevall

doi:10.1128/mBio.00640-12

 

# 6873

 

Later today the open access online journal mBio ® will publish an analysis of scientific misconduct - written Joan W. Bennett, Ferric C. Fang, and Arturo Casadevall - based on data from the Office of Research Integrity. 

 

Scientific misconduct - which includes fabrication, falsification or plagiarism – has been on the rise over the past decade.

 

In a presentation made last March (see Dysfunctional Science) before a committee of the National Academy of Sciences, journal editors Casadevall and Fang warned that number of retraction notices for scientific journals has increased more than 10-fold over the last decade, while the number of journals articles published has only increased by 44%.

 

A pair of related editorials, penned by Casadevall and Fang, appeared at the same time in the journal Infection and Immunity.

Reforming Science: Structural Reforms

Ferric C. Fang, Editor in Chief, Infection and Immunity and Arturo Casadevall, Editor in Chief, mBio

Reforming Science: Methodological and Cultural Reforms

Arturo Casadevall, Editor in Chief, mBio and Ferric C. Fang, Editor in Chief, Infection and Immunity

 

 

We get a preview of today’s analysis from a press release from the American Society for Microbiology. The study can be viewed later today at the mBio website http://mbio.asm.org/.

 

 

Men more likely to commit research misconduct than female counterparts

It's not hard to see that men are more likely to engage in risky behaviors than women, or that crime rates are many times higher among men, but this tendency to break the rules also extends to male scientists, according to a study to be published on January 22 in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. An analysis of data from the Office of Research Integrity reveals that men commit research misconduct more often than their female peers, a gender disparity that is most pronounced among senior scientists.

 

"Not only are men committing more research misconduct," says Joan W. Bennett of Rutgers University, a co-author on the study. "Senior men are most likely to do so."

 

In the study Bennett teamed with Ferric C. Fang of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle and Arturo Casadevall of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, and scrutinized data from the U.S. Office of Research Integrity, an organization that investigates allegations of misconduct in research supported by the Department of Health and Human Services. "Misconduct" includes such infractions as fabrication, falsification or plagiarism.

 

They found that out of the 227 individuals sanctioned for committing scientific misconduct between 1994 and the present, 66% were male, a number that far outstrips their overall representation among researchers in the life sciences. And although men represent about 70% of faculty in the life sciences, 88% of faculty who committed misconduct were male.

 

If the fact that men are more likely to commit scientific misconduct is less than surprising, Casadevall says, what did surprise the authors is the fact that misconduct is not confined to inexperienced, early-career strivers.

 

"When you look at the numbers, you see that the problem of misconduct carries through the entire career of scientists," says Casadevall. Faculty (32%) and other research personnel (28%) represented a total of 60% of cases, whereas students (16%) and post-doctoral fellows (25%) were sanctioned in only 41% of cases.

(Continue . . . )

The damage done to the public’s perception and trust of science due to misconduct and fraud is difficult to calculate, but overall the public’s opinion of science and scientists has taken quite a beating in recent years.

 

According to a recent UK poll (Public Attitudes To Science, May 2011):

While the majority of respondents (79%) believed science has, on the whole, made our lives easier .  . . .  astonishingly, just 54% believed that the benefits of science are greater than any harmful effect.

 

One only has to look at the deep divisions over climate change, evolution, vaccine safety, nuclear power, and genetically modified food crops to realize just how wide this rift between the public, and scientists, has become.

 

Every day the world becomes more dependant on technological solutions to solve our ever growing list of social, economic, and environmental problems.

 

The need for the public’s trust and confidence in the scientific process has never been greater.

 

If that trust is squandered through scientific fraud or misconduct, it isn’t just the scientific community that will suffer, but society as a whole.

FEMA: Beware Of Post-Disaster Scam Artists

 

 

# 6728

 

While it isn’t unique to the post-Sandy disaster, scam artists are apparently plying their unsavory trade in parts of New York state, taking advantage of people already devastated by the storm.

 

FEMA, which has been dealing with inaccurate disaster assistance stories for weeks (see FEMA: Quashing Rumors), is now warning of a new `contractor scam’.

 

This from their Hurricane Sandy page.

 

Hurricane Sandy: Rumor Control

Main Content

There is a lot of misinformation circulating on social networks regarding the response and recovery effort for Hurricane Sandy. Rumors spread fast: please tell a friend, share this page and help us provide accurate information about the types of assistance available.

 

Check here often for an on-going list of rumors and their true or false status.

Contractors

There are reports that individuals claiming to be "City Assessment Contractors" assessing houses under the New York Rapid Repairs and Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) program are telling residents throughout Staten Island in New York to provide payment for services provided immediately. These "contractors" are claiming that FEMA will reimburse survivors for assessment costs and guarantee additional cash payments of $10,000 to be used for rapid repairs to their homes. This is FALSE. (November 19)

STEP assessments are free of charge. They do not provide money to individuals. STEP is meant to provide temporary measures so storm survivors may shelter-in-place in their homes. Remember, all contractors providing assessments are coordinated through your city/county officials and must provide identification prior to viewing your home. Please contact your local officials for more information about the STEP program.

 

STEP assists State and local government in performing work and services essential to saving lives, protecting public health and safety, and protecting property. In particular, STEP helps restore power, heat and hot water by funding certain emergency measures to residences that could regain power through emergency repairs. STEP can help residents safely remain in their homes pending more permanent repairs.

 

If you live in the five boroughs of New York City, call 311 to access information about the program. If you live in Nassau County, call 1-888-684-4267. Your county or city will decide what elements of the STEP Program are available for your residence. You can contact them for more information.
Anyone who was impacted by Hurricane Sandy is urged to register for assistance through FEMA by calling 1-800-621-FEMA or going to www.disasterassistance.gov or m.fema.gov (on your mobile device).

Calling 1-800-621-FEMA

 

 

Yesterday FEMA also released the following advice for avoiding being ripped off by phony contractors.

 

NEW YORKERS WARNED TO WATCH OUT FOR POST-DISASTER SCAM ARTISTS

Release date:  November 19, 2012

Release Number: NR-037

NEW YORK – As many New Yorkers work to recover from Hurricane Sandy, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials are warning of another danger: Phony building contractors and other scam artists often appear in communities struggling to recover from a disaster.

 

“In times of crisis, New Yorkers pull together,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Michael F. Byrne. “However, some people will try to take advantage of vulnerable survivors. We strongly recommend that folks take a few simple steps to make sure they’re dealing with an honest person.”

 

Here are a few of the most common post-disaster fraud practices:

Phony housing inspectors: If home damage is visible from the street, an owner/applicant may be especially vulnerable to the phony housing inspector who claims to represent FEMA or the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). An applicant should ALWAYS:

• Ask to see the inspector’s identification badge if he or she does not offer to show it. A FEMA or SBA shirt or jacket is not proof of someone’s affiliation with the government. All federal employees and contractors carry official, laminated photo identification.
• Do not give bank account numbers to an inspector claiming to be affiliated with the federal government. FEMA inspectors never require banking information.

It is important to note that FEMA housing inspectors verify damage, but do not hire or endorse specific contractors to fix homes or recommend repairs.  They do not determine your eligibility for assistance.

 

Fraudulent building contractors: Damage visible from the street also can bring out fraudulent contractors who visit an applicant’s home offering to begin work immediately. When hiring a contractor: 

• Use licensed local contractors backed by reliable references, get a written estimate from at least three contractors, including the cost of labor and materials, and read the fine print.
• Demand that contractors carry general liability insurance and workers’ compensation. If he or she is not insured, you may be liable for accidents that occur on your property.

Bogus pleas for post-disaster donations: Unscrupulous solicitors may play on the sympathy for disaster survivors. They know that many people want to help others in need. Disaster aid solicitations may arrive by phone, email, letter or face-to-face visits.  Verify legitimate solicitation:

• Ask for the charity’s exact name, street address, phone number, and web address, then phone the charity directly and confirm that the person asking for funds is an employee or volunteer.
• Don’t pay with cash — instead, pay by check made out to the charity in case funds must be stopped later.•Request a receipt with the charity’s name, street address, phone number and web address (if applicable). Legitimate nonprofit agencies routinely provide receipts for tax purposes.

Fake offers of state or federal aid: Beware if anyone claiming to be from FEMA or the state visits, calls or emails asking for an applicant’s Social Security number, bank account number or other sensitive information. Beware — that information may be sold to identity thieves or used to defraud. A twist on this scam is the phone or in-person solicitor who promises to speed up the insurance, disaster assistance or building-permit process. Then there are scam artists who promise a disaster grant and ask for large cash deposits or advance payments in full. Here’s what to do:

• Know that federal and state workers do not solicit or accept money. FEMA and SBA staff never charge applicants for disaster assistance, inspections or help in filling out applications. If in doubt, do not give out information, and report people claiming to be government workers to local police.
• Provide your Social Security number and banking information only when registering for FEMA assistance, either by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), TTY 1-800-462-7585, or going online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via a web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. If you use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services, call 1-800-621-3362.

If you suspect someone is perpetrating fraud, call the FEMA Disaster Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721. Complaints may also be made to local law enforcement agencies and to the New York State Attorney General’s office in New York at 212-416-8300 or go to their web site at: www.ag.ny.gov.

Disaster survivors who have any questions can call FEMA’s toll-free helpline at 1-800-621-3362.
For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, click www.fema.gov/disaster/40805.

More information about common of forms fraud watch our video: FEMA Media Library: Avoiding Frauds And Scams.  You can follow FEMA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA  . Also visit our blog at www.fema.gov/blog.

 

Caveat Emptor On Flu Cures

 

 

# 3976

 

 

My Great-Grandfather had a sure cure for the flu. 

 

He said, “Boy . . . at the first sign of a flu or cold, you should take to your bed . . and proceed to drink a quart of good Canadian Whiskey every day for two weeks!”

 

Otherwise, he warned, “the blasted thing would take a full 14 DAYS to get over . . .”

 

I can’t vouch for Grand Dad’s Rx, except to tell you he died at the age of 86 - the way I want to  . . .  quietly, and in his sleep - not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

 

Every one, it seems, has a pet cure for the flu. 

 

In the Ukraine, the traditional use of onions and garlic are popular.  They may not cure the flu, but they do encourage social distancing.

 
Personally, I’m a chicken soup, kinda guy.  It may not have proved very healthy for the chicken . . . but I think it is probably good for you.   (Whiskey chaser optional)

 

Of course, it is far better not to get the flu, than to try to `cure it’.  And `cure’ is the wrong word.  Once you’ve got it, the best you can hope for is to make it easier to endure.

 

Since I make a lousy patient (medics, nurses, and doctors are notoriously bad patients), my main strategy is to avoid catching the virus. 

 

And so I get the flu shot every year.  

 

I’ve already had my seasonal shot, and I’ll take the H1N1 as soon as it is offered.

 

The Web is filled with offers for potions and lotions and devices and pills to prevent the flu, or to treat it if you already have it.  Experts warn that most of these will do little but empty your wallet . . . and a few could actually cause you harm.

 

This from The Canadian press.

 

 

Experts say don't fall for swine flu 'cures' or myths, stick with flu shot

 

By Pat Hewitt (CP) – 3 hours ago

TORONTO — Pop a vitamin, ban doctors' neckties, vacuum away swine flu germs and smoke an e-cigarette to ward off H1N1.

 

Those are just some of the suggestions making the rounds on the Internet that have health officials and experts shaking their heads.

 

The Web is awash with dubious advice and various flu kits for sale as H1N1 deaths continue to rise, vaccine shortages force clinics to close and officials find themselves unable to provide a hard date for when the general public can get their flu shot.

 

The message from experts to those tempted to buy into such schemes - don't.

 

Dr. Donald Low, chief microbiologist at Toronto's Mount Sinai hospital, chuckles when he hears about some of the alternative remedies, including one that suggests putting onions around the house, like a farmer did with the Spanish flu in 1918, to absorb the virus.

 

"Well in 1918, what could you do? You had little else. Unfortunately that doesn't make any biological sense and there's been no scientific evidence that such a thing would actually work," said Low.

 

"It sounds kind of cute and might be a little obnoxious to have to have peeled onions around the house."

 

Still, questionable cures are so commonplace that Health Canada and the Competition Bureau were compelled last Wednesday to issue a warning advising people not to purchase products claiming to fight or prevent swine flu.

 

Health Canada said it was monitoring the Internet and would take action against Canadian websites selling unauthorized products.

 

(Continue . . . )

 

I will admit that I’m not quite as dismissive of things like a little extra Vitamin D, or C during flu season as the doctor in this article, but I certainly wouldn’t rely on them to protect me against the flu.

Most of the flu supplies I’ve seen advertised online have either been of dubious value, or horribly overpriced.

So the best advice is caveat emptor.

 

And get your flu shot. 

 

You should also ask your doctor if the 23-valent pneumococcal (Pneumovax) vaccine is appropriate for you.

 

CDC Issues Pneumococcal Vaccine Recommendations