[ASA] Code of Conduct breach at the Annual Science Meeting

[Richard McDermid]

Dear ASA,

I am writing to inform you of an incident that occurred at the Annual Science Meeting in Adelaide this year.

During the ECR Chapter Town Hall in the final afternoon of the meeting, an open-format anonymous poll was used to engage the audience in questions regarding the future directions and community needs for the Chapter, providing live feedback to the audience in attendance via the main projector screen. While the vast majority of participants responded to the questionnaire in a professional and appropriate way, some took the opportunity to post responses which were unrelated to the topic of discussion, politically motivated, and potentially targeted at individuals in attendance – something that would constitute harassment.

This incident has been reported to, and reviewed by, the ASA Ethics Committee, who have deemed this behaviour is in breach of the ASA Code of Conduct<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/nXKZCANpgjCEyRv9qcGfgtGEKJL?domain=asa.astronomy.org.au>, which all attendees agreed to when they registered for the meeting. As the live poll was anonymous, the identities of the people involved in making these inappropriate posts is not known. However, the Committee felt it important to call out this behaviour with the ASA community, identifying it as unacceptable, and reminding the membership that breaches of the Code of Conduct can result in sanctions, as described in Section 4 of the “Handling of Potential Breaches of the ASA Statement of Ethics and Code of Conduct<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/Z-7LCBNqjlC8QngV2H6hnt2LpVX?domain=asa.astronomy.org.au>” policy. These include indefinite suspension of Society membership.

Live, anonymous polls are commonly used for engaging audiences, and effectively getting feedback on discussion topics from the broadest possible range of participants. Under the ASA Code of Conduct, this should be a perfectly safe and professional activity. However, in light of this incident, session organisers should consider running polls in a non-anonymous way to provide accountability for posted content. ASA Council will consider mandating this for future ASA events to ensure a higher level of personal accountability, though noting this may reduce the level of engagement and openness of input.

As a reminder, the ASA Code of Conduct outlines the Society’s expectations for behaviour and conduct. The Code applies to all participants at ASA endorsed meetings or activities, and to ASA members at all astronomical meetings or activities. The Code of Conduct exists to provide a safe and open environment for all members and event participants to focus on progressing science and research in a positive and professional way.

If you are not already familiar with the ASA’s framework and governance structures for ethics and conduct, please review the following Society page: https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/_ezKCD1vlpT32xRBGTAiLtjqf1A?domain=asa.astronomy.org.au.

On behalf of the ASA Ethics Committee,
Richard

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Professor Richard McDermid
(he/him)

Director, Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO)
Interim Dean, School of Engineering
Director, Astrophysics and Space Technologies Research Centre
President, Astronomical Society of Australia
Macquarie University,
Sydney, Australia

T: +61 (0)2 9372 4811 / +61 (0)2 9850 4476
W: https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/Kpq5CE8wmrtprqQWXTPsjt76lnQ?domain=bit.ly

I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the Macquarie University Land, the Wallumattagal people of the Dharug nation, whose cultures and customs have nurtured, and continue to nurture, this land since the Dreamtime.

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