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AAAS
American Association for the Advancement of Science Founded in 1848, AAAS is a non-profit professional society. Their mission is to "[further the work of scientists, facilitate cooperation among them, foster scientific freedom and responsibility, improve the effectiveness of science in the promotion of human welfare, advance education in science, and increase the publics understanding and appreciation of the promise of scientific methods in human progress." Membership is open to all.
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AAES
American Association of Engineering Societies is an association of various engineering societies. It works to coordinate information and activities among these societies, and represents the interests of the engineering community to the government, to the general public, and to the media.
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AAM
The American Academy of Microbiology is composed of distinguished scientists who have been recognized for excellence in microbiology. It is an elite group within the American Society of Microbiology (ASM).
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AAUP
American Association of University Professors is concerned with academic freedom, tenure, and professional responsibility. Its codes and policies are compiled in what is known as the "Redbook."
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Academic honesty, academic integrity
Academic honesty or integrity is the maintenance of truthfulness and proper crediting of sources of ideas and expressions. Behaviors such as cheating on examinations and lab reports, or plagiarism of course papers and homework assignments violate academic integrity. Violations of academic integrity by students have the same character as violations of research integrity by scholars and research investigators
(see RESEARCH ETHICS). Other matters of academic integrity include honesty in writing letters of recommendation and in reporting institutional statistics.
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Accountable
To be accountable is to be answerable or required to answer for one's actions. Sometimes the term "accountable" is used with a moral connotation ("normatively") meaning morally required to answer for one's actions without specifying to whom one is accountable. More often "accountable" is used descriptively to describe the sociological fact that a person or organization in question is required to answer to a particular party by some rules or organizational structure. For example, "the principal is accountable to the school board" gives a description of the social facts without suggesting anything about the ethical legitimacy of the organizational structure.
Confusion arises when "responsible" is used as a synonym for "accountable," especially in discussions of official responsibilities. When "responsible" is used as a synonym for "accountable" the preposition "to" is also involved, as in "each staff employee is responsible/accountable to a supervisor"(see RESPONSIBILITY). Being a responsible person, that is, the sort of person who fulfills one's moral responsibilities, is an ideal of character, a virtue. Being accountable is not a moral virtue but only a fact about one?s social or organizational situation. Although it is often argued that people are more likely to behave responsibly if they are held accountable for their actions, there is no necessary link between being responsible and being accountable.
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Administrative law
Administrative law is constituted by that body of regulations, rules, orders, decisions, and policies that carry out the regulatory powers created of administrative agencies. In ordinary use, as contrasted with technical legal use, people often speak of administrative law as "regulation." For example, it is often pointed out that it is easier for regulatory agencies, such as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to update their regulations than it is to get Congress to pass new laws. In the technical legal sense, regulation is law. It has "the force of law." It differs from legislation only in that such matters as the legal limit on some substance may be changed by regulators (because of better scientific studies on its effects, for example) without going back to legislators for new legislation. Administrative law, like all other forms of law, is subject to assessment and criticism in terms of ethics and justice. See also CIVIL LAW and CRIMINAL LAW.
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Affirmative Action
Positive steps to enhance the diversity of some group, often to remedy the cumulative effect of subtle as well as gross expressions of prejudice. In science and engineering affirmative actions often aim to enhance the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in these fields.
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Applied Research
Applied research is the investigation of phenomena to discover whether their properties are appropriate to a particular need or want, usually a human need or want. In contrast, basic research investigates phenomena without reference to particular needs and wants. Applied research is more closely associated with technology, engineering, invention, and development. Basic research is sometimes described as "pure research."
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Assent
Assent is a variation of the concept of Informed Consent specifically used in reference to research subjects such as children or other persons without the full competence to provide informed consent. For instance, because children under 18 are below the legal age of consent, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) requires additional protections when children are involved as subjects. Assent is defined as a child?s affirmative agreement to participate in research. Mere failure to object should not, absent affirmative agreement, be construed as assent" (45 CFR 46 Subpart D). In addition, the federal regulations require the permission of one or both parents or guardians of the child, depending on the nature of the research to be performed.