AAAS Annual Meeting Program Events

Thursday, February 14

Workshop on Responsible Professional Practices in a Changing Research Environment
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Room 207, Hynes Convention Center

The workshop is funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health and the 3M Corporation. The 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting Workshop has as its theme, Professional Development and Responsible Science. This workshop on professional development and responsible practice will be directed toward trainees (e.g., graduate students and post-docs) and early career scientists, and will cover such topics as responsible communication of research results, developing a successful research program, international collaborations, and giving and receiving good mentoring. More senior faculty interested in establishing or enhancing programs on career development and/or responsible conduct at their home institutions are also encouraged to attend.

Friday, February 15

AAAS Awards Ceremony and Reception
6:30 PM - 7:45 PM
Republic Ballroom, Sheraton Boston Hotel

Saturday, February 16

Career Workshop: Scientists and Engineers Working for Human Rights: Approaches to Effective Engagement
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Room 209, Hynes Convention Center

Scientists and engineers are intrinsic to human rights work, yet many are unaware of the opportunities that exist to integrate a commitment to human rights with their professional careers. The workshop will explore varied pathways for providing scientific talent, tools, and techniques to human rights work through professional affiliations, classroom activities, and community involvement and as a full-time career.

Presenters:

• Scott A. Allen, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside
• Felisa Tibbitts, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
• Patrick Vinck, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

Science and Human Rights Coalition: Bi-Annual Meeting

This meeting of the AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition will focus on the intersections between children's rights, science and technology. Participants will learn about the rights of children set out in international declarations and treaties, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and how this approach differs from others with which scientists, engineers and health professionals who study or work with children may be more familiar. Panels and workshops will explore cutting edge issues including: new opportunities and challenges for research on children's rights; urgent children's rights issues in the United States on which science and technology could have an impact; the positive and negative effects of the Internet for protecting children's rights; and the implications of children's rights for research ethics and professional responsibility. Register.

Webinar: Applying a Human Rights Framework to Civil Engineering

3:00 PM ET

Now, more than ever, society is looking to civil engineers to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life. This level of public trust, coupled with the principles, plans, and processes of civil engineering offer diverse entry points for the application of human rights. Building on a common understanding of the general connections between civil engineering and human rights, join us for a webinar to explore specific opportunities and challenges for addressing human rights in the discipline.

Questions that will be addressed include:

• What are human rights? What is the connection with civil engineering?
• How can human rights present a lens through which to evaluate civil engineering projects and their outcomes?
• What responsibility do civil engineers have addressing human rights in their work?
• What potential human rights impacts and implications arise in the context of civil engineering?
• How can human rights inform the monitoring and evaluation of civil engineering?

Register for this interactive, informative and thought provoking webinar led by Associate Director of the AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program Jessica Wyndham.

To Register:

To register for the webinar go to, http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=26066225. This webinar is open to non-ASCE members. Anyone who is not an ASCE member who wishes to participate should write "Human Rights" in the field that asks for the ASCE ID number.

Program Evaluation for Human Rights Organizations

Program evaluation can be a useful tool for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of human rights interventions. Knowing how to track outcomes and impacts is important for program planning and design and often helpful for securing donor support. Heléne Clark, Executive Director of ActKnowledge, will provide an introduction to tools, measures and processes for implementing program evaluation within an organization. Human rights professionals from groups, such as Human Rights Watch and the International Center for Transitional Justice, will discuss their experiences implementing program evaluation in their own organizations, highlighting some of the unique considerations involved in evaluating human rights programs. Attendees will also learn about opportunities to enlist pro bono experts through the AAAS On-Call Scientists initiative.