[SEATTLE] Whistleblowers who alert authorities to alleged instances of scientific misconduct are facing an increasingly hostile environment in which colleagues, research administrators and even investigators called in to examine their claims ate closing ranks against them, the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science was told last week. Despite laws that are supposed to protect them, whistleblowers often find themselves subjected to suspicion and investigation, according to Joan Sieber, a psychology professor at California State University. They are statistically likely to lose not only their job, professional friends and status, but even their home and spouse.
展开▼
