Code of Conduct

Overview

We value the participation of every member of our community and want to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable and fulfilling experience, both professionally and personally. Accordingly, all members of the Clinical Neuromuscular Adaptation Laboratory (CNAlab) are expected to show respect and courtesy to others at all times. In addition, we value the multidisciplinary collaboration among all those involved in any CNAlab project with different background and expertise. Thus, all CNAlab members should endeavor to understand the differences in background and expertise and to communicate in a way that grows together. We create our culture, and our culture is inclusive.

Please note that this code of conduct is not a legal document, supplementing, but not supplanting, University-level policies for your level of employ or study.

Inclusivity and diversity

Dr. Son, as the PI of the CNAlab, and all CNAlab members are dedicated to a harassment-free and discrimination-free experience for everyone. Discrimination or harassment based on racial or ethnic background, citizenship status, religion (or lack thereof), political affiliation, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, dis/ability status, appearance or body size will not be tolerated. We do not tolerate harassment or discrimination by and/or of members of our community in any form. To make clear what is expected, we ask all members of the community to conform to the following principles:

• All communication - online and in person - should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual or discriminatory language and imagery is not appropriate at any time.

• Be kind to others, and do not insult or put down other members. Criticism is essential in science, but it must be constructive if we're going to move it forward in a supportive, inclusive way. We acknowledge that we will grow as a team and learn from each other.

• Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate, but even more generally, treat others with respect. Give colleagues your attention and courtesy.

• Please make an effort to make an inclusive environment for everyone. Give everyone a chance to talk and an opportunity to contribute. Don't dominate, talk over, or try to compete with your colleagues. Lift up and make space.

• Watch out for microaggressions. Be aware that your actions can be hurtful to others or contribute to a negative environment even if you had no intent of harm. Listen. Offer a genuine apology. Commit to learning and doing better.

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, race, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of discussions, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

The PI will discuss the code of conduct with lab members who violate these rules, no matter how much they have contributed to the CNAlab, or how specialized or needed their skill set. If inappropriate behavior persists after this initial discussion, formal processes in line with the NJIT's procedures will commence.

To report an issue please contact the PI. All communication will be treated as confidential. If you do not feel comfortable contacting the PI directly, please feel free to talk with a member of the Human Resources (https://hr.njit.edu/contact-us) or our Title IX coordinator (https://www.njit.edu/titleix/resources-and-reporting).

Mental Health

There is increasing evidence that certain attributes of academic research may challenge your mental health. Specific factors driving this include:

• Low pay and quality-of-life issues, particularly as a function of living in an expensive city as New York metropolitan area

• Feelings of isolation in your research; e.g., everyone has their own topic and it can often feel as if you are working on your own

• Uncertainty in your research, although it should be noted that, in research of all kinds, it is not just the outcomes that are uncertain, but the questions themselves!

• Uncertainty in your post-training career

• So-called “negative results”; i.e., at some point in your research it is likely that certain questions will be more challenging to answer than anticipated, or that you will feel you have spent days/months/years toiling with little to show

• Burnout; i.e., feeling the need to work endless hours to make up for the above issues, and the subsequent exhaustion

All trainees come across most of these issues at some level. We strongly encourage everyone in the group to take an active and pre-emptive approach towards the maintenance of their mental health. We assure you that you have the time and resources needed for a highly successful training. If there is anything that is placing undue stress, or preventing you from performing at your potential, please do not hesitate to let the PI or any of the staff in the department know how we can help. You should also be familiar resources on campus: Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (https://www.njit.edu/counseling/). Every effort will be made to help you access the right support networks.

Flexible working hours

We recognize that many of you have personal responsibilities and obligations in addition to your work in the CNAlab. We appreciate that, at times, it can be difficult to balance those demands, and that a classic ‘9-to-5’ day may not be optimal. Because of this, the exact hours you choose to work are up to you. However, being on campus between 10:00 AM and 04:00 PM most days may help facilitate collaborative working and, we hope, lead to a more fulfilling research experience. Where possible, meetings and events will not be arranged outside these hours to allow participation by all CNAlab members. The PI prefers not to work on weekends unless absolutely necessary. However, your work week may be different, and when traveling for work these guidelines may be eroded. Just be flexible with your time, be respectful of other peoples’ decisions on how they spend their time, and remember it is NOT how hard you are seen to be working, it is the quality of your work and the quality of your accomplishments and outcomes.

Please inform the PI of holidays or notable absences in advance (there is a group calendar that you can use). Permission for holiday is rarely required, but please respect key deadlines within the calendar year and respect that we work as a team. It is important to take holiday, respect weekends (or time in lieu) and establish a sustainable work-life balance. It is also important to respect the time and efforts of others, and the contribution of funders, and to note that effective working will improve the quality of your research. Where there are key time pressures, it is important to prioritize work. If you struggle with establishing a sustainable work life balance, please discuss this with the PI at an early stage.

Intergroup communication

The majority of intergroup communication occurs via Microsoft Teams. It is suggested that you install the desktop client on your PC, and that you install a client on your mobile. Often questions about the lab can be quickly and easily answers from the General channel in the CNAlab Team, or via direct chatting in Microsoft Teams. For most Mondays, there is a weekly catch up via Microsoft Teams. Please endeavor to reply (between 10:30 AM and 05:30 PM) as this is a useful feedback mechanism to assist in prioritizing group activities, and to provide focus for your own work.

For all communication methods, please respect members’ working patterns, and remember that other members will have different priorities and focus. Avoid sending work-related email outside of 08:00 AM and 06:00 PM. The University Google Mail comes with "scheduled emails" to facilitate this, and most email clients have the same capability (in-built or via add-ons) or simply write an email and save as a draft, then send later. Automated emails are fine at any time. Please avoid sending work-related emails with very short deadlines and consider the timing of your correspondence with respect to what the recipient needs to do; for example, try not to send a message at 05:00 PM for something that is required for a 10:00 AM meeting the next day. No lab members are required nor should feel obliged to reply to messages outside of their typical work hours. However, prompt replies to messages, within these times, are helpful. If you must send work-related emails with very short deadlines, follow the email up with a brief text or call to the recipient. That conversation should start with an apology for the short turnaround time. You should also be a member of the CNAlab distribution lists. Please remember that these groups have a large subscriber base, and that emails to the groups (especially) should be polite, informative, and respectful.

In your work-related life, you may wish to engage with social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, ResearchGate, LinkedIn, etc.). Please be considerate of others when using these platforms, and respectful for how others may wish to use them. We are not compelled to engage with any social media or use any media for work related purposes and we will never pressure each other to ‘friend’ or ‘follow’ each other.

If you experience any challenges related to flexible working or communication within the CNAlab, please do not hesitate to contact the PI. All discussions will be treated as confidential.

Meetings

Group meetings

Typically, we host a weekly group meeting at 2:00 PM on Fridays, and all CNAlab members are expected to attend if they are not otherwise engaged in other research-related activities (e.g., at conference, attending training or a lecture, or using a central facility, etc.). The CNAlab meeting is an excellent forum for updating colleagues on project progress, developing research skills, and widening our collective understanding. Meetings provide a forum for the presentation of results, such as ‘dry-runs’ of conference talks, and more informal discussions around research topics arising. As part of your professional training, you will be expected to lead a group discussion on a topic of your choice at least once per term.

Individual meetings

These will occur weekly unless canceled by the trainee. These will give you an opportunity to talk about anything that you want to address (e.g., research progress, administrative issues, career, life, etc.). You are encouraged to send a short agenda ahead of time and to come fully prepared for individual meetings; in this way, discussions can be focused such that all concerns are addressed. Meeting reports (e.g., presentation slides and/or OneNote) should contain an overview of: (1) what your plans were for the last week; (2) work undertaken; (3) issues arising; and (4) a forward plan for the next week. Such reports are an important way to self-monitor your progress, as well as keeping your academic advisor(s) informed of both positive and negative developments. They are particularly important for those who have advisors based in other institutions.

Journal clubs

We host a monthly journal club at 10:00 AM on Wednesdays, and all CNAlab members are expected to attend if they are not otherwise engaged in other research-related activities (e.g. at conference, attending training or a lecture, or using a central facility, etc.). The CNAlab journal club is an excellent forum for keeping us updated with background or new knowledge, learning research findings and limitations more in depth, and stimulating thoughtful discussions for the current and prospective projects. As part of your professional training, you will be expected to lead a journal club on a topic of your choice at least once per term. To facilitate the journal club, you must upload your presentation paper at least one week before the date of presentation (with a gentle group notification) and your presentation materials before your presentation to the General channel in the CNAlab Team.

Output dissemination

All CNAlab members are expected to complete a check-list document whenever applicable. This check-list document is to provide a standard and appropriate method of ensuring a minimum standard (both written and ethical) of the CNAlab output. The check-list document can be downloaded from the General channel in the CNAlab Team. Please upload the check-list document to the appropriate channel for your project whenever applicable.

Briefly, manuscripts (for both journals and conferences) must be shown to and receive formal approval from all co-authors prior to submission or resubmission. Please give co-authors at least two weeks to comment on manuscripts; at busy times of the year, they may need longer. Also note that you should check instructions to authors or similar guidance for each paper/abstract submission. Upon any significant updates available (e.g., revision, acceptance, rejection, etc.), you must inform all co-authors of the outcome as soon as possible. You are then expected to discuss the plan with the PI, preferably in person, and to ensure all co-authors get a chance to look at and comment on page proofs. Note that after paper acceptance, final text and graphics files must be uploaded to the appropriate channel for your project, in raw format within 14 days.

This practice may not be ideal for some other dissemination methods (e.g., patent, media, etc.), and if you have any questions or concerns, please discuss with the PI.

Authorship

Authorship on any manuscript or presentation will be openly discussed in the CNAlab meetings, and we aim to be inclusive of everyone who has made a significant contribution to the work being presented. A “significant contribution” can include but is not limited to, interpretations of primary data and development of ideas presented in the work; it needs not include data curation or financial contribution to the work undertaken.

The order list of authors will typically follow the Physical Sciences conventions of the lead author (who will often lead writing of the document) who takes the first position, and significant up-front positions are dictated by the approximate percentage contribution made by each author. Latter author positions are often held by supervisors of the work. As a group, we will endeavor to encourage an open dialogue about this, and ideally authorship check-ins will occur several times over the lifetime of the study. We will include an author contribution statement as part of a paper. Where conflict arises, the PI will facilitate discussion to help resolve this.

Conference attendance

If funding permits, you will be supported (financially and otherwise) to attend and participate in conferences related to your training. You can either pay conference and travel fees and be reimbursed or direct me towards any bookings that you need. In either case, you are expected to register for the conference as a student (if relevant or the cheapest category) and in advance to obtain discounted registration fees. When possible, you will fly economy class and book the cheapest accommodation possible. You are expected to share your room if travelling with colleagues, even if they are from outside of the CNAlab. You must book no later than one month in advance of the conference, and preferably earlier to obtain the lowest cost travel costs and accommodations. In general, each lab member will be supported to attend one conference per year, with costs decided upon ahead of time on a case-by-case basis. You are strongly encouraged to apply for travel awards to cover conference expenses. Note that we will typically aim to attend conferences as a group, such that accommodation costs can be shared and based on experience, a more significant group ‘impact’ can be achieved. Exceptions can of course be made for conferences specific to your area of study and/or interest. For any questions or concerns regarding your ability to abide by any part of the travel policy or to request alternate arrangements, you can always discuss with the PI.

To better prepare your presentation or poster, you must send your final draft to all co-authors at least one week before the date of presentation. Ideally, a near-final draft should be completed two-weeks before the date of presentation, so that it can be presented at a CNAlab weekly group meeting; in this way, you will be able to receive feedback from your colleagues. Note that the similar practice, as described in Output dissemination (see above), is applied.

Lab and data management

The lab space is shared between members of different labs and research groups. Keeping a clean and organized lab space is the responsibility of all CNAlab members. Please ensure that you are leaving any shared space of equipment in an equal or better state then when you started using it, in order to maintain the quality and function of these spaces. If you are unsure where an item is/belongs, please reach out to ensure that it is placed is its proper location.

All computers should be backed up, daily, to at least two locations (e.g., your main computer and an external hard drive or network drive). Upon completion of a project and where data confidentiality allows, all data and final manuscripts should be placed on your project channels in the CNAlab Team.

The group operates numerous compute resources (e.g., shared drives). These shared resources should be respected and not abused, and if you need more computation resources then please discuss your individual requirements with the PI.

Journals

You should be familiar with recently published material relevant to your training project. The list of journals you need to follow is very large these days, so we recommend that you create MyNCBI, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate accounts, and use them to create weekly keyword searches for relevant key words.

Vacation

You are expected to take vacation per year, beyond public holidays and the college closure at Christmas. I strongly encourage you to take this time, so that you can relax, visit family and friends, and generally unwind from the rigors of work. Although not a formal requirement, it is helpful to inform the PI in advance when you plan to take holidays or if you will not be present at CNAlab meetings.

Thank you and please enjoy your time in the CNAlab!

Version 1.0 (July 20, 2022)

This Code of Conduct (CoC) borrows heavily and is modified from the following open source CoCs: Gilbert Lab (Jack A Gilbert); BahlaiLab (Christie Bahlai); WhitakerLab (Kirstie Whitaker); Environmental Modelling Research Group (Jon Hill); Experimental Micromechanical Characterisation Research Group (Ben Britton); and Basins Research Group (Christopher Jackson). Many thanks!