Many people put their signatures where the administration tells them. The clerical people inculcate this habit in doctors, and the doctors make others do the same when it is their turn to get signatures.
"If your teacher is on leave, get your head of department's signature in his place" the clerks tell our postgraduate students, when they have to send their exam forms to the health university. If I refuse, they say "why not? All department heads do so."
They send me technical specifications of equipment asked for by other institutes, if the cost is above one million rupees. "Please sign the specifications and return the paper" the clerks say. I cannot understand how I can sign that document, when I have not developed it, and the contents of which I do not necessarily agree with. When I express this thought, they say "you just have to sign it. There is nothing more to it." As if the signature is just a part of a ritual which must be carried out, though it has no value in real life.
I have to forward every research proposal to the Ethics Committee of the institute. That includes research proposals of faculty, and proposals of dissertations by the postgraduate students. I used to sign all of those, until I realized that times have changed, and I can be dragged to a court by anyone when anything goes wrong with the proposal.
"Please tell me what my liability is when I sign this document" I asked the secretary of the Ethics Committee.
"You just have to sign it. There is nothing to it."
"What if something goes wrong and someone sues me when I am not connected with the research in any way?" I asked. "If my liability is owing to my administrative position, the civic body should be liable, and pay for any compensation ordered by a court."
"......."
"Will your committee answer my question if I write to it?" I asked. When she said 'yes', I wrote the letter, asking the following. I wrote all possible options, so that they would understand what I wanted.
"Please clarify if my liability is financial, medical, legal, ethical, scientific, moral, and/or any other."
I received an answer after a month and half. It read as follows. "The Ethics Committee deliberated the issue and could not reach any conclusion. So we asked the Boss. The Boss advised as follows. 'The head of the department has to sign all proposals for research by everybody in that department.' The letter with Boss' remarks is attached herewith."
It was a classical example of giving no answer as an answer. I wrote back, thanking for their letter, but asked for clarification on the points I had written about in the my letter. They kept the letter for another month and half, and wrote back "your matter is under consideration, and we will answer your question when a decision is reached. A few months have passed. An answer is awaited. No matter. I have 6 years and 3 months up to retirement. I can wait. In the meantime, I forward all proposals with a remark "forwarded without any financial, medical, legal, ethical, scientific, moral, and/or any other liability. They do not like it, but they take the proposals, because they cannot refuse them without reason, and they cannot decide on a reason. I heard they are thanking God that the heads of other departments have not caught on this idea yet.
"If your teacher is on leave, get your head of department's signature in his place" the clerks tell our postgraduate students, when they have to send their exam forms to the health university. If I refuse, they say "why not? All department heads do so."
They send me technical specifications of equipment asked for by other institutes, if the cost is above one million rupees. "Please sign the specifications and return the paper" the clerks say. I cannot understand how I can sign that document, when I have not developed it, and the contents of which I do not necessarily agree with. When I express this thought, they say "you just have to sign it. There is nothing more to it." As if the signature is just a part of a ritual which must be carried out, though it has no value in real life.
I have to forward every research proposal to the Ethics Committee of the institute. That includes research proposals of faculty, and proposals of dissertations by the postgraduate students. I used to sign all of those, until I realized that times have changed, and I can be dragged to a court by anyone when anything goes wrong with the proposal.
"Please tell me what my liability is when I sign this document" I asked the secretary of the Ethics Committee.
"You just have to sign it. There is nothing to it."
"What if something goes wrong and someone sues me when I am not connected with the research in any way?" I asked. "If my liability is owing to my administrative position, the civic body should be liable, and pay for any compensation ordered by a court."
"......."
"Will your committee answer my question if I write to it?" I asked. When she said 'yes', I wrote the letter, asking the following. I wrote all possible options, so that they would understand what I wanted.
"Please clarify if my liability is financial, medical, legal, ethical, scientific, moral, and/or any other."
I received an answer after a month and half. It read as follows. "The Ethics Committee deliberated the issue and could not reach any conclusion. So we asked the Boss. The Boss advised as follows. 'The head of the department has to sign all proposals for research by everybody in that department.' The letter with Boss' remarks is attached herewith."
It was a classical example of giving no answer as an answer. I wrote back, thanking for their letter, but asked for clarification on the points I had written about in the my letter. They kept the letter for another month and half, and wrote back "your matter is under consideration, and we will answer your question when a decision is reached. A few months have passed. An answer is awaited. No matter. I have 6 years and 3 months up to retirement. I can wait. In the meantime, I forward all proposals with a remark "forwarded without any financial, medical, legal, ethical, scientific, moral, and/or any other liability. They do not like it, but they take the proposals, because they cannot refuse them without reason, and they cannot decide on a reason. I heard they are thanking God that the heads of other departments have not caught on this idea yet.
