How useful is ethics class?

PhD students and postdocs who get training in responsible conduct in research (RCR) don't absorb the lessons, especially when they've seen others break the rules before, according to a recent linkurl:report;http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=article&issn=0898-9621&volume=15&issue=1&spage=30 in the journal __Accountability in Research: Policies & Quality Assurance.__ Main message: Getting rules in ethics classes is useless if the scientific community doesn't obey the rules, too. The authors write, "The absence of enforced rules that are agreed to by the entire scientific community makes achieving adherence to a purported standard very difficult." The authors interviewed students who participated in RCR lectures. Excerpts of interviewer (I), participant (P) comments are available via the blog linkurl:Medical Writing, Editing & Grantsmanship.;http://writedit.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/street-vs-book-rcr-smarts/ The following is one example of where the "absence of enforced" or specific rules, such as courtesy or honorary authorship, makes some ethical standards seem open for interpretation: __I: How do you feel about courtesy authorship or honorary authorship?...