Chapter 5 General Policies

5.1 Communication

Weekly meetings: depending on the lab members availability, Weekly meetings will be organized to discuss topics and tasks, follow up on ongoing and discuss future projects. In addition, other aspects of our scientific endeavors in the RIPLRT are often discussed in our Weekly meetings. The day/time-slot will depend on the availability of the RIPLRT members as documented in the WhenIWork platform.

5.2 Documents

Unless stated otherwise, all documents must be created within RIPLRT Drive. If not created within the RIPLRT, the document must be shared to the RIPLRT Drive. In this way, the document is easier to make available to each team member and helps the real-time collaboration on the document. Of course, there will be circumstances in which we may create a document outside the our RIPLRT Drive. Even if it is the very first draft of a document and you are the sole author of the document, create the file directly on the RIPLRT Drive. This is one of our foundational policies – to have an open group in order to contribute to the Open Science movement and implement transparency.

5.3 Naming of Documents

As RIPLRT implements computational approaches, which always have specific file-naming protocols, we would like to implement a naming protocol to all of our files. Within each folder in our RIPLRT Drive, there will be a file (created in Google Doc) named “How_To_Name_A_File_In_This_Folder”. Make sure to always revise this file if you forgot the file-naming protocol within a specific folder. If for any reasons the naming_file is not available, make sure to let the PI or the Lab Manager know about this inconvenience.

Note: important to consult with the Lab Manager or PI how would be the strategy to naming a group of related documents.

5.4 Hours

Currently, we are using When I Work (WIWI). Please update your availability through the site at least three weeks ahead. This allows us to have schedules posted 1 week in advance. Nevertheless, revise your availability as needed.

If we have to plan to be in the lab outside the assigned schedule as per the WhenIWork app, please let Dr. Rivera-Mariani know.

5.5 Deadlines

Every deadline is a hard deadline (unless otherwise stated by Dr. Rivera-Mariani or within the RIPLRT). With that being said, be sure to stay up-to-date and punctual with meetings and submissions. Remember, we want our time to be appreciated: RIPLRT lab members also deserve their time to be appreciated as well.

5.6 Conferences/ Travel

Our group advocates travel for conferences to present current and ongoing research projects, to network with colleagues from other institutions and countries, and as another way to be up-to-date with science. Different conferences offer travel grants, and each person interested in attending the conference is responsible for funding their costs unless otherwise stated. Some funds may be available upon request. It is highly recommended that each RIPLRT member to be on the look for scholarhsip, travel awards, or other funding opportunities to attend to conferences.

For the reasons stated above, every RIPLRT member is expected to present ongoign research in at least one national conference per year. In the case of mentees and interns, the work produced during their stay at the RIPLRT will be expected to be presented at a regional or (preferably) national conference that can benefit their academic goals.