ETHOS
DECEMBER 2014
A Monthly Publication of the International Center for Academic Integrity Featuring Summaries of Integrity News + News from the Center
Quote of the Month
“The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” -Laura Ingalls Wilder
New Plan Hatched to Block Plagiarism’s Spread By: Wagdy Sawahel
Al-Fanar Media
12/08/2014
A Sudanese university wants to set up a network among Arab universities to stop students accused of plagiarism from moving from institution to institution. The university’s suggestion echoes recommendations by other Arab academics that they will have to get serious about policing plagiarism if they are going to successfully educate a new generation of researchers. Esam al-Din Adam, dean of the College of Graduate Studies of Omdurman Islamic University, in Sudan, announced that goal last month in response to an incident in which 10 students were found to have plagiarized. The university took any degrees it had awarded to the accused students away from them and banned them from applying to any programs at the university, according to a report in the Sudanese newspaper, Almeghar Alsyasy. The university says it will also design a computer program that will work in 24 languages to detect plagiarized research. In addition, the university will ask every student seeking an advanced degree to sign an agreement that they will lose any degree earned if they are found guilty later of plagiarism. Magdi Tawfik Abdelhamid, a research professor at Cairo’s National Research Centre, welcomed the anti-plagiarism measures saying, “It is an ideal example for other Arab universities to follow in order to combat this bad ‘cut and paste’ academic behavior.” Abdelhamid called for “not putting the problem of academic plagiarism under the carpet as it always happens but facing it openly at both local and Arab levels before it becomes the order of the day…”
Visit http://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2014/12/new-plan-hatchedblock-plagiarisms-spread/ for the complete article and to read a response from ICAI’s director, Dr. Teddi Fishman. Put the Intent Back into Plagiarism!
By: Shanlon Wu
Huffington Post Education
From the Director Don’t Rely on the Numbers Mark Twain credits Benjamin Disraeli with the expression, “there are lies, damned lies, and statistics” and nowhere is that sentiment illustrated more clearly than with academic integrity. While it may seem that a drop in cheating cases is cause for celebration, research like that done by Donald McCabe shows that the number of cases and the amount of cheating taking place have almost no relationship to each other at all. Instead, the number of cases is related to instructors’ vigilance and perhaps even more so, their willingness to take action. Paradoxically, after effective programs that raise consciousness about integrity, the number of cheating cases can rise. Far from being an indictment of the effort, this is simply a predictable result of more people paying attention to the issues and working to resolve them. Happy Holiday Season to all friends of the Center! May you and your loved ones experience joy for the holidays and welcome in a wondrous, integrous New Year!
~Teddi Fishman
though they were. The mistakes are unintentional and most
12/11//2014 often the product of carelessness. Punishing unintentional
In our college student defense legal practice, we frequently defend students charged with plagiarism for having turned in incompletely cited drafts or the wrong drafts as final drafts. These cases almost always arise under student honor codes that treat the element of intent as irrelevant to their definition of plagiarism.
mistakes by applying the harsh label of plagiarism is unjust and contrary to the purpose of academic honor codes.
Colleges and universities need to put the element of intent back into their definitions of plagiarism. Too many academic honor codes have eliminated the element of intent from their definitions of plagiarism. An honor code that ignores intent is an honor code that doesn't care about honor and Although these papers may otherwise deserve low or even one that serves no true educational purpose… failing grades, they clearly are not attempts to pass off http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shanlon-wu/put-the-intentsomeone else's work as their own and should not be treated as back-into-_b_6307938.html
Announcements
Upcoming Events! Plagiarism Across Europe and Beyond 2015 University of Brno Brno, Czech Republic June 10-12, 2015 http:/plagiarism.cz/
7th Annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy Virginia Tech February 3 – 6, 2015 http://www.cider.vt.edu/conference/
HETL 2015: Reaching the Summit Orem, Utah January 20-22, 2015 https://www.hetl.org/events/2015hetl-sote-utah-conference/
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www.facebook.com/AcademicIntegrity
http://www.twitter.com/TweetCAI
Ex-VC of Delhi University Sent to Jail for Plagiarism, Released The Times of India
National Centre for Academic Integrity Launching 11/26/2014 in Lahore, Pakistan
Amid high drama, former Delhi
University vice-chancellor Deepak Pental was sent to jail by a city court in a case of alleged plagiarism and forgery. The Delhi high court stayed the arrest order by evening and directed the Tihar Jail authorities to immediately release the academic. Justice S. Muralidhar granted the relief on urgent mentioning by Pental's lawyer and said the stay will remain until the date of hearing.
http://itu.edu.pk/research/nationalcentre-for-academic-integrity/ National Centre for Academic Integrity (NCAI) is the first center of its kind to be established in any Pakistani University. The need for the National Center for Academic Integrity (NCAI) is to combat cheating, plagiarism, and academic dishonesty in higher education.
The main purpose of establishment of NCAI is to identify and promote Earlier, additional chief metropolitan the values of academic integrity magistrate Vinod Kumar Gautam had amongst students, faculty members ordered professor Pental's arrest on a and researchers. This Centre shall complaint by professor P. support the values of integrity, Parthasarathy accusing him and one which create new ideas, bring of his students of plagiarizing his innovation through research, paper on biotechnology. produce research-based products Parthasarathy accused him of and generate new theories and illegally using cobalt from the university's science lab. On appearing ideas. before the court for seeking bail in NCAI shall help produce highlyconnection with the complaint against skilled and competent graduates him, 63-year-old Pental was taken with high standards of honesty and into custody and later sent to jail. professional ethics to serve Pental's lawyers then approached the community. The aim of the center is to provide awareness and guidance high court, arguing that the alleged among students to avoid plagiarism offences under sections 63 and 70 of and to promote the sense of the Copyright Act are bailable and academic integrity. the case has not even reached the stage of framing of notice as service of NCAI is overseen by ICAI member notice upon a co-accused is yet to be Dr. Muhammad Shahid Soroya, completed… Chief Librarian at the Information http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind Technology University – Punjab in ia/Ex-VC-of-DU-sent-to-jail-forLahore. He may be contacted at plagiarismshahidsoroya@gmail.com. released/articleshow/45278628.cms
The International Center for Academic Integrity grants permission to duplicate and distribute this newsletter physically or electronically, so long as it is duplicated and/or distributed in its entirety and without alteration. Please note that this publication features summaries of and links to original works that are subject to copyright protection. ICAI does not claim ownership or credit for any original works found within.
Welcome New ICAI Members in December 2014!
Texas A&M University Irene Glendinning – Coventry Univ. Hope Rodefer – CMU Qatar Ceceilia Parnther – Western Mich. U. Noreen Siddiqui – U. of Wisc. Madison
This publication is sponsored by:
Ethos Staff:
CAI-L@clemson.edu
Aaron Monson:
Editor/Writer
Teddi Fishman:
Executive Editor