Hi all,<br><br>I am jumping in to the discussion to what Deidre and Jovan wrote. I am an educator and plagiarism always concerned me. The anti-plagiarism software can be used by educators like me to check papers but it does not disregard the issue that there is a disconnect of concepts on IP, copyright and originality. I have confronted students especially with the use of Wikipedia articles and not crediting their sources. Most of them feel that since these articles are collectively written, they should be common knowledge. That's not the point - it's still not their own and they should at least credit their sources. I see very little remorse and sadly I was even asked once how to remove the purple lines or hyperlinks to make it look like non-hyperlink text when they paste them in Word. I almost fell from my chair.<br>
<br>When I was growing up my view of research was flipping through pages of textbooks in a library and following formats of citations, especially in Literature classes. Then I was a senior in high school when I had a course in Research Methodology. Then digital technology boomed a few years after and actually re-defined how students understand the concepts of copyright and originality. This generation of students grew up in an age where everything seems to be suspended in cyberspace and believed that there "seemed" to be no author. In other words, it's possibly okay for just anybody to take. This is a misconception that I always discuss in my classes. I don't excuse it but I try to understand why. Even when I confront my students, they're not defensive - they just bluntly take it for granted. Maybe, their concept of IP and the world they grew up are just not on the same level of "gravity." If I were to stop this misconception, then I have to find a solution. So my best recourse is to make a rubric for grading that allocates bigger credit for "the use of proper citation methods." I present my expectations; explain it in class and I expect my students to follow them to get a good grade. Well, it seemed to work for years now. I'm only hoping that other professors (they encounter) will adapt the same method. Maybe if it's not asking too much; maybe this generation will grow up respecting other people's work and show more creativity or singularity of their own. We have too many policy-makers out there but we sometimes forget the very essential job of educating a generation who are so disconnected. If you have kids, remind them. Ask them what they did in school and if they mumble something like ".<i>.doing some dumb paper.</i>." - there's your cue to prod them about school work and remind them about being creative. You can already tell that most of the time some students couldn't care less about writing papers - they just want to accomplish the tasks assigned to them. So they will write without giving proper credit. <br>
<br>I am not sure if we are to just accept the notion that "grabbing" and "mixing" is okay or "authenticity" is better than "originality." I still think that there are creative people out there but if we are to "build" creative thinkers, we have to change the notion that accomplishing tasks is not merely doing your tasks to "<i>get things done asap</i>." Reading and writing takes a lot of practice. The teaching pedagogy should involve H.O.T.S - high order thinking skills - that will synthesize and proceed original discussions and arguments into original work. This way, students are less likely to be tempted to plagiarize or to cheat. <i>For real</i>.<br>
<br>Just my two cents.<br><br>Regards,<br>Charity G. Embley<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 2:44 AM, Pranesh Prakash <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org">pranesh@cis-india.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Dear Dierdre,<br>
No one is capable of making a clear distinction between what they have<br>
thought and written and what somebody else has thought and written —<br>
though academics sometimes like to delude themselves into thinking<br>
otherwise. That is not to say that I don't think 'plagiarism' is a<br>
problem: just that isn't the kind of problem that you've painted it out<br>
to be.<br>
<br>
There's a beautiful essay by Jonathan Lethem looking at 'plagiarism' in<br>
art and culture: <<a href="http://goo.gl/2Yfoa" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/2Yfoa</a>> ("The ecstasy of influence: A<br>
plagiarism", Harper's Magazine, February 2007). I'm not sure how much<br>
of it are his ideas, and how much those of Harper's editors.<br>
<br>
And a better-known rhyme (for the film-watchers, that is):<br>
<br>
You must remember this,<br>
A kiss is just a kiss,<br>
A sigh is just a sigh,<br>
The fundamental things apply,<br>
As time goes by.<br>
<br>
– Herman Hupfeld (though he might have stolen the idea from the<br>
gorse-kissing-fashion rhyme)<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Pranesh<br>
<br>
Deirdre Williams [2011-12-14 20:42]:<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5">> Jovan and Norbert,<br>
> Norbert first - of course I agree with you. How can you add to 'the total<br>
> of human knowledge' if you are apparently incapable of making a distinction<br>
> between what you have thought and written and what somebody else has<br>
> thought and written?<br>
> Jovan - I read the 2007 discussion with interest. I wonder whether in fact<br>
> it's 85% of students or 85% of work submitted - but then I never was much<br>
> good at statistics.<br>
> I thought perhaps that I was forcing an irrelevant digression from what<br>
> this list is about, but no, although I have changed the subject line to<br>
> make the point clearer.<br>
> Our world, virtual and physical, places great store on property and on<br>
> ownership. Our societies disapprove of and punish those who don't respect<br>
> what is implied by 'ownership' - the thieves. The production of<br>
> intellectual property is really HARD work; surely our sympathies lie with<br>
> the creator rather than with the person who stole and claimed ownership.<br>
> Ownership is not about money. It admits sharing. In fact the person whose<br>
> work was plagiarised was expressing 'willingness to share' by the act of<br>
> publication. He or she displayed trust and asked for honesty.<br>
> Jovan sent me off on a nostalgia trip to a rhyme I had learned as a child:<br>
> "When gorse is out of blossom,"<br>
> (Its prickles bare of gold)<br>
> "Then kissing's out of fashion,"<br>
> Said country-folk of old.<br>
> Thank you CM Barker, and Google for knowing about it as well. What does our<br>
> discussion have to do with gorse (or kissing)? Well the point is that gorse<br>
> always has blossoms, and kissing's always in fashion. So is honesty.<br>
> Honesty is the social Higgs boson that holds everything together. Without<br>
> at least some honesty I believe that societies would crumble and fail.<br>
> Plagiarism is a fancy name for lack of honesty, as it is also a fancy name<br>
> for theft. If we change the rules to allow plagiarism it seems to me that<br>
> we condone theft and encourage dishonesty and end up having to redesign our<br>
> society completely. And the way I see it we have very little, if anything,<br>
> to gain from the change.<br>
> Deirdre<br>
><br>
</div></div><div class="im">> On 14 December 2011 13:02, Jovan Kurbalija <<a href="mailto:jovank@diplomacy.edu">jovank@diplomacy.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
><br>
>> Deirdre,<br>
>><br>
>> You reminded me of an interesting discussion on plagiarism triggered by<br>
>> the news that 85% of university students in the United States are involved<br>
>> in some sort of plagiarism. Can 85% of students be wrong? Should we invest<br>
>> in a better anti plagiarism software or start considering a new educational<br>
>> paradigm? Like with many other policy issues, there is a mix of causes and<br>
>> effects. Here is the link to the discussion from 2007 which is still valid<br>
>> today: <a href="http://wp.me/p81We-m" target="_blank">http://wp.me/p81We-m</a><br>
>><br>
>> Regards, Jovan<br>
>><br>
>> On 12/14/11 4:12 PM, Deirdre Williams wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> This discussion interests me for a slightly different reason.<br>
>> I have been wondering for some time now whether the norm about plagiarism<br>
>> isn't shifting as the norm about privacy seems to be doing. Privacy is<br>
>> still important but the things considered "private" seem to have changed.<br>
>> With the issue of plagiarism - we are being encouraged to "remix" from the<br>
>> existing. Does this carry with it the idea that, once published,<br>
>> information is "free"? When I asked this question on the Diplo ning I was<br>
>> assured that the "old" rule still obtains - if you borrow someone else's<br>
>> intellectual property you must acknowledge where/who it came from.<br>
>> But now I wonder again - in changing times is plagiarism not as wicked as<br>
>> it used to be?<br>
>> Deirdre<br>
>><br>
</div><div class="im">>> On 14 December 2011 10:36, Norbert Bollow <<a href="mailto:nb@bollow.ch">nb@bollow.ch</a>> wrote:<br>
>><br>
>>>> Given that the general reaction to this appointment could not have come<br>
>>> as a<br>
>>>> surprise to Mme. Kroes or her staff one really has to ask why it was<br>
>>> made.<br>
>>><br>
>>> Indeed. And she's legally obligated to give the reasons (when the<br>
>>> question is formally asked) why such a scandalous person was chosen<br>
>>> instead of conducting a more normal kind of search for a well-qualified<br>
>>> and suitable person to fill this role:<br>
>>><br>
>>> According to Article 41 of the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights [1],<br>
>>> which has been ratified by all EU member countries as part of the<br>
>>> Lisbon Treaty, there is a right to good administration which includes<br>
>>> in particular "the obligation of the administration to give reasons<br>
>>> for its decisions".<br>
>>><br>
>>> [1] <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/" target="_blank">http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/</a><br>
>>><br>
>>> Greetings,<br>
>>> Norbert<br>
</div><div class="im">>>> ____________________________________________________________<br>
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>><br>
>><br>
</div><div class="im">>> --<br>
>> “The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge" Sir William<br>
>> Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize Economics, 1979<br>
>><br>
>><br>
>><br>
</div>>> <<a href="http://www.diplomacy.edu/Courses/Humanitarian.asp" target="_blank">http://www.diplomacy.edu/Courses/Humanitarian.asp</a>>****<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5">>><br>
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>><br>
>><br>
><br>
><br>
<br>
</div></div><font color="#888888">--<br>
Pranesh Prakash<br>
Programme Manager<br>
Centre for Internet and Society<br>
W: <a href="http://cis-india.org" target="_blank">http://cis-india.org</a> | T: <a href="tel:%2B91%2080%2040926283" value="+918040926283">+91 80 40926283</a><br>
<br>
</font></blockquote></div><br>