#RSS 2.0 RSS .92 Atom 0.3 Ninth Level Ireland » Plagiarism Comments Feed alternate alternate alternate -- -- Plagiarism -- Of plagiarism, little new can be written (Schwartz, The culture of the copy (1998), p. 311) -- -- “Plagiarism” is defined in various ways. The core meaning seems to be inappropriate copying of another’s ideas or expressions. An important analytical distinction is between: -- -- behaviour, whether acknowledged or not. There is no legal definition of plagiarism, though it forms part of many academic codes of conduct. The term is often used loosely. Producing one’s own old work as if it were fresh and new is often -- -- many academic codes of conduct. The term is often used loosely. Producing one’s own old work as if it were fresh and new is often described as “self-plagiarism”; and two students who hand in identical essays may both find themselves accused of plagiarism, even though the essays may undoubtedly represent the original work of at least one of -- essays may undoubtedly represent the original work of at least one of them. Many examples of plagiarism will also be examples of breach of intellectual property rights, such as copyright or droit moral / droit à la paternité. -- -- à la paternité. Objections to plagiarism are numerous, so much so that it may be doubted whether it should be regarded as a coherent phenomenon. Much -- doubted whether it should be regarded as a coherent phenomenon. Much that used to be called “cheating” is now labelled “plagiarism”, often confusingly. The attitude of the person whose work is copied is sometimes crucial, sometimes irrelevant. (Submitting another’s essay as -- -- sometimes crucial, sometimes irrelevant. (Submitting another’s essay as your own is objectionable whether or not the true author objects.) There is a modern tendency to define “plagiarism” quite broadly, in some cases extending to any failure to follow the rules of the relevant discipline in relation to proper citation; when coupled with extreme -- -- some cases extending to any failure to follow the rules of the relevant discipline in relation to proper citation; when coupled with extreme hostility to plagiarism (such as stating, inaccurately, that it is a form of theft) it can sound as if large portions of the student community are being accused of crime. -- -- community are being accused of crime. Many argue that there is now a crisis of plagiarism, even a war against plagiarism. Of course, it has always been the case that some students look for illegitimate short cuts to achieving their qualifications. Various factors are blamed for the modern “crisis”: the growth of IT -- -- for intellectual development, not an occasion for open warfare between students and their teachers; the crisis, if there is one, is not so much a “crisis of plagiarism” as a crisis of how to test core competencies in a 21st century context. If the tests the universities set can be so easily subverted, then perhaps they are the wrong tests. -- -- competencies in a 21st century context. If the tests the universities set can be so easily subverted, then perhaps they are the wrong tests. The very difficulties experienced in trying to define plagiarism are evidence of a lack of consensus on what competence consists of and how -- evidence of a lack of consensus on what competence consists of and how it is to be established; further, those who condemn “plagiarism” the loudest often seem to have a quite unrealistic idea of the level of originality that can be expected at student level. -- -- originality that can be expected at student level. Plagiarism by academics is not so much discussed, though there is a general awareness of the issue, and it occasionally comes into the public consciousness if the guilty party is famous enough (see e.g. -- -- general awareness of the issue, and it occasionally comes into the public consciousness if the guilty party is famous enough (see e.g. “Persaud’s plagiarism was dishonesty, rules medical council”). It may, as in Raj Persaud’s case, come to the attention of a relevant professional body; or it might be a matter of university internal -- -- It is in this academic context that there are complaints of self-plagiarism, that academics are accused of reproducing their own work while giving the false impression that it is new. Whether -- work while giving the false impression that it is new. Whether “self-plagiarism” is really the right term may be doubted. Artificially padding one’s c.v. by submitting the same article to more than one journal is certainly reprehensible, and may in some circumstances even -- -- publications. Plagiarism by students, by contrast, has become a major preoccupation of universities. The rise of IT and access to online information, which has coincided with a greater emphasis on marked coursework rather than -- -- that the material could quite properly be included in a legitimate piece of writing, if referenced in the appropriate way. Any detailed university policy on plagiarism must necessarily distinguish between disciplines, as each discipline has its own nuanced attitude to materials that may be cited and how they may be used in argument. But -- -- equally, a failure to abide by a discipline’s rules is only culpable if those rules are understood – which leads many to suspect that rampant plagiarism really represents a teaching failure, such that the rules have not been understood or have not been seen as reasonable. -- -- have not been understood or have not been seen as reasonable. Many say, then, that plagiarism is to a certain extent a cultural problem. Does this mean that it is particularly a difficulty with students whose native language is not English? Some argue precisely -- -- of suspicion that is not applied to home students. There is little incentive for non-English speakers to improve their grasp of the language if they are met with “S/He must have plagiarised, s/he doesn’t speak English that well!”. If the local attitude to plagiarism is not well understood by foreign students, then presumably at least some of the blame lies with their teachers, and so a harsh response is not -- -- If there is a cultural problem, then, it is equally to do with domestic students. Academic horror at plagiarism reflects a set of value-judgments that students do not necessarily share, and the academics’ version of what their students are supposed to be doing -- -- achieve any level of expressive freedom. Constrained by an overwhelming consensus over the ‘facts’ and established modes of knowing, students may almost be forced to plagiarise. To devise a way to operate within a disciplinary context, without plagiarising, may be an almost impossible task. (Managing intertextuality – -- may be an almost impossible task. (Managing intertextuality – meaning, plagiarism and power, 2006) -- (See also Bill Marsh, Plagiarism: Alchemy and Remedy in Higher Education, 2007.) -- -- make no sense to be told that a failure to paraphrase counts as dishonesty. For discussion see “It’s culture, not morality”; “Using assessment on the front-line in the battle against plagiarism”. Academic conventions in these matters are framed on an assumption that -- -- dealing with intellectual problems is to find someone who has solved the problem before and to copy their work. (Without this skill, indeed, most university plagiarism policies would never have seen the light of day.) There are indeed other skills which university degrees must teach, and there are also behaviours which must be identified as -- -- required. As it is, plagiarism is increasingly being seen as a disciplinary matter, with an increasing amount of academics’ time being devoted to detecting and punishing it. Matters are evolving. There is an -- -- matter, with an increasing amount of academics’ time being devoted to detecting and punishing it. Matters are evolving. There is an unfortunate tendency both to define plagiarism broadly (as including any failure to follow established citation conventions, even if there is no attempt to claim originality for the cited material), coupled -- -- cheats off hook”; “‘Plagiarist’ to sue university”. Much attention has been focussed on plagiarism detection software (notably TURNITIN (website¦wikipedia)), which can take some of the drudgery out of identifying copied passages, and can be a useful -- -- o Irish Law Blogs o Overpayments o Plagiarism o Quality assurance o Tenure