Student Loses College Degree 15 Years after Graduation Due to Plagiarism

After a master's thesis was corrected for plagiarism and a degree awarded, it was examined by a plagiarism checker years later and more plagiarism was identified leading to a professor losing his degree ("Judge Upholds University's Right to Rescind Master's Degree over Plagiarism," Calgary Herald, September 19, 2018). John Measor tried unsuccessfully to get the University of Calgary to let him keep the degree based on the fact that it had already been given to him, so he took his case to court. However, the judge sided with the university because the "power to award degrees necessarily implies the power of rescission." Justice Richard Neufeld in his decision also noted that "institutional integrity" requires a school to uphold the value of its degrees by taking back one that incorporated academic dishonesty.

Discussion Questions:

1. Does this case change your opinion about the importance of academic integrity when you create coursework for your classes? Why or why not?
2. Do you think the university was justified in taking back the degree years after it was given due to plagiarism by the former student? Why or why not?
3. The news story mentions that John Measor also changed his story about the plagiarized thesis during the various hearings. Would you rule in his favor and let him keep the degree if he wasn't clear about what really happened? Why or why not?

Physician Accused of Scientific Misconduct and Fraud

A physician's credentials are being called into question but the National Academy of Medicine is finding it difficult to remove him as a member after he was found to have "plagiarized five research papers, fabricated an account of his personal exploits in Iraq, and claimed unearned degrees and awards" ("Doctors Urge Elite Academy to Expel a Member Over Charges of Plagiarism." The New York Times, April 9, 2018). The article discusses the impact of this academic dishonesty on the doctor whose work was misused and the medical textbook editors who didn't check for plagiarism before their book was published.

Discussion Questions:

1. How would you feel if a colleague of yours said he was the author of your research?
2. Should doctors be held to the same standard of academic integrity as college students? A higher standard? Why or why not?
3. Should all books be checked for plagiarism before being published? Why or why not?

Common Knowledge or Plagiarism?

Seemingly inadequate paraphrasing and verbatim copying recently stung a noted poet and editor in her latest book ("Writers Step In to Defend Author Accused of Plagiarism in New York Times." The Guardian (UK), October 4, 2017). Yet, seventy-two well-known authors minimized the nature of the situation even though there appeared to be obvious and frequent word-for-word verbiage by Jill Bialosky, noting that the similarities were not a case of "egregious theft intentionally performed." Find examples of her writing compared to the original sources in the Tourniquet Review. In the letter of defense for Bialosky written by the seventy-two authors, it is mentioned that she included in her book "a handful of commonly known biographical facts gleaned from outside sources.”

Discussion Questions:

1. Why would such a noted editor copy such a large amount of information from other sources and not cite it? Does she consider this information about other noted poets as common knowledge that doesn't need to be cited?
2. Is there a particular amount of common knowledge that one can include in a 200+ page book before the text appears to be very unoriginal and providing few new insights on a topic?
3. What motive would the seventy-two authors have for supporting this poet and editor if she indeed was guilty of plagiarism? Note that quite a number of these authors work with the same publishing house as Bialosky.

Paraphrase Tools May Not Be Detected by Anti-Plagiarism Programs

Anti-plagiarism tools like Turnitin.com cannot necessarily detect paraphrase tools that automatically generate alternative text for passages that users submit online ("Tools That May Discourage Quality Writing," Inside Higher Education, March 3, 2017). However, in testing some of these paraphrase tools, the quality of their wording is frequently nonsensical or too close to the original text to be of any use in a college paper.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you find paraphrasing from sources challenging? Why or why not?
2. Would you use a paraphrase generator even if the quality of their output is poor? Why or why not?
3. What's the best way you have found to paraphrase text?

University Chancellor Serial Plagiarist?

Despite voicing his innocence, Fernando Suarez, chancellor of King Juan Carlos University in Madrid was dismissed as the head of a national education commission in Spain due to claims that he plagiarized the work of his students and other historians during a ten-year time span ("Spanish University Head Accused of Copy-Paste Plagiarism," BBC News, December 16, 2016). Recently, Suarez informed students that the institution would start using Unplag, a plagiarism checker that promotes "standards of integrity, academic honesty, and independent thinking," according to his email. University students circulated nine petitions calling for his ouster.

Discussion Questions:

1. If you were a student at King Juan Carlos University, does an accusation provide enough evidence to call for this chancellor to leave his position? Why or why not?
2. If you were a student at this university, would you petition the chancellor to submit his work to Unplag to check for plagiarism? Why or why not?
3. Should university officials be held to a higher standard of academic honesty or the same standard as students? Why or why not?

Should Rough Draft Plagiarism Be Sanctioned?

A former Harvard Law School student lost her case against the distinguished university when a judge said that even plagiarism in a rough draft counts as an academic dishonesty infraction ("Court Backs Harvard in Plagiarism Challenge," Inside Higher Ed, October 25, 2016). In the court's opinion, it is mentioned that there were at least 23 occurrences of plagiarized material in the student's law journal work that provided a review of a patent case. The student was able to graduate although her transcript included a plagiarism notice, which seemed to prompt one law firm to cancel a job offer.

Discussion Questions:

1. If you submit rough drafts with plagiarized material, should you face an academic integrity penalty? Why or why not? 
2. Should only work you submit for a grade be reviewed for plagiarism? Why or why not?
3. Once you are in graduate school, should the rules for academic integrity be more strict than rules for undergraduates? Why or why not?
4. How can this student build back her reputation if her law school transcript includes a plagiarism note on it?

Olympic Logo Plagiarism Issue Resolved

The newly redesigned Tokyo Summer Games logo was recently revealed to be quite different than the first version that was seen as plagiarizing a Belgian theater's logo ("Tokyo 2020 Unveils New Olympic Logo after Plagiarism Allegations," The Guardian (UK), April 25, 2016). The total revamp of the Olympic logo was done by a different designer after the creator of the theater's graphic commenced litigation to stop the use of the original Tokyo 2020 logo.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think it was an accident that the two designers created a somewhat similar logo? Why or why not?
2. Do you think it's easier to avoid plagiarism with words vs. plagiarism with images? Why or why not?

Can Plagiarism Be Caused by PTSD?

A newly-appointed U.S. Senator from Montana blamed his non-attribution of sources in his master's degree thesis on PTSD ("Walsh Says He Was Being Treated for PTSD When He Plagiarized Paper," Billings Gazette, July 23, 2014). One-fourth of John Walsh's paper for the U.S. Army War College appears to have been plagiarized. What is most disconcerting is that he used another source verbatim for a key part of the project.

In a New York Times article from July 24, 2014, the U.S. Army War College is ready to convene a review board next month to look into the allegation. The Times story notes that in the last fourteen years only six people have been stripped of their degrees at the college due to plagiarism.

Discussion Questions:

1. Walsh says he "excelled on the battlefield" and that a "few mistakes in a term paper should not define my career." If one-fourth of his thesis was copied from another source as indicated in the story, do you think Walsh's statement is justified? Why or why not?
2. Should individuals in the military be held to a higher standard of ethics than the general public? Why or why not?
3. What do you think of his PTSD defense as the reason for committing plagiarism?
4. Should Walsh lose his degree and his job at U.S. Senator for this breach of academic integrity? Why or why not?

Professor Moves to Dean's Post Despite Multiple Incidences of Plagiarism

Because inadvertent plagiarism is not included as a research misconduct infraction in the institution's policy, a Brown University English department faculty member began a new job as an associate dean after her "unintentional" plagiarism had already surfaced ("After Plagiarism Allegations, Prof. Was Named Dean," The Brown Daily Herald, April 24, 2014).

Vanessa Ryan used over two dozen copied passages from other authors in her 2012 book that is no longer in print from Johns Hopkins University Press. She has apologized publicly about her errors, but also located "unattributed material in her dissertation" from Yale. The committee looking into her plagiarism while on the payroll at Brown acknowledged that she did plagiarize the work of others, but that her "honest error" was not considered "misconduct."

Discussion Questions:

1. Should an English professor know better than to make such obvious mistakes as copying others without giving them credit, especially in a book published by a well-known university press? If so, why do you think she committed such errors?
2. Her new administrative job is a temporary one for eighteen months, but should she have been fired for such a blatant mistake? Since she also acknowledged errors of attribution in her Yale dissertation, why would Brown want to continue to employ her?
3. She continues to work with students on research projects on a limited basis. If you were one of those students, would you want to ask if you could work with another research adviser that had a better academic reputation even if the completion of your work might be delayed by the change? 

Professor Focuses on Unintentional Plagiarism

At a recent Conference on College Composition and Communication, discussion centered on instructing students how to use source material correctly to avoid mistakes in attribution ("Beyond Plagiarism," Inside Higher Ed, March 21, 2014).

Professors in attendance talked about students who used an inappropriate source that really didn't prove a point, citing an abstract (summary) of a paper instead of the paper itself, and other errors that may be overlooked in traditional anti-plagiarism instruction. One professor mentioned tips about clearly marking where a source begins and noting where a student's ideas begin. But one panel of educators agreed that teaching citation strategies is not only a job for writing professors, but a responsibility for all professors on campus.

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you check to determine if a web page or article is a reliable and pertinent source of information?
2. Is it a challenge to take notes from sources so you know where an author's ideas end and your thoughts begin? Or do you have a proven technique for separating your ideas from others?
3. Do you feel comfortable citing sources in different formats such as MLA, APA, or Chicago Style? Is in-text citation harder or easier than writing a bibliography/works cited/references page? Why or why not?
4. Have you asked a professor, tutor, or librarian for help with citing sources? Did they provide useful instruction or cause you more confusion?

Is Actor Shia LeBeouf a Serial Plagiarist?

After actor Shia LeBeouf came under fire for taking the idea without attribution for his short film, HowardCantour.com from graphic novel author, Daniel Clowes, other writings by LeBeouf are suspected of being plagiarized from uncredited sources ("Shia LeBeouf Plagiarizes More Apologies, Website Sections," Philly.com, December 20, 2013).

Evidence suggests that LaBeouf used comments and works by American writer Charles Bukowski, French writer Benoit Duteurtre, golfer Tiger Woods, and former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara without crediting them. Reports mention that Clowes is considering legal action against the actor.

Discussion Questions:

1. Based on this Philly.com article, it seems that even LeBeouf's apologies were ripped off from others. Why do you think a noted personality so easily becomes what appears to be a serial plagiarist?
2. With the availability of search engines to easily corroborate claims of plagiarism in online sources, why would someone take the chance of ruining their integrity and ability to get hired for their creative abilites by using the work of others without citing? Isn't LeBeouf already rich and famous as an actor, so he doesn't need to be a filmmaker?
3. Is it arrogance or ignorance that caused LeBeouf to engage in this behavior?

Study of European Universities Shows Wide Range of Academic Integrity Policies

The state of academic integrity policies at European universities is quite varied, with the UK providing the most comprehensive programs, according to a new study. ("UK Leads Europe in the Fight against Plagiarism," Times Higher Education, 10 October 2013). The Impact of Policies for Plagiarism in Higher Education across Europe research project based at Coventry University (UK) received 5,000 completed surveys from students, faculty, and administrators to measure "use of plagiarism software, consistency of sanctions, transparency, training, efficacy of prevention policies and efforts."

Surprisingly, Germany and Finland, with highly-regarded educational systems, scored low in their ability to handle academic integrity issues. Some individuals surveyed in France thought that academic integrity was not an important topic for undergraduates. Students in Spain noted that plagiarism detection software was seldom used and policies for academic integrity infractions were not prevalent. Complete results from the study will be published in November.

Discussion Questions:

1. As a result of this study, do you think if you had a degree from a German university, it would not be considered valuable, because there would be some skepticism that you didn't follow academic integrity principles?
2. This study acknowledged some lack of completed studies from low-performing countries, so should these results be published if they project doesn't have enough data to draw valid conclusions?

Jane Goodall, Plagiarist?

Using several unattributed and marginal sources for her new book, Seeds of Hope, noted author and primatologist, Jane Goodall has been labeled as a plagiarist ("Jane Goodall’s ‘Seeds Of Hope’ Book Contains Borrowed Passages without Attribution," Washington Post, March 19, 2013). In an email written as a response to these claims, she notes that she wanted to use a variety of "reliable sources." However, she seemingly took words from the less-than-authoritative Find Your Fate website according to the Post article, that doesn't list its sources. Also, her arsenal of quality information includes details lifted from Wikipedia.

Discussion Questions:

1. Goodall isn't an expert of plants, so why do you think she decided to write a book on a topic she doesn't know well?
2. What criteria do you use to select your sources of information for research papers? 
3. Do you use Wikipedia for college projects? Why or why not?
4. How do you make sure you don't plagiarize another author's work? Do you have a system for keeping a record of your sources?

Toronto School Board Chair Resigns Over Plagiarism Allegations

Due to plagiarism allegedly found in an article, speech, blog, and his PhD dissertation, the Toronto District School Board Chairman resigned his post (The Globe and Mail (CA), January 11, 2013, "TDSB Director Resigns over Plagiarism, PhD Dissertation Includes Unattributed Passages"). Chris Spence copied another author's work and neglected to cite sources in his 1996 dissertation, written before he accepted his most recent job in 2009. In a December 2012 blog post, he took similar wording from a St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer responding to the Sandy Hook (CT) school tragedy. In his resignation statement, he apologized for his actions.

Discussion Questions:

1. Should a school board chairperson receive a greater punishment for plagiarism than someone in another line of work?
2. There was no mention of him having to relinquish his degree as a result of the alleged doctoral dissertation plagiarism. Should he be required to make corrections to his 1996 PhD publication in order to keep the degree? Or should he lose his PhD due to what appears to be plagiarism?

European Leader Accused of Plagiarism

While two Romanian academic panels agree that Prime Minister Victor Porta clearly plagiarized parts of his doctoral paper, the government-appointed National Ethics Council (NEC) says he simply didn't include footnotes and relied solely on a bibliography to cite sources ("Conflicting Verdicts on Romanian Prime Minister's Plagiarism," Nature, July 20, 2012). Porta is charging that the investigation is politically motivated, while his critics note that the entire committee of the NEC was replaced with new members in June by a Porta cabinet official after another government leader was accused of plagiarism.

Discussion Questions:

1. Should Prime Minister Porta resign if he is found to have plagiarized his doctoral paper by two of three investigative bodies? 
2. If he was found to have inadvertently omitted footnotes, should he be allowed to correct the paper and resubmit it while being able to keep his job?
3. Should a Prime Minister be held to a higher standard for academic integrity than any other doctoral candidate? Specially, if he was found to have been careless in citing sources, should he lose his PhD and his job?

Is Self-Plagiarism Ever Acceptable?

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and journalist Jonah Lehrer received recent criticism for reusing old content that they wrote themselves without acknowledging the recycling ("The Self-Plagiarism Scandal," Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, July 4, 2012). The article and accompanying audio file goes on to state that journalists like Lehrer are held to a higher standard to develop original content on a regular basis than creative artists like Sorkin. While Sorkin is known for catchphrases that are employed in his different television shows, Lehrer reproduced paragraphs of his writing in different publications without crediting himself.

Discussion Questions:

1. If you wrote the material, should you be able to reuse it? Or can you recycle it only if you cite yourself?
2. If you are getting paid for your writing skills, what would your employer say if you turn in a column or script that has recycled content? Does it matter how much of the material is being reused?
3. As a college student, should you be able to turn in one project to satisfy the requirements of two different classes? Why or why not?

Bachelor's Degree to Get Higher Pay Deemed Fraudulent

In hopes of getting a promotion and raise, a sheriff's officer in Volusia County, Florida directed other staff members to help him complete projects ("Volusia Sheriff's Lieutenant Demoted over College Course Cheating," The Daytona-Beach News-Journal, February 24, 2012). Brodie Hughes faced nine other work-related job-performance infractions in the past, but his most recent lapse in ethical judgment caused a demotion to deputy and a pay cut. Three sheriff's office employees submitted homework and papers in his name while on duty. Those staff members will avoid punishment since they were following orders of their supervisor.

Discussion Questions:

1. The demoted employee is still on the job according to the news article. How do you think you might feel about him continuing to work for the sheriff's office if you were one of the staff members that did his work? What if you were a deputy working with him? Would you be able to trust him to do his job, given his most recent job-related infraction?
2. This situation came to light when someone sent an anonymous letter to the sheriff's office outlining the unethical behavior of the former officer. Would you have the courage to speak up about this problem if you worked for the sheriff's office and knew what was happening? Would you worry that you might lose your job or face backlash from the officer if someone discovered you wrote the  anonymous note? Why or why not?
3. Take a look at the Volusia County Sheriff's Office Mission Statement at http://volusia.org/sheriff/mission.htm. There is a sentence that states, "The foundation of this organization is defined by its employee's honesty, moral standards, compassion, sincerity, and caring attitude." Is this organization going against it's stated mission by allowing this deputy to continue working for the office? Why or why not?

50 Cent Not Guilty of Copyright Infringement

Although both works shared a Newark, NJ setting and some phrases, a federal court judge determined that 50 Cent did not plagiarize author Shadrach Winstead's book, The Preacher’s Son – But the Streets Have Turned Me Into a Gangster in the rapper's 2009 movie and album, Before I Self Destruct ("Judge Dismisses Copyright Case Against 50 Cent," Rolling Stone, 23 September 2011). In a related case, 50 Cent decided to revise the title of his new movie to avoid litigation from Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe who wrote a 1958 novel with a similar title. Interestingly, Achebe refused a significant offer to allow the rapper to use the same title as his novel, Things Fall Apart.

Discussion Questions:

1. The U.S. Copyright Office notes that you cannot copyright titles of works, but some may fall under trademark law. Do you think that the Nigerian author of novel, Things Fall Apart could argue that if the rapper used the same title for his movie, people would be confused and not buy the author's book? Why or why not?
2. Are you surprised that 50 Cent decided to change the name of his movie even though the author refused the sizable settlement to allow the rapper to use the same title? Why or why not?
3. Do you think famous performers usually win lawsuits on plagiarism against lesser-known authors? Why or why not?

Caught Cheating? Take an Academic Integrity Class

Students at the University of Arizona can now take an academic integrity eight-hour workshop if they are at risk of failing a class due to cheating or plagiarism (UA Plagiarism Workshop Gives Offenders Second Chance, Arizona Daily Star, October 10, 2010). One hundred students will attend sessions this semester to provide practice on paraphrasing and summarizing and discuss the importance of academic integrity. Since 1999, reported cases of plagiarism at the university have risen 700 percent.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think you could benefit from a class that explains how to prevent plagiarism and cheating? Why or why not?
2. Do you think most students who cheat or plagiarize will return to doing so after taking this class? Why or why not?
3. Do you think most students don't know how to summarize or paraphrase information correctly because no one taught them?
4. Do your college professors provide instruction on how to cite sources correctly? Or do professors think that students should know how to prevent plagiarism by the time they enter college?
   

Colleges Aim to Cut Cheating by Outwitting Students

Taking anti-cheating measures very seriously, several universities implemented high and low tech improvements to thwart students attempting to get an unfair advantage on assignments and tests ("To Stop Cheats, Colleges Learn Their Trickery"- The New York Times July 5, 2010). The University of Central Florida's testing center recessed their computer monitors to prevent photography of test questions on the screen and uses cameras to monitor student activities. Turnitin.com reports that students try various tricks to outwit the plagiarism identification tool, but schemes such as substituting foreign letters similar to English letters don't work. The story notes that academic integrity tutorials do seem to help cut plagiarism, since they help students understand the acceptable use and citation of information.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think campuses should use cameras to monitor testing centers? Why or why not?
   
2. Do you think the high tech measures some colleges use to prevent cheating are worth the cost? Why or why not?
3. Should professors only assign papers to be completed in class to prevent plagiarism? Why or why not?