Thank you, Stefanie, for a closely reasoned response: the question really does seem to be about the questions, much more than the answers. I have long held that the "plagiarism problem" results from early composition teaching that abjures a student to fill up a page with X number of words so that the goal of #K words or Y pages can be reached. In other words, the desired OUTCOME is heavily masked by the demand for just this specific INPUT.
Of course, as someone mentioned, it is particularly difficult to identify this necessity in the IMRDS context or that of other "professional" situations that require re-representation of preliminary and/or procedural work. And there is, as well, the added concern of having the dominant medium of English taught as a matter of grammatical correctness rather than rhetorical proficiency so that "copying" sentences can be seen as a guarantee of accuracy.
Thus, even more questions, especially in relation to the global status of the original one . . .
Margaret Hundleby
University of Guelph
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stefanie Haacke" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 2:01:07 PM
Subject: Re: Plagiarism panics
Dear Eveline, dear John,
I think it's interesting to look at the - often implicit - theories and basic ideas behind the discourses around the issue "plagiarism". In my opinion it matters from what point of view you look at the phenomenon: do you consider it in a rational-choice-framework of thinking, do you see it from a mere detective or criminal point of view, or do you see it as an effect of the lack of pedagogical success of institutions? Do we consider the sad fact that too much of the written work of students seems to be awkwardly copied from other authors work as something that could be avoided by better pedagogy? Or do we see it as an effect of 'the internet' or as a proof for the rising criminal energy of students or as evidence for the fall of the university as it has been and should be?
I find it a good idea to do research in these differences - and maybe in the propositions concerning action involved: More use of Turnitin software? Or better writing instruction? I know that it's too simple to draw such sharp alternatives, but I believe that different ways to address the problem have different consequences.
Best regards
Stefanie
Am 19.03.2014 um 16:39 schrieb Eveline Powell:
> Hi John
>
> Thanks for that. However, I reread that quote several times but can find
> nothing in it that suggests the author thinks plagiarism is 'life
> threatening' or done by 'evil' people. Maybe later on he suggests
> plagiarists should be skinned alive, in which case, another quote might be
> better proof. I am wondering if the problem is with the source, the
> Huffington Post as some feel it is right wing.
>
> You might strongly disagree with his position that plagiarism is theft and
> should be forcibly dealt with, but your extrapolation seems as extreme as
> the position you are attributing to him.
>
> Eveline
>
>> Dear Eveline,
>>
>> Thank you for your comment that the growth of plagiarism is not in your
>> opinion " the end of education as we know it, but [you] do think it
>> needs addressing, and that would be worth discussing." This suggests to
>> me, within the theoretical framework of my research that you do not see
>> plagiarism as a security threat - in other words you see it like any
>> other phenomenon in education, as potentially problematic but solvable
>> by discussion and reasonable educational means.
>>
>> Those who I'm interested in in my research, in contrast, see plagiarism
>> as a dangerous, life-threatening phenomenon for universities that
>> requires urgent resort to harsh sanctions to root it out ruthlessly and
>> make the evil perpetrators pay. The quotation below provides an example
>> of the second group:
>>
>> “I have learned just how skilled young students are in the ways of
>> mosaic plagiarism. I have learned the importance of attacking mosaic
>> plagiarism full force. I believe in the rule of law and the science of
>> intellectual property law; one's words are one's own and are not to be
>> stolen by others wittingly.”
>> Attack Plagiarism but Defend Student Creativity. Neil Seeman,
>> Huffington Post Canada, 2 January 2014
>> http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/neil-seeman/canada-plagiarism-_b_4704541.html
>>
>>
>> I think most of us on the EATAW list, like you, would put ourselves in
>> the first category.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> John
>>
>>>>> Eveline Powell <[log in to unmask]> 19/3/14 15:49 >>>
>> Dear Colleagues
>>
>> Maybe I am alone in this, but I do think plagiarism is a significant
>> and
>> growing problem. To ask for discussion within a context of paranoia
>> and
>> hysteria is not to invite discussion at all, but to pat ourselves on
>> the
>> back for being above the narrow minded, and to laugh at their folly.
>> A
>> problem can never be addressed if even identifying that problem is seen
>> as
>> a bigger problem in itself and a character flaw.
>>
>> To me, the figure of 70% seems a fairly accurate one, relating not to
>> the
>> amount of work plagiarised, but to the number of students who have
>> tried
>> it. I don't think it means the end of education as we know it, but I
>> do
>> think it needs addressing, and that would be worth discussing.
>>
>> Yours
>>
>> Eveline Powell
>>
>>> Dear EATAW Colleagues,
>>>
>>> I'm working on an article on the "securitisation" of plagiarism.
>>> Securitisation is a concept from security studies where certain
>> actors or
>>> groups talk us into believing that a particular phenomenon is such a
>>> threat to our existence that extraordinary, normally unacceptable,
>>> measures have to be taken to combat it.
>>>
>>> I'm looking for a widely cited article (non-academic, I think) which
>> put
>>> the number of students who have plagiarised during their studies at
>> about
>>> 70%. If anyone has heard of this article and can give me a link, I'd
>>> really appreciate it. Of course any other links to articles in the
>> press
>>> suggesting plagiarism is a grave threat to the existence of the
>> education
>>> system, the more paranoid the better, are also gratefully received.
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance,
>>>
>>> John
>>> ===
>>> John Harbord
>>> Center for Academic Writing
>>> Central European University
>>> Budapest, Hungary
>>>
>>
|