Timeline for Why is plagiarism so harshly punished?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jan 6, 2016 at 1:35 | comment | added | Jason C | @jakebeal "The impact of violence on its victim is certainly generally much worse ...." This really is a matter of perspective and severity though. For example, I personally wouldn't really hold a lasting grudge if somebody were to punch me in the face. I'd either punch them back or move on and heal. I certainly wouldn't press charges. But if somebody were to, say, cut off one of my hands, that's a different story. Same with plagiarism. A mild case may anger me greatly but have no lasting effect, a severe case could affect the rest of my life. So you can't really make a general statement. | |
| Jan 5, 2016 at 13:55 | comment | added | Raphael | The second paragraph is very important. Science can only work when a set of basic ethical groundrules are maintained by most players. If we allow for (and train students to use, by means of the path of least resistance) plagiarism (among other offenses) we tear down science. Not an option. | |
| Jan 4, 2016 at 10:19 | comment | added | ff524 | @msw I'm aware that violence is not handled as an academic matter. The intent of my comment was to disagree with jakebeal's comment that "condoning plagiarism has a similarly bad effect on an academic institution as condoning violence does" (I believe that violence has a much greater negative effect on an academic institution, regardless of what disciplinary system is invoked in response.) So, I still disagree with the statement that plagiarism is "considered an offense on the same scale as violence against another student." | |
| Jan 4, 2016 at 5:36 | comment | added | msw | @ff524 Violence is not an academic offense despite your steadfast insistence on calling it one. How many different ways do you need to have that explained? | |
| Jan 4, 2016 at 2:58 | comment | added | ff524 | @BobJarvis I don't doubt that plagiarism is a serious offense. But even in an academic environment, I consider violence a worse academic offense than plagiarism. (If a student plagiarized in my class, and it's a first time offense, I feel pretty good about his/her chances of rehabilitation and eventually becoming a member in good standing of our academic community. If a student in my class is violent towards another student... I feel much less confident.) | |
| Jan 4, 2016 at 2:56 | comment | added | Bob Jarvis - Слава Україні | @ff524 - the basic foundation of scientific research and publications are that 1) what is being presented is the work of the authors, and 2) is to the best of their knowledge and belief true and correct. Plagiarism gives lie to #1. Falsification of results gives lie to #2. Both are reason to invoke the most serious of academic sanctions, which is expulsion (if a student) or firing (if a faculty member). Violence, etc, are civil and/or criminal offenses subject to non-academic enforcement. | |
| Jan 4, 2016 at 2:33 | comment | added | user3730788 | To expand on jakebeal's comment, the university is first and foremost a business (or at least that is how most are run). Consider a company that sold defective products because it's QA procedures are lax, that would most likely have a very bad effect on their bottom line. The reason that the university cares less about violence and other offenses is that they usually have a much smaller affect on the universities bottom line. TLDR; universities are a business first and foremost, their product is students, R&D, and their own reputation (to encourage further business). | |
| Jan 3, 2016 at 22:34 | comment | added | jakebeal | @ff524 The impact of violence on its victim is certainly generally much worse than the impact of plagiarism on its victim. I do believe, however, that condoning plagiarism has a similarly bad effect on an academic institution as condoning violence does. | |
| Jan 3, 2016 at 22:28 | comment | added | ff524 | I don't consider plagiarism "an offense on the same scale as violence against another student" - it's a very bad thing, sure, but not quite as bad as physical violence. Do you, really? | |
| Jan 3, 2016 at 7:42 | vote | accept | Prime | ||
| Jan 4, 2016 at 8:01 | |||||
| Jan 3, 2016 at 6:00 | history | answered | jakebeal | CC BY-SA 3.0 |