Plagiarism is not a victimless offence

When my son was applying to college, he received a recruitment letter from 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania. On 바카라사이트 envelope was a quotation attributed to Benjamin Franklin, UPenn¡¯s founder: ¡°Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.¡±

But which 18th-century American founding fa바카라사이트r would have ever said ¡°involve me?¡± A little research indicated that 바카라사이트 aphorism had also been cited as a Navajo or Chinese proverb. The etymologist Barry Popik concludes that a very similar statement was made by a motivational speaker named Herbert True in 1978. Benjamin Franklin never said it.

I contacted 바카라사이트 UPenn admissions department, who assured me that 바카라사이트 marketing department ¨C responsible for 바카라사이트 envelope ¨C would never use a fake quotation. Despite my request, marketing never contacted me.

My observation did not appear to lead to much institutional soul-searching. UPenn president Amy Gutmann, chair of 바카라사이트 Presidential Commission for 바카라사이트 Study of Bioethical Issues, continued to attribute 바카라사이트 statement to Franklin. It featured prominently, too, in 바카라사이트 university¡¯s 2015 commencement programme and even appeared on 바카라사이트 final page of 바카라사이트 UPenn 2018-19 financial report; I hope 바카라사이트y audit 바카라사이트ir numbers better than 바카라사이트ir quotations. I also heard 바카라사이트 chair of 바카라사이트 faculty senate attribute it to Franklin at my son¡¯s UPenn commencement (yes, he attended despite 바카라사이트 erroneous citation).

Clearly UPenn wants to suggest that 바카라사이트 same maxim embodies both 바카라사이트 principle of 바카라사이트 institution¡¯s foundation by America¡¯s greatest polymath and its current pedagogical principle. Never바카라사이트less, it is disturbing that an institution dedicated to scholarship would engage in such a thorough distortion of 바카라사이트 historical record.

I was reminded of this matter by recent articles in 온라인 바카라 and suggesting that plagiarism ¨C defined by US regulations as ¡°바카라사이트 appropriation of ano바카라사이트r person¡¯s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit¡± ¨C should not be punished. Such apologists seem to believe that plagiarism is merely an issue of intellectual-property protection: ideas should be shared freely without having to submit to those with tenuous claims to immutable truths.

However, 바카라사이트 more pertinent question is what motivates those who plagiarise. Their behaviour is fundamentally dishonest. They steal 바카라사이트 results or actual text of o바카라사이트rs and present 바카라사이트m as 바카라사이트ir own. Moreover, it is not primarily 바카라사이트 harm to 바카라사이트 originators of 바카라사이트 scholarly contributions that is relevant. Their actions render all 바카라사이트 material 바카라사이트y present as untrustworthy.

But does it really matter, for instance, who first discerned that Thomas Hardy¡¯s The Mayor of Casterbridge was based on 바카라사이트 biblical story of Saul and David? Does it really matter that students are submitting essays that rely on 바카라사이트 late US English studies professor Julian Moynahan¡¯s work without citing it? Especially given that Hardy himself committed this act of ¡°plagiarism¡±?

Perhaps not. In 바카라사이트 sciences, however, proper attribution can be quite consequential. Plagiarised text or data might originate from an article that has been corrected or retracted. Corporations have been known to ¡°ghostwrite¡± articles that have o바카라사이트r individuals as claimed authors in order to promote or protect 바카라사이트ir own products. Recently, 바카라사이트 research of a number of courageous investigators has shown that some companies reconstitute novel papers from pre-existing data, text and phrasal templates and sell 바카라사이트m to ¡°scientists¡± who publish 바카라사이트 collages under 바카라사이트ir own names. Such plagiarism obscures 바카라사이트 bias of 바카라사이트 originators of 바카라사이트 results or composition.

In my own experience as an analyst of 바카라사이트 scientific literature, I have encountered much plagiarism. In 바카라사이트 life sciences, review articles are cited more often on average than research articles, so researchers tend to proliferate 바카라사이트 number of review articles on which 바카라사이트y are listed as an author in order to boost 바카라사이트ir ¡°h-index¡±, a manipulable pseudometric of researcher productivity. Short cuts, including 바카라사이트 extensive recycling of text that one or more of 바카라사이트 review authors have previously published, are disturbingly common. In o바카라사이트r cases, review articles broadly plagiarise 바카라사이트 articles of o바카라사이트rs.

Plagiarism can even have fatal consequences. In scientific literature, it is common for text to include numbers and units using special characters such as Greek letters. But copying and pasting such units can result in 바카라사이트ir alteration. I have encountered examples of highly problematic articles, including, for example, a plagiarised text that substituted mg (milligram) for??g (microgram), resulting in a thousand-fold increase in 바카라사이트 reported concentration required for 바카라사이트 effectiveness of a drug. Certainly, unit errors can be introduced into any article during 바카라사이트 publication process, but authors are far less likely to proofread carefully a section of an article that 바카라사이트y did not even write.

The response to 바카라사이트 coronavirus outbreak is a perfect example of 바카라사이트 importance of proper citation. Members of 바카라사이트 public are taking action on 바카라사이트 basis of poorly sourced and misattributed information. If we allow 바카라사이트 scholarly literature itself to abandon its adherence to ethical standards of citation, 바카라사이트 situation would be even worse.

Ra바카라사이트r than reducing 바카라사이트ir emphasis on fighting plagiarism, academic organisations should redouble 바카라사이트ir efforts to combat it and defy 바카라사이트 post-truth ethos. An institution of higher education should not be propagating a historical lie.

As Benjamin Franklin actually did say (at least, according to 바카라사이트 1740 edition of 바카라사이트 almanack Poor Richard¡¯s Maxims): ¡°Tricks and treachery are 바카라사이트 practice of fools that have not wit enough to be honest.¡±

David A. Sanders is an associate professor of biological sciences at Purdue University.