Dear readers,
Welcome to the summer ENAI newsletter! We do hope that despite the current restrictions you manage to enjoy the well deserved holiday and relax before the new academic year starts.
By coincidence, the current issue brings a quite amount of news on academic misconduct from all over the world…
"In the times when all countries count cases of COVID-19, Slovakia counts cases of plagiarism". This joke from social media is not far from reality. Slovakia seems to outnumber other countries by plagiarism scandals at one time. The cases include the chairman of the Slovak parliament and the prime minister. And none of them seem to resign. Read more details in the article of Július Kravjar - member of the ENAI Board. Július is from Slovakia and is watching all cases very carefully. The scandals led European Student Union to publish a statement on the whole issue. However, there are also reasons for optimism: Slovak national accreditation agency acknowledges the problem and joined ENAI July. In September, they will organize a conference about accreditations standards in Slovakia. The standards will involve integrity and Tomáš Foltýnek - president of the ENAI Board, was invited as a keynote speaker to the conference. Hopefully, the scandals will help to move Slovak academia forward.
Still, please do not panic - after the flood of negative news, our newsletter contains also positive information: you will find there an invitation for Academic Integrity Week and to the 8th Academic Integrity Conference in Mexico. Great positive news is also a new book "A Research Agenda for Academic Integrity" edited by Tracey Bretag: "Highly topical book provides indepth analysis of emerging threats to academic integrity, and practical, evidence-based recommendations for creating cultures of integrity. Internationally renowned scholars from a range of disciplines and countries provide expertise on existing and emerging threats to academic integrity and offer evidence-based advice to all higher education stakeholders."
In the current issue:
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Recent High Politicians’ Plagiarism Cases in Slovakia
By Julius Kravjar
“Academic and research integrity cannot be a side project or an afterthought. Integrity and ethics must be central to everything we do and every decision we make.” [1]
Plagiarism is one of the most serious and at the same time the most common academic breaches. The presentation of work or ideas taken from other sources without their proper acknowledgement is essentially a mental / intellectual theft. The plagiarist becomes a thief who stole the idea and a liar because he claims it to be his own.The common denominator of the last three plagiarism cases of high ranking politicians in Slovakia [2] is the human failure. They committed plagiarism in their master theses (2015 [3], 1998 [4], 2009 [5]), they claim that they have not violated any law or directive (but they had violated the citation standard), they do not plan to resign. That is their crooked mirror of self-reflection. And probably it is the sign that it is only the tip of the iceberg.
What an "excellent" model for the young generation!
Only one courageous coalition minister said that the prime minister should resign. It was Ján Mičovský, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Who / what failed? Theses authors and higher education institutions represented by tutors, opponents, defence commissions. Usually authors-plagiarists are punished, but today we have no legislation for withdrawal of degrees. The Prime Minister has ordered the drafting of a law on the withdrawal of degrees due to plagiarism. Within the last ten years we had already heard that from three ministers of education.
Two comments on the insufficiency of the proposed withdrawal law:
- degree withdrawal should apply to all serious breaches of academic integrity and not just for plagiarism cases,
- the plagiarist should not be the only one sanctioned in case tutors, opponents, defence commission members commit repeated breaches of academic integrity.
If such a law ordered by the prime minister comes into existence we can say by sport terminology, that yellow and red cards will be used only in cases of plagiarism, but not for other serious violations of academic integrity.
These cases are evidence that the processes involved in the creation and evaluation of theses have weaknesses, are not sufficiently precise, are not checked / supervised and are circumvented.
The basic pillar of the fight against plagiarism is prevention, which includes education for honesty in the family, school, society, as well as understanding the importance of integrity and ethics in the educational process. The second pillar are well defined control processes, which will enable the timely detection of plagiarism. This pillar has always been and will continue to be the quality work of a tutor with a student. The tutor has a large part of the responsibility, because he is an expert in the field and should be well versed in literary sources. The third pillar is to draw consequences for breaches of academic integrity on the basis of generally available transparent rules, also with the help of legislation [6].
To build up the culture of academic integrity is complex and long term task. The environment of academic integrity culture should have its background (system for academic integrity management) characterized by [7]:
- transparent and easy access to comprehensive information on academic integrity (web),
- institutional commission:
- authorized for preparation / updating of the policy of academic integrity, materials on academic integrity (meaning, guidelines, principles, values, practice),
- in charge of responsibility in the field of academic integrity within the institution (staff, students), solves cases of violation of academic integrity,
- detailed materials:
- well-structured, easy to understand, serving as a guide to academic integrity,
- to identify unacceptable academic practices,
- for advice on academic integrity,
- sanctions for breaches of academic integrity
- centralized system for recording and monitoring cases of unacceptable academic practice.
Nothing is black and white - so even higher education in Slovakia is not only high quality and low quality. Its quality depends on individuals and their actions, their perception and the application of academic integrity in practice. We have people with high moral characters, but we also have individuals who do not become aware of their personal responsibility for the state, in terms of promoting quality and the perception of higher education by the public. The former accept the principles of academic integrity and respect the spirit of the university, the latter perceive their profession as a current necessity, which they use to fulfil and to follow up their interests and build personal prestige. [8] It is human qualities that will be the dividing line separating prosperous from non-prosperous economies and, together with research infrastructures, will play a key role in the creation of knowledge and technology, at their dissemination, application and use [9]. It is worth fighting for academic integrity principles with the noble goal to prepare people with high human qualities. And the European Network for Academic Integrity is prepared for this role.
[1] Bertram Gallant, T. (2018). Fake News, Truth & the Higher Education Imperative
[2] Chairman of National Council of Slovak Republic (Slovak Parliament), Prime Minister and Minister of Education
[3] Kollar Accused of Plagiarising His Master’s Thesis
[4] Matovic: I Committed Plagiarism Unknowingly, I’ll Retire if Ousted
[5] Education Minister’s thesis raises plagiarism questions too
[6] Kravjar, J., Leontievová, T., Hladík, M. (2020) Boj s plagiátormi nevyhráme len odoberaním titulov
[7] Bretag, T. et al.(2014). Exemplary Academic Integrity Project
[8] Platková Olejárová, G. (2012). (Etická) analýza akademickej etiky ako profesijnej etiky. In: Profesijná etika – analýza stavu profesijnej etiky na Slovensku, pp. 215-266
[9] Kravjar, J. (2013). CRZP/APS: míľniky, aktuálny stav, pripravované zmeny. In: Zborník príspevkov z 37. medzinárodného informatického sympózia Inovatívne knižnice a pamäťové inštitúcie - Hľadanie odpovedí na nové výzvy znalostnej spoločnosti, pp. 104-116
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More Plagiarism Cases by Politicians Surfacing from Eastern Europe
Not so far from Slovakia, in Croatia, there was also a recent case of a politician having trouble with academic writing - namely Miroslav Škoro, a musician and a politician who was a candidate for presidential elections last year. According to Telegram.hr, Škoro's referencing technique in his PhD thesis is a rather unconventional and there were several instances in that can be described as plagiarism.
It seems that academic writing issues are quite common among politicians in this region - last year PhD degree was revoked due to plagiarism from a Serbian minister Sinisa Mali (read more in an article by Serbian Monitor).
There is a nice overview article by Bloomberg about multiple recent cases in Central and Eastern Europe which also sketches possible explanations for this regional phenomenon.
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Did Trump Cheat on his Entrance Examinations?
According to Mary Trump's new book "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man", Donald Trump cheated on his SAT by paying someone to take it for him. She claims that the high score obtained by the ghost writer helped him to gain admission to the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton business school.
According to the Business Insider the White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews denied the allegation that Trump cheated on his SAT. Read the whole story from Business Insider.
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Identity Thefts at High School Exams in China
Across China, all high school graduates take a special exam - Gaokao. The result of the exam decides the students’ future as it serves as the university entrance exam.
Its result is extremely important especially for students from poor families, as the opportunity to study at university can change their future.
A recently published story revealed hundreds of cases of stolen identities with high scores from Gaokao. Read the emotive article by BBC News about Ms Chen who 15 years after her high school exam found out that her identity had been stolen and that someone else had lived her dream of studying at university instead of her.
The positive point in the whole story is that the Chinese officials are putting in practice new processes which should prevent such issues.
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European Academic Integrity Week
(19th–23rd October)
ENAI is organizing four lunch webinars during the European Academic Integrity Week (19th–23rd October), one for each day of the week but Wednesday when we would like to encourage everyone to organize academic integrity events at their home institutions.
Two of the lunch webinars will put a light on various emerging aspects on academic integrity connected to the covid-19 pandemic from a student respectively a teacher perspective (Monday, October 19th and Thursday, October 21st)
The other two seminars will be two lectures: Tomáš Foltýnek and Dita Dlabolová will talk about "Where is the borderline of plagiarism?" (Tuesday, October 20th) while Shivadas Sivasubramaniam will give a lecture with a title "Building your own ethical behaviours in medical research" (Friday, October 22nd).
Register for each workshop separately here.
Where is the borderline of plagiarism?
Dr Tomáš Foltýnek and Dr Dita Dlabolová, Mendel University in Brno, Czechia
The workshop is a mixture of information, activities to make participants think about the issues and discussions. It also presents results from European-wide surveys about plagiarism. Participants are encouraged to share their personal experience.
We will talk about the understanding of plagiarism, discuss several scenarios and assess their severity. We will also consider reasons leading students to plagiarism, and discuss prevention, and also the policies and penalties which are a necessary part of prevention. As for prevention, we will share the best practices collected in the European-wide project.
In the end, a brief introduction to the technical aspects of plagiarism detection will be given: What are the plagiarism detection tools able to discover, where are their limits and how to read similarity reports.
For further details please contact the presenters.
Building Your Own Ethical Behaviours in Medical Research
Dr S D Sivasubramaniam, University of Derby, United Kingdom
This case study based workshop is suited for graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in the fields of science and medicine. It will focus of ethical behaviour and integrity in every aspects of scientific/medical research. Many of these case studies were gathered from actual real life experiences of students and academics. Participants are expected to interact with each other by discussing the scenarios that would be provided to conclude the right approach and actions suitable for each scenarios. By this way, participant would gain knowledge and experience in ethical behaviour in research.
For further details please contact the presenter.
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8.° Congreso de Integridad Academica
Universidad de Monterrey in Mexico organizes the 8th conference on academic integrity: 8.° Congreso de Integridad Academica. The conference will take place from 24th to 25th September 2020 and it will be 100% virtual. ENAI, together with ICAI, gladly supports the conference.
The objectives of the conference are to share challenges and experiences that recognize, to live and promote the values of academic integrity among teachers, students and collaborators of an educational institution to serve as support in the strengthening of a culture of integrity.
Find more details and registration here.
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7th World Conference on Research Integrity
The 7th World Conference on Research Integrity in Cape Town, South Africa, has been postponed to 2022. The new dates for the Conference are Sunday 29 May 2022–Wednesday 1 June 2022.
There will be a digital event for 2021 to take place during some of the days originally planned (30 May–2 June 2021). More information on this will follow at a later stage.
Find all details and check for the new updates at the conference website.
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Updates on the Special Issue of the Journal of Academic Ethics
In the previous newsletter we announced the Special Issue of the Journal of Academic Ethics: Improving Ethics Infrastructure. It became now available as a formatted issue and we bring the complete list of contributions:
- Tauginienė, L., Gaižauskaitė, I. Improving Ethics Infrastructure: Looking for Customized Approaches and New Facets. J Acad Ethics 18, 103–104 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-019-09349-x
- Johnson, C., Davies, R. Using Digital Forensic Techniques to Identify Contract Cheating: A Case Study. J Acad Ethics 18, 105–113 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-019-09358-w
- Lancaster, T. Academic Discipline Integration by Contract Cheating Services and Essay Mills. J Acad Ethics 18, 115–127 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-019-09357-x
- Kamzola, L., Anohina-Naumeca, A. Comparing Text-Matching Software Systems Using the Document Set in the Latvian Language. J Acad Ethics 18, 129–141 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-019-09355-z
- Umamaheswaran, P., Ramachandran, S. & Sivasubramaniam, S.D. Retrospective Analysis of Plagiaristic Practices within a Cinematic Industry in India – a Tip in the Ocean of Icebergs. J Acad Ethics 18, 143–153 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-020-09360-7
- Chankova, M. Teaching Academic Integrity: the Missing Link. J Acad Ethics 18, 155–173 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-019-09356-y
- Khan, Z.R., Hemnani, P., Raheja, S. et al. Raising Awareness on Contract Cheating –Lessons Learned from Running Campus-Wide Campaigns. J Acad Ethics 18, 175–191 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-020-09365-2
- Mabou Tagne, A., Cassina, N., Furgiuele, A. et al. Perceptions and Attitudes about Research Integrity and Misconduct: a Survey among Young Biomedical Researchers in Italy. J Acad Ethics 18, 193–205 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-020-09359-0
- Moore, E. Inconsistent Responses to Notifications of Suspected Plagiarism in Finnish Higher Education. J Acad Ethics 18, 207–222 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-020-09366-1
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Dilemma Game App is Available!
In the May issue of the newsletter we have informed you that the Dilemma Game by the Erasmus University Rotterdam was being transformed into a mobile application. Today, we gladly inform you that the app already has been released - both for Android and for iOS! Find more information and links for download here.
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We will approach you with the regular newsletter in October 2020. If you want to share with us, and with other recipients, any interesting news from your country or some curiosities from the area of academic integrity, we will welcome your contributions. Please send them to info@academicintegrity.eu before the end of September.
Feel free to share the newsletter with your friends and colleagues, or send them this subscription link, the newsletter is open to everyone!
Sincerely yours
European Network for Academic Integrity team
info@academicintegrity.eu
www.academicintegrity.eu
www.facebook.com/academicintegrity.eu
www.twitter.com/ENAIntegrity
www.instagram.com/enai_integrity/
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