A weblog for Pete Ellertsen's mass communications students at Benedictine University Springfield.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

COMM 317: Questions for April 10

Read the articles, etc., linked below on plagiarism and copyright. Then answer these questions ... post them as comments to this blog entry.

1. How is plagiarism in school different from plagiarism in the workplace? How is it the same?

2. How is plagiarism similar to copyright infringement? How is it different? What ethical issues are raised by plagiarism that are not by copyright infringement?

3. How would Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill have analyzed the case of former business columnist Stephen H. Dunphy of The Seattle Times? How would Immanuel Kant have analyzed it?

4. What specific steps can you take to ensure against inadvertent plagiarism in your own writing?

8 comments:

meghan_mccarthy said...

1. Plagiarism in school is different than plagiarism in the fact that they are both moral offenses on one. School plagiarism will get you no where for the sake of a job. If one can not pass on their own than one are not going to be able to survive in the workplace on their own. Workplace plagiarism happens often, but the only time we hear about it is when work is stolen from article to article or news writing to news writing. An example of workplace plagiarism is “Stephen H. Dunphy, Seattle Times associate editor and business columnist, has resigned after acknowledging that he has plagiarized the work of other journalists.”(The Seattle Times: Sunday August 22, 2004)

2. Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized use of material which is covered by copyright law, in a manner that violates one of the original copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it. They are both the violation of someone’s rights. Copyright infringement is basically stealing the work of another and still giving them credit for it. Plagiarism is stealing their work and crediting yourself for it. The ethical issues that are raised for plagiarism that are not raised for copyright infringement are that how can one steal the work of others and not give them the credit. Copyright infringement is just like making a cd on your computer that you downloaded, everyone does it!

3. I'm sure that neither one of them would like it too much.

4. You can make sure that you quote evrerything even if you arent sure, just paraphrase it and give the author the credit.

Keith Evans said...

1. Plagerism is different in school than in the workplace in the sense that students must use other people's work, which isn't wrong if credit is given. They use other people's material to back up their opinions, so they can move up the scholastic ladder, while journalists are under a completely different pressure. they feel the presure of having to be original for the most part because it is their job to be informed on the topic. They use other people's work to back up what they already know or have discovered. With students, plagerism seems to be much more blatent. The two types of plagerism are the same in the sense that they are both stealing and are not ethical in any shape or form.

2. Plagerism is similar to copyright infringement because they are both "stealing" from other people's hardwork. It is different in the way that plagerism is used again for someone else's work, while infringement is the simple use of other's work without claiming as your own. The ethical issue is that some people use other people's work and claim it as their own, which is much more wrong than copyright infringement.

3. Bentham and Mill would want to look at question of whether firing Dunphy would benefit everyone more than letting him keep writing because his writing is mostly informative and correct. Sure he screwed up, but by firing him, the company is extracting a member who was very intelligent and informative for the most part.

4. Some ways to not plagerize is to make notecards with all notes and quotes and put them in order, along with the source on the card. Also, noting every source after every note or quote would help keep the information organized and credible.

Michele Bearss said...

1. Plagiarism in school is different from the workplace because of the intent in which the information is used. I believe that when plagiarism is used in school it is intentional and the student is copying the work with full knowledge of what he is doing. plagiarism in the work place i believe is done of out either laziness, ignorance, or simply by mistake. Determining the differences or the similarities between plagiarism in school or work is based completely on intent of which the individual/s chose to publish the material.

2. Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized use of material which is covered by copyright law, in a manner that violates one of the original copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it. The slang term bootleg (derived from the use of the shank of a boot for the purposes of smuggling) is often used to describe illicitly copied material. Similarities - they are both about the violation of someones rights. Copyright is more specific then plagiarism but plagiarism is more profound then copyright violations. The ethical issues that are raised by plagiarism that are not by copyright infringement is the fact that if you are plagiarising something chances are you know that are you doing it. Also with plagiarism you are stealing someone elses words and taking the credit for it, which is very unethical. Also, does anybody really know that you can sing Happy Birthday in public.

3. Not sure.

4. A good start would be to read more so that I could become more aware of what other people are writing about. Another step to take would be to have someone else read the work before it is printed, turned in, or published. Also it is important to quote anything that has already been published and give credit where it is due.

Robert S said...

1. How is plagiarism in school different from plagiarism in the workplace? How is it the same?

Plagiarism is serious both in school and in the workplace. At school, it can get you a failed class or, in some cases, an expulsion, and is usually done intentionally. In the workplace, you run the risk of being fired and/or ruining your career as a journalist, though the plagiarism itself is oftentimes unintentional. However, according to Roy Peter Clark's article "The Original Sin," it's overlooked more than it should be.

2. How is plagiarism similar to copyright infringement? How is it different? What ethical issues are raised by plagiarism that are not by copyright infringement?

Plagiarism is similar to copyright infringement in that you are stealing a person's intellectual property. However, while copyright protection is a matter of law, plagiarism is rooted more in matters of ethics and morality, and there is no set way in dealing with it. One of the ethical issues raised by plagiarism is, was the plagiarism intentional or unintentional? And how should plagiarism be handled if it is discovered?

3. How would Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill have analyzed the case of former business columnist Stephen H. Dunphy of The Seattle Times? How would Immanuel Kant have analyzed it?

Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill would have used an approach of utilitarianism, considering which route would be best for all parties involved. Kant, on the other hand, would have used his own duty ethics and "pure reason" (with which he probably would have thought that Dunphy should have made it his duty to not plagiarize, and to be sure to cite his sources, thus recognizing what he calls "universal law" - http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/kant.html).

4. What specific steps can you take to ensure against inadvertent plagiarism in your own writing?

A few steps you can take to avoid plagiarism: always cite your sources, especially if you're unsure about whether or not you should cite a particular section of paraphrasing, and always after a quotation. If you're paraphrasing, it's best to not be reading directly from your source as you write (read it, put it away, then write it in your own words). Finally, after finishing a paper you should read it over and make sure that you've cited where you need to, and that you haven't left any citations or sources out. The main key is to pay attention to what you're doing.

Josh said...

1. Plagiarism in school is different than in adults that when it is done by school kids it is for the purpose of getting quick information to get work done, but in the work place it is not known when doing because people get fired for doing it.

2. The general rule is if you copy, display, perform, modify or distribute someone else's copyrighted work without getting permission to do so, it is copyright infringement. One exception to this is fair use.Plagiarism is using someone else's work as your own without properly crediting the original author. This takes the form of copying part or all of a work, omitting quotations marks where necessary, and failing to reference the original work.

3. "Bentham and Mill would want to look at question of whether firing Dunphy would benefit everyone more than letting him keep writing because his writing is mostly informative and correct. Sure he screwed up, but by firing him, the company is extracting a member who was very intelligent and informative for the most part." -Keith Evans


4. You can check your work when you are done writting it to see if it is the same as someone elses. You can also make sure that it is all your work by writting what you think.

Shalon said...

1. In school you right papers using formats that allow you to site your sources. In the workplace this is not always the case. Although in the field of journalism you have to give credit to your sources, you are often expected to do your own reporting to come up with your own story. In both instances plagiarism is often times done on purpose.

2.Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work and copyright infringement is the violation of the rights secured by a copyright. Ethically it is unfair to the author to use their material without giving them credit for it. To sum plagiarism up in one word it would say it is basically stealing, which has always been morally wrong.

3. They would probably think that he should receive some sort of punishment for his actions.

4.I would make sure all sources are cited correctly and that I paraphrased everything.

Gina said...

1. How is plagiarism in school different from plagiarism in the workplace? How is it the same?

-You should know better by the time you get to work. When it comes to school, many times, students accidentally plagerise on papers by not citing correctly. Both places can have somewhat the same way of handling it...in school you fail and in the workplace it is very possible that you will be fired.
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2. How is plagiarism similar to copyright infringement? How is it different? What ethical issues are raised by plagiarism that are not by copyright infringement?

-Copyright infringement is defined by Wikipedia.com as using copyrighted material in a way that it violates the owner's rights and plagerism is defined by dictionary.com as taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own. With plagerism, you know that it is not your idea but you are claiming it to be your own anyway. When you plagerise you will more than likely be thinking, "am i going to get caught?" and "what will the consequences be?"
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3. How would Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill have analyzed the case of former business columnist Stephen H. Dunphy of The Seattle Times? How would Immanuel Kant have analyzed it?

-Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill= Both of them believe in doing whatever does the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people, so based on that idea, I would say that they would have wanted Dunphy to keep writing b/c he had been a writer for so long, and possibly his future publications could be good for a greater amount of people then resigning and never writing again. Dunphy wrote a lot of articles, and the article even said that he wrote this one over a long perior of time, so it isn't surprising that he "accidentally" plagerised. It was hopefully a one time thing and he more than likely learned from his mistake.
-Immanuel Kant= He would have a problem with what Dunphy did, and would have agreed with him resigning. Kant believed in categorical imperative and in class we were told that that is the belief of something is this way or the highway. If he plagerised then he is done with the job.
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4. What specific steps can you take to ensure against inadvertent plagiarism in your own writing?

-When it comes to papers for school, its important to be organized in your research. By doing this it is easier to see what information comes from each source, and then citing it in the paper is a lot easier. There is also the website...turnitin.com that will read your paper and tell you the parts that you "accidentally" palgerised.

Jeremy said...

1. How is plagiarism in school different from plagiarism in the workplace? How is it the same?

Plagiarism in school is enforced for a grade and if you plagiarize a lot you might get kicked out of school just for plagiarizing. In the workplace, it is hardly known because people do get fired over it.

2. It’s the same because you are taking someone else’s work without promotion. How it is different, plagiarism is geared towards ethics and copyright infringement has a stamp so no one else can use their work.

3. HELL I’M NOT FOR SURE!!!

4. Always double check your work. Always make sure you save the information from a website so you can use quotes from there, and make sure you always make a work cited page.

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About Me

Springfield (Ill.), United States
I'm a retired English, journalism and cultural studies teacher at Springfield College in Illinois (acquired by Benedictine University and subsequently closed). I coordinate jam sessions for the "Clayville Pioneer Academy of Music" at Clayville Historic Site and the Prairieland Strings dulcimer club, and I sing in the choir and the contemporary praise team at Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield. On Hogfiddle I post links and video clips for our sessions and workshops on the mountain dulcimer (a.k.a. "hog fiddle"), as well as research notes on folklore and cultural studies, hymnody and traditional Anglo-Celtic and Scandinavian music. I also posted assignments and readings in my interdisciplinary humanities classes. The Mackerel Wrapper (now on hiatus), carried assignments and readings for my mass comm. students. I started teaching b/log when I chaired SCI-Benedictine's assessment committee, and reopened it as the privatization of public schools grew increasingly troubling and closer to home.