OSC/Department of Philosophy Ethics Seminar In Academic Integrity

June 22 , 2004 in BHC 129, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon.

Dr. Nancy Stanlick

Department of Philosophy

 

(FINAL UPDATE POSTED June 20, 2004 at 11:55 p.m.)

 

Description and Objective:  This is a 2-hour overview of ethical issues involved in instances of academic dishonesty, violations of the UCF Golden Rule, or violations of any university policy consistent with attendance in this course.  It includes discussion of the distinction between plagiarism and cheating, the ways in which these occur, and how to avoid them.  Specific moral topics may include lying, theft of intellectual property, respect for self and others, and academic integrity.  The course also includes information about on-line and on-campus academic resources for legitimate assistance with research projects and papers.

 

 

Requirements:  All those assigned to this course by the Office of Student Conduct or any faculty member or other department in the University are responsible for attending, participating in discussion, and submitting the three assignments listed below. The assignments must be your own original work and are due 7 days after the meeting of the seminar (June 27) by 5:00 p.m. in the Department of Philosophy office in CNH 411.  Submit these assignments in person at the Department of Philosophy in CNH 411.  Remember that the deadline is June 27 AT 5:00 P.M.

 

 

1.      There are new commercials produced by the recording industry regarding the practice of illegally downloading music files on the Internet.  There will be an assignment based on one of these commercials/advertisements.  There is also a song available at: http://www.borealisrecords.com/sounds/stickers_copied.mp3 regarding the issue of illegitimate music copying on the Internet.  One of the commercials produced by the recording industry is available at: http://www.whatsthedownload.com/gallery/index.aspx .  Additional artist (musician) commentary on illegal downloads can be seen (and read) at: http://www.whatsthedownload.com/artist_buzz/index.aspx#1_down .   Assignment to be announced during class. Due on June 27.

2.      Check on the Internet for a college or university that has an honor code (not just an honor policy) and write a brief (1-2 page) essay explaining the primary way in which that honor code is different from UCF's Golden Rule. This assignment is due on June 27.

3.     Write a 2-page essay on the issue of academic integrity USING APPROPRIATE NOTATION/CITATION.  This is to be an information-based essay on the differences between cheating and plagiarism, and what constitutes violations of “integrity.” You must use at least two references, only one of which may be an Internet/WWW source.  The exception is works available through the UCF Library in electronic access to academic journals and books in NetLibrary.  See http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html for information on how to AVOID plagiarizing.  This assignment is due on June 27.

4.      In-class topics will concern appropriate use (and inappropriate misuse) of academic sources.  Discussion will also concern the use of plagiarism detection resources.  See http://www.turnitin.com, http://www.schoolsucks.com, http://www.plagiarism.org .  Note that the plagiarism.org site takes you to turnitin.com.  Turnitin.com provides resources for appropriate citation, avoiding plagiarism, and answers to common questions in the RESEARCH RESOURCES link at the site.

 

NOTE:  No element of these assignments may be submitted in handwritten form.  Word processing or typewritten format must be used.

 

Other Suggested Readings that can be used for the assignments:

1.     Bernard Gert, Morality: Its Nature and Justification at http://www.netlibrary.com.  See pp. 191-196.  You MUST use computers on campus, or use Pegasus or proxy access as a UCF student to use this resource.

2.     PowerPoint Presentation at http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~stanlick/cfccpresstu.ppt on theoretical aspects of cheating and plagiarism.

3.     UCF’s Golden Rule – Student Academic Behavior at http://www.ucf.edu/goldenrule/studaca.html

4.     Others may be assigned during the course meeting.

 

Consider these Questions:

1.     What is your reaction to the claim that if you cheat, you are cheating only yourself?  What is your reaction to the claim that when you cheat, you are cheating other students?

2.     If you buy a term paper over the Internet (or find one in a file cabinet, or borrow or steal one from some source or other), are you plagiarizing when you understand the material and re-write the paper in your own words?

3.     Which of these views of the justification of plagiarism or cheating most closely resembles your own?  What was your own reason?

·        What matters most is good grades.

·        I’ll lose my scholarship if I don’t get a good grade in this course.

·        The subject is too difficult, and I need the course to graduate.

·        This class doesn’t have anything to do with my major, so it isn’t a serious problem if I cheat or plagiarize.  What’s the point in knowing anything about English literature or poetry or philosophy or statistics (or whatever) when I want a job in technical writing, engineering, or whatever.

·        I had to study for other tests and didn’t have time for this one.

·        I have more important things to do.

·        I couldn’t get time off from work to do research for the paper (or to study for the test).

 

Note:

If you have any questions about the content of this seminar, please contact me at stanlick@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu or come by during my office hours for the summer 2004 term.  See http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~stanlick .