NPR revisits 'Cut and paste plagiarism'

Talk of the Nation: Every writer, student and scholar is supposed to give credit, where credit's due, but it's easier and easier to steal. The Internet gives everyone access to enormous amounts of material, and reproduction is a lot faster than research. Guests on the program discuss the plague of plagiarism. (Guests: Donald McCabe, John Barrie, Michael Williams.)

Plagiary: A new scholarly journal

"To bring together the various strands of scholarship which already exist on the subject, and to create a forum for discussion across disciplinary boundaries, the new scholarly journal Plagiary exists."

UNH to trial Turnitin

The University of New Hamphsire has decided to test Turnitin. "The cost for Turnitin, . . . according to the faculty minutes, is $11,056 for a year and $27,356 for three years."

MTU to reduce penalty for academic dishonesty

Michigan Technical University is considering that the punishment for a second offense of academic dishonesty be changed. The director of student judicial affairs, Patricia Gotschalk, has recommended "the minimum punishment to be a grade reduction in the course instead of automatically failing the course. . . . Gotschalk says some professors may be reluctant to report cases of academic dishonesty if they believe the student's punishment will be too harsh."

Increase in cheating @ Oregon attributed to vigilance

At U of Oregon "reported violations of academic dishonesty have increased 184 percent in the past two years, rising from 57 to 162 incidents." This increase is attributed to a wider participation in "the Student Judicial Affairs process."

Plagiarism won't go away in Australia

Plagiarism, especially among fee-paying international students, still a problem for Australian universities.

Discouraging plagiarism: Instruction NOT detection

The British government recurited Professor Jean Underwood of Nottingham Trent University "to provide technical advice on how to detect internet cheating."

Professor Underwoord, an authority on "the impact of new technologies on teaching and learning, said less repetitive and more creative questioning would reduce the scope for cheating."

Alternatives to academic dishonesty

Russell Jacoby considers how the "jargon of choice . . . corrodes academic freedom."

A short history of plagiarism

Stephen Moss provides a short and borrowed overview of plagiarism in The Guardian.

Tufts participates in McCabe's 3rd and latest survey

Donald McCabe . . . is conducting the third round of his national survey of college students, and Tufts is among the 28 schools participating.