Reflecting on reflection . . .

Perhaps because it is so frequently

utilized as a catalyst for getting students
thinking about integrity, the processes of
reflection are sometimes taken as a given,
yet there are layers and varieties and
keys to reflection that can mean the
difference between a rote exercise and
meaningful inquiry.
Sometimes misunderstood as a simple
accounting of an event or issue and how
one feels about it, at its best, reflection
includes looking at a subject from
multiple perspectives, consideration of
both long-and short term consequences,
exploring multiple alternative
possibilities, and weighing likely positive
and negative effects.
Like most academic practices, analytic,
generative reflection doesnt come
naturallyit must be learned and
practiced. Providing questions and
prompts that encourage students to think
analytically rather than simply recounting
their actions or reporting their emotional
reactions to an issue can help you
maximize the effectiveness of reflection as
a means for generating new and deeper
understanding.
~Teddi Fishman
ETHOS
A Monthly Publication of the International Center for Academic Integrity Featuring Summaries of Integrity News + News from the Center
Quote of the Month
Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the
right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your
life with integrity. -W. Clement Stone

Chinese App Helps Students Cheat on Homework

By: Cathy Sizhao Yi Quartz QZ.com 07/15/2014
Chinese teens have it rough pretty with schoolworkstudents in
Shanghai spend an average of nearly three hours per weeknight on
homeworkand the summer, when many take extra classes, isnt much
better. So its no wonder that many smartphone-wielding students are
turning to technology to lessen their load, including an app developed by
internet search giant Baidu that lets them crowd source their homework
questions.

The companys mobile app Homework Helper, launched this year, and
has been downloaded at least 5 million times from Android and IOS app
stores, according to Homework Helper. Users can either take a photo of
their homework questions or type them in by hand. Other users who
answer the questions in online forums are rewarded with virtual e-
coins when their answers are deemed correct. The coins can be used to
buy everything from photo frames to iPhones and Lenovo laptops. A staff
member for Homework Helper, responding to a request to Baidu for
comment, said through the companys messaging service that the apps
answers were correct around 80% of the time. Asked about the dubious
morality of the app, the staffer admitted: I think this is a kind of
cheating.

Other competing apps, like one called Mr. Nerdy, try to automatically
provide answers from their own databases of homework questions. But
one Chinese reporter found that the app only had a 30% success rate.

Students, unsurprisingly, seem to like the apps, but parents are less
enthusiastic. Once she gets stuck on a problem, she turns to these apps
for the answers and loses the ability to think independently, said
one mother of a middle school student. Others were more sympathetic.
They have no choice but to finish their homework at home when they
should have been playing outside. That pressure makes them find other
ways like this, one man commented (registration required) on Weibo.

Complete Article: http://qz.com/234712







Should Research Fraud be Treated as a Crime?
By: Helen Branswell The Hamilton Spectator 07/15/2014
If you perpetrate a fraud in most walks of life, you risk facing
criminal charges. But that rarely happens to scientists who commit
research fraud. A new debate in a scientific journal questions
whether that ought to change. Published by the British Medical
Journal the point-counterpoint-style article explores a problem
that dogs academia, wastes precious research funds and potentially
puts the lives of people who need medical treatment in danger.

For Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta the answer is clear though he
acknowledges his view won't be universally embraced in the
academic world. "Our fraternity is not very united when it comes to
washing our dirty linen in public," Bhutta, co-director of the
Centre for Global Child Health at Toronto's Hospital for Sick
Children, said. "(But) when somebody is determined to commit
something like this and does, and if it is brought to light, then I
think the full weight of law needs to come on that person."

Bhutta, who is on the advisory board of the journal, said the idea
for the article stemmed from a discussion he and his colleagues
had recently about scientific misconduct, of which fraud is one
component. In his argument that scientific fraud ought to be
treated as a criminal offence, Bhutta pointed to cases of individual
and pharmaceutical industry fraud...
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4633340-should-research-fraud-be-
treated-as-a-crime-toronto-expert-says-yes/


From the Director

JULY 2014


Obokata Committed Plagiarism
But Can Keep Doctorate
The Asahi Shimbun 7/18/2014
Waseda University said it has found
widespread plagiarism in the
dissertation written by Haruko
Obokata, but the Riken research
institute scientist will get to keep her
Ph.D. Obokata, 30, gained
international attention after papers
were released in January purporting
to show a new method to create
pluripotent cells. Those papers have
recently been retracted by the British
journal Nature.

The university started its
investigation after doubts were raised
about the contents of Obokatas
dissertation that she submitted to the
schools committee three years ago.

According to the report, released July
17, there were 11 instances of
copyright violations, mainly due to
plagiarism. The reliability and
appropriateness of the dissertation is
extremely low, the report said.
Without a major defect in the
screening process, it is difficult to
believe that a doctoral degree would
have been granted.

Waseda President Kaoru Kamata
released a statement that said, The
university will decide on what
measures to take while sufficiently
respecting the report by the
committee.

Satoshi Tsuneda, the Waseda
professor of medical bioscience who
was in charge of the dissertation
committee, bore an extremely heavy
responsibility, the report said
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_ne
ws/social_affairs/AJ201407180049



http://www.thenational.ae/uae/educatio
n/dubai-to-host-regionx2019s-first-
international-conference-on-academic-
integrity-next-year

Announcements Academic Integrity and
Security: Positive and
Proactive Approaches
Cape Town, South Africa
September 18-19, 2014

The International Center for
Academic Integrity and partner
organization Melrose Training
will be hosting the first Regional
International Conference on
Academic Integrity.

The event, titled Academic
Integrity and Security: Positive
and Proactive Approaches, will
be held at the Protea Sea Point
Hotel in Cape Town, South
Africa on September 18-19, 2014.
Integrity is essential to all
elements of education and
scholarship.

Without integrity, research
cannot be trusted, academic
credentials cannot be relied
upon, and degrees and diplomas
lose their value. To guard
against that, it is necessary for
us to articulate and enact the
values that underpin educational
standards and practices.

This conference will help
participants identify and
recognize threats to integrity
that may undermine or interfere
with institutional effectiveness
and then develop positive and
proactive approaches to
cultivating communities of
integrity that include faculty,
students, and staff.

For details, visit
www.AcademicIntegrity.org!
Ethos Staff:

Aaron Monson: Editor
Teddi Fishman: Executive Editor
The International Center for Academic Integrity grants permission to duplicate and
distribute this newsletter physically or electronically, so long as it is duplicated
and/or distributed in its entirety and without alteration.
Please note that this publication features summaries of and links to
original works that are subject to copyright protection. ICAI does not
claim ownership or credit for any original works found within.
This publication is sponsored by:
[email protected]



Save the Date:
University of Alberta & MacEwan
Universitys Conference on
Academic Integrity:
October 17-18, 2014 in Edmonton
http://www.tie.ualberta.ca/

https://facultycommons.macewan.ca/
services/academic-integrity




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