Univeristy deans from across the nation are to convene on Thursday and Friday to consider establishing standard operating procedures for cases of academic plagiarism.
In July last year, Retraction Watch, an academic publication watchdog blog, found that then-National Pingtung University associate professor Chen Chen-yuan (陳震遠) had exploited a loophole in the online submission process for the Journal of Vibration and Control, using it to allegedly falsify reviews for his research papers.
The journal retracted 60 papers that Chen had submitted. Another paper by Chen, submitted to the journal Natural Hazards, allegedly plagiarized Wikipedia in its foreword and used sources without citation — mainly from his own papers — elsewhere.
The journal Nature on Tuesday last week reported that the National Natural Science Foundation of China revealed the names of seven scientists who the foundation said had conducted academic misconduct by plagiarizing others, purchasing grant proposals or using false identity information.
Academia Sinica member Poo Mu-ming (蒲慕明) said the foundation was on the right track, and that its approach to uncovering and publicizing misconduct should be emulated by universities and research facilities.
“Embarrassing [perpetrators] by publicizing their names sends a strong message to wrongdoers in a nation that places significant emphasis on ‘face,’” Poo said.
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Chien Chung-liang (錢宗良) said that ultimately, institutions hold the final say.
“It is not an effort to sidestep our responsibility; the ministry is responsible for correcting and maintaining academic integrity, but the greatest problem in dealing with the issue is that the ministry can only offer the carrot, while being unable to present the stick,” Chien said.
Even the threat of suspending eligibility for grants is simply stopping the carrot supply, Chien said, adding that it is academic institutions that can present the stick and approve or reject a professor’s promotion.
“The universities must hold the front line of maintaining standards,” Chien said.
Institutions might not entirely agree with the concept of holding a news conference to expose academic plagiarism or other misconduct — or might consider it an infringement on university prestige, but it is what the ministry should be doing, Chien said.
Chien said that he would ask that the issue of establishing proper procedures in handling such incidents be discussed in the upcoming meeting.
Commenting on the proposal, Deputy Minister of Education Chen Te-hua (陳德華) said he respected the Ministry of Science and Technology’s method of tackling the issue.
He added, however, that there are many attitudes toward academic integrity, but in cases of intentional violations, information transparency about the offender — to prevent repeat incidents — may be a good idea.
National Tsing Hua University vice president Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) agreed with the Ministry of Science and Technology’s methods, saying that past practices of prioritizing the quantity of research sometimes encouraged academics to seek advancement through “less-than-sterling methods.”
“We should return to the essence of education, the essence of academia, and seek to contribute to both education and society,” Wu said.
Academics who violate integrity standards are currently suspended from grant eligibility by the Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as blocked from promotions by the Ministry of Education, Wu said, adding, however, that the punishment is considered very light.
Repeat occurrences of such incidents are a massive blow to academic institutions, Wu said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
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