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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS