Ethics and Academic Integrity

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Ethics and Academic Integrity

• Nancy A. Stanlick, Ph.D.
• Department of Philosophy
• University of Central Florida
• stanlick_at_pegasus.cc.ucf.edu

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Introduction

• What is Integrity?
• Stephen Carter, Integrity (New York
  HarperCollins, 1996), p. 7 The word integrity
  comes from the same Latin root as integer and
  historically has been understood to carry much
  the same sense, the sense of wholeness a person
  of integrity, like a whole number, is a whole
  person, a person somehow undivided The word
  conveys the serenity of a person who is
  confident in the knowledge that he or she is
  living rightly A person of integrity lurks
  somewhere inside each of us a person we feel we
  can trust to do right, to play by the rules, to
  keep commitments.

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Major Topics

• 1. Cheating and Plagiarism
• 2. Why Build an Academic Community?
• 3. Theories of Ethics
• 4. Application of Theoretical Approaches to
  Academic Integrity

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1. What are Cheating and Plagiarism?

• Cheating unauthorized assistance in graded
  assignments
• Plagiarism appropriating the work of others and
  claiming implicitly or explicitly that it is your
  own.

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Who is Cheated? What is Lost?

• Cheating Others
• Cheating Yourself
• Cheating the Community

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2. Why Build an Academic Community?

• A common goal, purpose, pursuit
• Joint projects, assistance, benefits
• Development of the self/self-respect
• Confidence in social arrangements

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3. Theories of Ethics

• Individualistic Theories
• Utilitarianism - happiness
• Kantian Deontology - duty
• Virtue Theory
• Dignity, value, and interdependence of
  individuals to achieve the good life
• Which of these theories do you adopt?

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4. Application of Theoretical Approaches to
Academic Integrity

• Competitive/Individualistic Model
• B. Gert, in Morality Its Nature and
  Justification
• Playing a Game to do better than others
• Cheating Other Students not the university,
  instructors, or self
• Cheating Yourself? Why arent you doing so?
• Why do you care (if you care) if others cheat?

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Application Continued

• Community/Cooperative Model
• Education is not necessarily a game
• Cheating self, other students, instructor,
  institution, society
• In what sense do you cheat yourself?
• Why do you care (if you care) if others cheat?

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Concluding Thoughts Value

• The value of your education
• How you value yourself
• Arrogance, Humility, Pride

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Concluding Thoughts Prevention

• Be aware of and use campus facilities
• Writing Center
• Research/Reference Librarians
• Computer Labs
• Style Manuals
• Your best resource is your professor
• Time management
• Beware of on-line resources/use them wisely
• For further information, go to http//pegasus.cc.u
  cf.edu/stanlick/oscethicsstudent.ppt

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References and Resources

• Go to http//pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/stanlick/oscethic
  sstudent.ppt for a list of references and
  resources related to this presentation and for
  active links to the UCF Writing Center, Library,
  and other research resources.