FA#5 Case Study
a. Details of the circumstances.
-What is the ethical issue?
Plagiarism is on the list of considered being immoral, same as dishonesty, cheating and
thief There are several different ways of describing academic dishonesty. Cheating has become
more common among college students. An all-inclusive interpretation would be the custom of
students who give or obtain unwanted assistance in academic assignments or who earn job credit
that is not their own.
Plagiarism is the use of concepts, methods, results, or words by anyone else without
clear acknowledgment of the original author and source. Plagiarism in any form is generally
unacceptable and is considered to be a serious violation of professional ethics with potentially
significant ethical and legal consequences.First, since it is a form of fraud it is unethical. By
taking other people's ideas and words, and saying they're your own, you steal the intellectual
property of someone else.Second, it's immoral because then the plagiarizer profits from this theft.
A degree is, lastly, evidence of the skill and knowledge of its holder.For example, If a student
gains employment on the basis of a qualification they have not earned, they may be a risk to
others. These are few of the reasons why plagiarism is not at all an encouraged practice in any
field.
-Who are involved?
Students are the one who are commonly involved in this case because they are the one
who have the most academic projects to deal with. Due to lack of skills in managing time and the
pressure in obtaining a good grade may result in academic dishonesty. Students are forced to use
the idea of someone's intellectual property just to finish their works easily with low risk of being
caught. Another factor is that students are not confident enough to present their own idea that's
why they tend to copy other author's work. They think that their ideas are not good enough and
the author says it better than he/she does.
- Where and when did it happen?
This case happens inside the school and it occured when they are 4th year college.
b. Reason why freedom of the act and moral responsibility were modified.
-Was there any moral obligation/law violated?
Yes, According to Republic Act No. 8293 [An Act Prescribing the Intellectual Property Code
and Establishing the Intellectual Property Office, Providing for Its Powers and Functions, and for
Other Purposes] otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.Plagiarism
is not just an ethical issue it may also have serious legal implications. Legally speaking it can be
a crime because you are stealing other’s work without giving acknowledgement this is more than
cheating.
-Is the accused liable for the act?
Yes, a student who commit plagiarism will be liable for this case because according to
the law it is a form of theft. Even though it is not considered as civil offense, a victim of
plagiarism can still sue the student who plagiarized for violating the copyright of its work. Once
a student who will not give citations and credit to the owner of the idea will be considered as a
stolen content. In some cases, when a student fails to give the right citations or typos, it will
likely result in being accused of academic dishonesty even though it is unintentionally done.
-Was there a valid excuse not to be held liable?
There are common excuse after getting caught in the act.Plagiarism cases come in two
kinds, with one side of the spectrum reflecting the most serious and malicious plagiarism cases,
and the other side being more innocent and accidental.People blame their wrongdoing on
external causes, from not having enough sleep the previous night to simply getting too much
pressure from their professors to deliver on a deadline.Whatever reasons and excuses of the
students may be unintentional or not it is still plagiarism. If a professional person plagiarizes in
his field it can severely damage their reputation and could even mean end of their valued career.
One such industry which deals with a lot of plagiarism yet having tolerance is the music
industry, due to the nature of similarities of chords, scales, and noted, and also due to the fact
that human minds tend to like types of music that's familiar to them. Many of these plagiarisms
of art industry goes unpunished as it is usually accompanied by a bit of modification and
sometimes an addition pieces of original work to have an excuse and thus evade the
repercussions of plagiarism.
c. The Impact to a person’s life.
-What are consequences of the action?
The most serious plagiarism punishments generally include academic suspension,
expel/kickout, and temporary or permanent plagiarism text notation. Plagiarism and all is
serious, with the potential to have a lasting detrimental effect on the academic and career
prospects of the student found guilty of doing so.
Allegations of plagiarism may cause the suspension or expulsion of a student. That
academic record can represent the offense of ethics, likely causing the student to be barred from
high school or from another college and can destroy the student’s reputation . It can also affect
the academic reputation, implications of plagiarism have been recorded widely in the academic
world. When scarred with accusations of plagiarism, it may destroy the future of an academic.
Publishing is an important part of an academic career of renown. Losing the right to publish most
definitely means losing an academic position and destroying a reputation.
-How will it change the life of the people involve?
This act will change the life of the student negatively. It's reputation can be destroyed and
will likely be expelled or suspended by the school. The impact of this dishonesty will be faced
for a long time because the school may put notations on the student's transcript that will be
needed for its job application for the future and with this mark, the student will have a low
chance of being accepted in the job.
