Although it is not a new issue, there has been a recent call to analyze the diplomas of many Russian politicians who are believed to have plagiarized their dissertations or to simply have paid someone to do the work for them
A simple Google search for keywords like “plagiarism checker” or “plagiarism software” returns a dozen of websites that “specialize” in online plagiarism detection. These sites target mainly students in the U.S. by promising an accurate and effective scan of instances of plagiarism in their essays and research papers.
There have been some interesting news stories this week about plagiarism in American colleges and universities. The stories of Kent State University in Ohio and New York University both indicate that schools are seeking to help students who may not realize they are plagiarizing (unintentional plagiarism) and who need to learn the correct ways to cite their work.
This month continues to bring us more news of plagiarism in academic settings. Three university professors in India have been accused of plagiarizing the same work in two separate incidents. The article on mining, originally published in 1997, was that of Dr. ML Jhanwar, the former director of the Geological Survey of India.
Annette Schavan has officially resigned from her government position as Germany’s education minister after she was found to have plagiarized on her doctoral dissertation. The announcement of this high profile and politically charged case was announced today by German chancellor Angela Merkel who accepted Mrs. Schavan’s resignation.