Week #1:
Use IU electronic resources to get info re plagiarism: How is it defined? What happens to plagiarists? Zero in on one recent case of alleged plagiarism and be able to describe it briefly. (You may include novelists, clergy, and business executives as well as historians.)
Find and print out (in part, if it's too long) one article relevant to either your specific case or to plagiarism in general from each of the following four different types of electronic resources:
a) an Internet search engine (e.g., Goggle or Google Scholar)
b) a major newspaper available on-line (e.g., New York Times, Los Angeles, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe)
c) a magazine available on-line (e.g., New Republic, Nation, New York Review of Books, London Review of Books)
d) a scientific/academic journal available on-line (e.g., Nature, Science, Chronicle of Higher Education, Times Literary Supplement)Some of the above tasks are best accomplished through the IU Library. If you are off-campus you will need a password. Here are a couple of paths to useful information:
a) Go to the IUB Library home page: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/
This assignment does not ask you to consult books on the topic. Hence, the red box (IUCAT) at the top of the page is not relevant. However, the white ASK A LIBRARIAN box next to it is very useful when you run into a dead end. They reply quickly.
b) On the left side of the page is a column with the yellow heading FIND INFORMATION. Click on the heading. This will take you to a page with a SEARCH box. This is useful when you know the name of the electronic publication or database you're looking for. However, at the beginning of a search involving current events, I often go to the column at the left with the heading TOP 10 RESOURCES. For this project Lexis-Nexis Academic is particularly useful.
c) Click on LEXIS-NEXIS. This resource covers both legal materials (Lexis) and news (Nexis). Click on GUIDED NEWS SEARCH. You will get to choose whether you want newspapers or magazines.
d) To find academic journals you can either use the Search box described in (b) above if you have a name in mind or look in the FIND INFORMATION column and click on the link called ONLINE FULL-TEXT JOURNALS to find a list of academic journals. Since Nature and Science are such common terms I will tell you that they are listed with the place of publication included. So you would need to look for Nature (London) and Science (Washington, D.C.).
e) In the FIND INFORMATION column you could also click on DATABASES BY SUBJECT and then look for NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS for a variety of possibly useful links.
Week #2:
Read Penslar, Chapter 16. Prepare to discuss the questions and cases.
Read: Comments for Faculty, pp. 1-12 in Bebeau
Study: Comments for Students, pp. 13-20 in Bebeau
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Read these short discussions of plagiarism: (a) the IU policy re plagiarism (search on the IUB home page);
(b) the short essay on plagiarism by Richard Posner at http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2005/04/plagiarismposne.html;
(c) an op-ed column by Eugene Volokh posted at http://www.mail-archive.com/volokh@lists.powerblogs.com/msg08078.html
(d) a New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell at http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/041122fa_fact?041122fa_fact .
Check on the credentials of each author. Do you agree with them? How would their positions apply to student term papers, ghost writers, sermons, and works of popular history?
Make detailed notes on the student essay found in Penslar Chapter #17. I suggest you form your opinions before reading the Instructional Notes at the back of the book. You needn't agree with all of them! (I don't!)
Week #3:
Read Penslar, Chapters 4 and 6. Prepare to present and discuss the case to which you have been assigned. The approach Bebeau lays out (description of the episode followed by analysis using her checklist) may be helpful but each case is different! You need not explicitly answer all of the questions in the book, but they may suggest relevant factors to consider.
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Prepare an oral report on an actual case of data fabrication. To find a case and information about it, you might begin by conducting some of the four types of searches that you were asked to do for the plagiarism assignment. If books have been written about your case, you may want to read some reviews of those books. (For this assignment you won't have time to read the books themselves.) Amazon.com often posts short reviews. You can also find the location of reviews by using our library's electronic resources. Go under FIND INFORMATION to DATABASES A to Z and look under B for BOOK REVIEWS.)
Structure of your report: Since we're interested in preventing dishonesty as well as recognizing it, it may be helpful to explain the features of the situation that made the alleged misconduct more likely to happen. Could it have been prevented? How was the alleged misconduct detected? Did the community respond appropriately? (Did the punishment fit the crime?) These are just suggestions. Don't try to fit your report into a straightjacket! Follow the story where it goes!
Time your report ahead of time. No more than 5 minutes. I may cut you off if you run over. (It's good practice to be able to limit your remarks.)
Week #4
Read Penslar, Chapters 1 and 2. Prepare to summarize the similarities and differences between the various ethical approaches.
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Read Rollin, Chapter 1: Moral Theory and Animals from "Introduction" through "Animals as Means" (pp. 33-61 in the 3rd edition). Summarize the main point in each sub-section
Week #5
No class on Feb. 6th. Work on your essay!
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First essay due on February 8, 2007. Instructions.
Week #6
Read about the notorious Tuskegee Study by consulting the following web sources and be prepared to discuss them:For a short overview of the study and contemporary reaction to it see:
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/jul/tuskegee/index.htmlThe ethical problems with this study are pretty clear. Here is one summary of them:
http://showme.missouri.edu/~socbrent/tuskegee.htmWhat is more difficult is to understand why the experiment was ever done in the first
place. The following posters give us a feel for how much syphilis was feared:
http://radio.cbc.ca/programs/ideas/Aids/aidspix1.htmlHere is a report written by the researchers themselves. Note who the first
author is!
http://www.dc.peachnet.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/assignments/experiment/rivers.htmlFinally, here is an attempt by one of the participants to defend what
was done:
http://www.emorylies.com/Olansky.htm
Read about Stanley Milgram's famous experiment at the following web sites and be prepared to discuss them: Stanley Milgram's own account of his controversial research:http://home.swbell.net/revscat/perilsOfObedience.html Two discussions of Milgram's research:http://www.puaf.umd.edu/IPPP/Winter-Spring00/authority_and_excuses.htm http://www.cll.wayne.edu/isp/mnissani/PAGEPUB/Milgram.htm******Prepare to discuss the scientific and ethical aspects of the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Zimbardo and his colleagues by using the following web sites: An overview can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/futileattempt_1999/zimbardo.html A brief account of how the experiment ended appears at: http://www2.stanford.edu/dept/news/relaged/970108prisonexp.html A full account of the experiment using 40 slides and video clips is available at: http://www.prisonexp.org/
Week #7
Read about attempts to regulate the use of human subjects:
a) A very famous early example is the 1979 Belmont Report. You can find it online at:
http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/belmont.html
b) For a recent overview of attempts to regulate the use of human subjects read the relevant section (pp. 31 - 50) of "Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research," by Nicholas Steneck. This booklet is an official publication of the Office of Research Integrity, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It can be downloaded as a pdf file for free at:
You can either just read the section on screen or print out the entire booklet. (We'll refer to it again briefly.)
c) Browse the regulations of the Bloomington Campus Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects. Go to the following page and download the application form (19 pages) in a convenient format (WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, or Acrobat). You might want to print out a copy and bring to class.
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Read Chapters 10, 11, and 12 in the Penslar textbook. You may be given a specific case to discuss.
Week 8:Prepare to discuss the special ethical problems that come up when anthropologists, folklorists, and oral historians do field work. What difficulties might they face when interacting with an IRB? a) Here are some links to learn more about these topics. How might one gain informed consent if dealing with nonliterate people? http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/bp5.htmWhat issues are raised by the notion of cultural relativism? http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/ethrpt.htmb) Now consider the example of Judith Neulander's study of so-called Crypto Jews living in the Southwest. For a general introduction see: http://bombaci.rootsweb.com/abe/crypto-jews.html An example of Stanley Hordes' perspective is at: http://www.oaoa.com/religionpage/religinpager56.htm An Atlantic Monthly article which spells out Judith Neulander's perspective as well as earlier studies by Raphael Patai is in the December, 2002 issue. Here is a copy from the IU Library electronic archives. ************ Here is commentary on IRBs from a noted historian of the Middle East, Juan Cole. Also check out: http://www.aaup.org/publications/Academe/2003/03so/03sonels.htm
http://www.aaup.org/publications/Academe/2002/02mj/02mjftr.htm Additional readings may be sent by e-mail. Week 9: No class on March 6th. (Prepare essay.)March 8th: Essay Assignment Due (Turn in electronically by classtime)Write an essay discussing the pros and cons of IRB regulations. Should they be amended? Do they give enough protection in all situations? Are they unnecessarily complex? Do they needlessly inhibit valuable research? Around three pages should be about right I should think. As usual, provide references. The class will not meet in Ballantine Hall on March 8th. Spend that time reading reading pp. 108 - 42 in the Rollin textbook as background for the Tuesday assignment after Spring Break. Assignment #10 (Mar 20th):Read Rollin, pp. 108 - 42. Try to summarize the advice re the treatment of animals used for research provided by classical utilitarian and Kantian considerations plus Rollin's claim in these pages that animals have rights.
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Read carefully the Pro and Con articles concerning the Ethics of Animal
Research published in the February, 1997 issue of Scientific American:THE BENEFITS AND ETHICS OF ANIMAL RESEARCH
ANIMAL RESEARCH IS WASTEFUL AND MISLEADING
ANIMAL RESEARCH IS VITAL TO MEDICINE
Also browse these two brief sites about animal pain:
Veternarian GUIDELINES FOR THE RECOGNITION AND ASSESSMENT OF PAIN IN ANIMALS
Assignment #11 (Mar 27th):
You will have been assigned a debate topic but you won't know until you get to class which side you'll be on so think about both pros and cons! Some of the cases to be debated can be found at the website we used early on: Bebeau The others come from a handbook published by the Association of American Medical Colleges: AAMC.pdf
Three people are assigned to each case. If you drew a slip with a red mark on it, you will present the crucial aspects of the dilemma. You should be able to do that in about one minute. The rest of the class will not have read the case, but if you leave out details that turn out to be relevant the debaters can fill them in.
Typically in debates the Affirmative side goes first. Then the Negative. Each side should aim for about a two minute presentation. Then we'll have the rebuttals of about one minute each. during the rebuttal you should specifically speak to the points the other side made and then if you have time reiterate your own strongest point.
As useful background for the debates look again at "Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research," by Nicholas Steneck. Pay particular attention to the sections on topics that we have not covered in class, such as ethical issues of authorship or conflict of interest.
http://ori.dhhs.gov/publications/ori_intro_text.shtml
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On Thursday submit a paragraph describing your tentative topic for the final research paper and at least one reference. Here are some old, rough notes on ideas for a research paper. Other suggestions will be made in class.
Assignment #12 - 14:
We will have readings re a number of controversial research areas where the subject matter itself raises ethical, religious or political concerns. Examples: stem cell research, genetic engineering, intelligent design theory and global warming.
Assignment #12:
The slides on biological basics that I showed in class came from the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals website at: http://www.arhp.org/files/cloning.pdf
Read: Leon Kass, "The Wisdom of Repugnance" at:
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/medical_ethics/me0006.html
and Chapters 1 and 2 (pp. 1-51) of "Monitoring Stem Cell Research,"
which is online at:http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/stemcell/
Be sure you understand the difference between the Clinton policy and the
Bush policy. BTW most of the reports on the government bioethics website can be ordered for free.******
Read: "The Other Stem-Cell Debate," by Jamie Shreeve, a New York Times magazine article published on April 10, 2005 about the use of chimeras in research. I will try to email you the article but since it has a lot of colored pictures the file may not work. If it doesn't, go through the Library Home Page, using your network ID, and type in "New York Times" in the FIND INFORMATION blank.
Assignment #13:
On Tuesday I'll introduce the Intelligent Design theory controversy with a film called "Unlocking the Mystery of Life." On Thursday we'll discuss a "white paper" produced by a taskforce working here at IU. It's called "Science Education and Public Reason" and is posted on the Poynter Center web site: http://poynter.indiana.edu/science.shtml
Assignment #15 (April 24th):
Oral presentations based on your research paper.
Research Paper due: Noon, Thursday, May 3rd