Last week in COMM79 we discussed how a
student in Ireland used Wikipedia to trick journalists who work for
internationally respected newspapers. We then considered how the rapid
transmission of information puts pressure on media outlets and discussed
examples of recent retractions of news stories.
Though errors and retractions in daily newspapers happen on
a regular basis, you might be surprised to learn that retractions of scientific
research articles in peer reviewed journals are also quite common. Retraction Watch is a
popular blog created by two American medical reporters who track the retraction
of scientific papers. Many of the featured retractions happen to be in the life
sciences. Though the content of research publications is supposed to be subject
to a high level of quality control, Retraction Watch notes the
considerable number of errors, misstatements and instances of plagiarism that
still sneak through.
This week we considered Chris
Spence’s resignation from his position as the Director of the Toronto
District School Board after clear evidence of Spence’s widespread plagiarism
was brought to light. During class discussion, we speculated as to what
ramifications the charges of plagiarism might have for Spence’s PhD from the
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at U of T. As Kristin Rushowy
reports in a recent
follow-up article in the Toronto Star, there is significant evidence
that Spence plagiarized in his PhD dissertation and charges are currently under
investigation by the University of Toronto. Rushowy states that Spence could
lose his degree if found guilty.
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