Dear Ian:
The worst case that I encountered was the finding of a direct copy of my
own work in a student's thesis! I was not amused!

On the other hand, I recently was faculty advisor on a thesis of
exceptional quality and originality. The student had performed some
valuable and original work with nano-technology. The student's care in
crediting each and every idea that was used and every person who helped
(including skilled technicians) was a model of what should be done. The
best students know, and acknowledge, their antecedents, mentors and then
delineate what they have done that is new.

I offer the above as an example that not all is lost.

Warm regards, Mac N8TT


--
J. Mc Laughlin; Michigan U.S.A.
Home:
"Ian White GM3SEK" wrote in message
...
Dave wrote:
Attend class, stay awake, take notes, study, pass simple exam question.

Getting the answer here or from Google is called plagiarism. You get an
'F' if the instructor finds out.


It's a technology race, and the instructors are well ahead.

Dissertations can now be scanned by Google-type software that looks for
copying. Whatever literature resources the student could have used, the
department has access to the same and more.

A friend told of a recent example of a final year dissertation on 2.4GHz
LNA design. The software easily found the un-referenced Agilent
Application Note that the student had copied. They had already been
warned...



--
73 from Ian GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

J. Mc Laughlin wrote:
The worst case that I encountered was the finding of a direct copy
of my own work in a student's thesis! I was not amused!

Had the same happen to me: read an article in a German radio magazine
that was written exactly as I would have... no, dammit, it was written
exactly as I already HAD, in a different magazine!

On the other hand, I recently was faculty advisor on a thesis of
exceptional quality and originality. The student had performed some
valuable and original work with nano-technology. The student's care in
crediting each and every idea that was used and every person who helped
(including skilled technicians) was a model of what should be done.
The best students know, and acknowledge, their antecedents, mentors and
then delineate what they have done that is new.

I offer the above as an example that not all is lost.

Oh, indeed it isn't. The friend who told me about the copy-detection
software had spent 20 years of his life as a rock musician, but is now
headed for a First Class honours degree in RF Engineering. Needless to
say, he's an active ham.


--
73 from Ian GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

J. Mc Laughlin wrote:
Dear Ian:
The worst case that I encountered was the finding of a direct copy of my
own work in a student's thesis! I was not amused!

On the other hand, I recently was faculty advisor on a thesis of
exceptional quality and originality. The student had performed some
valuable and original work with nano-technology. The student's care in
crediting each and every idea that was used and every person who helped
(including skilled technicians) was a model of what should be done. The
best students know, and acknowledge, their antecedents, mentors and then
delineate what they have done that is new.

I offer the above as an example that not all is lost.

Warm regards, Mac N8TT


Glad to hear there is still integrity in some circles.