In the case of corruption/unethical practice, I’d suggest this does not mean “the ends justifies the means”, but that it is important in how we organise and transact that the process used is transparent and able to withstand ethical scrutiny (free of real or perceived favour). We ourselves may not have the best ethical standards but our processes should be defended so that at least our own ethics are there for the other party(s) to see.

So on that basis it worries me, that people that are charged with responsibility for process may have a view that “this is just the way things are”. That is not good enough.

WwHs: It struck me as quite ironic that the Ihimaera story broke the same week the corruption rankings came out. Although I am heartened that many seem to be indignant about his preferential treatment, I am bothered by the fact that many simply believe that is the way things are and there is nothing that can be done about it. As has been mentioned before, each and every corrupt or unethical practice must be resisted if democracy is going to reproduce itself as a cultural norm. I do not think that we can whinge about corruption in high places if we do not take some responsibility for resisting it in our daily lives.

http://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/2009/11/plagiarism-what-ihimaera-could-learn.html

could be a red rag but the email posted in the comments

“From: Stuart McCutcheon Date: 20 November 2009 3:31:21 PM
To: “‘all-staff@auckland.ac.nz’” Subject: [All-staff] Message from the Vice-Chancellor”

is interesting in relation to your post pablo.

I think the personal experience is well used to illustrate the wider point about standards.

I’m also amused that you are a “

whiney rightwing Yank who is expendable/replaceable.

”

If your upsetting both extremes your probably doing well at using a good analytical framework as the basis for analysis and being willing to see where the evidence takes you.

Would you rather the uni had treated witi like they treated you.

Pablo made clear that this was not his wish, saying that he thought a “final written reprimand” was appropriate in both cases.

L

Unsure how you figure I would stand to profit from Ihimaera’s malfeasance, though.

L

Would you rather the uni had treated witi like they treated you.

Not sure how that last comment is relevant to my post. Either you are joking (which is not how I read it) or you are saying that you would choose to profit from a famous person’s malfeasance regardless of the ethics involved.

Which is it?

L

I’d have been busted in 6th form if they’d had those rules. Most science practical assesments were done by the tried and tested method:
- write up the instructions
- calculate the theoretical expected result
- apply a suitable random error to that result
- write the adjusted values up as “observations”
- graph everything and out pops the desired conclusion
- spend the rest of the alloted time reducing phenylamines under the fume hood

(ok, maybe the last bit *would* have got me busted).

That is how something that should have resulted in a formal warning for misconduct was, as the ERA pointed out, escalated into a case for summary dismissal.

As for daedalus x’s comment that this post is just a personal whinge about an inconsequential employment matter: apparently not.

You got the boot because you had upset the authorities so many times with your public statements on defence and security issues.

It’s a very common tactic.

Perhaps he is cut a large amount of institutional slack because he is a “national treasure” (although I personally think of Edmund Hillary when thinking along such lines). What would be your explanation? Or do you believe that his behaviour, if not acceptable, is unworthy of reprimand?

And this is why I resigned from my academic job. Universities are happy to take money from foreign students who have limited competence with English, and in order to keep more coming they impose grade quotas to make it difficult to fail them. As for plagiarism, 90% of plagiarism cases I have had were foreign students who simply couldn’t write the papers themselves, so resorted to buying them or copying from the internet.

When I was an undergraduate I was told that the penalty for plagiarism was expulsion. Now you won’t necessarily get a zero fail for the course.

It’s what happens if you put the inmates in charge of the asylum.

Except in New Zealand. We only ever pardon the innocent. It’s never made sense to me either.

http://publicaddress.net/default,4779.sm#post4779

there are double standards in this country and usually maori come out second best IMO or do you disagree?