1- Read Chapter 3 of the textbook
Question 08
What characteristics of IT (and the internet) change the environment for plagiarism and plagiarism detection?
2- responses this two
1- There are four key points made to assert that the Internet is inherently democratic. The Internet allows users to be producers of information, it provides open forums that are moderated differently than mass media, it allows access to a wide variety of information, and it encourages the formation of relationships and associations that go beyond geographic space. More or less, the key point on which all of these arguments hinge is the ability to communicate easily with many people. The free flow of information and the ability for any individual to communicate come across quite easily as “democratic” concepts, as they encourage every individual to be able to contribute to discourse and discussion, regardless of any traits they might have. The basis of democracy is that political power rests in the hands of many, rather than few. The Internet very much embodies this ideal by giving every individual the ability to state their beliefs. While there is no guarantee that anybody else will heed or even listen to this individual’s words, the Internet undeniably makes it much easier for anybody to produce and distribute their thoughts, their beliefs, and their information.
2- Reproducibility in the IT world is basically the ability to copy electronic information to be used by someone or something else. This is significant because electronic information is not so easily deleted like information that is transmitted in the real world. Also, in many cases, when a piece of electronic information is copied there is no evidence left behind that the original information was copied which can definitely complicate things when it comes to property rights and crime. Reproducing electronic information is much more permanent in the sense that when someone copies information they may never delete it and always have access to it. The words that are sent online may very well last forever, unlike in the real world where words are spoken and then basically disappear. Plagiarism is another problem with the reproducibility of electronic information because many people steal the work of others and claim it as their own.
