Plagiarism in Other Countries

1. The standard penalty for students caught plagiarizing for the first time at Stanford University is one-quarter's suspension and 40 hours of community service. If the student is caught during the last quarter of his/her enrollment, then the student is suspended for two quarters. In addition, a Judicial Panel will review the case and evidence and decide accordingly the penalty. Sometimes expulsion is decided. The professor of the class decides the grade as an incomplete for the class, fail, or just a zero on the assignment or test that student cheated on. (website from class)

2. The six possible punishments for cheating at the University of Washington are: a disciplinary warning, a reprimand, restitution, disciplinary probation, suspension, and dismissal (expulsion). (website from class)

3. Examples of people who have lost their jobs because of plagiarism:
a. A professor from Teachers College, an affiliate of Columbia University, was fired because she copied work from three former students and colleagues. She sued the college and does not admit she plagiarized.
http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2008/10/21/professor-fired-plagiarism-sues-columbia-u/
b. The chief editorial editor for a Japanese local newspaper was fired after he confessed to copying 15 editorials from other newspapers. He said he did not know what to write for his paper as the reason he copied. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2007/mar/08/japanleaderwriterfiredfor
c A high school principal was fired because he gave the same speech of a former student without attribution.
http://www.imperfectparent.com/topics/2008/05/29/high-school-principal-fired-for-plagiarism/

4. I agree with the first case because it only involved that one student and another person's work. For the second one, I disagree because the student used the exact paper as someone else and only changed it around a little. The other student must have been his/her friend. I think they should have both gotten suspended. The third case is really funny. If you go to so much trouble to cheat, why not read the syllabus first first? Plus, Stanford is a prestigious university, it doesn't make sense to cheat because you have already proved you can handle the workload by your high school grades and activities. This person was just careless. Case four seems fair. I think that dealing with plagiarism cases is problematic, because you don't know the intentions in some cases. for example, case five, the student could very well have misinterpreted the directions and forgot to cite sources properly. Maybe the student had no previous experience in writing an academic paper or the professor didn't teach how to write an academic paper. The student could have plagiarized unknowingly because maybe the professor's directions were unclear on the syllabus. Conversely, the student could have went to the professor and talked about the paper/assignment before turning it in to make sure no plagiarism had occurred an that the assignment was done properly. so, the student could have lied that he didn't know the directions, etc. For the last case, I think it's just stupid that anybody could cheat to such a degree that whole portions of websites can be found as the original text.

The essay didn't even answer the question! What is the point of going to university if you don't do your own work? It is completely unacceptable to cheat. None of the cases on the website should have occurred because you shouldn't even be allowed to attend university if you can't even understand the basic courtesy of respecting someone else's work. Of course, everyone uses sources and works by other people, you just have to cite them properly and then these types of things won't happen. No one expects you to write a Nobel Prize winning piece of work as an undergraduate. all you need to prove is that you can use and cite source properly. The only exception would probably be in a creative writing or film class that wants original ideas for scripts or poetry, etc. It is a good thing to have these cases, though because it shows that there are consequences to cheating and palgiarizing other people's work.

No real topic

What does time really mean? i really wonder why people say there's not time for relaxing, sleeping, and doing things that matter to them. Also, what about the fact that so many people don't do what they actually want to do? Doesn't this mean that we can't really pursue what we want, but are tied to the ever-tightening grasp of capitalism and economic principle? It makes me sad and sick of all the negativity and complainiing. I think that the complaining I do is somehow rubbed off from everyone around me who is alos complaining and being negative. I don;t like how it makes me feel when I become depressed and pessimistic. I feel slippery, black, and disgusting just like Venom in Spider Man. Well more like there is evil and bad thoughts oozing out of me.

Anyways, today I found out Elva posted on her blog. It has been a long time sicne she has posted on her blog. She is in China againfor some martial arts convention to perform. There are some funny ictures ofher on her blog (she jokes that her sleeping is like a martial arts move). Last week, some newpspaper said she bought red wine because she is lovesick. That is just crap, people drink wine just because they want to. Drinking doesn't always involve heavy feelings or attitudes. People drink for all kinds of reasons, including the camaraderie it creates between friends and just to wind down after a long day. We have beer, wine, and some hard liquor at my house. It doesn't mean we're drinking every day or even because we feel down. I do concede that some people do drink when they feel blue, I do too, but you can't tell from a picture that someone is buying alcohol to drown their sosrrows. If you could, then well we'd be living some other kind of life. Or you have supernatural powers! Haha, that reminds me of English Literature this morning. Our teacher was talking about the elements of the medieval romance, and of course arthurian legend is always the classic example. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, again. I feel like I've read it so many times, perhaps 3. Oh well, maybe there are some new things to be learned.

Sigh, al right, I'm going to study French and read for other classes now. See you later. Oh yeah, hope you guys like the pictures :)

I learned how to knit!!!!

My brother taught me how to knit!!! Right now I am looping a crochet through this pile of light purple yarn. As my brother would say, "Transforming a heap of messed up woolly noodles into a beautiful, high-class piece of cloth."

Through countless mistakes, such as entering the crochet into the wrong hole, making uneven stitches, and other stuff, I have a foundation of yarn! Even though it's sort of crappy, my brother is still proud of me.

Here are some pics of it:



The process of knitting it...










...and being weird.

look at my adorable brother!!!!

Being badasses together :p










The new formula for H2O:
Hyper+Happy+Outrageousness














Looks mysterious and playful. I wonder what he's thinking?
















My brother with his little people. They are paper dolls. Cute!!

Headaches that feel like bombs waiting to go off

I think that in college, it's expected to have heavy workloads. My only grievance is the hours. Getting up early is not my strong suit. I like to sleep 8-10 hours every day or else I feel like crap. It would probably help if I could sleep earlier, too. I don't like it when I get sick because I have to stay up late to do homework that is due the next day. For the last few days, I've gotten huge headaches that won't go away even with medicine. It's very disappointing when you feel sick, because you can't do anything like you used to be able to. Then, you start regretting about things you should have done earlier because it feels like you're about to do die. That about describes me from Wednesday until Friday. then today, I got my 9 hours and I feel fit as a fiddle. Funny how a great night's sleep can be so good for you, eh? that's all for now. My promised delayed pictures will be up later tonight, along with more ramblings about me and aboue Elva!

Autumn at last

Taiwan has the most interesting weather patterns I've met in all the places I have been to. Well ok Vancouver rains every day and snows, then has the most amazing sunsets during summer and fall. then it gets cold again. lol. In Taiwan, it's summer from about May until November. So there really are only like 2 seasons: 1. humid and hot 2. humid and cooler than hot oh and sometimes the occasional 3. typhoons plus random sun rain days. sun rain days are when the sun is shining at 85 degrees Farenheit and then all of a sudden a swell of water comes down right when you're lying down enjoying the perfect day. Or, if you're in a class. That's the funniest moment of high school I think. We were taking English Literture outside on the steps because we were studying poetry and wanted to have the atmosphere of being near nature or something....I can't recall exactly. Maybe it was satire. Anyhoo, right when someone mispronounces some word, everyone feels the small invading drops that fall from the sky. Someone runs out and starts dancing in the middle of the quadrangle on the way back to our classroom.Someting else happened but I can't remember because I was trying to cover what dry parts that were still left of my clothes along with my semi-drenched book and other school stuff. I guess I shouldn't have cared so much. The same thing happened during an English class I had in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. This was in middle school, 8th grade. During this sun rain, I went out of the classroom and danced in the rain with my classmates. Lmao, wow I guess you really do inhibit yourself as you get older. And isn't it ironic how both times were English casses? If it happens this year, it'll be something like a tradition that I have in every school I attend. Not a tradition...hmm it's more like sun rain luck? Hahahaha I just made that up. Ok, i have no idea what I'm talking about.

lazy: the nerd way

i really have to get on about writing if i really want to do what i said i would do previously. is that too confusing? i've been thinking about what i would write and the characters and things. i haven't written any stories or poems in a while. well a poem once in a while. not recorded, that's what i mean. i don't write it down. it just stays in my brain like an infestation of termites in the foundation of your house. haha first simile in months. i feel like such a loser these days. like i let myself down before i did anything. sometimes i have no faith in myself that i will achieve my dreams and hopes. notice how everything is in lowercase letters? that is a writing technique too! although, not very grammatically correct and probably not very acceptable in traditional english writing. but it does say a lot about the person writing. oh my god i can't believe i'm analyzing the way i write this post. i'm such a nerd.

anyways, at other times i think there's still a while before i have to actually make it all happen. but it's wrong because there might not really be 2 or 3 years to decide my future. maybe it'll all end tomorrow. maybe i really will give up and go into business, just like what my mom did. i don't like to think i'll be exactly like my mom, though. i'm not going to follow the same path because it worked for her.

i want to go back to ubc. maybe i can next year.i'm still enrolled, but not registered in classes. they even offered me residence for winter session, but it expires novemeber 2. does this count as being lost? or just really brainwrangling mad? god, there must be some sign or something. damn it, why can't it be like The Alchemist when there's a black and a white stone and when you see an omen you know exactly what your future is? paulo coehlo is a genius. i'd like to write like him someday. it's so simple, yet difficult at the same time.

am i putting myself down by being over-compulsive in asking so many questions?

i just noticed i made up a new word. brainwrangling! ha! well maybe someone else has used it as well. i'll check. :P

elva again

I think I'll just spam my own blog. I'm not really sure how, but here goes. lovelva lovelva lovelva lovelva! Hmm, I think that phrase might actually be copyrighted by her. Not sure, I'll have to look into that. I know she attended a wedding recently of one of her really good friends. She flew in from China just to get back on time. Like, she was supposed to be at this kungfu show, but she came back early from her work to attend the wedding. She;s a really good friend. Or maybe she just has lots of money and can fly around whenever she wants. Either way, that's all I know right now.

More on Elva

I am such a terrible Elva fan. I haven't posted enough about her on my blog. although, for some reason I can gossip about her all day with my brother. It is probably because I like to annoy him by talking about her incessantly. It is quite funny to see him get mad because he has such a cute face (will have a picture soon).

It doesn't seem that she is doing much lately, at least I don't hear anything new about her. I wonder how her really obsessed fans find out about events or shows she participates in beforehand. Is there like some special club or something that has a newsletter that they send all their members? Actually, I think there are fan clubs, like two of them. Hmm, I'll look into it later.

I wonder what her new book will be like. It comes out in December. Maybe I can get it as a birthday present, haha. I know her fist book was about pilates, so there probably wasn't too much about her in it. I haven't read it. I just know about it, lol. I'm not at the point where I have to know everything about her. I just watch show sometimes so I hear about things but like always too late to do anything. I feel like such a stalker sometimes. Maybe it is just my imagination, which always runs away on some crazy tangent or two. I should stop rambling, huh? YUeah, I'll have to write soemthing substantial about her later. This post got really messed up.

Female Celebrities vs. Male Celebs (Writing Topic 3)

In the media, female celebrities are exploited and sometimes exploit themselves on purpose. Commonly seen on newspapers, TV, music, movies, commercial, etc. are the 20-30 age range. These role models are involved in selling products, acting, singing, and hosting TV shows. Or, older female celebrities put makeup on to make themselves look younger; producers also use lighting techniques and digital enhancements to make stars look better as well. On the male side, lots of younger entertainers have come out recently and have always been much loved in the entertainment business, so it seems about the same. older personalities in entertainment match with older people, but some projects call for one old and one young person to be a pair. This often happens in movies mostly because it is required for the role(s) or the younger lead dropped out because of conflicting schedules.

I think if there is a gender bias in hiring certain actors or singers for certain things, it's because of that person's tealent and not neccessarily with age. Of course, age is an important factor since the target audience in most cases is much younger than adults. Mostly, products that celebrities endorse are for younger teengage audiences so using someone who is around the same age makes sense. Also, companies want to make money, so they pick younger talented people to sell tickets. I honestly don't think it's that bad, since the entertainment industry is just that. It's about entertaining people, so they might as well use good looking people. This is aside from the fact that many of the films and songs made are actually quite creative and good quality works.

A lot of how the public judges celebrities, especialy female celebs, is based on all the negative dirt and propaganda that goes around in gossip rags. Men aren't put on such a heavy stigma after doing something that's socially scorned, like taking drugs or ging out n a heavy night of partying. it's considered normal and the public forgives more easily men than women in these types of cases. Media coverage in both cases is biased because the gossips magazines also want to make moeny, just like film or music companies, so they always try to find ways to spread or expose rumors about famous people. In a way, it's kind of not fair to them but it comes with the business, so they get used to it, I guess. A lot also has to do with maager and public expectations. Once there's pressure to do certain things by the manager or fans or the reporters say something and everyone believes it, then you're bound to believe and then act accordingly. That's why some celebrities actually get caught in the act of smoking marijuana or doing crazy antic, it's because the public wants and expects it so the celebrity does it. It's psychological conditioning except no one ever sees it! We tend to see what we want to see, so we assume it's the way that celebrities really are. Obviously, it's never really possible to know unless they directly say so what he or she is going through. the old saying comes back again, you can't judge a book by it's cover until you've read the book.

What we can really judge about female and male celebrities then, is the way they dress. sure, a certain degree is also chosen by designers, managers, and peope in charge of their image. Most of the clothes for women are revealing. They want to look sexy to attract fans and look good. if you think about though, which woman under that kind of pressure from almost everyone around them doesn't want to look good? Cameras are everyhere almost 24/7, so if I was one of them I'd definitely want to hide in a bunch of cool looking clothes and make up. Plus, they're famous and rich so their life road is smooth as long as they don't do anything too stupid. If you can make 10 million USD a year and have to deal with all these kinds of pressures, wouldn't it be worth it? Lots of people only look at celebrities superficially and don't take the time to see that most celebrities work very hard to achieve the status that they have and keep on going after they reach fame and fortune because they truly love what they do. How many people can say they're satisfied with their jobs?