An associate professor who bought a paper was dismissed for plagiarism, but the agency was at large.
Recently, Jin Peng, a graduate of Anqing Normal University in 2012, reported that Zhao Jingchun, an associate professor at the School of Humanities and Media of zunyi normal University, had plagiarized his undergraduate thesis in the article "On the Criticality of Liu Zhenyun’s Officialdom Novels" published publicly in 2013.
"My graduation thesis is more than 10,000 words, which was written under the guidance of many teachers." Jin Peng said that the article published by the other party is exactly the same as his own paper, and even the title and secondary title have not been changed. "My paper has not been published, and it may have been leaked when it was transmitted between classmates."
Later, according to China Youth Daily, Zhao Jingchun admitted to plagiarizing the paper, and said that he was lucky enough to buy it from an intermediary for 3,000 yuan. After receiving the paper, he did not make any changes and directly transferred to Journal of zunyi normal University.
The school also set up an investigation team and found that Zhao Jingchun’s encroachment on other people’s academic achievements was true and the circumstances of academic misconduct were more serious. Luo Liangjin, director of the school’s propaganda department, told the Beijing News reporter that the school made a decision: dismissing Associate Professor Zhao Jingchun; Announce the withdrawal of the paper, and announce the cancellation in the newspaper; Terminate and cancel all kinds of scientific research projects undertaken by it, and cancel its project application qualification within two years.
Previously, this paper appeared on Zhao Jingchun’s list of higher education titles in 2013. A few months later, Zhao Jingchun was hired as an associate professor from a lecturer. Luo Liangjin explained that because this is an undergraduate graduation thesis, it was not published publicly, and it was really not available when the journal system was audited.
The Beijing News reporter found that there are many writing agencies for papers, and according to the other party’s academic qualifications, topics, publishing platforms and other "offers", some of them received 700 yuan in thousands of words. And many companies provide one-stop service for writing and sending.
In the sale of papers, many paper writing agencies claim that originality is guaranteed. In this regard, experts said that most papers produced by writing agencies are not original. Once found out, buyers will face relevant penalties, but it is difficult for agencies and individuals to hold them accountable.
■ Dialogue
Jin Peng, the original author of the exclusive dialogue paper of the Beijing News reporter:
Don’t kill the other person with a stick.
Beijing News: How do you want to check the 2012 papers online?
Jin Peng: On the morning of August 3rd, a colleague in the office said that he would publish a paper and asked me for advice. I casually searched online and found that both HowNet and Wanfang System had this article, and the signature was not mine. I immediately clicked in to check the contents and found almost the same.
Beijing News: How did you feel at that time?
Jin Peng: Very angry. Because I like writing very much at ordinary times, I saw that the article was stolen and wanted to know what was going on.
Beijing News: How to release the report information?
Jin Peng: I described the process of paper creation on my WeChat account. At that time, I really worked hard and cherished this achievement. I hope that in this way, the plagiarists will take the initiative to find me and give an explanation.
Beijing News: How was the paper leaked? Did you ever think about publishing it?
Jin Peng: At the time of graduation, some younger brothers and sisters wanted to learn from them, so I sent them the electronic version of my thesis, which may have leaked out and ended up in the hands of an intermediary.
I had planned to take the academic road before, but I didn’t pass the exam in English. At the end of April, I was busy looking for a job and taking various exams. I thought about publishing a paper, but I gave up considering that it was difficult for undergraduates to publish.
Beijing News: After the incident, how did the other party explain it?
Jin Peng: On August 6th, Mr. Zhao Jingchun called me twice. He sincerely apologized and admitted that it was his mistake. He told me that the agent said that this paper was originally created by someone in the agency. He thought that spending 3000 yuan was equivalent to buying someone else’s copyright, so he didn’t change it much and used it directly. I had no idea that this was an undergraduate thesis.
Beijing News: Recently, you issued a public notice saying that you will no longer be held accountable. I hope the school can handle it lightly?
Jin Peng: I know that he didn’t intentionally copy my works in full, and zunyi normal University has also set up an investigation team, and the social attention is very high. I think he has been punished as he should, so there is no need to go further.
In the past two days, I have seen the school’s punishment for Mr. Zhao, and there are many voices of public condemnation. I believe he has suffered a lot. I have checked his resume and know the hard work of doing academic work. He also mentioned to me that the academic pressure in the first half of 2013 was great, and all the papers submitted did not respond. He may be at the threshold of evaluating his professional title, hoping not to be killed with a stick, and he should be given a chance to correct it.
Beijing News: What do you think of the result of handling things?
Jin Peng: I think the school’s punishment is quite severe. If you search this article online in the future, it would be better to correct the signature in HowNet, Baidu Library and other places.
■ Depth
one
There is a paper writing agency that "receives 700 words"
Zhao Jingchun said that the paper was purchased from an intermediary for 3,000 yuan. Yesterday, the Beijing News reporter searched for "papers to write on behalf of others", and found many agencies to write on behalf of others, such as Star paper net, Worry-Free paper net, First paper net, etc., and the homepage of the website has a dialog box for writing consultation.
A staff member surnamed Yu of Star paper net said that it is 1,400 yuan to provide one-stop service for writing and distributing periodical papers. "The writers are all doctoral students in school, ensuring originality and quality."
The online consultant of 51 Worry-Free paper net provided a website, which was opened as a "demand sheet for writing on behalf of others", including the title of the paper, expected price, word requirements and many other contents. The other party suggested that after filling in according to the specific requirements, there will be a professional writing teacher to inform the required writing time and price by email.
On the homepage of Taobao, the Beijing News reporter typed in the word "paper", and on the right side of the page, a row of online stores marked with the words "high-end customization" and "writing articles for others" appeared.
Some businesses are obscure, and the product information of "Integrity Ghost Studio" is classified as "propaganda copy"; There are also businesses openly hawking, and the webpage of the "General Editorial Department of Regular Periodicals Call for Papers" is directly displayed as "Papers published with the title of evaluation. thesis title, a provincial-level national cn periodical, issued articles on medical education, economy and electricity (sic)".
Many businesses have said that there is no problem in writing papers. According to the other party’s educational background and topic, the price and completion time are also different.
Among the four institutions that were asked to write papers, the price of thousands of words ranged from 150 yuan to 700 yuan. According to the grades of academic journals published by buyers, the writers were divided into three categories: undergraduates, in-service masters, and university teachers. At the same time, they promised to be absolutely original, and later revised until they were published smoothly. In addition, some merchants also provide agency services, with agency prices ranging from 500 yuan to 1000 yuan.
2
"Market" is not included in the undergraduate thesis.
Xiong Bingqi, vice president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said that the existence of the industrial chain of ghostwriting papers first comes from the abnormal demand for papers. "China’s colleges and universities require papers for students’ study and for teachers’ assessment and rating."
Secondly, China’s universities regard the number of papers published as an important school achievement. When evaluating teachers and students, some schools only require the submission of titles and periodicals of published papers, and do not review the papers themselves at all. This has led some teachers and students who are eager for quick success and instant benefit to take "shortcuts".
In the sale of papers, many paper writing agencies claim to ensure the originality and quality of papers. In this regard, a university teacher who asked not to be named said that most of the papers produced by writing agencies are not original. Part of it comes from copying and piecing together, and the other part is to acquire unpublished papers. The acquisition channel may be to take over every link of the paper.
The thesis that Zhao Jingchun bought from the agency was finally identified as Jin Peng’s undergraduate thesis. And this paper even appeared on the list of its higher education title evaluation. The school said that because "undergraduate graduation thesis was not published publicly", the journal system could not be queried during the audit.
Xiong Bingqi said that at present, the papers of graduate students and doctoral students are uploaded through the academic journal network, but the graduation papers of undergraduates in almost all schools are not included in the academic journal network.
He analyzed that the reason may be that academic journals think that the quality of undergraduate papers is not high. But "this provides an opportunity for the paper writing agency. Many writing agencies buy unpublished undergraduate papers at low prices and then resell them to earn the difference. "
"Even if the purchased paper is successfully published, it does not mean that it is original." Xiong Bingqi reminded that writing agencies can make full use of the time difference of academic database retrieval to copy papers that have just been published or have passed the defense but have not been entered into the academic database. Such a paper will be exposed sooner or later, even if it escapes the examination of academic journals.
three
There are penalties for buying papers, and it is difficult for sellers to be held accountable.
The Ministry of Education’s Measures for Preventing and Handling Academic Misconduct in Colleges and Universities stipulates that "plagiarism, plagiarism, and embezzlement of other people’s academic achievements" should be regarded as academic misconduct; The Measures for Handling the Falsification of Dissertations also clearly stipulates that if the dissertations are purchased, written by others, plagiarized or forged data, their qualifications for degree application may be cancelled; If a degree has been obtained, the awarding unit may revoke its degree.
Zhao Jingchun’s plagiarism was identified as a serious academic misconduct, and he himself was dismissed as an associate professor. However, there are no penalties for the intermediary agencies that provide papers for them.
Ren Mengshan, an associate professor at China Communication University, mentioned that although colleges and universities have corresponding punishment measures for students and teachers who plagiarize papers, there is no relevant law in China that explicitly prohibits writing papers for institutions and individuals, and the regulation and management of this piece is still blank.
Xiong Bingqi also said that the original "commitment" of writing papers on behalf of others is not reliable. Once the buyer of the paper is exposed to plagiarism, he will be held accountable for academic misconduct, and the responsibility for plagiarism will also be borne by himself. In addition, it is difficult for him to investigate the responsibility of the writing agency for not speaking credit, because such behavior is illegal and not protected by law.
Director Liu Changsong of Mu Gong Law Firm believes that writing a thesis on behalf of others is equivalent to taking the test in the exam, and the nature of administrative punishment is the same. This practice undermines the academic affairs system and the examination system, and the competent department should stop and punish it according to the departmental regulations of the Ministry of Education.
This edition was written/Beijing News reporter Lei Zhao