Chapter II

Review of Related literature

In this chapter, you will know the different information about the worldwide problem we are

facing as of now, one of the most common issue on the institution and considered as fraud. An illegal

act which is known as 'plagiarizing or plagiarism'.

In Oxford University, plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else work or ideas as your

own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgment.

All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered

under this definition. Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional. Under the regulations

for examinations, intentional or reckless plagiarism is a disciplinary offense. On the other hand, in

HKU Research services, plagiarism is presented as the easy access to and the ease of cutting and

pasting from a wide range of materials available on the internet. Plagiarism is regarded as a very

serious offense in the academic world. It constitutes academic theft - the offender has 'stolen' the work

of others and presented the stolen work as if it were his or her own. It goes to the integrity and honesty

of a person. It stifles creativity and originality, and defeats the purpose of education.

Ashworth , Freewood , and MacDonald (2003) imply that this is a time of considerable change

in higher education , and the changes affect the concern for increased plagiarism. Changes in higher

education include moving from the elite status to a mass-System. Changes in assessment are changing

from formal proctored exams to a greater emphasis on coursework such as term papers and projects .

Another change presented by Ashworth et, al. (2003) is the increased focus on group -based learning.

With the ambiguity on collective and individuals ownership this method of learning may have an
influence on the perception of academic honesty over-all. The culture of plagiarism itself may have

been derived from such implementation as the copyright law, or the cultural history of the idea of

individuals originality, or contemporary cultural variations). Although the copyright law was originally

intended to restrict competition among publisher, it has since involved to protect the rights of authors.

The idea as authors rather than repeatedly presenting materials from the existing literary world. The

advances of technology have been a common consideration when studying plagiarism.

Similarly to Cizek (1999), on his research review on academic dishonesty he concludes that,

although studies over time indicate males admit to academic dishonesty of males and female reporting

are about equal. Also, Cizek (1999) and McCabe and Trevino (1997) have reported data on the impact

age may have on the engagement of academic dishonesty. In both cases, the researchers have found

that the engagement of academic dishonesty decreases as age increases and nontraditional learners tend

to cheat less than traditional aged learners.

On the contrary, on Mcshane and Von Glinow (2005) Ethical Theory, Morality and Ethics

they describe ethics as the study of moral values involving actions that may be right or wrong or result

in good or bad outcomes. When discussing ethical principles, one should consider moral intensity and

the ethical sensitivity as well . Moral intensity measures the degree to which application of ethical

principle is necessary when the intensity of a moral issue increases, a higher degree of ethical

consideration is necessary. Ethical sensitivity deals with a personal characteristics, the more ethically

sensitive a person is, the better he/she is able to fixed from ethical theory. When discussing ethical

sensitivity as well . Moral intensity measures the degree to which the application of ethical principle is

necessary. When the intensity of a moral issue increases, a higher degree of ethical consideration is

necessary. Ethical sensitivity deals with a personal characteristic. The more ethically sensitive a person
is, the better he/she is able to recognize the presence and importance of an ethical issue.

For instance, in the Philippines, according to Isagani Cruz on his Absolute Theory, it states that

The Absolute Theory is really simple and strict. Plagiarism, as defined by Plagiarism.org, is “the use of

another’s original words or ideas as though they were your own.” In this theory, plagiarism is a lie, a

crime, a sin, because it is a form of stealing. One should not steal someone else’s words and ideas,

because words and ideas are intellectual property, owned by whoever first said or wrote them down.

In the Absolute Theory, you are not allowed to copy the idea, even if the words are all different, of an

author (whether alive or dead) without naming the author. (Copyright violation is less strict, because it

involves only authors still alive or who died less than 70 years ago.) To avoid the charge of plagiarism,

all you have to do is to attribute, footnote, end note, cite, link, or otherwise make it clear that what you

are saying or writing are not your own words or ideas.

Meanwhile, In Davao City, particularly in St. John Paul II College of Davao, some students

states that plagiarism is a big problem specially in school, because students are more likely to be under

pressure regardless with their paperwork's and school obligations. According to a student in ABM

Department, Plagiarizing is a choice, students should be aware of their behavior and must be well

educated on the illegal work they are into.