John F. Kennedy received acclaim, respect, and a Pulitzer Prize (1957) for writing _Profiles in Courage_ (1956). His achievement may well have contributed to his successful election to the US Presidency.
It now turns out, according to the obituary of Ted Sorensen just published in the New York Times, that the book was largely written by Sorensen, who was paid for his efforts. Why is this not plagiarism? Well, possibly because the subterfuge was carried out with the permission of the true author. Ghost writing is an accepted practice and commonplace. If so, then Barbara Sherwin, the McGill psychology professor who was caught claiming credit for a published review of estrogen treatments which was really ghost-written for her and paid for by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, is not guilty of scientific misconduct. We don't know whether McGill thinks so, because McGill's internal investigation of the matter remains confidential (see http://mcgilldaily.com/articles/36530 ; scroll down). If so, then a student who buys a term paper can similarly claim it's ok because the true author agreed (after payment was received, of course). Should we be warning our students that they'd better not plagiarize, because if they do, they could one day become President of the United States? Stephen -------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada e-mail: sblack at ubishops.ca --------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=6172 or send a blank email to leave-6172-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
