Running head: COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT 1

Community Problem Report:

Internet Addiction into Plagiarism at UTEP

Alexis N. Mena

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1301

MWF 9:30-10:20

April 24, 2018

COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT 2

Abstract

The internet is a growing system in technology that expands every day. There are benefits to

utilizing the internet, such as finding information and creating deeper connections in less than a

minute. However, with such potential, there may be many ways in which it can be harmful and

misused. Some of these negatives impacts includes the addiction that technology creates, and

plagiarism inside the classroom. Evidence such as integrating technology creates a problem for

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) when students solely depend on the internet to do

their work for them by copying off another’s paper, or by buying essays online. Although UTEP

is an anti-plagiarism campus, many of the students that attend do not heed the university’s rules.

Thus, it is up to UTEP to incorporate many ways in which faculty and students may work

together to keep academic dishonesty from plaguing the educational environment.

COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT 3

Community Problem Report:

Internet Addiction into Plagiarism at UTEP

Internet addiction has been a rising problem over the years. Technology is rapidly

advancing and so is the dependency upon it. More and more are students required to spend much

of their time on the internet in order to research and complete assignments. With such a powerful

tool at their disposal, there comes many benefits and complications with utilizing the net. With

easier access comes an addiction, this reliance shaping into plagiarism that is plaguing

universities, such as that of The University of Texas at El Paso.

The Internet

The internet was created in the late twentieth century, creating a boom in technological

advances for the years to come. From computers, to laptops, and most recently highly advanced

portable devices deemed “smartphones.” Now more than ever it is easier to establish connections

from around the world and receive information with just a few taps on a keyboard. With such

changes, literacy is on the forefront of digital evolution. Pianfetti (2001) suggested that literacy

has now extended pass the knowledge of reading and writing papers and textbooks and into the

ability to comprehend and learn from technology as well (p. 256). According to Coiro (2003),

with many new formats and purposes to read on the internet, it may become beneficial as well as

difficult for individuals to extract valuable knowledge on the domain (p. 2). However, that is not

to say that using the internet is difficult for everyone. Younger generations are becoming more

skilled in media literacy than their predecessors, with children being introduced to the advanced

technologies before they can even read. Jenkins (2008) observed that children are so integrated

into new media technology that it offers them multiple opportunities of growth and development

(p. 16) that was not previously provided to children whom are now adults.
COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT 4

Internet Addiction

The internet is an extensively utilized apparatus where information, entertainment, and

socialization may occur. Tsitsika (2013) noted that with its array of functions, individuals may

have a need to compulsively and problematically use the internet (p. xv). According to Ma et al.

(2008), younger generations are “digital-savvy,” with the internet now a “part of their life styles”

(p. 198). Due to the combining of the internet in everyday life, health concerns have been on the

rise with the topic. As was studied by Tsitsika (2013), internet addiction is similar to substance

addiction in that it revolves around uncontrollable usage, problems in day-to-day life with the

usage, and withdrawal symptoms when taken away (p. xvi). Thus, with the use of the internet

being highly convenient, the reliance on the tool is increasing with every passing day. Although

addiction for the internet is high, it is not something that is easy to get away from. It is in

schools, at work, and carried around in the pockets of the general public. That is why it is rather

easy for students to take their problems with them into the classroom setting. According to

Abrami (2008), with the expansion of technology it is essential to incorporate the use of the

internet into classrooms (p. 129). However, researchers and authors are not the only advocates

for digitalizing learning; senators are supportive of this notion as well. In a hearing in 2003

before the committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, senators and officials went

before to testify for the benefits of incorporating technology in learning immensely, taking the

use of the internet into greater proportions inside classrooms. There are others such as (2008)

that suggest that while the internet is a rather remarkable innovation in technology that conjures

information in seconds, it may not be the most “effective learning tool” that may be offered to

students (p. 249). This may be due to observations that Coiro (2003) investigated in which the

students are becoming accustomed to the quick results that yield from online searches, and that
COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT 5

when they are not instantly satisfied, they become hasty in their decision-making rather than

making well thought-out choices (p. 2).

Plagiarism

Academic integrity is at risk due to the laxation of students counting on the internet being

able to do their work for them. According to Chace (2012) and Ma et al. (2008), plagiarism is

becoming a problem due to the lack of originality and need to do well based on a grading system.

Students are expected from their professors to turn in essays that reach a certain standard, but

there are times when the student will lack originality due no interest in the topic or because they

fear for what their grade will be if they do turn in their work. That is why it is easier on the

students to do the “dishonorable” act of stealing another person’s work or buying an essay off of

a website (Chace, p. 4; Ma et al., p. 200-201). Clayton (1997) goes into some of the websites that

students are using in order to access hundreds of different essays that have already been written;

with “Cheat.com” and “Evil House of Cheat” being prime examples (p. 2). Despite universities

and professors being active in order to stop plagiarism, a lot may go under the radar. Even more

so, as was pointed out by Ma et al. (2008), there are professors that may not even be actively

attempting to stop plagiarism inside their own classroom due to lengthy processes of bringing the

student in front of a committee. With such lack of care and ability to not get caught, more and

more students are starting to cheat their way through the academic system (p. 200).

UTEP

Although research at The University of Texas a El Paso (UTEP) is insubstantial, research

conducted at other universities conclude that academic dishonesty is proliferating. In researching

the issues of plagiarism, Chace (2012) discovered that in the early twentieth century, plagiarism

was a major problem on the campus of Yale University, and as decades passed, the cases of
COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT 6

plagiarism did not let up within the institute. The same could be seen at The University of

Southern California where as much as forty percent of the students were reported to have

plagiarized their work in one way or another (p. 4). In research conducted by Ma et al. (2008), it

was discovered that as much as seventy percent of college students admitted to cheating. It was

also found that up to seventy-seven percent of students would copy-and-paste directly from their

sources without giving the citations necessary because they did not see any issues in their actions

(p. 199). UTEP, being a fairly new university having been founded in the early twentieth century,

has not had much opportunity to create a foundation in discovering the deepest crevices of the

Liberal Arts community. However, regardless of the English department at UTEP having a strict

anti-plagiarism policy, not every cheater or plagiarist will be caught. Chace (2012) suggests that

while students who do conduct in academic dishonesty are intercepted, there are enough of them

that slip through the metaphorical cracks and are not found out (p. 4). That indicates that while

UTEP may be on the offensive of upholding morals and ethics, students are still in the process of

handing in unoriginal assignments. UTEP is one of the many universities that in their offensive

approach are using online sites such as “turnitin.com” to fight academic integrity. Chace (2012),

Ma et al. (2008), McCarroll (2001), and Scanlon (2003) support “turnitin.com,” all of them

providing the same site in an effort to establish a quality combative internet program that will

detect the stealing of someone else’s work (Chace, p. 10; Ma et al., p. 201; McCarroll, p. 2;

Scanlon, p. 164). Although the website, and many others just like it, are used to find replicas

created in the writing process, that is not all that could be done to keep the campus plagiarism

free. Many teachers, as pointed out by McCarroll (2001), are highly involved in their students

work production, having them turn in outlines, rough drafts, and bibliographies in order to keep

the students honest and up-to-date on their essays. That was it is easier to spot if a student copies
COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT 7

or merely buys from one of the many sites that offer pre-made or specialized reports (p. 4).

Another way that was suggested to stop the cycle of online plagiarism was argued by Scanlon

(2003) that the topic of stealing another person’s work, or buying it, should be brought up inside

the classroom with the students. Professors should create an open discussion with their pupils

about what plagiarism is and all that can be done in order to prevent it. This way it creates a

mutual trust environment in which the students may be able to depend on the professor, and the

professors count on their students (p. 164). UTEP may be able to address the underground

system of plagiarism, and even terminate the problem, if more conclusive research is done within

the campus itself and addresses the issue thoroughly with faculty and students alike.

Figure 1. Viscous cycle in internet addiction (Tsitsika, 2013, p. 63)

COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT 8

References

Abrami, P. C., Savage, R., Wade, C. A., Hipps, G., & Lopez, M. (2008). Using technology to

assist children learning to read and write. In E. Wood, & T. Willoughby (Eds.), Children's

learning in a digital world (pp. 129-172).

Chace, W. M. (2012). A question of honor: Cheating on campus undermines the reputation of our

universities and the value of their degrees. now is the time for students themselves to stop

it. American Scholar, 81(2), 20-32.

Clayton, M. (1997, 10/27). Term papers at the click of a mouse. (cover story). Christian Science

Monitor.

Coiro, J. (2003). Exploring literacy on the internet: Reading comprehension on the internet:

Expanding our understanding of reading comprehension to encompass new literacies. The

Reading Teacher, 56(5), 458-464.

Desjarlais, M., Willoughby, T., & Wood, E. (2008). Domain knowledge and learning from the

internet. In T. Willoughby, & E. Wood (Eds.), Children's learning in a digital world (pp.

249-271).

Jenkins, H. (2008). Media literacy- who needs it? In T. Willoughby, & E. Wood

(Eds.), Children's learning in a digital world (pp. 15-39) Malden, MA : Blackwell Pub.,

2008.

Ma, H. J., Wan, G., & Lu, E. Y. (2008). Digital cheating and plagiarism in schools. Theory into

Practice, 47(3), 197-203.

McCarroll, C. (2001, 08/28). Beating web cheaters at their own game. Christian Science

Monitor, pp. 16.

Pianfetti, E. S. (2001). Focus on research: Teachers and technology: Digital literacy through
COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT 9

professional development. Language Arts, 78(3), 255-262

Scanlon, P. M. (2003). Student online plagiarism: How do we respond? College Teaching, 51(4),

161-165.

Tsitsika, A. (2013). Internet addiction : A public health concern in adolescence Hauppauge, New

York : Nova Science Publisher's, Inc., 2013].

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

(2003). Internet education : Exploring the benefits and challenges of web-based

education : Hearing before the committee on health, education, labor and pensions,

United States senate, one hundred seventh congress, second session on examining the

benefits and challenges of web-based education, September 26, 2002. (Hearing No. S.

HRG. 107–752). Washington : U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs.: U.S. G.P.O.,

Congressional Sales Office.