Recently there was a minor cheating scandal in one of my courses. I base part of the students' grades on a test. Rather than create my own questions, I use a test bank that the textbook publisher provides. This facilitates giving of multiple exams, which has become the norm in some colleges (some students are permitted extra time because they have learning disabilities; as well, make-up exams are often required).
One or more of the students obtained the publisher's test bank, possibly by pretending to be a professor, having the publisher send the textbook to the college under a false name, and then figuring out how to pick up the textbook from the locked storage room where packages of this kind are stored. It is likely easy to do since all the student would have to do is ask an unsuspecting professor entering the room to help him or her find a book or to use the copy machine, which is in the same room.
In any case, I noticed that the grades on the exam this semester were unusually high; about one fourth of the class got grades that were normally above the highest grade any student would get. At first I thought the class was exceptionally good, that is, until a student met with me in person and proved that the test bank had been obtained under fraud or stolen and that some students studied by memorizing it. The proof was that he e-mailed me a copy of the test bank which another student had sold him for $10. I asked him to identify the student, but he would not. I forgave him that distaste for "ratting".
I spoke about the situation with two colleagues. One said that the situation is unequivocally cheating and that I should tell the administration that this has gone on. Since I have no evidence concerning any specific student it would not be possible to uncover who was at fault without pursuing investigations that I have no power to pursue and that I doubt very much the college administration would be willing to pursue. Another colleague said that in his view students who review the test bank are doing nothing wrong since SAT questions and New York State regents questions are often available for practice purposes. But those questions are not stolen or obtained under fraudulent pretense. Also, those questions are made available to all students whereas in this circumstance some students refused to use the stolen test bank because they viewed doing so as unethical.
College seems to be contributing to the more general moral decline in American society. The chief impact is on me as I now have to make up by hand something that was once computerized, turning a one hour project into a one day project. With 15 exams over the next year that translates into a two day project versus a 15 or 20 day project. So much for my research output.
I failed to pursue any sort of redress to the cheaters, and in this I participate in the tendency of universities to increasingly condone cheating.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
GOP Torch Song: It's Over
Thomas Santopietro of the Kingston-Rhinebeck Tea Party asked me to give a brief talk at the meeting this evening. My friend Glenda McGee happened to be in my office when he called and she pulled a few articles (here and here) about the GOP's and the Democrats' corrupt tax deal of this past week. Tom asked me to speak because I had predicted a major let-down for the Tea Party a year ago (Tom had looked at an old e-mail I had sent) and although I did not know any of the details until Glenda pulled the information, the utter mockery with which the GOP is treating the Tea Party comes as no surprise.
My message to the Hudson Valley Tea Partiers is that they need to view a third party as a realistic strategy and to view the GOP as the real threat that the Tea Party faces. Tea Partiers who advocate for the GOP over the public interest do not belong in the Tea Party. I say this as a member of my Town's Republican Committee, which has been decimated by public revulsion at the corrupt Bush administration as well as the transformation of the Catskills into a New York City suburb for super-rich New Yorkers.
Please allow Roy Orbison to convey the message the Tea Party needs to hear. With respect to the big government, special interest driven morons who dominate the GOP, the Tea Party's honeymoon is, or ought to be, over.
My message to the Hudson Valley Tea Partiers is that they need to view a third party as a realistic strategy and to view the GOP as the real threat that the Tea Party faces. Tea Partiers who advocate for the GOP over the public interest do not belong in the Tea Party. I say this as a member of my Town's Republican Committee, which has been decimated by public revulsion at the corrupt Bush administration as well as the transformation of the Catskills into a New York City suburb for super-rich New Yorkers.
Please allow Roy Orbison to convey the message the Tea Party needs to hear. With respect to the big government, special interest driven morons who dominate the GOP, the Tea Party's honeymoon is, or ought to be, over.
The Time for Compromise Is Past
I have come to the conclusion that participation in the American political process is a waste of time. Not that it is not important, but that the current system of government has failed and that further participation in it distracts from more important life goals and political ends. By political ends I mean radical action and potentially the formation of a new political party. I am reformulating my ends as a political blogger since I no longer believe that participation in the American political system is productive. Not that I am anti-American, but rather, the American state has failed and needs to be replaced. The Anti-Federalists must rise again. Getting involved with political debates about Democrats, Republicans and the like is a waste of time. God Bless America, but the federal government needs to be kicked into hell.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Cost of Vegetables Escalates
H/t Jim Crum. I have nothing to add.
>Looks like a resounding endorsement of our monetary policy to me.
Wow.
Raw material for our food stocks going up 20% or more, what could possibly go wrong? Inflation? Nahhh, Fugetaboutit.
JJC.
Agricultural & Lumber
| Commodities | Last Price/ Contract | Today's Change | Year Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CornAs of Dec 09 2010 19:14 GMT. | 560.25 | 0.00 | 0.00% | +52.04% |
| WheatAs of Dec 09 2010 19:09 GMT. | 748.25 | 0.00 | 0.00% | +45.15% |
| SoybeansAs of Dec 09 2010 19:34 GMT. | 1,281.50 | 0.00 | 0.00% | +24.78% |
| Soybean MealAs of Dec 09 2010 19:14 GMT. | 339.9 | 0.00 | 0.00% | +8.25% |
| CocoaAs of Dec 09 2010 16:41 GMT. | 1,990 | -18.00 | -0.90% | -9.75% |
| Coffee (Robusta)As of Dec 09 2010 17:29 GMT. | 1,920 | +39.00 | +2.07% | +39.64% |
| Coffee (Arabica)As of Dec 09 2010 17:34 GMT. | 204.45 | +0.20 | +0.10% | +44.59% |
| White SugarAs of Dec 09 2010 17:29 GMT. | 728.00 | -4.40 | -0.60% | +21.33% |
| CottonAs of Dec 09 2010 19:14 GMT. | 135.95 | +4.00 | +3.03% | +82.75% |
| Orange JuiceAs of Dec 09 2010 18:59 GMT. | 162.55 | -3.45 | -2.08% | +28.04% |
| CattleAs of Dec 09 2010 20:28 GMT. | 101.90 | +0.10 | +0.10% | +28.50% |
| Feeder CattleAs of Dec 09 2010 20:00 GMT. | 117.90 | -0.175 | -0.15% | +29.85% |
| Frozen Pork BelliesAs of Dec 09 2010 18:38 GMT. | 104.50 | 0.00 | 0.00% | +25.45% |
| Lean HogsAs of Dec 09 2010 20:38 GMT. | 69.45 | +0.025 | +0.04% | +9.28% |
| LumberAs of Dec 09 2010 20:37 GMT. | 269.50 | 0.00 | 0.00% | +24.83% |
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