It’s not just university students who are plagiarizing Wikipedia in Poland: Professor Aldona Kamela-Sowinska, a former treasury minister, has been caught copying most of the introduction to her latest book from the web. 

The copying was discovered by Marek Wronski, a scientist who investigates cases of plagiarism at Polish universities. Wronski revealed that the introduction to the book Economy and information society is almost entirely copied from popular web sites, such as Wikipedia or Sciaga.pl, where students can find ready-to-use essays and articles.

It turns out that the renowned economist wrote only four sentences by herself.  

Professor Kamela-Sowinska, caught red-handed, admitted copying the introduction from internet. “There is no need to cry over the spilt milk, I’m not going to bury head in the sand,” said a defiant Kamela-Sowinska and added that other academics often copy half of their dissertations, while she copied just a few vital facts.

The former minister also called for a re-definition of plagiarism in the times of internet. But her critics are unconvinced.

“The professor tries to justify herself in a childish way, as if she didn’t know what copyright is,” says Marek Wronski, who thinks that following the scandal Kamela-Sowinska should quit her post as rector at the Higher School of Commerce and Accounting in the western city of Poznan.  

Prof. Kamela-Sowinska, however, has a history of this type of thing. Three years ago she copied a text about honesty into her book on ethics in business. The author of the plagiarized article took the economist to court, demanding 20,000 zloty (5,130 euro) in damages. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education has also been investigating the case. (mg/pg) 

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza