12 - PLAGIARISM

Technology of today keeps improving, and most of us consider technology as a big help in our work and in our life. Being exposed to technology was very helpful indeed, yet having this kind of ability and control with what we use most people abuse what they benefit from it. Having every information about almost everything present in the world put into digital and published online, many people find all of this information and copy it without acknowledging where they got it and who published it, and this is what we call Plagiarism.

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The definition of plagiarism according to the online dictionary which is dictionary.com, it is an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author. While plagiarism according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own or to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.


But is Plagiarism really a crime?
Here in the Philippines we have a law that governs intellectual property known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines and this is named as the Republic Act No.8293. This is an act prescribing the intellectual property code and establishing the intellectual property office, providing for its powers and function, and for other purposes, therefore plagiarism is a crime.

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From now on, we should site our references with the right format.There is this what we call A.P.A which stands for American Psychological Association, this a style which is commonly used to cite sources. Using APA style in citing references helps us to give proper acknowledgement for the author's/publisher's/site's...etc. work, therefore using it doesn't only helps us with the information but it also helps us to be safe from the work of plagiarism.

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References:
                    plagiarism. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved November 29, 2015 from Dictionary.com 
                    website http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plagiarism

                    Plagiarize. (2015). Retrieved November 29, 2015, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
                    /plagiarize 

                    What is Plagiarism? (2014). Retrieved November 29, 2015, from http://www.plagiarism.org
                    /plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism/