Germany’s Academic and Political Plagiarism Epidemic

Today I watched (and thoroughly enjoyed) the German movie “Der Minister”. It is a wonderful satire of the Guttenberg plagiarism scandal. 

As it turns out, this clever satire is itself a work of plagiarism. Several great lines seem to be taken from TV series such as the iconic British “Yes Minister” series – more specifically:  "It used to be said there were two kinds of chairs to go with two kinds of Minister: one sort folds up instantly; the other sort goes round and round in circles." 

The screenwriter Dorothee Schon justified it by stating that content was taken from the media collage surrounding Guttenberg. An interesting legal argument indeed!

To refresh your memory, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was a charismatic German politician who served as the Minister of Defense under Angela Merkel. Guttenberg received his doctorate from the University of Bayreuth (founded in 1975 and located in Bavaria, Germany) in the year 2007. After it was found that he had plagiarized parts of his doctoral dissertation, the university revoked is doctorate. Once he was caught, Guttenberg left German politics all together in 2011. He reinvented himself in the US.

Being an academic is a big deal in Germany. It helps with getting well-paid jobs and has substantial social standing. According to a  survey conducted by the German newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”  18.5 % of MPs in the German Bundestag carry doctor or professor titles. It is obviously a big plus for becoming a Minister! According to law professor Prof. Dr.Volker Rieble of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germans suffer from “title arousal.” He points out that people in other countries are not as vain about their titles. (Israel is a good example - most people in middle and higher management have two academic degrees and seldom mention them). This obsession with academic titles obviously sparks the tendency to take short cuts to obtain the prized Dr. title.

As it turned out, the Guttenberg affair was not an isolated incident (as I originally thought). Following the Guttenberg debacle, several other German politicians were also caught in the act, including Prof. Dr. AnnetteSchavan who (ironically) served as the Minister of Education. Way back in 1980, she wrote a dissertation of a whopping 351 pages that had been gathering dust in the archives of the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf until an anonymous blogger (SchavanPlag on Wordpress) published a long list of sections that were ripped off other works. The University ofDüsseldorf promptly stripped her of her Dr. title. She subsequently resigned her post in February 2013. 

The German website “VroniPlag” is a living nightmare for German politicians that got their academic degree in a questionable way. The website states that: “VroniPlag Wiki is a scientific project without any political or commercial interests”. They obviously do a lot of due diligence.  Cave Doctor (Latin for: Dr. be aware)!

Other disgraced German politicians include:

• Silvana Koch-Mehrin, former vice president of the European Parliament and member of the German Free Democratic Party, was stripped of her doctorate in 2011 by the University of Heidelberg;
• Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, a German member of the European Parliament, was stripped of his Ph. D. by the University of Bonn in 2011;
• Florian Graf, another German politician, lost his Ph. D. once he confessed that he had lifted parts of other works without permission for his dissertation.

Will this be the end of it? Lean back and wait!

  

By the way, Angie aka Angela Merkel is officially Dr. Merkel since she holds a doctorate from the University of Leipzig. 

11 Tips on Getting More Efficiency out of Women Employees (‘40s style)

The text below is an actual article in the magazine Mass Transportation published in 1943. As checked with Snopes, it is real and here is the cover. (To see the story in full, go to Snopes.com)

If you think attitude towards women in Mad Men is bad, just read these golden tips...

1. Pick young married women

They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters. They are less likely to be flirtatious. They need the work, or they would not be doing it. The still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

Really? Married women don’t flirt? Or *gasp* are unfaithful? How naive!

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives

Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It is always well to impress upon older women, the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

OK, so old (over 30?) women are considered to be witches... How can they not have had contact with “the public”? Did they live on Mars?

3. General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a little on the heavy side - are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters

Bring in the chocolate, bagels, and muffins for snacks and let’s have pizza for lunch! Stay off the diet soft drinks! Christy Alley – you’re hired!

4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination. (one covering female conditions)

This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.

Are the worried about PMS and menopause? News flash: all my male bosses were moody....and had mood swings!

5. Stress at the outset, the importance of time

The fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

Did they preach the same to male employees?!

6. Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties

(so that they will keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes). Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

OK, I get it, women can not think for themselves. Do you agree Marie Curie? Angela Merkel? Hillary Clinton?

7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some time during the day.

Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.

I just don’t get this point. Isn’t it rather inefficient to have employees change jobs every day? Time for a McKinsey audit!

8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day

You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.

Mmm, so male employees can work non-stop because they don’t need to wash their hands – heck, who cares about infections? Guys obviously can run around with untidy hair and ALL women were lipstick!

9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms

Women are often sensitive; they cannot shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman - it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.

Please, go on verbally abusing male employees......they can take it, the insensitive brutes!

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women

Even though a girl's husband or father may swear vociferously, she will grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

How insightful! So it is OK for husbands and fathers to curse? What if they work at the same place as their wives/daughters?

11. Get enough size variety in operator's uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit.

This point cannot be stressed too much in keeping women happy.

Bring in Armani! I want my uniform tailor-made!