VroniPlag Wiki is a wiki started 28 March 2011 at Wikia that examines and documents the extent of plagiarism in German doctoral theses .
119-583: Following the revocation of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg's doctoral degree , the VroniPlag Wiki adopted the idea of the GuttenPlag Wiki . VroniPlag is named after the first thesis documented in it, the thesis submitted by Veronica Saß, daughter of German politician Edmund Stoiber . "Vroni" is a nickname in German for "Veronica". Publication of a thesis consists of an overview that contains a "bar code" visualizing
238-463: A CSU meeting in Munich, while several CSU politicians sharply criticized Lammert and Schavan for their comments. On 1 March 2011, Guttenberg declared his resignation from all political offices at national level. He called this decision the "most painful step of my life" and declared "I was always ready to fight, but I have reached the limits of my strength". "I must agree with my enemies who say that I
357-453: A book or article; in cases where the credited author or the publisher or both wish to conceal the ghostwriter's role, the ghostwriter may be asked to sign a nondisclosure contract that legally forbids any mention of the writer's role in a project. Some have made the distinction between "author" and "writer", as ghostwriter Kevin Anderson explains in a Washington Post interview: "A ghostwriter
476-534: A book will be entirely written by a ghostwriter, and the celebrity (e.g., a well-known musician or sports star) will be credited as author. Publishing companies use this strategy to increase the marketability of a book by associating it with a celebrity or well-known figure. In several countries before elections, candidates commission ghostwriters to produce autobiographies for them so as to gain visibility and exposure. One of John F. Kennedy 's books ( Profiles in Courage )
595-487: A campaign event in Kelkheim and stated that he would give up his doctoral title permanently. "Over the weekend I had another look at my doctorate thesis", Guttenberg declared and continued "I lost sight of the sources in one or two places. I wrote this piece of work myself and I stand by it, but I also stand by the rubbish I wrote." Guttenberg admitted "serious mistakes", which had not been made intentionally but "do not meet
714-485: A consulting member – all from the University of Bayreuth. On 8 March 2011 Wolfgang Löwer , professor of law at University of Bonn, and Jürgen Mittelstraß , professor of philosophy at University of Konstanz joined the commission as consulting members. The report listed four commission's meeting on Guttenberg's thesis: 16 February 2011, 8 and 23 March 2011, and the final meeting on 7 April 2011. The hearings of
833-592: A ghostwriter for artists such as Justin Bieber , John Legend and Brandy . Currently in hip-hop, the credit given to ghostwriters varies: "silent pens might sign confidentiality clauses, appear obliquely in the liner notes, or discuss their participation freely." In some cases, liner notes credit individuals for "vocal arrangement", which may be a euphemism for ghostwriting. In the early 2010s, hip-hop ghostwriting services like Rap Rebirth appeared online, which provide recording artists who wish to purchase ghostwritten rhymes
952-525: A ghostwriter to write a book on a topic in their professional area, to establish or enhance credibility as an expert in their field. Public officials and politicians employ "correspondence officers" to respond to the large volume of official correspondence. A number of papal encyclicals have been written by ghostwriters. A controversial and scientifically unethical practice is medical ghostwriting, where biotech or pharmaceutical companies pay professional writers to produce papers and then recruit (via payment or as
1071-455: A ghostwriter. Contrary to previous expectations, the commission denied any responsibility of the research supervisors due to a lack of semantic or other indicators for plagiarism and Guttenberg's "exceedingly convincing" oral examination ( rigorosum ). Only the supervisors' omission to ask for the PRS papers cited in the bibliography and the grading with summa cum laude was criticized by
1190-399: A greater degree of anonymity. Ghost authorship also applies to the visual arts, most commonly paintings. The extent of the master artist's contribution varies widely, as little as composition adjustments and corrective brush strokes, or as much as entire works. A common practice is the use of art instruction class milieu in which the master artist makes significant contributions to the work of
1309-401: A lack of motivation to finish the next album), an experienced songwriter may be discreetly brought in to help. In other cases, a ghostwriter writes lyrics and a melody in the style of the credited musician, with little or no input from the credited musician. A ghostwriter providing this type of service may be thanked, without reference to the service provided, in the album credits, or they may be
SECTION 10
#17328526489991428-416: A length would have been much harder to sell before digital reader-technologies became widely available, but is now quite acceptable. Writers on the level of Ian McEwan have celebrated this recent change, mainly for artistic reasons. As a consequence, the shorter format makes a project potentially more affordable for the client/author. Manhattan Literary, a ghostwriting company, states that "book projects on
1547-534: A marketing, public relations, or lobbying tool. However, since these individuals are typically too busy to write their blog posts, they hire discreet ghostwriters to post to the blog under the celebrity or executive's name. As with nonfiction ghostwriting, the blog ghostwriter models their writing style, content and tone on that of the credited author. This goes for social media as well. Many public figures have ghostwriters at least partially handle their Facebook and Twitter accounts, among others. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1666-502: A multi-album contract with them and two of the songs that Neudorf worked on with her became commercial hits in Canada. In 1991, Neudorf was invited to work with McLachlan again on her second album, Solace . In 1993, he filed a lawsuit against McLachlan and her label, alleging that he had made a significant and uncredited contribution to the songwriting on Touch , and alleging that he was not paid properly for work done on Solace . The judge in
1785-408: A number of assistants to do work on a piece that is credited to a single artist; Andy Warhol engaged in this practice, supervising an assembly line silk screen process for his artwork. However, when credit is established for the writer, the acknowledgment of their contribution is public domain and the writer in question would not be considered a ghostwriter. A consultant or career-switcher may pay
1904-479: A perk) other scientists or physicians to attach their names to these articles before they are published in medical or scientific journals. Some university and college students hire ghostwriters from essay mills to write entrance essays, term papers, theses, and dissertations. This is largely considered unethical unless the actual ghostwriting work is just light editing. Ghostwriters are hired for numerous reasons. In many cases, celebrities or public figures do not have
2023-425: A possible false statutory declaration . The second was immediately declined by the attorney due to apparent insubstantiality. The same day the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported its findings that Guttenberg had used texts of 19 authors without correct attribution. Chancellor Angela Merkel declared: "He has my full confidence for his work, and this work is important. He has my support […] and we must wait until
2142-564: A potential oversight. On the same day the doctoral commission of Bayreuth University revoked Guttenberg's doctoral degree. The University's president Rüdiger Bormann declared that Guttenberg had "objectively not conformed" to academic standards. According to Bormann, this fast revocation was possible because of Guttenberg's statement. The doctoral commission made no judgment as to whether Guttenberg had acted intentionally, something that led to criticism. Such an investigation would "surely have been an extended process", Bormann declared, which
2261-467: A professor believes to be ghostwritten. If the student is unfamiliar with the content of an essay that he or she has submitted, then the student can be charged with academic fraud. With medical ghostwriting, pharmaceutical companies pay professional writers to produce papers and then pay other scientists or physicians to attach their names to these papers before they are published in medical or scientific journals. Medical ghostwriting has been criticized by
2380-425: A rough draft of an autobiography or a "how-to" book. In other cases, the ghostwriter will write an entire book or article based on information, stories, notes, an outline , or interview sessions with the celebrity or public figure. The credited author also indicates to the ghostwriter what type of style, tone, or "voice" they want in the book. In some cases, such as with some "how-to" books, diet guides, or cookbooks,
2499-559: A second chance, after some period of time. Ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are putatively credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies , memoirs , magazine articles, or other written material. Memoir ghostwriters often pride themselves in "disappearing" when impersonating others since such disappearance signals
SECTION 20
#17328526489992618-418: A series of ghostwriters who write books in the same style using a template of basic information about the book's characters and their fictional universe (names, dates, speech patterns), and about the tone and style that are expected in the book (for more information, see pseudonyms and pen names ). In addition, ghostwriters are often given copies of several of the previous books in the series to help them match
2737-544: A spokesman declared. Distinct criticism on Guttenberg's crisis management was passed by Norbert Lammert , President of the German Bundestag . In an interview on 22 February 2013, Lammert also expressed his doubts about the reliability of the university's awarding process. On 23 February 2011, Lammert presided over a parliamentary questioning in the Bundestag on Guttenberg's use of PRS papers in his dissertation. During
2856-402: A strong critic of Guttenberg's dissertation, published an op-ed disputing the legal basis for further investigations in view of the fact that the university had already revoked Guttenberg's doctorate and that he was no longer affiliated with the university. On March 5, 2011, the research supervisors Peter Häberle and Rudolf Streinz issued a statement claiming that in 2006, when the dissertation
2975-541: A successful salesperson hoping to become a motivational speaker on selling may pay a ghostwriter to write a book on sales techniques. Often this type of book is published by a self-publishing press (or " vanity press "), which means that the author is paying to have the book published. This type of book is typically given away to prospective clients as a promotional tool, rather than being sold in bookstores. Ghostwriters are employed by fiction publishers for several reasons. In some cases, publishers use ghostwriters to increase
3094-437: A true 'ghost', with no acknowledgement in the album. Legal disputes have arisen when musical ghostwriters have tried to claim royalties when an allegedly ghostwritten song becomes a money-making hit. In 1987, Darryl Neudorf was asked to work on a project for Nettwerk Productions involving newly signed artist Sarah McLachlan . This recording, the album Touch , resulted in garnering the interest of Arista Records . She signed
3213-409: A variety of professional organizations representing the drug industry, publishers, and medical societies, and it may violate American laws prohibiting off-label promotion by drug manufacturers as well as anti-kickback provisions within the statutes governing Medicare. Recently, it has attracted scrutiny from the lay press and from lawmakers, as well. It is permitted at some institutions, including
3332-413: A website. Nonetheless, the style, tone and content is modeled on that of the credited author. Many website ghostwriters are freelance but some are freelancers who work under contract, as with radio presenters and television presenters. Occasionally a "house pseudonym", or collective name is used by the author of the website. Some celebrities, executives, or public figures set up blog websites—sometimes as
3451-541: Is accepted as legitimate by organisations such as the World Association of Medical Editors and the British Medical Journal . Moreover, professional medical writers' expertise in presenting scientific data may be of benefit in producing better quality papers. Some websites, including blogs , are ghostwritten, because not all authors have the information technology skills or the time to dedicate to running
3570-546: Is almost entirely credited to ghostwriters. Donald Trump 's autobiography Trump: The Art of the Deal was produced by a ghostwriter. Several of Hillary Clinton's books were produced by ghostwriters. Nelson Mandela 's autobiography ( Long Walk to Freedom ) was also produced by a ghostwriter. A consultant or career-switcher may pay to have a book ghostwritten on a topic in their professional area, to establish or enhance their credibility as an "expert" in their field. For example,
3689-414: Is also common in television, as composers listed on cue sheets are entitled to music royalties every time an episode or theme score appears on television. A 1998 investigation by The Hollywood Reporter revealed that it was especially prevalent among animation companies such as Saban Entertainment , DiC , Ruby-Spears Productions and Hanna-Barbera , which often listed company executives as musicians for
VroniPlag Wiki - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-433: Is an example of a well-known composer who was paid to ghostwrite music for wealthy patrons. Ghosting also occurs in popular music. A pop music ghostwriter writes lyrics and a melody in the style of the credited musician. In hip hop music, the increasing use of ghostwriters by high-profile hip-hop stars has led to controversy. In the visual arts, it is not uncommon in both fine art and commercial art such as comics for
3927-421: Is an example of a well-known composer who was paid to ghostwrite music for wealthy patrons. In the film industry, a music ghostwriter is a "person who composes music for another composer but is not credited on the cue sheet or in the final product in any way." The practice is considered one of the "dirty little secrets of the film and television music business" that is considered unethical, but has been common since
4046-434: Is an interpreter and a translator, not an author, which is why our clients deserve full credit for authoring their books." Ghostwriters are widely used by celebrities and public figures who wish to publish their autobiographies or memoirs. The degree of involvement of the ghostwriter in nonfiction writing projects ranges from minor to substantial. In some cases, a ghostwriter may be called in just to clean up, edit, and polish
4165-462: Is considered to be academic dishonesty and can lead to repercussions if detected by universities, although it is not illegal in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany. There are ghostwriting companies and freelancers that sell entrance essays, term papers, theses and dissertations to students. Such services are commonly known as " essay mills ". Although academic ghostwriting involves
4284-525: Is important to note that the candidate [Guttenberg] was able to respond successfully to even intense questioning regarding the methodology and content of the thesis and was completely able to hold his own during the discussion as part of the oral PhD exam [...]. On 7 March 2011 the district attorney's office in Hof announced the launch of a preliminary investigation into potential copyright violations by Guttenberg. The University of Bayreuth, on 8 March 2011, announced
4403-524: The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), published in 2003, of which passages had been included in Guttenberg's dissertation without citation. After this discovery Fischer-Lescano performed further searches and discovered seven more passages lacking proper citation. He discussed the findings with the other editors of Kritische Justiz and they decided that their publication, with only 1,800 subscribers,
4522-836: The Kulmbach county council, on 15 March 2011. At the same day the open letter, signed by 63,713 people, was delivered to the Chancellery in Berlin . On 20 March 2011 the Zurich weekly Neue Zürcher Zeitung published extracts of an apology Guttenberg had sent to Klara Obermüller for not quoting her in his dissertation. On 7 April 2011, the Commission of Professional Self Regulation in Science sent its report of preliminary findings to Guttenberg asking for his response by 26 April 2011. On 9 April 2011, there
4641-598: The University of Bayreuth . Guttenberg at first denied intentional plagiarism, calling the accusations "absurd," but acknowledged that he may have made errors in his footnotes. In addition, it emerged that Guttenberg had requested a report from the Bundestag 's research department, which he had then inserted into his dissertation without attribution. On 23 February 2011, Guttenberg apologized in parliament for flaws in his dissertation, but denied intentional deception and denied
4760-597: The University of Washington School of Medicine , while it is prohibited and considered a particularly pernicious form of plagiarism at others, such as Tufts University School of Medicine . Professional medical writers can write papers without being listed as authors of the paper and without being considered ghostwriters, provided their role is acknowledged. The European Medical Writers Association have published guidelines which aim to ensure professional medical writers carry out this role in an ethical and responsible manner. The use of properly acknowledged medical writers
4879-437: The "perversion of hip-hop by commerce." This is because of the limiting definition of "rapping" as "expressing yourself through your own words, not someone else's." Chuck D of Public Enemy thinks this point of view is mistaken because "not everyone is equipped to be a lyricist and not everyone is equipped to be a vocalist." He points out that creating a rap song may require multiple talents. Frank Ocean started his career as
VroniPlag Wiki - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-518: The Bundestag, and from all other political offices. In May 2011, a University of Bayreuth commission tasked with investigating Guttenberg's dissertation came to the conclusion that Guttenberg had engaged in intentional deception in the writing of his dissertation, and had violated standards of good academic practice. The commission found that he had included borrowed passages throughout his dissertation without citation, and had modified those passages in order to conceal their origin. In November 2011,
5117-709: The CSU and former Bavarian Minister of Education, who viewed the report as an attempt by the university to downplay its own responsibility and acquit itself. Others complained about the university's lack of control provisions. Professor Volker Rieble approved the report of the university but saw the case as an expression of the public desire for "ritual punishment". Rieble decried the widespread practice of academic publications being written by assistants but published by professors as much worse for academia than any plagiarism. Günther Beckstein , former Minister-President of Bavaria, referred to Guttenberg by saying that everyone deserves
5236-608: The General of the Society of Jesus who had chosen Gundlach and Desbuquois for the project. The draft encyclical was delivered to the Vatican in September 1938. Sebastian Tromp , a Dutch Jesuit, a Thomist theologian and close to Pius XII , is considered to be the main ghostwriter of Mystici corporis . Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers , one of the Vatican's leading theologians of that time,
5355-504: The German academic community . Annette Schavan , German minister of Education and Research , who two years later had to resign herself because of plagiarism related to her own dissertation, declared that she didn't "consider the incident to be a trifle", because "intellectual theft is not a small thing. The protection of intellectual property is a higher good." The same day it became known that Guttenberg had used another PRS paper without proper citation. That evening Guttenberg attended
5474-418: The German Bundestag's departmental management. During the weekend of 20 February 2011, Guttenberg re-read his dissertation to examine Guttenplag's findings as well as other findings. The next day in a letter Guttenberg asked the University of Bayreuth to revoke his title (rather than degree), and declared that he had "lost track of the use of sources over the course of the seven years in which [he] worked on
5593-492: The USA and the EU ' ), and was graded by the university with summa cum laude . On 12 February 2011 Andreas Fischer-Lescano , professor of law at the University of Bremen , prepared a review of Guttenberg's dissertation for the left-leaning German legal quarterly Kritische Justiz . Fischer-Lescano was co-editor of this publication. During a reference check he discovered an article of
5712-410: The University of Bayreuth, Oliver Lepsius , alleged that the minister made the mistakes deliberately, and accused him of fraud. Media reported that between 1999 and 2006, a new chair of the University of Bayreuth had been sponsored with €747,000 by Rhön-Klinikum . Until 2002, Guttenberg's family held a major stake in the hospital, and he had been a member of its supervisory board . In a statement,
5831-510: The University of Münster, a text book on scientific writing for lawyers was found to contain massive plagiarism. Ironically, even the chapter on plagiarism was plagiarized. While the book told students not to use Misplaced Pages, the book itself contained 18 text fragments from the German Misplaced Pages. The dissertations of two of the book's authors, who received their doctorates at Münster University, were found to show extreme text parallels. VroniPlag
5950-434: The affair a "nail in the coffin for trust in our democracy". Chancellor Merkel announced through her spokesman Steffen Seibert on 28 February 2011 that Guttenberg still had her full confidence. Asked for Merkel's opinion on the fraud accusation by Oliver Lepsius, Seibert declared that "fraud requires intention. Any intention was denied by Guttenberg. The Chancellor believes him." Guttenberg himself gained strong support at
6069-459: The allegations against Guttenberg to its Commission on Professional Self Regulation in Science. On 16 February 2011, after his return from Poland, Guttenberg left for a surprise visit to German soldiers in Afghanistan . He spent the night in the military camp OP North in the war zone Baghlan province . Although the visit had been planned weeks in advance, allegations were raised that this trip
SECTION 50
#17328526489996188-439: The amount of payment to the book ghostwriter for whom the credit has its own intrinsic value. Also, the ghostwriter can be cited as a co-author of a book, or listed in the movie or film credits when having ghostwritten the script or screenplay for film production. For nonfiction books, the ghostwriter may be credited as a "contributor" or a "research assistant". In other cases, the ghostwriter receives no official credit for writing
6307-409: The amount of plagiarism, the exact bibliographic information of the theses (and if online, a link) and then a page overview that links to the fragments of plagiarism found on the page. Each fragment is classified as to the kind of plagiarism and must be verified by a second person before it is acceptable. Interesting parts are linked to separately and there is a final report published when the group feels
6426-475: The basis of six Parliamentary Research Service (PRS) papers and listed the passages Guttenberg had used in his dissertation, including all text modifications and extensions. Two of the PRS papers lacked any citation and four PRS papers were cited insufficiently, leading to misconceptions about the initial authorship of the passages. The commission judged this as deception and described a pattern of creation ( werkprägendes Bearbeitungsmuster ). As for Guttenberg,
6545-477: The category External Knowledge Project of the year 2011 by the German Wikimedia on July 1, 2012. Since September 2015, Minister of Defence Ursula von der Leyen 's thesis is under formal investigation by her university after the wiki alleged plagiarism on more than 40% of its pages. Guttenberg plagiarism scandal The Guttenberg plagiarism scandal refers to the German political scandal that led to
6664-402: The commission concluded on intentional actions and deliberate deception due to the number of violations of academic rules of citations. Both the use of verbatim text elements and the use with marginal text changes lacking proper citation or listing cited sources only in bibliography were evaluated as attempts to cover up. The commission saw no indications that the dissertation had been written by
6783-407: The commission's final report for not decrying the university's own lack of due diligence in the matter and noted that the university had first awarded Guttenberg's degree with summa cum laude , the highest possible distinction. Furthermore, the commission's neutrality was disputed as the University of Bayreuth was party to the proceedings. Among these critics was Thomas Goppel , also member of
6902-428: The commission's report before its public release. His lawyer also pointed out that the leaks were a violation of Guttenberg's personal rights . Critics accused Guttenberg of trying to prevent the public release of the commission's final report, an allegation that he rejected. Several representatives from universities and science demanded the release of the commission's report due to public interest. A spokesman of
7021-716: The commission. In his final response, Guttenberg once again denied that he had deliberately deceived the university and instead blamed severe "errors in workmanship" for the grave deficiencies in his doctoral dissertation. He described a high burden of professional commitments as a result of new political responsibilities during the years of his dissertation, which led to an ad-hoc and sometimes chaotic working-method with long intervals between working periods. Guttenberg reported on diverse collections of material such as books, loose sheets of papers, more than 80 data carriers, and several laptops spread across several domiciles , used for his dissertation. This led to an overburdening by
7140-401: The dissertation, which further increased during the years, Guttenberg claimed. Family expectations, namely that a started task had to be finished, his intention to not disappoint his supervisor, and his unwillingness to admit weakness, hindered him to quit the dissertation, Guttenberg explained. The commission however, based on the view that Guttenberg had continued his dissertation despite
7259-418: The early stages of the film industry. In the early years of film, David Raksin worked as music ghostwriter and orchestrator for Charlie Chaplin ; even though Chaplin was credited as the score writer, he was considered to be a "hummer" (pejorative film industry slang for a person who purports to be a film score composer but who in fact only gives a general idea of the melodies to a ghostwriter). The practice
SECTION 60
#17328526489997378-450: The ethical code of science", and apologized to people who had been hurt by his work. Guttenberg called his decision to give up the title (rather than degree) "painful". He rejected all speculation about his resignation and declared: "I will perform my duties with all my powers". The University of Bayreuth confirmed the same day that Guttenberg had asked them to revoke his title. Chancellor Merkel approved his decision to give up his title,
7497-475: The expansion of the commission investigating Guttenberg's dissertation to also include Wolfgang Löwer , professor of law at University of Bonn , and Jürgen Mittelstraß , professor of philosophy at University of Konstanz . A few days later, as a means of taking responsibility for his misconduct, Guttenberg sent personal apology letters to all those authors who were not properly acknowledged in his dissertation. Guttenberg resigned from his last political office,
7616-431: The feeling of being overburdened, denied negligence and concluded on intention. The University of Bayreuth's handling of the matter was sharply criticized by its former vice-president and law professor Walter Schmitt Glaeser , who, while agreeing that rescinding the doctoral degree was justified, described the additional measures taken by the institution as a battue ( Treibjagd ). As any affiliation of Guttenberg to
7735-597: The first legal state examination in 1999. In 2007, he was awarded a doctoral degree in law, under the supervision of Peter Häberle , with a dissertation on the development of constitutional law in the United States and the European Union . The doctoral dissertation was titled Verfassung und Verfassungsvertrag. Konstitutionelle Entwicklungsstufen in den USA und der EU ( lit. ' Constitution and Constitutional Treaties. Constitutional Steps of Development in
7854-582: The following day, Guttenberg no longer had parliamentary immunity, thus allowing the district attorney's investigations to proceed. Media reported on more than 80 charges, which had been filed. On 3 March 2011 Guttenberg received his dismissal certificate in a ceremony hosted by German President Christian Wulff . The same day, media reported about an anonymous member of the Commission of Professional Self Regulation in Science allegedly accusing Guttenberg of deception. In contrast, Volker Rieble , law professor at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich , himself
7973-620: The following month. A scheduled speech at an election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt was cancelled by Guttenberg because of his meeting with Angela Merkel. The district attorney's office in Hof, Bavaria , announced it would wait for the results of the Bayreuth University's examination of Guttenberg's dissertation and confirmed that two criminal complaints had been filed against Guttenberg, one regarding possible copyright violations and another on
8092-449: The future of book publishing. So, with its appearance the starting price for the professional book writer has come down by about half, but only if this shorter format makes sense for the client. On the upper end of the spectrum, with celebrities that can all but guarantee a publisher large sales, the fees can be much higher. In 2001, The New York Times stated that the fee that the ghostwriter for Hillary Clinton 's memoirs would receive
8211-651: The future, the Chancellor declared that "I am convinced that we will have the opportunity to work together again in the future, in whatever form that may take". Rüdiger Bormann, president of University of Bayreuth, declared that the inquiries of its Commission on Professional Self Regulation in Science would continue. On 2 March 2011 the district attorney's office in Hof announced the launch of an investigation into potential copyright violations contained in Guttenberg's dissertation as soon as his immunity would be withdrawn. With his official resignation as Member of Parliament
8330-470: The introduction of his dissertation was plagiarised from an FAZ-article from 1997, written by the political scientist Barbara Zehnpfennig. In a first statement Guttenberg, who was still in Poland, called the charge of his dissertation being plagiarised "abstruse". He insisted that the dissertation was his own achievement and that none of his employees helped him to draft it. The University of Bayreuth delegated
8449-495: The lack of conclusive evidence to prove the university's assertion that there was "deliberate deception" on the part of Guttenberg, Glaeser referred to the multiple instances of minor text changes – which the commission viewed as indicators of cheating – as a typical procedure with a text considered by an author as his own work. With the proceedings the university denied any solicitousness for its former student Guttenberg and damaged his social existence,
8568-432: The latter to not reveal the ghostwriter. Sometimes the ghostwriter is acknowledged by the author or publisher for their writing services, euphemistically called a "researcher" or "research assistant", but often the ghostwriter is not credited. Ghostwriting (or simply "ghosting") also occurs in other creative fields. Composers have long hired ghostwriters to help them to write musical pieces and songs; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
8687-408: The name of well-known, highly marketable authors, or to quickly release a topical book that ties in with a recent or upcoming newsworthy event. Ghostwriters will often spend from several months to a full year researching, writing, and editing non-fiction and fiction works for a client, and they are paid based on a price per hour, per word, or per page, with a flat fee, a percentage of the royalties of
8806-581: The newspaper informed Guttenberg and gave him a few hours to respond to the allegations. Guttenberg was on an official visit in Poland that day. Fischer-Lescano informed Guttenberg's research supervisors Peter Häberle and Rudolf Streinz about the charges. On 16 February 2011 the Süddeutsche Zeitung published an article reporting the allegations against Guttenberg. On the same day the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported that
8925-573: The number of books that can be published each year by a well-known, highly marketable author. Ghostwriters mostly pen fictional works for well-known "name" authors in genres such as detective fiction, mysteries, and teen fiction. Additionally, publishers use ghostwriters to write new books for established series where the "author" is a pseudonym. For example, the purported authors of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries, " Carolyn Keene " and " Franklin W. Dixon ", respectively, are actually pseudonyms for
9044-475: The parliament's research service for his dissertation without prior approval. However, Lammert acknowledged the fact that it was widespread practice among Bundestag members to use documents prepared by the parliamentary research service without first obtaining the necessary approval. The same day, an open letter to chancellor Merkel was published to be signed by doctoral students and researchers. The successor of Guttenberg's research supervisor Peter Häberle at
9163-468: The part of the report looking into a possible deception by Guttenberg should not have been published. Also, according to Glaeser, the fact that Guttenberg had to agree to the report's publication due to massive public pressure, including from University of Bayreuth, cast a shadow of suspicion on the entire proceedings. The professor, member of the CSU and former president of the Bavarian senate , also criticized
9282-435: The press, which violated proper proceedings and caused prejudgment. Guttenberg had no objection against publishing the commission's report after end of proceedings, the lawyers said. The same day it was reported that the Bundestag would not press charges against Guttenberg. A few days later media published extracts from Guttenberg's initial response to the commission. Guttenberg denied any deliberate plagiarism. He described
9401-423: The professor criticized. From the judicial proceeding on this case he expected a result solely based on facts without regard to the person concerned. In an interview, Glaeser described the university's intention as an attempt to "drag Guttenberg in front of a tribunal and find him guilty". In the professor's conviction, knowing Guttenberg personally, he had not committed intentional cheating. Others criticized
9520-421: The prosecution in Hof discontinued the criminal proceedings for copyright violations against Guttenberg on condition of Guttenberg paying €20,000 to a charity. The prosecutor found 23 prosecutable copyright violations in Guttenberg's dissertation, but estimated that the material damage suffered by the authors of those texts was marginal. Guttenberg studied law at the University of Bayreuth , where he passed
9639-439: The purpose of royalties. In the late 1990s, several composers threatened a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Saban Entertainment president Haim Saban , for allegedly taking ownership and credit for their musical compositions. Musical ghostwriting also occurs in popular music . When a record company wants to market an inexperienced young singer as a singer-songwriter, or help a veteran bandleader coping with writer's block (or
9758-411: The quality of their craftsmanship. In music, ghostwriters are often used to write songs, lyrics, and instrumental pieces. Screenplay authors can also use ghostwriters to either edit or rewrite their scripts to improve them. Usually, there is a confidentiality clause in the contract between the ghostwriter and the credited author (or publisher) that obligates the former to remain anonymous, or obligates
9877-410: The questioning, politicians from the opposition called for Guttenberg's resignation and accused him of cheating, lying, and intentions to deceive. In his reply Guttenberg again apologized and admitted: "I wrote a dissertation that was obviously flawed". He described himself as "a man of mistakes and weaknesses" and stated "I did not deliberately cheat, but made serious errors". Guttenberg declared: "I
9996-405: The recent shift into the digital age (15–20% world market share of books by 2015) has brought some changes, by opening newer markets that bring their own opportunities for authors and writers —especially on the more affordable side of the ghostwriting business. One such market is the shorter book, best represented at the moment by Amazon's Kindle Singles imprint: texts of 30,000 words and under. Such
10115-449: The research supervisors were on 23 March 2011. Then the report specified the used material including its communications with Guttenberg himself. The commission reported missing citations and violations of the academic rules of citations. It reported numerous verbatim forms of plagiarism and plagiarism with regard to content where the use of other authors' material was not clearly expressed. The commission exemplified this in detail on
10234-505: The resignation of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg as Minister of Defence of Germany over the extensive plagiarism found in his first doctoral dissertation . Accusations of plagiarism in Guttenberg's dissertation began to be made public in February 2011. The dissertation, Verfassung und Verfassungsvertrag ( lit. ' Constitution and Constitutional Treaty ' ), had been the basis of Guttenberg's 2007 doctoral academic degree from
10353-735: The sale of academic texts that are written on demand, it differs from plagiarism in that it does not involve an undisclosed appropriation of existing texts. As opposed to cases of plagiarism that stem from a copy-and-paste reuse of previous work, essays and assignments that are obtained through ghostwriting services as a rule have the originality of their text confirmed by plagiarism detection software packages or online services that are widely used by universities. Universities have developed strategies to combat such academic services, which can be associated with academic fraud , that are offered to students and researchers. Some universities allow professors to give students oral examinations on papers which
10472-492: The sales, or some combination thereof. In 2013, literary agent Madeleine Morel stated that the average ghostwriter's advance for work for major book publishers was "between $ 40,000 and $ 70,000". These benchmark prices are mirrored approximately in the film industry by the Writers Guild, where a Minimum Basic Agreement gives a starting price for the screenplay writer of $ 37,073 (non-original screenplay, no treatment). However,
10591-691: The same pseudonym. The first two books in the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell franchise were written by Raymond Benson under the pseudonym David Michaels . Sometimes famous authors will ghostwrite for other celebrities, such as when H. P. Lovecraft ghostwrote "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" (also known as "Under the Pyramids") for Harry Houdini in Weird Tales in the 1920s. A number of papal encyclicals have been written by ghostwriters. Pascendi , for instance,
10710-470: The shorter side, tailored to new markets like the Kindle Singles imprint and others (30,000–42,000 words) start at a cost of $ 15,000". And this shorter book appears to be here to stay. It was once financially impractical for publishers to produce such novella -length texts (they would have to charge too much); but this new market is, by 2015, already substantial and has been projected to be a solid part of
10829-630: The site. The first seven were: Most of the plagiarism allegations made by VroniPlag led to investigations by the corresponding universities, and some have resulted in the revocation of the degree . Most of these revocations have held up in court. However, some universities disagreed with VroniPlag findings, even in cases of blatant plagiarism (between 40 and 70% of pages affected with plagiarism). The correct methods for dealing with plagiarism—and its prevention—remains an ongoing discussion in Germany. Prominent cases of plagiarism continue to surface in Germany. At
10948-444: The student who then signs that work as his or her own. Services addressing complete works have historically been highly confidential. Less prevalent are advertised commercial services which may use the term "vanity artwork" as suggestive of "vanity publishing". In countries where freedom of speech is not upheld and authors that have somehow displeased the ruling regime are "blacklisted" (i.e. forbidden from having their works published),
11067-461: The style. The estate of gothic novelist V. C. Andrews hired ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman to continue writing novels after her death, under her name and in a similar style to her original works. Many of action writer Tom Clancy 's books from the 2000s bear the names of two people on their covers, with Clancy's name in larger print and the other author's name in smaller print. Various books bearing Clancy's name were written by different authors under
11186-508: The suit eventually ruled in McLachlan's favour on the songs; stating that although Neudorf may have contributed to the songwriting, neither regarded each other as joint authors. The judge ruled in Neudorf's favour on the payment issue. In hip hop music , the increasing use of ghostwriters by high-profile hip hop stars has led to controversy. Critics view the increasing use of hip hop ghostwriters as
11305-438: The thesis", but "at no point made mistakes by intention". Also on 21 February 2011, chancellor Merkel reiterated her support for Guttenberg and told journalists, I appointed Guttenberg as Minister of Defence. I did not appoint him as an academic assistant or doctor. What is important to me is his work as Minister of Defence and he carries out these duties perfectly. This statement caused wide-spread anger and condemnation in
11424-428: The time, discipline, or writing skills to write and research a several hundred-page autobiography or "how-to" book. Even if a celebrity or public figure has the writing skills to pen a short article, they may not know how to structure and edit a several hundred-page book so that it is captivating and well-paced. In other cases, publishers use ghostwriters to increase the number of books that can be published each year under
11543-468: The university denied any sponsoring by Guttenberg, as the funding had been part of a cooperation between the university, a health insurance, the state of Bavaria, and Rhön-Klinikum. Two days later, minister Schavan in an interview criticized Guttenberg for his thesis: As someone who earned my doctorate 31 years ago and has worked with many doctoral candidates during my career, I’m embarrassed, and not just privately. Bundestag's president Lammert called
11662-487: The university has completed its examination of the allegations". In an interview, the chancellor attested Guttenberg had a "head-on approach" on the allegations. On 19 February 2011, the German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that Guttenberg had used works of the German Parliamentary Research Service (PRS) without proper attribution. Any publication of PRS papers requires prior approval by
11781-408: The university rejected the lawyer's charges and stated that there had been no official report accusing Guttenberg of deliberate deception. The spokesman of chancellor Merkel declared on 11 April 2011 that she was expecting full clarification of the matter. Guttenberg's lawyers declared on 13 April 2011 that he was still standing by his commitment of full cooperation but that he was opposed to leaks to
11900-404: The university was severed by the rescinding of his degree, the university therefore lacked legal standing for any further investigation, Glaeser argued. The leaking of information from the commission's confidential meetings to the press – according to Glaeser most-likely done by its members – he called "outrageous" and "more than embarrassing". For Glaeser especially
12019-494: The use of a ghostwriter . On 23 February 2011, the University of Bayreuth rescinded Guttenberg's doctoral degree. In part due to the expressions of confidence by Angela Merkel , the scandal continued to evoke heavy criticism from prominent academics, legal scholars (who accused Guttenberg of intentional plagiarism), and politicians both in the opposition and in the governing coalition. On 1 March 2011, Guttenberg announced his resignation as Minister of Defense, from his seat in
12138-427: The violation of intellectual property of others, and the obstruction of research. The term Falschangabe was defined as the fabrication or distortion of data and the "obstruction of research" was defined as unauthorized use of material with arrogation of its authorship. The commission comprised as regular members Wiebke Putz-Osterloh , Nuri Aksel , Paul Rösch , Stephan Rixen as chairman, and Diethelm Klippel as
12257-603: The work is done. VroniPlag Wiki only publishes text parallel documentation openly with names of the authors on theses that have been found to contain serious plagiarism. Before publication, the office of academic integrity at the university in question is formally notified, as any revocation of title must be done by the university. In addition to looking at dissertations, the text parallels in one habilitation and one book how to write scientifically. As of February 2016, 152 dissertations, 8 habilitations, 1 master's thesis, and 1 book on scientific writing have been examined in detail on
12376-427: The working-method during the several years of his dissertation as often working in short periods and using various different data carriers. This led to his losing oversight of the dissertation, Guttenberg stated. Guttenberg sent his response to the commission's draft report on 26 April 2011. In the following days media again published extracts of his response. On 10 May 2011 media reported that one author, whose work
12495-421: The writer comes from a culture and first language that are entirely different from the client's. In some cases, ghostwriters are allowed to share credit. For example, a common method is to put the client/author's name on a book cover as the main byline (by [a uthor's name ]) and then to put the ghostwriter's name underneath it (with [g hostwriter's name ]). Sometimes this is done in lieu of pay or to decrease
12614-407: Was a first leak of the commission's initial findings to the press, in which Guttenberg was accused of deliberate deception. Guttenberg's lawyer sharply criticized the commission's leaks as an unfair "prejudgment" of his client given that the press reports were published both before the end of the investigation and before the 26 April deadline Guttenberg had been given by the university to respond to
12733-438: Was certainly so arrogant as to believe that I could square the circle by trying to coordinate political passion and work, as well as academic and intellectual challenges, with being a young father" and apologized "for me this was overload, and today I regret to say that I couldn’t manage it." Asked whether his call for the allegations as "abstruse" hadn't been premature, Guttenberg confirmed this part of his previous statement as it
12852-401: Was completed, the plagiarism wasn't detectable due to a lack of technical opportunities. Without knowledge of the copied passages, Guttenberg's dissertation demonstrated "a high degree of analytical depths and penetrated the dissertation topic in all its facets", Häberle emphasized. The supervisors commented on Guttenberg's doctoral examination procedure and its grading (summa cum laude): It
12971-415: Was copied, filed a complaint against Guttenberg with the district attorney's office in Hof. After an announcement on 6 May 2011, already citing the conclusions, the university released the report to the public on 11 May 2011. According to that document, he had "grossly violated standard research practices and in so doing deliberately deceived" and it further stated that it was "obvious that plagiarism
13090-512: Was involved". The report started with the elaboration of the commission's historical background, its internal duties within the Bayreuth University, also in relation to other committees like the university's promotion commission. These included institutional enhancements, the evaluation of academic misconduct corresponding to standards of scientific community. The report then defined the criteria of academic misconduct: deliberately or grossly negligent use of misrepresentations ( Falschangaben ),
13209-504: Was not appointed minister for self-defence, but defence minister" Guttenberg said in view of his ministerial office. As for the inquiry regarding his dissertation, he announced his full cooperation with the district attorney's investigations. Guttenberg thanked Angela Merkel for her support, trust, and understanding. Chancellor Merkel reacted to Guttenberg's decision by saying that "I deeply regret his resignation". For Merkel he had "a unique and extraordinary ability" relating to people. For
13328-457: Was not the appropriate forum to make the findings public. So Fisher-Lescano contacted the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in Munich . On 15 February 2011, the newspaper contacted law professor Diethelm Klippel , the Bayreuth University ombudsman, and informed him of the plagiarism charges. Klippel had also been on the review committee for Guttenberg's doctoral dissertation. On the same day
13447-517: Was probably about $ 500,000 of her book's $ 8 million advance, which "is near the top of flat fees paid to collaborators". A recent availability also exists, of outsourcing many kinds of jobs, including ghostwriting, to offshore locations like India, China, and the Philippines where the customer can save money. The true tests of credibility—the writer's track record, and samples of his or her craft—become even more important in these instances, when
13566-543: Was related to the accusation of his dissertation being plagiarised. According to accusations of misusing the German Parliamentary Research Service (PRS), Guttenberg pointed out that all studies had been related to his political work. He noted that all papers had been cited, but without the authors’ names, as they had been employees of the PRS. Guttenberg stated that he couldn't answer whether he had sought prior approval to use these reports for his thesis, but that he had already apologized to Bundestag President Lammert in case of
13685-593: Was responsible for the critical study of the New Mass of Pope Paul VI , commonly known as the Ottaviani Intervention , after the supposed attribution to Cardinals Alfredo Ottaviani and Antonio Bacci . The Vatican later answered these accusations and Cardinal Ottaviani later regretted that his name was misused to berate the pope, of which, his questions about the Pauline Mass were already clarified. Ghostwriting
13804-553: Was some kind of "getaway" for Guttenberg. Guttenberg returned the next day, 17 February 2011, and had a meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel . His offer to resign was refused by Merkel. The same day the University of Bayreuth sent a letter to Guttenberg conceding him two weeks to respond to the plagiarism allegations, and GuttenPlag Wiki [ de ] launched as a crowdsourced platform for internet users to submit claims of unattributed work in Guttenberg's dissertation, with GuttenPlag giving rise to VroniPlag
13923-457: Was the first crowd sourcing phenomenon of its kind in Germany that has been referred to as an authoritative source in all major media channels in Germany. The plagiarism investigation project has triggered an extensive nationwide discussion about plagiarism and what represents appropriate consequences for plagiarists and universities. The project was awarded the Zedler Prize for Free Knowledge in
14042-487: Was unnecessary after Guttenberg's request for a withdrawal of his title. Further inquiries would be done by the Commission of Professional Self Conduct in Science, Bormann announced. Chancellor Merkel commented on the revocation of Guttenberg's title as being "in line of what he had requested". On 24 February 2011, President of the Bundestag Norbert Lammert revealed that Guttenberg had used six reports by
14161-612: Was written by Joseph Lemius (1860–1923), the procurator in Rome of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate . In June 1938, Pius XI summoned American Jesuit John La Farge , who began to prepare a draft of Humani generis unitas , which LaFarge and two other Jesuits—Gustav Gundlach and Gustave Desbuquois —on in Paris; the draft was approximately 100 pages long. Another Jesuit translated the draft encyclical into Latin, presenting it to Wlodimir Ledóchowski , then
#998001