All Answers: Re: [pakgrid] Why a course in Professional Ethics is necessary?

I suggested a course about ethics to the Dean of the University of engineering and technology Lahore a few years back. He just laughed about it and said that what will the course do when the whole society is corrupt. I started a Facebook page, "I will not bribe Pakistani Government Employees.". I got negative comments and was told I am crazy.

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On Oct 24, 2011, at 5:28 AM, Usman Rafiq <soft.eng_iiui@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear All,

The situation described below is very common in Pakistani institutions. Students are always directed by professors/ supervisors to write their name(s) on researched work. Failing in doing so, they would present hurdles inside univ/department. In some cases, supervisors discourage students about research work and afterward publish that work with their own names. Rarely it happens; student reach extreme authorities to defend his/her work like Mr. Suleman did.

As far as the course of ''Professional and Ethical Issues'' is concerned, major universities are teaching this subject in final year to undergraduate students. But how could this teaching affect students (other than passing exam) when you find a huge difference in teaching, saying and doing acts. Actions speak louder than words. Furthermore,(in my opinion) Ethics can not be learned, it is your inner-self. That is why immediately after starting career, students forget all about ethics and decide on the basis of personal will just because they hardly find any real world example.

With due respect, for effective learning and teaching ethics, nation builders have to rethink about their boundaries, position and sensitivity of their profession. They are those who directly affect the society.

--
Best Regards,
Usman Rafiq
From: Rashad.M.Ramzan <rashad.ramzan@nu.edu.pk>
To: pakgrid@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, 23 October 2011 11:53 PM
Subject: [pakgrid] Why a course in Professional Ethics is necessary?

Dear Members.

Please read the emails below...........The course in professional ethics is necessary in all universities running the graduate programs so that professors and students are aware of their boundaries!

Professor's must know that what is actually running in heart and mind of the smiling face of the student!!

Thanks and Best Regards
Rashad
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On Fri, Oct 21, 2011 at 10:04 PM, S. M. Faisal Abbas <faisal@itcompletes.com> wrote:
ASA

Though I would answer, I am not knowledgeable of details about your situation, neither competent enough to give absolute advice.

Your not easily yielding to the pressure is commendable, though you need to be careful.This kind of behavriour in academia is not uncommon, although he being this brut is somewhat an exception.
What position this person has in your department? His relationship with Chairman/Dean? with University authroities etc.
Can you find a reasonable person in the department with sufficient position in the department or higher up in the university who sympathize with you. Best would be someone in your field of study who is available to supervise you.
Where you being funded for this MSC? If yes, what was this professor's role in funding
What is your univesity structure? Public Private (profitable or not-for-profit)?
Do you have any weak points which he is aware of and can exploit?

How far are you willing to go to fight this?
Are you interested more on principles or want to maximize your benefits?
Your best course of action would depend on these and perhaps many other factors.

Possible solutions
You get higher up authority to side with you on this issue and you get through and he accepts your thesis, exceptionally department committees can supersede supervisor discretion.
You end up changing your supervisor in the same department. Again department authorities would have to intervene for this.
You end up changing your department/univeristy, and spend more time to do additional requirements.

You end up quiting your masters. (There have been numerour examples of this, poeple quitting even ther PhDs after a long and hard work. I know one specific example of this in the US).
Both you and this supervisor get to a common understanding and have the work published jointly. You either get to be the first author, or both of you be main authors, or your become secondary author.
You give up your work to this supervisor, let him win this time. If you have done good work you will be able to do it again.
Again I am not very competent on these issues but have faced some and have gone through. Get someone senior and wise to better advise you.

Hopefully you will get through this peacefully. Anyway, you would have a good experience life story on how you got through it to remember.

Wassalaam

S. M. Faisal Abbas

On Sun, Oct 23, 2011 at 9:31 PM, Sulaiman <driving_seat@hotmail.com> wrote:

Asalam o Aliekum,

I feel the pressure that you must be going through as similar situation had happened with me during my undergraduate. I'll share my story as well.

I had been the top student of my BE Mechanical Engineering and I entered my final year. I picked up a project with an Assistant professor whose wife had good relations with my sister.

I started the project and he straight away gave me some papers to study and extract some data from it. Now I had done some reading and gathered some concept, I wrote the first draft of my Project report. The professor then told me to write a research paper on it, I wrote and he advised me to write his name on the paper as well. I did it and went to Quaid-e-Awam Energy Conference. The work was appreciated over there.

Then during the second phase of the project. I did alot of intense calculations on the project and I thought that I should present my research at some conference. He again told me to write his name and I did again and went to NED SPEC Competition on Call for Papers category and won 2nd Position there.

After the contest my friends, working in other group, were not happy with me. I asked them whats the matter, and they told me they thought that I was getting some financial benefit as well. I denied their thinking and they further told me that I am in directly benefiting the professor. My eyes opened and I started to remain caution.

On one or two occasions he again told me to write some paper, I turned down and told him that I've been busy with examination preparation for my degree.

The graduated but the convoccation was still pending and after sometime I submitted the abstract of a paper written for IEEE conference and this time I submitted with only my name. I got my paper accepted.

I went to the university to meet another professor for some other work, then out of nowhere the conversation started about research paper.
I asked him "WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER?"
His reply was "THERE ARE MANY BENEFITS, IF YOU HAVE FOUR TO FIVE PAPERS, YOU ARE PROMOTED TO PROFESSOR FROM ASSISTANT PROFESSOR!"

then I went to the professor to ask to arrange ticket from the university account to go to the conference. He turned down saying that unless and until I don't enter his name, I won't go to the conference.

I also got calls threatening me that I would get a case filed against me, suing me that I copied the copyrights. He also told me that I won't get the PRESIDENT GOLD MEDAL for having the highest CGPA. I was under immense pressure and noone was supporting me. I still stood my stance and the conference arrived and the issue had gone.

At the convocation, I also got the GOLD MEDAL and received a lot of appreciation. (Alhamdolillah)

However, when I was applying for SINGA scholarship and was getting my documents signed from DEAN. He made him stopped to sign them. However, I got them signed from the Notary Public and sent them to singapore.

Now that I didn't get a reply from there, I started my own Training and Research and Development Business with the name of Rob-Arts (https://www.facebook.com/RobArts2011) and Alhamdolillah its going good.

The point of the whole story is that DON'T GIVE UP. IF YOU ARE RIGHT, YOU WILL BE HELPED BY THE UNSEEN. Its your research, don't give credit to someone else. Moreover, have the courage to go the higher authorities, even they may disagree with you that you have done wrong (this was the case with me as the dean did not want to spoil relation with the professor of the same rank). But it is necessary that the issue must come to notice to higher authorities. Present your point confidently. Also, don't aim just for job after your MS. You have many other options available. May be Allah has something better for you in this lesson.

I also advice you to read point number 5 on the following link
http://www.ehow.com/how_11156_research-salary-ranges.html

I wish you all the best and pray that ALLAH gives you courage and confidence to fight the issue on your own. (Ameen)

Regards
Engr. Sulaiman Dawood
Chief Executive
Rob-Arts

--- In Research-Network@yahoogroups.com, "farhee953" <farhee953@...> wrote:
>
>
> Hello,
>
> Hope all of you would be fine. I am from Pakistan & facing a very awkward situation so need your guidance and help.
>
> I have done a research for my MSC Thesis and after a hectic research work of two and half years, my advisor said that it is very good work and one or two papers of international level can be published easily from this work. But as per him I don't have any guts to write these paper so it's better that I give him all the raw data/statistic/work procedure so that someone else can work on it. Initially he was soft in his words but now his behavior is very much rude and insulting.
>
> Now situation is that my final viva has been conducted but he straight forward told me that I won't be able to get my MSC degree unless I will provide him all the raw data and calculations. He has kept all the hard copies of my thesis with him and didn't sign any of them.
>
> I choose him as my advisor just because he possessed good fame but as I dealt with him, I came to know that he is not at all supportive. He didn't help me much during all of my thesis work even when meeting exceeded from more than 20 minutes he was used to straight forward told me that you should go as he never gave so much time to any of his students in past. I wanted to carry on my research and publish this work with my own name but he is saying that I have wasted his three years and as I don't have any ability for writing paper so all the data should be given to him. I am very much worried. Please comment that what should I do now?
>