Zero Tolerance to Plagiarism in Multicultural Teamwork: Challenges for English-Speaking non-EU and EU Academics

Abstract

The paper discusses scientific communication and notes that the primary means is through scientific literature, which serves as a vessel for circulating knowledge and information about the world around us. However, in today's post-academic scientific landscape, where the number of publications in international databases is the main yardstick for assessing the productivity of scientists, research, and educational institutions, the issue of plagiarism in scientific communications has become increasingly relevant. It's worth noting that scientific articles are recognized as the primary form of communication, while other types of scientific publications such as monographs, abstracts in collections, and conference proceedings, which constitute a significant portion of modern scientific communication, are often overlooked. It has been shown that in Ukraine and EU countries where scientists from different nationalities and cultures participate, the objective isn't to eradicate plagiarism as a deviation from morality and law, but rather to significantly decrease its prevalence in science and higher education by addressing the factors that contribute to it. The most immediate consequence of plagiarism is the inundation of outdated scientific information with articles that imitate scientific activity, making it challenging to discover genuinely novel scientific information even with the assistance of the internet. Plagiarism also devalues the significance of scientific publications, complicates the identification of truly valuable publications, and violates the ethical and legal norms of scientific activity and scientific communication.