Ethics and the Protection of Rights – Article Archive

Preventing Workplace Bullying: A Guide for Universities

Karolinum Publishing House has published a book by Assoc. Prof. Kateřina Zábrodská, Ph.D., from the Institute of Psychology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, entitled ‘Preventing Workplace Bullying: A Guide for Universities’. This publication is a collection of specialist and practically applicable information on workplace bullying at universities.

The guide is divided into two thematic sections: the first section is primarily educational in nature and focuses on defining the phenomenon of workplace bullying itself, whilst the second section provides an overview of the main recommended preventive and intervention measures and anti-bullying policies that can be implemented at universities.

It also includes recommendations for individual staff members, including strategies for defending oneself against bullying.

The publication is available for free download HERE.

Guides on how to avoid plagiarism

Below you can download two guides by Mgr. Tomáš Foltýnek, Ph.D. et al. on plagiarism. The first guide, ‘How to Prevent Plagiarism in Student Work’, is intended for academic staff as a clear guide to situations that may arise in day-to-day university life in connection with plagiarism. The guide addresses aspects of the originality of academic work, outlines the different forms of plagiarism, and provides guidance on how to explain to students the importance of citing sources, as well as how to recognise plagiarism and what software tools can be used for this purpose.

The handbook is also available:

• in English
• an audio version in Czech

The second handbook, ‘How to Avoid Plagiarism’, is aimed at students. It covers topics such as: where to find your own ideas, how to cite various sources correctly, what exactly constitutes plagiarism, how to avoid various forms of plagiarism, examples of (in)famous cases of plagiarism, the ‘three O’s’ against plagiarism, and a few tips on how to avoid falling into time pressure.

The guide is also available:

• in English
• in sign language
• an audio version in Czech

Custom essay writing

Contract cheating is an offence whereby a person uses an undisclosed or unauthorised third party to help them produce an academic piece of work for the purpose of obtaining marks, credits, academic progression and similar benefits. This issue is particularly well known to the wider public in connection with offers from commercial firms that advertise their essay-writing services on the internet.

An e-book by Ing. Jan Mach, Ph.D., Mgr. Tomáš Foltýnek, Ph.D. and colleagues, entitled ‘How to Prevent Customised Academic Writing’, demonstrates how to prevent customised academic writing; it then describes significant cases, legislation and research both abroad and in the Czech Republic.

Plagiarism and the use of similarity detection in the MU Information System

Plagiarism and unethical practices in the academic environment, along with a practical demonstration of the similarity search application in the IS – these are the main topics of the training course ‘Plagiarism and the Similarity Search Application in the IS MU’, delivered by staff from the Faculty of Informatics : Mgr. Tomáš Foltýnek, Ph.D. from the Department of Machine Learning and Data Processing and Ing. Jitka Brandejsová from the Centre for Computing Technology.

The training also includes a practical demonstration of the similarity search application within the MU Information System , ‘Similarity Detection – Vejce vejci’.

You can watch the 1-hour 40-minute training session HERE (you must log in to the Staff Portal).

Guide to the lawful use of images and other non-textual resources

What should you do if you wish to supplement an academic text with, for example, an image or another non-textual resource? What are non-textual resources? Anything that can be used in academic work and is not text, i.e. photographs, drawings, technical diagrams, graphs, infographics, pictograms, tables, maps, multimedia resources, etc.

Is it necessary to obtain the author’s permission for an image? How should references to the source be correctly cited when reproducing works of art? Under what conditions can you use your own photographs taken on the premises of another organisation? Can you use photographs in which other people are pictured?

The Guide to the Legal Use of Visual and Other Non-Textual Resources aims to provide answers to these and other questions.

GDPR – basic concepts and processes of the Regulation

In 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force. Its purpose is to protect citizens’ personal data and thereby contribute to the protection of their privacy. The aim of this e-course (you must log in to the MU Information System) is to provide Masaryk University staff with basic information about this regulation.

Course content:

• basic concepts and information,
• principles of personal data processing,
• individuals’ rights.

At MU, the key document governing personal data protection and the GDPR is the MU Directive on the Protection and Processing of Personal Data 01/2018. There are also a number of Methodological Guides issued by the Legal Department of the MU Rector’s Office, which must be followed. The most important areas include, in particular, the taking of photographs and video recordings at events, the regulation of contractual relationships with external companies, and the obtaining of consent from data subjects.