I really don't know what to make of all this. -- Authorship Scam and The New Science Order

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Date Posted: 13:13:05 03/23/01 Fri
Author: Gataca
Subject: I really don't know what to make of all this.

I'm not sure how to take your story. I just read about this for the first time. I see no motive in why they would kick you out of your PhD. I am a UofT Graduate Student, and also in Genetics. I find it hard to sympathasize with what you are trying to say, partly because of the way you are saying your message. Slandering others, will get you no where.

And I really doubt that so many people would cover something up. I'm sure that atleast one of those proffesionals whom have had a part in all this would do the proper thing and not get involved in illegal activities.

I wish you well

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[> Re: I really don't know what to make of all this. -- Bezinqo, 08:11:18 03/27/01 Tue

Hello everyone,

Academics are certainly not saints, and I think M. Pyshnov's story is credible. Personally, I find it heartbreaking to think that academic fraud could be widespread in our universities. However, I have seen the grotesque and unethical ambitions of people up close, both in academia and industry, and it does not surprise me. I believe scientists have always been corruptible (they are just people, you know...), but certainly in today�s world the pressures to be rotten seem to have increased everywhere.

Having said this, though, I must strongly object to the suggested anti-Semitism that runs throughout Mr. Pyshnov�s text. Mr. Pyshnov, if your supervisor did in fact "steal your ideas", it is not because of her ethnicity (I have Jewish friends who hold absolutely the highest ethical standards). You will find selfish, stupid, greedy people in every group (including, I dare say, in your group, Mr. Pyshnov). Mr. Pyshnov stop this nonsense, it just detracts from an otherwise serious problem.

Finally, the whole question of who "owns the research" should be discussed. It seems to me that in publicly financed research the university, and ultimately the public, "owns the research" (although I don't think one can apply a property model to it). However, the originator of the ideas, discoveries, etc. should be duly recognized by his peers and the university. On the otherhand, no researcher whose research is financed by the public has the right to withhold results. The leads me to a few questions:

1. Did Mr. Pyshnov deliberately withhold results, or did he feel the results were premature?

2. Why didn't Mr. Pyshov publish jointly with his supervisor (this is customary, although I know often the supervisor does little to deserve his/her name on the paper)?

3. Did Dr. Larson not adequately cite Mr. Pyshnov's work in her later publications?

Given Mr. Pyshnov's description of the case, an acknowledgment in a paper is not sufficient, if Mr. Pyshnov made the initial discoveries. A full citation is required by Dr. Larson. She should cite published or even unpublished work and give him full credit. If she did not, the university and journal to which she submitted the papers should conduct an investigation and allow Mr. Pyshnov to submit an erratum or letter to clarify his contributions (and also allow Dr. Larson to clarify the misunderstanding or absence of an earlier citation).

Anyway, all of us must bear up under injustice, and strive to make the world a better place. No doubt there will always be unethical people (more than I care to think about...), but with kindness, clear argument and resolve (NOT WITH ANTI-SEMITISM AND SUSPICION!) the truth will be known...

Regards,
Bezinqo

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[> [> Re: I really don't know what to make of all this. -- Michael Pyshnov, 07:46:53 03/28/01 Wed

I would like to post a reply again.
#1) Only politically immature people can see antisemitism in my letter. I simply can not explain the cover up in any other way, but as Jewish (and other) political influence. I guess, you understand that I am not anti-women (although, antifeminist); what makes you think I am anti-Jews? There is not, in my letter, any suggestion of the connection between stealing and ethnicity. I am 100% behind my letter. If you think that I am wrong - try yourself to explain the silence of the media. Go to Varsity first. Ask them for an explanation of why for three years before I wrote this letter and came to the campus, they kept silence and now continue this for 8 months, only proving that my letter is correct, namely, that POLITICAL AGENDAS are to blame for this complete breakdown of democracy. What do you personally think of the political regime that prohibits such story from becoming known to public? Not communists?
#2) The question "who owns the results?" has nothing to do with my accusations, which are strictly about my authorship that has been falsified. This University is trying to obscure this issue as much as they can. WHAT ON EARTH DOES MONEY HAVE TO DO WITH THE FACT OF AUTHORSHIP??? Let them own the results, but I did Ph.D. research to receive the CREDIT FOR BEING THE AUTHOR OF IT! Larsen and three other people took the credit, falsified authorship and she and UofT say that I did practically nothing in five years.
#3) You ask: why I withheld the results? I never did.
a) Larsen published some of my results before, with my complete agreement.
b) her M.Sc. student did her thesis based on my ideas and my experiments, with my complete
agreement.
c) when I refused to sign the 1987 manuscript for publication, she withdrew it from the journal. Not she or the Dept. raised the question about my "withdrawing the results".
d) Larsen and the UofT now say that my research was worth nothing. How comes that my results suddenly appear important and I appear wrong for "withdrawing results"? The secret is that they did the fraud, that they are continuing it and that they, simply, became entangled in their own lies. Since
the fact of plagiarism is so obvious, they now have to say that she published my work, because these results needed to be published ("salvaged"). But, thousands of successful Ph.D. dissertations just stand in a library and are never published. How comes Larsen made 4 (four) papers out of my dissertation (and claimed the fifth paper, although it does not even exist), but I was kicked out? This is the main question and the answer is only one: I was removed fraudulently. All these things are explained in the section
"Ruthless science fraud.." on my web site. You will find there also an array of her lies, unbelievable, if they were not right there in her own documents.
#4) Are you trying to say that Larsen's fault is that she did not acknowledge my work properly? It's the same as if you would sentence a killer to spend one day in jail for not aiming two inches away from the victim's head. As I said, there is a host of other things here, documented, which show that she did FRAUD. There are documents showing that Orchard and Dewees CONTINUED THE FRAUD.

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[> Re: I really don't know what to make of all this. -- JG, 15:05:48 06/22/01 Fri

The five year rule is common in most Universities - five years to finish after admission to candidacy as a Ph.D. student. It is generally enforced even when there is no financial aid involved. I think that Mr. Pyshnov tried to force Ms. Larsen to get him an extension or do whatever was needed to be done so that he would get his Ph.D. He lost in this attepted power play - he had/has no power.
In many ways his behaviour is typical Ukranian behaviour, where they caused a famine by slaughtering their animals, etc. as a protest to collectivization, endured ruthless retaliation from Stalin - net result - terrible famine and then both sides blamed everything on the Jews. Somehow, the Jews tricked the Ukranians to behave irresponsibly and Stalin to behave ruthlessly - or so they said. In any case, the Ukranians got even with the Jews by helping the Hitler and Stalin had his doctor's plot, etc.

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