Identifying Unethical Academic Behaviors of Students Studying Food Service, Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts

Identifying Unethical Academic Behaviors

of Students Studying Food Service,

Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts

 

Charles L. Calvert

Lynda Martin

Jeff Beck

Shin Yi Lin

ABSTRACTS. Cheating by students is a problem in academic institutions.

The purpose of this study was to assess how likely or unlikely senior

students studying: food service, hospitality, tourism and culinary arts

would participate in certain types of academic dishonesty behaviors.

Although the problem is well known, few studies have looked at students

perceptions of individual cheating behaviors. College senior students

studying food service, hospitality, tourism and culinary arts at three colleges

were contacted via their professors. Statistical analysis was done to

test for significant differences between gender and academic institute of

the survey population. Significant differences were found. Results of this

pilot study may help to better understand the cheating behaviors of food

service, hospitality, tourism and culinary arts students. Further research

Charles L. Calvert is Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Hospitality

Management, University of South Carolina-Beaufort.

Lynda Martin is Director and Professor, School of Human Sciences, Stephen

F. Austin State University.

Jeff Beck is Associate Professor, The School of Hospitality Business,

Michigan State University.

Shin Yi Lin, Assistant Professor, Chinese Culture University, 55 Hwa-Kang Road.

Address correspondence to: Charles L. Calvert, Department of Hospitality Management,

University of South Carolina-Beaufort, One University Boulevard,

Bluffton, SC 29909 (E-mail: calvert@uscb.edu).

Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, Vol. 6(1) 2008

Available online at http://jcst.haworthpress.com

© 2008 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

 


  

LITERATURE REVIEW

  

Academic cheating is a common problem in educational institutions.

College cheating is unethical and indicates a type of organizational

wrongdoing similar to misconduct in business organization (Burton &

Near 1995). Although both faculty and students identify unethical behaviors,

there are differences detected in the degree of perceived ethicalness.

An example behavior seen as strongly unethical is the ignoring of evidence

of cheating and/or insulting a student by faculty and/or students

(Morgan & Korschgen, 2001). Although many studies have looked at college

cheating, few studies have looked at the differences in unethical

classroom behaviors of food service and hospitality students.

McCabe and Trevino (1993) found that over 67% of students confessed

to cheating at least once. Similarly, Merritt's (2002) study found

that 59% of students admitted cheating on a test, and only 19% would

 

report a classmate who cheated. Research also recognized that situational

factor and opportunity to cheat are major predictors for cheating behavior

(Rawwas & Isakson, 2000).

In terms of academic performance, research indicates that self-concept

of students can be related to individual differences, such as gender. (Tong

& Yewchuk, 1996). In addition to gender, other factors that can impact

academic stress and may influence the academic self-concept of students

are: (1) high standards and goals, (2) pressure from parents and teachers,

(3) stress from living on a residential campus and (4) challenging

academic loads (Yadusky-Holahan & Holahan, 1983).

Academic honesty and ethics are a major concern in educational institutions.

The number of colleges and universities offering courses devoted

solely to journalism or communication ethics increased by 56% from

1984 to 1993 (Johnson, 2000). Moreover, business ethics has also

received great attention in the educational setting due to the realization in

the general public and the business community that unethical behavior is

a common problem in organizations. Current business problems include

 

32 JOURNAL OF CULINARY SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

   

employee fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, bankruptcy fraud, and

money laundering (Silver & Valentine, 2000). Studies concerned with

individual attributes have associated student cheating with such factors as

a desire for better grades (Burton & Near, 1995), honor codes (McCabe,

1993), teacher response to cheating (Jendrek, 1989), punishments and

threats (Michaels & Miethe, 1989) and pressure (Moeck, 2002).

However, there are no clear ethical performance guidelines for students to

follow. In Leo (2002) research, 73% of the students said that when their

professors taught about ethical issues, the usual message was that uniform

standards of right and wrong depend on differences in individual values

and cultural diversity.

Although many schools offer an ethics course in the curriculum, the

impact of a course on ethics is difficult to measure due to the influence of

other factors during their education (Johnson, 2000). An unknown factor

for food service, hospitality, tourism and culinary arts students may

include the business ethics they experience while working during school

or while on co-op or internship. For these reasons, it is critical for educational

programs to teach and monitor professional ethics as well as academic

honesty.

Faculty and students display many different types of unethical behavior

in the classroom. Examples of unethical faculty behavior may include

using old lecture notes and/or not updating exams and assignments.

Student examples include cheating, classes, insulting classmates or the

professor. Classroom cheating can range from copying another student's

work, to theft of library materials (Moeck, 2002). In addition to human

activities, advances in technology have also raised new concerns in terns

of academic honesty and ethics.

Students need to have ethical behavior supported by their supervisors

in addition to ethics instruction in their educational programs. Teachers

need to establish and enforce ethical standards to be seen as professionals

and to guide students as they learn professional ethics.

Despite the moral impact and social implications of academic dishonesty,

there is very limited empirical research that focuses on the field of

food service and hospitality. Only a few studies have focused on students

in the applied professional fields. This project was a confirmatory

analysis that tried to identify which behavior subject has been recognized

as academic dishonesty for senior students in the field of food service

and hospitality. The purpose of this study was to assess how likely or

unlikely students were to participate in certain types of academic dishonesty

behaviors.

 

 

 

METHODS

Subjects

  

College senior students enrolled in food service, hospitality, tourism

and culinary arts programs at three colleges were contacted via their professors.

The Colleges are located in the South, the West and the Mid-West.

This pilot study used a convenience sample of 321 senior students from

these three Colleges.

 

Instrument

  

The survey was developed from information gathered from previous

studies. A customized survey instrument was designed. The questions in

the study were based on the studies relative to academic dishonesty

research topics. There were 20 questions related to academic dishonesty

included on the survey instrument. The survey was administered to a convenience

sample of senior students studying food service, hospitality,

tourism and culinary arts the three colleges. Professors teaching seniors

distributed the surveys to students who were in class that day to ensure

only senior students were surveyed.

 

Limitations

  

The use of closed-ended questions limited responses in terms of revealing

additional findings that related to academic dishonesty issues. This

study used a convenience sample from the three selected colleges,

therefore, the generalizability to other populations depends on the degree

to which these populations are the same. Eligible undergraduate students

from these three universities who did not take senior capstone or dropped

specific these courses before the survey was given are considered missing

elements of the population frame. Students interest in specific career path

such as culinary, hotel, restaurant and tourism were not measured and

would be an areas for further research.

 

Data Analysis

  

As a result of the literature review, research questions were developed

to guide the formulation of the survey instrument. The purpose

of this study was to assess how likely or unlikely senior students

studying food service, hospitality, tourism and culinary arts were to

participate in certain types of academic dishonesty behaviors. Statistical

analysis was done using frequencies and cross-tabulations to test for

significant differences between gender and academic institute.

Although significant differences were found within the survey population,

the results of this may only be generalizable to colleges with the

same similar populations.

 

Results

There were 321 respondents. All were seniors, with 57.9% being

female, and 42.1% male. The academic honesty survey consisted of 20

questions (Table 1). These questions were measured on a 5-point scale

with 1 representing the most likely dishonesty behavior and 5 representing

the most unlikely dishonesty behavior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In order to confirm the academic dishonesty behavior analysis,

fifty-one freshmen were selected from one of the colleges. The 51

freshmen were 52.9% female, and 45.1% male. The same survey

instrument was distributed to these 51 freshmen and these questions

(Table 3) were measured by a 5-point scale; where 1 represents most

likely dishonesty behavior and 5 represents most unlikely dishonesty

behavior. Based on the results, the first four most likely occurrences as

academic dishonesty behavior among freshmen were the same as

seniors.

 

 

 

 

 

When doing paired-tests

to compare these 20 dishonesty behavior between seniors and freshmen,

no significant differences were found. (Table 4) However, when comparing

means among these 20 academic dishonesty behaviors it was found that

senior participants had slightly higher mean scores than the freshmen participants

in 15 out of 20 questions. One explanation for this may be that

senior students have a slightly more conservative attitude toward academic

dishonesty behaviors based on their level of education.

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

When conducting cross-tabulation testing gender to senior participants,

the statistical results recognized significance in gender.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The results of this study confirmed that among senior students there are

different academic dishonesty behaviors relative to gender. The finding

also showed that the three different colleges shared very similar scores

with several academic dishonesty behaviors.

In this study there were five academic dishonesty behaviors constantly

reported as the most likely occurring behaviors among senior

students. The most likely academic dishonesty behaviors are: (1)

working in groups but using it as individual work, (2) asking exam

answers from a prior class, (3) writing up fictitious accounts for

assignments, (4) padding the bibliography, and (5) copying from a

cheat sheet. These rankings give educators insight about students'

attitudes toward academic dishonesty behavior. However, other factors

need further exploration. These factors may include the regional

location of the school; intended career choice after graduation such as

culinary, hotel, restaurant and tourism; work experience levels, and

whether or not the students were required to take an ethics course.

Moreover, with the cultural diversity of students in higher education

institutions today, the viewpoints pertaining to the causes of dishonesty

may need to be explored.

A future questionnaire could also look at other factors such as the number

of credit hours the student is taking, the student's work schedule, and

financial aid (scholarships) related to grades received.

 

Catvertetal 39

   

REFERENCES

 

Burton, B.K., & Near, J.P. (1995). Estimating the incidence of wrongdoing and whistle

 

blowing: results of a study using randomized response technique. Journal of Business

Ethics, 14(1), 17-30.

Jendrek, M. (1989). Faculty Reactions to Academic Dishonesty. Journal of College

Student Development, 30(1), 401-406.

Johnson, M. (2000). Preventing good people from making bad decisions. Quill, 88 (8),

76-P.80.

 

Leo, J. (2002). Professors who see no evil. U.S. News & World Report, Vol.133 (3). P.

I4-P.I6.

McCabe, D. & Trevino, L. (1993). Academic Dishonesty: Honor Codes and Other

 

Contextual Factors. Journal of Higher Education 64.

Menitt, J. (2002). You mean cheating is wrong? Business Week, (3811). 8.

Michaels, J. & Miethe, T. (1989) Applying Theories of Deviance to Academic Cheating.

 

Social Science Quarterly, 70(4), 870-875.

Moeck, P. G. (2002). Academic dishonesty: cheating among community college students.

 

Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 26, 479-p.489.

Morgan, B. L. & Korschgen, A. J. (2001). The ethics of faculty behavior: Students' and

 

professors' view. College Student Journal, 35 (3), 418-p.424.

Rawwas, M. Y. & Isakson, H. R. (2000). Ethics of tomorrow's business managers.

 

Journal of Education for Business, 75 (6), 321-p.331.

Silver, L. S. & Valentine, S. R. (2000). College Students' perceptions of moral intensity in

 

sales situation. Journal of Education for Business, 75 (6), 309-p.315.

Tong, J., & Yewchuk, C. (1996). Self-concept and sex-role orientation in gifted high

 

school students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 40, 15-p.23.

Yadusky-Holanhan, M., & Holahan, W. (1983). The effect of academic stress upon the

 

anxiety and depression levels of gifted high school students. Gifted Child Quarterly,

27,42-P.46.

How computer change my life.

The internet -- As a child, I read every science fiction book I could get my hands on, and surprisingly, very few postulated anything like the internet. Neither did I, yet when I finally grasped the idea, it seemed so obvious, so exactly what human beings needed. In only a few years, I was able to look virtually anywhere in the world, 24/7, for the information I needed. Suddenly, national boundaries seemed much less meaningful. My smart-ass answer, when people asked me where I was from, became "Earth."

Google -- Without an effective index, the internet would be as useless as a library full of randomly shelved books without covers. While early search engines like Alta Vista did an OK job of finding content, Google was a quantum leap forward. It's notion of using page popularity to rank search responses rightly dominated the market overnight.

Online gaming -- I don't have a dog in this hunt, but I'm aware that the leap from gaming on the home television to joining a worldwide gaming community via the xBox and other systems has enthralled whole generations. If it had existed when I was young, I'd have been addicted to it, I'm sure. I hope I would have had the sense to avoid internet gambling, though. That's an expensive addiction.

Instant messaging -- Before I began using instant messaging, or IM, I didn't understand how it differed from e-mail. Now I think I do. If e-mail is a postal letter, IM is a note passed from hand to hand behind the teacher's back. You e-mail your mom, IM your BFF. IM is social, e-mail is professional. IM is, well, instant. E-mail is like, whenever.

 

Advantages of having and using computers

A Computer is an electronic device that processes data according to a given list of instructions. It has many uses and advantages. Some of them are as follows:

- Easy processing of complex tasks.
- It saves time by quick manipulation of data as compared to when done manually.
- The errors in data processing are minimized when a computer is used.
- It has helped in making communication easier by using internet.
- It stores, retrieves, and processes a large amount of data.
- It helps in multitasking of various jobs.
- Data is more secure and easier to use.

Potential threat of using computers

If you connect to the Internet, allow other people to use your computer, or share files with others, you should take steps to protect your computer from harm. Why? Because there are computer criminals (sometimes called hackers) who attack other people's computers. These people can attack directly, by breaking into your computer through the Internet and stealing your personal information, or indirectly, by creating malicious software to harm your computer.

 














 

How to use touch screen.

The touchscreen technology allows you to swipe your finger across the screen or tap an icon to provide input to the device. Just as you may have become used to with your mobile phone, you use the pads of your fingertips (not your fingernails). There are several methods you can use for getting around and getting things done on an iPad using its Multi-Touch screen, including:

• Tap once. To open an application on the Home screen, choose a field such as a search box, select an item in a list, select a backward arrow to move back one screen, or follow an online link, tap the item once with your finger.

Tap twice. Use this method to enlarge or reduce the display of a Web page or zoom in or out in the Maps app.You can use a three-finger tap to zoom your screen to be even larger. This is handy if you have vision challenges.

• Pinch. As an alternative to the tap-twice method, you can pinch your fingers together or move them apart on the screen when you're looking at photos, maps, Web pages, or e-mail messages to quickly reduce or enlarge them.
  
• Drag to scroll (also referred to as swiping). When you press your finger to the screen and drag to the right, left, up, or down, you move around the screen.
  
• Flick. To scroll more quickly on a page, quickly flick your finger on the screen in the direction you want to move.
• Tap the Status bar. To move quickly to the top of a list, Web page, or e-mail message, tap the Status bar at the top of the iPad screen.
• Press and hold. If you're in any application where you can select text, such as Notes or Mail, or if you're on a Web page, pressing and holding near text will select a word and bring up editing tools that allow you to select, cut, or copy text. You can also use this method to reposition the insertion point under the magnifying glass icon that appears.

If you feel like a practice session, try out these actions:

1. Tap the Safari button to display the Web browser. (You may be asked to enter your Wi-Fi network password to go online.)
2. Tap a link to move to another page.
3. Double-tap the page to enlarge it; then double-tap again to reduce its size.
4. Drag one finger around the page to scroll.
5. Flick your finger quickly on the page to scroll more quickly.
6. Press and hold your finger down on text that isn't a link. A magnifying glass icon appears.
   Release your finger and the item is selected, and a Copy tool is displayed.
   
7. Press and hold your finger on a link or an image.
   A menu appears with commands that allow you to open the link or picture, open it in a new page, or copy it. The image menu also offers a Save Image command.
8. Put your fingers slightly apart on the screen, and then pinch your fingers together to reduce the page; with your fingers already pinched together, place them on the screen, and then move them apart to enlarge the page.
9. Press the Home button to go back to the Home screen.

Difference between a cold and warm reboot

Cold Reboot is where you turn the computer completely off so there is no power to the system. This would be the same result as if you pulled the power cord from the system. This happens when you click Turn off computer and then click Turn off.

Warm reboot is where you restart windows and it goes back into windows. This happens when you click Turn off computer, and then click Restart. Power never goes off on a warm reboot like the cold reboot does.

The advantage of Cold reboot is that it releases anything that is stuck in memory. If you are getting error messages or other issues, it might be because something is stuck in memory. When you do a cold reboot, it clears the memory. A warm reboot doesn't release items stuck in memory. Only a cold reboot does.

The only thing a warm reboot does is for installing software. Software sometimes requires modification of a system file. The system file cannot be altered if it is in use, the install program will update it when you restart (warm boot) the computer. When it reboots the system file is not in use and is able to be updated.

What is Green Computing

Green computing, also called green technology, is the environmentally responsible use of computers and related resources. Such practices include the implementation of energy-efficient central processing units (CPUs),servers and peripherals as well as reduced resource consumption and proper disposal of electronic waste (e-waste).

One of the earliest initiatives toward green computing in the United States was the voluntary labeling program known as Energy Star. It was conceived by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 to promote energy efficiency in hardware of all kinds. The Energy Star label became a common sight, especially in notebook computers and displays. Similar programs have been adopted in Europe and Asia.

Government regulation, however well-intentioned, is only part of an overall green computing philosophy. The work habits of computer users and businesses can be modified to minimize adverse impact on the global environment. 

Start-up process of a desktop computers

1. Make sure all the cords of the monitor, CPU, keyboard, and mouse are connected in the right places.
2. Plug the power cords of the monitor and CPU to the AVR.
3. Plug the AVR cord to an outlet.
4. Switch on the AVR. You will see a red light button after you switch on the AVR. 
5. Switch on the computer.
6. Switch on the monitor.   

Usage of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, and building personal area networks(PANs).

Usage of Bluetooth

• Wireless control of and communication between a mobile phone and a handsfree headset.
• Wireless communication with PC input and output devices, the most common being the mouse, keyboeard and printer.

• Three seventh and eight generation game consoles, Nintendo's Wii. and Sony's PlayStation 3, use Bluetooth for their respective wireless controllers. 

 

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a local area wireless technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data or connect to the internet.A Wi-Fi-enabled device can connect to the Internet when within range of a wireless network which is configured to permit this. The coverage of one or more access points—called hotspots—can extend from an area as small as a few rooms to as large as many square kilometres.

 Usage of Wi-Fi

• Personal computers 
• Smartphones
• Digital cameras
• Tablet Computers

 

 

NFC

Near-field communication (NFC) is a form of short-range wireless communication where the antenna used is much smaller than the wavelength of the carrier signal. In the near-field, the antenna can produce either an electric field, or a magnetic field, but not an electromagnetic field.Thus NFC communicates either by a modulated electric field, or a modulated magnetic field, but not by radio (electromagnetic waves).

Usage of NFC

• Used in social networking situations, such as sharing contacts, photos, videos or files.
• Used in video games
• Used in credit cards and electronic ticket smartcards, and allow mobile payment to replace or supplement these systems.