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Ethic Statement
Scientific fraud and misconduct are not condoned at any level of research or competition. Such practices include plagiarism, forgery, use of presentation of other researcher's work as one's own and fabrication of data. Fraudulent projects will fail to qualify for competition in Regional Expos or the Eskom Expo National Finals.
1. Plagiarism
What is plagiarism?
It can be defined as follows:
To use another person's words or ideas and to pretend that they are your own. The following are considered as plagiarism:
- To steal or borrow another person's work.
- To pay another person to write your assignment.
- To copy directly from a source without referencing the original source.
- To use another person's ideas and build on them without giving credit to the original ideas.
- To paraphrase another person's work word-for-word.
- To present false data (fabricated, altered or borrowed without permission).
The worst form of plagiarism is to do it intentionally:
- to pretend that another person's work is your own;
- to buy a piece of written work from somebody (e.g. from the internet); or
- to pay somebody to write your assignment for you; or
- to write something word-for-word from a source without acknowledging that source (or to "cut and paste" from the Internet).
Plagiarism can also occur unintentionally: when you rewrite another person's ideas or words in your own words, or use small sections of another person's writings without acknowledging it as a source.
Fraudulent projects will be disqualified at a Regional Expo and National Finals. It is compulsory that every participant has a signed copy of the plagiarism form in their file.
2. Ethics
Ethics is concerned with what is right or wrong, good or bad, fair or unfair, responsible or irresponsible. Information about research on human or animal subjects including surveys. All of these need a form signed by a supervising scientist or teacher giving approval for the project to be done. Any surveys (questionnaires) need another form giving consent or permission by parents or schools. Both forms need to be filled in the project file in the appendix
Make sure your project is safe and ethical
Before you start a project, it's important to know the rules - especially if you're thinking of using animals, human subjects, hazardous equipment or materials, recombinant DNA or other biotechnological materials. (By the way, "animals" include pets and livestock and humans include family members and students in your class or school.) It's heartbreaking to have your project disqualified at the Regional or National Finals because you broke the rules - or maybe even the law!
Any research or experiment on potentially hazardous biological agents, animal or human subjects must be done under the supervision of a qualified scientist/laboratory. A signed letter/from the qualified scientist or/and laboratory will be required before participating at Regional Expos or National Finals.
REGIONAL EXPOS AND NATIONAL FINALS ETHICS INFRINGEMENTS
Students are encouraged to check their ethical infringements before exhibiting their projects at any Eskom Expo
Please note that the following are not allowed on any Eskom Expo project:
- Living organisms including animals, fish, insects and plants
- Agar plates and other growth mediums for microbiology studies
- Human or animal parts including tissues and body fluids (for example blood, urine, hooves, skins etc)
- Dangerous chemicals: Poisons, drugs, medications, controlled substances, hazardous substances and devices (for example firearms, weapons, ammunition, reloading devices, knives and any other sharp instruments)
- Flammable substances
- Photographs or other visual presentation depicting humans or vertebrate animals in surgical techniques, dissections, necropsies or other lab procedures or who belittle people in any way or show animals being harmed in any way
- Brand names or any other branded products
- Food substances that are not in completely sealed containers (plastic wrap is not acceptable as it can easily be removed)
- Water except if in sealed apparatus
- Any apparatus deemed unsafe by the Eskom Expo organisers.
NB:Photographs will be sufficient for judging
In order to rectify the problem you need to take note of the suggestion below:
- Remove all living organisms and take them to a member of the ethics committee or venue committee.
- Remove all human or animal parts and take them to a member of the ethics committee or venue committee.
- Remove all dangerous chemicals and take them to a member of the ethics committee or venue committee.
- Remove photos or presentations that belittle people or animals from your poster and file. NB: you may not cover them up
- No brand names to be visible at any school, district, circuit, regional expos and national finals. Please make sure all branding is covered label with eg. Product A,B or Product 1,2 etc.
- Food must be sealed into containers and then shown to the ethics committee
- Water must be removed or enclosed into sealed apparatus
For more details on ethics please visit this website:
3. Safety
All electrical work must conform to the National Electrical Code and Exhibit Halls Regulations. Fire regulations will be strictly enforced.
The on-site electrician may be requested to review any electrical work on any project. The safety guidelines presented here are general ones and other rules may apply to specific configurations.
4. Patents
Innovation and Development - Patents and Registered Designs
Some exhibitors display projects that show innovative thinking and provide new products. Expo encourages the development of entrepreneurial projects, which may lead to the marketing of these products.
Exhibitors are advised to obtain legal advice about patent applications before entering their work at a Regional Expo. Once a design or product has been on public display, it can NOT be patented. However, if an exhibit is displayed for judges only, no patent rights should be lost.
Refer to this website for more information on how to patent your project.
