Nationnal Institute of Immunology, Delhi
There is susbtantial discussion about how to define unethical practices in academic work, how to investigate allegations, and what punishment is appropriate for offenders. However, there seems to be relatively less attention paid to why offenders, both gross and marginal, choose to do what they do. Clearly, these choices are made in a particular social contexts. I suggest it is worth asking what cultural norms of academic communities may promote, albeit unintentionally, the likelihood of these choices being made. I hope to suggest that ideas of entitlements implicit to academic cultures, both the old notions of prestige and the new ones of profit, underpin these choices.