Business & Money | Sunday 10 May, 2015 10:19 am |

Most student service centers in the country are corrupt because they copy research without permission, according to participants at a workshop held in Riyadh recently.
The Community Partnership Forum on scientific integrity was organized by Imam Muhammad bin Saud University in partnership with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha).
Abdullah Abdul-Qader, deputy president of the Nazaha, called on the government to crack down on these centers by withdrawing their licenses if they are found to have copied the copyrighted work of researchers for their customers, according to a report in a local publication.

Abdulaziz Al-Swailem, vice president of King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), said in a paper on ethics that researchers must ensure that they produce credible and quality work.
Firas Al-Madani, faculty member of the Northern Border University, said there is currently a lack of laws that protect intellectual property. Those laws that are currently in place have loopholes, he said.
One participant said that students cheat because they are burdened with too much work. This is why they turn to these service centers.
Ronald J. Heslegrave, chief of research at William Osler Health System in Canada, said in a paper focusing on research integrity in his country that all research should be transparent. He said there is currently a lack of effective controls and standards.

The fourth session of the forum chaired by lawyer Saad bin Abdullah bin Ghunaim discussed the challenges faced by research produced for community based and government bodies.
The fifth session led by Shoura member Abdullah Al-Askar discussed the contribution of laws and regulations in enhancing scientific integrity.
Professor Bruce Macfarlane of the University of Hong Kong said in his paper that the intellectual property of authors raises complicated issues, particularly in the field of social sciences.

According to reports, some of these shops can make over SR5,000 a day, especially during examination periods.