This week, there was only one reading from PWONline. In general, all of the sections for this reading deal with ethical and moral problems associated with writing and the business world. In the first section that we were assigned to read, Copyright, Plagiarism and Fair Use of Others’ Writing, the general guide pretty much sums up everything that needs to happen when writing: “Give credit where credit is due.” In some cases this is very easy to do. When writing a research paper about a topic you know nothing about, it is very easy to credit other people because you have no prior knowledge of the subject. However, as soon as you begin writing about topics you are somewhat knowledgeable about it becomes a lot more difficult to distinguish what came from you and what come from a book. I found that a lot of times there is some information that I know off the top of my head, but is also included in a source that I am using for other information. Anyone reading my work could easily mistake information coming from me as plagiarism of the source. There is just so much writing out there that it is hard to find a topic that has not already been written about. This is especially true y when it comes to class assignments. Most classes re-use the same assignments year after year. How are you supposed to know if someone presented the same concept as you in previous years?

The other section of this reading that I found somewhat interesting was “Gender in the Workplace.” In the reading, it talks about how you are very unlikely to find a workforce segment that is primarily male or female. However, I somewhat disagree with this. I am pretty sure that of the top of your head it would not be that difficult to name professions that are primarily one sex. Take for example Pilots, Air Traffic Control, Installation Specialists, Police Officers, Landscapers, Engineers and Mechanics. And those are only the ones that are primarily male. What about Kindergarten Teachers and Secretaries? Even in today’s society there are still jobs that draw more of one sex than another.