If you were Shawn and the faculty member called you in about the similarity in the papers, what would you say? What would your reaction be to Mimi?
Response 1: The best policy is honesty. Shawn should explain that he didn't give the paper to Mimi and doesn't know where she got it. As Shawn, I would be very angry with Mimi for taking my work and causing problems for me. I would ask her to go to the professor and tell the truth about where she got my paper.
Response 2: If I were Shawn I would be angry for several reasons. One is Mimi was snooping around in my file space without my permission. Another is that she risked my being accused of academic dishonesty with a project I no doubt put in a lot of time and effort on.
Response 3: If I were Shawn and were called by the faculty member I would explain that I had not been proactive in securing my files when I left the position Mimi took over. I might also add that I was unaware that she could access these files. If I spoke to Mimi about it I would let her know that she had compromised my reputation and integrity by using my work without my permission, and suggest that she talk with the professor about it. I would also warn her that this behavior puts her own reputation and integrity in jeopardy.
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