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Plagiarism - by the DEAN at U of A


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Thanks for this post that certainly opened my eyes as to what is taking place in our health care system. The Dean situation is but a sideshow distraction compared what seems to be happening in the real world that affects patient care.

 

In all honesty, I'm against pure self regulation, I believe that there needs to be multiple levels of regulation both internal and external to the CPSA and other provincial agencies so we don't see abuses of power like we saw against Raj Sherman, David Schwann etc.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2011/03/14/edmonton-second-doctor-allegations.html

 

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Alberta+doctor+backs+claims+intimidation/4460825/story.html

 

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110317/alberta-doctor-intimidation-claims-110317/

 

http://news.ca.msn.com/health/doctor-intimidation-overalberta-government

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Don't know if anyone has posted it yet but the original speach is really good and worth a read if you have time. The update on the CTV story (and the source of the speach) explains why it was so easy to discover the plagiarism. I'm less bored, more dumbfounded.......can't explain how I am feeling......going to go look on the web to find someone elses work to represent as my own.

 

 

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2010/06/gawande-stanford-speech.html

 

The velluvial matrix... My dad sent me the link this morning, it is indeed a very good speech! But why the dean would think using the term "velluvial matrix" directly wouldn't raise suspicions?

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Email from the president:

 

Over the weekend, the University of Alberta became aware of allegations of plagiarism on the part of one of our academic deans, related to a speech he had delivered to students at a post-graduation celebration. By Sunday, the University had begun the process of examining allegations of plagiarism against Philip Baker, dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.

An allegation of plagiarism is not one that is made lightly – nor is it one the University of Alberta takes lightly. Our process will be thorough, fair, and proceed quickly with due diligence, under our established procedures. Academic integrity is at the heart of our institution and we will ensure that our values are upheld.

Sincerely,

 

 

Indira V. Samarasekera, O.C.

President and Vice-Chancellor

probably will result in a slap on the wrist.
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Yes, politics with due process - the university is working at damage control and a sacrifice is required to maintain the integrity and values of the institution. Not renewing his contract doesn't do it. Nor does a slap on the wrist. The double standard of cronyism would reflect badly on the university and result in yet another scandal that they want to avoid at all costs, so their choices are limited. The king (dean) is dead. Long live the new one (and the acting dean during the interim period)!

 

The university is far more important than any individual.

 

All he had to do was to give credit to the author but his arrogance in the belief that he could pull it off got the best of him. He finally reached the level of giving evidence of his own incompetence and stupidity in the public domain. He deserves what he gets, he shamed the university to the world.

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Yes, politics with due process - the university is working at damage control and a sacrifice is required to maintain the integrity and values of the institution. Not renewing his contract doesn't do it. Nor does a slap on the wrist. The double standard of cronyism would reflect badly on the university and result in yet another scandal that they want to avoid at all costs, so their choices are limited. The king (dean) is dead. Long live the new one (and the acting dean during the interim period)!

 

The university is far more important than any individual.

 

All he had to do was to give credit to the author but his arrogance in the belief that he could pull it off got the best of him. He finally reached the level of giving evidence of his own incompetence and stupidity in the public domain. He deserves what he gets, he shamed the university to the world.

 

 

LOL...

 

future_doc you are still quite the drama queen, eh? ;)

 

Anyway, congrats on getting into med school!

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achttp://www.globaltvedmonton.com/Students+plagiarism+accusations+tarnish+school+reputation/49046028/story.html?utm_source=facebook-twitter&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=community

 

Students say U of A plagiarism accusations tarnish school reputation

Ryan Ellis, Global News: Tuesday, June 14, 2011

 

Dr. Philip Baker speaks in front of a crowd in his job as dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry with the University of Alberta. Baker spent years working to overcome his stuttering.

Photo Credit: John Ulan/Epic Photography, edmontonjournal.com

RELATED

• Observers call for U of A medical dean's resignation

 

Accusations of plagiarism levelled against a University of Alberta dean continued to foster polarized reaction Tuesday, as students and politicians decried a double standard, and school administrators said little at all.

The accusations stem from a speech made by Dr. Philip Baker, dean of the U of A's School of Medicine and Dentistry, to graduating students last Friday night. Some students in attendance noticed similarities between Baker's speech and one given by American surgeon Atul Gawande in 2010.

 

On Sunday, Baker sent an apologetic letter to members of the graduating class, admitting that his speech had been 'inspired' by Gawande's speech.

Baker could not be reached for comment again on Tuesday, and it appears apology has done little to placate the student body.

 

"It just gives the university a really bad image," said Sheldon Wong, a fourth-year Science student. "Since our first year we've been taught not to plagiarize, academic integrity and everything like that."

 

"Everyone should have the same rules to follow, it's not any different the higher up you go, or it shouldn't be anyway," said Rachelle Davies, a second-year Physical Education student.

On Tuesday, university administrators continued to decline interview requests, referring media only to a statement by university president Indira Samarasekera released on Monday evening.

 

"As would be the case with any such allegations, a thorough review will be conducted under the university's established procedures and codes of conduct," Samarasekera said in the statement. "Academic integrity is at the heart of this university, and must continue to be so.”

 

That sentiment was echoed by Alberta Liberal leader Dr. David Swann, when asked about the incident Tuesday afternoon.

 

"It's very concerning,” Swann said. “I went through the university system, it was pounded into us that plagiarism is wrong and cannot be supported and some students were very severely dealt with when they were discovered."

Swann said he supports an internal review of the matter, provided it conducted in a fair and transparent manner.

 

"It needs to be held to the same standard that they say they're holding students to," Swann said.

 

 

http://thegatewayonline.ca/thegatewayonline.ca/articles/news/2011/06/14/dean-under-investigation-after-alleged-plagiarism

 

Dean under investigation after alleged plagiarism

JUNE 14, 2011 - 12:55PM

Aaron Yeo, News Editor

 

SUPPLIED

UNDER INVESTIGATION Baker has been Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry since 2009.

An investigation has been launched by the University of Alberta after students claimed the Dean of Medicine and Dentistry plagiarized a convocation speech given by another physician at Stanford University last year.

The speech in question was given by Dean Philip Baker at the faculty’s graduation banquet on Friday night, and allegedly contains striking similarities to one given by Atul Gawande’s, which was also published in the New Yorker, and is available online.

 

The key phrase that gave it away for those in attendance was the phrase “velluvial matrix,” a term that Gawande had fabricated to illustrate that doctors are always afraid of not knowing the latest medical vocabulary.

 

When Baker used the same phrase, it caught some people’s attention, and the news spread through the crowd via text messages and emails, and later through Facebook. Students present at the speech have contacted The Gateway and described that Baker's speech was almost identical to Gawande's, with only small changes such as substituting the University of Alberta for Stanford.

 

Over the weekend, Baker sent an apology email to the graduating class, and said he made the mistake of not properly attributing parts of his speech.

 

“When I was researching for the speech, I came across text which inspired me and resonated with my experiences,” Baker wrote. He also said that he’d apologized to Gawande, and that the Stanford doctor was “flattered" by his used of the speech.

 

Depending on the severity and the circumstances, students could face expulsion if caught plagiarizing, and hence many have called for the dean’s resignation.

 

“Unfortunately, as proud as I am to have graduated from this excellent institution, it is marred by a public display of academic fraud,” wrote class representative Brittany Barber in an email to the recent graduates.

 

Earth & Atmospheric Sciences professor and Whither the U of A? blogger Jeremy Richards wrote that “If it’s all true, the dean should go."

 

The university has since launched an investigation and released a statement Monday saying that they will look into the issue with a “fair process and due diligence.”

 

“These are serious allegations, and the University of Alberta will treat them as such,” wrote President Indira Samarasekera. “Academic integrity is at the heart of this university, and must continue to be so.”

 

No recordings of the speech have surfaced, leaving the university with only anecdotal evidence for the investigation

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In all honesty, I'm against pure self regulation, I believe that there needs to be multiple levels of regulation both internal and external to the CPSA and other provincial agencies so we don't see abuses of power like we saw against Raj Sherman, David Schwann etc.

 

Errm I'm speaking of self-regulation purely from a licensing perspective (i.e. ability to practice medicine), not from a job perspective. Physicians in Canada are otherwise self-functioning entities and most physicians are privately incorporated.

 

Chinese citizens

Chinese government

Google, Inc.

 

The Chinese government banned Google from serving Chinese citizens at one time because Google wasn't willing to go along with China's mandate to censor search results, per Google's mandate to "do no evil". While you are free to decry the Chinese government's policy, I hope you realize that legally, they are on solid ground to refuse a private corporation's intrusion.

 

Albertan citizens

Albertan government

Dr. Generic, Inc.

 

What's the difference? Corporations are corporations. Weakening the ability of government to sever ties (for any reason) with private corporations ultimately leads to far greater bad than good. If you're a private corporation and you are not willing to go along with the government under which you are incorporated, you do so at your own peril.

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In favour of the Dean: (to a limited point)

 

By Codi Wilson, edmontonjournal.com June 15, 2011 11:36 AM

 

Story

 

Philip Baker, Dean, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

 

EDMONTON - A professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta says he stands by Dean Dr. Philip Baker and hopes that people forgive him for the alleged incident of plagiarism at a graduation banquet Friday night.

 

“I’m not condoning what he did, but what I want noted is some people here are very vulnerable like (Dean Baker), because of his role. My relationship with the previous dean was way better and yet I’m trying to support someone that everyone wants to tar and feather right now,” said Clifford Cardinal, an assistant professor in the department of family medicine, who is not himself a doctor.

 

Cardinal was the only one talking publicly Tuesday, after university officials put on a cloak of confidentiality. They refused to comment on any elements of the investigation. They would not confirm whether the university has a copy of the dean’s speech or if witnesses are being interviewed.

 

Cardinal said he has written to Atul Gawande, author of the speech Baker allegedly lifted, and thanked him for accepting the dean’s apology.

 

In the apology letter, Baker said Gawande’s speech was used as “inspiration” and failing to cite it was a “lapse in judgment.”

 

“I totally feel that it shouldn’t have got that far. Our world is that small that somebody’s speech could be heard around the world the following Monday,” Cardinal said.

 

“He is not a personal friend of mine, but I empathize with him totally. He is a human being and we are not showing the care and compassion it takes to be good doctors,” he said. “It seems that people are content to see somebody strung up so far that he’ll probably quit.”

 

Cardinal, a professor of community health and human sexuality, has been at the university for six years.

 

Other members of the faculty are concerned about how the incident will affect the school’s reputation.

 

“My colleagues are disturbed. It casts all of us in a bad light,” John Church, who teaches health policy and political ethics at the U of A, said Monday.

 

This is the second high-profile case of alleged plagiarism by a U of A faculty member in recent years. In 2009, former U of A researcher Daniel Kwok was banned indefinitely from receiving funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. It was alleged that during his time at the U of A he plagiarized work and spent up to $150,000 of grant money on items like computers, televisions and after-market car parts.

 

cwilson@emontonjournal.com

 

 

 

Academic leaders must set right example

 

Dr. Philip Baker admits he borrowed words from another MD's speech

By Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal June 14, 2011

 

Philip Baker, Dean, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in his office on November 24, 2010, in Edmonton.

 

EDMONTON - In the intersecting worlds of medicine and media, Dr. Atul Gawande is what you might call a rock star.

 

He's an award-winning and bestselling author. A Harvard professor. A respected endocrine surgeon. A former health policy adviser to the Clinton White House. A staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. A director with the World Health Organization. Not to mention one of North America's most sought after public speakers.

 

Unfortunately, Atul Gawande wasn't available to speak to graduates of the University of Alberta medical school at their convocation this Friday. (He was actually speaking at a convocation in his hometown of Athens, Ohio.)

 

Instead, U of A med school graduates got to listen to Gawande's words, second-hand. According to witnesses, Dr. Philip Baker, the dean of the U of A faculty of medicine and dentistry, delivered a speech at the convocation banquet, lifted in large part from an address that Gawande gave to graduates at Stanford University in California last year. Gawande's speech, widely available online, was subsequently published in The New Yorker.

 

How closely did Baker's speech mirror Gawande's? The U of A has thus far not released a copy of Baker's remarks. But several witnesses have told The Journal that significant portions of the speech were lifted word for word from Gawande's essay, including jokes and moving anecdotes that related to Gawande's personal experiences as a parent and physician. Certainly, in an open letter of apology, sent out to students on Sunday, Baker acknowledged that he had used the Gawande piece as "inspiration" and apologized to students, and to Gawande, for his failure to attribute that inspiration.

 

Now, the dean wasn't delivering an academic paper. This was a celebratory dinner speech, not a formal medical symposium. Baker wasn't attempting to counterfeit medical evidence or steal someone else's clinical research.

 

Still, his alleged behaviour would suggest a terrible disrespect for the medical school's latest graduates -not to mention the illustrious Dr. Gawande.

U of A students are asked to observe a strict code of conduct when it comes to plagiarism.

 

"No Student shall submit the words, ideas, images or data of another person as the Student's own in any academic writing, essay, thesis, project, assignment, presentation or poster in a course or program of study," reads the U of A code of conduct.

 

Baker, even by his own admission, submitted Gawande's words, ideas, and images as his own. The dean of a university faculty should exhibit the same level of intellectual integrity he demands of his students. He should be a role model, someone who sets and maintains high standards for his faculty, as well as his students. If his ability to exercise that moral leadership is called into question, it makes it much harder for anyone to respect him as a university administrator.

 

In his apology e-mail, Baker attempts to excuse himself for what he called his failure to acknowledge "the source of his inspiration," by saying his speech was intended for a private audience. Nonsense. He was speaking to a gathering of some 500 people at the Edmonton Expo Centre. He was representing the U of A at an official university function.

 

Certainly, the students gathered at Friday's dinner, having worked their way through the rigours of medical school, deserved the compliment of hearing a wholly original speech from their academic leader.

 

What baffles me, though, is why Baker, an accomplished scholar in his own right, would mine material, without attribution, from a speech as well-known in medical circles as Gawande's famous Stanford address.

Ours is a cut-and-paste era. It's never been simpler or faster for a student to scam a term paper, for a newspaper columnist to "lift" a quotation from another reporter or blogger's work or for an after-dinner or graduation speaker to "borrow" a speech. Thanks to YouTube and Wikipedia and Google, we're awash in easy-to-access information, all of it temptingly simple to download, especially if you're feeling overwhelmed or pressed for time.

 

Yet for the very same reason, would-be plagiarists have never been easier to hold to account. The very search engines that make it simple to rip off material make it child's play to identify plagiarism when it happens.

 

That's exactly what seems to have happened to hapless Dr. Baker.

 

Even while he was speaking, the med school grads and their guests were reportedly plugging phrases from Baker's speech into their iPhones and BlackBerrys, following along in real time, comparing his words to those on The New Yorker's website. It didn't take long for their indignation to spill onto Facebook and into the public realm.

Once upon a time, this might have been a little local scandal. Now, the same web networks that made it so easy for people to find Baker's source material have sent this story whizzing round the world, making him, and the U of A, into international laughingstocks.

 

I have a good deal of human sympathy for Philip Baker. Earlier this year, he gave a brave and moving interview to my colleague Andrea Sands about his efforts to overcome his speech impediment, about the bullying he endured because of his childhood stutter. I doubt he's a particularly enthusiastic or comfortable public speaker. Certainly, great, original speeches aren't easy to write or to deliver. It's easy to imagine that for anyone, Atul Gawande's quite brilliant speech might be a tempting template.

 

At the very least, Baker, a respected academic, deserves to have the allegations against him investigated with proper process.

 

But that doesn't mean we should shrug off the question of intellectual property. Atul Gawande earns his living, and makes his international reputation, not just as a surgeon, but as a professional writer and philosopher. However inspiring his ideas, his jokes, and his anecdotes may have been, they belong to him, and him alone. We need our universities, our centres of learning to uphold that principle of intellectual integrity. If they don't - who will?

 

 

Accusations 'cast a pall' on U of A

'Serious allegations' of plagiarism being investigated, president says

By Elise Stolte And Codi Wilson, Edmonton Journal June 14, 2011

 

Accusations that the dean of the University of Alberta's medical school plagiarized a graduation speech cast a pall on all his colleagues, one professor says.

 

"My colleagues are disturbed. It casts all of us in a bad light," John Church, who teaches health policy and political ethics at the U of A, said Monday.

 

"It undermines the integrity of the university when these things happen. This isn't just someone from the rank and file."

 

Students publicly complained on the weekend about Dr. Philip Baker's after-dinner speech to graduates Friday night. They said the speech lifted passages word-for-word from one given by Dr. Atul Gawande at Stanford University in 2010 and later published in The New Yorker.

 

Some students said they searched the speech on smartphones and were able to follow along as Baker spoke.

 

Baker apologized Sunday, sending e-mails to students and his colleagues, admitting the theme and much of the content was the same as Gawande's speech. That speech "inspired me and resonated with my experiences," he wrote.

 

University officials are investigating and have asked for a copy of the speech he delivered.

 

Even if Baker only borrowed ideas and the structure -not large chunks verbatim, as the students allege -he could be guilty of plagiarism, Church said.

 

The only way to judge plagiarism is to compare the two speeches side by side. Church warns his students before every course he teaches, "when in doubt, reference the source."

 

Gawande declined to comment Monday.

 

His speech addressed the daunting task of being a doctor in a time of radical transition and increasing complexity.

 

It will take humility, Gawande said.

 

That theme was "overwhelmingly reinforced," said Baker, in his written apology to students.

 

As a dean, Baker plays a key role judging students accused of plagiarism. Baker was unavailable when a reporter went to his office.

 

"These are serious allegations and the University of Alberta will treat them as such," university president Indira Samarasekera said in a written statement Monday.

 

"Academic integrity is at the heart of this university and must continue to be so. We will undertake our examination within a fair process and with due diligence. As would be the case with any such allegations, a thorough review will be conducted under the procedures of the research and scholarship integrity policy and/ or the ethical conduct and safe disclosure policy."

 

University policy states under no circumstance can a student pass off someone else's words, ideas, images or data as their own work in academic writing or in a presentation. Students who do so can be expelled.

 

University policy also requires researchers and scholars to recognize all collaborators and source other authors in their work. It states misrepresentation of material facts is considered fraud and the disciplinary action could include termination and prosecution.

 

News of Baker's apology and speech spread quickly within the U of A.

 

"Ralph Klein was one thing, but a university dean is quite another," said Jeremy Richards, an earth and atmospheric science professor who blogs regularly about university affairs. He was referring to when the former premier was accused of using someone else's ideas in his own student paper without proper attribution.

 

"How will I be able to look my students in the eye next fall and tell them that plagiarism is the cardinal sin of academia?" Richards asked in an e-mail. "I hope the university's administration acts quickly and appropriately or it will reflect very badly on our institution."

 

Outside observers have called for Baker to resign.

 

"Suppose a medical student stood before Dr. Baker charged with plagiarism? One would rightly expect dean Baker to investigate thoroughly and judge the student accordingly," Dr. Brian Goldman wrote on his blog, Dr. Brian's Side of the Gurney. Goldman is a Toronto-based physician and host of the CBC radio program White Coat, Black Art.

 

He called for Baker's resignation if the allegations against him are upheld.

 

"If dean Baker gets off, then the door to plagiarism at the University of Alberta will be flung wide open. 'I'll have what he's having,' future plagiarists will say. Therefore, if these allegations against dean Baker are true, he will have no choice but to resign. The deanery is no place for plagiarists, no (matter) how accomplished they are."

 

Deb Hammacher, spokeswoman for the university, said the institution won't "act in a hasty manner because of what some members of the public would like us to do. Somebody's reputation is a serious thing."

 

In an e-mail sent to the Students' Union, the university's vice-president of media relations, Debra Pozega Osburn, assured students that the school is taking the allegations seriously.

 

"Academic integrity is at the heart of the institution," she wrote.

 

Emerson Csorba, vice-president academic for the undergraduate Students' Union, said he trusts the university to handle the situation.

 

It was a hot topic for students on campus for convocation Monday, Csorba said. "This event should not overshadow the 2011 school of medicine graduates, as they have come a long way in earning this degree."

 

estolte@edmontonjournal.com cwilson@edmontonjournal.com

 

ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, WE ASKED:

 

"Plagiarism is plagiarism. If he was too lazy or left it to the 11th hour, that is no excuse. He could have stood up there, kept his integrity and said he hadn't prepared, and could have made an impromptu speech from his heart (instead of from someone else's)." - Diane Jarvis Schuller

 

"I think it's unfortunate that this occured. And no, not a great example. However, I don't think the dean should be expected to resign because of a speech. And I don't think the entire U of A is besmirched because of it, either. I'm sure there is a solution to rectify what has happened, and I'm also sure the entire situation will be forgotten in a short time, as well. And I think it should also be said that surfing the Internet during convocation ceremonies isn't too great either." - Chelsea Dunlop

 

"Even his apology sounds like it was written by someone else." - James Peters

 

"In my opinion, all of the research papers and other published material that the dean has produced should now be under examination. After all, what's to say that he hasn't just been "inspired" before from someone else's research or literature." - Franki Harrogate

 

"If this did happen it seems to be more of laziness than plagiarism. He wasn't publishing a paper, he was giving a speech. Unprofessional, definitely but I think we need to get this into context. I think the student is really blowing this out of proportion." - Calvin Chou

 

To join the conversation, visit facebook.com/edmontonjournal or facebook.com/EJPaulaSimons.

 

© Copyright © The Edmonton Journal

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June 17, 2011

University of Alberta Medical Dean Steps Down

 

(EDMONTON) – University of Alberta President Indira Samarasekera announced today the

resignation of Philip Baker, dean of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, from his position as

dean, effective immediately.

 

“On the request of the provost, and recognizing that it was in the best interests of all parties

involved, Dr. Philip Baker is resigning as dean, and I have accepted his resignation,”

Samarasekera said.

 

“It was never my intention to detract from the accomplishments of the graduating class of

2011,” said Baker. “My hope is that the university and the faculty will be able to put this

unfortunate incident behind them, and that this will bring closure for the university, the Faculty

and my family.”

 

Baker assumed the deanship on September 1, 2009, and also served as a professor and

practicing obstetrician. He will retain his faculty position following a brief administrative leave,

with assignments consistent with his academic expertise.

 

“We have been careful, thoughtful, and deliberate in reaching this conclusion, and our Board of

Governors has approved it,” Samarasekera said. She noted that Dr. Verna Yiu, currently vice-

dean of faculty affairs in the faculty, will serve as interim dean. A search for a permanent dean

will be struck as soon as is feasible.

 

###

 

The University of Alberta is one of Canada’s top teaching and research universities, with an international

reputation for excellence across the humanities, sciences, creative arts, business, engineering, and health

sciences. Home to more than 38,000 students and 15,000 faculty and staff, the university has an annual budget

of more than $1.4 billion and attracts more than $498 million in external research funding. It offers close to 400

undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in 18 faculties on five campuses.

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it'd be worth creating a closure on the thread as well...i think he's received his due punishment...and so should this thread rest

 

Well thank goodness you're not the dictator of Premed101. I know for a fact this is something in discussion at the CPSA and RCPSC level. They are in fact waiting for the official investigation into plagiarism from the university to complete (which it hasn't yet, it's still ongoing), before going into theirs.

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