Montana State University Extension recently published six new MontGuides covering a variety of topics to provide unbiased information for Montanans.
As part of their outreach efforts, MSU Extension specialists and agents write MontGuides with information gathered during their research and outreach work throughout the year. The fact sheets are designed for all Montanans, including agricultural producers, home gardeners, families, landowners and other groups.
New and existing MontGuides are located online at store.msuextension.org, where they can be downloaded for free or printed copies can be ordered. For more information, call the MSU Extension Distribution Center at 406-994-3273 or email orderpubs@montana.edu.
The new MontGuides include the following:
Growing Cold-Hardy Berries and Small Fruits in Montana
This eight-page MontGuide highlights currants, gooseberries, dwarf sour cherries, aronia and haskaps (or honeyberries), which are hardy fruits that can be grown almost anywhere in Montana. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/Products/Growing-Cold-Hardy-Berries-and-Small-Fruits-in-Montana-MT202101AG__MT202101AG.aspx.
Animal Unit Month (AUM) Lease Rates
This two-page MontGuide is intended for livestock producers and landowners who are interested in simple ways to determine rental rates for grazing lands, including rangelands, forest lands, and dryland and irrigated seeded pastures. The document provides an overview and examples of how to compute AUM rental rates for Montana grazing lands. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/Products/Animal-Unit-Month-(AUM)-Lease-Rates-MT202103AG__MT202103AG.aspx.
Stigma Free Addictions Terminology for Montanans
This four-page MontGuide addresses terms used surrounding addiction, which is an umbrella term for both substance use, such as alcohol use and drug use, and behavioral addictions, such as gambling or sex addiction. It gives an overview of substance use in Montana and identifies language that can cause stigmas toward people with substance use issues. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/Products/Stigma-Free-Addictions-Terminology-for-Montanans-MT202013HR__MT202013HR.aspx.
Transfer on Death Deeds in Montana
This eight-page MontGuide explains transfer on death deeds, which allow Montanans to leave real property to a designated beneficiary upon their death without going through a probate process. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/publications/FamilyFinancialManagement/MT202010HR.pdf.
Quitclaim Deeds in Montana
This four-page MontGuide explains quitclaim deeds, including what they are, when they are used, what the risks are and what some of the unintended tax consequences might be. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/Products/Quitclaim-Deeds-in-Montana-MT202102HR__MT202102HR.aspx.
Fire-Resistant Landscaping Considerations for Montana’s Wildland Urban Interface
This four-page MontGuide describes the wildland-urban interface and how many plants have developed fire-resilient adaptations. It also addresses how to create fire-resistant landscapes, which is an important component in reducing wildfire risk. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/Products/Fire-Resistant-Landscaping-Considerations-for-Montana’s-Wildland-Urban-Interface-(WUI)-MT202104AG__MT202104AG.aspx.
A new podcast series inspired by famed Montana author Ivan Doig and offered by the Montana State University Library is now available to the public.
The podcast series, called “The Wind from Eden: Montana Weather Stories,” explores how weather shaped the history, culture and literature of central Montana. The episodes include interviews with residents of Meagher and Pondera counties and use the writings of Doig as a literary lens through which to view these conditions.
The project was funded with a grant from Humanities Montana. MSU Library partnered with Jeff Rice, who edited, produced and hosted the series. Rice is an independent radio producer whose stories have appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” “Here and Now” and “The Best of NPR.” He is also the program director at the library’s Acoustic Atlas, a collection of natural sound recordings from Montana and the western U.S.
The episodes range from five to 15 minutes in length and explore the history of ranching in the region known informally as “Doig Country,” touching on the fierce weather conditions during the early to mid-20th century. The first five episodes address the weather-related themes of wind, extreme cold, isolation, spring rebirth and the celebration of summer.
“For Montanans along the Rocky Mountain Front, weather was a factor during every season,” said Rice. “The area’s brutal winters made travel difficult and often separated families. By contrast, warm or sweltering summers were a period of celebration but brought challenges such as thunderstorms, fire and hazards for livestock.”
To enhance the interviews, Rice also spoke with meteorologists, historians and literary scholars. Doig’s widow, Carol Doig, was an adviser to the series.
“We’re pleased to work with Jeff on the podcast series,” said Kenning Arlitsch, dean of MSU Library. “By capturing these stories, we are able to preserve historic information about Montana’s rapidly changing ranching culture.”
The podcast is available at ivandoig.montana.edu/projects/sounds/, all major podcasting platforms and Public Radio Exchange (PRX), allowing for potential broadcast on radio programs throughout Montana and beyond. Audio from the podcasts is also included in MSU Library’s Ivan Doig Writer’s Quest Traveling Trunks, a learning experience designed to introduce students to the works of Doig and available for loan to 7th through 12th grade teachers throughout Montana.
Doig, who died in 2015, grew up in White Sulphur Springs and Dupuyer and set the majority of his 16 books in the Big Sky State. His first book, “This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind,” a poetic memoir published in 1979, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Doig then turned to writing fiction that perennially hit bestseller lists. Carol Doig donated his archive to MSU Library in 2015.
The Ivan Doig Archive can be accessed at ivandoig.montana.edu/.
In its essence, plagiarism is a form of theft. If you are adding someone’s ideas or words to your content pretending they are your own, it can be considered as stealing intellectual property. That’s why plagiarism is absolutely unethical.
Types of plagiarism
There are different types of plagiarism, some of which are listed below.
Direct
Direct deliberate plagiarism can be defined as the word-for-word transcription of someone else’s piece of writing without providing any attribution or quotation marks.
Self Plagiarism
Self-plagiarism occurs when an individual uses parts of his/her previous works. It also applies to publishing the same content on different platforms without pointing that out.
Mosaic
Mosaic plagiarism means borrowing someone else’s phrases without quotation marks. It also occurs when one uses the same structure and meaning of another person’s content.
Accidental
If one unintentionally paraphrases someone’s content without attribution, it’s called accidental plagiarism. It’s important to note that lack of intent does not free you from responsibility for plagiarism.
Plagiarism checker to ensure original content
Even if you are not going to use someone else’s ideas, chances are you will do it unintentionally. Even though accidental plagiarism is quite rare, it still may occur. Hence, you need to take care of checking your text for uniqueness. You can do it with the help of an online plagiarism checker for college students or some SEO tools for content writers. It’s very important not to use plagiarized content in your blog, so you shouldn’t neglect this step. Below you can read the five reasons why it’s vital to publish only unique posts.
1. Moral issues
As it was mentioned above, plagiarism literally means stealing someone else’s work. If you are using the content created by another person who was fully dedicated to its creation, you can not be viewed as a trustworthy writer. Such dishonest actions are a form of lying. By pretending that a piece was written by yourself, you are misleading your readers. They may mistakenly give you the recognition that was actually deserved by another person, which is completely unfair and unethical. So if you don’t want to act in an immoral way, publish the content created by yourself only.
2. Low ranking
SEO specialists argue that plagiarized content negatively affects the search engine ranking of your website. As Google is aimed at offering valuable top-quality content and avoiding spam, it tries to prevent information overload. Google tries not to show multiple or very similar versions of the same pages, so it simply hides content copies. As you see, using plagiarized content is pointless for your website because of Google policy. What’s more, search engines may even punish website owners who publish someone else’s pieces. This means that they may lower the ranking of your website if crawlers detect duplicate content there.
3. Destroyed reputation
Copying someone’s work can damage your reputation. In fact, plagiarizing makes an individual guilty of stealing content. This means that there is no reason for readers to trust the author. Blog visitors cannot view the source containing unoriginal content as credible. Naturally, it gets impossible for them to believe someone who steals intellectual property. So if you don’t want to disrupt your image, never use works created by others. Remember that it’s extremely difficult to recover a damaged reputation and make your readers come back.
4. Losing visitors
Website visitors appreciate original content. If you post the articles that were previously published by other bloggers, you will never have a loyal audience. Just think, why people should prefer your blog if there is nothing new for them. Users always seek innovative ideas and fresh thoughts, so they return to resources that can offer what they need. Hence, you should be creative to persuade your visitors to stay on your website for some time. If they find extraordinary materials on your pages, they will keep reading your blog with great interest.
5. Ruined career
Plagiarism can harm your career. Professionals can’t completely rely on someone’s knowledge and skills. They need to use their own experience and share their own views on particular issues instead. People want to gather different opinions and then compare them. Most of them find it right to make judgments based on an analysis of a few controversial ideas. If someone reveals that you are giving someone else’s point of view pretending it’s yours, this will make you look untrustworthy in the eyes of your readers and eventually ruin your writing career.
Final thoughts
There are various negative consequences of using plagiarized content, some of which are mentioned above. Therefore, you should always check your content for uniqueness in order to avoid undesired outcomes.
Author’s BIO
Robert Everett is a content writer and academic tutor. Robert writes articles mainly for educational platforms and study blogs. He believes that content must be not only engaging but also 100% original to bring value to the readers.
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