There are still players who do not follow the rules of the game

Through my involvement with an international journal I got a perfect example showing the consequence of ignoring the academic ethics. 即使在國內，一稿數投，仍時有所聞。

The following is what a journal editor wrote to the author:


This is to inform you that we are rejecting your paper, ms#12345, entitled

"xxxxxxxxx"

which arrived on Nov.9, 2010.

A referee, upon receiving our referee request, wrote us,
“I am afraid that the paper had been submitted to the journal,xxxx, some time in November/December 2010. I am not sure the decision of that journal. Perhaps it is still under review.”

A board member brought this case to my attention and I quote: “Multiple submissions are a serious academic misconduct, usually initiating actions such as informing the employer of the author’s home institution. We must block the author for any business in the future indefinitely. Unless the author can furnish some first-hand document from the editor(s) of “xxxx” to demonstrate that this manuscript was not under any consideration of that journal at the time the author sent it to us, we shall view the submission of ms#12345 as an intentional academic misconduct. Hugo Sonnenschein, one of my favorite leading economists, once admitted that, when he was still at graduate program, he sent his paper to three leading journals at the same time. Well, it happened in the 1960s and graduate students may not know the academic norm/practice well. Nowadays, it is well known that multiple submission is strictly prohibited everywhere.”