honor system
{{Short description|Process of governing without enforcement}}
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File:Honor system plant sale.jpg
An honor system, trust system or honesty system is a way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty.
The honor system is also a system granting freedom from customary surveillance (as to students or prisoners) with the understanding that those who are so freed will be bound by their honor to observe regulations (e.g. prison farms may be operated under the honor system),"honor system." Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (24 Feb. 2008) and will therefore not abuse the trust placed in them.
== Examples ==
= Education =
{{Main|Academic honor code}}
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The first honor system in America was created at the College of William & Mary in 1779.{{Cite web |last=Reese |first=Jennifer |date=1997-03-01 |title=Reviving the Honor Code |url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/reviving-the-honor-code#:~:text=William%20and%20Mary%20College%20instituted,to%20promptly%20leave%20the%20school. |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=stanfordmag.org |language=en}} In some colleges, the honor system is used to administer tests unsupervised. Students are generally asked to sign an honor code statement that says they will not cheat or use unauthorized resources when taking tests. As an example, at Vanderbilt University students taking examinations are required to sign and include the following pledge: “I pledge on my honor that have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this examination”. Any student caught in violation of the Honor Code is referred to the Honor Council which investigates and determines the appropriate action, which can range from failing the course to expulsion from the university.{{Cite web |last=Vanderbilt University |title=Faculty Guide to the Honor System |url=https://studentorg.vanderbilt.edu/honorcouncil/faculty-guide-to-the-honor-system/#g |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Vanderbilt University |language=en}}
At the University of Virginia a student taking an examination is also required to sign a pledge not to give or receive aid and there is one penalty for transgression of the honor code, dismissal from the university.{{Cite web |last=University of Virginia |title=The Honor Code |url=https://honor.virginia.edu/course/honor-code#:~:text=The%20Honor%20Code%20of%20the,a%20University%20of%20Virginia%20student. |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=honor.virginia.edu}} Texas A&M also has an Honor System which states, Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do.{{Cite web |title=Aggie Code of Honor |url=https://student-rules.tamu.edu/aggiecode/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=student-rules.tamu.edu}} Any student that does not follow the code is remanded to the Honor council so they can determine the severity of the case and how the student should be punished or if expulsion is necessary.{{Cite web |title=Sanctions |url=https://www.tamug.edu/HonorSystem/sanctions.html#:~:text=When%20an%20alleged%20violation%20is,is%20separation%20from%20the%20university. |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=www.tamug.edu |language=en}} The students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also maintain a student-run honor system. Students maintain the integrity of the university by pledging not to cheat, steal or lie. Unlike the University of Virginia, the honor system at Chapel Hill allows for different sanctions, ranging from probation to expulsion. A single-sanction Honor Code exists at the Virginia Military Institute, where a "drum out" ceremony is still carried out upon a cadet's dismissal.{{cite web | url=https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1997/rt9703/970309/03100009.htm | title=The Honor Code is 'Simple and All-Encompassing' }}
Some private universities are run by or associated with religious organizations and their honor code reflect that association. At Brigham Young University students commit to the Church Educational System Honor Code which unlike other honor codes has restrictions placed on how students should engage in sexual and romantic relationships and that students and employees should attend religious services.{{Cite web |title=Church Educational System Honor Code |url=https://policy.byu.edu/view/church-educational-system-honor-code |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=policy.byu.edu}}
= Retail =
Some supermarket chains allow customers to scan their own groceries with handheld barcode readers while placing them in their own carts (see self-checkout). Customers can be randomly audited. While the system gives customers the ability to place groceries in their bags without paying, participating supermarkets have reported that this experimental system has not increased the amount of shoplifting.[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19276534 Wait in self-check line? That’s so last month - U.S. business - nbcnews.com]
In some countries, farmers leave bags of produce beside the road outside their houses with prices affixed. Passers-by pay by leaving cash in a container. In Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom this is called the honesty box system. In other countries, small unmanned stores are run, where customers are able to enter, obtain what they need, and pay the bill in a secure container.{{cite web|last=Basu|first=Mihika|title=Unmanned Shop|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/unmanned-shop/913972|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126072642/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/unmanned-shop/913972|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 January 2013|publisher=Indian Express|access-date=28 October 2012}}
= Public health =
During the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people have received their vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance that fully-vaccinated people no longer had to wear face masks. Many places relied on an honor system to trust that people who were not vaccinated continued to wear face masks.{{Cite news |last=Iati |first=Marisa |date=May 15, 2021 |title=The new mask guidance relies on an honor system. Do we trust each other enough to make it work? |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/05/15/mask-vaccination-honor-system/ |access-date=December 6, 2022}}
= Public transport =
Various public transport systems are ungated and operate on an enforced honour system. Random inspections are made but there is no systematic means of ensuring that everyone has paid. If a revenue protection inspector finds a person indeed lacks the proper ticket, the passenger gets a penalty fare.{{Cite web |last=Federal Transit Administration |title=Fare collection |url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/research-innovation/fare-collection |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=transit.dot.gov}}
See also
- Hawala or hundi, an informal value transfer system based on an honor system
- Kavka's toxin puzzle examines the paradoxical nature of "rewarding intent."
- Reputation system
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Bowman, James. Honor: A History. Encounter, 2007.
- Wyatt-Brown, Bertram. Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South. OUP, 2007.
{{Authority control}}
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