Plagiarism in master of education studies at selected East African Universities

Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct and is a problematic phenomenon which affects academia globally. Even though the origins of the concept of plagiarism can be traced back throughout history, the term has come to carry many varying implications. This may affect the ways in which plagiarism is understood, detected and prosecuted by the parties it involves, such as students, academics and in policies. Despite its origin in Western tradition, this form of academic malpractice is prominent in African universities. In its most basic definition as theft of intellectual property, plagiarism is intertwined intricately with ownership of knowledge, which is culturally specific. This study situates itself within the context of three African universities, namely Moi University (Kenya), Makerere University (Uganda) and the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), and aims to explore anti-plagiarism strategies implemented at these institutions. More specifically, this study focuses on Master of Education students’ perceptions of plagiarism, the supervisors’ role in preventing and detecting such malpractice and the institutional disciplinary practices in place. This study analyses the possible reasons for the continuous occurrence of plagiarism at these institutions and aims to explore the potential of further strategies to prevent the various forms of malpractice. This research is a qualitative study and uses the constructivist paradigm. The research design is a multiple case study because the data collected originates from the contexts of the three selected universities. The data generation was conducted through triangulation of personal interviews with the students, lecturers and policy-makers as well as through focus group discussions with students and document analysis. Three methods of sampling were employed. The student participants were selected through convenient sampling, the supervisors were chosen through purposive sampling and snowballing was used to identify policy-makers. The data analysis was conducted thematically. In discussing the methodology and findings, Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural theory (1978) is employed. The introductory chapter provides an overview of the complexities of plagiarism and problematizes its implications. Chapter two outlines the relevant literature and contextualizes the research topic. The third chapter introduces the methodology. Chapter four presents the data collected. Thereafter, chapter five focuses on the interpretation and the discussion of the data. The last chapter draws conclusions in relation to the research questions and suggests areas for further research

Disruptive technologies and institutional processes in the creative industries: evidence from the fields of trade book publishing, academic publishing and music

This thesis explores an important yet underexplored aspect of management studies, which is field-level responses to the entrance of a disruptive technology in an institutional field. Despite the relevance of digital technologies (such as the 3D printer) that not only improve competitive advantage of organisations but also alter consolidated settlements in the distribution, appropriation and use of resources within a field (for example, user-generated objects), current studies of institutional theory and technology have overlooked how actors respond to technologies that could potentially weaken their positions. Instead, existing studies have focused on how actors embed their interests in new technologies. Using qualitative methods in three empirical standalone papers, this dissertation explores three cases of how actors respond to the entrance of a disruptive technology in an institutional field. In Paper 1, co-authored with my thesis supervisors, we explore technology’s affordances as integral to threats of disruption to institutional settlement in the light of the introduction of the electronic book in the field of trade book publishing. In this case, we found that incumbents used rules/affordances bundles to temper the disruptive potential of the technology. In Paper 2, I explore the case of scholarly book publishing in which the possibilities afforded by Internet technologies make research available in Open Access, thus threatening to disrupt established institutional settlements (commercial publishers’ business models that are in place). In this case, the incumbents (the commercial publishers) address threats to undermine their privileged positions and interests effectively when they are not in a position to oppose a reconfiguration of current arrangements. In the third paper, I explore the case of the introduction of digital technologies into the music industry, in which unorganised and non-strategic actors - consumers - catalyse institutional change that organised actors adopt later. The dissertation’s main contribution is to the literature on institutional theory. The three empirical papers generated insights into how, despite the arrival of technologies with disruptive potential, changes driven by the search for a new settlement between conflicting interests led the incumbents and organised actors to responses that co-opted the disruptive potential of the technology, leading to alternative explanations to straight processes of institutional change. Instead of explaining straight processes of institutional change, I put forward the three following accounts: the dialectal interaction between opposing frames as driven by the dual forces of material interests and social positioning, the co-existence between institutional change and stability, and the accommodation between opposing interests

Internal Controls: Identifying Control Elements and implementation Dynamics Facing Retail Companies.

Retail company managers face challenges that include how to protect their companies from theft, embezzlement, and fraud. Retail companies lose up to 5% of their revenue to frauds annually. However, in most cases, managers\u27 understanding, design, and implementation of strong internal control systems could minimize the problem. The purpose of this case study was to explore strategies managers used to strengthen internal control. The purposive sample included 5 experienced company managers from large and medium-size retail companies in Virginia. The conceptual framework consisted of the treadway committee of sponsoring organizations model and the criteria of control. Participant interviews, document reviews, and observation led to rich data. Interview data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using the modified Van Kaam method to identify themes such as control, technology, evaluation, adaptability, efficiency, and accountability. Findings showed that deficiencies caused changes in the control systems, personnel, and evaluation that figure centrally in internal control reviews. Managers\u27 use of technologies emerged as the key strategy for minimizing risk. Business leaders could use these findings to strengthen operational practices and inculcate in employees\u27 ethics of internal control. Business leaders may thereby produce civil members within their operating communities. Resultant lower product prices could benefit consumers, improve community-company relationships, and make the community safer

Designing Mindscapes: Re-inventing Urban Spaces by understanding Psychology of Design and Philosophy of Heterotopia

Urban spaces are becoming monotonous in their appearance as well as in terms of their experience. In an effort to match the fast pace of our lifestyles, the design of most of our streetscapes and urban areas in our cities have started to look and feel the same. The thesis of this major research project is an investigation into the understanding of the psychological impact of the design of such spaces on human beings, and an attempt to develop a framework to summarize this understanding to help designers and architects design our environments to inspire creativity and innovation. The framework derives its inspiration from the philosophy of ‘heterotopia’ proposed by Michel Foucault, where heterotopia is referred as “the other space”, a space which facilitates heterogeneous experiences

Publishing Addiction Science

"Publishing Addiction Science is a comprehensive guide for addiction scientists facing the complex process of contributing to scholarly journals. Written by an international group of addiction journal editors and their colleagues, it discusses how to write research articles and systematic reviews, choose a journal, respond to reviewers’ reports, become a reviewer, and resolve the often difficult authorship, ethical and citation issues that arise in addiction science publishing. As a “Guide for the Perplexed,” Publishing Addiction Science helps novice as well as experienced researchers to deal with these challenges. It is suitable for university courses and forms the basis of the training workshops offered by the International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE). Co-sponsored by ISAJE and the scientific journal Addiction, the third edition of Publishing Addiction Science gives special attention to the challenges faced by researchers from developing and non-English-speaking countries and features new chapters on guidance for clinician-scientists and the growth of infrastructure and career opportunities in addiction science.

Application of PLS-SEM for small-scale survey: an empirical example of SMEs

Recent developments in Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) have been claimed to add some sophistication onto quantitative research methods' usage in terms of their research versatility, efficiency and practicality in a range of disciplines including Information Systems, Marketing, and People Management research. Although covariance based SEM (CB-SEM) is most prominent, application of partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is an attractive alternative. This paper examines and applies the characteristics of PLS-SEM onto SMEs to see whether the efficiency, practicality and versatility assumptions, as claimed, do actually contribute to SMEs' business entrepreneurship in practice. The research question is therefore 'Do the embedded PLS-SEM assumptions of research versatility, practicality and efficiency actually translate into practical reality in SMEs operating in an emerging economy context?' We used a quantitative method data analysis technique as a precursor to help us identify the types of challenges faced by SMEs at both the micro and macro levels of analysis. Primary survey data from 212 Bangladeshi SMEs located at various geographic districts provide the study's population. We assess the application of the technique as a research methodological tool and its limitations provided the basis for us to develop and validate a partial least square based structural equation model (PLS-SEM) as part of a small scale survey-based research on SMEs. These methodological insights then led to a successful framing of SMEs in a model that contributes to a process of identifying which types of challenges are more critical for SMEs' growth. Our results show that for SMEs to be competitive, the business and research benefits of our modelling and methodological technique should be given foreseeable attention by both academics and business practitioners. This methodological perspective is yet to gain researchers and professional practitioners' attention from SMEs' business perspective. By applying the statistical PLS technique to Business and Management Studies research we are contributing to a deeper understanding and knowledge creation in examining the assumptions, the design and application of a sophisticated research tool for the development of People Management, Business and SME theory and practice with a focus on an emerging economy

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council -- Volume 9, no. 1 -- Complete Issue

CONTENTS Call for Papers Submission Guidelines Dedication to John Grady Editor’s Introduction -- Ada Long FORUM ON “HONORS CULTURE” Defining Honors Culture -- Charlie Slavin The Culture of Honors -- George Mariz Creating an Honors Culture -- Jim Ford Honors Culture Clash: The High Achieving Student Meets the Gifted Professor -- Annmarie Guzy The Prairie Home Companion Honors Program -- Paul Strong The Times They Are A-Changin’ -- Dail Mullins RESEARCH ESSAYS The New Model Education -- Gary Bell. The Role of Advanced Placement Credit in Honors Education -- Maureen E. Kelleher, Lauren C. Pouchak, and Melissa A. Lulay Towards Reliable Honors Assessment -- Gregory W. Lanier About the Authors NCHC Publication Order Form

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council -- Volume 9, no. 1 -- Complete Issue

CONTENTS Call for Papers Submission Guidelines Dedication to John Grady Editor’s Introduction -- Ada Long FORUM ON “HONORS CULTURE” Defining Honors Culture -- Charlie Slavin The Culture of Honors -- George Mariz Creating an Honors Culture -- Jim Ford Honors Culture Clash: The High Achieving Student Meets the Gifted Professor -- Annmarie Guzy The Prairie Home Companion Honors Program -- Paul Strong The Times They Are A-Changin’ -- Dail Mullins RESEARCH ESSAYS The New Model Education -- Gary Bell. The Role of Advanced Placement Credit in Honors Education -- Maureen E. Kelleher, Lauren C. Pouchak, and Melissa A. Lulay Towards Reliable Honors Assessment -- Gregory W. Lanier About the Authors NCHC Publication Order Form