A cross-country evaluation of cheating in academia: is it related to ‘real world’ business ethics?

Today’s economics and business students are expected to be our future’s business people and potentially our tomorrow’s economic leaders and politicians. Thus, their beliefs and practices are likely to affect the definition of acceptable economics and business ethics. The empirical evaluation of the cheating phenomenon in academia has been almost exclusively focused on the US context, and the non-US studies involve, in general, a narrow scope of countries. In the present paper we perform a wide cross-country study on the determinants of economics and business undergraduate cheating which involves 21 countries from the American (4), European (14), Africa (2) and Oceania (1) Continents and 7213 students. We found that the average magnitude of copying among the economics and business undergraduates is quite high (62%) but with a significant cross-country heterogeneity. The probability of cheating is significantly lower in students enrolled in schools located in the Nordic or the US plus British Isles blocks when compared with their South Europe counterparts; quite surprisingly that probability is also lower for the African block. Distinctly, students enrolled in schools from the Western and especially from the Eastern Europe observe statistically significant higher propensities for perpetrating academic fraud. Our findings further suggest that average cheating propensity in academia is significantly correlated with ‘real world’ business corruption.cheating; corruption; university; economics; business; countries

Crime without punishment: An update review of the determinants of cheating among university students

The issue of cheating is a serious problem since it can call the efficiency of an education system into question. Furthermore, it is a devaluing factor in the country's stock of human capital. A student who copies is a free-rider, in the sense that he/she gains a higher grade than that merited by the actual amount of effort expended on study. In addition, it makes it impossible for teachers to fully achieve the goal of effective dissemination to, and acquisition of knowledge by, students. This paper conceptually and methodologically systematizes the phenomenon of academic fraud. Distinct forms of theorizing illegal behaviours are examined, adapting Becker’s crime model (1968) to cheating. A systematic review of the literature has allowed certain direct determinants of the probability of “copying”, not yet investigated, to be identified, viz: 1) the ‘advantages’, in terms of a higher grade, that students see themselves as gaining from fraudulent behaviour in comparison with not indulging in it; 2) the breakdown of students’ grades by nature of discipline - “reasoning” versus “cramming”; and 3) the existence or otherwise of a code of honour in universities. As a result, this paper proposes a new, ‘expanded’, econometric specification for estimating cheating (i.e., the probability of “copying”) based on an analysis of the expected cost-benefit, according to Becker’s model.crime, cheating, university, human capital

College cheating in Portugal: results from a large scale survey

The phenomenon of cheating among academics is of overwhelming importance in that the students engaging in it are most unlikely to have the skills necessary for their future professional life. Despite its relevance, the empirical evaluation of college cheating has been almost exclusively focused on the US context. Little is known about college cheating at the European level let alone Portugal. Less even in investigated at the regional level. In this paper we present evidence on cheating perception by Portuguese undergraduate students of economics and business courses. We undertake a large scale survey, involving 2675 students from all Portuguese mainland public universities. We found that (1) the likelihood of copying is increased when the expected benefit in terms of grade is positive; (2) copying-favourable environments – the high frequency with which students observe the act of copying, familiarity with someone that copies regularly, and the students’ opinion regarding copying – are associated with higher cheating propensity; (3) the higher and more serious students perceive sanctions, fewer incentives they have to perpetrate dishonest behaviours – in universities where ‘codes of honour’ exist, the propensity for copying among students is lower; (4) the propensity for copying seems to be highly influenced by regions’ cultural systems and social related factors - students who reside on a permanent basis in southern, inland regions, especially in Alentejo-related areas, present a significantly higher propensity to academic fraud than students from other areas of Portugal.cheating; university; cost/benefit; regions

Direction of movement of late paleozoic glaciers in Angola (Western Africa)

A identificação de um pavimento de clastos intercalado entre dois diamictitos da "Série de Lutôe", Angola, constitue evidência de origem glacial dessas rochas. A orientação de estrias sobre os clastos, a disposição espacial destes no pavimento, e a orientação de clastos de diamictitos indicam que as geleiras neopaleozóicas deslocaram-se de SE-NW nesta parte da Bacia do Congo.Identification of a boulder pavement intercalated between two diamictites of the "Lutôe Series" in Angola points out for a glacial origin for these rocks. Measurement of striae on clasts, their disposition in the pavement and the fabric of diamictites indicate movement of Late Paleozoic (Gondwana) glaciers towards NW in this part of the Congo Basin

Tribo-Corrosion behaviour of TiCxOy thin films in bio fluids

In recent years, the development of thin film systems for decorative applications has attracted significant attention in scientific research. These decorative coatings require, not only an attractive appearance for market applications, but also an ability to protect the surface underneath. Because of this, corrosion, wear and their combined effects (termed tribo-corrosion) are particularly important for lifetime prediction. The tribo-corrosion behaviour of a range of single layered titanium oxycarbide, TiCxOy,coatings, produced by DC reactive magnetron sputtering, has been studied and reported as a function of electrode potential (-0.9 V, -0.5 V, 0.0 V and +0.5 V) and applied load (3, 6 and 9 N). The study was conducted in a reciprocating sliding tribosystem (Plint TE 67/E) in a bio fluid (an artificial perspiration solution) at room temperature. During the wear tests, both the open-circuit potential and the corrosion current were monitored. The results showed that electrode potential and load have a significant influence on the total material loss. The variations in Rp (polarization resistance) and Cf(capacitance) before and after sliding, obtained by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) were evaluated in order to provide an understanding of the resistance of the film in such conditions. Tribo-corrosion maps were generated, based on the results, indicating the change in mechanisms of the tribological and corrosion parameters for such coatings

Case Report: Intrapulmonary Arteriovenous Anastomoses in COVID-19-Related Pulmonary Vascular Changes: A New Player in the Arena?

Up to now, COVID-19-related vascular changes were mainly described as thrombo-embolic events. A handful of researchers reported another type of vascular abnormality referred to as "vascular thickening" or "vascular enlargement," without specifying whether the dilated vessels are arteries or veins nor providing a physiopathological hypothesis. Our observations indicate that the vascular dilatation occurs in the venous compartment, and underlying mechanisms might include increased blood flow due to inflammation and the activation of arteriovenous anastomoses

Numerical study of augmented lagrangian algorithms for constrained global optimization

To cite this article: Ana Maria A.C. Rocha & Edite M.G.P. Fernandes (2011): Numerical study of augmented Lagrangian algorithms for constrained global optimization, Optimization, 60:10-11, 1359-1378This article presents a numerical study of two augmented Lagrangian algorithms to solve continuous constrained global optimization problems. The algorithms approximately solve a sequence of bound constrained subproblems whose objective function penalizes equality and inequality constraints violation and depends on the Lagrange multiplier vectors and a penalty parameter. Each subproblem is solved by a population-based method that uses an electromagnetism-like (EM) mechanism to move points towards optimality. Three local search procedures are tested to enhance the EM algorithm. Benchmark problems are solved in a performance evaluation of the proposed augmented Lagrangian methodologies. A comparison with other techniques presented in the literature is also reported

Hybrid approaches to optimization and machine learning methods: a systematic literature review

Notably, real problems are increasingly complex and require sophisticated models and algorithms capable of quickly dealing with large data sets and finding optimal solutions. However, there is no perfect method or algorithm; all of them have some limitations that can be mitigated or eliminated by combining the skills of different methodologies. In this way, it is expected to develop hybrid algorithms that can take advantage of the potential and particularities of each method (optimization and machine learning) to integrate methodologies and make them more efficient. This paper presents an extensive systematic and bibliometric literature review on hybrid methods involving optimization and machine learning techniques for clustering and classification. It aims to identify the potential of methods and algorithms to overcome the difficulties of one or both methodologies when combined. After the description of optimization and machine learning methods, a numerical overview of the works published since 1970 is presented. Moreover, an in-depth state-of-art review over the last three years is presented. Furthermore, a SWOT analysis of the ten most cited algorithms of the collected database is performed, investigating the strengths and weaknesses of the pure algorithms and detaching the opportunities and threats that have been explored with hybrid methods. Thus, with this investigation, it was possible to highlight the most notable works and discoveries involving hybrid methods in terms of clustering and classification and also point out the difficulties of the pure methods and algorithms that can be strengthened through the inspirations of other methodologies; they are hybrid methods.Open access funding provided by FCT|FCCN (b-on). This work has been supported by FCT— Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R &D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020. Beatriz Flamia Azevedo is supported by FCT Grant Reference SFRH/BD/07427/2021 The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/ MCTES (PIDDAC) to CeDRI (UIDB/05757/2020 and UIDP/05757/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hybrid approaches to optimization and machine learning methods

This paper conducts a comprehensive literature review concerning hybrid techniques that combine optimization and machine learning approaches for clustering and classification problems. The aim is to identify the potential benefits of integrating these methods to address challenges in both fields. The paper outlines optimization and machine learning methods and provides a quantitative overview of publications since 1970. Additionally, it offers a detailed review of recent advancements in the last three years. The study includes a SWOT analysis of the top ten most cited algorithms from the collected database, examining their strengths and weaknesses as well as uncovering opportunities and threats explored through hybrid approaches. Through this research, the study highlights significant findings in the realm of hybrid methods for clustering and classification, showcasing how such integrations can enhance the shortcomings of individual techniques.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Avaliação da Ilha de calor de Bragança

O presente estudo, realizado no âmbito do projeto transfronteiriço POCTEP - BIOURB, tem por objetivo avaliar o efeito de ilha de calor urbana (ICU) na cidade de Bragança. Para o efeito, foi instalada uma rede de medição de temperatura e de humidade do ar, com vinte e três termo-higrómetros colocados em diferentes locais da cidade e no espaço rural, complementada com um estação meteorológica automática. Os resultados evidenciam a existência do efeito de ICU. Este efeito tem relevância nos pontos com uma urbanização mais densa e decresce nos pontos de menor densidade de edifícios. No período de inverno, a intensidade do efeito de ICU atinge em média os 2ºC, embora tenham sido registados máximos na ordem dos 5ºC. Tal como seria de esperar, é na época de verão que se verificaram as maiores diferenças entre zonas urbanas e zonas rurais, sendo que a média sobe para os 3ºC nas zonas mais urbanizadas, onde se registam máximos na ordem dos 6ºC. Em ambos os casos, os picos de intensidade observaram-se predominantemente uma a duas horas antes do nascer do sol, em particular em dias de vento fraco. Ao início da manhã registou-se ainda um efeito de ilha de frio