Plagiarism litigation trends in the USA and Australia

In this article we explore the increasing complexity of plagiarism litigation in the USA and Australia. Plagiarism has always been a serious academic issue and academic staff and students have wrestled with its definition and appropriate penalties for some time. However, the advent of the Internet and more freely accessible information resources, along with busy lives and pressures to succeed, may be leading to more frequent incidents of plagiarism. Alternatively, the same information resources and software packages may mean that we are now more able to identify when plagiarism occurs. The following discussion explores not just the traditional issues that have arisen with respect to plagiarism, but also the extended contexts in which plagiarism discussion is taking place in courtrooms, not university staffrooms. We consider issues in common in the two nations, as well as the wider academic community, and distinctive areas of litigation that have arisen in the USA and Australia.     

Implicit theories of criminal responsibility

Three questions relevant to insanity decisions were examined: (a) What informational cues are weighed most heavily in the attribution of criminal responsibility? (b) How do verdict forms influence these attributions? And (c) How do individuals' beliefs about insanity and responsibility influence decision making? Undergraduate subjects (n=181) responded to vignettes portraying an act by a mentally disordered defendant. Psychiatric jargon was avoided, so that attributions were not a function of diagnostic terminology. It was found that, under the traditional scheme of not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) vs. guilty, level of mental disorder (schizophrenia vs. personality disorder) was the primary determinant of insanity decisions. Also, insanity judgments were more likely to be made for acts performed without planful intentionality. Under the alternative scheme of NGRI vs. guilty but mentally ill (GBMI) vs. guilty, mental disorder still controlled NGRI verdicts; a bizarre act increased the likelihood of a GBMI over a guilty verdict; and the GBMI verdict option reduced markedly the proportion of psychotic defendants found NGRI and the proportion of personality disordered defendants found guilty. There were no significant differences between diagnostic groups in the likelihood of being found GBMI. Most subjects preferred to utilize the GBMI option as a compromise verdict even in the face of very severe mental illness. Attitudinal data revealed considerable variation in agreement with the classic moral logic of the insanity defense and accounted for a significant amount of the variance in insanity decisions. The implications for both social policy and future research are discussed.     

Toxicology and Circumstances of Completed Suicide by Means Other than Overdose*

Abstract: To determine the prevalence and circumstances of psychoactive substances amongst nonoverdose completed suicide, 1436 consecutive cases autopsied at the NSW Department of Forensic Medicine over the period 1/1/1997–12/31/2006 were analyzed. Substances were detected in 67.2% of cases, and illicit drugs in 20.1%. Alcohol was present in 40.6% of cases. Males were more likely to be positive for alcohol, cannabis, and psychostimulants, and females for pharmaceuticals. Illicits were associated with younger age. Alcohol was most prominent amongst toxicity cases, as were opioids, psychostimulants amongst gunshot cases, and pharmaceuticals amongst drownings. Cases in which drug and alcohol histories were noted were more likely to have a substance detected. Alcohol was more common where a suicide note was left and where relationship problems were involved. Pharmaceuticals were more common where a previous attempt was noted. Licit and illicit substances are strongly associated with suicide, even when the method does not involve drug overdose.     

THE LIMITED ROLE OF CHANGING AGE STRUCTURE IN EXPLAINING AGGREGATE CRIME RATES*

Changes in the age structure are shown to have a limited impact on aggregate crime rates. Even the dramatic transformation of the age distribution accompanying the baby boom shifted crime rates by no more than 1 % per year. Projected changes in the age distribution between 1995 and 2010 will lead to slight declines in per capita crime rates. These results are at odds with recent predictions of an impending demographically driven crime wave. Such predictions have focused exclusively on a rise in juvenile crime and ignored the offsetting decreases among adults.     

Terrorist Decision Making and the Deterrence Problem

An ongoing debate among policymakers and terrorism scholars concerns the effectiveness of deterrence as a counterterrorism tool. Absent from the debate is a discussion of the complex nature of terrorist decision making. Decisions are made at varying levels in a terrorist organization, often by actors having different motives, resulting in behavior that is not always fully rational. This article identifies several circumstances when terrorist behavior is not the product of an entirely unitary, rational decision-making process, and therefore highlights when deterrence policies will be least effective. It concludes with some policy implications for understanding when deterrence policies are most likely to succeed and how to address terrorism in other situations.     

Arabia in perspective

British and Soviet Colonial Systems. By Kathleen Stahl. Faber and Faber. Pp. 114. 1951. 12s. 6d.

Mountains of Tartary. By Eric Shipton. Hodder and Stoughton. Pp. 222, 29 photographs. 20s.

Soviets in Central Asia. By W. P. and Zelda Coates. Lawrence and Wishart. 1951. 288 pp., illustrated. 25s.

Reminiscences of a Japanese Diplomat. Vol. I.—Plots, Assassinations, the Sword. Vol. 2.—Pearl Harbour, Lisbon, Tokyo. By M. Morishima. (Japanese text.)

India and the Indian Ocean. An essay on the influence of sea‐power on Indian History. By K. M. Panikkar. George Allen and Unwin. 1951 (first published 1945). 8s. 6d.

The Middle East: A Political and Economic Survey—1950. Royal Institute of International Affairs. Pp. xvi+496. Index. 3 maps. 8/3/4>” × 5/3/4>”. 35s.

Beyond Euphrates. By Freya Stark. London: John Murray. 1951. 8/3/4>×5/1/2>”. Pp. 341. Illustrations and sketch‐map. 25s.

From Town and Tribe. By C. G. Campbell. Ernest Benn. Pp. 217. 10s. 6d.

Arabian Adventurer. The story of Hajji Williamson. By Stanton Hope. London: Robert Hale. 1951. 333 pp., 23 illustrations. 16s.

Éléments de Bio‐bibliographie de la Litterature Arabe. By Joseph Assad Dagher. Imprimerie Saint‐Sauveur, Saida. Pp. 354. No date. 22s.

Middle Kingdom Art in Ancient Egypt. 56 pp., 83 photos. 1950. 6s.

New Kingdom Art in Ancient Egypt. 98 pp., 174 photos. 1951. 15s. By Cyril Aldred. Alec Tiranti, Ltd.

A Sword for Hire. By Peter Lington. 248 pp. W. H. Allen. 9s. 6d.     

Cultivating Public Service Motivation through AmeriCorps Service: A Longitudinal Study

The public service motivation literature has helped scholars and practitioners better understand who is attracted to public service and why. However, little is understood about how public service motivation in individuals may be cultivated or how it changes over time. This article uses panel data collected by the Corporation for National and Community Service to track the longitudinal effects of participation in the AmeriCorps national service program on participants’ public service motivation. Findings reveal that participation in AmeriCorps programs had positive effects on participants’ levels of commitment to the public interest and civic awareness immediately after the program; many of these program effects were sustained seven years later. However, when observed in isolation, the comparison group showed significant declines in levels of commitment to public interest and civic awareness over an eight‐year period, suggesting that public service motivation may initially decline upon entry into a public service career.