Retrieving and classifying instances of source code plagiarism

Automatic detection of source code plagiarism is an important research field for both the commercial software industry and within the research community. Existing methods of plagiarism detection primarily involve exhaustive pairwise document comparison, which does not scale well for large software collections. To achieve scalability, we approach the problem from an information retrieval (IR) perspective. We retrieve a ranked list of candidate documents in response to a pseudo-query representation constructed from each source code document in the collection. The challenge in source code document retrieval is that the standard bag-of-words (BoW) representation model for such documents is likely to result in many false positives being retrieved, because of the use of identical programming language specific constructs and keywords. To address this problem, we make use of an abstract syntax tree (AST) representation of the source code documents. While the IR approach is efficient, it is essentially unsupervised in nature. To further improve its effectiveness, we apply a supervised classifier (pre-trained with features extracted from sample plagiarized source code pairs) on the top ranked retrieved documents. We report experiments on the SOCO-2014 dataset comprising 12K Java source files with almost 1M lines of code. Our experiments confirm that the AST based approach produces significantly better retrieval effectiveness than a standard BoW representation, i.e., the AST based approach is able to identify a higher number of plagiarized source code documents at top ranks in response to a query source code document. The supervised classifier, trained on features extracted from sample plagiarized source code pairs, is shown to effectively filter and thus further improve the ranked list of retrieved candidate plagiarized documents.     

An Investigation of Textbook Vetting and Evaluation Process in Tanzania

Textbook vetting and evaluation process intends to ensure that the materials provided are relevant, of the required quality, suitable ad would enhance learning efficiency and effectiveness. The paper investigates the role of publishers and Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) in the textbooks vetting and evaluation process; examines factors used to vet, evaluate and approve primary and secondary school textbooks in Tanzania and proposes Strategies that would enhance the textbook vetting, evaluation and process. The study used a mixed method research design. Respondents were selected educational publishers; MoEVT, Baraza la Kiswahili Tanzania, TIE, and Publishers Association of Tanzania. Questionnaire and semi- structured interview were used to collect data which were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. Major findings of the study were; textbooks vetting and evaluation process is not professionally conducted although standard criteria have been established; there is not well established roles among key players involved in the vetting and evaluation process leading to conflict of interest between TIE and the publishers. The study recommends establishing an independent professional evaluation board and a well-defined timetable and effective communication among various players; enacting a book policy and adopting a limited multiple-textbook publishing system.     

From exemptions to censorship: religious liberty and victimhood in Obergefell v. Hodges

This article analyzes the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, showing that a subset of the dissent constructed devout religious groups as victims to rearticulate power relations between the state, LGBT groups, and religious entities. This rearticulation is possible as a consequence of ambiguity in the legal concept of religious liberty, which is explored in depth. That ambiguity is employed to mount an argument against the decision, moving LGBT individuals from oppressed to oppressor of religious groups. The study contextualizes this inversion against the material and symbolic conditions of both the LGBT and devout Christian communities in the United States.     

Spanish historic archives’ use of websites as a management transparency vehicle

Against the backdrop of Spain’s Transparency Act, this article discusses the presence or otherwise of a series of document types, proposed as management-related transparency indicators, on 61 (8 national and 53 provincial) historic archive websites. Although examples of good practice were identified, the information provided was found to be scant, in particular as regards lines of action, organisational objectives and yearly reports. The information most commonly provided on the websites included the collection classification chart, service use regulations and citizen charters. The inference drawn was that archives, so intently focused on their role in the application of the Act by the organisations they serve, neglect their own administrative obligations in respect of its provisions. The recommendation is that as government-funded and subsidised public service institutions, historic archives should exercise transparency by furnishing the information stipulated in the Act on their websites.     

Network member support marshaling in response to another’s relational transgression experience

Relational transgressions are emotionally difficult for those who directly experience the transgression. Less is known about how transgressions affect those located within the personal network of a relational transgression victim. This study explored how network members engaged in support marshaling in response to another’s transgression experience. Results indicate that some participants marshaled support, citing four reasons for their actions: perceived insufficiency, camaraderie, personal ramifications, and personal values. We explore these reasons for marshaling support and discuss them within the broader context of support marshaling and relational transgressions.