Plagiarism As an Act of Academic Crime: A Critical Overview in an Islamic & Modern Perspective

Plagiarism is a cheating in form of stealing the ideas or language of others, which is morally and ethically crime and it's also an offense. In the field of education plagiarism is an academic fraud, therefore it is considered a theft. In material world the things which belong to us are considered our property; same is the case in academic world ideas, concepts words and work which belong to us are known as "intellectual property". Thus, we cannot use or cite others’ academic work without permission. Islam is the only religion that advocates for knowledge seeking and sharing with others. So sharing useful knowledge is Sadqa-e-Jāriyia. But this does not mean to attain knowledge and overlook the real source of knowledge. In this connection individual has to give credit whenever one uses the work of others anywhere. Hence, if we are using the work of others and do not cite the source and acknowledge the real author, we indulge ourselves in "Plagiarism" or in academic fraud. So in this scenario, academic world copyright or authorship is important. In recent terminology these are known as "intellectual property rights". In present era deceiving and harming of others has become common. In academia, "intellectual frauds" are more common nowadays. The objective of this article is to highlight the Islamic perspective in the avoidances of plagiarism. In this regard, Qur᾽ānic verses and Ahādīth have been used for exploring how Islam has indicated the avoidances of plagiarism. The main theme of this paper is to highlight and explore the Islamic vision regarding the academic theft and current preventive practices in Pakistan. It is suggested & concluded that in Islam plagiarism is prohibited. It also indicates the terms & conditions for the use of academic work of other scholars. There is dire need that the Muslim experts should also revive new Islamic copyright rules and regulation for honest academic writing.

Influence of Nickel Stress on Growth, Morpho- Physiological and Anatomical Attributes of Sunflower Helianthus Annuus L.

The phytotoxic effects of Ni-stress on seed germination, growth, physiological and anatomical attributes were appraised in this study. The available sunflower germplasm was exposed to varying levels of Ni (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mg L -1 ). The lowest level of nickel (10 mg L -1 ) showed some improvement in seed germination and reduced the time to achieve 50% germination; it was found to be associated with improvement in Mg contents, activity of hydrolytic enzymes and concentration of reducing and non- reducing sugars, and free amino acid over time. However, higher levels of nickel had a significant inhibitory effect on seed germination that was directly correlated with reduction in K and activity of hydrolytic enzymes leading to alterations in concentration of crucial bio-molecules involved in control of seed germination. Based on the data generated a Ni-tolerant (Hysun-33) and a -sensitive (SF-187) hybrids were selected for further studies. In vegetative stage experiments, seeds of two selected sunflower hybrids were exposed to different levels of Ni (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg L -1 ). Although low levels of Ni had a non- significant effects, high Ni-levels significantly reduced vegetative growth and yield has result of reduction in photosynthetic rate (A), stomatal conductance (g s ), water use efficiency (WUE) and Ci/Ca ratio. However, transpiration rate (E) increased with increase in external nickel. Leaf water and turgor potentials, and relative water contents (RWC) decreased while leaf turgor potential and membrane permeability (electrolyte leakage) increased in both sunflower hybrids. The concentration of soluble proteins increased at lower level of Ni application (10 and 20 mg L -1 ) but decreased with further increase in concentration of external Ni in all harvest intervals. However, the reverse was true for the concentration of free amino acids and soluble sugars. Proline concentration increased consistently with increasing concentration of external Ni. The concentration of nutrients such as Ca, N, P, K, Cu, Zn, Mg, Mn and Fe generally decreased in root, stem, leaves as well as achenes except for achene P and Mg which were not much affected under Ni-stress. The changes in all growth, biochemical, and physiological parameters appeared to be highly correlated with build-up of high Ni levels in root, stem and leaves of both sunflower hybrids over time. The anatomical features of root, stem and leaves were also significantly altered under Ni stress. Root exodermal thickness increased at the lowest level of Ni application (10 mg L - 1 ) but decreased consistently with further increase in Ni concentration. In contrast, root exodermal cell area, increased consistently with increase in external Ni concentration. Shoot and leaf exodermal and second layer thickness and area also increased consistently with increase in external Ni levels. Although, root, stem and leaf cortical, vascular region, metaxylem and phloem thickness and area were not affected at the lowest level (10 mg L - 1 ) of Ni, it decreased consistently with increase in external Ni as well as plant maturity. The reverse was true for leaf adaxial and abaxial stomatal density. In comparison, their thickness decreased during early stages but increased with increasing plant maturity. Leaf abaxial epidermal thickness and area, and leaf lamina thickness increased but spongy mesophyll thickness and area decreased with increase in external Ni as well as time. On the basis of data presented in this study, Hysun-33 was found to be more tolerant as compared to that of SF-187.