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 Hence, if we are using the work of others and do not cite the source and acknowledge the real author, we indulge ourselves in "Plagiarism" or in academic fraud.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.

Customers Personality Traits and Brand Loyalty: Mediating Role of Brand Personality

Purpose: The main objective is to check the importance of customer's personality traits in female apparel brands sector and its effect on brand personality that ultimately effect brand loyalty. Study also investigates the mediating role of brand personality. Methodology: A conceptual model explaining the relationship among customer's personality traits, brand personality and brand loyalty is developed. Brand personality plays the role of mediating variable in the model. Target population is the female customers of 11 selected female apparel brands of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Convenience sampling technique is used and sample size is 210. Questionnaire is used for the collection of data via using store intercept technique. Correlation and regression techniques are used for the analysis of data. Baron and Kenny 1986 approach is used to check the mediating effect of brand personality and for the analysis of data SPSS.19 software is used. Findings: Results found positive relationships of extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience customer's personality traits with brand personality and brand loyalty. Negative relationship of neuroticism customer personality trait is found with brand personality and brand loyalty. Brand personality fully mediates the relationship between extroversion customer's personality trait and brand loyalty. Brand personality partially mediates the relationship between agreeableness customer's personality trait and brand loyalty. Brand personality fully mediates the relationship between conscientiousness customer's personality trait and brand loyalty. Brand personality partially mediates the relationship between neuroticism customer's personality trait and brand loyalty. Brand personality also partially mediates the relationship between openness to experience customer's personality trait and brand loyalty. Research Limitations: Further investigation should be done by increasing sample size, including male respondents also and selecting brand of different industry. More dependent variables like brand satisfaction, repatronage intentions and word of mouth can be included in the model. Managerial Implications: Research highlights the importance of customer's personality traits and brand personality for female apparel brand managers and how brand managers can develop the personality of their brands for developing brand loyalty.