prominently in the sectors of academia (including academic science, education, engineering etc.) and journalism, where plagiarism is now considered academic dishonesty and a breach of journalistic ethics, subject to sanctions like expulsion and other severe career damages. Not so in the arts, which have resisted in their long-established tradition of copying as a fundamental practice of the creative process, with plagiarism being still hugely tolerated by 21st-century artists. Plagiarism is not a crime but is disapproved more on the grounds of moral offence. Since 2000, discussions on the subjects of student plagiarism have increased with a major strand of this discussion centering on the issue of how best students can be helped to understand and avoid plagiarism. Given the serious consequences that plagiarism has for students there has been a call for a greater emphasis on learning in order to help students avoid committing plagiarism. Also under the scope of plagiarism is self-plagiarism. Self-plagiarism occurs when a student submits an assignment, essay or piece of work that was originally submitted for the purpose of another course without the instructor's permission to do so. Sabotage In the academic context, sabotage occurs when one commits acts to disrupt another person's work with the intention of preventing them from completing it successfully. Examples include disrupting another person's research, destroying important documents and also hacking computers used for research. Abuse of confidentiality This takes place when data or results from research or a piece of academic work is disseminated or shared while the author(s) expectation was for them to remain confidential. Aiding & abetting Aiding and abetting is the act of helping, enabling or encouraging someone to engage or attempt to engage in any act of academic dishonesty. Improper research practices Improper research practices involve fabricating, misrepresenting or selectively reporting research data as well as not giving proper credit to authors or researchers when reporting results of their work. Causes There are a variety of causes of academic misconduct. Researchers have studied the correlation of cheating to personal characteristics, demographics, contextual factors, methods of deterring misconduct, even stages of moral development. There is some evidence in research to suggest that individuals with "type A" personalities who often attempt to obtain high degrees of success, are most likely to be reported on for academic misconduct (cheating). Incentives to cheat Some scholars contend that there are students who have a pathological urge to cheat. The writer