Rational choice or strain? A criminological examination of contract cheating

Meaningful crime prevention or just an ‘Act’:Discourse Analysis of the criminalisation of contract cheating services in Australia

“…Criminological studies have applied diverse theoretical perspectives to explain contract cheating, investigating students' motivations for why they cheat, or why they do not (Rundle et al, 2019), the prevalence and character of the problem, including likelihood of recidivism (Curtis & Clare, 2017), its wider socio-cultural and institutional determinants (see Smith et al, 2013;Nagy & Groves, 2021), and the capacity of institutions and their staff to detect and respond through crime prevention (Clare et al, 2017). Some have examined opportunity-based theories, identifying that while efforts to reduce opportunities for cheating are relevant to prevention, they form only part of effective intervention efforts and must be complemented by strategies targeting student psychology and motivation (Baird & Clare, 2017;Rundle et al, 2019).…”

“…Some have examined opportunity-based theories, identifying that while efforts to reduce opportunities for cheating are relevant to prevention, they form only part of effective intervention efforts and must be complemented by strategies targeting student psychology and motivation (Baird & Clare, 2017;Rundle et al, 2019). The authors (see Nagy & Groves, 2021) recently noted that engagement in contract cheating, and academic misconduct generally, is typically linked to an assemblage of events, pressures, settings and opportunities, representative of a form of strained rationality (a meshing and parallel application of rational choice and strain theories) that is often beyond students' control. A feature of that study was its acknowledgment of the role that criminology and/ or criminal justice can play in reducing cheating through evaluation of its various individual, socio-cultural, structural, and institutional determinants, for which it is well-situated to offer prevention strategies to address the causes of offending (Nagy & Groves, 2021).…”

“…The 'problem' of university students' engagement in contract cheating or assignment outsourcing has been widely researched in Australia (see Clare et al, 2017;Baird & Clare, 2017;Bretag et al, 2019;Nagy & Groves, 2021;Awdry, 2020) and internationally (Bowers, 1964;McCabe & Trevino, 1997;McCabe, 2005;Hughes & McCabe, 2006a, 2006bClarke & Lancaster, 2006;Walker & Townley, 2012;Lancaster, 2020). This research has been multi-disciplinary, though comparatively little from criminology (Nagy & Groves, 2021), largely attributable to the assumption that academic misconduct is 'innocuous' or harmless (Smith et al, 2013:89).…”

“…The 'problem' of university students' engagement in contract cheating or assignment outsourcing has been widely researched in Australia (see Clare et al, 2017;Baird & Clare, 2017;Bretag et al, 2019;Nagy & Groves, 2021;Awdry, 2020) and internationally (Bowers, 1964;McCabe & Trevino, 1997;McCabe, 2005;Hughes & McCabe, 2006a, 2006bClarke & Lancaster, 2006;Walker & Townley, 2012;Lancaster, 2020). This research has been multi-disciplinary, though comparatively little from criminology (Nagy & Groves, 2021), largely attributable to the assumption that academic misconduct is 'innocuous' or harmless (Smith et al, 2013:89). Contract cheating represents a serious form of academic misconduct, involving students either outsourcing the completion of assignments to another person or third-party for submission as their own work, or having others sit examinations or practical tests on their behalf, often for payment within commercial arrangements (Clarke & Lancaster, 2006;Clare et al, 2017;Curtis & Clare, 2017;Awdry, 2020).…”

Saudi Procurement System and Regulations: Overview of Local and International Administrative Contracts

“…However, the degree of competition depends on the size of the project, bidding firms' size, and type of industry. Nagy and Groves (2021) claimed contract cheating was a white-collar crime. They argued that rational choice theory would be utilized to control such contractual crimes, and a mixed blunder of the different approaches should be used to control such crimes.…”