NEW DELHI: It’s official now, plagiarism is rampant in legal research and is hitting at the originality of scholarly work being done by academicians.

To counter this plague, which the Bar Council of India terms as plagiarism in legal scholarship, its chairman and Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam has said that the BCI would develop an antiplagiarism software that would catch the cheats.

Expressing deep concern over the declining academic standards in legal education and the profession, Subramaniam said: “Lack of appropriate standards in legal writing and education has unfortunately resulted in a sharp decline in the production of good quality, original legal writing in public space.”

“All legal writing must now necessarily be subject to rigorous academic standards and strict checks to ensure that legal writings meet international standards,” he said.

BCI, which is partnering a private firm to develop the anti-plagiarism software, expressed its willingness to support efforts by law colleges to run the software to scrutinise every research paper to test whether it was an original work or has been copied from some old research paper.

Subramaniam was also ready to extend support to the judiciary so that the law clerks assisting the judges in research work ensure that they rely on original work rather than a plagiarised one.

He said: “BCI remains deeply committed to the enhancement of academic standards and the infusion of rigour for law students, professors and members of the legal profession.”

While asking the law colleges to take adequate steps to prevent plagiarism in any publication and academic writing in public space, the BCI chairman also warned that the government needed to be equally cautious about plagiarism in other fields.

This announcement comes on the heels of the significant step taken by BCI to conduct an all-India Bar examination to stop those law graduates, who are not serious about taking up practising as a career, from being allowed to become advocates to argue cases in courts.

Source:-http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Now-a-software-to-catch-copycats-in-law-research/articleshow/6026301.cms

a leading provider of early drug development software solutions, announced today that Eurofins Product Safety Labs (EPSL) has purchased an online subscription to the Provantis™ Preclinical Software solution.

A contract research laboratory located in Dayton, New Jersey, EPSL provides a broad range of services including toxicology, analytical and bioanalytical chemistry and pharmacology.

During the second half of 2009, EPSL ran extensive competitive vendor evaluations with an emphasis on reproductive and fetal pathology. EPSL concluded that the Provantis™ solution, in conjunction with Instem’s tailored services, would propel them to the next level of operational effectiveness and customer-sponsor satisfaction.

EPSL will be using Instem’s Software-as-a-Service model allowing them to access Provantis™ over the Internet. Their online subscription includes all 3rd party licenses such as Oracle and SAS, along with training, maintenance, unlimited help desk support and Instem’s Validation Pack. Removing the need for on-site software ensures clients like EPSL can access the latest major releases of Provantis™ without the delays and costs sometimes involved with site-based installations.

Since 2005, Instem has utilized a state-of-the-art data center based in the US, which is being used by clients running GLP and non-GLP studies.

“In addition to the benefits of their software solution, it’s obvious to me that Instem will become a true extension of our business, ensuring we receive the highest amount of value from our investment,” states Gary Wnorowski, President of EPSL.

“The approach they use allows our staff to learn the system at their own pace by leveraging features and functions that are tailored to our needs. Automating with Provantis™ will additionally enable us to expand our services and conduct more complex and longer term studies.”

EPSL is also benefiting from Instem’s Specialized Solutions program, which is specifically designed for clients needing a more tailored approach to implementation, training, validation and support services. With dedicated client specialists and extended customer care, this program is perfect for smaller laboratories, those conducting research in academic or government settings, non-GLP environments or those running non-traditional toxicology studies.

The Specialized Solutions program features a Continuous Learning Model, helping users learn faster and retain more without the distractions and disruptions other vendors may cause during “deliver everything at once” implementations.

Using this exclusive method, clients stay connected with Instem when they need them the most, which often is for one year following their first Provantis™ study. EPSL now has ON-demand access to educational industry experts to help with a new study design, more advanced learning or anything else that can maximize their use of Instem software solutions.

Source:http://pharmalive.com/News/index.cfm?articleid=705199&categoryid=23