Staff attitudes to dealing with plagiarism issues: Perspectives from one Australian university

The author retains the copyright for this work, while granting the International Journal for Educational Integrity the exclusive right of first publication.This paper reports on the results of an online staff survey at one Australian university on attitudes to plagiarism issues, the use and efficacy of the institutional plagiarism policy and Turnitin system and staff perceptions of institutional resources that were available to assist both staff and students reduce the incidence of plagiarism. The survey was designed to capture staff perceptions, rather than verifiable activity or plagiarism detection outcomes. The survey responses highlighted the need for a common understanding of plagiarism and approaches to the detection and dealing with suspected plagiarism incidents. The responses also signalled a requirement for improved assessment practices that reduce the opportunity for plagiarism. Staff responses indicated that there was a need to publicise more effectively existing University resources for avoiding plagiarism; only a minority of survey respondents were aware of these resources. The majority of staff perceived that the institutional policies and practices were adequate for dealing with suspected plagiarism incidents.Geoffrey T Cris

Organoplatinum(II) complexes with hydrogen-bonding functionality and their potential use as molecular receptors for adenine

Describes the preparation and characterisation of a novel series of organoplatinum(II) complexes with hydrogen-bonding functionality.Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Chemistry, 200

Bimodal Distribution of Sulfuric Acid Aerosols in the Upper Haze of Venus

The upper haze (UH) of Venus is variable on the order of days and it is populated by two particle modes. We use a 1D microphysics and vertical transport model based on the Community Aerosol and Radiation Model for Atmospheres to evaluate whether interaction of upwelled cloud particles and sulfuric acid particles nucleated in situ on meteoric dust are able to generate the two size modes and whether their observed variability are due to cloud top vertical transient winds. Nucleation of photochemically produced sulfuric acid onto polysulfur condensation nuclei generates mode 1 cloud droplets that then diffuse upwards into the UH. Droplets generated in the UH from nucleation of sulfuric acid onto meteoric dust coagulate with the upwelled cloud particles and cannot reproduce the observed bimodal size distribution. The mass transport enabled by cloud top transient winds are able to generate a bimodal size distribution in a time scale consistent with observations. Sedimentation and convection in the middle and lower clouds causes the formation of large mode 2 and mode 3 particles. Evaporation of these particles below the clouds creates a local sulfuric acid vapor maximum that causes upwelling of sulfuric acid back into the clouds. If the polysulfur condensation nuclei are small and their production rate is high, coagulation of small droplets onto larger droplets in the middle cloud may result in sulfuric acid "rain" below the clouds once every few Earth months. Reduction of the polysulfur condensation nuclei production rate destroys this oscillation and reduces the mode 1 particle abundance in the middle cloud by two orders of magnitude, though it better reproduces the sulfur-to-sulfuric-acid mass ratio in the cloud and haze droplets. In general we find satisfactory agreement between our results and observations, though improvements could be made by incorporating sulfur microphysics.Comment: 62 pages, 18 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Icaru

Phylogeny and evolution of anomalous roots in Daviesia (Fabaceae : Mirbelieae)

The phylogeny of the Australian legume genus Daviesia was estimated using sequences of the internal transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Partial congruence was found with previous analyses using morphology, including strong support for monophyly of the genus and for a sister group relationship between the clade D. pachyloma and the rest of the genus. A previously unplaced bird-pollinated species, anceps + D. D. epiphyllum, was well supported as sister to the only other bird-pollinated species in the genus, D. speciosa, indicating a single origin of bird pollination in their common ancestor. Other morphological groups within Daviesia were not supported and require reassessment. A strong and previously unreported sister clade of Daviesia consists of the two monotypic genera Erichsenia and Viminaria. These share phyllode-like leaves and indehiscent fruits. The evolutionary history of cord roots, which have anomalous secondary thickening, was explored using parsimony. Cord roots are limited to three separate clades but have a complex history involving a small number of gains (most likely 0-3) and losses (0-5). The anomalous structure of cord roots ( adventitious vascular strands embedded in a parenchymatous matrix) may facilitate nutrient storage, and the roots may be contractile. Both functions may be related to a postfire resprouting adaptation. Alternatively, cord roots may be an adaptation to the low-nutrient lateritic soils of Western Australia. However, tests for association between root type, soil type, and growth habit were equivocal, depending on whether the variables were treated as phylogenetically dependent (insignificant) or independent ( significant)