Attitude to plagiarism in different European countries
Plagiarism is an important and frequently discussed issue, which may have severe financial impacts for higher education institutions across Europe. However, there are different attitudes to this topic in different countries. Whereas ECTS aims to provide an objective measurement of student effort allowing students to spend part of their studies at different institutions and even different countries, the penalties for plagiarism and other types of cheating may be different. Even the definition of plagiarism may be understood differently in particular European countries. One of the aims of the project IPPHEAE is to identify these differences and try to find common solutions for related problems.The aim of the paper is to present results of research focused on attitudes to plagiarism in Great Britain, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Cyprus and Bulgaria. A questionnaire survey was conducted in these countries among students and teachers. The results are interesting and inspiring and show huge differences in attitude to plagiarism between western and post-communist countries, surprisingly including the Czech Republic in the group of western countries.
Understanding “Internet plagiarism”
Current concerns about plagiarism participate in a culture-wide anxiety that mirrors the cultural climate in previous textual revolutions. In today’s revolution, the Internet is described as the cause of a perceived increase in plagiarism, and plagiarism-detecting services (PDSs) are described as the best solution. The role of the Internet should be understood, however, not just in terms of access to text but also in terms of textual relationships. Synthesizing representations of iText with literary theories of intertextuality suggests that all writers work intertextually, all readers interpret texts intertextually, and new media not only increase the number of texts through which both writers and readers work but also offer interactive information technologies in which unacknowledged appropriation from sources does not necessarily invalidate the text. Plagiarism-detecting services, in contrast, describe textual appropriation solely in terms of individual ethics. The best response to concerns about plagiarism is revised institutional plagiarism policies combined with authentic pedagogy that derives from an understanding of IText, intertextuality, and new media.
Pharmacokinetics of amikacin and chloramphenicol in the aqueous humor of rabbits
Composite data describing ocular pharmacokinetics are unreliable because of intersubject variation. To address this problem, an animal model was developed in which multiple aqueous samples from single subjects were obtained. Following direct anterior chamber or intravenous administration of amikacin or chloramphenicol, pharmacokinetic analysis of drug concentrations in the serum and anterior chamber was performed by using a nonlinear least-squares regression program. The number of anterior chamber paracenteses performed did not alter the beta elimination rates or percent penetration into the anterior chamber. The aqueous humor and peripheral-compartment terminal slopes were identical. These data indicate that complete ocular concentration-time curves can be obtained without altering antibiotic pharmacokinetics. Following direct injection into the anterior chamber, the elimination rates for both antibiotics followed a one-compartment model, whereas those following intravenous administration best fit an open, first-order, two-compartment model. Following intravenous administration, the anterior chamber elimination rate constants for both drugs were equal to that of the serum and significantly longer than that following direct injection. The elimination rates of both drugs following direct injection were similar. Systemic administration resulted in drug levels in aqueous humor that persisted longer than those following direct injection. Chloramphenicol, a lipophilic compound, gave higher mean concentrations in aqueous humor than did amikacin. Our model provides a new approach which rigorously examines ocular pharmacokinetics and provides data which suggest that for selected compounds the parenteral route of administration is preferable.