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ACADEMIC SENATE A variety of important issues were canvassed at the Academic Senate Meeting, 10 June 2003. Below is a summary of those issues and references to further information.   Guidelines for Grading Senate approved a simplified statement of the Guidelines for Grading, which should be used during the forthcoming examination period.  Both the simple statement and the full guidelines are on the web at: http://www.mq.edu.au/senate/MQUonly/Issues.html Briefly, results in individual units should fall between two patterns of grades. The first (the Primary Guideline) applies across the University, with the aim of a common pattern at the various levels of study (100 level, 200 level and so on). The second pattern (the Secondary Guideline) is tailored to the academic record of the students enrolled in the unit concerned. In some units, this will lead to a lower set of grades than under the Primary Guidelines, and in others to a higher set of grades. Results should fall between these two patterns, with some leeway. Please note the statement that these guidelines are not designed to replace individual examiners’ judgments. Academic staff who would like further explanation might wish to discuss this with the members of Senate in their Divisions. Members of Senate play an important role in supplying information back and forth between Senate and the Divisions. Non-traditional theses Senate adopted as policy a new statement on the submission of non-traditional theses for postgraduate degrees. Non-traditional theses have been accepted by the University for some time now, and the new policy clarifies their requirements. The policy can be found at: http://www.mq.edu.au/senate/MQUonly/rules/nontradpol.pdf Assignment coversheet Senate also adopted a coversheet declaration for students when submitting assignments. This is not intended to be binding on the Divisions, but is aimed to be the basis of Divisional coversheets. The coversheet approved by Senate is at: http://www.mq.edu.au/senate/rules.html, then click on Assignment Coversheet Declaration. Postgraduate Studies Committee The PGSC was one of the longest running committees of the University. After 36 years, it is to be abolished on 30 June 2003. Its functions will be split between a new Higher Degree Research Committee (to deal with research candidates) and the Academic Programs Committee (to deal with coursework degrees). Senate noted the passing of this ancient friend of the University and thanked its hardworking members. Draft Minutes Draft Minutes of the meeting are available at: http://www.mq.edu.au/senate/MQUonly/minutes/2003/0603minutes.pdf. These have not been formally approved by Senate. Other items of business discussed at the meeting are on the web at: http://www.mq.edu.au/senate/MQUonly/agenda/2003/0603/0603agenda.html. Bruce Kercher Vice-President of Academic Senate

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CFL e-LEARNING WORKSHOPS WebCT Basics Do you need to get up to speed quickly to teach or assist with management in a WebCT online unit this semester? This three hour session is a short introduction to the basic WebCT functions. The course will cover familiarisation with a site, using the communication tools to participate in online discussions, editing material and managing student information in WebCT. Date:        Friday 1 August 10.00am to 1.00pm Training Room 2 Library Level 1 For bookings send your name, department, staff number and session details to: training@library.mq.edu.au. Teaching Online: Are You Ready? This hands-on workshop looks at the management tasks and practical teaching and learning issues needed to run your unit this semester. You will use the newly created course functions that replace the old Staff Interface when setting up the unit. At the workshop you can create or update your unit's public page, clear unwanted mail and discussion messages, load files and give accounts to your students ready for the coming semester. We will address practical teaching and learning issues such as communicating with students, using online discussions, the legal aspects of convening an online unit, and support services for staff and students. If your unit is not created yet or if you have no experience using WebCT please contact an Educational Developer at CFL by emailing: cfl-educ@mq.edu.au before the workshop. Date:        Wednesday 6 August 10.00 am to 1.00 pm Training Room 3 Library Level 1 For bookings send your name, Department, Staff Number and session details to: training@library.mq.edu.au  WebCT Essentials Series 1 WebCT Essentials is a three part series for staff needing to develop skills in building and managing a WebCT unit. This series is recommended for new and inexperienced academic and general staff planning to develop online units in WebCT. Monday 11 August - Part 1: Introduction to WebCT (11.00am to 1.00pm, TR2, Library) Thursday 14 August - Part 2: Using WebCT Discussions and Mail (11.00am to 1.00pm, TR2, Library) Monday 18 August - Part 3: Adding Contents to WebCT Units (11.00am to 1.00pm, TR2, Library) For details, please see: http://www.cfl.mq.edu.au/html/schedule.htm, and the Diary entries in Staff News. For more information about training, contact Judy King, x9945, judy.king@mq.edu.au or Chris Lavina, x7593, chris.lavina@mq.edu.au For bookings send your name, department, staff number and session details to: training@library.mq.edu.au. Online Teaching Strategies Discussion Welcome to an informal, lunchtime discussion between course convenors and educational developers. If you have any issues or concerns regarding teaching online, that you wish to share, discuss or seek advice about from colleagues, please come along. Date:        Wednesday 20 August 1.00pm to 2.00pm Centre for Flexible Learning, Boardroom Library Lower Ground Floor No bookings required. For more information contact: Andrew Lovell-Simons, x9271, andrew.lovell-simons@mq.edu.au WebCT Upgrade CFL is pleased to announce that the upgrade of the Macquarie University Online Teaching Facility to WebCT 3.8 has been completed successfully. All content in units, and users, passwords, designer backups, enrolment settings and contact details, have been retained and should appear unchanged. There are a few important points we would like to highlight regarding the upgrade: Staff Interface now called Course Functions The previous (yellow) Staff Interface has been replaced by a new feature called Course Functions. You will no longer see the Staff Interface when you enter your unit. To get to the Course Functions, click myWebCT on the top right hand corner of your WebCT home page, and click Course Functions at the top of the page. You will see an explanation of how to use the new interface. The Course Functions link only appears for Designers and Teaching Assistants. Staff Interface Links The (hidden) Staff Interface link in your unit has been redirected to the new Course Functions as a temporary measure. Remove the Staff Interface link from your unit and always use the Course Functions link from myWebCT to get to your settings. QuickCT Units are now WebCT Units All previous QuickCT units have been upgraded to WebCT units. This means that if you are a QuickCT user, you should attend the WebCT training sessions to understand how to maintain your unit, or contact; muotf@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au for assistance. Please refer to the note below for training information. WebCT Discussions Tools Upgraded The look and feel of the Discussions tools has improved with the WebCT upgrade. The major differences are that it is easier to view message threads, and topics can be re-ordered. For more information on this please refer to the upgrade notes mentioned below. New WebCT tool - Equation Editor With the upgrade to WebCT 3.8 an Equation Editor is available in your units if required. This allows mathematical equations and symbols to be added to quizzes, discussions and assignments. For more information on this please refer to the upgrade notes mentioned below. Upgrade Notes are Online A guide to the changes from 3.6 to 3.8 can be found at http://online.mq.edu.au/docs/upgrade.pdf. These will also be covered in the CFL training sessions "Teaching Online: Are You Ready?". The information CFL provides for students, "Using WebCT: Technical Information" http://online.mq.edu.au/docs/tecinf.html has been updated for Semester 2, 2003. Training Information and Where to Get Help Details of WebCT training in Semester 2 are available from CFL's web site http://www.cfl.mq.edu.au/training/ and in Staff News. If you have any questions about the above, please do not hesitate to contact Raymond J Warouw, Manager, Online Learning Systems or email: muotf@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au. We look forward to an exciting Semester 2 2003 online! Chris Lavina CFL

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Media mentions:  We are now using both print and broadcasting monitoring services, but they do sometimes miss Macquarie mentions. To ensure a more comprehensive and accurate MACQUARIE IN THE MEDIA column, please always let us know whenever you have been a subject or an author of any print media item, including reviews of your work or letters-to-the-editor from you, and if you appear on the electronic media.  Kindly forward the information by email to Kathy Vozella: kathy.vozella@mq.edu.au by fax to (9850) 9457; or through internal mail to W6B 148.  Dr Frank Ashe (Applied Finance Centre):  wrote a letter to the editor about the effect of house prices on the economy, Australian Financial Review, 17 July Mr David Blair (Humanities):  appeared as a judge for the Aussie Spell competition televised on Channel 7, 13 July Ms Lorayne Botwood (Psychology):  interviewed about the benefits of feedback in the workplace and said that goal orientation can determine how a person feels about feedback, ABC 666 Canberra, 7 July Ms Sue Butler (Macquarie Dictionary):  was interviewed in relation to the Channel 9 program Catch Phrase’s refusal to hand over the major prize to a contestant because he mispronounced the clue, A Current Affair, Channel 9, 30 June; interviewed about the inclusion of Australian words in the Webster’s Dictionary in the US, ABC 702, 2 July; Today Tonight, Channel 7, 3 July; interviewed about the word ‘boofhead’ and said that it was no longer considered all that offensive but that the word ‘f…wit’ was more offensive, Sunrise, Channel 7, 15 July; her use of the word ‘f…wit’ resulted in a quick wrap-up of the segment, a commercial break and then an apology by a Sunrise presenter but Channel 7 has since been flooded with emails from viewers accusing them of hypocrisy, Daily Telegraph, 16 July; Sunrise presenter Melissa Doyle read out a string of emails saying they thought it was funny when Sue Butler used the word ‘f…wit’ on the program, Sunrise, Channel 7, 16 July; the Sunrise program events were discussed in MX-Melbourne, 16 July; Sun-Herald, 20 July Ms Lyn Capon (Psychology honours student): is doing a study on self-change to get a better understanding of why people succeed or fail at stopping smoking, losing weight or exercising more, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 July Miss Anita Chang (Asian Languages):  her contribution as an adjudicator at the Chinese Recital Competition was mentioned in the Sing Tao News, 19 June Professor Max Coltheart (Psychology):  said some parents occasionally think about killing their babies and the thought causes great guilt and fear, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 July; is yet to be convinced of the benefits of the FastForWord program, saying he is concerned about the adequacy of the research, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 July; interviewed about delusions and explained the type of delusions people can experience, ABC 891 Adelaide, 14 July; said his team wants to know where a delusion comes from in the first place and why a person won’t give up an irrational belief, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 July Professor John Croucher (Statistics):  his weekly ‘Number Crunch’ column included statistics such as ‘proportion of surveyed Americans who thought Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife:  12 per cent’, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 July; The Age, 12 July; his column included statistics such as ‘proportion of families who say they argue during long car journeys: 75 per cent’, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 July; The Age, 19 July Professor Robert Dale (Computing): will give a presentation on next-generation spoken language dialogue systems, The Australian, 8 July Professor Paul Davies (Australian Centre for Astrobiology): will open the Australian Festival of Astronomy, Central Coast Express, 11 July; said that it is possible the universe may be just one ‘bubble’ in an ocean of bubbles, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 July; interviewed about the Festival and believes Australia has to get back into the space program by building satellites and having a stake in planet missions, AM ABC National Radio, 14 July; opened the summit claiming that Mars has significance as it may have been our birthplace, Daily Telegraph, 15 July Dr Mike Eldridge (Biological Sciences):  says that while we have learnt a lot about the purple-necked rock wallaby, there’s still a lot we don’t know. His research was written up in a feature article in The Helix, June-July Dr Julie Fitness (Psychology): participated in a discussion about jealousy, Life Matters, Radio National, 30 June; was interviewed about life partners and the notion that people search for partners who are like themselves, Radio 2GB, 1 July; interviewed about a survey that shows the first kiss in a relationship is vital, Radio 2GB, 15 July Dr Donna Gibbs (Education): appeared as an official for the Aussie Spell competition, televised on Channel 7, 13 July Dr Melissa Green (Psychology):  said cognitive behavioural therapy can alleviate everyday problems stemming from irrational beliefs including frustration, anxiety, and even road rage, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 July Dr Bridget Griffen-Foley (Modern History and Politics): interviewed about her new book Party Games: Australian Politicians and the Media from War to Dismissal, ABC Statewide Victoria, 24 June; ABC Statewide Tasmania and 4BC Brisbane, 3 July, her book was reviewed in Media section of The Australian, 3 July; Radio 2GB, 7 July; ABC Radio Longreach 10 July; ABC 702 11 July; ABC Radio Brisbane, 14 July; interviewed about the relationship between media and politics and the birth of public relations and how public relations started in Australia under the Menzies Government, The Media Report, ABC Radio National, 17 July Mr Matthew Haigh (Accounting): his research paper reveals that the size of the socially responsible investment sector in Australia is $2.1 billion – a miniscule 0.3 per cent of total funds under management, The Australian, 9 July Dr Paul Henman (Sociology): found that the unemployment benefit doesn’t meet the cost of a basic standard of living for millions of people in capital cities, but fails single Sydney men more than most, The Australian, 11 July; his research reveals a sole parent in Sydney gets only 84 per cent of what is needed for acceptable living, Sunday Telegraph, 20 July Professor John Hewson (MGSM): was mentioned in an interview with Tony Wright from The Bulletin about an article in the July edition that features Hewson’s revelations about the upper workings of the Liberal Party before the 1993 election and that he believed Tony Abbott to be a spy in his office for John Howard, ABC 891 Adelaide, 2 July; wrote that new weaknesses are likely to emerge next year in the economy and in foreign policy, Australian Financial Review, 4 July; said business schools could not afford to be complacent about declining revenue, Australian Financial Review, 4 July; wrote that Asia needs more than just growing economies and stable exchange rates, Australian Financial Review, 11 July; runs the MGSM and can boast of generating a modest profit on the school’s operations, Canberra Times, 14 July Professor Sam Lieu and Dr Ken Parry (Ancient History): interviewed about the ARC DP project on Nestorian funerary monuments in South China and the exhibition at Macquarie University Library (now finished), ABC TV Asia Focus Program, 29 June Mr Ryan McKay (Psychology PhD candidate): his presentation at the Cognitive Science Conference today will outline the latest thinking on how religious belief relates to delusion, Daily Telegraph, 14 July; said the idea that religion was a delusion dated back to Sigmund Freud about 100 years ago, The Age, 14 July; Newcastle Herald, 14 July; Daily News Tweed Heads, 14 July; Central Coast Herald, 14 July; Border Mail (Albury Wodonga), 14 July; Advertiser (Adelaide), 14 July; Daily Advertiser (Wagga), 14 July; MX – Melbourne, 14 July; interviewed on ABC 666 Canberra, 15 July; ABC 666 Canberra, 16 July; ABC Newcastle, 18 July Associate Professor Irina Pollard (Biological Sciences): said ethically the doctor should have told PD (the 28 year-old woman who contracted the AIDS virus from her husband after they had what she believed to be negative HIV tests) about her husband’s results when she asked for them, though he probably did the right thing legally, West Australian, 21 June Dr Mike Poulsen (Human Geography): has done his own research into spatial ethnic integration and once stated that "anybody using the term ‘migrant ghetto’ should be put into the stocks at Martin Place for a day or two", Sydney Morning Herald, 5 July Professor David Rich (Centre for Flexible Learning): said that at Macquarie University about a quarter of students study one or more of their subjects online, however only about 10 percent of the students are registered externally, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 July Dr Alan Stewart (Graduate School of the Environment): wrote a letter to the editor saying that land clearing control in NSW is long overdue, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 July Dr Nikki Sullivan (Critical and Cultural Studies): did her PhD on tattoos, Sun-Herald, 13 July; took issue with last week’s column about wacky PhD topics, saying that in so far as her research seriously engages with the social, political and ethical effects of (silencing and marginalizing others) it is of no less import than research that looks at the risk involved in superannuation, Sun-Herald, 20 July Emeritus Professor Colin Tatz (Politics): said Cathy Freeman is a freak of chance as well as ability, and that her Aboriginality is an indelible part of her success – she is successful not just because she’s a great runner but because everyone knows what it is she overcame, Courier Mail, 5 July Professor David Throsby (Economics): is a world authority on the economics of arts and culture and will deliver the keynote address at a summit on the future of the arts in South Australia, Advertiser (Adelaide), 8 July; said the arts industry could be viewed as a series of concentric circles with creative artists at the core and small arts companies, flagship companies and arts institutions in outer layers, Advertiser (Adelaide), 9 July; was mentioned in an interview with Julie McCrossin about the Arts SA Summit, ABC Radio South Australia, 8 July Professor Malcolm Walter (Australian Centre for Astrobiology): interviewed about Mars, ABC 702, 10 July; said their latest research (which has linked a 90km-wide crater in southern Australia to an extinction event some 580 million years ago to explain the mystery of how life blossomed in the seas) has raised some eyebrows and is substantial new thinking, Daily Telegraph, 17 July Dr Stephen Yeo (Physical Geography): interviewed about the impact of floods on communities and property values, ABC Radio Mid North Coast, 2 July Issues and Events The Macquarie Dictionary accepts either pronunciation of boogieman and bogeyman, Daily Telegraph, 1 July; Sydney Morning Herald, 5 July ‘In and Out of Abstraction’, an exhibition by abstract expressionist Peter Griffen is on display at the Macquarie University Art Gallery, Inner Western Suburbs Courier, 30 June A closer look at the Macquarie University research (that found Sydney is the second-cheapest city in the country for raising kids) reveals that the study is based on renters only, Sun-Herald, 6 July The Macquarie Dictionary defines ‘snaffled’ as ‘a colloquial term meaning to steal, to take away quickly before anyone else’, Daily Liberal (Dubbo), 4 July Talks by leading astronomers such as Macquarie University’s Professor Paul Davies will be held as part of the 25th general assembly of the International Astronomical Union, North Shore Times, 2 July Consultant Michael McGuirk wrote that he first became aware of the poor financial performance of the AGSM in December 2002 as a result of work he carried out as a consultant to the strategic review of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Australian Financial Review, 8 July The Macquarie Dictionary defines ‘wholesome’ in part as conducive to bodily health; conducive to moral or general wellbeing, The Australian, 8 July Macquarie University is one of the universities involved in the Centre of Kangaroo Genomics, The Age, 8 July; Sydney Morning Herald, 8 July Macquarie University Research Park includes Siemens, Goodman-Fielder, Nortel Networks, EMC Corporation, Macquarie Research Inc, Covance, Dow Corning, Cisco Systems and Eppendorf as tenants, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 July; The Age, 8 July Final year Macquarie University law student, Lindsay Buckingham, was one of 40 people worldwide selected to attend the summer course on International Humanitarian Law in Italy, Hornsby Advocate, 12 June A law student at Macquarie University will now attract the same Commonwealth funding as a law student at Central Queensland University due to the way the Government is changing the way it calculates funding, The Australian, 9 July The final meeting of the Australasian Council on Open, Distance and E-learning will be held at Macquarie University from 27 to 28 October, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 July The Government released figures which show that Macquarie University will be $3.1 million better off in 2005 as a result of its proposed shake-up of universities, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 July Year 11 student Bryan Clarke has been selected from 112 applicants to take part in the 2003 CSIRO Student Research Scheme, working with Macquarie University’s Dr Michael Whithford on laser micromachining of polymers for photonics, Peninsula Living, July The Macquarie University women’s squash team typified the great team spirit that makes the Eastern University Games enjoyable, according to the games’ competition manager, Advocate (Coffs Harbour), 10 July The Macquarie Dictionary is the official authority for the Aussie Spell competition, ABC Radio Darwin, 8 July Researchers from Macquarie University, Melbourne University and the ANU are involved in the Centre for the Kangaroo Genome, Northern Star (Lismore), 11 July A spokeswoman for Macquarie University said the NUS figure of 941 (HECS places at risk at Macquarie University) was correct but the University had no plans to get rid of all over-enrolled places in one go, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 July The conference titled Pushing the Limits will be held at Macquarie University and is part of the 25th general assembly of the International Astronomical Union, Port Macquarie Express, 9 July; Hastings Gazette, 10 July The Macquarie Trio is about to embark on its third program tour of Australia for 2003, Northern District Times, 16 July; Canberra Times, 17 July The Wiggles spoke about studying early childhood at Macquarie University and their former teacher, Dr Kathleen Murray said they were good students, New Dimensions, ABC TV, 16 July The Early Childhood Road Safety Education Program at Macquarie University has been involved in consultations with Macleay Hastings Safe Communities to develop a child safety driveway project, Macleay Argus (Kempsey), 15 July; Mid-Coast Observer, 16 July Rodney Adler achieved a Bachelor of Business degree at the University of NSW and a Masters in Economics at Macquarie University, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 July Macquarie University has four per cent of national enrolments in society and culture programs, and 4.1 per cent of enrolments in management/commerce (according to DEST), Weekend Australian, 19 July Macquarie University accepts TAFE qualifications for its Bachelor of Media (Multimedia), Weekend Australian, 19 July Macquarie University trains people who want to work in language technology to help others learn, Weekend Australian, 19 July After coming to Australia to complete his MBA at Macquarie University, Justin Parfitt’s studies now form the basis for Fast Impressions’ match-generating software – a neural net algorithm that mimics the learning patterns of the brain, Sun-Herald, 20 July Each year thousands of visitors come to Macquarie University’s Open Day, Goulburn Town & Country (NSW), 14 July Macquarie University is one of the north-shore workplaces that has work-based childcare centres, Sydney Weekly, 16 July Kathy Vozella Media Manager