Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Charlotte Overgaard
Tobia Fattore
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
39cp at 100 level or above
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit is based on an exploration of the concept of care and its meaning in a range of different human service developments such as mental health, childcare, child protection, disability services and aged care. A starting point for these discussions is an examination of the ideas of care. We explore the links between informal supports, typically, although not exclusively, provided by women within families and households, and formal supports as provided by professional, trained and untrained staff, through organisations and other, often newly emergent, systems of support. Drawing together the fields of social theory and applied research, this unit provides an opportunity to examine responses to changing concepts of human need for interpersonal support. You will be able to learn from policy makers and practitioners working in this field, and enjoy opportunities to analyse state of the art studies of care and human services in Australia and other comparable countries.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Human Services Briefing Paper | 30% | No | April 2 (End of Week 5) |
Innovation review | 40% | No | June 4 (End of Week 12) |
Participation and discussion | 20% | No | Weekly |
Multiple Choice Quiz | 10% | No | 11 June (end week 13) |
Due: April 2 (End of Week 5)
Weighting: 30%
Human Services Briefing Paper
Length: 1,000 words maximum (Not including appendices, figures, tables or bibliography)
Prepare a short briefing paper on the services (or programs), facilities, budget and numbers of clients in one human service sector in Australia. Focus on one of the following areas of service provision: aged care; disability support services; child care; child protection services; mental health care; or supported accommodation services.
In your briefing paper, provide a critical overview of services across Australia and include as far as possible, a comparison of interstate variations. Use tables to present comparative data where applicable.
More details are provided on the iLearn page.
Due: June 4 (End of Week 12)
Weighting: 40%
Length: 2,000 words maximum (Not including appendices, figures, tables or bibliography)
Identify one recent innovation in human service delivery in Australia or one overseas country and critically examine its characteristics, the logic for its introduction, and its current or potential contribution to policy. The review should also discuss links between the development of the innovation and broader processes of social, demographic and political change.
The review should be with reference to an innovation that relates to one or several of the following fields of human services:
• aged care;
• disability services;
• mental health;
• child protection;
• child care;
• health care; or
• supported accommodation.
Some examples of the innovations that could be considered include:
• case management innovations;
• consumer-directed care;
• service contracting arrangements;
• improvements in service coordination; or
• innovative servicing arrangements for a particular client group.
More detailed guidelines for undertaking this assignment are provided on the iLearn page.
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%
Internal students:
Attendance at the tutorial each week is required. All students will be assigned a mark for participation in the workshop based on:
• Leading the tutorial for one week. This includes providing a presentation based on the weekly readings and facilitating discussion and participation for the other students (for instance through a small group exercise);
• Evidence that you are completing the readings each week. This will be assessed by submission of a brief reading summary for one of the readings each week from Week 2; and,
• Your contribution to discussions and involvement in workshop activities.
From Week 2 – 12 you will be required to submit on a weekly basis a summary of one of the set readings for the week. In your own words briefly express the main idea, arguments and other relevant details of your selected reading. Your purpose in writing the summary is to give the basic ideas of the reading and relate it to the weekly topic. What was it about and what did the author(s) want to communicate?
The reading summary should be no longer than 150 words.
You will also be required to lead a discussion on one of the weekly topics, either on your own or with others that week. When you lead a tutorial discussion you are also required to submit discussion notes setting out the main points for discussion, which can be used as resources for other students on the topic.
You will be assessed on your ability to engage the other students, and; the quality of your written presentation.
External students:
External students will also be required to participate and demonstrate their participation. This assessment task is intended to encourage and reward you for actively engaging with the ideas presented in the lectures and readings.
Instead of attending weekly tutorials, you are required to record your ideas on one of the readings for each week by writing a paragraph (or two or three, 100 - 400 words per week) and posting it on the Online Discussion Board.
There will also be guided discussion points that will be posted for your use in the course of the unit.
The discussion board allows you to engage with others in debate, so please read what others have said before submitting your post each week. The quality of your postings and extent of your engagement with others will be used to assess this assessment.
Due: 11 June (end week 13)
Weighting: 10%
The quiz opens on June 5 and closes on June 11 (Week 13).
This is a short, ten question multiple-choice test. The examination will be undertaken on-line and will cover material presented in the lectures.
While there are no required texts for this unit, we will be extensively using the following resources:
• Fine, M.D. (2007) A Caring Society? Care and the Dilemmas of Human Service in the 21st Century, Palgrave MacMillan, Houndmills and New York.
• Australia’s Welfare, 2015, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra (This can be downloaded free from: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publicationdetail/?id=60129552015)
Other recommended texts for this unit include:
Palmer, G and S. Short (2010) Health Care and Public Policy. An Australian Analysis (4th Ed), Palgrave MacMillan, South Yarra
Other course readings and texts are listed in the weekly overview. You are also encouraged to seek out others through the electronic databases available through the library and from other sources.
Week 1 |
March 1 |
Introduction: Care and Human Services |
Week 2 |
March 8 |
Understanding care: Contested definitions and perspectives (Tutorials commence this week) |
Week 3 |
March 15 |
Families or organisations: The substitutability of care |
Week 4 |
March 22 |
Care and organisations: Bureaucracies and alternative models |
Week 5 |
March 29 |
Total Institutions |
Week 6 |
April 5 |
Reinventing Human Services: The social market for care |
Week 7 |
April 12 |
The Human Services Workforce |
BREAK |
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Week 8 |
May 3 |
New Organisational Logics and the Political Economy of Globalised Service Provision |
Week 9 |
May 10 |
Human services site visit – No classes |
Week 10 |
May 17 |
Care around the world: Care and welfare state regimes |
Week 11 |
May 24 |
New perspectives on human services: Individualisation, the body and risk |
Week 12 |
May 31 |
The Future of Human Services |
Week 13 |
June 7 |
Study week – No classes |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
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