This unit does not publish previous end-of-semester exam papers due to the assessment format which involves multiple choice questions drawn from a bank of questions which have undergone a process of development and validation to assess a wide range of concepts in this unit. Assessment quality can only be ensured by maintaining the integrity of the question bank rather than creating entirely new questions every year. However a practice exam will be provided via iLearn near the end of session.

You may also refer to the peerwise website https://peerwise.cs.auckland.ac.nz/at/?mq_au at which students can write their own MC questions and practice on the questions written by others to facilitate preparation for tests.

Academic Honesty (MQ Policy):

Academic honesty is an integral part of the core values and principles contained in the Macquarie University Ethics Statement. The Policy covering Academic Honesty is available on the web at: http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Plagiarism is an example of dishonest academic behaviour and is defined by the Policy on Academic honesty as: “Using the work or ideas of another person and presenting this as your own without clear acknowledgement of the source of the work or ideas”.

Plagiarism is a serious breach of the University's rules and carries significant penalties.  The Academic honesty Procedure is available at http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/procedure.html

This procedure notes the following responsibilities for students:

• Act in accordance with the principles of the Academic Honesty Policy.
• Become familiar with what academic dishonesty is, what are appropriate referencing techniques and the consequences of poor practice.
• Seek assistance from the unit convenor (or their nominee) to remedy any deficits or if you are unsure of discipline specific practice.
• Submit only work of which you are the author or that properly acknowledges others.
• Do not lend your original work to any other person for any reason.
• Keep drafts of your own authored work and notes showing the authorship or source of ideas that are not your own.

The penalties which can be applied for academic dishonesty are outlined in the Academic Dishonesty – Schedule of Penalties which can be found at: http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/schedule_penalties.html 

The penalties range from applying a fail grade for the assessment task or requiring the student to re-submit the assessment task for a mark no greater than 50 to applying a fail grade to the unit of study and referral to the University Discipline committee.

You must read the University's Policy and Procedure on Academic Honesty.

University Policy on Grading

Academic Senate has a set of guidelines for the achievement of grades across the range from fail to high distinction.  Your final result will include one of these grades plus a standardised numerical grade (SNG). 

On occasion your raw mark for a unit (i.e., the total of your marks for each assessment item) may not be the same as the SNG which you receive. 

For more information please refer to the Macquarie University Handbook.

Appeals Against Grades: 

Individual Assessments

1. Read over your marker's feedback

2. Wait at least 24-48 hours and reread your marker's feedback

3. If you are still not happy with your grade, contact your marker and organise a time to discuss your assignment in-person (generally, this does not result in a change in grade but an increase in clarity as to why you received the grade you did).
4. If you are not happy with the outcome of this, you will need to lodge a formal request for a remark. Remarking is done by the unit convenor and their grade will be final (i.e., if they mark you lower than your original marker, you will receive the lower grade).

Overall Grade

Detailed university policy information can be found at: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/appeals

Extensions on Assessment Due Dates: 

• Requests for extensions for assignments in PSYU2224 are granted by the Student Centre (via ask.mq.edu.au). A decision will be made by the staff in the Student Centre. PSYU2224 staff will not be notified that you have applied for an extension, nor will we be told if an extension is approved or denied. PSYU2224 staff do not have the ability to grant extensions.

• Normally, all extensions should be made prior to the due date for the assignment (and must be within 5 working days of the due date). If you have not received a decision regarding your extension before the assignment deadline, and your request is denied, the official deadline will remain and the official late penalty will be applied. Further, if you submit by the official deadline for an assessment that does not allow multiple attempts, and then receive approval for an extension, you will not be able to re-upload your assignment (i.e., you will be opting not to use your extension). As such, not submitting by the deadline while waiting for a decision is a calculated risk you must consider. It is strongly recommended to apply for extensions as early as possible to prevent this.

• If an extension is required for medical or other extenuating circumstances, students may request this in writing (via ask.mq.edu.au) with supporting documentary evidence (such as medical certificate, counsellor notes, or similar).
• Generally, extensions are not granted for written work (e.g., essays) since ample time for its preparation will have been given.
• If an extension is granted, the approval must be uploaded to Turnitin along with your assignment to avoid any late penalties.

Special Considerations for Exams:

• You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable (available at timetables.mq.edu.au/exam). The timetable will be available in draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the exam period and in final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the exam period.

• The only exception to not sitting an exam at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances, you may wish to consider applying for special considerations. Information about unavoidable disruption and the special consideration process is available in the Disruption to Studies policy (mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html)
• To be eligible for special considerations, a student must notify the university of a serious and unavoidable disruption no later than five (5) working days of the assessment task date or due date. Notifications of Disruption of Studies after 5 days will still be assessed, however they are more likely to have a remedy of Withdrawal Without Academic Penalty applied if they are deemed serious and unavoidable.
• If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the special consideration process, the exam will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period. The format of a supplementary exam is at each unit convener's discretion and is subject to change from the original final examination.
• Supplementary exams are only offered to students who have satisfactorily completed all other assessments for the unit and were unable to sit the final exam because of documented illness or unavoidable disruptions
• Instructions on applying for sitting a supplementary exam are available at https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration
• If you are approved to sit a supplementary final exam, you will receive an email with information from the Faculty office. Students who are granted to sit for a supplementary exam must make themselves available to sit for the supplementary exam on the specified date. There will only be one time. It is the student's responsibility to email Student Centre to confirm attendance at the supplementary exam.
• You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early exams for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching session, which is the final day of the official examination period.

Learning and Teaching Strategy

• This unit is taught through a combination of online lectures and smaller, class-based tutorials.

• It is expected that students complete the lectures in a timely fashion so that you have the necessary information for each tutorial. Note that some lecture material includes activities that are required to be complete prior to tutorials. Attendance at tutorials is a requirement of this unit. Important information regarding assessment tasks will be provided in these classes as well as feedback on your progress with these tasks.

• For each lecture there is a set reading, usually from the textbook, as well as supplementary readings for more detailed information about specific aspects of this unit.  See each section of the iLearn lectures for a listing of the set readings and recommended additional readings for each lecture.

• In tutorials it is expected that all students contribute to discussions in a constructive manner.  The more that you participate in classes, the more you will derive benefits.

• For each tutorial topic there may be separate readings, and in other tutorials these will be the same as the lecture readings.  It is expected that all students read at least one of the set readings for each tutorial topic.  

• It is helpful if you keep up to date with current affairs in Australia during the semester, particularly as it relates to health issues.

Optional Test-Your-Knowledge Quizzes

Description: For most weeks there will be an optional test-your-knowledge quiz at the end of the lecture content. These quizzes do not contribute towards your grade, but do help to test your own knowledge

Format: Online quiz with mixed question styles

Attempts: Unlimited attempts

Weighting: 0% of final grade

Due Date: Available as soon as the associated lecture is available. Quizzes will then remain open until the end of the session.

Technology

Students are expected to submit the essay as a word-processed document. This is submitted online. Consequently, all students will need access to a computer and internet to complete these tasks.

Lectures and Tutorial Times

Lecture

Lectures are provided online. They are given each week during semester and are accessed through iLearn.

Length of online lectures: Approximately 2 hours

Venue: iLearn

Tutorial

Tutorials are conducted face-to-face on campus at Macquarie University.

Number of tutorials: One tutorial per week commencing Week 2

Length of tutorials: 1 hour

Weekly Topics