Students

SOCX3040 – Human Services in the 21st Century: Care, Gender and Institutions

2021 – Session 1, Fully online/virtual

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Tobia Fattore
tobia.fattore@mq.edu.au
Room C330 Building C, Arts Precinct
Consultation hours by appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
SOCI3040
Unit description Unit description
This unit explores the concept of care and its application in a range of different human service fields including mental health, childcare, child protection, disability services and aged 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 analyse current research on care and human services in Australia and other comparable countries.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Exhibit a critical understanding of the different meanings attached to the concept of care and of changing patterns in the need for care across the life course.
  • ULO2: Analyse the characteristics of care in intimate interpersonal relationships, as well as in contexts in which professional relationships require the provision of care to strangers. .
  • ULO3: Recognise the contribution of a range of sociological, economic and demographic and other perspectives to developments in care and human services.
  • ULO4: Work with a range of policy documents concerned with the planning, provision, regulation, and funding of human services.
  • ULO5: Apply a number of research perspectives to the study of human services.
  • ULO6: Work as part of a social research or policy development team in the field.
  • ULO7: Understand the key issues involved in undertaking social analyses of policies and programs for the development of human services.

General Assessment Information

Assignment Submission All written assignments need to be submitted using the turnitin link for each assignment. These can be accessed under the assessment tab on the iLearn page for the assignment.

Academic Honesty Academic honesty is an integral part of the core values and principles of Macquarie University. It is a fundamental principle  that all staff and students act with integrity in the creation, development, application and use of ideas and information. This means that:

  • All academic work claimed as original is the work of the author making the claim.
  • All academic collaborations are acknowledged.
  • Academic work is not falsified in any way.
  • When the ideas of others are used, these ideas are acknowledged appropriately.

Further information can be found in the Policy and Procedures section of this guide.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Critical Analysis Essays 45% No Essay 1: March 28; Essay 2: June 6
Program Design Task 20% No June 13
Program Design Presentation 35% No Weeks 12 and 13

Critical Analysis Essays

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Essay 1: March 28; Essay 2: June 6
Weighting: 45%

As the discussion forums will be devoted to the program design, the two reflection papers will assess student engagement with the core concepts and themes presented in the lectures and readings. Students will therefore be required to submit two reflection papers that must utilise a range of the readings set for the course supplemented by other academic scholarship relevant to the topic. Students will be advised of the essay topics at the commencement of semester.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Exhibit a critical understanding of the different meanings attached to the concept of care and of changing patterns in the need for care across the life course.
  • Analyse the characteristics of care in intimate interpersonal relationships, as well as in contexts in which professional relationships require the provision of care to strangers. .
  • Recognise the contribution of a range of sociological, economic and demographic and other perspectives to developments in care and human services.
  • Work with a range of policy documents concerned with the planning, provision, regulation, and funding of human services.
  • Apply a number of research perspectives to the study of human services.
  • Understand the key issues involved in undertaking social analyses of policies and programs for the development of human services.

Program Design Task

Assessment Type 1: Design Task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: June 13
Weighting: 20%

In addition to the Program Design presentation, students must individually submit a paper describing one aspect of the program that has been designed as part of the Program Design activity.

If students have designed the program as a group, group members must submit the individual paper on different elements of the program. If students have designed the program individually, you will be required to submit a paper on one aspect of the program only.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse the characteristics of care in intimate interpersonal relationships, as well as in contexts in which professional relationships require the provision of care to strangers. .
  • Recognise the contribution of a range of sociological, economic and demographic and other perspectives to developments in care and human services.
  • Work with a range of policy documents concerned with the planning, provision, regulation, and funding of human services.
  • Apply a number of research perspectives to the study of human services.
  • Work as part of a social research or policy development team in the field.

Program Design Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Weeks 12 and 13
Weighting: 35%

Students will design a human services program. This work will culminate in an online/pre-recorded presentation of the program at the end of the semester.

This will be a guided activity with the weekly discussion forums devoted to tasks designed to assist in the cumulative process of developing a human services program. However, additional research will be required by students to obtain the resources they require to inform their program design.

To undertake this exercise effectively, you will initially need to identify a human services field within which you can develop a program (or human services innovation). Related to this is identifying a need that your program intends to address. These could be for example, a program for ‘at-risk youth’, an early-intervention and prevention program for children, a programs to address isolation among older people, or a service program to meet the needs of recently active military personnel.

The presentation should address the following components/questions (that will be used as a guide during the tutorials): 1) Program Overview 2) Statement of Outcomes 3) Environmental Context your program is working within 4) Potential demand for your program 5) Client group of the program 6) Detailed Program Description 7) Concrete resources for your program, including a budget
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse the characteristics of care in intimate interpersonal relationships, as well as in contexts in which professional relationships require the provision of care to strangers. .
  • Recognise the contribution of a range of sociological, economic and demographic and other perspectives to developments in care and human services.
  • Work with a range of policy documents concerned with the planning, provision, regulation, and funding of human services.
  • Apply a number of research perspectives to the study of human services.
  • Work as part of a social research or policy development team in the field.
  • Understand the key issues involved in undertaking social analyses of policies and programs for the development of human services.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

The teaching program consists of:

  • A pre-recorded lecture that will be made available on a weekly basis for Weeks 1-12. The lecture slides and recorded lectures are available on the SOI3040/SOCX3040 iLearn site.
  • For Weeks 2-12 guided Discussion Forums will be held, through which students will devote their time to designing a human services program. These will culminate in the submission of a Program Design paper and Presentation. Engagement in the Discussion Forums is therefore a requirement for successful completion of the course. Discussion Forums commence in Week 2. Further information about the assessments is available on the SOI3040/SOCX3040 iLearn site.
  • Subject to COVID-19 restrictions in Week 9, the lecture and tutorial will be replaced by a Historical Site visit, organised as part of the teaching program. Further information regarding the time and location will be provided during the semester.
  • Weekly readings which cover the key issues relating to the weekly topic. These also form the basis for the Critical Analysis Essays. These are available via the Leganto link in the SOI3040/SOCX3040 iLearn site.
  • Related reading and research development tasks over the course of the unit.

As this is an advanced course in the uses and development of sociological analysis, it is vital for students to participate in all components of the unit. The lectures provide the conceptual basis of the course, examining the theory and much of the relevant evidence for each topic. The online discussions are designed to complement this by providing an opportunity to apply ideas and develop a critical and collaborative approach.

While there are no required textbooks for this unit, the following are useful texts for students undertaking this unit:

  • Fine, M.D. (2007) A Caring Society? Care and the Dilemmas of Human Service in the 21st Century, Palgrave MacMillan, Houndmills and New York.
  • Palmer, G and S. Short (2014) Health Care and Public Policy. An Australian Analysis (5th Ed), Palgrave MacMillan, South Yarra
  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019) Australia’s Welfare: Data Insights, 2019, Canberra. (This can be downloaded free from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/australias-welfare-2019-data-insights/contents/summary)

Unit Schedule

Week

Lecture

Tutorial / Discussion Forum

Week 1

Introduction: Care and Human Services.

No tutorials

Week 2

Understanding Care: Contested Definitions and Perspectives.

Tutorials commence this week

Introductions and Course Overview

Week 3

Formal and Informal Care: The Substitutability of Care.

Identifying a Program Focus

Week 4

Human Services as Organisations

Developing a Program Theory of Change

Week 5

Total Institutions and the Critique of Institutional Models of Care.

Environmental context and potential demand

Reflection Paper 1 due - March 28

Week 6

Reinventing Human Services: Alternatives to Institutional Models of Care.

Identifying resources and program objectives

Week 7

The Political Economy of Human Service Provision.

Identifying Inputs, funding sources and developing a budget

Mid-Session Break

Week 8

Working in the Human Services.

Identifying Inputs, funding sources and developing a budget

Week 9

Human services site visit – No classes. Date to be advised.

Week 10

Care Around the World.

Specifying your client group and client intake, participation and exit processes

Week 11

The Future of Human Services

Program Delivery

Finalising your program design and presentation

Week 12

Conclusion: Multiple Perspectives on Human Services in the 21st Century.

Program Design Presentations

Week 13

No Lecture

Program Design Presentations

Reflection Paper 2 due - June 6

Program Design Paper due - June 13

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

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.

Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook