Detailed assessment information and rubrics

Detailed information about each of the assessments, including rubrics and submission instructions will be available in the Assessment block in iLearn. Please make sure you read the assessment information carefully. Assessment forums for each assessment will be available on the unit iLearn – if you have an assessment question please check the assessment information and the relevant assessment forum to see if your question has already been answered. If not, please post your question on the assessment forum where it will be answered within 1-2 days (weekdays). Please do not email your tutor unless you have tried all the above sources and cannot find an answer to your question.

Late submission

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7^th day (including weekends). After the 7^th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to written reports and recordings only. Late submission of time-sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs) will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special Consideration application.

Academic Integrity

Academic honesty is taken very seriously, and a range of methods, including but not restricted to the use of Turnitin, are used to detect plagiarism. Misrepresenting someone else's work as your own may be grounds for referral to the Faculty Disciplinary Committee. If you have questions about how to properly cite work or how to credit sources, please ask the convenor for help and see also the  Academic Integrity Policy https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/academic-integrity

Note: All assignments in this unit are individual assignments. Collusion (unauthorised collaboration on individual assignments) is a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy. If in doubt, contact a member of teaching staff. 

A helpful resource if you would like to know more about referencing and avoiding plagiarism is  Macquarie's Academic Integrity Module, available here: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skills-development. You will need to complete this Module before accessing the unit content, if you have not already done so. More information is available in iLearn. 

GenAI/ChatGPT

In this Unit, and unless notified otherwise in writing by the Unit Convenor, substantive assessment content that has been generated by AI may be regarded as not the student’s own work. This applies to all assessments, including online forums. In submitting assessments in this unit, all students will be required to confirm their agreement with the following:

In submitting this assessment, I certify that this submission is my own work and demonstrates my own understanding, analysis, research, reflection, critical thinking, and writing. I am not submitting anything that I cannot myself fully explain and defend, if called upon to do so. I understand that if my teachers have concerns about whether this submission is my own work, I may be required to attend an interview with the Unit Convenor/Integrity Officer/academic staff to verify my research methods, my understanding of the content, and my close familiarity with all sources I have cited. If I am found to have submitted work that is not my own, my work may be further investigated, and I may be found to be in breach of the MQ Academic Integrity Policy.

Academic Writing and Study Support

Macquarie University offers a number of services to help with academic writing, referencing and study skills. For details, see: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skills/assignments

For information about policies related to Assessment, see Policies and Procedures section below.

NOTE: It is an expectation that students will attend or listen (online students) to all lectures and complete all assessment components in this unit. You do not need to have passed each individual assessment to pass the unit, but it is expected that all assessments are attempted.  

General Submission Procedure: Written assessments must be submitted via TurnItIn at the correct link provided on the Unit iLearn site. You will not be able to view your TurnItIn match similarity report for your assessment before you submit it. You must ensure that you use the correct link for your assessment, and that you upload the correct final version of your assessment.  

DELIVERY: Lectures in this unit will be in-person (on-campus) with recordings available online via Echo360 and the unit iLearn site. Tutorials/STGAs will be on campus.

READING: All required readings are available in Leganto on the unit iLearn site. Supplementary reading is required for Essays. Suggestions for Supplementary Reading will be provided in lectures and on iLearn.

SECTION I: (WEEKS 1–5) FRAMEWORKS FOR AN ETHICS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

WEEK 1: What is ethics? What is ethical reasoning?  (A/Prof Lotz)

• No tutorials/SGTAs/Online forums in Week 1

 

WEEK 2: How can ethical theories help us think about bioethics and biotechnology?  (A/Prof Lotz)

Part I: Consequentialist and Autonomy-based ethics.

 

WEEK 3: How can ethical theories help us think about bioethics and biotechnology?  (A/Prof Lotz)

Part II: Rights-based, Virtue-based, and Care-based ethics.

 

WEEK 4: Does contemporary biotech have lessons to learn from the history of eugenics?  (A/Prof Lotz)

 

WEEK 5: How do we do ethical science and research? (Prof Lipworth)

 

SECTION II (WEEKS 6–10): BIOTECHNOLOGY IN HUMAN HEALTH AND REPRODUCTION

 

WEEK 6: Human embryo research – Do human embryonic stem cells have moral status? What about synthetic embryos [SHEEFs]?  (A/Prof Lotz)

 

WEEK 7: Would anything be wrong with human cloning for procreative purposes? (A/Prof Lotz)

 

WEEK 8: Genetic screening, testing and diagnosis – Is it always better to know? (Prof Lipworth)

 

MID SESSION BREAK (22 Sept – 3 Oct)

• ESSAYS DUE: 11.55pm Sunday September 28 (viva voces will be held during Weeks 9 and 10). Further information will be available in lectures and in the Essay Task Outline on the unit iLearn.

 

WEEK 9: Should we edit the human genome for future generations?  (Mr Castelyn)

 

WEEK 10: If genetic therapy is ok, what about genetic enhancement? (Mr Castelyn)

 

SECTION III (WEEKS 11-12):  BIOTECHNOLOGY IN WIDER CONTEXT  

 

WEEK 11:  Should human genes be privately ownable and commercially exploitable? (Prof Lipworth)

 

WEEK 12: Your DNA, their data?  (Prof Lipworth)

• No tutorials/SGTAs/Online forums this week

• BLOG PORTFOLIOS DUE: 11.55pm Sunday November 2 Further information will be available in lectures and in the relevant Task Outline on the unit iLearn.

 

Week 13: Exam Preparation Week

• No tutorials/SGTAs/Online forums this week
• Exam: The unit exam will be held during the MQ Examinations period. Further information will be provided in lectures and in the Exam Task Outline on the unit iLearn.