this is the chosen topic, Health policy: Deprivation of health care: Dealing with consequences, closing the gap, public versus private, Medicare
SWB108: Australian Society, Systems and Policy Assessment Task 2 SWB108: Australian Society, Systems and Policy – Assessment Task 2 Page 2 of 13 Assessment Task 2 Task overview Assessment name: Written Essay Task description: You are required to write an essay that describes and analyses one topic drawn from the unit content about a particular field of social policy. In the essay you will critically explore societal perceptions, distributional effects and policy relevance for real world practice. You must also reflect on policy fairness, nature of competing claims and impact of inequality, injustice and uneven distribution to frame an alternative vision of policy and/or society. You will incorporate feedback generated from the discussion forum (see assessment item 3). Learning outcomes measured: 1. Describe essential normative, structural and institutional foundations of Australian society in relation to global context and the welfare state 2. Critically analyse important contemporary Australian social issues, discourses and social policy responses in relation to global context using critical theory 3. Critique popular perceptions and constructions of social policy and Australian society 4. Explain and critically reflect on the relevance of knowledge of Australian society for real world professional practice Due date: 23 October 2020 at 23.59 Length: 1800 words Weighting: 50% Individual/Group: Individual Authentic Assessment: Yes No Formative/Summative: Formative and Summative How will I be assessed: 7-point grading scale using a rubric Task details What you need to do: 1. Read the Essay Criterion Reference Assessment Sheet. 2. Determine your topic. 3. Conduct your topic research 4. Your critique must respond to describing and analysing your topic and critically exploring societal, distributional effects and policy relevance for real world practice. Outline ideas on policy fairness, nature of competing claims and impact of inequality, injustice and SWB108: Australian Society, Systems and Policy – Assessment Task 2 Page 3 of 13 uneven distribution to frame an alternative vision of policy and/or society. (See breakdown below). 5. Prepare your framework for discussion forum (see assessment task 3) ensuring you outline critical analysis (critical lens and theory), your chosen essay policy topic, associated problems or effects on vulnerable groups and your proposed alternative policy vision. Reflect upon your discussion in the forum and feedback received from your tutor to incorporate it into your essay. 6. Conduct further research if necessary. 7. Use the Written Essay Guide to write your essay. 8. Proofread your essay carefully. 9. Submit your essay to Turnitin by the due date. Assessment formatting requirements: This assessment task must be formatted in the following way: • 12 point font • Double linespacing • Use APA referencing, and be consistent with the style you use. Resources needed to complete task: • SWB108 Blackboard site • Written essay guide • Crafting your essay • Cite|Write Submission information What you need to submit: One Adobe PDF document that contains the following items: 1. Assignment coversheet. 2. Essay with reference list. How to submit: 1. Select your tutor on BB for Turnitin 2. Access the Turnitin Submission link >>View/Complete 3. Click on the Submit button 4. Give the submission a title, select the correct file and click the Upload. 5. Click Confirm. 6. Click Return to Assignment list 7. To check successful submission, you will receive a text match % (if this is an option), and you are able to resubmit, view or download your paper. 8. ALWAYS check your student email for the submission receipt. https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/ SWB108: Australian Society, Systems and Policy – Assessment Task 2 Page 4 of 13 Moderation: All staff who are assessing your work meet to discuss and compare their judgements before marks or grades are finalised. Academic Integrity Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations. Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website. You are encouraged to make use of QUT's learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of content matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process. Further details of QUT's approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT's Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT. Written Essay Guide Task Breakdown Writing tips Cover sheet with name, student number and title Note: the overall tone of writing is still as formal and critical as in an essay but presented in report style, as per key headings. Try to be persuasive in mostly everyday language and: Introduction/setting the scene: clearly orient the reader. Identify focus and purpose of the essay. Outline the scope (policy topic) and your thesis statement that responds to the question fairness and equality. Body of essay, research and evidence base: Are we equal? Present the issues, give information, and build the argument/case. Your discussion must consider: • identifying and discussing the purpose of the policy and the ‘problem’ that it is trying to address • e.g. Is it trying to respond to issues of need, rights, desert, or risk? Is it aiming to bring about equity, social justice, equality or redistribution?) and the design principles you think the policy reflects (e.g. universalism or targeting? Efficiency or effectiveness?). http://www.mopp.qut.edu.au/C/C_05_03.jsp http://www.mopp.qut.edu.au/E/E_02_01.jsp SWB108: Australian Society, Systems and Policy – Assessment Task 2 Page 5 of 13 • Who the policy is for, including any eligibility criteria (i.e. intended target group of the policy and access criteria). • Key social policy concepts and principles associated with the purpose of the policy field. Your discussion of the social policy concepts and design principles should draw on the required reading from the Carson and Kerr text. • positioning the policy in relation to an Australian system (e.g. formal policy setting or administrative and political context), and outlining the funding arrangements and the distributional effects of funding and policy priorities • the political ideologies underpinning these policies and arrangements to identify associated social constructions of groups, including impact (i.e. societal perceptions, increased stigma) • if the policy is meeting the needs of the target group (what is working well, what is not working well) (e.g. you could consider how the policy works/does not work for people from different age groups, genders, cultural backgrounds, geographical locations or socio-economic statuses) • using data from evaluations and other academic, policy and some media sources to critically analyse competing claims and prirotiies Consider using case studies, images, political cartoons, graphs, diagrams or vignettes to bring life and colour to the text. Body of essay: Where are we going? Detail some brief ideas about where we are going, society perceptions and relevance for real world practice. This is about understanding and detailing some brief points about the broader trends in our social (welfare) state and implications for professional practice and policy advocacy. You must consider these elements: • based on your findings, discuss the extent to which the policy is achieving its intended purpose by critically reflecting on the fairness of the policy (Are we equal?) and consider policy advocacy in light of providing a justified (evidenced) suggestion for an alternative vision of the policy and society • (e.g. universal model of income support, community project, social action, new social housing measure) to illustrate how the policy, societal perceptions and fairness could be Develop an evaluative statement Avoid emotive language Reference all your research Use clear headings and paragraphs Proof read and grammar check Number pages Use case studies to build the argument Rework each sentence until every word counts Edit ruthlessly SWB108: Australian Society, Systems and Policy – Assessment Task 2 Page 6 of 13 improved to better meet the needs of the target group/s and move to a socially just society). This helps position your practice in policy contexts and demonstrates an understanding of the way alternative visions help transform practice and society through our social justice mandate. Conclusion: brief summation of essay, including a statement of position. Summarise the argument. Keep succinct and ensure you just don’t restate ideas but draw together key themes and insights to arrive at a logical, coherent conclusion. In summarising your main points, you need to make a statement about whether the situation is fair, equitable or socially just. FIVE IMPORTANT NOTES: 1. Your essay MUST provide academic evidence to support your argument and claims. 2. It is not sufficient, nor the focus, to state personal opinions and ideas about the essay topic. This means citing authoritative sources such as relevant academic journals, textbooks or policy reports. Every idea that is not your own REQUIRES a reference. (See criterion mark sheet for number of sources). 3. You are expected to conduct further research beyond that of sources provided in the lecture or tutorial. 4. Lecture notes or PPT citations are not considered authoritative academic writing. 5. Evaluative/Summative statement - Develop an evaluative/summative statement that outlines your position and is persuasive. I.e. ‘yes we are equal based on x evidence’; ‘no, we are a country that has growing inequalities based on x, y and z evidence’ or ‘we are somewhere in between based on these comparisons and contrasts…’ Crafting Your Essay