BETH5103: Semester 2, 2023

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Units BETH5103 Semester 2 2023 [Normal evening]

Unit of study_

BETH5103: Bioethics in Society

Semester 2, 2023 [Normal evening] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

As the capstone, this Unit of Study will allow Masters of Bioethics students to draw together their learning and reflect on the place that bioethics should have in society. Students will critically engage in issues including the relationship between bioethics and advocacy; the contribution of bioethics to policy; the role of bioethics researchers in multi-disciplinary collaborations; how bioethics issues are discussed in the media, popular culture and literature; and the role that the public should play in discussions of bioethics issues. Students will respond to a range of topical examples throughout the semester. They will also have the opportunity to determine their own assessment topic.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	BETH5103
Academic unit	Public Health
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	BETH5101 AND BETH5000
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Ainsley Newson, ainsley.newson@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Assessment 3 - Essay End of semester essay, with student generated topic.	60%	Formal exam period Due date: 13 Nov 2023 at 23:59	3,500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assessment 1 - Opinion piece Opinion piece	30%	Week 06 Due date: 04 Sep 2023 at 23:59	1,250 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assessment 2 - Essay Topic Proposal Submit your essay topic for approval	0%	Week 09 Due date: 03 Oct 2023 at 23:59	500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Small continuous assessment	Assessment 4 - Participation Complete weekly tasks. See Canvas for details.	10%	Weekly	Cumulative throughout semester
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2021 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Late penalties will be applied in accordance with Faculty/University policy

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Taking stock of bioethics	Online class (9 hr)
Week 02	Bioethics and law	Online class (9 hr)
Week 03	Bioethics and politics	Online class (9 hr)
Week 04	Bioethics and policy	Online class (9 hr)
Week 05	Bioethics and religion	Online class (9 hr)
Week 06	Bioethics and culture	Online class (9 hr)
Week 07	Bioethics and the Media	Online class (9 hr)
Week 08	Bioethics and public debate	Online class (9 hr)
Week 09	Who is a 'bioethicist'?	Online class (9 hr)
Week 10	Bioethics and activism	Online class (9 hr)
Week 11	Bioethics for hire	Online class (9 hr)
Week 12	Objections to bioethics	Online class (9 hr)
Week 13	Essay week	One-to-one tuition (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

See Canvas.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings will be accessible via the Reading List in Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Deliberate about the role that bioethics has, and should have, in society
LO2. Understand the relationships between bioethics and other related domains
LO3. Articulate and critically reflect on how bioethics issues are generated and shaped
LO4. Form a view on who is, and who should be, a ‘bioethicist’

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Response to student feedback from the UoS Coordinator Prof Ainsley Newson. SUMMARY: We appreciate the time students took to complete this survey and for providing comments on what they liked and how the course could be improved. Of the 15 students enrolled in this UoS, unfortunately only 2 completed a USS response. This is a response rate of 13%, far below the university benchmark of a 50% response rate. This is also an absolute low number. This may mean that the scores and comments made are not reflective of the views of the whole cohort. WHAT ARE THE MAIN CONCLUSIONS FROM THE USE REPORTS? What did students like? Overall, the two students who responded seemed to enjoy this UoS (the first six questions received a mean score of 4.33 on a scale of 1-5. You can see the collated quantitative data for all questions yourself below, but to summarise the quantitative and qualitative data: • Scores equal to or greater than 4/5 were received for all questions except for ‘actively engaged in learning during class (Q9)’ (mean 3.5). I comment on this below. • Qualitative feedback highlighted aspects of the course such as the breadth of topics. What didn’t students like so much? • One respondent was disappointed that real-time attendance was not compulsory – we offered this in 2022 and there was little uptake, but will try again in 2023. The dual format of this Unit (offered online as well as F2F makes mandating class attendance difficult). • One student commented on the length/volume of readings. We provided guidance for particularly long readings, and distinguished between ‘required’ and ‘recommended’ readings. The weekly lecture and podcast are also designed to orient students to the readings. Reading is a skill like any other, and we encourage students to immerse themselves in the materials and begin to use their critical judgement regarding what to engage with in depth and what to read more efficiently. The volume of reading was also reduced from 2021, and will be reduced again in 2023. WHAT WILL CHANGE IN 2023? In 2023, we will utilise this feedback to: • Consider making class attendance compulsory • Reduce the volume of reading, and provide further guidance HOW DID MY MARK COMPARE WITH THE REST OF THE CLASS? Some of you may wonder how your individual performance in this UoS compared to other students. The MEDIAN (middle) mark for this UoS was: 74 and the MEAN (average) mark was 69. These figures include one fail mark. There were additionally two Absent Fail grades given, which are not included in these figures.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

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