Overview
Volunteering in cross-cultural communities is an experience many adults seek out to broaden their personal and professional perspectives. In this unit you will develop the skills and knowledge required to undertake a volunteer experience in a cross-cultural context. These experiences include being able to initiate and maintain cross-cultural relationships and to reflect deeply on your own actions, assumptions and worldviews that influence these relationships. You will explore the benefits and challenges of volunteering in cross-cultural communities and organisations and develop skills in the co-generation of knowledge through working closely with others. This unit requires you to undertake a minimum of 25 hours volunteering with a community organisation that will provide you with an opportunity to work with people from a cultural context different to your own.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisite: PBHL20007 Cultural Immersion and Lived Experience
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2021
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student feedback.
Placement: 1) If there were assistance with placement from the university, it would enhance student learning. 2) In this unit as most of the students are international, it would be beneficial if the university could find placements for students.
The possibility that this issue will be ongoing is high because of limitations in finding volunteer placements. Therefore, some viable alternatives to assess students to achieve the same kind of skills must be developed. It is recommended that the option for the volunteer placement remain but a work place scenario assignment be provided for students to develop their skills in designing health promotion projects. This recommendation is to be implemented in Term 1, 2021.
Feedback from Student feedback.
Assessment due date: 1) I wish you improve the timing of assessment because some of the assessments are due on the same date as the other units.
Assessment due dates will be mapped out in consultation with the other Unit Coordinators in the MPH Course to ensure assignments are not due on the same day.
- Initiate and maintain effective cross-cultural relationships within the community
- Evaluate the benefits and challenges of volunteering in cross-cultural communities
- Evaluate the benefits and challenges of co-generation of knowledge within a cross-cultural context
- Critically reflect on own experiences of volunteering in cross-cultural communities.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Group Work - 40% | ||||
2 - Case Study - 30% | ||||
3 - Reflective Practice Assignment - 30% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Knowledge | ||||
2 - Communication | ||||
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||
4 - Research | ||||
5 - Self-management | ||||
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||
7 - Leadership | ||||
8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures |
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
1 - Group Work - 40% | ||||||||
2 - Case Study - 30% | ||||||||
3 - Reflective Practice Assignment - 30% |
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.kaphle@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Why Focus on Communication in Public Health?
Chapter
Castrucci, BC, Katz, RJ & Kendall-Taylor, N (2020) Misunderstood: How Public health’s inability to communicate keeps communities unhealthy. Health Affairs Oct 8. 10.1377/hblog20201006.514216
Rimal, RN and Lapinski, MK (2009) Why health communication is important in public health. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 87, 247-247a.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Health Promotion as a Medium of Communication
Chapter
Nutbeam, D (2018) Health education and health promotion revisited. Health Education Journal Volume 78 Issue 6, October 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896918770215
Van den Broucke, S (2020) Why health promotion matters to the COVID-19 pandemic, and vice versa. Health Promotion International Volume 35 Issue 2, April 2020, p. 181-186.
https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daaa042
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Communicative Strategies
Chapter
Grunig, JE and Grunig, LA (2013) Models of Public Relations and Communication. In Grunig, JE (ed.) Excellence in Public Relations and Communications Management, Routledge Communication Series, Routledge, 2013.
Van Ruler, B (2004) The communication grid: an introduction of a model of four communications strategies. Public Relations Review 30, p. 123-143.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Group Presentations
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Group Presentations (Assessment 1) will be held in tutorials this week.
Group Presentation Due: Week 4 Monday (29 Mar 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Working in a Multicultural Society
Chapter
Dawson, MT and Gifford, SM (2001) Narratives, Culture and Sexual Health: Personal Life Experiences of Salvadorean and Chilean Women Living in Melbourne, Australia, Health, 5 (4): 403–423.
Dawson, MT, Gifford, SM and Amezquita, R (2000) Donde Hay Doctor: Folk and Cosmopolitan Medicine for Sexual Health among Chilean Women Living in Australia, Culture, Health and Sexuality, 2 (1): 51–68.
Helman, C (1985) Culture, Health and Illness, Wright, Bristol.
National Health and Medical Research Council (2005) Cultural Competency in Health: A Guide for Policy, Partnership and Participation, National Health and Medical Research Council, Canberra.
O'Regan, A. 2005, Consumers from a non-English Speaking Background and the Australian Health System: An Exploration of Issues, RMIT, Department of Food Science, Melbourne, 63.
Rice, PL, Ly, B and Lumley, J1 (1994) Childbirth and Soul Loss: The Case of a Hmong Woman, Medical Journal of Australia, 160: 577–578.
Spencer, M, Lewis, E, and Gutiérrez, L (2000). Multicultural Perspectives on Direct Practice in Social Work. In Allen-Meares, P and Garvin, C, eds. Handbook of Direct Practice in Social Work: Future Directions, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, 131-149.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Intercultural Communication
Chapter
Bennett, MJ (1986) Towards ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In RM Paige (Ed), Cross-Cultural orientation: New conceptualization and applications. New York: University Press of America.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Communication in the Health Context
Chapter
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011) Health Marketing Basic. https://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/toolstemplates/Basics.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019) What is Health Communications? https://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/healthbasics/whatishc.html
Sutcliffe KM, Lewton E, Rosenthal MM. (2004) Communication Failures: An Insidious Contributor to Medical Mishaps. Academic Medicine, 79(2):186–194.
Zoller, HM and Kline, KN. (2008) Theoretical Contributions of Interpretive and Critical Research in Health Communication. Annals of the International Communication Association, 32 (1): 89–135.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Cultural Competence
Chapter
Truong, M et al (2017) “Cultural Competence in the Community Health Context: We Don’t Have to Reinvent the Wheel,” Australian Journal of Primary Health, 23 (4): 342-347
Events and Submissions/Topic
Case Study (Assessment 2) due on Friday, 7 May 2021, by 11:45 pm
Case Study of an Australian Community Due: Week 8 Friday (7 May 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Understanding the Social Context
Chapter
Ballie, CPT, et al., (2016) “For the Community, By the Community: Working with Youth to Understand the Physical Activity-Environment Relationship in First Nations Communities,” Youth Engagement in Health Promotion, 1 (2): 1-33.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Working with the Community
Chapter
Horghagen, S et al (2018) “Involving Citizens’ Occupation-Based Knowledge in Public health Planning: Why and How,” Journal of Occupational Science, 25 (1): 112-123.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Working with Vulnerable Groups
Chapter
Mahoney, D and Siyambalapitiya, S (2017) “Community-based Interventions for Building Social Inclusion of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Australia: A Systematic Review,” Journal of Social Inclusion, 8 (2).
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Being Part of a Team in Public Health
Chapter
Vanderbilt, AA, Dail, MD and Jaberi, P (2015) “Reducing Health Disparities in Underserved Communities via Interprofessional Collaborations across Health Care Professions,” Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 8: 205-208.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Reflective Assignment (Assessment 3) due on Friday, 04 June 2021, by 11:45 pm
Reflective Essay Due: Week 12 Friday (4 June 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Group Work
The first assessment task is a GROUP assignment that will involve a presentation. The purpose of the assignment is to discuss and analyze a specific example of a real health promotion campaign. The group will need to consider language and design elements. There are many references available on health promotion design that explain some basic principles of message construction, image choice, use of color, and so forth. These elements must be briefly discussed. The group must them consider the campaign from the point of view of the public, focusing on how ordinary people from various backgrounds might react to it. The strengths and weaknesses of the campaign in this context must be discussed and analyzed. You must also consider who the target audience is and whether the campaign is likely to have the desired effect on this target group.
Each group will work on ONE of the following:
1. Know the distance of distraction (Government of WA) https://www.rsc.wa.gov.au/Campaigns/Know-the-distance-of-distraction
2. Crunch and Sip (Healthy WA0 https://www.crunchandsip.com.au/parents
3. Stop smoking, start repairing (Department of Health, Government of Australia) https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/stop-smoking-start-repairing-health-benefits-for-women
4. Check your immunization halo (Vic Health) https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/immunisation
5. Hey Tosser (City of Ryde, NSW) https://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/Environment-and-Waste/Waste-and-Recycling/Other-Waste-Initiatives/Litter-Prevention/Gladesville-Catchment-Litter-Reduction-Campaign
6. You may use a campaign you find yourself if approved by your lecturer.
Each group will contain five students. Each student in the group will be responsible for one slide in your presentation. A title slide is required that gives the title of the presentation and the names and ID numbers of each member of the group. You must also show an image (poster, etc) or video (TV commercial) from your campaign. Following this, each student in the group is responsible for the preparation of one slide. The accompanying text for presentation should be written out in the notes area which must also indicate the student’s name. Finally, a slide containing the references used in the presentation must be included.
The group may choose one or two students to present or each student may present his or her own slide. However, the group must stay within the maximum time limit of 10 minutes. Groups that go over this limit will be told to stop, and going overtime will affect assessment.
Week 4 Monday (29 Mar 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Presentations will be evaluated in class during week 4
Week 6 Monday (19 Apr 2021)
Feedback will be provided individually to students based on the assessment criteria for the task
The presentation will be assessed on the following criteria:
The topic and its significance in the health promotion campaigns is described and discussed in terms of significance: 15%
Practical guidance as well as reference to relevant literature is made: 15%
Integration of theory and practice is shown and discussed: 20%
The individual component of the presentation shows understanding, reference to literature, and practical use: 20%
Language of the presentation (oral and written) is clear and easily understood: 10%
All work is original, all information from sources is properly referenced and any direct quotations are properly identified: 20%
- Evaluate the benefits and challenges of volunteering in cross-cultural communities
- Evaluate the benefits and challenges of co-generation of knowledge within a cross-cultural context
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
2 Case Study
The second assessment
task for this unit is a case study. This is an INDIVIDUAL assignment (2000
words). Each student will choose one of the groups listed below and develop a
case study that describes and analyzes the distinct communicative and cultural
needs that would be relevant in developing a public health initiative or
program to address a health need recognized in the community. The case study
must include the following sections: overview of the status of the chosen
community in Australia; review of the health status of the community with a
focus on inequities that need to be addressed; description and analysis of
communication and cultural factors relevant to the community; and discussion of
how these communicative and cultural needs could be addressed in the context of
a public health program. The case study must make reference to appropriate
scholarly literature.
Students must choose one of the following groups:
1.
The Australian Indigenous community living in
rural and remote areas;
2.
The Afghan refugee community living in urban
areas;
3.
The Chinese-speaking community living in urban
areas;
4.
Older
adults of Greek or Italian origin (students must choose either the Greek or
Italian community);
5.
Arabic-speaking women;
6.
School-aged children from low SES households in
Australia;
7.
The LGBTI community in urban and rural
Australia;
8.
Adult men in urban and rural Australia.
Appropriate writing style is essential for this assignment. The case study must be written in formal academic language with complete referencing and must demonstrate culturally sensitive phrasing and word use that reflects the professional environment and conventions of the field.
Week 8 Friday (7 May 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Students must submit the assignment through Moodle.
Week 10 Friday (21 May 2021)
Feedback files will be uploaded to Moodle.
The case study will be assessed on the following criteria:
Use of a range of appropriate literature not older than five years: 20%
The nature of the community, its health status relative to the population as a whole, and any inequities experienced by its members are described and discussed in detail: 20%
A discussion and analysis of the communicative and cultural needs of the community is provided: 20%
The ways in which initiatives to address the identified health inequities could be informed by an understanding of the group's communicative and cultural needs and discussed in detail: 20%
All work is the student's own, all information is properly referenced, and any direct quotations are identified as such according to academic convention: 20%
- Initiate and maintain effective cross-cultural relationships within the community
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
3 Reflective Practice Assignment
The third assessment task for this unit is a reflective essay. This is an INDIVIDUAL assignment (1000 words). Each student will write a reflective essay based on his or her experience. The student should discuss and analyse any two topics explored in this unit. Students are required to discuss not only their understanding of the topics, but also the implications for their current/future role in public health work.
This is a reflective assignment, so a more informal writing style is acceptable. However, the reflection must not be wholly descriptive. It must contain an assessment of the way in which the student’s views or thinking has changed and what he or she has learned about himself as a practitioner.
Week 12 Friday (4 June 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Students must submit the assignment through Moodle.
Review/Exam Week Friday (11 June 2021)
Feedback files will be uploaded to Moodle.
The reflective essay will be marked on the following criteria:
The essay shows evidence of understanding of selected unit topics and relevant literature : 25%
Personal learning and change is recorded and discussed: 25%
Reflexivity in linking personal experience with current/future public health work: 25%
All work is the student's own, all information is properly referenced, and any direct quotations are identified as such according to academic convention: 25%
- Critically reflect on own experiences of volunteering in cross-cultural communities.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.