Overview
This unit will prepare you for rural practice by providing an overview of rural Australia and its socio-cultural environment. Guided by a sociological perspective, you will gain an understanding of contemporary rural Australia and rural communities, and the social structures and cultural factors that influence them. The social determinants of health for rural populations will be examined and compared with those of metropolitan areas. The health inequalities and rural 'disadvantage' will be critically examined and you will investigate the challenges in accessing health care and health professionals, social determinants, risk behaviours and occupational factors. You will learn about the meaning of ‘rurality’ and the implications of ‘rurality’ for the health of different social groups. You will be prepared for rural practice through developing an understanding of your role as professionals, and of rural health issues, including the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. While the focus of this unit is rural Australia, it would be of particular interest to those planning to live and work in rural and remote Australia; including social workers, human services practitioners, community development officers, nurses, paramedics and teachers.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Completion of 24 credit points.
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 - 2022
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 Undergraduate 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 Email & Unit Evaluation
Some students enjoyed the unit and felt they had gained a lot of knowledge of rural healthcare and communities to utilise in their future practice.
Continue to support students with relevant readings and assessments that build their professional capacity and performance.
Feedback from Email and Other
Some students wanted more individualised responses to their questions.
Provide a learning and supportive environment to students by responding to students individually and supporting their emotional state.
Feedback from Unit Evaluation
Some students sought resources & lecture content for the twelve weeks early in the term to undertake an independent self-paced study plan.
Continue to support students' learning through tutorials, online discussion forums, and one-on-one discussions. All lecture notes will be made available at the start of the term for students wishing to work ahead of the weekly schedule.
Feedback from Unit Evaluation
Some students found the late addition of another unit's practical session to interfere with the timetabled tutorial time.
Ensure tutorial times for the unit are known by other discipline unit coordinators to prevent timetable clashes.
Feedback from Unit Evaluation
Some students found the navigation of Moodle to find content not to be optimal.
Input from Learning & Teaching design support will be used to change the Moodle tile layout and make content more visible and not grouped into folders.
Feedback from Other, in class
Some students experienced difficulty with written assessments such as essays and portfolio - prefer quizzes and short answer questions.
Provide students with greater academic learning support through the Academic Learning Centre on grammar, academic writing, referencing, and academic integrity skills.
- Use a sociological perspective to explain health and social issues in rural and remote Australia
- Explore the social determinants of health and how they may impact rural communities in rural and remote areas
- Distinguish the health and social issues and challenges experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other social groups (e.g. new migrants, people living with disabilities) living in rural and remote communities
- Explain the unique role of the health or social work professional working and living in rural and remote Australia.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 20% | ||||
3 - Portfolio - 50% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Communication | ||||
2 - Problem Solving | ||||
3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
4 - Information Literacy | ||||
5 - Team Work | ||||
6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
8 - Ethical practice | ||||
9 - Social Innovation | ||||
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures |
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: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.rockloff@cqu.edu.au
s.hopkinson@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
The sociological perspective and the social model of health
Chapter
* Check the e-Reading list on the Moodle site for further readings
Germov (2018) Ch.1 Imagining health problems as social issues in Germov (2018) pp.5-22 (CQU library Ebook)
Wright & Higgs (2019) Ch.2 Health as a social construct. in Liamputtong, Fanany & Verrinder (eds), pp. 31-50. (CRO)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Rurality and rural communities in Australia
Chapter
Gray & Phillips (2001) Beyond life in 'the bush': Australian rural cultures (CRO)
Farmer et al. (2012) Culture and rural health (e-journal)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Rural health in Australia
Chapter
Hughes (2018) Ch.10 Rural health in Germov (ed) (2018), pp.205-227 (CQU library Ebook)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Rural workforce - Navigating professional practice in rural communities
Chapter
Cosgrave, Malatzky & Gillespie (2019) Social determinants of rural health workforce retention: A scoping review. (e-journal)
Malatzky & Bourke (2017) When the social meets health in rural Australia: confronting the disconnect (e-journal)
Malatzky & Bourke (2016) Re-producing rural health: challenging dominant discourses and the manifestation of power.(e-journal)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Working with Indigenous Australians and culturally and linguistically diverse people.
Chapter
McDermott (2019) "Big sister" wisdom: How might non-Indigenous speech-language pathologists genuinely, and effectively, engage with Indigenous Australians? (e-journal)
Queensland Health (2010) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Cultural Capability Framework 2010 -2033
Te, Blackstock, Liamputtong & Chipchase (2020) New graduate physiotherapists' perceptions and experiences working with people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia: A qualitative study. (e-journal)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Social determinants of health and rural communities
Chapter
Liamputtong, Fanany & Verrinder (eds) (2012) Health, illness, and well-being: an introduction (CRO)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Indigeneity, health and inequality
Chapter
Durey & Thompson (2012) Reducing the health disparities of Indigenous Australians: time to change focus (e-journal)
Pulver, Williams & Fitzpatrick (2019) Ch.8 Social determinants of Australia's First Peoples' health in Liamputtong (eds) pp. 175-213. (CQU library eBook)
Smith (2004) Ch 8. Determining health (CRO)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Social class, health and inequality
Chapter
Allan, Ball & Alston (2010) What is health anyway? Perceptions and experiences of health and health care from socio-economically disadvantaged rural residents. (e-journal)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Diversity, health and rural Australia - ethnic minorities
Chapter
Radermacher & Feldman (2015) 'Health is their heart, their legs, their back': understanding ageing well in ethnically diverse older men in rural Australia. (e-journal)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Gender and culture - rural women and DV
Chapter
Campo & Tayton (2015) Domestic and family violence in regional, rural and remote communities (online)
Owen & Carrington (2015) Domestic violence (DV) service provision and the architecture of rural life: An Australian case study (e-journal)
Sheach-Leith, Sutherland & Gibson (2011) Gender in Yuill & Gibson (eds), pp.45-68. (CRO)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
'At risk' and marginalised groups and health
Chapter
Collins, Ward, Snow, Kippen & Judd (2017) Compositional, contextual, and collective community factors in mental health and well-being in Australian Rural Communities. (e-journal)
Winterton & Warburton (2011) Does place matter? Reviewing the experience of disadvantage for older people in rural Australia. (e-journal)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Review of the weekly topics.
Chapter
This summary week will review how the social determinants of health influence the health of individuals and communities, and how health and human service professionals can better support those who experience social inequality and disadvantage in rural communities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
Health and social work service delivery by professionals are underpinned by certain professional values and responsibilities that are the basis of ethical conduct. These cover the principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversity. In Australia, people in rural communities experience health and social challenges due to their geographical location, diverse communities, culture, and history. By applying a sociological perspective to professional service delivery in rural communities, a better understanding of client issues in relation to the wider historical and socio-cultural environment is possible.
The aim of this assessment is for you to present a sociologically focused discussion of the benefits and challenges for health or social work professionals working and living in rural Australia. Your discussion should use a strengths-based approach as opposed to a deficit discourse.
Use the assigned weekly readings in the e-Reading list and lectures to help complete this task, along with material from the university library and databases.
Instructions
Within this assignment, you will be required to do the following:
1. COVER PAGE- include your name, student number, course code and assessment details and word count (mandatory)
2. INTRODUCTION (150 words)
Briefly explain 1) what will be covered in the assignment in the sequence it will presented, and 2) explain the significance of possessing a sociological understanding for your professional practice.
3. DISCUSSION (950 words)
The discussion in this section is in two parts and needs to be supported by readings and examples.
Explain how applying a sociological perspective and a strengths-based approach can support professional practice and retention of the workforce.
Explain how a sociological perspective and a strengths-based approach help advance key principles of ethical professional conduct.
REMEMBER: Consider the historical background/pattern, culture and social values and recognise the factors influencing the role and practice of health or social work professionals (e.g., education, religion, cultural practices).
4. CONCLUSION (100 words)
Make some final comments to bring the discussion to a close and consider the following questions by reflecting on the process of using a sociological perspective and strengths-based approach.
5. REFERENCES
Literature and references
In this assessment use a minimum of 5 contemporary references (<10 years) to support your discussion. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles as well as textbooks and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as from government, university, or peak national bodies: for example, the Australian College of Nursing or the Australian Association of Social Workers.
Requirements
- Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, with 1.5 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word).
- Include page numbers on each page in a footer.
- Include the correct word count for your assignment in the Cover Page.
- Write in the third-person perspective.
- Use formal academic language.
- Use the APA (American Psychological Association) reference style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Reference Guide.
- The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. The word count excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations. No abstract or appendices are required for this assignment.
Resources
- You can use unit provided materials (e-Reading list), and other credible sources (e.g., journal articles, books) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important.
- We recommend that you access your discipline specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide.
- We recommend you use EndNote to manage your citations and reference list. More information on how to use EndNote is available at the CQUniversity Library website.
- For information on academic communication please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources including information for students with English as a second language.
- Submit a draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.
Week 5 Friday (8 Apr 2022) 11:00 pm AEST
Week 6 Friday (22 Apr 2022)
The marking rubric contains the assessment criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment. You need to refer to the marking rubric when preparing your assessment and prior to submission of your assignment to check you have met the assessment requirements.
- Explain the unique role of the health or social work professional working and living in rural and remote Australia.
2 Online Quiz(zes)
This timed online multiple-choice quiz is set to test your understanding of fundamental concepts, methods, theoretical perspectives, and facts covered by the textbook, recommended readings and lectures covered in weeks 1 to 9 of the term.
Instructions
There will a total of 40 multiple choice questions, and you must answer the questions in 45 minutes. Each correct answer is worth half a mark.
The quiz will be available for two days on the Moodle site. The quiz will become available on Wednesday, 11 May (week 9) at 8 am. The quiz will close at 11 pm on Thursday, 12 May 2022 (week 9).
This is a timed online quiz that must be completed before the due time and date.
There will be only one correct or best answer to each question, and you need to select the option corresponding to this answer. There are four answer options. There are no penalties for incorrect answers. While you will be able to refer to the textbook or other resources while you are taking the quiz, you cannot afford to do this for every question because of the time limit. You need to have a good understanding of the unit content before taking the quiz. Each student will receive a customised quiz, chosen at random from the test bank, so that collusion will not be possible.
If you have an Accessibility Plan that requires adjustment to your assessment, please contact the Unit Coordinator at the start of term.
Here is an example of a quiz question -
Qu. Poverty in rural communities is
a. An issue for only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
b. A political problem
c. A social issue*
d. An agricultural issue
The correct answer is c) A social issue — this is the one you need to select.
Some practice quizzes will be made available for you to familiarise yourself with the format, content type and process.
Please follow the steps below to complete your assessment task:
- The quiz will be delivered through the ‘Assessment’ section of the Moodle site and will only become visible and available at 8 am (AEST) on Wednesday, 11 May 2022.
- You will need to have access to a stable Internet connection to complete the quiz. It is your responsibility to be available to sit the quiz before the due date and time (11 pm (AEST) on Thursday, 12 May 2022).
- Before you take the quiz, make sure that you are ready (i.e., a proper revision has been done) and choose a time and computer/place with minimum distraction to sit for the quiz (i.e., do not have external disturbances from people, pets, etc).
- Be conscious of the time limit while taking the quiz—make sure you have a clock in front of you and note down your starting time. Do not wait until the last minute to complete the quiz as it will time out once the time limit is reached (i.e., at 11 pm the quiz will close regardless of your start time. To have the full-time allocation you need to start the quiz no later than 10.15 pm on Thursday, 12 May 2022.
- The presentation of questions is one page at a time with 5 questions per page. You must complete each page before you go on to the next one. Attempts to backtrack to previous pages are not allowed.
- If you experience a problem with your quiz or the Moodle site while completing the quiz, please contact the CQU Technology and Services Assistance Centre (TASAC) during their opening hours of 7.30 am – 6 pm on ph. 1300 666 620. It is recommended that you complete the quiz during office hours.
- Your quiz score will be provided the next working day (Friday, 13 May 2022) after the quiz has closed.
- Please contact the Unit Coordinator immediately if you are unable to complete the quiz. Please take a photograph of your computer screen if you encounter an error or computer issue as evidence and to assist TaSAC to fix any problems.
Requirements
You need a computer with a stable internet connection and 45 minutes of uninterrupted time.
Resources
You can use unit provided materials and other credible sources during the quiz.
We recommend that you prepare before the quiz day and take the practice quizzes.
Submission
Submit your completed quiz when you answer the 40 questions or the 45-minute time allowance lapses. The quiz will be set to submit your quiz at the end of the 45 minutes.
1
Week 9 Thursday (12 May 2022) 11:00 pm AEST
Week 9 Friday (13 May 2022)
The quiz questions are randomly drawn from a test bank of multiple choice questions. Your answer will be assessed against the correct answer in the test bank.
- Use a sociological perspective to explain health and social issues in rural and remote Australia
- Explore the social determinants of health and how they may impact rural communities in rural and remote areas
- Distinguish the health and social issues and challenges experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other social groups (e.g. new migrants, people living with disabilities) living in rural and remote communities
3 Portfolio
This assessment aims to have you reflect on the unit materials and to use your sociological understanding by selecting and answering four portfolio questions. In your answers, you need to demonstrate an understanding of the key health and social inequalities and the challenges experienced by at risk and marginalised groups in rural communities from a sociological perspective and using sociological concepts. The portfolio questions listed are focused on understanding rural communities and the health of those peoples in Australia, by using a sociological perspective and the social determinants of health.
Instructions
You are required to submit a portfolio containing four 400-word answers (total 1600 words). Each question will be marked out of 20%, with 15% for referencing and 5% for writing quality overall to reach a total of 100%. Please see the Assessment 3 marking rubric.
You need to select and answer only four questions.
1.Explain the historical and socio-cultural influences underpinning the health issues and inequalities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Use examples in your answer.
2. Read the journal article ‘Between ‘here’ and ‘there’: family violence against immigrant and refugee women in urban and rural Southern Australia’ by Murray et al. (2019) available in the e-Reading list on the Moodle site. Explain the challenges and intersections of oppression experienced by immigrant and refugee women in rural Australia.
3. Read the newspaper article ‘Rural housing crisis for women’ by Aikman (2020) available in the e-Reading list on the Moodle site. Explain from a sociological perspective the historical and socio-cultural environment contributing to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s homelessness.
4. Using a sociological perspective and the social determinants of health, explain the causes of health inequality in rural Australian communities for one at risk or vulnerable social group.
5. Discuss how the ‘Sober in the Country’ movement challenges social and cultural norms in rural Australia.
Please do not use dot points or numbered lists in your answer. You are encouraged to discuss your ideas and resources with the unit coordinator and others in the Assessment Discussion Forum.
A brief, concisely written answer to the question is more effective than a long, winded general comment. Where appropriate, you should refer to the literature to support your discussion and provide an in-text citation for any sources that you use. If you do use a direct quote, it should only be included if you then comment on what the author has said. If you use a direct quote as part of your discussion it must be indicated as such, and you will need to provide full reference details in APA referencing style.
Please follow the steps below to complete your assessment task:
- Read the relevant required readings for each week in the e-Reading list and view the weekly topic resources on the Moodle site.
- Where possible include in your four answers relevant key concepts and perspectives, and present a sociological discussion.
- Undertake further reading by searching the CQU library and databases for useful references for each of the chosen questions.
- Draft an outline for each of the four answers before writing your response. Use examples to illustrate your applied understanding.
- Provide intext citations to support your discussion and add a single reference list at the end of your portfolio.
Literature and references
In this assessment use a minimum of 5 contemporary references (<10 years) to support your discussion. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles as well as textbooks and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as from government, university, or peak national bodies: for example, the Australian College of Nursing or the Australian Association of Social Workers.
Requirements
- Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, with 1.5 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word).
- Include page numbers on each page in a footer.
- Include the correct word count for your assignment in the Cover Page.
- Write in the third-person perspective.
- Use formal academic language.
- Use the APA (American Psychological Association) reference style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Reference Guide.
- The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. The word count excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations. No abstract or appendices are required for this assignment.
Resources
- You can use unit provided materials (e-Reading list), and other credible sources (e.g., journal articles, books) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important.
- We recommend that you access your discipline specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide.
- We recommend you use EndNote to manage your citations and reference list. More information on how to use EndNote is available at the CQUniversity Library website.
- For information on academic communication please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources including information for students with English as a second language.
- Submit a draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.
Week 12 Monday (30 May 2022) 11:00 pm AEST
Exam Week Wednesday (15 June 2022)
The marking rubric contains the assessment criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment. You need to refer to the marking rubric when preparing your assessment and prior to submission of your assignment to check you have met the assessment requirements.
- Use a sociological perspective to explain health and social issues in rural and remote Australia
- Explore the social determinants of health and how they may impact rural communities in rural and remote areas
- Distinguish the health and social issues and challenges experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other social groups (e.g. new migrants, people living with disabilities) living in rural and remote communities
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.