SOC10236
SOC10236
Applied Ethics and Sustainability
Assessment details Assignmen
due dates and the examination period provided here apply to the Australian study period. These may be varied for students studying elsewhere, please confirm dates with your local tutor.Marking criteriaThe following marking criteria are used to assess Assignments 1, 2 and 3 in this unit.Grade/CriteriaFailPassCreditDistinctionHigh distinctionDepth of research.Heavy reliance on unit text & study guide; &low quality websites.Journal articles selected – insufficient, poor quality or irrelevant.Inadequate range or irrelevant academic references.Heavy reliance on unit text & study guide.Reasonable range of quality and relevant academic references selected.Good range of quality and relevant books & journal articles selected.Reliable websites used where necessary.Extensive range of relevant, high quality journal articles & books selected.Only high quality & reputable websites used.Application of theory.Fail to use relevant theories in performing assessment task.Identify & apply minimal theory to assessment task.Select some relevant theories & demonstrate understanding of its application to the assessment task.Successfully apply relevant theories to assessment task.Identify most relevant theories & successfully apply to assessment task.Analysis & interpretation of information.No constructive analysis of information.Discussion is disjointed.Inappropriate subheadings.Demonstrate comprehension of information collected applying basic analysis which lacks depth.Good analysis and interpretation of information with logical conclusions drawn.Logical structure using relevant subheadings providing a coherent response to the assessment task.Logical structure linking rational & coherent argument, demonstrating depth of knowledge.Synthesis, problemsolving & creativity.Unable to connect information tosolve the problem.Elementary connection ofrelevant theory & practice.No genuine solution provided.Information drawn together to produce obviousconclusions with cursory link to assessment problem.Logical solution created from synthesis ofinformation presented.Relevant information drawn together toprovide insightful solution to assessment problem.Clarity of expression & grammar; accurate referencing.Extensive spelling and/or grammatical errors.Quotedmaterial presented incorrectly.Incorrect & inaccurate referencing.Disjointed & fragmented flow of expression.Expression flowswell, but is disjointed in some places.Some spelling and/or grammatical errors.Referencing not entirely correct.Few spelling and/or grammatical errors.Paraphrasing correctly portrays ideas in own words.Expression flows well.Clear flow of expression with accurate referencing and few grammatical or spelling errors.Excellent expression using appropriate academic language. Precise referencing. Very few grammatical or spelling errors.Note regarding references: Wikipedia (or equivalent) is not an acceptable reference for any assessments in this unit. Use the Harvard referencing system (or a suitable alternative) for all assignments in this unit.Assignment 1, 2 and 3 submission instructionsAssignments1, 2 and 3 are submitted usingTurnitin via the Assessment function on theMySCU site for this unit. For more information onTurnitin, seehttp://study.scu.edu.au/turnitin/ .Your assignments must be submitted asWord documents.As part of a University initiative to support the development of academic integrity, assessments may be checked for plagiarism, including through an electronic system, either internally or by a plagiarism checking service, and be held for future checking and matching purposes.Where a Unit Assessor requires further information to confirm the authenticity of any assignment submission they may contact the student to discuss the process followed to prepare the assignment and/or the content of the assignment.You must follow the following instructions precisely for submission ofassignments 1, 2 & 3 –.1.DoNOT attach an SCU assignment cover sheet.2.Create your own front page with only the following information –a.Your name and student number;b.Unit code;c.Assignment number (1, 2 or 3).3.All text that youcopy (or quote) from other sources must be formattedexactly like this – “…quoted text here” (author, year, page number).NOTE – you must usedouble quotation marks and provide an in-text reference in the prescribed format i.e. (author, year, page number).4.DoNOT rewrite the questions in your assignment. Answer each question under a sub heading consisting ofonly the question number or letter.5.Provide a list of references at the end of your assignment on a new page under the subheading ‘Bibliography’. No other introductions or summaries are required.6.An assignment which has aTurnitinOriginality Report which shows a text match of more than10% isnot considered submitted and willnot be accepted.7.A required objective of this unit is that you learn how to useTurnitin to improve your referencing and academic writing to the required academic standard. Your assignment will not be accepted until you have reduced the text match to 10% or lessby the due date (refer to point 10 below). Note that the firstTurnitin Originality Report is generated within 5 minutes, however subsequent reports take 24 hours to produce.8.It is your responsibility to review theTurnitin Originality Report and remove text matches so that your assignment conforms to the required academic writing standard by the due date.You remove text matches by strictly following the instructions above (especially instruction 3); and where required, paraphrasing and/or restating text matches in your own original words.You will find useful resources on referencing, paraphrasing and quoting herehttp://scu.edu.au/teachinglearning/index.php/6 .9.DoNOT recycle an assignment used previously in this or any other unit.10.At your discretion youare able to take advantage of an extrathree days beyond the due date to complete assignments 1, 2 or 3, as this extra time may be required to revise yourassignment in response to theTurnitinOriginality report. This extra time can be ‘self-approved’ and you do not need to notify teaching staff of your intention.Assignment 1 Consequential ethical analysisDue:?March 31, 2018 11.00 PMLength:?1000 words maximumWeighting:?20%You should follow the ‘Assignment Planning’ activities in the SOC10236 Study Guide and all relevant online discussions concerning this assessment to perform well in this assignment.You are required to selectone of the five topics listed below and clearly define one focused and specific ethical question relevant to your chosen topic which you will analyse in both assignments 1 and 2.The five topics are1.Media, advertising or public relations;2.Multinational corporations operating in developing countries;3.The taking of human or non-human life;4.Artificial intelligence;5.Equity, diversity, multiculturalism, immigration (in the workforce or society).Required tasks:a.Select one of the five topics.Clearly and concisely define one specific ethical question relevant to one of the five topics inno more than one short sentence.??(1 mark).Note: This is a critical stage of your assignment and it is not easy. If you don’t clearly define the ethical problem/question then you cannot perform a focused ethical analysis. It is strongly recommended that you follow the guidelines for forming ethical questions identified in the Topic 1 assessment planning activity and engage in online and class discussions.b.Explain why your specific ethical problem is important and in need of analysis??????????(3 marks)c.Identify and fully reference 6 key facts relevant to the analysis of your ethical question.?????????(6 marks)d.Identify 2 assumptions which you are required to make to fill gaps inpublically available information relevant to your ethical problem.?(2 marks)e.Analyse the ethical act central to your ethical question using act utilitarianism by forecasting three important positive and three important negative consequences.????????(6 marks)f.Provide an ethical conclusion which compares expected positive with negative consequences including an estimate as to whether net utility will rise or fall.??????????(2 mark)???????????Assignment 2Non consequential ethical analysisDue:?April15, 2018 11.00 PMLength:?1000 words maximumWeighting:?20%Submission:?You must follow the same instructions as for assignment 1.Remember thatan assignment which has aTurnitin Originality Report which shows a text match of more than10% isnot considered submitted and willnot be accepted.This assignment is a continuation of Assignment 1 and you must analyse the same ethical question which you defined in Assignment 1.Restate your ethical question from Assignment 1 on page 1 of Assignment 2. You can modify the precise wording of your ethical question drawing on feedback provided in Assignment 1.a)Identify 3 virtues relevant to the analysis of your specific ethical question. Define each virtue in no more than one sentence.???(3 marks)b)Discuss the morality of the act central to your ethical question by comparison with your 3 chosen virtues.???????(2 marks)c)Apply Kant’s categorical imperative by completing the following tasks. You need to support any yes/no answers with relevant discussion.i)Define a specific rule which authorises the act central to your ethical question.????????(2 marks)ii)Define the general rule which authorises the act central to your ethical question.????????(1 mark)iii)Is the general rule inherently self-contradictory? Why or why not????????????(2 marks)iiii)Does the general rule violate Kant’s practical imperative or any of Kant’s other absolute moral rules??????(2 marks)v)Is the general rule contrary to its fundamental purpose??(1 mark)vi)Is the act ethical according to Kant’s ethical system???(2 marks)d)Provide an ethical conclusion by comparing your conclusions from the act utilitarian analysis in Assignment 1, your virtue ethics and Kantian analyses in this assignment, and drawing on your own ethical conscience. (5 marks)Assignment 3 Ethics and sustainability analysisDue:?May18, 2018 11.00 PMLength:?2,000 words max.Weighting:?40%Submission:?You must follow the same instructions as for assignment 1.Remember thatan assignment which has aTurnitin Originality Report which shows a text match of more than10% isnot considered submitted and willnot be accepted.Assessment tasks1.Select one important sustainability issue of global significance and express this issue in no more than one short sentence???(2 marks).Note: you cannot select ‘climate change’ (or global warming) as your sustainability issue as this is the issue chosen for the demonstration example provided in the online discussion.2.Describe the main environmental elements of your chosen global sustainability issue?????????(5 marks).3.Describe the critical social elements of this global sustainability issue???????????(5 marks).4.Describe the key economic elements of this global sustainability issue ??????????(5 marks).5.Identify two major ethical problems which are strongly connected with your chosen global sustainability issue????(2 marks).6.Discuss the two ethical problems identified in part 5 drawing on relevant ethical theory?????????(8 marks).7.Your chosen global sustainability issue presents both significant threats and opportunities for business. Discuss these major business threats and opportunities.????????(5 marks).8.Your chosen global sustainability issue will contain multiple causes of unsustainability and will cause actions which are considered unethical. You are required to propose an ethical and sustainable solution to the problems which underpin this global sustainability issue. This proposed solution should address causes of unsustainability, as well as financial, technological and behavioural barriers to removing these causes of unsustainability ??????????(8 marks).Final examination Exam period:?to be advisedWeighting:?20%The final examination is scheduled for the end of the study period. The exam will be 1.5 hours, consisting of 40 multi-choice questions. The exam will beclosed book.Note: Students are permitted to take a hard copy English translation dictionary into the examination. Electronic translation dictionaries are not permitted.Given SOC10236 is afirst year unit, students who achieve a total mark which is less than that required to pass this unit will be offered one replacement assessment if there is a realistic chance that the student could pass the unit. All offers are made by email to the SCU student email account prior to grades being released. Normally students will have 2 weeks to complete the replacement assessment.