Psychology 3315E-001
Addictions: Theory and Research
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
This course introduces students to major topics in the prevention and treatment of various forms of addictive behaviour. The course also involves a structured community service learning component in which students will help addictions-related organizations meet their identified needs. This work will not necessarily involve direct client contact.
Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810. Registration is by special permission only and must be obtained from the course instructor in the spring/summer before the course begins in the fall term
2 seminar hours, 3 placement hours, 1.0 course (This course has a service learning component)
Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Riley Hinson
Office and Phone Number: 7308 SSC, 519-661-2111 ext 84649
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: hinson@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Lectures: SSC 3120 2:30-4:30 Tuesdays
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
NO REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the course is to provide students exposure to both the scholarly literature and research related to many aspects of addiction. From the placement, students are expected to gain experience as to how some of the ideas and concepts discussed in lecture unfold in settings providing addiction related services.
5.0 EVALUATION
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
1. In consultation with the course instructor, students will write a major paper dealing with some aspect of the activities they experience in the community service setting. As an example, if a student’s community setting was a methadone maintenance clinic the student might write a paper on the history of methadone, its use in opiate substitution programs, and alternatives to methadone in opiate substitution programs. An initial part of the paper will be submitted at the end of the first term, and a second part of the paper will be submitted at the end of the second term. The first paper will be worth 5%. In order to satisfy the “E” component of a full year course, the complete paper submitted at the end of the second term must be at least 5000 words (that is 20 double-spaced pages with 1 inch margins around and does not include references or appendices). It is worth 25%.
2. Students will make oral presentations to the class during some of the weekly seminar sessions. Each seminar session will have a topic theme, e.g., how is addiction defined and what are the implications of different definitions. Each week, students will be assigned individual readings related to the upcoming weekly seminar theme. Different students will be assigned to make an oral presentation (including power point) about the assigned readings and there will be a group discussion of the topic with respect to these presentations. Students will be graded on the basis of the oral/power point presentation and participation in the following discussion. The presentation/participation for weekly seminars will be worth a total of 15%. The number of such oral presentations will depend on the number of available weeks, but each student should expect to make about 1-2 such presentations.
3. Students will make additional oral presentations to the class. There will be oral presentations associated with each of the two parts of the written paper. These will allow all students to gain some exposure to the topics explored by the other students. There will be oral presentations which deal with the experience of the students in the community services settings. Each student will describe their placement setting, their responsibilities, and what they expect to learn in the setting. Students will provide an overview of what they did in their setting and what they learned. These oral presentations will be worth a total of 15%
4. There will be a number of activities (e.g., field trips, attendance at addiction related sites, etc) throughout the year. Many of these activities will take place outside of scheduled class hours, but it is the expectation that students attend these activities. Attending, participating in, and contributing to these activities will be part of the grade. It is understood that a student may not be able to attend every activity and legitimate excuses for not attending will be accepted, but every effort should be made to attend as many as possible. There will be a total of 10 % given over to quantity and quality of participation in these activities.
5. Each student’s community service learning activities will be evaluated by a designated person or persons at the community service setting. Since the form of activities may vary between settings, the nature of the evaluation will have to be tailored to each setting. The course instructor will work with the designated person(s) at the community settings to formulate an evaluation scheme that will reflect how well the student meet the expectations and achieved the goals of the community learning experience. This component will be worth 30%.
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
THERE ARE NO TESTS OR EXAMINATIONS FOR THIS COURSE
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
There will be a 2 hour class meeting each week. These class meetings will involve some lectures by the course instructor and some seminars. Guest lecturers may also be used. Most of the class periods during the second term will be used for students to make the oral presentations related to the written paper and the community service learning experience.
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/pg117.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2015 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
