psyc4005 introduction to psychoactive substances semester 1,...

Unit study package code: PSYC4005

Mode of study: Fully Online

Tuition pattern summary: This unit does not have a fieldwork component.

Credit Value: 25.0

Pre-requisite units: Nil

Co-requisite units: Nil

Anti-requisite units: Nil

Result type: Grade/Mark

Approved incidental fees: Information about approved incidental fees can be obtained from our website. Visit fees.curtin.edu.au/incidental_fees.cfm for details.

Unit coordinator: Title: DrName: Stephen BrightPhone: 0419 143 773Email: [email protected]: Building: 401 - Room: N/A

Teaching Staff: Name: Alison GalloPhone: 0439955190Email: [email protected]: Building: 401 - Room: N/A

Administrative contact: Name: Teaching Support OfficerPhone: (08) 9266 7279Email: [email protected]: Building: 401 - Room: 220

Learning Management System: Blackboard (lms.curtin.edu.au)

Unit Outline

PSYC4005 Introduction to Psychoactive Substances Semester 1, 2016

Faculty of Health Sciences School of Psychology and Speech Pathology

PSYC4005 Introduction to Psychoactive Substances Bentley Campus 18 Feb 2016 School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences

Page: 1 of 12CRICOS Provider Code 00301J

The only authoritative version of this Unit Outline is to be found online in OASIS

http://fees.curtin.edu.au/incidental_fees.cfm

http://lms.curtin.edu.au/

Acknowledgement of Country We respectfully acknowledge the Indigenous Elders, custodians, their descendants and kin of this land past and present.

Syllabus Foundation descriptive, theoretical and empirical information underlying addiction studies. Drugs and their effects. Processes of drug use: Australian and international data and examples. Pharmacological, psychological, familial and social models of explanation for the acquisition of addictive behaviour patterns. The production and supply of alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs and illicit substances. Age, race, class and gender differentials in drug utilisation. Prohibition and harm reduction.

Introduction Introduction to Psychoactive Substances provides students with a foundational understating regarding the effects of drugs, why people use drugs and the interface between policy and drug-related harm. The content is presented through the lens of a harm reduction framework. There are 12 online modules that contain an array of activities that aim to enhance the learning experience. In addition, the three assignments in this unit aim to challenge the dominant beliefs that are often held regarding drugs and drug use. An evidencebased approach to working with people who use drugs and drug policy is encouraged.

Unit Learning Outcomes All graduates of Curtin University achieve a set of nine graduate attributes during their course of study. These tell an employer that, through your studies, you have acquired discipline knowledge and a range of other skills and attributes which employers say would be useful in a professional setting. Each unit in your course addresses the graduate attributes through a clearly identified set of learning outcomes. They form a vital part in the process referred to as assurance of learning. The learning outcomes tell you what you are expected to know, understand or be able to do in order to be successful in this unit. Each assessment for this unit is carefully designed to test your achievement of one or more of the unit learning outcomes. On successfully completing all of the assessments you will have achieved all of these learning outcomes.

Your course has been designed so that on graduating we can say you will have achieved all of Curtin's Graduate Attributes through the assurance of learning process in each unit.

On successful completion of this unit students can: Graduate Attributes addressed

1 Discuss factors that influence the development of attitudes and behaviours relating to drug use

2 Understand the epidemiology of drug use in Australia

3 Contrast various models used to understand drug use problems

4 Demonstrate an advanced understanding of what is meant by drug dependence and recognise commonalities across addiction behaviours

5 Demonstrate knowledge of harm reduction approaches and the philosophy underpinning them





Curtin's Graduate Attributes

Learning Activities This unit is run completely online. You will need to log onto FLECS Blackboard (http://lms.curtin.edu,au), where in the ‘unit contents’ section, you will find 12 unit modules that corresponds with the 12 teaching weeks of Semester 1, 2016. That is, you are expected to complete one module each week of the teaching semester. As you work through each topic you will be advised to read specific sections of your textbook, additional material you can access on e-Reserve, and/or items on the world-wide-web, in addition to some videos that are contained in the Videos section.

Apply discipline knowledge Thinking skills (use analytical skills to solve problems)

Information skills (confidence to investigate new ideas)

Communication skills Technology skillsLearning how to learn (apply principles learnt to new situations) (confidence to tackle unfamiliar problems)

International perspective (value the perspectives of others)

Cultural understanding (value the perspectives of others)

Professional Skills (work independently and as a team) (plan own work)

Find out more about Curtin's Graduate attributes at the Office of Teaching & Learning website: ctl.curtin.edu.au





http://ctl.curtin.edu.au/

Learning Resources Essential texts

The required textbook(s) for this unit are:

l Ryder, D., Salmon, S., & Walker, N. (2006). Drug use and related harm: A delicate balance (2nd ed.). NSW: IP Communication Pty.

(ISBN/ISSN: 0-9752374-7-0)

l Gossop M. (2013). Living with Drugs (7th ed.). Aldershot: Ashgate.

(ISBN/ISSN: 9781409443483)

Recommended texts

You do not have to purchase the following textbooks but you may like to refer to them.

l Heather N., & Robertson I. (1997). Problem Drinking (3rd ed). Oxford: Oxford Medical

(ISBN/ISSN: 9780192628619)

Other resources

Davies, J. (1997). The myth of addiction. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers. Davies, S. (1986). Shooting up: Heroin in Australia. Sydney: Hale and Iremonger. Heather, N., Robertson, I., & Davies, P. (1985). The misuse of alcohol: Crucial issues in dependence,

treatment and prevention. London: Croom Helm. Krivanek, J. (1988). Addictions. Sydney: Allen and Unwin. MacAndrew, C. & Edgerton, R. (1969). Drunken comportment. Chicago: Maline. Orford, J. (2001). Excessive appetites: A psychological view of addictions (2nd ed.). Chichester: Wiley

and Son. Plant, M., Single, E., & Stockwell, T. (1997). Alcohol: Minimising the harm. Bristol: Free Association

Books Pty Ltd. Royal College of Psychiatrists. (1986). Alcohol: Our favourite drug. London: Tavistock. Royal College of Psychiatrists. (1987). Drug scenes. London: Tavistock. Ruggiero, V., & South, N. (1995). Eurodrugs: Drug use, markets and trafficking in Europe. London: UCL

Press. Stewart, T. (1987/1996). The heroin users. Glasgow: Harper Collins. Upfal, J. (1998). The Australian drug guide (4th ed.). Melbourne: Bookman Press. Weil, A. (1982). The natural mind. London: Houghton Mifflin. White, J., Ali, R., Christie, P., et al. (Eds.). (1992). Drug problems in society: Dimensions and

perspectives. Adelaide: Drug and Alcohol Services Council. Zinberg, N. (1984). Drug, set and setting: The basis for controlled intoxicant use. New Haven: Yale

University Press.

Journals: the most relevant are probably: Addiction (was called British Journal of Addiction)

Addiction Research





Addiction Research and Theory

Australian Journal of Public Health

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

Drug and Alcohol Review (was called Australian Drug & Alcohol Review)

Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy

Journal of Drug Issues

Journal of Studies in Alcohol

Journal of Substance Use

Substance Use and Misuse

The International Journal of Addictions

The International Journal of Drug Policy

Reports and monographs: National Drug Strategy publications and NCADA monograph series, including the Household Survey, are available from: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/





http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/

Assessment Assessment schedule

Detailed information on assessment tasks

1. One of the basic requirements for this unit is that students can correctly classify the specific psychoactive drugs into the three major categories and know what substances do not fit the typology well. A further requirement is to have some understanding of both the short (i.e., acute toxicity) and long (i.e., chronic toxicity) term effects of these substances, from the perspective of their intoxicant effects and their long term physiological impact, as shown below. Your assignment has three parts. PART 1

Using the chart of Drug Effects from the Study Manual and referring to Michael Gossop’s book, Living with Drugs, in addition to other resources on drug effects, complete the following exercise. List the short and long term effects for the following substances; select the three or four effects that you consider to be the most important (i.e., 3 long-term effects and 4 short-term effects for each substances listed below). You should qualify these effects in terms of dose where relevant. For this assignment, please consider the effects of PURE substances, focusing only on the drug effects. That is, consider the physical and psychological effects of the drugs, not the effects of illegality, route of administration, or situations in which they are used (except for nicotine and cannabis where you will consider smoking).

l Tobacco (smoked in cigarettes) l Cannabis (smoked) l Caffeine (pure substance) l Alcohol (pure substance) l Diacetylmorphine or Heroin (pure substance) l N, Methamphetamine or Ice (pure substance) l 3,4, Methyenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA (pure substance) l Lysergic Acid Diethylamide or LSD (pure substance)

PART 2

Having completed the above exercise please rank the substances in terms of their harm potential from most to least harmful. That is, of the eight, which, in your opinion, has the most potential to

Task Value % Date DueUnit Learning Outcome(s)

Assessed

1

Written report 25 percent Week: 4 Day: Monday 21/3/2016 Time: 4pm

1,3

2

Online discussion 25 percent Week: 4 Day: Monday 4/4/2016 Time: 4pm

1,2

3

Essay 50 percent Week: 12 Day: Monday 16/4/16 Time: 4pm

1,2,3,4,5





cause harm? Then the next most dangerous, and so on? Again, base your ranking on the effects of PURE substances (except nicotine and cannabis where you will consider smoking). That is, consider the physical and psychological effects of the drugs, not the effects of illegality, route of administration or situation in which they are used. Note: A useful paper that demonstrates how this might be conducted is Nutt, D., King, L. A., Saulsbury, W., & Blakemore, C. (2007). Development of a rational scale to assess the harms of drugs of potential misuse. Lancet, 369, 1047- 1053.

PART 3

Now with reference to the Modules you have studied so far, in addition to other resources on drug effects that you have read, justify in about 1,000 words why you have ranked the drugs in this way.

2. From Monday the 4/4/2016 you will be required to participate in an online discussion that will be based around a specific question posed by your unit coordinator, during which time you'll be expected to make at least one substantial contribution to the discussion, and respond constructively to some of the contributions made by others. During the activity, I expect the conversation to be lively and intellectually stimulating. You will be assessed on your participation, but should always remember that quality is more important than quantity. The assessment 2 discussion board will close at 4pm on Friday the 15/4/2016. Guidelines

1. If you are composing a lengthy message, it is strongly recommended that you do so in a word processing program (e.g., Microsoft Word) rather than directly into the Bb Message window. (You can easily "copy & paste" your message into Bb when you're ready.) This will help protect your hard work in the event that anything 'goes wrong' with Bb (e.g., you get disconnected from the internet; Bb logs you out after a period of 'inactivity' etc.).

2. When using the ideas and/or words of others in your posts, you should reference them as you would in any other academic communication.

3. Confidentiality - For both ethical and professional reasons, the specific details of each group discussion should stay within the group. Furthermore, it is not acceptable to participate in private email or face-to-face discussions about other members of your group. Group issues need to be dealt with in the group.

How will the discussion activity be marked?

There are many factors/criteria that I consider when assigning marks for the discussion activity, including:

¡ Evidence of having read and understood the textbook chapters and recommended readings relevant to the topic/issues being discussed.

¡ Content that is factually accurate, and supported by references to published literature where appropriate.

¡ Evidence of having critically evaluated the relevant theories/models/perspectives etc. An awareness of their limitations, where appropriate.

¡ Consideration of how the specific topic/issue being discussed sits within broader contexts.

What I’m not looking for:





¡ Perfect prose; meticulous referencing etc. (However, I do expect major sources of information to be cited.)

¡ What I’d rather we avoided: ¡ A race to try and ‘say everything’ first. I am not marking according to number of ‘points’ you

make. I would rather see students exploring an aspect of the issue/task in detail, than trying to provide a surface level account of ‘everything’.

¡ A series of monologues, each unrelated to the last. So how, specifically, does the marking work?

At the end of the activity, I print off all the postings and organise them chronologically, by student. Then, in light of the factors described above, I rank these collections of posts. The collection(s) at the top end of the distribution usually get a mark of 25, the collection(s) at the bottom end get a mark of 12.5+ (assuming they are of a ‘passable’ standard), and the others are arranged in between. Where collections are approximately ‘equivalent’, they are awarded the same mark.

3. Write an essay of 2,500 words on ONE of the following topics: 1. 'Drug taking is here to stay and one way or another, we must all learn to live with drugs',

(Gossop, 1999). Is this an invitation to drug use? 2. Prohibition exists in relation to all drugs to some degree, and to some extent is a necessary

aspect of preventing drug use problems. Discuss this statement. 3. Harm reduction: good in theory but impossible in practice. Discuss.

If you wish to come up with your own essay topic, you may (and I encourage students to do so, since this allows students to focus on an area of particular interest). However, before writing the essay, you must have the topic it approved by the coordinator. No prior approval, no mark!

Presentation of the essay

1. Put your question as the start of your essay. 2. Type your essay in double spacing. 3. Organise your essay by using subheadings to indicate the main theme that you are

addressing in a particular section. Typically an essay of this length will have between 3 and 5 subheadings.

4. Please read widely for your essay, well beyond the papers in the book of readings.

Pass requirements

Students must submit all assignments and achieve a Final Mark of 50 or greater to pass this unit

Fair assessment through moderation

Moderation describes a quality assurance process to ensure that assessments are appropriate to the learning outcomes, and that student work is evaluated consistently by assessors. Minimum standards for the moderation of assessment are described in the Assessment and Student Progression Manual, available from policies.curtin.edu.au/policies/teachingandlearning.cfm

Late assessment policy





http://policies.curtin.edu.au/policies/teachingandlearning.cfm

This ensures that the requirements for submission of assignments and other work to be assessed are fair, transparent, equitable, and that penalties are consistently applied.

1. All assessments students are required to submit will have a due date and time specified on this Unit Outline. 2. Students will be penalised by a deduction of ten percent per calendar day for a late assessment submission

(eg a mark equivalent to 10% of the total allocated for the assessment will be deducted from the marked value for every day that the assessment is late). This means that an assessment worth 20 marks will have two marks deducted per calendar day late. Hence if it was handed in three calendar days late and given a mark of 16/20, the student would receive 10/20. An assessment more than seven calendar days overdue will not be marked and will receive a mark of 0.

Assessment extension

A student unable to complete an assessment task by/on the original published date/time (eg examinations, tests) or due date/time (eg assignments) must apply for an assessment extension using the Assessment Extension form (available from the Forms page at students.curtin.edu.au/administration/) as prescribed by the Academic Registrar. It is the responsibility of the student to demonstrate and provide evidence for exceptional circumstances beyond the student's control that prevent them from completing/submitting the assessment task.

The student will be expected to lodge the form and supporting documentation with the unit coordinator before the assessment date/time or due date/time. An application may be accepted up to five working days after the date or due date of the assessment task where the student is able to provide an acceptable explanation as to why he or she was not able to submit the application prior to the assessment date. An application for an assessment extension will not be accepted after the date of the Board of Examiners' meeting.

l Applications for extension should be submitted to the Student Support Officer at [email protected]

l If the circumstances for your extension application are likely to impact on multiple units, please also make an appointment to see the course coordinator (A/Professor Natalie Gasson: [email protected])

Deferred assessments

If your results show that you have been granted a deferred assessment you should immediately check your OASIS email for details.

Supplementary assessments

Supplementary assessments are not available in this unit.

Referencing style

The referencing style for this unit is APA 6th Ed.

More information can be found on this style from the Library web site: http://libguides.library.curtin.edu.au/referencing.

Copyright © Curtin University. The course material for this unit is provided to you for your own research and study only. It is subject to copyright. It is a copyright infringement to make this material available on third party websites.

Academic Integrity (including plagiarism and cheating) Any conduct by a student that is dishonest or unfair in connection with any academic work is considered to be academic misconduct. Plagiarism and cheating are serious offences that will be investigated and may result in penalties such as reduced or zero grades, annulled units or even termination from the course.

Plagiarism occurs when work or property of another person is presented as one's own, without appropriate





http://students.curtin.edu.au/administration/

http://libguides.library.curtin.edu.au/referencing

acknowledgement or referencing. Submitting work which has been produced by someone else (e.g. allowing or contracting another person to do the work for which you claim authorship) is also plagiarism. Submitted work is subjected to a plagiarism detection process, which may include the use of text matching systems or interviews with students to determine authorship.

Cheating includes (but is not limited to) asking or paying someone to complete an assessment task for you or any use of unauthorised materials or assistance during an examination or test.

From Semester 1, 2016, all incoming coursework students are required to complete Curtin’s Academic Integrity Program (AIP). If a student does not pass the program by the end of their first study period of enrolment at Curtin, their marks will be withheld until they pass. More information about the AIP can be found at: https://academicintegrity.curtin.edu.au/students/AIP.cfm

Refer to the Academic Integrity tab in Blackboard or academicintegrity.curtin.edu.au for more information, including student guidelines for avoiding plagiarism.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Expectations Curtin students are expected to have reliable internet access in order to connect to OASIS email and learning systems such as Blackboard and Library Services.

You may also require a computer or mobile device for preparing and submitting your work.

As this unit is external it is expected that you log into Blackboard at least weekly to keep up to date with the unit materials, interact with other students and ask/answer any questions.

For general ICT assistance, in the first instance please contact OASIS Student Support: oasisapps.curtin.edu.au/help/general/support.cfm

For specific assistance with any of the items listed below, please contact The Learning Centre: life.curtin.edu.au/learning-support/learning_centre.htm

l Using Blackboard, the I Drive and Back-Up files l Introduction to PowerPoint, Word and Excel

Additional information The School of Psychology and Speech Pathology and the University regard plagiarism as a serious offence. As potential future psychologists or other professionals it is indefensible to present work which is not wholly your own. So, you need to avoid plagiarism, and you need to read the University Policy on Academic Misconduct (see your Unit Outline). To enable you to check the originality of your work, you may submit drafts of your assignment to Turnitin through Blackboard (in the Assessments/Assignment folder). This is a valuable educative tool and students are encouraged to submit drafts of their assignment before they submit their final assignment. Please note that while you will receive immediate feedback for your first draft submission, for subsequent draft submissions there is a 24 hour delay. Please be aware that Turnitin is not perfect; it is just a tool to assist you. While the database that Turnitin searches is continually updated, it cannot contain ALL possible sources of information. Therefore the onus is on the student to engage in appropriate practices to avoid plagiarism.

Enrolment

It is your responsibility to ensure that your enrolment is correct - you can check your enrolment through the eStudent option on OASIS, where you can also print an Enrolment Advice.





https://academicintegrity.curtin.edu.au/students/AIP.cfm

http://academicintegrity.curtin.edu.au/

https://oasisapps.curtin.edu.au/help/general/support.cfm

http://life.curtin.edu.au/learning-support/learning_centre.htm

Student Rights and Responsibilities It is the responsibility of every student to be aware of all relevant legislation, policies and procedures relating to their rights and responsibilities as a student. These include:

l the Student Charter l the University's Guiding Ethical Principles l the University's policy and statements on plagiarism and academic integrity l copyright principles and responsibilities l the University's policies on appropriate use of software and computer facilities

Information on all these things is available through the University's "Student Rights and Responsibilities" website at: students.curtin.edu.au/rights.

Student Equity There are a number of factors that might disadvantage some students from participating in their studies or assessments to the best of their ability, under standard conditions. These factors may include a disability or medical condition (e.g. mental illness, chronic illness, physical or sensory disability, learning disability), significant family responsibilities, pregnancy, religious practices, living in a remote location or another reason. If you believe you may be unfairly disadvantaged on these or other grounds please contact Student Equity at [email protected] or go to http://eesj.curtin.edu.au/student_equity/index.cfm for more information

You can also contact Counselling and Disability services: http://www.disability.curtin.edu.au or the Multi-faith services: http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/about_multifaith_services.htm for further information.

It is important to note that the staff of the university may not be able to meet your needs if they are not informed of your individual circumstances so please get in touch with the appropriate service if you require assistance. For general wellbeing concerns or advice please contact Curtin's Student Wellbeing Advisory Service at: http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/student_wellbeing_service.htm

Recent unit changes Students are encouraged to provide unit feedback through eVALUate, Curtin's online student feedback system. For more information about eVALUate, please refer to evaluate.curtin.edu.au/info/.

Recent changes to this unit include:

In 2013, students asked for there to be a face-to-face component to the unit, so in 2014 I ran a half day workshop for the unit. This workshop was not well attended, so I did not run it in 2015. However, I did record some short videos to complement the content for some parts of the unit. Feedback from 2015 indicates the need for a workshop, so I will put the offer of a workshop to students who take this unit in 2016 and see what students' thoughts are. I also aim to add additional videos to enhance the learning experience. materials, interact with other students and ask/answer any questions.

To view previous student feedback about this unit, search for the Unit Summary Report at https://evaluate.curtin.edu.au/student/unit_search.cfm. See https://evaluate.curtin.edu.au/info/dates.cfm to find out when you can eVALUate this unit.





http://students.curtin.edu.au/rights/

mailto:[email protected]

http://eesj.curtin.edu.au/student_equity/index.cfm

http://www.disability.curtin.edu.au/

http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/about_multifaith_services.htm

http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/student_wellbeing_service.htm

http://evaluate.curtin.edu.au/info/index.cfm

https://evaluate.curtin.edu.au/student/unit_search.cfm

https://evaluate.curtin.edu.au/info/dates.cfm

Program calendar

Week Begin Date Lecture/

Seminar

Assessment Due

Orientation 22 February Orientation Week

1. 29 February Why do they do it?

2. 7 March Drug, set and setting

3. 14 March Drug effects

4. 21 March Drug use in Australia Assignment 1

5. 28 March Tuition Free Week

6. 4 April Becoming a user Assignment 2 - Boards Open

7. 11April Drug Use Problems Assignment 2 - Boards Close

8. 18 April Tuition Free Week

9. 25April Causes of drug use problems

10. 2 May Dependence

11. 9 May Prevention

12. 16May Harm Reduction Assignment 3

13. 23 May The Industries

14. 30 May Prohibition

15. 6 June Study Week

16. 13 June Examinations (NB There is no exam for this unit)





psyc4005 introduction to psychoactive substances semester 1,...

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