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School
of social sciences and psychology
Unit:
Organisations, Communities and Communication
ASSIGNMENT 1: CONCEPTS OF COMMUNITY
Assessment Task Description Due Date Weight
Report (1,000 word individual assignment) Week 6: 4th
April, before 12N 30%
Learning Objectives : Assessment Task 1
1.Explain how different organisations, stakeholders and groups within society can work together to achieve shared
goals and visions.
2.
Identify factors from local to global that influence the concepts and modalities of community
TASK
The first assignment requires that you engage with the
literature2 to exploreCONCEPTS OF COMMUNITY and especially
that relevant to
your chosen field of study. This
means that through the concept of community
you will becomefamiliar with the key texts and seminal works relevant to your degree program. This familiarity is a core requirement
for success in the professional field you are studying.
What is a ‘concept’? We all experience the world on our own terms and through our own ways of seeing the world
around us. Through this we form ideas and come to ‘understand’ it, and form our own perspectives on it. But what
do we do when we need to communicate these understandings to and with others? This is where concepts become
crucial to mutual
or shared understanding about the world.
A concept is an accepted or
agreed idea, one that is ‘generally’ accepted and ‘works’ in helping us communicate with each other about the world.
Within the field of study in which you are interested, there are a range of concepts of and about community you will
need to show you understand. While we are interested in your interpretation of community, we also want you to
show us you
understand those important to your chosen
field of interest. It is these
that become the focus ofattention for researchers in your field and that form the basis of the knowledge you will acquire as you move through
your chosen degree program. What researchers
have learned about these concepts is
what you find in yourtextbooks and the academic literature. So your challenge with this first assessment task is to show us you have read
appropriately and
can tell us what ‘we’ understand about
community, the organisations, groups, and
stakeholdersthat form
and interact through it, what it
takes to work together and realize
shared goals and visions withincommunity. For us to assess how well you understand these concepts you need to write about the accepted ideas of
community at different scales, the local
to the global, different ‘forms’ communities
take and the things that
influence how these forms ‘work’, the ‘modalities’ of community. You gain this understanding through your reading
and you show us you have acquired this understanding by writing your report.
Your Concept(s) of Community Report explores ideas about community and shows, through the use of your reading,
evidence that you understand
key concepts and how organisations and
community stakeholders interact through‘community’. These interactions are articulated through the concepts of community we use to describe them, and
understanding these is
fundamental to your studies in the
social sciences. Pay particular attention
to the task
Learning Objectives and Assessment Criteria in conducting your literature search for this task.
You have a selection of readings that accompany this study unit. These have been chosen because they represent
good foundation readings on community and other topics relevant to this unit. You should use these, in combination
with reading you
will do in Understanding Society, to build your
understanding of the concepts we have about
community. We
describe these as foundation readings (e.g.
Topics 1, 2, 3, 4) because they
talk about the basic
concepts and theories with limited reference to specific real world contexts. In addition, you are asked to become
familiar with at
least three (3) refereed journals relevant
to your degree program and to
commence reading from
those journals. It is in these journals that you will find how the generic concepts and theories related to community
are ‘interpreted’ and generate issues of interest within your intended profession. We ask you to think critically about
theories and concepts presented in the reading materials you use in order to gain an understanding of community as
it is expressed in the literature of your field.
2The Literature – in academia the term literature refers
to scholarly sources of knowledge. As
future professionals you will be asked to apply the knowledge and skills you
develop during your degree program to real world problems in your chosen
field. The knowledge you apply will need
to be reliable and ‘accepted’ by people in the field, as well as the
communities you will be working within.
In our Western system of education the primary repository of knowledge is
to be found in refereed journals and authoritative texts for the field of
study. It is these sources that
professionals in any field rely upon to form their knowledge base and to seek
guidance from when tackling problems.
For this reason we place a great deal of importance on your ability to
access and use relevant literature in your
assessment tasks in all the subjects you will undertake during your degree
studies.
101553 -Organisations Communities and
Communication – Autumn, 2012 – LEARNING GUIDE. Page
16
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As noted above The Assignment will be 1,000 words presented in Report format – seeSchool Academic Writing
Guide with regards to referencing; and Report Format also on vUWS in ‘Assignment’ folder. As a report, you can
structure and decide what headings you will use to best communicate what you have found.
Assignment 1 will
be submitted via Turnitin on vUWS before 4th April.
Students must leave enough time to
getfeedback fromTurn it In and make adjustments. So DO NOT try to do this on day it is due. You may need to submit to
Turn It In several times. Ahardcopy of the final Assignment must be submitted. See Page 16 for details.
Assessment Criteria
1. Evidence of understanding key concepts of ‘community’. Evidence of understanding how different organisations and
stakeholders interact through ‘community’.
2. Evidence of relevant literature research and reading from the unit readings withat least 3 other sources related to your
field of study. Identification and discussion regarding issues‐of‐interest generated about community within your field of
study.
3. Logical structure in your report. The content and discussion have been properly developed
4. Well written: proper sentence construction, grammar, spelling and layout.
5.
Correct referencing (All sources acknowledged – both direct quotes/facts and ‘ideas’).
6. Well presented: overall professional look to the report.
101553 -Organisations Communities and
Communication – Autumn, 2012 – LEARNING GUIDE. Page
17
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Criteria
1. Evidence of
understanding
key concepts of
‘community’
(30%)
2. Evidence of
relevant
literature
research and
reading from
the unit
readings with
at least 3 other
sources related
to your field of
study
(30%)
3. Logical
Structure
(10%)
4. Well written
(10%)
5. Correct
Referencing
(10%)
6. Presentation
(10%)
Unsatisfactory (Fail)
0‐49%
The student has not
demonstrated an understanding
about concepts of community.
Student has presented concepts
of community but misinterprets
them, or inappropriately applies
the literature.
The student shows little or no
evidence of research or reading;
relies primarily on non‐
academic sources or simplistic
or anecdotal understandings;
no references or having fewer
than 3 sources of reference to
academic literature.
Work is poorly structured.
There is no real introduction,
body and conclusion.
Disorganised/incoherent structure.
Work is poorly written.
Frequent spelling/grammatical
errors. Overall meaning is not
clear.
Unsatisfactory standard of
referencing including quotes
without citation or over‐reliance
on quotes and missing in‐text
references. Apparent plagiarism.
Work is poorly presented and
does not meet stipulated
requirements for length,
structure and quality of
presentation.
Satisfactory (Pass)
50‐64%
The student has basically addressed
the task, though some aspects may
have received more attention than
others.
Student has demonstrated a basic
understanding about concepts of
community and a capacity to relate
or apply them within their field of
study Some minor errors or
inaccuracies.
Relevant literature is referred to but
is not well integrated with the
general discussion (mainly
descriptive by simple restatement of
the sources). Occasionally off topic.
Students have undertaken basic and
satisfactory reading/research (at
minimum, 3 academic sources
beyond the set readings).
Some minor problems but coherent
and structured.
Meaning is clear but some spelling,
grammatical and/or structural
errors.
Satisfactory referencing (as of School
Academic Writing Guide) but some
minor problems (e.g. too many
quotes or difficulty with secondary
citations).
Overall, work is well presented and
shows satisfactory achievement.
Good (Credit)
65‐74%
The student has addressed the
task in a balanced fashion.
Student has demonstrated they
have a good understanding of key
topics/concepts (though this may
be done inconsistently).
Shows some evidence of a
capacity to be critical and
evaluative as concepts are
interpreted within their field of
study
Student has integrated relevant
literature into discussion
reasonably well, but there is room
for improvement. Students have
undertaken reasonable levels of
reading/research with good use of
unit resources, and have used
more than the prescribed
minimum additional sources
beyond the set readings. Shows
evidence of wider reading and
thoughtful selection of sources
The report is logically structured
demonstrating a thoughtful
organisation of its content. Some
improvements could be made
with linking key points.
Work is reasonably well written,
though some improvements could
be made.
Good in‐text referencing with few problems.
Overall, well‐referenced
throughout the report.
Work is well presented and shows
more than satisfactory
achievement.
Very Good (Distinction)
75‐84%
The student demonstrates a thorough
understanding about concepts of
community and presents this in a
balanced fashion with a reasonably
clear line of argument throughout the
report.
Student has a very good understanding
of key topics/concepts and can
demonstrate the relationships between
them very well. The linkages with their
field of study are clear and the reasons
for professional interest well‐
articulated
The report contains various and
comprehensive research sources which
are presented in a logical fashion and
with critical analysis. Student has
researched widely and gone beyond
resources provided by the unit.
Exploration of field‐of‐study literature is
broad and shows a wide and critical
effort in researching for the task.
Very good organisation of material.
Room for minor improvement.
Work is very well written with only
very minor spelling/grammatical errors.
Overall, very high standard of
referencing consistent throughout the
report.
Overall, the report is very well presented
with superior quality in professional
presentation.
Excellent (High Distinction)
85% +
The student has addressed the task
in an exemplary manner, showing a comprehensively informed
understanding about concepts of community.
Student exploration of their field’s
interest in community is original,
showing ingenuity and perhaps
novel application of the literature to
the task.
Uses novel but relevant sources
and/or distinguishes between the
quality of the literature. The student
has clearly undertaken independent
research and integrated ideas from a
wide reading of relevant and
scholarly material. High‐levels of
critical analysis or engagement with
the literature with independent
thought.
Outstanding organisation including
clear logical flow and good sense of
argument consistent throughout the
report.
Work is extremely well‐written.
Excellent use of language. High levels
of originality and/or creativity.
Faultless or near‐faultless referencing.
Overall, the report is extremely well
presented with ‘outstanding’ quality
in professional presentation.
101553 -Organisations Communities and
