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Unit outline_

GLOH5112: Global Communicable Disease Control

Semester 2, 2024 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

This unit gives candidates essential knowledge of prevention and control of communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries using country-specific examples. After successfully completing this unit of study, candidates will understand the key issues in communicable diseases and their control in developing countries, as well as gain the knowledge and insight on how prevention and control mechanisms and programs are developed for these diseases in resource-poor settings. The unit covers: prevention, treatment and control.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Public Health
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

No

Teaching staff

Coordinator Graeme Hoddinott, graeme.hoddinott@sydney.edu.au
Guest lecturer(s) Freya Jephcott, freya.jephcott@sydney.edu.au
Meru Sheel, meru.sheel@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Graeme Hoddinott, graeme.hoddinott@sydney.edu.au
Kerrie Wiley, kerrie.wiley@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s) Ghenu Khillo, ghenu.khillo@sydney.edu.au
Ikram Abdi, ikram.abdi@sydney.edu.au
Neha Faruqui, neha.faruqui@sydney.edu.au
The census date for this unit availability is 2 September 2024
Type Description Weight Due Length
Small continuous assessment Tutorial participation - continuous assessment
Tutorial participation - continuous assessment of contribution in tutorials
20% Ongoing Ongoing
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO8 LO7 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
Assignment Short essay
Short essay
20% Week 06
Due date: 05 Sep 2024 at 23:59
1000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO5
Assignment Long essay - action plan
Written assessment
30% Week 09
Due date: 03 Oct 2024 at 23:59
1800 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
Assignment Final assessment - presentation
Oral presentation (individual)
30% Week 13
Due date: 01 Nov 2024 at 23:59
15 minutes
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO6 LO8 LO7 LO5 LO4 LO3

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

Consistently making accurate, generous, insightful, and critically reflective contributions that are mindful of the histories, contexts, and socio-political dynamics of global communicable diseases and their control, and to their own and other students' positionalities. 

Distinction

75 - 84

Almost always engaging, sometimes making insightful and / or critically reflective contributions and showing that, for the most part, they can apply both the 'how to do' global communicable disease control and reflections on the tensions to doing so are.

Credit

65 - 74

Demonstrating mastery of almost all of the core concepts, and some engagement with the material, lecturers, tutors, and other students, but also making some key errors and demonstrating limited ability to apply these to real-world settings with accuracy and / or sensitivity. 

Pass

50 - 64

Knowing some of the concepts, but generally demonstrating a lack of engagement with the material and insight into how to apply these. 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 10 Once-off discussion with experts Seminar (1 hr) LO6 LO7 LO8
Weekly Weekly pre-recorded lectures Lecture (12 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8
Weekly in-class 'live talk' with lecturers Lecture (12 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8
Weekly (except weeks 1 and 10) activity-based tutorials Tutorial (15 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO7

Attendance and class requirements

Normal day students are required to watch pre-recorded lectures and undertake preparation before attending weekly 'live talk' discussions with lecturers and activity-based tutorials in person on campus at fixed times.

Synchronous online students are also required to watch the pre-recorded lectures, undertake preparation, and watch recordings of the live talk discussions before attending weekly activity-based tutorials online at fixed times.

Asynchronous online students are also required to watch the pre-recorded lectures, undertake preparation, and watch recordings of the live talk discussions before participating in the tutorials that will take place asynchronously online over five days in each week.

In week 10, there is a discussion with experts. This includes short, pre-recorded lectures from each of the expert discussants. Normal day students are required to attend this discussion in person on campus. Synchronous online students are required to attend online. Asynchronous online students may join online and / or watch a recording. All students, regardless of learning modality, will prepare questions for this discussion that will be submitted in the preceding (week 9) tutorial.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Available in Canvas.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Understand what communicable diseases are, how they are controlled, and how this control fits into the historical and contemporary public and global health contexts
  • LO2. Experience designing an action plan to address a communicable disease requiring control
  • LO3. Master the application of key concepts for the control of existing and emergent communicable diseases
  • LO4. Understand types of approaches to communicable diseases (emergency, biomedical, socio-behavioural, and structural) and how these may be effectively applied
  • LO5. Explore the complexities of global communicable disease control through the lenses of a selected disease (submitted assessments), a group of diseases with shared transmission pathways (tutorials), and communicable diseases generally (live talks)
  • LO6. Engage 'experts in the field' about the real worlds of communicable disease control and research
  • LO7. Think critically about doing communicable disease control with communities who experience high disease burden, low(er) resources, and intersecting socio-economic marginalities - in Australia and around the world
  • LO8. Articulate a reasonable, respectful, responsive, and effective approach to global communicable disease control

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

The unit was rested in 2023. The unit has been reorganized in response to student feedback and the appointment of a new unit of study coordinator.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.