CRJU605-20S2 (C) Semester Two 2020

Professional Cultures

30 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 13 July 2020
End Date: Sunday, 8 November 2020
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 24 July 2020
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 25 September 2020

Description

This course provides students with the opportunity to think critically and reflectively about an organisation, policy or process of reform in the criminal justice sphere. With the help of an academic supervisor, students will research, plan and present a project, which investigates some part of the criminal justice system unrelated to their dissertation topic and allows them to reflect on and assess the professional standards and culture in that area, while gaining skills in the area of project planning, reporting and time management.

CRJU605 provides students with the opportunity to think critically and reflectively about an organisation, policy or process of reform in the criminal justice sphere. With the help of an academic supervisor, students will research, plan and present a project, which investigates some part of the criminal justice system unrelated to their dissertation topic and allows them to reflect on and assess the professional standards and culture in that area, while gaining skills in the area of project planning, reporting and time management.

Learning Outcomes

  •  Apply specific criminal justice knowledge to understanding and assessing an organisation or policy.
  •  Demonstrate mastery of sophisticated theoretical subject matter relevant to criminal justice
    Evaluate critically the findings and discussions in the  literature on criminal justice
  •  Demonstrate a high order skill in planning, execution and completion of a piece of original research on criminal justice
  •  Apply theory critically to analyse the professional
    • University Graduate Attributes

      This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:

      Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award

      Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.

      Employable, innovative and enterprising

      Students will develop key skills and attributes sought by employers that can be used in a range of applications.

      Engaged with the community

      Students will have observed and understood a culture within a community by reflecting on their own performance and experiences within that community.

Prerequisites

Subject to the approval of the Head of Department of Law.

Course Coordinator

Heather Wolffram

Assessment

1. Reading Reflections – 10%
In preparation for the seminars, students will write a one page reflection on the readings to be handed in at the seminar. The first reading reflection will be due in week three.

2. Project Reporting – 10%
At the halfway mark of the project (week 6) students will produce a 1,000 word assessment reflecting on their progress to date. The report will include discussion of whether they have met the deadlines set out in their schedule of research deliverables, i.e., plans, bibliographies, outlines and meetings, and outline how they will organise their time in the second half of the semester.

3. Literature Review - Professional Standards and Culture – 20%
The course coordinator will assist the student in compiling a list of readings around professional ethics, standards and conduct in the area in which they conduct their Professional Cultures project. Students will produce a critical analysis of this literature, which will result in a report of 1,500 words. This report will be due in week 8.

4. Presentation – 20%
Students will give a short presentation on the findings of their Professional Cultures project. They will be assessed on their ability to clearly communicate to the audience their methodology, sources, problems faced in conducting their project, their project findings and remaining questions. This will take place in week 10 and should afford the opportunity to use feedback from their presentation to improve their project before submission. The presentation will take a similar form to a “Thesis in 3” talk.

5. Professional Cultures Project – 40%
Students will produce a 3,500 word essay on an organisation, policy or process of reform in the criminal justice sphere unrelated to their dissertation topic. The purpose of the project is to assess how professional bodies in the area of criminal justice ensure professional behaviour, deal with problems and conduct inquiries into failures in their own professional or ethical standards. The essay will assess the strengths and weaknesses of the criminal justice sector’s responses to issues within professional culture and may include recommendations for reform. Students will receive guidance from the course coordinator, who will also be responsible for assessing what is produced. The essay will be due in week 12.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,884.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Faculty of Law .

All CRJU605 Occurrences

  • CRJU605-20S2 (C) Semester Two 2020