Perhaps now more so than in any other time in human history, science and technology play a central role in our lives. With this comes the potential for both great benefit to society, and great harm. This unit critically examines the nature of science, and its role in society via a mixture of discussion and written activities. Using various real-world examples, such as climate change, COVID-19, cloning, genetic engineering, space exploration and animal testing, the following ethical and philosophical questions will be considered: (1) What is science?; (2) What sort of research should we be doing in science?; (3) Who should decide what research we undertake?; (4) What role should science and scientists play in society?; and (5) What ethical responsibility do scientists have to society?

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Understand and articulate the key philosophical issues relating to the role of the sciences in contemporary society.
2. Engage in philosophical discussion and debate on the various issues relating to the appropriate place of science in society.
3. Critically assess arguments about the appropriate place of science in society.
4. Clearly articulate their own position with respect to contemporary real world debates about science in society.

Required Resources

All required resources will be accessible through the unit Wattle page.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written comments to whole class and individuals
• Verbal comments to whole class and individuals
• Use of marking rubrics for assessments

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Other referencing requirements:

Please use Chicago in-text referencing for your work. See the “how referencing works tab” at http://www.anu.edu.au/students/learning-development/academic-integrity for more detail. 

Appeals:

If you genuinely believe you have received an inappropriate or incorrect result, there are steps you can take to have that result reviewed. This must be done within 30 working days of the formal notification of results. Your first point of contact should always be your tutor or the course convener. http://cass.anu.edu.au/current-students/rules-and-policies/appeals for more detail.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction to Course
2	Animals as Research Subjects	Draft of Journal Entry 1 must be bought to tutorial
3	Humans as Research Subjects	Journal Entry 1 due Journal Entry 2 must be bought to tutorial
4	Dual-Use Dilemmas	Journal Entry 3 must be bought to tutorial
5	Socially Dangerous Science	Journal Entry 4 must be be bought to tutorial
6	Existential Risk	Journal Entry 5 must be bought to tutorial Journal Part I due
7	Good Science, Bad Science and Misconduct	Journal Entry 6 must be bought to tutorial
8	Is Science "Value Free"?	Journal Entry 7 must be bought to tutorial
9	Inductive Risk	Journal Entry 8 must be bought to tutorial
10	AI, Machine Learning and Values	Journal Entry 9 must be bought to tutorial
11	Who Owns Science? Is Open Access the Future?	Journal Entry 10 must be bought to tutorial
12	The Science Wars: The public role of scientists in contemporary political debates	Journal Entry 11 must be bought to tutorial Journal Part 2 due
13	Exam period	Essay Due

Tutorial Registration

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Learning Outcomes
Class Participation	10 %	*	1, 2, 3, 4
Journal Entry 1 (300 words)	10 %	08/08/2022	1, 2, 3, 4
Journal Part 1 (600 words)	20 %	05/09/2022	1, 2, 3, 4
Journal Part 2 (900 words)	30 %	31/10/2022	1, 2, 3, 4
Essay (1500 words)	30 %	31/10/2022	1, 2, 3, 4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Class participation

Students are required to prepare for classes (both the workshop seminar and tutorials) and to participate in discussion of required readings and other material. This is worth 10% of their overall grade for the course.

Grading

Each student’s participation mark is based in part on the extent to which they come to class well prepared, having done the required reading and having considered the weekly set readings/questions/exercises. It is also based on the extent to which students make a constructive contribution to classroom discussion.

Class participation marking criteria:

Outstanding contributor: Contributions in class reflect extensive preparation. Ideas offered are usually substantive; provide major insights and direction for class discussion. Challenges are substantiated and persuasive. Makes an important contribution to class discussion overall. 

Good contributor: Contributions in class reflect thorough preparation. Ideas offered are often substantive; provide useful insights and some direction for class discussion. Challenges are substantiated and often persuasive. Makes a significant contribution to class discussion overall.

Adequate contributor: Contributions in class reflect adequate preparation. Ideas offered are sometimes substantive; provide some insight but rarely offer direction for class discussion. Challenges are sometimes presented, substantiated and persuasive. Makes a contribution to class discussion overall.

Unsatisfactory contributor: Contributions in class reflect inadequate preparation. Ideas offered are rarely substantive; rarely provide insight but do not offer useful direction for class discussion. Contributions may be distractions rather than constructive. Does not make a positive contribution to class discussion overall.

Non-participant: This person says little or nothing in class. There is not an adequate basis for evaluation. Makes no contribution to discussion.

Assessment Task 1

Class Participation

Students are required to prepare for classes (both seminar and tutorials) and to participate in discussion of required readings and other material. This is worth 10% of their overall grade for the course.

Assessment Task 2

Journal Entry 1 (300 words)

Students must write a short (maximum 300 word) journal entry presenting their considered reflections on the assigned material for Week 2 of the course (Animals as Research Subjects). Topics, guidelines and marking rubrics for these entries will be available on Wattle and discussed in the Week 1 workshop seminar. These entries must be bought to the tutorial in Week 2 for peer review and discussion. Students will then use the peer review and discussion to revise their entry for submission.

Grading

Students will receive a grade out of 10.

Assessment Task 3

Journal Part 1 (600 words)

In preparation for class during weeks 3-5, students will write a weekly, short (maximum 300 word) journal entry presenting their considered reflection on the assigned material. Topics, guidelines and marking rubrics for these entries will be available on Wattle. These entries must be bought each week to tutorial for peer review and discussion. Two of these journal entries (of the four produced over weeks 3-5) must then be submitted for grading. Students are encouraged to revise and polish their journal entries following peer review and discussion in class.

Grading

Students will receive a grade out of 20 for these entries (10 marks per journal entry).

Assessment Task 4

Journal Part 2 (900 words)

In preparation for class during weeks 6-12, students will write a weekly, short (200-300 words) journal entry presenting their considered reflection on the assigned readings. Topics, guidelines and marking rubrics for these entries will be available on Wattle. These entries must be bought each week to tutorial for peer review and discussion. Three of these journal entries (of the 7 produced over weeks 6-12) must then be submitted for grading. Students are encouraged to revise and polish their journal entries following peer review and discussion in class.

Grading

Students will receive a grade out of 30 for these entries (10 marks per journal entry).

Assessment Task 5

Essay (1500 words)

Students will write an essay of 1500 words that provides a careful critical examination, based on reasons, argumentation and evidence, of a set topic. A list of topics, guidelines and a marking rubric will be made available on Wattle in week 6.

Grading

Students will receive a grade out of 100.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) as submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

The University policy stipulates 5% penalty per working day for late submission. Please refer to the Late Assessment Task Submission section of the Student Assessment (Coursework) Procedure.

Re. Extensions

Extensions to submission deadlines may be granted where a student was not able to complete an assessment task by the due date was due to exceptional circumstances beyond a student’s control. Exceptional circumstances that may warrant approval of an Assessment Extension include, but are not limited to:

• medical reasons (student injury, illness or medical condition) of such significance that completion of the assessment task was not possible;
• family/personal reasons (family injury or illness, bereavement) of such significance that completion of the assessment task was not possible;
• employment related reasons: where a student's employment status or employment arrangements change unexpectedly due to circumstances beyond their control of such significance that completion of the assessment task was not possible.

A student seeking an extension must contact their tutor or the course convenor at the earliest opportunity and must initiate an assessment extension request using the Assessment Extension Request Form

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students