PSYCHOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY PSY 4930 3 CREDIT HOURS SUMMER/2014 “If a community values its children it must cherish their parents” (Bowlby, 1951) ** NO CLASS MEETINGS INSTRUCTOR: Marina A. Klimenko, Ph.D., M.P.A. Psychology Building, office in room 361 Sakai e-mail, pick Klimenko, Marina (mklimenko) OFFICE HOURS: by appointment VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS BY SKYPE: prof.klimenko, by appointment COURSE TA: Richard Klein (raklein@ufl.edu) **COURSE WEBSITE AND STRUCTURE: This course uses E-Learning in Sakai for access to the entire course. It is fully on-line, with no class meetings. To access course lectures and materials, go to Learning Module. The course is self-paced, and all lectures and reading materials are posted and opened for you in advance. Lectures are created in Voice Thread, which means you have to create a Voice Thread account (if you don’t have one) before you can view the lectures (https://ufl.voicethread.com/groups/subscribe/139777/96f60960c/). ** COURSE COMMUNICATIONS: If you have a question pertaining to the course administration or concepts, it MUST be posted on the Discussion Board (through the “Discussions” Link) in Sakai. If it is something you would raise your hand to ask in class, it belongs on this board. Your instructor or TAs will then post a response to questions on that board; we will not respond to these questions unless they are submitted to the correct discussion board. In other words, do not send your question directly to the Teaching Assistants or to your instructor. If you have a question about Course Administration you should post in the F.A.Q section of the Discussion Board. This is for questions about accessing course content, due dates, when grades will be returned, specifics about the assignments etc. If you have a question about Course Concepts you should post in Course Concepts section of the Discussion Board. This is for questions about the readings, lecture material, and videos. This is where you post if you need help understanding the material. Any other personal questions/issues, or when in doubt about whom to contact, contact your instructor on Sakai (see instructions for emailing below). Discussion boards will not be monitored on Saturday and Sundays. This means that you need to look at your Assignments well in advance because your questions will not be answered on Saturday or Sunday night. REQUIRED TEXT: No textbook **COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to provide an understanding of psychology, public policy, and the direct link between the two fields. Students will gain analytical skills enabling them to systematically evaluate social policies and programs, to assist in public decisions, to solve social problems, and to design effective policies. The course will take a lifespan approach and focus on the influences of culture and government programs on individuals, families, and society. The focus will be placed on welfare programs and poverty solutions. As part of understanding and applying psychological concepts, students will write one policy brief on a social issue of their interest. COURSE POLICIES: **QUIZ/EXAM POLICY: There will be 5 multiple choice quizzes. Each quiz will cover the materials (lecture(s) and posted readings) covered on that week only. It will be open on Friday, at 8am, and closed on the same day, at 11:59pm. Each quiz will have 10 objective questions, and each question is worth 1 point. The dates of the quizzes are below. Dates: Quiz 1 covers week 1 material, due May 16, 11:59pm (10 points) Quiz 2 covers week 2 material, due May 23, 11:59pm (10 points) Quiz 3 covers week 3 material, due May 30, 11:59pm (10 points) Quiz 4 covers week 4 material, due June 5, 11:59pm (10 points) No Quiz during week 5 (Policy paper due) Quiz 5 covers week 5 material, due June 20, 11:59pm (10 points) MAKE-UP POLICY: No make-up quizzes or papers **ASSIGNMENT (50 POINTS): A policy paper will be due June 13, 11:59pm. Details and instructions are posted in Sakai, under Assignment and in week 2 learning module. UF POLICIES: UNIVERSITY POLICY ON ACCOMMODATING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students Office (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/). The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. You must submit this documentation prior to submitting assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations. UNIVERSITY POLICY ON ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code at http://www.dso.ufl.edu/students.php. **NETIQUETTE: COMMUNICATION COURTESY: All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and chats. http://teach.ufl.edu/docs/NetiquetteGuideforOnlineCourses.pdf. Instructions for posting on the Discussion Board Step 1: Before posting to the discussion board, please check to see if the answer to your question has been posted on Sakai or is contained in any course material, such as the syllabus. Step 2: Pick a descriptive title for your subject line. You want the title to be descriptive enough that your classmates can tell whether or not they have a question on the same topic. At the very least, please state the phenomena (e.g. Quasi-experimental design) you are asking about. Good titles will also include a page number if it comes from the book chapter or article, or indicate the source of the question if your question did not arise from the textbook. i. Unacceptable Subject Lines: Question, Quiz ii. Excellent Subject Lines: Why does drawbridge experiment show object permanence? p155 GETTING HELP: For issues with technical difficulties for E-learning in Sakai, please contact the UF Help Desk at: ● Learning-support@ufl.edu ● (352) 392-HELP - select option 2 ● https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml ** Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues MUST be accompanied by the ticket number received from LSS when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You MUST e-mail your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up. Other resources are available at http://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-help for: Counseling and Wellness resources Disability resources Resources for handling student concerns and complaints Library Help Desk support Should you have any complaints with your experience in this course please visit http://www.distance.ufl.edu/student-complaints to submit a complaint. GRADING POLICIES: Assignment Points or percentage Policy Paper 50 points Quizzes 50 points GRADING SCALE: Grade % A 93% - 100% A- 90% & up B+ 87% & up B 83% & up B- 80% & up C+ 77% & up C 73% & up C- 70% & up D+ 67% & up D 63% & up D- 60% & up E <60% Disclaimer: This syllabus represents my current plans and objectives. As we go through the semester, those plans may need to change to enhance the class learning opportunity. Such changes, communicated clearly, are not unusual and should be expected.