Aim

This assessment aims to develop your sociological understanding by engaging with key concepts and applying them to real-world social issues. By answering four selected questions, you will explore the principles of social innovation, human-centered design, and social change.  
 
Instructions 
Please follow the steps below to complete this reflective portfolio assessment task. 
 
Select four questions from the list provided below. Each response should be approximately 400 words. 
Your portfolio should include: 
Four written responses to the chosen questions 
Critical engagement with relevant concepts and literature 
Examples and case studies to illustrate your understanding 

Questions 
Wicked Social Problems and Social Innovation: 
Select one wicked social problem (e.g., climate change, poverty, discrimination, or inequality) and identify a relevant social innovation that addresses this problem. Explain how the innovation works and the principles it uses to address the problem. 
Case Study Analysis: 
Choose one of the case studies provided on the Moodle site (e.g., ethical sourcing by businesses) and discuss the social change solution implemented to support a marginalised social group. Consider the principles of social change covered in the unit. 
Social Movements and Change: 
Discuss how a social change movement (e.g., LGBTQI+ rights, women’s rights, labour movements) transforms social and cultural norms through the exercise of individual and collective power. 
Reframing Social Issues: 
Select a social issue (e.g., income inequality, exploitative labour practices) and discuss how reframing the problem changes our understanding of it and highlights dominant discourses. 
Human-Centered Design Process: 
Identify an example from the literature where a human-centered design process has been applied to a social issue. Explain the key principles underlying this process and how it contributed to social change. 
Engineering and Social Change: 
Select an engineering innovation (e.g., renewable energy technology, smart infrastructure) designed to address a social or environmental challenge. Discuss how this innovation incorporates human-centered design principles and contributes to social change, considering its impact on a specific community or social group. 
 
Literature and references 
In this assessment use at least 10 contemporary references (10 years or less) sourced from the CQUniversity library to support your discussion. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles as well as textbooks and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as government, university, or peak national bodies: for example, the Australian Association of Social Workers. Note, that websites such as StatPearls, Life in the Fastlane, and Wikipedia are not suitable for this assessment task. Lecture notes are not primary sources of evidence and should not be used in this assessment. 
 
Requirements  
Use a cover page for your assignment that includes your name, student number, unit code, and in-text word count. 
Use conventional and legible size 12 font, either Times New Roman or Arial font, with 2.0 spacing and 2.54cm margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word). 
Include page numbers on the top right side of each page in a header. 
Write in the third-person perspective.  
Use formal academic and discipline specific language and essay structure. 
All work submitted must be your own work. 
Start your reference list on a separate page to the body of your assessment. 
Use the seventh edition American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Referencing Style Guide. 
The word count is considered from the introduction's first word to the conclusion's last word. The word count excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations. No table of contents, abstract, introduction, conclusion, or appendices are required for this assignment. The answers do not need images, tables, and graphs inserted in the portfolio or attached as appendices. 
 
Resources 
You can use unit-provided materials and other credible sources (e.g., journal articles, and books) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important. Please note, that lecture notes are not peer-reviewed primary sources of evidence. 
We recommend that you access your discipline specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide 
For information on academic writing and referencing, please visit the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources, including information for students with English as a second language. 
You may wish to submit a draft to Studiosity. 
Submit at least one draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here. 
Academic Integrity 
You must abide by the principles of academic integrity (see Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure). Completion of this assessment with another party or sharing of responses is not permitted at any time. 
The use of any generative artificial intelligence is permitted for the following purposes: 
Gen AI content is used to generate ideas and general structures. 
Gen AI content editing.  
 
Submission 
Submit your portfolio online as a single document in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx) via the assessment tile in the unit Moodle site. 
Ensure the file size is manageable by using lower-resolution images if applicable. 
 
Marking Criteria 
Refer to the marking rubric on the Moodle site for more details on how marks will be assigned. 

 
 

UNIT CODE: SOCL11059 Introducing Social Change 

Assessment One – Portfolio (Term 3, 2024)                                                                                                                                          Student name:  

Aim:

In a globalised changing world that is being transformed through human interactions and interconnections, social problems are developed in the process. Globalisation is only one of several major factors influencing our society. Other factors are increasing technological impact, economic inequality, and pressure from powerful transnational corporations to name a few. Large-scale social changes in the form of global megatrends have been identified as future forces that will define social, ecological, and economic sectors of society over the next 20 years.

You are required to write a case study using one of the seven global megatrends from the CSIRO report by Naughtin et al. (2022). Discuss how social innovations can be used in conjunction with human-centred design principles to address a wicked social problem arising from a CSIRO megatrend. In your case study, consider some of the positive social and environmental changes individuals can produce through social innovation and a human-centred design process.

Use the assigned weekly readings and lectures to help complete this task, along with material from the university library and databases. Further assessment information will be available on the Moodle site in the Assessment tile to assist you in your assignment preparation.

Instructions

Please follow the steps below to write your academic essay and complete the task:

1. Select one of the global megatrends identified by CSIRO researchers in Our Future World report (Naughtin et al., 2022) and listed below that will impact Australia in the next 20 years (For further information go to https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/data/our-future-world).

• Adapting to climate change

• Leaner, cleaner, and greener

• The escalating health imperative

• Geopolitical shifts

• Diving the digital

• Increasingly autonomous

• Unlocking the human dimension

Provide a brief introduction outlining the aim of your assessment. Provide background information on the focus of the case study and explain the purpose of the case study. Briefly outline what will be covered in the assignment in the sequence it will be presented (approximately 150 words).

      2.  The discussion must be supported by current literature, examples, and evidence of originality (approximately          1,200 words).

a)    Choose a global megatrend you want to focus on and identify a wicked social problem. Use the literature to briefly define the problem and challenges.

b)    Your discussion should be presented using a human-centred design process. Consider the user needs and how these are fulfilled.

c)    Identify a social innovation. Study the literature to identify a social innovation that addresses the wicked social problem and global megatrend chosen. Gather information about the social innovation and the wicked social problem it is trying to solve. The social innovation may be a technology, product or service and must meet the users’ needs.

d)    Discuss the positive social and/or environmental changes produced by individuals.

3.     Provide a concise conclusion summarising the main concepts that have been made in your case study. It should provide closure and a final perspective on the topic. Restate the focus/aim of the case study in a new and more general way. No new ideas or information should be presented, meaning no references should appear in this part (approximately 150 words).

Literature and references
In this assessment use at least 10 contemporary references (10 years or less) sourced from the CQUniversity library to support your discussion. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles as well as textbooks and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as government, university, or peak national bodies: for example, Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), Australian Council for International Development (ACID), Engineers Australia, Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA), Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). Note, that websites such as StatPearls, Life in the Fastlane, and Wikipedia are not suitable for this assessment task. Lecture notes are not primary sources of evidence and should not be used in this assessment. 

Requirements 
•    Use a cover page for your assignment that includes your name, student number, unit code, and in-text word count.
•    Use conventional and legible size 12 font, either Times New Roman or Arial font, with 2.0 spacing and 2.54cm margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word).
•    Include page numbers on the top right side of each page in a header.
•    Write in the third-person perspective. 
•    Use formal academic and discipline specific language and essay structure.
•    All work submitted must be your own work.
•    Start your reference list on a separate page to the body of your assessment.
•    Use the seventh edition American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Referencing Style Guide.
•    The word count is considered from the introduction's first word to the conclusion's last word. The word count excludes the reference list but includes in-text references, direct quotations and paraphrasing.

Resources
•    You can use unit-provided materials and other credible sources (e.g., journal articles, and books) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important. Please note, that lecture notes are not peer-reviewed primary sources of evidence.
•    We recommend that you access your discipline specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide.
•    For information on academic writing and referencing, please visit the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources, including information for students with English as a second language.
•    You may wish to submit a draft to Studiosity.
•    Submit at least one draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.

Academic Integrity
•    You must abide by the principles of academic integrity (see Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure). Completion of this assessment with another party or sharing of responses is not permitted at any time.
•    The use of any generative artificial intelligence is permitted for the following purposes:
•    Gen AI content is used to generate ideas and general structures.
•    Gen AI content editing. 

Submission
Submit your assessment online Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx) via the assessment tile in the SOCL11059 Moodle site.

Marking Criteria
Refer to the marking rubric on the Moodle site for more details on how marks will be assigned.

Assessment Two – Written Assessment (Term 3, 2024)                                                 Student name: