UNIVERSITY CERTIFICATE IN DRUG AND ALCOHOL STUDIES
http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/sections/show_section_content.php?section=4&content_id=8
Starts September 2009 - Enroll now! Places are limited.
Outline Course Details
The Certificate in Drug & Alcohol Studies begins in September each year. The Course makes use of internet technologies (including: e-mail, on-line discussion groups etc.). Students will therefore undertake the Course from their own home or workplace. The total commitment is equivalent to 52 study days. The course may be taken over one or two years with a minimum of one module to be completed in any academic year and is offered in two modules: Module 1-Policy & Practice and Module 2-Understanding & Evaluating Addiction Treatment. Prospective students should note that successful completion of Module 1 is a prerequisite for Module 2.
Each module is subject to formal assessment with a 2,000 word essay plus a 2,000 word literature review required for Module 1 and a 5,000 word extended essay required for Module 2. The Course is at undergraduate level. No formal qualifications are stipulated but students should have an appropriate qualification and/or relevant experience. Completion of the Course will result in the award of a University Certificate rated at 44 credits - Level 10 in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF)
Details of current fees, pre-course workshops and availability are available via the Course website (see page 1)
Course Content
Module 1 (DAS901) - Policy and Practice
This Module consists of 10 weeks of on-line teaching and covers a number of areas or themes as outlined below:
Drugs & Society - offers an introduction to addiction demonology: some of it's recent history and an examination of it's current icons. Drugs and Society includes on-line study lectures, an enquiry site and discussion group. Each lecture is posted on the Internet on a weekly basis. This section of the course aims to help students to examine the links between theories of addiction and agency practices; between drug use and fashion, music and the environment. Subjects covered include: drugs and their effects; theories of addiction; drugs and the family/gender issues/race issues; drugs and popular culture.
Drugs & Addiction - to understand current practice and legislation around drug and alcohol problems/use it is necessary to understand the history of drug use, drug legislation and medicine; both within the UK and world-wide. This will allow students to examine the current legislation in perspective. This section of the course includes on-line study lectures, an enquiry site and discussion group. Each lecture is posted on the Internet on a weekly basis. Subjects covered include: the British policy framework; the global context; the development of services; abstinence and harm reduction; the legalisation debate; the role of prescribing etc.
Drugs & Health - for most of the 20th Century, drug and alcohol problems have been associated with mental health. Increasingly however, recent concerns have focussed upon the associated physical problems. This section of the course will provide students with a working knowledge of the associated disorders and their treatment. This section of the course includes on-line study lectures, an enquiry site and discussion group. Each lecture is posted on the Internet on a weekly basis. Subjects covered include: overdose aid; blood-borne disease & organ dysfunction; safer injecting; CSA/trauma; dual diagnosis, poverty, class & disease etc.
Module 2 (DAS903) - Understanding & Evaluating Addiction Treatment
This Module consists of 10 weeks of on-line teaching with a 10 day individual study project and covers a number of areas or themes as outlined below:
Critical Appraisal of Treatment Interventions - there is little that hasn't been done to 'dope fiends' and 'alcoholics' in the name of human science. This section of the course examines the theoretical framework and effectiveness of the most orthodox of these intervention techniques. The section includes on-line study lectures, an enquiry site and discussion group. Each lecture is posted on the Internet on a weekly basis. Students will be able to examine some of the techniques and discuss their application in various settings. Subjects covered include: assessment; groupwork theory; individual interventions; education and prevention initiatives etc.
Understanding Organisations - with an ever contracting public purse, there is increasing pressure upon practitioners to provide firm evidence of the effectiveness of their services (or of the probable effectiveness of proposed services). This requires a working knowledge of service planning and evaluation. This section of the course includes on-line study lectures, an enquiry site and discussion group. Each lecture is posted on the Internet on a weekly basis. Students will be given the opportunity to develop their skills and practical knowledge in this area. Subjects covered include: service planning, needs assessment, contracts and business planning, outcome measurement, operations management etc.
Individual Study Project - this section of the course comprises a ten-day individual study project, researching, analysing and evaluating a particular aspect of the drug and/or alcohol problem or of the work of a drug/alcohol agency or agencies The study project can, by agreement with the Course Director, commence at any time during the course but must be completed before the first Monday in May in any academic year. On-line tutorial and enquiry services will be available as necessary. Students will learn how to plan, negotiate and complete a complex initiative as independent practitioners.
Technology
Course students will require access (either at home or at work) to a Personal Computer (PC) that can run Windows ‘95 or later, or a Macintosh computer running System 9 or later. Advice and information on all aspects of the technology will be provided both before and during the Course.
Teaching
The Course Director is Rowdy Yates, Senior Research Fellow (Scottish Addiction Studies) Department of Applied Social Science. He has worked in the drugs field for more than thirty-five years and, prior to this appointment, was the Director and co-founder of the Lifeline Project; one of the longest established drug specialist services in the UK. In 1994 was awarded the Order of Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the prevention of drug misuse. He is the current Executive Director of EWODOR (the European Working Group on Drugs Oriented Research) and Vice President of the European Federation of Therapeutic Communities (EFTC).
Rowdy Yates
Senior Research Fellow
Scottish Addiction Studies
Dept. of Applied Social Science
University of Stirling
Scotland
T: +44 (0) 1786-467737
F: +44 (0) 1786-466299
W: http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/sections/showsection.php?id=4 (home)
W: http://www.drugslibrary.stir.ac.uk/ (online library)
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Academic Excellence at the Heart of Scotland.
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland,
number SC 011159.
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