|
The Pennsylvania State University Department of
Biobehavioral Health Biobehavioral
Aspects of Stress (BBH 432) Spring 2002 Course Syllabus
Course Time/Location: MWF 1:25-2:15pm in room 104 Thomas building.
Instructor Dr.
Sheila G. West
Note: I will send messages to your PSU email address,
Phone:
863-0176
so you should check it often or forward your messages!!! Email:
sgw2@psu.edu Office
Hours: Fridays 2:30-3:30, other times by appointment Office:
310B East Health and Human Development Building Mailbox:
315 East Health and Human Development Building Graduate
Teaching Assistant
Teaching Assistant #2
Teaching Assistant #3
Name:
Lucien Whembolua
Kristen Dancer
Amy Behel Email:
gxw123@psu.edu
Email:
kpd125@psu.edu
Email: ____________ Office
Hours: ________________
The undergrad teaching assistants were the best
students
from last semester! Office:
_____________________
They can help you with
confusing info and will help lead
the exam reviews.
Mailbox:
315 HHD East See
Lucien for:
Help with class materials,
Questions
about grades for homework and tests Statement
on Disabilities The
Pennsylvania State University encourages persons with disabilities to
participate in its programs and activities.
If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have
questions about the physical access provided, please contact the professor
at 863-0176 or the Office for Disability Services at (814) 863-1807 in
advance of your participation or visit. Course
Objectives The goal of this course is to review the scientific literature on the effects of stress on physical and, to a lesser extent, psychological health. The focus is on physiological mechanisms through which various psychological stressors damage organ systems and disrupt health. This is primarily a science course and we will read lots of papers from medical journals. 1. To summarize recent research on the health effects of stress, with special attention to the physiological mechanisms through which stress impacts health. 2. To introduce the research methods that are currently being used to study psychological stress. 3. To describe in detail the health effects of diverse stressors, from daily hassles to natural disasters. To show that the effects of stress exposure are evident in individual immune cells, in individuals, and our culture at large. 4.
To briefly introduce the most popular types of stress management
techniques. 5.
To enhance critical thinking skills, particularly in regards to
reading reports of research studies on biological and behavioral factors
in health. Required
Readings: The readings were selected
from a huge stack of books and articles and represent the most interesting
and straightforward summaries I could find.
You can’t do well in this class unless you read them! Course
Reader.
Available at: The
Student Bookstore, (Big Blue) 330 E. College Avenue.
Call them at 237-7616 to confirm its there.
Be sure to ask if they are out and they’ll order one for you.
If you have a reader from someone who took this course last
semester, you should go to the Reserve Reading Room at Pattee Library to
get new articles that have been added since this fall. It is your
responsibility to be sure your recycled reader has the right articles. Reserve
Readings. None.
All have been integrated into the course reader by request of
previous classes. Web
Readings:
1.
Greenhalgh,
T. How to read a paper:
Getting your bearings (deciding what the paper is about).
British Medical
Journal, 315: 243-246
(July 26, 1999)
find it at: www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/315/7102/243
(article is 8 pages long) 2.
OSHA
summary sheet on Workplace Violence.
http://www.osha.gov/oshinfo/priorities/violence.html (article is 5 pages long) Good
General Reference: 3.
Newsweek
Magazine. Cover story on health effects of Stress at http://www.newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/so/so0124_1.htm.
Grading Criteria: Grades will be based on 3 in class exams, 2 homework assignments, and a group project (paper and presentation. There will be very limited opportunity for extra credit, with occasional extra credit questions on exams. Exams will assess your knowledge, comprehension, and integration of lectures, guest lectures, classroom discussions, assigned reading materials. There are three regular exams and no final exam. They will generally consist of multiple choice questions with a page or two of short answer questions. Exams are designed to take an entire class period and to favor students who have studied hard and done the reading. Further details regarding the writing assignment and group project will be provided in class. Attendance: In order to do well you have to come to class. Your attendance is expected. Although I do not grade on attendance, I will often pass an attendance sheet to be signed. I try to lecture from the readings as much as I can, so you may want to bring your readings with you to class. Homework
must be typed and on time!!! You
will be assigned a paper and given specific questions to answer. It will
be graded in class on the day it is due. Homework must be typed unless
prior permission of the instructor is given.
It is due at the beginning of class.
DO NOT WORK TOGETHER ON HOMEWORK.
It is easy for us to see when people cheat on these assignments and
it happens at least once a year that I have to deal with this form of
cheating. The assignments
aren’t that hard--It is not worth it!!! Make-up
Policy.
Make up exams are essay exams.
There will be no make-up exams without 24-hour advance permission
from Dr. West or the Teaching Assistants.
If approval for the missed exam was not given in advance, a
written medical or other appropriate legitimate excuse must be provided.
Weddings and graduations are not legitimate excuses. Make-up
exams will be essay exams and must be scheduled within one week of
the missed exam.
There
will be no make-up for the group presentation and you are expected to
attend your group’s presentation even if you are not speaking.
Homework cannot be turned in late.
A late group paper will lose 5% per day off the final grade.
Breakdown of Points
Exam 1 20%
multiple choice and short answer
Group Project 25%
(paper 20%, presentation 5%) Exam
2 20%
multiple choice and short answer
Homework
10 % (2 assignments, 5 % each) Exam
3 20%
multiple choice and short answer
Brief writing assignment due last week of class: 5% There is no final exam. A = 94-100% B+ = 86-89% C+ = 76-79% F = 60%A-
= 90-93%
B =
83-85%
C = 70-75%
B- = 80-82%
D = 60-69% Grade Rounding: 0.5 is rounded to next highest whole
number Statement
on Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty is a broad topic. The examples given here are not intended to be an exhaustive list, but are provided to give an idea of behaviors that will not be tolerated. The following statements describe Penn State Policies for what constitutes Academic Dishonesty, and for dealing with it when it occurs. If you have any question about what constitutes academic dishonesty, it is your responsibility to discuss the issue with the course instructor. Academic Integrity: This is defined as the pursuit of
scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner and is a
basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania
State University. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited
to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabrication of information or citations,
facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, submitting work of
another person or work previously used for another class without informing
the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students.
Penalties for academic dishonesty are outlined in Policies and Rules:
A Handbook for Students, and may lead to disciplinary sanctions
including a failing grade for the course. In this class,
homework, exams, and the final writing assignment are to be completed
without the help of others. Group work is
only permitted for the group project (paper and presentation) Course
Schedule and Required Readings
Spring Semester, 2002
Professor
reserves the right to change the schedule of lecture topics and dates of
assignments. Note:
page numbers listed here are the original source page numbers, not
the new numbers typed on course reader pages.
There
is no final exam. However, there is a
brief, independent writing assignment due the last week of class based on
your classmate’s presentations. Attend
all the presentations and this assignment will be easier to complete.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||