Understanding Public Service

This module supports the development of an understanding of the origins and nature of public service work in the broadest sense, including the social and political environment within which public services emerged and currently operate. You will also reflect on your current role or potential roles within the work sector. Teaching will provide an understanding of how and why public services developed, the cultural and political ethos behind public services, the legal and ethical frameworks informing the sector, the demands placed on public services and employees, and possible developments in the future. This understanding will be academically grounded through an introduction to the meaning of work, identity and society. The module is intended to be both preparatory and supportive building a strong foundation for learning and later development..

Introduction to Social Science

This module will address the ideas of some of some of the key thinkers in Sociology. These will include, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Goffman and Becker. The continuing relevance of their ideas to the analysis of contemporary societies and to an understanding of public services will also be examined. You will be offered the opportunity to explore the significance of the sociological study of aspects of society such as the individual, groups, inequality, conflict and social change to understanding the social context within which public services are delivered

Basic Criminalistics

Criminalistics is the core discipline of forensic science; indeed, in many uses, especially in North America, it is synonymous with forensic science. The study is built upon one basic premise, that every contact or action leaves some trace (Locard's Principle). As scientific methodologies have improved over the years, so the nature of what constitutes a trace has changed considerably. This module introduces you to the main categories of trace evidence (finger and other body prints, fibres, hairs, glass and paint fragments, impressions of tools, gun discharge residues, and body fluids) and will emphasise the importance of rigorous crime scene management and proper methods of evidence recovery. Recent developments in enhanced evidence recovery will also be presented. The relative evidential value of the various kinds of recovered trace material will be evaluated, and this will lead on to a brief introduction to the statistical interpretation of such evidence.

Working in Public Service

This module introduces you to the work environments and current operation of a range of uniformed public services. It builds on the material studied in the module Understanding Public Services which focused on the wider origins of public services broadly conceived. Typically, examples will be chosen from the military, fire, police, prison and ambulance services, but this range may be adapted according to your needs. The focus of the module will be on the historical origins of these services and your current specific operation. The work environments including entry, initial training, conditions of service, professional development, career development, occupational cultures and relevant wider issues will be analysed from a range of critical perspectives. In particular, you will be asked to make some critical assessments of some of the dominant views of these services.

Work Based Learning 1

Learning in the work place is an integral part of the foundation degree. The work environment provides a rich setting for exploration and discovery of a range of knowledge, skills and understanding. Three strands formulate an integrated approach to this unit: Learning about work - relates to further developing your' knowledge and understanding of the workplace; Learning through work - examines the acquisition of practical skills in a real working environment, for example on a work placement, or through current employment; Learning for work - your knowledge and skills are developed in a way that is directly relevant to the workplace. The module aims to enable you to reflect on work practice, critically appraise your own performance and report on the experience of learning at work. You will be expected to be able to demonstrate information gathering and descriptive skills with only limited application of higher order evaluative or analytical skills. You will be expected to demonstrate an awareness of ethical issues relevant to your practice and studies. At all times the delivery will consider and adjust to reflect the Continuing Professional Development schemes operating in public services.

Researching Social Issues

This module introduces you the range of research instruments available to social scientists. The module explains the value of empirical research as a means to understand social issues. It does this through sustained consideration of one such issue: the policing of ethnic minorities. The module shows how police-minority relations can be analysed using a variety of methods including observation, experiment, quantitative surveys, official statistics, qualitative interviewing, ethnography, archive research, case studies and life histories. Via discussion of these approaches, you come to understand the potential contribution and limitations of each method, the practical issues around effective data gathering, sensitivity to cultural difference, and the ethical and political dimensions of the research process. Throughout the module emphasis is placed on giving you skills and knowledge that will enable you to locate, use and evaluate research findings appropriately.

Political Ideologies and Social Controversies

This module offers a grounding in major political ideologies and key political concepts that will form the foundation for future study in practical and theoretical aspects of social science. The module introduces you to the study of various political ideologies and helps you develop appropriate knowledge and understanding of key features of political ideas and behaviour. Through study of the core elements of ideologies you will have the opportunity to engage in basic comparative study and some degree of historical analysis. You can then utilise this understanding of key political ideologies in order to explore different political environments. In pursuit of this aim the module will reflect on forms of classical political thought and locate these in contemporary political settings.

Resilience and Emergency Management

Leading Public Service

Equality and Cultural Diversity at work

Work Based Learning 2

Project Preparation

Anglia Language Programme (ALP)

Policing and Crime Control

Theories of Deviance, Crime and Social Control

Social Research Methods

Project Preparation

Cultures of War and Peace

Contemporary Work and Organisational Life

Retribution, Restoration and Rehabilitation