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This course investigates the mechanisms of ageing and its impact on different human systems. Systems that will be investigated include the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, brain and nervous system and cognitive function. The development and progression of common diseases such as osteoporosis, sarcopenia ,osteoarthritis, and cognitive decline that are prevalent in old age will be investigated, along with current interventions to prevent and/or treat these diseases (including exercise). Other age related issues such as age-related psychological changes and polypharmacy will also be explored.
Course Co-ordinator Dr. Alexandra Mavroeidi (ext 8021) a.mavroeidi@abdn.ac.uk
The main learning outcomes will be:
1. Appreciation of the current aging demographics in western societies.
2. Exploration of the proposed mechanisms that underlie the aging process in mammals based on current research evidence.
3. Understanding the impact of aging on the cardiovascular system. The development and progression of associated diseases, such as aortic valve stenosis, will be investigated in detail. Current interventions to prevent and/or treat these diseases (including lifestyle changes) will be explored.
4. Comprehension of the impact of ageing on the musculoskeletal system. The development and progression of associated diseases, such as osteoporosis (with a particular mention to falls and fractures prevention amongst the elderly), osteoarthritis, and sarcopenia, will be investigated in detail. Current interventions to prevent and/or treat these diseases (including lifestyle changes) will be explored.
5. Understanding the impact of aging on the brain and nervous system. The development and progression of associated diseases, such as Parkinson's, depression and cognitive impairment will be investigated in detail. Current interventions to prevent and/or treat these diseases (including lifestyle changes) will be explored.
6. Understanding of the psychological implications of the ageing process, in particular investigate the age-related change in a range of emotional skills and discuss the effects of age on memory and problem-solving
7. Appreciation of the complicated interactions between different drug treatments commonly prescribed in this population
This course is designed to provide advanced knowledge and insight, based on current scientific research, in the issues associated with the process of aging. Common diseases that are highly prevalent in the elderly will be investigated and lifestyle approaches that could affect those diseases will be considered.
Lecture 1 Course introduction (Dr Alexandra Mavroeidi)
Distribution of course material, outline of the course and general introduction
Lecture 2 Demographics and theories of ageing (Dr Michael Scholz)
Overview of the age demographics in different social and cultural contexts, links between environment, society and age distributions, changes to age distribution over the last centuries. Cultural versus biological age, introduction into theories of ageing, causes of senescence: biological and genetic theories.
Lecture 3 Genetic interventions that extend lifespan and health span in mammals (Dr Colin Selman)
This lecture will investigate how single gene mutations (in the insulin/IGF-1 and mTOR signalling pathways) can extend healthy lifespan in mammals. It will then go on to discuss potential overlap between these genetic interventions and both dietary and pharmaceutical interventions, and consider the potential for drug targets in the future that may slow the ageing process in humans.
Lecture 4 Osteoarthritis – worn out and falling apart? (Prof Richard Aspden)
Osteoarthritis (OA) is age-related but is it inevitable? What part is played by mechanical loading and are there other factors involved? This lecture will explore the clinical and biological features of OA and step back through these to see what we can understand about the pathogenesis of this disorder.
Lecture 5 Osteoporosis (Dr Alexandra Mavroeidi)
In the UK, 1 in 2 women over the age of 50y will have an osteoporotic fracture in their lifetime. In this lecture we will define the term osteoporosis, explore its clinical features and clinical diagnosis and look at modifiable lifestyle factors that can affect the development and management of the disease.
Lecture 6 Falls and fractures (Dr Alexandra Mavroeidi)
Around 30% of over-65s living in the community fall each year, increasing to 42% in the over 75s, and this figure is even greater – up to 60% - in those in residential care homes. This lecture will explore the causes and consequences of falling, and will try to illustrate how lifestyle approaches could lead to a reduction in falls and resulting injuries.
Lecture 7 Sarcopenia (Dr Henning Wackerhage)
Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass and function that occurs with normal ageing. Sarcopenic obesity is the combination of sarcopenia with an increased fat mass. A plethora of possible causes of sarcopenia have been identified of which three are more prominent: a) loss of a motor neurones and muscle fibres b) anabolic resistance and c) a loss of satellite cells and satellite cell dysfunction. The first lecture will introduce and explore these concepts.
Lecture 8 Sarcopenia II (Dr Henning Wackerhage)
This second lecture will look at the most up-to-date scientific evidence that is related to sarcopenia and indentify areas that are still unclear and thus require future research.
Lecture 9 Aortic Valve Stenosis (Prof Graeme Nixon)
The aortic valve prevents reflux of oxygenated blood back into the heart. 25% of adults over 65 years have thickening of the aortic valve which decreases valve efficiency. This eventually develops aortic valve stenosis and loss of valve function. Valve replacement surgery is typically required. This lecture will identify the pathology and causes of aortic valve disease and additionally examine the treatments. New therapeutic options will also be explored.
Lectures 10 Biological and brain changes during ageing (Dr Lianne Strachan)
Normal ageing in healthy individuals is associated with structural, chemical and functional changes in the brain. This lecture will introduce the structural and chemical changes in the brain during the normal ageing process with a focus on different brain areas and neurotransmitter systems.
Lectures 11 Neural function in ageing (Dr Lianne Strachan)
This lecture will focus on neural activity in healthy individuals during ageing and how these changes in neural function can impinge on behaviours including alterations in attention, orientation, circadian activity and memory.
Lecture 12 Age changes in cognition (Prof Louise Phillips)
Declining memory is amongst the most feared consequence of old age. In this lecture the effects of age on memory and problem-solving will be discussed, outlining the pattern of both spared and impaired cognitive skills in the course of normal aging.
Lecture 13 Age changes in emotion (Prof Louise Phillips)
In contrast to some stereotypes, older people generally experience more positive emotions than young adults. In this lecture, the pattern of age effects on the experience and regulation of emotion will be discussed, along with age-related change in a range of emotional skills.
Lecture 14 Disease or 'just old age': the geriatrician's perspective (Dr Roy Soiza)
A decline in health and well-being is frequently considered a normal part of the ageing process but many chronic diseases become more prevalent with old age. This lecture will consider the medical and social models of health, and particularly how they relate to the classification of health and disease in later life. It will cover the common geriatric syndromes of falls, confusion, immobility and incontinence, and explore how these are usually multi-factorial in aetiology, typically requiring multi-disciplinary assessment and management.
Lecture 15 Prescribing drugs in the older patients (Dr Roy Soiza)
This lecture will discuss general principles of correctly identifying treatment options in older patients with several co-morbidities in different health care settings.
Lecture 16 Polypharmacy and irrational prescribing in the older patient (Dr Roy Soiza)
This lecture will describe the clinical relevance of drug-related adverse effects in older patients and their impact on independence and quality of life.
Continuous Assessment
Practical 1: Analysis of epidemiological data (AM and demonstrators)
In this practical we will use data already collected from a large cohort of postmenopausal women. The dataset has information of a number of the cohort’s physical characteristics (such as age, height, weight, BMI, smoking status, socioeconomic status etc) as well as bone health status measurements (BMD) and information regarding the participants’ physical activity levels. You will be asked to explore the relationships between BMD and physical activity in this cohort (carry out statistical analysis using SPSS software) and then produce a 1000 word report that summarises and discusses your practical findings.
Practical 2: Measuring and analysing sarcopenia (HW)
In this practical you will first measure your own grip strength and leg extensor power using apparatuses that are suitable for testing sarcopenic/elderly subjects. You will then be asked to analyse previously acquired MRI and histological images of muscles, aiming to identify specific phenotypes and to explain how they relate to human sarcopenia. A 1000 word report will summarise and discuss your practical findings and compare them other related published work in the field of sarcopenia.
There is a regular programme of seminars given throughout the academic year by invited specialists from within the broad field of biomedical research.
These are usually held on Thursdays from 12noon -1pm in the IMS Building at Foresterhill (check the School or IMS websites for specific locations of seminars). As you are studying within research-driven disciplines, we strongly feel that you should attend these whenever possible, with a view to broadening your appreciation of medical sciences. You will also be directed to attend any other relevant seminars when they arise.
Recommended textbooks
1. Coni N, Nicholl C, Webster S, Wilson KJ (2003) Lecture Notes on Geriatric Medicine 6th edition Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
2. Stanner S, Thompson R, Buttriss JL (2009) Healthy Ageing: The Role of Nutrition and Lifestyle Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell for the British Nutrition Foundation
3. Taylor AW and Johnson MJ (2008) Physiology of Exercise and Healthy Aging Human Kinetics
4. Timiras PS (2007) Physiological Basis of Aging and Geriatrics. 4th edition New York: Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.
The lecturer(s) responsible for each section of the course will also provide a separate reference list, which will enable students to follow up the latest research advancements on each one of the topics covered.
The University has strict regulations on plagiarism. If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism read the University guide on plagiarism at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/writing
Copying or plagiarising another persons work, either from other students or published material in books or papers and submitted as your own for assessment is considered a form of cheating. This is considered by the University to be a serious offence and will be penalised according to the extent involved and whether it is decided there was an attempt at deliberate deception, or whether bad practice was involved. If you do use information or ideas obtained from textbooks or other published material you must give a precise reference to the source both at the appropriate point in your narrative and in a list of references at the end of your work. Direct quotations from published material should be indicated by quotation marks and referenced in the text as above.
Students are expected to attend all timetabled classes and to complete the two laboratory sessions by the appropriate deadline. It is imperative that any reasonable explanation for not attending is made to the course organiser (Dr A. Mavroeidi) before the labs take place. Otherwise there will be no continuous assessment mark and the class certificate, which is required to sit the examination, may be withheld.
Continuous assessment: (30%) of the course assessment is based on 2 laboratory reports (each accounting for 15%).
Written Examination: 70% of the course assessment is based on one two hour written paper.
Common assessment scale (CAS) grade: The overall performance of the student is expressed as a grade awarded on the common spine marking scale.
The degree examination for this course will be held in the May/June examination diet.
Dr Alexandra Mavroeidi
Prof Graeme Nixon
Dr Michael Scholz
Dr Henning Wackerhage
Prof R. Aspden (RMA), Medicine & Dentistry Prof L. Phillips (LHP), Psychology Dr C. Selman (CS), Biological Sciences Dr L Strachan (LS), Medical Sciences Dr R Soiza (RS), Medicine & Dentistry
If students have difficulties with any part of the course that they cannot cope with alone they should notify someone immediately. If the problem relates to the subject matter you may be best advised to contact the member of staff who is teaching that part of the course. Students with registered disabilities should contact either the IMS based School Office (Miss Lyndsay McEwan l.mcewan@abdn.ac.uk) or the Old Aberdeen office associated with the teaching laboratories (Mrs. S.Jones s.jones@abdn.ac.uk ) to ensure that the appropriate facilities have been made available. Otherwise, you are strongly encouraged to contact any of the following as you see appropriate:
Course student representatives.
Course co-ordinator, Dr Alexandra Mavroeidi
Convenor of the student-staff liaison committee, Dr Gordon McEwan
Adviser of studies.
Disabilities Co-ordinator, Dr Derryck Shewan
Staff who teach on this course are based at Foresterhill, (in the IMS & Health Sciences Building) and we strongly encourage the use of email or telephone to make appointments. You may find it inconvenient to travel to Foresterhill only to find staff unavailable.
Support Available to Students
The University is keen to help you successfully complete your studies. If at any time you feel you need assistance, there is a range of support services available to help you. These include support to assist with unexpected and/or exceptional financial difficulty, support for disabled students and academic learning support through the Student Learning Service. Further details about all these services area available at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/studenthelpguide/.
We value students’ opinions in regard to enhancing the quality of teaching and its delivery; therefore in conjunction with the Students’ Association we support the operation of a Class Representative system.
The students within each course, year, or programme elect representatives by the end of the fourth week of teaching within each half-session. In this school we operate a system of course representatives. Any student registered within a course that wishes to represent a given group of students can stand for election as a class representative. You will be informed when the elections for class representative will take place.
What will it involve?
It will involve speaking to your fellow students about the course you represent. This can include any comments that they may have. You will attend a Staff-Student Liaison Committee and you should represent the views and concerns of the students within this meeting. As a representative you will also be able to contribute to the agenda. You will then feedback to the students after this meeting with any actions that are being taken.
Training
Training for class representatives will be run by the Students Association. Training will take place in the fourth or fifth week of teaching each half-session. For more information about the Class representative system visit www.ausa.org.uk or email the VP Education & Employability vped@abdn.ac.uk. Class representatives are also eligible to undertake the STAR (Students Taking Active Roles) Award, further information about the co-curricular award is available at: www.abdn.ac.uk/careers.
Monitoring Students' Progress
The University operates a system for monitoring students' progress to identify students who may be experiencing difficulties in a particular course and who may be at risk of losing their class certificate. If the Course Co-ordinator has concerns about your attendance and/or performance, the Registry will be informed. The Registry will then write to you (by e-mail in term-time) to ask you to contact their office in the first instance. Depending on your reason for absence the Registry will either deal directly with your case or will refer you to your Adviser of Studies or a relevant support service. This system is operated to provide support for students who may be experiencing difficulties with their studies. Students are required to attend such meetings with their Adviser of Studies in accordance with General Regulation 8.
Set criteria are used to determine when a student should be reported in the monitoring system. You will be asked to meet your Adviser if any of the following criteria apply for this course:-
either (i) if you are absent for a continuous period of two weeks or 25% of the course (whichever is less) without good cause being reported;
or (ii) if you are absent from two small group teaching sessions e.g. (laboratory/tutorial classes) without good cause;
or (iii) if you fail to submit a piece of summative or a substantial piece of formative in-course assessment by the stated deadline
If you fail to respond within the prescribed timescale (as set out in the e-mail or letter) you will be deemed to have withdrawn from the course concerned and will accordingly be ineligible to take the end of course assessment or to enter for the resit. The Registry will write to you (by e-mail in term-time) to inform you of this decision. If you wish consideration to be given to reinstating you in the course you will be required to meet the Convener of the Students' Progress Committee.
Absence from Classes on Medical Grounds
Candidates who wish to establish that their academic performance has been adversely affected by their health are required to secure medical certificates relating to the relevant periods of ill health (see General Regulation 17.3).
The University’s policy on requiring certification for absence on medical grounds or other good cause can be accessed at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x5.pdf
You are strongly advised to make yourself fully aware of your responsibilities if you are absent due to illness or other good cause. In particular, you are asked to note that self-certification of absence for periods of absence up to and including eleven weekdays is permissible. However, where absence has prevented attendance at an examination or where it may have affected your performance in an element of assessment or where you have been unable to attend a specified teaching session, you are strongly advised to provide medical certification (see section 3 of the Policy on Certification of Absence for Medical Reasons or Other Good Cause).
A class certificate is defined as “a certificate confirming that a candidate has attended and duly performed the work prescribed for a course”. The period of validity for a class certificate is limited to the academic year in which it is awarded and the academic year immediately following. Hence, candidates have a maximum of four opportunities to take the end-of-course assessment without re-attendance i.e. the normal (January or May) diet and the August resit diet in the year in which the course is taken and the year immediately following.
Students who have been reported as ‘at risk’ through the system for monitoring students’ progress due to their failure to satisfy the minimum criteria (as outlined above) may be refused a class certificate. If you are refused a class certificate, you will receive a letter from the Registry (e-mail in term-time) notifying you of this decision. Students who are refused a class certificate are withdrawn from the course and cannot take the prescribed degree assessment in the current session, nor are eligible to be re-assessed next session, unless and until they qualify for the award of a class certificate by taking the course again in the next session.
If you wish to appeal against the decision to refuse a class certificate should do so in writing to the Head of School within fourteen days of the date of the letter/e-mail notifying you of the decision. If your appeal is unsuccessful, you have the right to lodge an appeal with the relevant Director of Undergraduate Programmes within fourteen days of the date you are informed of the Head of School’s decision.
As this course forms part of an Honours programme, you should be aware that if you are refused a class certificate, you will be awarded the equivalent of a No Paper (NP) for the course, i.e. a CAS mark of zero when applied to the Grade Spectrum used for determining degree classification. This will mean that, normally, you would be unable to gain a higher class of degree than Lower Second Class Honours.
You will receive a University e-mail account when you register with the University Computing Centre. The University will normally use e-mail to communicate with you during term-time. These e-mails will be sent to your University e-mail account, which you can access using Eudora or SquirrelMail.
It is your responsibility to check your e-mail on a regular (at least weekly) basis and to tidy the contents of your e-mail inbox to ensure that it does not go over quota (see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/email/mailquota.hti for guidance on managing your e-mail quota). It is recommended that you use your University e-mail account to read and respond to University communications. If you already have a non-University e-mail account that you use for personal correspondence, it is possible to set up automatic forwarding of messages from your University e-mail account to your personal e-mail address (see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/local/mail.forward/) but, should you do so, it is your responsibility to ensure that this is done correctly. The University takes no responsibility for delivery of e-mails to non-University accounts.
You should note that failure to check your e-mail or failure to receive e-mail due to being over quota or due to non-delivery of an e-mail forwarded to a non-University e-mail account would not be accepted as a ground for appeal (for further information on appeals procedures, please refer to http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix5x17.hti).
TurnitinUK
TurnitinUK is an online service which compares student assignments with online sources including web pages, databases of reference material, and content previously submitted by other users across the UK. The software makes no decision as to whether plagiarism has occurred; it is simply a tool which highlights sections of text that have been found in other sources thereby helping academic staff decide whether plagiarism has occurred.
As of Academic Year 2011/12, TurnitinUK will be accessed directly through MyAberdeen. Advice about avoiding plagiarism, the University’s Definition of Plagiarism, a Checklist for Students, Referencing and Citing guidance, and instructions for TurnitinUK, can be found in the following area of the Student Learning Service website www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism/.
Requirements for the Award of an Honours Degree
All students who are admitted to an Honours programme, in or after 2004/05, will be required to achieve 480 credit points, including at least 180 at levels 3 and 4, of which at least 90 must be at level 4. This change to the requirements for the award of an Honours Degree was made by the Senate to ensure that Honours degrees are awarded in compliance with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). This is a common national Framework for all awards in Scotland. Further information is available at www.scqf.org.uk.
Accordingly, students failing to meet this credit requirement at the first attempt will require to make up this credit shortfall before graduating. General Regulation 21, as outlined below, sets out the procedures available to enable students to make up this credit shortfall.
In the case of a candidate who has failed to complete satisfactorily an element of Honours degree assessment at the time prescribed by Regulation 9.3, then the appropriate procedure from (a) to (e) below shall apply:
a) If, but only if, the failure is on account of illness or other good causes, the candidate shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, and shall be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification.
b) If the failure is the result of absence or non-submission of any other cause, the candidate shall be awarded zero for the assessment concerned and shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, but shall not be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification.
c) For courses at level 4 and above only, if the candidate has completed the assessment but been awarded a mark on the Common Assessment Scale between 6 and 8 inclusive, they shall be awarded the same amount of unnamed specific credit, not exceeding 30 credit points in total, at level 1.
d) If the candidate has completed the assessment, but the course is at level 3, or the course is at level 4 or above and the mark awarded on the Common Assessment Scale is less than 6, the candidate shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, but shall not be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification. Alternatively, for courses at level 4 and above only, such candidates may elect to attend and submit themselves for assessment in another course of equivalent credit value, which may be at any level.
e) If any options (a), (b) or (d) above would normally apply, but medical advice indicates that it would be unreasonable to require a candidate to appear for assessment on a subsequent occasion, and if the candidate’s past record provides sufficient evidence that they would have obtained Honours, the examiners may recommend the award of an Aegrotat degree, but only after obtaining the consent of the candidate. The award of an Aegrotat degree will debar candidates from counting towards Honours degree assessment any result achieved thereafter.
Notes (i) For courses at level 4 and above, the timing and format of the assessment required under any of sub-sections (a), (b) or (d) above shall be determined by the Academic Standards Committee (Undergraduate) on the recommendation of the Head of the relevant School.
(ii) The options to achieve or be awarded credit under (b), (c) and (d) above shall be available to candidates who have accumulated less than 90 credit points at level 4 or who have failed to complete satisfactorily the assessment for a course which, on the recommendation of the Head of the relevant School, has been prescribed by the Academic Standards Committee (Undergraduate) as compulsory for the award of a degree with Honours. Such candidates will be able to qualify for a non-Honours degree only.
Further guidance is also available in the Guidance Note for Students who either Fail, or who Fail to Attend or Complete, and Element of Prescribed Degree Assessment which can be accessed at:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x6.pdf
Honours Degree Classification (Grade Spectrum)
All Honours Degrees are classified using the University’s Grade Spectrum which is available at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x4.pdf. The Grade Spectrum, an extract of which is outlined below, is used to determine degree classification on the basis of the CAS mark awarded for each element of Honours Degree Assessment.
First: Marks at 18 or better in elements constituting half the total elements
and
Marks at 15 or better in elements constituting three quarters of the total elements
and
Normally marks at 12 or better in all elements
2i: Marks at 15 or better in elements constituting half the total elements
and
Marks at 12 or better in elements constituting three quarters of the total elements
and
Normally marks at 9 or better in all elements
2ii: Marks at 12 or better in elements constituting half the total elements
and
Marks at 9 or better in elements constituting three quarters of the total elements
Third:Marks at 9 or better in elements constituting three quarters of the total elements.
The Grade Spectrum defines the threshold standards against which the different classes of honours degree are awarded. The Examiners, however, have discretion (in the circumstances defined in Note 4 of the Grade Spectrum) to depart from this and may choose to award a higher degree than that indicated by the Grade Spectrum.
Feedback Framework
In response to the Curriculum Reform Commission’s recommendation that the University establish a Framework for the provision of feedback, the UCTL approved an Institutional Framework for the Provision of Feedback on Assessment (Appendix 7.8). Schools are asked to ensure that students’ attention is drawn to the framework by including the following in relevant handbooks:
Feedback on assessment:
The University recognises that the provision of timely and appropriate feedback on assessment plays a key part in students learning and teaching. The guiding principles for the provision of feedback within the University are detailed in the Institutional Framework for the Provision of Feedback on Assessment available at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x8.pdf
Enhancing Feedback
A central ‘Enhancing Feedback’ website has been created to bring together information about feedback for both staff and students. Schools are asked to ensure that Students’ attention is drawn to the Enhancing Feedback website by including the following in relevant handbooks:
Enhancing Feedback:
The University recognises both the importance of providing timely and appropriate feedback on assessments to students, and of enabling students to voice views on their learning experience through channels such as Student Course Evaluation Forms and Class Representatives. FAQs, guidance and resources about feedback can be found on the University’s ‘Enhancing Feedback’ website at: www.abdn.ac.uk/clt/feedback
Appeals and Complaints
The University’s appeals and complaints procedures provide students with a framework through which to formalise their concerns about aspects of their academic experience or to complain when they feel that standards of non-academic service have fallen short of that which they expected.
The process has been designed to make the appeals and complaints process as accessible and simple as possible and to provide a robust, fair mechanism through which to ensure that all appeals and complaints are considered in the appropriate way at the appropriate level.
A major feature of the process is the emphasis it places on early or informal resolution. All students should note that there is an expectation that they will take responsibility for seeking resolution of their academic or non-academic concerns by raising and discussing them at the earliest possible stage with the relevant individuals in an academic School or administrative Service.
Further details of the processes for making an appeal or complaint, including where to find further help and support in the process, is given at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/appeals
Transcripts at Graduation
It is anticipated that students who commenced their studies in, or after, 2009/10, will receive a more detailed transcript of their studies on graduation. The increased details will include a record of all examination results attained. For students graduating in 2012/13 transcripts will show details of all CAS marks awarded, including marks which are fails. Where a resit has been required as a result of medical circumstances or other good cause (MC/GC) this will not be shown, but all other circumstances (i.e. No Paper ‘NP’) will be included.
MyAberdeen (the University of Aberdeen’s Virtual Learning Environment)
MyAberdeen replaces WebCT as students’ virtual learning environment. This is where you will find learning materials and resources associated with the courses you are studying.
MyAberdeen also provides direct access to TurnitinUK, the online originality checking service, through which you may be asked to submit completed assignments.
You can log in to MyAberdeen by going to www.abdn.ac.uk/myaberdeen and entering your University username and password (which you use to access the University network).
Further information on MyAberdeen including Quick Guides and video tutorials, along with information about TurnitinUK, can be found at: www.abdn.ac.uk/students/myaberdeen.php.
Information about academic writing and how to avoid plagiarism can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism.
Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
Graduate Attributes are a wide-ranging set of qualities which students will develop during their time at Aberdeen in preparation for employment, further study and citizenship.
There are four main areas of the Graduate Attributes:
• Academic excellence
• Critical thinking and communication
• Learning and personal development
• Active citizenship
Students have many opportunities to develop and achieve these attributes. These include learning experiences on credit-bearing courses and co-curricular activities such as work placements, study abroad and volunteering. In accordance with the University’s commitment to Equality and Diversity, students can request support with any aspect of the Graduate Attributes framework.
The ACHIEVE website offers resources that enable students to assess and reflect upon their present skills and development needs. The website also contains resources to help students to improve their skills and links to a range of university services such as the Careers Service and the Student Learning Service. Students can access ACHIEVE from their MyAberdeen site in the ‘My Organisations’ section. More information about Aberdeen Graduate Attributes and ACHIEVE can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/graduateattributes.
The Co-curriculum
The co-curriculum enhances a student’s employability and provides opportunities to develop and achieve Aberdeen Graduate Attributes. Co-curricular activities complement a student’s degree programme and include: work placements, study abroad, enterprise and entrepreneurship activities, the BP Student Tutoring Scheme, career mentoring and the STAR (Students Taking Active Roles) Award initiative. Below are examples of credit-bearing co-curricular activities. It is anticipated that these types of activity will be included on an enhanced transcript for students graduating in, or after, 2012/13
ERASMUS is an exchange programme funded by the European Commission which enables students to study or work in another European country as part of their degree programme. Eligible students will receive a grant to help with extra costs while abroad and a number of our partner institutions teach through English. For more information, visit www.abdn.ac.uk/erasmus/. The University also has opportunities for students to study in a non-European country as part of their degree through the International Exchange Programme. International partners include universities and colleges in North America, Hong Kong and Japan (www.abdn.ac.uk/undergraduate/international-exchange.php). The University aims to ensure full academic recognition for study periods abroad, therefore the credits gained from study abroad will count towards the Aberdeen degree programme for students participating in both ERASMUS and the International Exchange Programme.
Work placements can also form an integral part of a degree programme and attract academic credit. Placements are available locally, nationally and internationally, lasting from a few weeks to a full year and are generally paid. Visit the Careers Service website for further placement information and to find available work placements.
Further information about the co-curriculum is available at: www.abdn.ac.uk/careers
Transition into level 4 and beyond
As students progress through their degree programme, they will notice a change in the style and approach of teaching and the expectations upon them as learners. Expectations again change as students progress into Honours year, where they are expected to become more independent and self-directed in their learning. To help with this transition, a variety of activities will be planned to address any new challenges faced by students at level 4. The level 4 retention co-ordinator - Dr Steve Tucker (s.j.tucker@abdn.ac.uk; 01224 437491) will organise such events and is a point of contact for any level 4 SMS students facing any kind of difficulty. Regular activities and workshops will be designed around key issues faced by Honours students much in the same way as it was at level 3. In addition, Dr Tucker will hold regular, advertised drop-in surgeries for students to raise any issues face to face and all level 4 SMS students will have access to a MyAberdeen site that will offer information, feedback, guidance and discussion forums designed to ease students through to the completion of their degree.
School of Medical Sciences - Guide to Citing and Referencing
This guide should be used to assist you when completing any work for disciplines in the School of Medical Sciences. All work should include citations at appropriate places in the text, with a complete reference list at the end of the assignment. If diagrams/ graphs/ tables are copied or adapted from other publications/ websites, the sources must also be cited in the legend for that item, and included in your reference list.
Good citing and referencing not only improves the quality of your work, but it gives credit to the authors of original work, and makes it less likely that you can be accused of plagiarism. Further guidance on writing and plagiarism may be found at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/writing/ . When you submit work for marking, you are declaring that YOU are the author, that you have not copied it or plagiarised any material from other sources, AND that all sources of information have been acknowledged in your text. Students may be penalised by the University if found guilty of plagiarism.
Students are warned to be careful if using websites as sources of information. These may be inaccurate and are often not peer-reviewed. You are strongly encouraged to use advanced textbooks, peer-reviewed papers or reviews as the sources of your information in your work. Students are also advised to avoid quoting chunks of text in their work. Just because you put quotation marks around some text does not mean that you have not plagiarised it. Try and explain ideas and concepts in your own words.
The referencing style used here is Harvard, similar to that recommended by the University Library (see their factsheet for further information on referencing). Students must use this style of citing and referencing for all work. Other styles are not acceptable. Marks may be deducted if students do not cite or reference properly (see specific marking schemes for details).
Citing references within the text
You must provide citations in the text at the appropriate places by putting the author’s surname and year of publication in round brackets immediately after the relevant text (author, date method).
Author, date method
Jones et al. (1999) has argued that….
Studies have produced conflicting results…..(Bloggs, 2000; MacDuff et al., 1993)
Smith stated (1990)…..and then later work confirmed this (2003)…..
Bloggs (2001) investigated…..
One author (Bloggs, 2000)
Two authors (Smith & Jones, 1982)
Three or more authors (Chesterfield et al., 1995)
If the same author(s) wrote two or more papers in the same year Thwaites et al. stated (1990a)…..and then provided further evidence (1990b)…..
N.B. “et al.” should be in italics, as should all other Latin words/phrases in your text (e.g. in vitro). There is also a full stop after “et al.”, since it is an abbreviation of “et alia” (“and others”).
Listing your references at the end of your work
Your list of references must place the surnames of the first authors in alphabetical order. List all authors of a piece of work unless there are a large number.
Format of references at the end of your work
Book - whole Rang, H.P., Dale, M.M., Ritter, J.M. & Flower, R.J. (2007) Pharmacology. 6th Ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Book – article or chapter within Johnson, D. & Smart, J.S. (1983) Advanced techniques in measuring athletic performance. In: S. Roberts, ed., Sports Science in the Laboratory. London: Macmillan, pp. 3-28.
Journal – article within Furchgott, R.F., Zawadzki, J.V. (1980) The obligatory role of endothelial cells in the relaxation of arterial smooth muscle by acetylcholine. Nature. 288(5789), 373-6.
Website Department for Education and Employment (2000). Student loans: guidance on terms and conditions from April 2000. [online]. Available from: http://www.dfee.gov.uk/loan2000/index.html [Accessed 23rd March 2006]
