Learning and Communicating Online
Assignment 2: Communication case studies
Assignment details :
This assignment task requires you to select ONE of the following case studies, and answer the questions that follow it. Use the arrows to move through the case studies.

James: Psychologist
James: Psychologist (2021) created
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• My name is James. I’ve been working with a client, Sam, for three weeks now. His marriage has recently broken down and he has needed, and will continue needing, support managing feelings of loss, grief and anger.
• I live at home with my partner, Meg. Meg is a property developer. She is in the middle of brokering a business deal with Jessica which will result in a huge profit for Meg. Meg and I often talk about her business and her clients. Meg was telling me about one of her clients whose husband was a jerk. I have been giving Meg some informal advice about things she could say to Jessica to get through it all.
• I suddenly realised during my third therapy session with Sam that Jessica (who goes by her maiden name) is in fact Sam’s estranged spouse. I feel really conflicted.
Maria: Public relations manager
My name is Maria. I have just recently gained my dream job as a community liaison and publicity officer for a major mining company. I was so excited because my first project was to engage with local Indigenous people. My understanding was that I was employed to ensure that the interests and needs of Indigenous people were understood and represented.
More recently my direct manager informed me ‘Tell everyone what they want to hear, and we’ll worry about whether it is true or realistic later on. We don’t necessarily need to do what we say we will do’.
Later, I discovered that the local elders were given misinformation about the scope of the mining project. The local council were told that the Indigenous people agreed to the project. My job is so important to me, but I can’t help feeling that there is something terribly wrong with this situation.
Ajay: Teacher
My name’s?Ajay. I’ve been working with a group of disengaged?year 9?students for close to a term now.??Our Principal and the other teaching staff have little time for these students. In fact, the?Principal has been open in stating that he is looking for an opportunity to move these children on.?It has taken a while to get their trust?as these children have been let down by a series of adults throughout their lives,?but I feel like I am getting there.
While I?don’t have?favourites, I do have one student who I really do want to see get through. The student’s name is Lee. Lee comes from an abusive family and has low self-esteem. Lee has a history of substance misuse.? He has started attending school more regularly and I am seeing progress in his academic performance and importantly, his self-esteem and mental health.
More recently Lee’s stepfather and mother have decided that they are moving interstate. They’ve told Lee that he will need to move in with his father who has a new young family and is open in his disinterest in him. Lee arrived at school a little unsteady on his feet. When he entered the classroom, the smell of alcohol was overwhelming.
This assignment task requires you to select ONE of the following case studies, and answer the questions that follow it. Use the arrows to move through the case studies.
My name is Simon. I’m working for a small rural newspaper. It is not an ideal job, but is a way in the door. I’ve been asked to write a report on a ‘wave of crime’ in the local area. When I started investigating I found that:
• There is no wave of crime in the area.
• The people who are being blamed for the crimewave are young people from a particular ethnic background.
I’ve worked closely with members of this community for a long time and know some of their background stories. What’s more, the information that my editor wants me to write is inaccurate and will likely lead to discrimination.
I’ve asked my editor if we could take another angle, but he is insistent that reading about a wave of crime will bring in readers, which in turn will bring in more advertisers and more revenue. I understand where he is coming from, as the newspaper is struggling financially and has been at risk of closing several times over the last few years. Nevertheless, I’m not comfortable with the whole situation.
Jill: Political scientist
I’m Jill, a political scientist. I am in the middle of writing on article on war crimes. I’m a new academic so I am not the lead author, but I am doing a lot of the research.
My co-author, by the nature of his seniority, will have more say in what is included. This co-author has a lot of influence not only at the university where I work, but in the tertiary sector in general. He wants me to omit certain facts, which means that the article will be one-sided.
Having chosen your case study, you should complete the following:
1. Identify an ethical issue or problem presented in your selected case study.
2. Identify the stakeholders and explain how they might be affected.
3. Review the Case study correspondence (PDF 57 KB) Download Case study correspondence (PDF 57 KB)developed by one of the stakeholders that relates to your case study. What are the:
o spoken and unspoken messages?
o the strengths and weaknesses of the communication? Hint: Review your learning from Week 4 of this unit.
4. Identify two?skills from the ‘Future Work Skills’ document you read in Week 1 of this unit that would help the key character in the case study to resolve the issue. Note: The ‘key character’ will be either James, Maria, Ajay, Simon or Jill, depending on the case study you chose.
5. Explain how each of the skills you have identified would assist?the key character to:
o meet a specific relevant professional standard
o be used to resolve the ethical issue or problem. Hint: Research the relevant professional standards (e.g. codes of ethics/conduct) relating to your case study on the internet, and consider those presented in Week 1.
6. Propose a solution to the ethical issue or problem you identified.
7. Identify a possible strength and a possible limitation of your proposed solution.
8. Your work needs to be appropriately cited using APA 7 referencing.
Research and referencing

Research is required for this assignment.
Referencing will be in APA 7th edition style (APA 7).
Select the icon for some helpful resources, these can be found on 0.4 Assignments and Support.
Supporting resources
• Each case has relevant sample Case study correspondence (PDF 57 KB) Download Case study correspondence (PDF 57 KB)developed by one of the stakeholders. Youll need to download this to complete your work.
• You will need to review the essential reading from Week 1: Future work skills 2020.
• You may find some of the Additional resources from 1.5 The developing professional useful when considering Step 5 about professional standards.
• You will find a number of credible and relevant resources on academic integrity and referencing in the Academic practiceLinks to an external site. section of the Student Hub.
• Library searchLinks to an external site. for credible research.
• APALinks to an external site. style guide and the APA 7 Referencing toolLinks to an external site. provide helpful information, examples and FAQs.