CQUniversity Unit Profile
DSMG29006 Volunteerism and the Community
Volunteerism and the Community
All details in this unit profile for DSMG29006 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

Using real-life examples, you will examine the notion of community, voluntary participation by community members in emergency and disaster management contexts and situations and how these align with the broader volunteerism literature. You will evaluate the different models and theoretical constructs related to volunteerism and how these have changed over time. From this foundation, you will look at how the broader principles of volunteerism are applied in emergency and disaster management and look at ways in which volunteerism can be enhanced, both in the short and longer-term. By working with authentic examples, you will explore and apply your learning within your specific context or area of interest. 

Details

Career Level: Postgraduate
Unit Level: Level 9
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 8
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

The pre-requisite for the unit is DSMG28001 Foundations of Emergency and Disaster Management.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 2 - 2024

Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Written Assessment
Weighting: 20%
2. Written Assessment
Weighting: 50%
3. Presentation
Weighting: 30%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Self-reflection

Feedback

To encourage independent study and thinking, include more formative activities in the learning guides.

Recommendation

The unit learning guides will be enriched with expanded narratives and formative learning activities, purposefully framing the context and establishing a robust foundation to guide students through independent study.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Analyse the concept of community and its nexus with emergency and disaster management contexts, settings and situations
  2. Critique the different types of voluntary participation by individuals and groups
  3. Evaluate different models and theoretical constructs related to volunteerism and  how these have changed over time
  4. Apply the principles of volunteerism to emergency and disaster management contexts, settings and situations 
  5. Collaborate with individuals and groups from within the community to enhance voluntary participation.
Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment - 20%
2 - Written Assessment - 50%
3 - Presentation - 30%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Knowledge
2 - Communication
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills
4 - Research
5 - Self-management
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility
7 - Leadership
8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks.

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
  • Zoom
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
John Moy Unit Coordinator
j.moy@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 08 Jul 2024

Module/Topic

Theme One: Emergency and Disaster Management

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online Classroom Drop-in Session. Wednesday - 1 pm to 1:50 pm AEST (QLD time).

Week 2 Begin Date: 15 Jul 2024

Module/Topic

Theme One: Emergency and Disaster Management

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 22 Jul 2024

Module/Topic

Theme Two: Conceptualising Community

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online Classroom Drop-in Session. Wednesday - 1 pm to 1:50 pm AEST (QLD time).

Week 4 Begin Date: 29 Jul 2024

Module/Topic

Theme Two: Conceptualising Community

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Volunteering in contemporary times Due: Week 4 Wednesday (31 July 2024) 4:00 pm AEST
Week 5 Begin Date: 05 Aug 2024

Module/Topic

Theme Two: Conceptualising Community

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online Classroom Drop-in Session. Wednesday - 1 pm to 1:50 pm AEST (QLD time).

Vacation Week Begin Date: 12 Aug 2024

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 Begin Date: 19 Aug 2024

Module/Topic

Theme Three: Conceptualising participation

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 7 Begin Date: 26 Aug 2024

Module/Topic

Theme Three: Conceptualising participation

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online Classroom Drop-in Session. Wednesday - 1 pm to 1:50 pm AEST (QLD time).

Week 8 Begin Date: 02 Sep 2024

Module/Topic

Theme Three: Conceptualising participation

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 9 Begin Date: 09 Sep 2024

Module/Topic

Theme four: Enhancing community participation

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Volunteering: what the literature has to say Due: Week 9 Wednesday (11 Sept 2024) 4:00 pm AEST
Week 10 Begin Date: 16 Sep 2024

Module/Topic

Theme four: Enhancing community participation

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 11 Begin Date: 23 Sep 2024

Module/Topic

Theme four: Enhancing community participation

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online Classroom Drop-in Session. Wednesday - 1 pm to 1:50 pm AEST (QLD time).

Week 12 Begin Date: 30 Sep 2024

Module/Topic

Theme five: In your own back yard

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Future thinking in volunteerism Due: Week 12 Wednesday (2 Oct 2024) 4:00 pm AEST
Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 07 Oct 2024

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Exam Week Begin Date: 14 Oct 2024

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Volunteering in contemporary times

Task Description

Assessment task one engages you with volunteering broadly and its enactment in emergency and disaster management. The assessment uses an authentic scenario and is broken into two (2) separate but linked parts.


Part 1) Library search strategy

In Part 1) you will provide a detailed account of the search strategy you use to locate the sources for Part 2.1 (see below), that is, the section of the discussion paper dealing with the concept of community (see Part 2.1 below).

Using the CQUniversity Australia seven (7) step process for searching databases as a framework (the process can be found in the ‘Assessment Resources and Help’ section of the DSMG29006 eReading and the Moodle site under Assessment), you describe the steps taken to search the CQUniversity library catalogue. Part 1) library search strategy is to be presented as a table showing the actions, results and rationale for these actions. You must use the CQUniversity library catalogue for assessment task one. A template, which includes the table, has been provided on the Moodle site under Assessment. You must use the provided table.


Part 2) Discussion paper
Scenario
You have recently been employed as a project officer in a government department and have been tasked by your supervisor to develop two sections of a discussion paper, which will go to an oversight committee. The discussion paper informs the oversight committee about trends in voluntary participation during disaster events and strategies for enhancing voluntary activity. The oversight committee includes emergency and disaster management experts, community members, academics and researchers. To support the discussion paper, the oversight committee has asked that the discussion be framed around a local event, that is, the discussion must use a recent emergency or disaster event (of your choosing) and give examples from that event. The two sections that you have been tasked to write are to populate the trends section of the bigger discussion paper and include:

Part 2.1): a discussion, including a contemporary definition of the concept of community, and
Part 2.2):
an analysis of the types of voluntary activity performed by members of the community during a recent emergency or disaster event (of your choice), and its alignment or otherwise to a formal organisation or agency. Part 2.2 will consist of the following:

    a) name and a brief description of the event,
    b) examples of the activity that community members contributed to that particular event, 
    c) identification of which contributions were part of formal volunteer role and which were not,
    d) using the scholarly literature, align the formal and non-formal contributions from part c) with the models identified in the volunteerism literature.


Your two sections combined can be a up to 750 words and must include the following:

  1. minimum of four (4) different references
  2. minimum of two (2) references for Part 2.1, and two (2) references for Part 2.2
  3. the four (4) references must be peer-reviewed sources. You are free to use additional non-peer-reviewed sources.

 

 


Assessment Due Date

Week 4 Wednesday (31 July 2024) 4:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Week 6 Wednesday (21 Aug 2024)


Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

The assessment criteria for this unit are in the form of a rubric, which is available from the Moodle unit site. Broadly, you will be assessed on:

  • Use of the literature
  • Knowledge of the concept of community and of emergency and disaster management.
  • Knowledge of the different types of voluntary participation
  • Communication and presentation


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

assessmentOutcome
  • Analyse the concept of community and its nexus with emergency and disaster management contexts, settings and situations
  • Critique the different types of voluntary participation by individuals and groups


assessmentGradAttribute

2 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Volunteering: what the literature has to say

Task Description

In assessment task two, you will expand on your search of the scholarly literature (commenced in assessment task one) and develop a short, annotated bibliography on a topic of interest (which you choose). To guide your efforts, you will use either an overarching question or a thesis statement, which you will develop. The question or statement will guide you in searching and selecting the articles for your annotated bibliography and the final summary statement. You can choose any topic, and it can be broad, for example, “what does the scholarly literature tell us about the state of volunteering in the Australian emergency and disaster management context” or something narrower, for example, “what strategies could be used to enhance volunteer recruitment efforts in emergency and disaster management organisations”. The question or thesis statement is totally up to you. Your assessment submission will include the following:


1)
 an overarching question or thesis statement

2) a short, annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography must contain the following:

  • Eight (8) sources
  • Five (5) of the sources MUST be peer-reviewed sources, and you must confirm their peer-reviewed nature in the title
  • Each source must be related to your topic of interest
  • The annotations must conform with the convention for an annotated bibliography (see the eReading list for resources).

3) Based on the eight (8) entries of the annotated bibliography, you will produce a short summary of up to 500 words which draws the eight annotations together to answer your question or respond to your thesis statement. The summary statement must be referenced (using the eight sources from the annotated bibliography).


Assessment Due Date

Week 9 Wednesday (11 Sept 2024) 4:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Week 11 Wednesday (25 Sept 2024)


Weighting
50%

Assessment Criteria

The assessment criteria for this unit are in the form of a rubric, which is available from the Moodle unit site. Broadly, you will be assessed on:

  • Use of the literature
  • Knowledge of the different types of voluntary participation
  • Application of knowledge and skills related to voluntary participation to emergency and disaster management
  • Collaboration between community and emergency and disaster management
  • Communication and presentation


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

assessmentOutcome
  • Critique the different types of voluntary participation by individuals and groups
  • Evaluate different models and theoretical constructs related to volunteerism and  how these have changed over time
  • Apply the principles of volunteerism to emergency and disaster management contexts, settings and situations 
  • Collaborate with individuals and groups from within the community to enhance voluntary participation.


assessmentGradAttribute

3 Presentation

Assessment Title
Future thinking in volunteerism

Task Description

In assessment task three, you are back in your project officer role (the one from assessment task one). This time, you have been tasked with a piece of work about the future of volunteering in emergency and disaster management (E&DM) and exploring opportunities for enhancing it. You will present your work at a symposium, which will be attended by executives and leaders from a range of not-for-profit organisations, specialists in volunteering, plus those from the E&DM sector. Your task is below:


Task details

You are asked to explore other organisations (two different organisations) that are actively involved in the volunteer sector or have volunteering as a fundamental part of their organisational fabric. You will be looking for lessons, policies, practices and approaches that can either be directly or, with a little creativity or out-of-the-box thinking, be applied to enhance volunteering in E&DM. One (1) of the two (2) organisations can be aligned in some way to E&DM efforts, for example, the Red Cross, BUT the second organisation must be totally separate from E&DM. You can select any two organisations. Some examples have been provided in the Learning Guide (see Moodle). You may use any of the examples provided or select your own organisations. The presentation has two parts:


Presentation Part 1)
: for each organisation, your presentation will cover the following:

  1. Name of the organisation and its charter (who are they and what do they do)
  2. Key demographics (for example, location(s) of operation, number of volunteers)
  3. Role volunteering plays within the selected organisation
  4. Different functions volunteers perform within the organisation
  5. Summary statement about how the organisation is the same or different, from a volunteering perspective to emergency services or disaster management volunteer organisations and approaches.

Presentation Part 2): Based on the analysis of each of the two organisations, you will make a total of three (3) recommendations for enhancing an aspect of volunteering in E&DM. Your recommendations can relate to volunteering broadly (for example, broad policy or practice recommendations) or a particular aspect (for example, a method of recruitment or retention) or a combination of both. Your recommendation must draw on your understanding of the literature and use that literature to support your choice. The recommendations must show how the E&DM can work collaboratively (that is, with) the community or those outside E&DM to enhance volunteering.


Presentation format: PowerPoint Presentation File (with audio recorded directly in PowerPoint)
The audio component is recorded directly onto the PowerPoint presentation (that is, the audio is embedded in your PowerPoint presentation), and the written component is the PowerPoint Presentation. The audio presentation will be a maximum of 5-7 minutes in length. Note: You must submit a PDF version of your PowerPoint with speaker notes (that is, the words or script that you read out in your audio component).


Assessment Due Date

Week 12 Wednesday (2 Oct 2024) 4:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Exam Week Wednesday (16 Oct 2024)


Weighting
30%

Assessment Criteria

The assessment criteria for this unit are in the form of a rubric, which is available from the Moodle unit site. Broadly, you will be assessed on:

  • Use of the literature
  • Knowledge of the concept of community and of emergency and disaster management.
  • Application of knowledge and skills related to voluntary participation to emergency and disaster management
  • Collaboration between community and emergency and disaster management
  • Communication and presentation


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

assessmentOutcome
  • Analyse the concept of community and its nexus with emergency and disaster management contexts, settings and situations
  • Evaluate different models and theoretical constructs related to volunteerism and  how these have changed over time
  • Apply the principles of volunteerism to emergency and disaster management contexts, settings and situations 
  • Collaborate with individuals and groups from within the community to enhance voluntary participation.


assessmentGradAttribute

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?