Overview
If Australia lost the Great Barrier Reef – would we care? In this unit you will explore concepts and processes that drive environmental conservation in Australia. You will investigate the international context and legal frameworks of conservation as well as the environmental reporting of the Australian government. You will be immersed in case studies that relate to current conservation issues.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
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 1 - 2020
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).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate 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
Assessment Overview
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.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
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
keeping the unit content current
The unit coordinator will continue improving the content of the unit.
- Explain the international and legal contexts for Australian government environment reporting;
- Identify and evaluate specific conservation issues in Australia.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | ||
| 2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | ||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||
| 5 - Team Work | ||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||
| 10 - First Nations Knowledges | ||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | |||||||||||
| 2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | |||||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 40% | |||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
Study material for the unit will be provided on the moodle.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Micorsoft Office
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
j.wu@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 09 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Conservation in historical perspective
Chapter
SOE2016 Overview
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 1 available.
Note: The 3 quizzes will be opened and closed in different weeks during the term. Please mark the opening and closing dates in your calendar.
Week 2
Begin Date: 16 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Nature and society
Chapter
SOE2016 Approach
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 23 Mar 2020Module/Topic
The changing Australian environment
Chapter
SOE2016 Drivers
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 30 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Reducing our carbon footprints
Chapter
SOE2016 Atmosphere report
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 06 Apr 2020Module/Topic
A hierarchy of conservation strategies
Chapter
SOE2016 Built environment report
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 2 available.
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 13 Apr 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 20 Apr 2020Module/Topic
The desertification of Australia
Chapter
SOE2016 Land report
Events and Submissions/Topic
Reflective writing #1 due
Week 7
Begin Date: 27 Apr 2020Module/Topic
Biodiversity and wildlife management
Chapter
SOE2016 Biodiversity report
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 04 May 2020Module/Topic
Protected areas as instruments (I): Management of Kakadu national park
Chapter
SOE2016 Coasts report
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 2 cuts off
Week 9
Begin Date: 11 May 2020Module/Topic
Protected areas as instruments (II): Management of Eungella national park
Chapter
SOE2016 Inland Waters report
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 3 available.
Week 10
Begin Date: 18 May 2020Module/Topic
Conserving our cultural heritage
Chapter
SOE2016 Heritage report
Events and Submissions/Topic
Reflective writing #2 due
Week 11
Begin Date: 25 May 2020Module/Topic
Sustainability
Chapter
SOE2016 Marine Environment report
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 01 Jun 2020Module/Topic
Conservation as social change
Chapter
SOE2016 Antarctic Environment report
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 3 cuts off
Term Paper Due: Week 12 Friday (5 June 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
Review/Exam Week
Begin Date: 08 Jun 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 15 Jun 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Online Quiz(zes)
This assessment consists of 3 online quizzes. Each of the quizzes has 10 multiple choice questions. You need to select the most appropriate answer from the given options.
Detailed information about the quiz(zes) and how to complete them is provided in the moodle site of the unit.
3
Other
Further due date description in the unit Moodle site.
The online quiz will be marked automatically following submission.
Quiz will be marked automatically. Each question will be marked 'correct' if you chose the right answer. Scores are based on the number of correct answers only. There are no marks deducted for incorrect responses.
- Explain the international and legal contexts for Australian government environment reporting;
- Identify and evaluate specific conservation issues in Australia.
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Online Quiz(zes)
This assessment consists of 2 pieces of reflective writing. Each of the writings should be 450-550 words in length.
- Writing #1 is to describe and discuss one environmental issue (e.g. invasive species, loss biodiversity, deforestation, soil erosion, land degradation, pollution, CO2 emission, or social and economic developments that might lead to negative environmental consequences etc.) and how this issue was presented in your local areas and how it could be managed more effectively. This writing will be due by Friday of week 6.
- Writing #2 should describe and discuss the conservation state of an endangered species or an ecosystem (or a national park, a protected area, a natural and cultural heritage or a kind of natural resource etc.) and how it could be conserved better. This piece of writing is due by Friday of week 10.
Detailed instructions will be provided in the unit's moodle site.
2
The due dates and times for each forum are noted above.
Each of the assessment will be marked and returned in two weeks after its due date
Each piece of the writings will be assessed on basis of: 1) the quality of description and reflection of the issue; and 2) the ability to relate what have been learnt from the unit to the issues or situations of study.
See details marking criteria in the Moodle site of the unit.
- Explain the international and legal contexts for Australian government environment reporting;
- Identify and evaluate specific conservation issues in Australia.
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
3 Written Assessment
Write a term research paper about a choosing environmental issue of Australia. In the paper, you should apply the PSR (Pressure-State-Response) model or equivalent frameworks to examine the issue and discuss
- causes (or drivers) of the issue
- conditions and trends of the issue
- current management (or conservation) efforts
The paper should be 2,000 -2,500 words in length (The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.)
Week 12 Friday (5 June 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
Online submission
The assessment will be marked and returned in two weeks or as soon as practicable through the Moodle site.
Your paper will be assessed on the basis of:
- development of ideas
- quality of environmental analysis, including application of the PSR model
- quality of the research evidence
- quality of written expression and presentation.
See more details of marking criteria in the unit's Moodle site.
- Explain the international and legal contexts for Australian government environment reporting;
- Identify and evaluate specific conservation issues in Australia.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
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?
