Overview
This unit is a survey of contemporary issues related to emergency and disaster management, with a focus on those issues that have particular resonance for you and your specific industry context. From the broader pool of identified issues, you will select one contemporary emergency or disaster management related issue of interest and investigate that issue in some depth. Based on your investigation, you will then identify future directions and recommendations, and communicate your findings in a genre that is appropriate to the academic community and your specific industry context.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisite is PMSC13008 Evaluating Emergency Services Risks.
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 - 2019
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 Discussion with student and self-reflection
Number of assessment items
Decrease the number of assessment pieces and re-distribute assessment requirements across three pieces of assessment (instead of four).
Feedback from Discussion with student and self-reflection
Learning resources
Continue to monitor learning resources to ensure relevance and support for students.
- Identify a contemporary issue impacting the emergency or disaster management contexts
- Locate appropriate peer-reviewed literature and industry-based literature relevant to a contemporary emergency or disaster management issue
- Critique literature relevant to an identified issue
- Evaluate the located literature in order to formulate future directions and recommendations for addressing the identified issue
- Communicate findings and directions in a genre that is appropriate to the academic community and the specific emergency or disaster management context.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | |||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 40% | |||||
| 3 - Presentation - 40% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 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 - 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 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Presentation - 40% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom capacity (web cam and microphone)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
h.keendyer@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Stage One: Selecting and preparing a topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Classroom Drop-in Session – Introduction and Unit Overview (Wednesday 6.45 to 7.15pm AEST)
Module/Topic
Stage One: Selecting and preparing a topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Stage One: Selecting and preparing a topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Classroom Drop-in Session (Wednesday 6.45 to 7.15pm AEST)
Module/Topic
Stage Two: Reviewing the literature for the topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Stage Two: Reviewing the literature for the topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Stage Two: Reviewing the literature for the topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Stage Two: Reviewing the literature for the topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Classroom Drop-in Session (Wednesday 6.45 to 7.15pm AEST)
Module/Topic
Stage Two: Reviewing the literature for the topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Stage Three: Refining and presenting your topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Stage Three: Refining and presenting your topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Stage Three: Refining and presenting your topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Classroom Drop-in Session (Wednesday 6.45 to 7.15pm AEST)
Module/Topic
Stage Three: Refining and presenting your topic (burning interest)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
In assessment task one, you will select a topic (a burning interest) and write a short overview.
The topic you select will be the one you will use for all assessment work, so please carefully consider your choice. You can pick any emergency or disaster management related topic, which you consider is both important to the context you work (or volunteer) in and one that can be improved upon, that is, you can make recommendations for enhancement (addressed in a later task).
In this topic overview, you will a) describe the topic, b) identify the search strategy you used to find relevant literature, c) identify how the preliminary literature you sourced informed your topic selection, and d) argue why the chosen topic (burning interest) is important to your particular context.
Assessment task one is approximately 650 - 800 words (approx.) and must be supported by appropriate literature.
Week 4 Friday (9 Aug 2019) 4:00 pm AEST
Week 6 Friday (30 Aug 2019)
The assessment criteria for this unit are in the form of a detailed rubric, which is available from the Moodle site. However, broadly you will be assessed on:
- Knowledge of contemporary emergency or disaster management related issues, with depth in a selected topic
- Application of knowledge and skills in relation to the selected topic
- Communication and presentation
- Identify a contemporary issue impacting the emergency or disaster management contexts
- Locate appropriate peer-reviewed literature and industry-based literature relevant to a contemporary emergency or disaster management issue
- Critique literature relevant to an identified issue
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Written Assessment
In assessment task two, you will expand on your topic overview and produce a short literature review (for the topic you selected in assessment task one). The literature review is your description and analysis of the available literature and should help reinforce the key ideas and concepts related to your interest and the reasons why your topic is important. It should also make a summary comment about the recommendations that are made within the literature you have selected.
Your submission should have at least 10 (maximum is 15) references. A vast majority of the references should be peer-reviewed articles, but some may be non-peer reviewed sources, such as books/book chapters, government documents, news articles, non-peer-reviewed articles and/or web pages.
Assessment task two will be approximately 1500 - 2000 words (approx.).
Week 8 Friday (13 Sept 2019) 4:00 pm AEST
Week 10 Friday (27 Sept 2019)
The assessment criteria for this unit are in the form of a detailed rubric, which is available from the Moodle site. However, broadly you will be assessed on:
- Knowledge of the literature related to contemporary emergency or disaster management issues, with depth in a selected topic
- Knowledge of the elements that relate to a selected topic
- Application of the literature relevant to a selected topic
- Communication and presentation
- Locate appropriate peer-reviewed literature and industry-based literature relevant to a contemporary emergency or disaster management issue
- Critique literature relevant to an identified issue
- Evaluate the located literature in order to formulate future directions and recommendations for addressing the identified issue
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
3 Presentation
In assessment task three, you will bring the threads of your overview and literature review together and deliver a presentation related to your chosen topic. As such, this assessment has both a written and an audio component.
Part 1) Written component – the written component takes the form of an abstract (like the ones in the journal articles you drew on for your literature review) and a copy of your PowerPoint slides (which you will use for as the basis of your presentation).
Your abstract will include four components (approximately 250 - 300 words), including:
- Your topic and why it is important
- Summary statement of the relevant literature
- Broad recommendation(s) for enhancement
- How the enhancement(s) are envisaged to improve practice/ an aspect of your context
Your PowerPoint presentation can have a maximum of 15 slides. The first slide should include the title and your name. The last slide will be a reference list.
Part 2) Audio component – the audio component is an MP3 file of your presentation. The presentation itself is an extrapolation (expanded discussion of the topic) and verbal presentation of the abstract you submitted in part 1. The audio presentation can be a maximum of 10 minutes.
Week 12 Friday (11 Oct 2019) 4:00 pm AEST
Exam Week Friday (25 Oct 2019)
The assessment criteria for this unit are in the form of a detailed rubric, which is available from the Moodle site. However broadly, you will be assessed on:
- Knowledge of the literature related to contemporary emergency or disaster management related issues, with depth in a selected topic
- Ability to analyse a selected topic and relevant literature in order to make a recommendation for enhancement
- Ability to communicate (present) the topic and literature relevant to a selected topic
- Communication and presentation
- Evaluate the located literature in order to formulate future directions and recommendations for addressing the identified issue
- Communicate findings and directions in a genre that is appropriate to the academic community and the specific emergency or disaster management context.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology 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?
