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SCIE28003 - Sustainability Issues and Solutions

General Information

Unit Synopsis

The impacts of human populations on the natural environment have been extensively studied but little progress has been made to improve the sustainability of our lifestyle due to the complex interactions among social, economic and environmental imperatives. In Sustainability Issues and Solutions you will investigate the impact of human activities on a range of living and non-living, renewable and non-renewable natural resources. By applying 'Systems Thinking' you will practice developing solutions that are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. On completion of this unit you will have a broad appreciation of the balances underpinning both temporal and spatial variation in sustainability and human efforts to control these.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Undergraduate Courses: Completion of 72 credit points.  
Postgraduate Courses: nil prerequisites.

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2024

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 1 - 2024

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).

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Group Discussion 20%
2. Written Assessment 30%
3. Written Assessment 50%

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

Past Exams

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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.

Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Discuss the economic, ethical and ecological issues associated with the sustainable utilisation of the earth's renewable and non-renewable natural resources
  2. Explain the importance of systems thinking and an understanding of temporal and spatial scales and feedback loops in determining solutions to sustainable management of resources
  3. Discuss the shortcomings in our understanding and acceptance of the processes that lead to sustainability
  4. Develop a range of possible strategies that would help to ensure the sustainable utilisation of natural resources.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Group Discussion • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
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 • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8