Students

PICT2013 – Crisis Management and Disaster Relief

2022 – Session 2, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Vincent Hurley
vincent.hurley@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
50cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit explores the concept of national resilience. It identifies the role of government in preparing for, managing and recovering from a broad range of crises. The unit begins with an overview of risk reduction strategies and introduces the concept of contingency planning. It then examines the various kinds of crisis response capabilities that government develop, including interagency and state-federal coordination procedures, interoperability of equipment and ADF domestic counterterrorism capabilities. The unit then discusses emergency coordination and management in a variety of contexts, including natural disasters, a large-scale mass transit accident, a nuclear, chemical or biological incident, a viral epidemic, a terrorist attack and critical infrastructure failure. Finally, the unit examines planning for national resilience capacity, the ability to recover from unexpected and debilitating crises. These potent threats to national security are outside the threat-centric concept of homeland security and require a more risk-based approach to planning and preparation.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

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

  • ULO1: Explain the concept of resilience as it applies to national security, preparedness planning, crisis response and emergency management
  • ULO2: Identify key threats to and vulnerabilities of critical national infrastructure
  • ULO3: Apply risk analysis models to a range of crisis response options available to government or business organisations
  • ULO4: Prioritise resilience planning tasks in accordance with business continuity principles appropriate to private and public sector organisations
  • ULO5: Critically evaluate coordination mechanisms between levels of government, across public and private organisations and among private sector organisations
  • ULO6: Employ emergency management principles to assess the applicability of coordination methods for different crisis scenarios.

General Assessment Information

 

New Late penalty statement

 Late Assessment Submission Penalty Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to written reports and recordings only. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Risk Assessment Exercise 20% No 11.55pm Sunday 28th August
Quiz on Weeks 2 - 7 15% No 10am Sunday 18th - 10pm Sunday 25th September
Essay 50% No 11.55pm Sunday 23rd October
Quiz on Weeks 8 - 11 15% No 10am Sunday 30th October - 10pm Sunday 6th November

Risk Assessment Exercise

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 11.55pm Sunday 28th August
Weighting: 20%

 

This assessment task is a written exercise that draws upon research to examine the process of risk assessment.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify key threats to and vulnerabilities of critical national infrastructure

Quiz on Weeks 2 - 7

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 10am Sunday 18th - 10pm Sunday 25th September
Weighting: 15%

 

Multi choice quiz will capture the key theories, concepts and practical application of both readings and master lecture content. The readings and master class information form the basis of Crisis Management and Disaster Relief for students.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the concept of resilience as it applies to national security, preparedness planning, crisis response and emergency management
  • Apply risk analysis models to a range of crisis response options available to government or business organisations
  • Prioritise resilience planning tasks in accordance with business continuity principles appropriate to private and public sector organisations
  • Employ emergency management principles to assess the applicability of coordination methods for different crisis scenarios.

Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 41 hours
Due: 11.55pm Sunday 23rd October
Weighting: 50%

 

Produce a 1500 word essay that answers one of six essay questions posted to iLearn.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the concept of resilience as it applies to national security, preparedness planning, crisis response and emergency management
  • Prioritise resilience planning tasks in accordance with business continuity principles appropriate to private and public sector organisations
  • Critically evaluate coordination mechanisms between levels of government, across public and private organisations and among private sector organisations

Quiz on Weeks 8 - 11

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 10am Sunday 30th October - 10pm Sunday 6th November
Weighting: 15%

 

Multi choice quiz will capture the key theories, concepts and practical application of both readings and master lecture content. The readings and master class information form the basis of Crisis Management and Disaster Relief for students.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the concept of resilience as it applies to national security, preparedness planning, crisis response and emergency management
  • Identify key threats to and vulnerabilities of critical national infrastructure
  • Critically evaluate coordination mechanisms between levels of government, across public and private organisations and among private sector organisations
  • Employ emergency management principles to assess the applicability of coordination methods for different crisis scenarios.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Resources are in ilearn, readings & websites

Unit Schedule

Week 1 - Introduction & National EM Arrangements

Week 2 - Legislative Responsibilities of Combat Agencies

Week 3 - What is Critical Infrastructure? What is Risk Assessment?

Week 4 - What does it mean to have a resilient state during a pandemic?

Week 5 - Disaster Preparation Ebola Outbreak

Week 6 - NZ Christchurch Earthquake. EM Disaster Logistics

Week 7 - Why Does Emergency Management and Response Fail?

Week 8 - Essay Q & A

Week 9 - EM & supply chain continuity during Covid

Week 10 - What Do Emergency Managers Do?

Week 11 - Institutional trust in government in EM

Week 12 - Public - Private Sector in EM during Covid

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2022.04 of the Handbook