Students

ENVS8519 – Environmental Health

2023 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convener
Associate Professor Paul Beggs
paul.beggs@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
12 Wally's Walk, Office 224
By appointment
Lecturer
Edward Archer
edward.archer@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
12 Wally’s Walk, Office 230
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MEnv or MSc or GradDipEnv or GradCertEnv or MEnvPlan or MPlan or MPH or MSusDev or GradDipSusDev or GradCertSusDev or GradCertDevStudGlobalHlth or MWldMgt or MMarScMgt or MConsBiol or GradDipConsBiol or MDevStud or MScInnovationEnvSc
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit explores those aspects of human health determined by physical, chemical, biological and social components of the environment. The unit explores this relationship through a broad range of local, regional, national and international topics including the interrelationships between physical, biological and socio-economic environments; population and environmental health measures and methods; identifying the causes, impacts and mitigation of environmental hazards; the regulatory framework covering various aspects of local and national environmental health; and emerging issues in environmental health such as climate change and globalisation.

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:

  • ULO2: Evaluate information in key environmental health reports, journals, and internet resources, and contribute to the public discourse on a range of environmental health issues
  • ULO1: Demonstrate a broad understanding and knowledge of the nature of environmental health issues at different geographic scales - local, regional, national and global.
  • ULO3: Prepare and present a detailed research investigation on a specific environmental health topic.
  • ULO4: Demonstrate critical, analytical and integrative thinking through class discussions, problem-solving activities and written tasks
  • ULO5: Explain the interdisciplinary nature of the skills and knowledge employed by environmental health professionals in the context of other units of study.

General Assessment Information

 

Requirement to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit you must:

  • Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%.

Late Assessment Submission Penalty 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm (except your presentation slides which are due at 11am on the presentation due date - Monday of Week 12). A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration. 

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted 

  • Assessment Task 1 – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 
  • Assessment Task 2 – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies
  • Assessment Task 3 - NO, unless Special Consideration is Granted

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Task 1 - Research literature review 30% No Friday 25 August 2023
Task 2 - Research project report 50% No Friday 20 October 2023
Task 3 - Class presentation 20% No Monday 23 October 2023

Task 1 - Research literature review

Assessment Type 1: Literature review
Indicative Time on Task 2: 22.5 hours
Due: Friday 25 August 2023
Weighting: 30%

 

The research literature review is the first of three related components that comprise the major assessment for ENVS8519 - which is to undertake an original investigation into a contemporary environmental health topic drawn from any of the ENVS8519 lecture topics.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate information in key environmental health reports, journals, and internet resources, and contribute to the public discourse on a range of environmental health issues
  • Demonstrate a broad understanding and knowledge of the nature of environmental health issues at different geographic scales - local, regional, national and global.

Task 2 - Research project report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 37.5 hours
Due: Friday 20 October 2023
Weighting: 50%

 

The project report will present the results of your research and investigation into the topic.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate information in key environmental health reports, journals, and internet resources, and contribute to the public discourse on a range of environmental health issues
  • Prepare and present a detailed research investigation on a specific environmental health topic.
  • Demonstrate critical, analytical and integrative thinking through class discussions, problem-solving activities and written tasks

Task 3 - Class presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Monday 23 October 2023
Weighting: 20%

 

The oral presentation and background slide will provide a summary of your research project communicating key ideas and issues.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate information in key environmental health reports, journals, and internet resources, and contribute to the public discourse on a range of environmental health issues
  • Explain the interdisciplinary nature of the skills and knowledge employed by environmental health professionals in the context of other units of study.

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

Please note that the classes for this unit commence in Week 1 of Session 2, 11:00am to 2:00pm Monday 24 July 2023 in 14 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Ave - 100 Theatrette.

Methods of Communication

We will communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. You are expected to monitor these on a daily basis. Queries to the Unit Convenor and Lecturer can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the Unit Convenor or Lecturer via the contact email on iLearn and in this Unit Guide.

COVID Information

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.

 

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.

Changes from Previous Offering

We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.

Student feedback from the previous offering of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from teaching staff. As such, no change to the delivery of the unit is planned, however we will continue to strive to improve the level of support and the level of student engagement.

Unit information based on version 2023.01R of the Handbook