Students

ENVS1018 – Environmental Management for a Changing World

2024 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Alexandra Ralph
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit explores human interactions with the environment through the lens of sustainability and connectivity; concepts that are central to environmental management in our ever-changing world. It will help students to understand their environment from social and scientific viewpoints and will demonstrate how an interdisciplinary approach to environmental management is integral to human and ecosystem health. Current, real-world examples from terrestrial and marine ecosystems, social systems, atmospheric and climate systems, and their dynamic interplay encourage critical thinking about environmental management issues in Australia and globally. This unit is designed for students who care about the environment and the world's future and will lay firm foundations for a range of environmental and geographical studies.

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: Define the core concepts of environmental management, including society, environment, sustainability and connectivity.
  • ULO2: Describe examples of the ways that population, environment and resources interact to affect human societies and ecosystems, from local to global scales.
  • ULO3: Utilise maps, graphs and other forms of environmental and social data to analyse the key relationships in environmental and human systems.
  • ULO4: Critically review information relating to environmental management issues and communicate the results to a target audience.
  • ULO5: Demonstrate foundational learning skills including active engagement in the learning process.

General Assessment Information

Requirements 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. 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 

  • All assessments – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies (as above).

 

 

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 https://ask.mq.edu.au/

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online quiz 15% No Quiz 1a: 20th August; Quiz 1b: 17th Sept; Quiz 1c: 29th Oct.
Data analysis 30% No 2024-08-30
Podcast 25% No 2024-10-04
Poster 30% No 2024-11-01

Online quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 13 hours
Due: Quiz 1a: 20th August; Quiz 1b: 17th Sept; Quiz 1c: 29th Oct.
Weighting: 15%

 

Online quizzes covering key concepts

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Define the core concepts of environmental management, including society, environment, sustainability and connectivity.
  • Critically review information relating to environmental management issues and communicate the results to a target audience.
  • Demonstrate foundational learning skills including active engagement in the learning process.

Data analysis

Assessment Type 1: Quantitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 2024-08-30
Weighting: 30%

 

Analysis and interpretation of environmental data

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Define the core concepts of environmental management, including society, environment, sustainability and connectivity.
  • Describe examples of the ways that population, environment and resources interact to affect human societies and ecosystems, from local to global scales.
  • Utilise maps, graphs and other forms of environmental and social data to analyse the key relationships in environmental and human systems.
  • Critically review information relating to environmental management issues and communicate the results to a target audience.

Podcast

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 2024-10-04
Weighting: 25%

 

Podcast focusing on current environmental issues

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Define the core concepts of environmental management, including society, environment, sustainability and connectivity.
  • Describe examples of the ways that population, environment and resources interact to affect human societies and ecosystems, from local to global scales.
  • Utilise maps, graphs and other forms of environmental and social data to analyse the key relationships in environmental and human systems.
  • Critically review information relating to environmental management issues and communicate the results to a target audience.

Poster

Assessment Type 1: Poster
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 2024-11-01
Weighting: 30%

 

Poster and interpretation on the topic of: Solutions for contemporary environmental crises

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Define the core concepts of environmental management, including society, environment, sustainability and connectivity.
  • Describe examples of the ways that population, environment and resources interact to affect human societies and ecosystems, from local to global scales.
  • Utilise maps, graphs and other forms of environmental and social data to analyse the key relationships in environmental and human systems.
  • Critically review information relating to environmental management issues and communicate the results to a target audience.

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

All classes commence in Week 1, including both lectures and small group teaching activities.

 

 

Methods of Communication

 

We will communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. Announcements will also be repeated in the weekly lectures. Please check your Macquarie University student email address regularly. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn.

 

 

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 connect.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 the Service Connect Portal, 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.

In response to student feedback, the hurdle assessment task (weekly practical attendance and blogs) has been removed for this offering of ENVS1018.

We will continue to strive to improve the level of support and the level of student engagement.


Unit information based on version 2024.02 of the Handbook