Students

GEOP3020 – Disasters and Resilient Communities

2024 – Session 2, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, lecturer, tutor
Fiona Miller
fiona.miller@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
Arts Precinct, Wallys Walk 25B, Room B264
By appointment only
Lecturer, tutor
Richard Carter-White
richard.carter-white@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Disasters and extreme events, such as storms, floods, disease or bushfires, cause significant social, economic and environmental upheaval that directly affects people and places around the world. Resilience refers to the capacity of communities to anticipate, prepare and adapt to the risk of disaster and respond and recover when events occur. In the context of rapid climate change and ecological degradation, it is becoming increasingly urgent that communities plan for disaster and develop resilience strategies. This unit examines the social and biophysical origins of contemporary disasters, how disasters unfold at a range of sites and scales, how they are shaped by diverse geographies and vulnerabilities, the limits of community resilience, and how resilience can be improved. Contemporary cases from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region will be used to highlight key issues and policy debates. Overall, the unit will provide an understanding in both theory and practice about the ways in which communities respond to disaster and allow students to develop the skills and knowledge needed to pursue more resilient futures.

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: Identify and discuss the causes and consequences of contemporary disasters
  • ULO2: Engage with and critique the concepts of vulnerability and resilience in theory and practice
  • ULO3: Evaluate projects and policies that seek to create more resilient futures
  • ULO4: Synthesise data from the social and environmental sciences to assess disaster risks and develop strategies to improve local community resilience
  • ULO5: Communicate to diverse audiences using appropriately selected written, oral and visual means

General Assessment Information

Late Submission Penalty

Circumstances that affect your ability to complete assignments by the deadline must be discussed with the convenor (Fiona) prior to the due date. Extensions will be granted only in unforeseen or exceptional circumstances according to the University Special Consideration policy. Students must apply online via AskMQ and provide appropriate supporting documentation (e.g. medical certificate).

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 non-time sensitive assessment (incl. essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special Consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Logbook 20% No Part A Wk4 14/08/2024, 23:59; Part B Wk10 9/10/2024, 23:59
Essay 30% No Wk8 11/09/2024 (23:59)
Resilience strategy report and presentation 50% No Online presentations wks12&13; Report due 23/10/24

Logbook

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Part A Wk4 14/08/2024, 23:59; Part B Wk10 9/10/2024, 23:59
Weighting: 20%

 

A logbook with written reflections about the connections between disasters and resilience, drawing on media reports of Australian and Asia-Pacific case studies

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify and discuss the causes and consequences of contemporary disasters
  • Engage with and critique the concepts of vulnerability and resilience in theory and practice
  • Communicate to diverse audiences using appropriately selected written, oral and visual means

Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Wk8 11/09/2024 (23:59)
Weighting: 30%

 

1500 word essay drawing connections between disasters and resilient communities

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify and discuss the causes and consequences of contemporary disasters
  • Engage with and critique the concepts of vulnerability and resilience in theory and practice
  • Evaluate projects and policies that seek to create more resilient futures

Resilience strategy report and presentation

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: Online presentations wks12&13; Report due 23/10/24
Weighting: 50%

 

2000 word report and short presentation developing a resilience strategy for a case study area

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify and discuss the causes and consequences of contemporary disasters
  • Engage with and critique the concepts of vulnerability and resilience in theory and practice
  • Evaluate projects and policies that seek to create more resilient futures
  • Synthesise data from the social and environmental sciences to assess disaster risks and develop strategies to improve local community resilience
  • Communicate to diverse audiences using appropriately selected written, oral and visual means

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

Lectures

Lectures will be delivered face to face and be recorded and available via Echo360 on iLearn.

Tutorials

GEOP3020 has a full schedule of online and on-campus tutorials that enhance your general and discipline-specific skills and knowledge. It is important that you attend all tutorials for GEOP3020. Please register for your tutorial via eStudent, and attend the same tutorial each week.

Recommended Texts and/or Materials

Weekly readings will be assigned during the session and may be accessed via iLearn.

Additionally, the following texts will be useful throughout the semester:

Bankoff, G., Frerks, F. & Hilhorst, D. (Eds.) (2004) Mapping Vulnerability: Disasters, Development and People. Earthscan: London.

Krüger, F., Bankoff, G., Cannon, T., Orlowski, B. & Schipper, E. L. F. (2015) Cultures and Disasters: Understanding Cultural Framings in Disaster Risk Reduction. Routledge: London and New York.

Lukasiewicz, A. & Baldwin, C. (2020) Natural Hazards and Disaster Justice. Springer Nature Singapore: Singapore.

Wisner, B., Blaikie, P., Cannon, T. & Davis, I. (2004) At Risk: Natural Hazards, People's Vulnerability and Disasters (2nd Edition). Routledge: London.

Wisner, B., Gaillard, J. C. & Kelman, I. (2012) Handbook of Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction. Routledge: London.

Unit webpage

The webpage for this unit can be found at iLearn, the Macquarie University online learning system at https://ilearn.mq.edu.au. iLearn has both a discussion board and an internal email system. The webpage will provide you with access to lectures through the University's echo360 lecture recording facility, as well as to follow-up discussion, links, readings and forum discussions. Access to the website is essential to complete GEOP3020.

Unit Schedule

GEOP3020 consists of the following modules:

1. Introduction

2. Guiding concepts

3. Assessing vulnerability

4. Disaster mitigation

5. Disaster recovery

6. Resilience strategies

7. Review and conclusion

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.

Unit information based on version 2024.02 of the Handbook