GEOG 1104 - Intro to Geography, Environment & Population

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2018

The study of geography, population and environment tend to be treated quite separately, but there are strong and important relationships between them. This course focuses on these interactions and explores their implications for Australia's and the planet's future. Key geographical concepts such as space, place and the relationship between people and place are introduced. The contemporary dynamics of population growth, composition and spatial distribution are examined and analysed and the role environmental factors have had in shaping them is explored. Equally too, the impact of population on geographical environments is examined. The constraints that environmental factors, especially water, have placed on the development of the Australian population are investigated, along with the likely influence of future climate change. A particular focus is the changing spatial distribution of the population with issues like urbanisation, 'sea change' and rural depopulation and their inter-relationship with the environment being explored. An important focus is on internal and international migration's influence in changing the population size, structure and distribution and how it affects, and is affected by, the environment. Indigenous Australians and their special relationship with the environment is discussed separately. The course will give students a solid introductory grounding in the key concepts in and relationships between geography, environment and population.

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Course Details

Course Code	GEOG 1104
Course	Intro to Geography, Environment & Population
Coordinating Unit	Geography, Environment and Population
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Incompatible	GEST 1004
Assessment	Tutorial paper (15%), tutorial participation (10%), essay (35%), exam (40%)

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Melissa Nursey-Bray

Dr Dianne Rudd -course co-ordinator

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Two 1 hour lectures per week
1 hour tutorial

Course Learning Outcomes

1. An understanding of the scale and nature of the population and environment relationship in Australia
2. An understanding of the processes underlying demographic change and the range of theories which explain those changes
3. An understanding of the spatial distribution of Australia’s population and its relationship with environment, exploring the special case of the indigenous population and the likely impact of climate change.
4. An understanding of urban and rural change and the increasing movement of population to coastal locations (‘sea change’)
5. To assess policies at national, state and local levels which impinge upon the population–environment relationship.
6. Ability to present arguments with high quality written and verbal skills
7. Interdisciplinary problem –solving skills

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1-4
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	5-7
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	6,7
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1-7
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	6,7
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	5-7

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Although there is no prescribed text for this course as there is no one book that deals with the Population and Environment relationship in Australia which has tended to be a relatively neglected area of research. Data sources and literature have been compiled and are available on MyUni for easy student access. The Australian Bureau of Statistics provides important census data on Australia’s population and it distribution in the form of publications and online material.
http://www.abs.gov.au/

Recommended Resources

Prescribed reading and access to computer so can link to websites

Online Learning

MYUNI will be used for course-related announcements, emails, information about weekly tutorial assignments and readings. Major essay topics set readings and essay writing guide.

Learning & Teaching Modes

Lectures followed up by tutorials on related topics providing readings as specified. Topics coincide with GEP Lecturers who teach specific modules in the course to showcase their specialities and the davanced courses they teach.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

2 x 1-hour lectures (or equivalent) per week	24 hours per semester
1 x 1-hour tutorial (or equivalent) per week	12 hours per semester
6 hours exam and assignment preparation per week	72 hours per semester
4 hours reading/research per week	48 hours per semester
TOTAL WORKLOAD	156 hours per semester

Learning Activities Summary

Lecture Topics

Introduction: Population and its global importance
Australia’s Changing Population
Global International Migration
Australia’s Population Distribution and internal migration
South Australia’s population
The population: environment Debate in Australia
Coastal development and the Environment
Indigenous population and the environment
Population and Environment: poverty & globalisation
Cities: Growth and Change
Population & Environment: knowledge and gender
Cities: Environmental Issues and Impacts
Economic Growth and Population
Policy Responses to Climate Change
Climate and Migration
Population and Water
Climate and Australia’s Population
Climate change – future impact
Population, environment and development
Environmental migration
Population, Environment and Health
Population, Environment and Social change
Research and Policy Issues
Exam Summary

Specific Course Requirements

Students are advised to attend lectures and the tutorials each week that follow each of the modules.
Set work for assessment plus exam

Small Group Discovery Experience

This course is designed to encourage discussion around issues pertaining to population and the environment in the context of Australia and small group discovery around interpretation of the data and literature. Tutorials are broken up into groups of 4-5 to discuss the set tutorial questions and then report to group at the end.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

The assessments for this course are designed to ensure students can demonstrate their learning of the key issues and concepts, but also that they build their skills in certain modes of assessment. These skills include: (i) written skills (assessment 1), (ii) content learning and research (assessment 2), verbal, oral and aural skills (ongoing tute and SGDE assessment) and digital media and synthesis skills (Assessment 3 - Poster).

Students will be offered the opportunity to have formative feedback on their assessments followed by the chance to amend/revise prior to final submission, and a skills lecture/session will be conducted for every piece of assessment so students know/are clear on what is expected by the Coordinator, and also what is considered high quality work and what would be considered poor quality. This will help students do their best work.

Assessment 1: Tutorial summary paper 750 words: 25%,

Students will be required to write a short summary paper on one of the key concepts explored in the first three weeks. It is expected that students will use/refer to at least 3 articles they have read on their selected topic. The papers need to be submitted by the beginning of week four. Students will receive feedback on/grades for their work by the end of week 5.

Tutorials and lectures will be structured to assist students to do this work.

Assessment 2: Take Home Exam: 40 %

This exam will be delivered and completed in Week 8 of the Semester. It will be a take home exam that studetns will submit to Canvas by the due date. Students will be provided with a lecture session that takes them through the exam and practice what a good answer looks like.

The aim of the exam is to evaluate students’ understanding of the key concepts in the relationship between Geography, Environment and Population. The exam will be in two sections of equal value. One short answer section covering the tutorial topics to date, and the other requiring longer essay answers relating to overall course content. The second section will test student understanding of the key concepts within the course.

Assessment 3: Poster Presentation: 25 %

In the last week, students will be required to develop and present a poster in their tutorial session. The posters will need to be on one of the topics set by the Coordinator.

The aim of this assessment is to develop skills in digital presentation and build research capacity - the posters must be able to present evidence based facts but in a way that is credible and visually appealing.

Ongoing Tutorial Participation and completion of SGDE activities 10 %:

During the lectures and in the tutes, students will be asked to undertake a series of activities which will be designed to assess ongoing learning of what are the key issues discussed throughout the course. Development of oral and aural skills will be the focus of this ongoing assessment/learning.

Please note that although this allocation may only be 10%, we have found that students who commit to regular attendance and engage with the course via active participation, often get up to 10/10 for this assessment and that this makes/can make the difference of up to a grade level if done well (i.e pass to credit, credit to distinction etc).

Assessment Related Requirements

Must sit the exam even if assessment totals 50%

Assessment Detail

Tutorial Participation 10 %, Tutorial paper 500 words 15%

Essay 2000 words 35 %

Exam (2 hours)-40 %

Submission

Online submission on MyUni -Information available upon enrolment.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator