GSE807 Environmental Measurement and Analysis
About this Unit
Semester 1, 2008
Offered: D1 - Day; First Half-Year (Week-long field trip plus one evening session)
Convenor: Dr Ken Cussen
Prerequisite: Completion of 4 units of program (including GSE803 OR Permission of Head of Department) Permission will be granted if the student has a science based degree
Credit points: 4
This is an eight day field unit which provides an integrated view of environmental issues of a particular region and the methods that might be used to assess and manage them. The region studied will normally be outside the Sydney metropolitan area.T
he objectives of this Unit are to allow students to
- Gain experience, and develop skills, in field data collection and analysis.
- Link data sets and disciplinary perspectives on a broadly defined problem.
- Identify and define the implications of the data sets for management policies.
- Form professional networks with other students.
Teaching Staff
Convenor: Dr Ken Cussen
Contributors:
Megan Kessler - Aquatic Ecology
Dr Trish Fanning - Terrestrial Ecology
Prof. Brian Gulson - Water Quality
Jessica Mercer - Social Analysis
Dr Ros Taplin - Integrative Management
Classes
The contact hours of this unit consist of one pre-fieldtrip meeting and the field trip.
The pre-field trip meeting will be held on 7 March 2008, 6:30pm - 9:00pm in E8A 386. If you are absent from this meeting without prior arrangement you will be excluded from the field trip. This meeting will be used to explain the arrangements in more detail, organise a carpool, etc and to introduce you to the unit and to the staff members who will be attending the field trip. Staff will outline the proposed field and data analysis methods to be undertaken for their particular area of responsibility at the meeting.
The field trip will be held from Saturday April 5 to Saturday April 12, 2008 at the University of Canberra field station at Jervis Bay.
Unit web page
There is no web page for this unit.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit you should have satisfied yourself and the convenor that you are able to:
- Participate fruitfully in a wide variety of types of teamwork
- Participate fruitfully in teamwork in analysing and assessing field-based data
- Integrate and assess data from a wide variety of sources including field-based data, literature, interviews and social surveys etc.
- Take an active part in preparing and presenting a summary of results in the field
- Write a cogent, thorough and well-structured report, integrating data from a variety of disciplines.
Teaching and Learning Strategy
Field trip Saturday April 5 - Saturday April 12, 2008
We have selected Jervis Bay and its catchment on the south coast as the focus for the fieldwork. It is an area that is facing many of the environmental problems and issues common to coastal regions outside the major metropolitan areas. The impact of future population growth in the region is of particular concern. The work that we do will contribute directly to the understanding of these problems and the development of management protocols to deal with them. Students will gain experience in field data collection in a range of discipline areas and will learn how to integrate those data sets to provide meaningful contributions to management decisions by State and Local Government authorities and community groups.
The specific task: In previous years the task has been to prepare a State of the environment report focussing on specific issues, or to prepare a report as input to management options. This year we will look at the effectiveness of foreshore management arrangements.
Organisation
The field trip will commence at 3:00pm on Saturday April 5, 2008 at the University of Canberra Field Station at Jervis Bay within the Commonwealth Jervis Bay Territory and will finish at 10:30am on Saturday April 12, 2008. Students must make their own arrangements for transport to and from the field station. To assist, a car pool will be initiated at the pre-fieldtrip meeting. Therefore it is very important that every student attend the meeting.
Each student will be assigned to two different groups. One, the Field Groups (day groups), will be for field activities and the other, the Data Groups (evening groups), will be to analyse the data collected during the week by all Field Groups. In other words, activities in the field will be carried out in Field Groups while the drawing together of, and reporting on, the data collected by the various Field Groups will be carried out in Data Groups. Each Data Group will be made up of one or two people drawn from each Field Group. This will allow a mix of experiences and perspectives to be brought to the Data Groups, as well as representation from each day to assist in keeping data analysis up to date.
Each member of the class will be assigned to a Field Group and to a Data Group at the pre-field meeting. A staff member will be responsible for one of the five different aspects of fieldwork conducted on any one day, and will guide the appropriate Data Group. Field Groups will be assigned to a series of activities on successive days where they will collect and analyse information on a variety of topics. These may include
- management issues with Ros Taplin
- water quality with Brian Gulson
- aquatic ecology with TBA
- social aspects with TBA
- geomorphology or terrestrial ecology with Trish Fanning
Data Groups will meet on the first evening of the field trip to develop strategies to be followed by the Field Groups. They will continue to meet each evening to bring together the material collected on each of the five days of field work (hence the need for some people from each activity on each day). The Data Group will integrate the data to present a coherent set of files for all students to access for use in the preparation of their reports.
On the last full day of the field trip (i.e. Friday April 11), each Data Group will make a short (20 minute maximum) presentation of the outcomes of the week?s work, including an assessment of the usefulness of the data to address the question of the likely impacts of future development in the study area. All files must be gathered onto one CD and given to the Convenor on Friday afternoon immediately after the presentations, April 11.
Interim Timetable
Saturday 5 April, 2008
3:00pm Arrive University of Canberra Field Station, Jervis Bay
4:30pm Orientation tour of area
6:00pm Dinner
7:30pm Briefing in Data Groups
| Field Group | Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field Work: Depart Field Station 8am, return 3:30pm | ||||||
| 1 | Management | Aquatic ecology | Social analysis | Water quality | Terrestial ecology | Workshops and data presentations |
| 2 | Aquatic ecology | Social analysis | Water quality | Terrestial ecology | Management | |
| 3 | Social analysis | Water quality | Terrestial ecology | Management | Aquatic ecology | |
| 4 | Water quality | Terrestial ecology | Management | Aquatic ecology | Social analysis | |
| 5 | Terrestial ecology | Management | Aquatic ecology | Social analysis | Water quality | |
| 7:30pm | Data Analysis | Data Analysis Lecture | Data Analysis | Data Analysis | BBQ | |
Saturday 12 April, 2008: Clean up, pack up and depart by 10:30am.
Accommodation
The Jervis Bay Field Station of the University of Canberra is located in Jervis Bay Village. It provides rooms each with double bunk beds, and there are male and female showers and toilets, and a large mess hall. Blankets and pillows are supplied but most find a sleeping bag essential. Bring your own pillowcase. Cutlery and utensils are also supplied, and the meals are fully catered.
However, the field station accommodates only 40 students plus staff, and additional students will need to organise accommodation outside the field station, either camping in the nearby Jervis Bay (Booderee) National Park, or at one of the local villages. If you are staying outside the field station, you have the option of self-catering.
Regardless of where you stay, you must be at the field station ready for an 8:00am sharp departure each morning, and there will be only a one hour meal break between 6:00pm and 7:00pm each night, with data analysis work commencing at 7:30pm sharp. Everyone is expected to attend the BBQ on the last night. You are therefore encouraged to eat at the field station, in which case you will need to pay for the meals component of the following charges.
Costs
Fieldtrip costs are unchanged in 2008. PLEASE NOTE THAT INTERNATIONAL FULL FEE-PAYING STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE TO PAY THIS AMOUNT AS IT IS INCLUDED IN THEIR FEES.
| Accommodation | $24 per night x 7 nights | $168 |
| Meals | 6 days @ $40 + 1 day @ $25 | $265 |
| Total | $433 |
|---|
A registration and payment form will be handed out at the pre-fieldtrip meeting. You can also download a payment form [pdf]
Payment by cash, EFTPOS, credit card or cheque (payable to Macquarie University) can be made using the payment form via the university Cashiers Office. Payment must be made by Friday 14March in order to reserve your place on the field trip.
Food
Breakfast:
Self serve with a sandwich bar set up for all to prepare their own lunches. Breakfast will comprise cereal, fruit, juice, toast and condiments. Students and staff shall attend to their own breakfast washing up.
Lunch:
Sandwich bread and rolls with a variety of fillings and condiments; a piece of fruit, cake or biscuit and a 'popper'. The caterer will clean and tidy the kitchen after breakfast.
Dinner:
The dinner menu will be as varied as possible. There will be 3 courses with vegetarian options (these must be pre-ordered, on the form that is distributed at the pre-trip meeting). Students and staff should clear their own tables quickly between each course and at the conclusion of the evening meal. The caterer will wash-up after dinner.
Vegetarian:
No meat, chicken or fish. Soya milk and Soya margarine will be available.
Non-vegetarian:
Pork (in the form of bacon) may be used in some non-vegetarian dishes.
Tea and coffee will be available all day (but bring your own if you like drinkable coffee!).
The first meal provided by the caterer will be dinner on the evening of Saturday April 5. The final meal will be breakfast on Saturday April 12.
Relationship between Assessment and Learning Outcomes
PLEASE NOTE: In order to successfully complete any GSE unit students must:
- attend at least 80% of scheduled lectures;
- attend and participate in all days of all scheduled field trips;
- complete all assignments or other assessment;
- reach a satisfactory postgraduate level of achievement in such assignments or other assessment as may be determined by the Head of the Graduate School.
There is no formal examination for this unit.
| Assessment | Max. Length | Marks | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation in fieldwork | 10% | 9:00am Monday 5 May at the ELS Centre |
|
| Presentations | 15 min | 20% | Presented on the fieldtrip |
| Individual report | 70% | 9:00am Monday 26 May at the ELS Centre |
Participation in fieldwork
Assessment of fieldwork participation will be by peer review. Each member of each Field Group will provide a mark out of 10, and a written assessment (maximum half a page) justifying that mark, reflecting the quality of the involvement of each other member of the group in the field work throughout the week. The final mark allocated to each student will be an average of the individual marks. Since it is very unlikely that every person in a group works at 100% of their capacity at all times, groups in which each member marks each other member 10/10 will be viewed with suspicion, and the convenor will ask for strong justification from each member.
Presentations
Each Data Group will give a presentation relating to their findings at the end of the trip on Friday April 11. All staff members will assess each presentation, and all members of the Data Group will receive the mean mark. One or all may speak, that is entirely up to the group. Presentations will be assessed as outlined on the handout. As the group is assessed as a whole, not individually, this is where teamwork will pay off!
Individual report
The specific focus of the task for this year has not been finally decided. This, and the final staffing arrangements, will be announced at the pre-trip meeting.
Assignment Submission
All assignments must be submitted to the appropriate assignment box for your unit. Assignment boxes are located in the reception area of the ELS Centre (Room 101), which is on the ground floor at the western end of building E7A.
The Centre opens from 8.30am to 5.30pm on Monday to Friday. There is also an after-hours assignment submission box at the door of E7A which faces the central university walkway. You can access a campus map to assist in locating the building.
All assignments are to be submitted by 9.00am on the date specified and must include a completed and signed coversheet stapled to the front cover. You can download an Assignment Cover Sheet. Please note that ELS Centre staff have requested that assignments are NOT placed in folders or plastic covers.
Plagiarism
The University defines plagiarism in its rules: "Plagiarism involves using the work of another person and presenting it as one's own." Plagiarism is a serious breach of the University's rules and carries significant penalties. You must read the University's practices and procedures on plagiarism. These can be found in the Handbook of Postgraduate Studies or on the web at: http://www.student.mq.edu.au/plagiarism/
The policies and procedures explain what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, the procedures that will be taken in cases of suspected plagiarism, and the penalties if you are found guilty. Penalties may include a deduction of marks, failure in the unit, and/or referral to the University Discipline Committee.
The GSE recommends that students familiarise themselves with the information contained on the Georgetown University Honor Council website which discusses plagiarism in an easy to understand and comprehensive manner.
University Policy on Grading
Academic Senate has a set of guidelines on the distribution of grades across the range from fail to high distinction. Your final result will include one of these grades plus a standardised numerical grade (SNG).
On occasion your raw mark for a unit (i.e., the total of your marks for each assessment item) may not be the same as the SNG which you receive. Under the Senate guidelines, results may be scaled to ensure that there is a degree of comparability across the university, so that units with the same past performances of their students should achieve similar results.
It is important that you realise that the policy does not require that a minimum number of students are to be failed in any unit. In fact it does something like the opposite, in requiring examiners to explain their actions if more than 20% of students fail in a unit.
The process of scaling does not change the order of marks among students. A student who receives a higher raw mark than another will also receive a higher final scaled mark.
For an explanation of the policy see:
http://senate.mq.edu.au/rules/Guidelines2003.doc or
http://senate.mq.edu.au/rules/detailedguidelines.doc
Student Support Services
Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can be accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au.
Advice for Students with Disabilities/Health Conditions
The Equity Support Unit (ESU) provides support and assistance to students with a disability/health condition in aiming to ensure that they do not experience disadvantage in reaching their academic potential. Service provision is determined on a case-by-case basis following an assessment of a student's needs and the provision of supporting documentation. Service provision is also dependent on the availability of resources.
To register with ESU, download an Advice of Disability/Health Condition form from http://www.reg.mq.edu.au/academic-index.html. This form must be completed annually, irrespective of whether a disability/health condition is temporary, long-term or permanent. Students wishing to request support services from the ESU should make an appointment to see a Disability Advisor immediately after enrolling at Macquarie University.
Phone: (02) 9850 6494/7497
Fax: (02) 9850 6063
TTY: (02) 9850 6493
Email: equity@mq.edu.au
In person: Level 2, Lincoln Building (C8A), Macquarie University
Website: http://www.sss.mq.edu.au/equity