Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

1

Faculty of Science School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences

Course Outline: ENVI / GEOG 114 Trimester 2, 2013

The Environment and Resources: The Foundations

(15 points)

http://michiganlendingnews.com/2011/05/11/live-green/

Staff Course Coordinator: Dr Paul Blaschke Email: paul.blaschke@vuw.ac.nz Phone: 027 246 2848 Office hours: Tuesdays 4-5.30pm in CO

205 Lecturer: Professor Rewi Newnham Email: rewi.newnham@vuw.ac.nz Phone: 463 5279 Office hours: Mondays & Fridays 4-5pm in CO208. Lecturer: Associate Professor James Renwick Email: james.renwick@vuw.ac.nz Phone: 463 4719

Office hours: Mon & Tues 1-2pm in CO206.

Lecturer: Dr Kevin Norton Email: kevin.norton@vuw.ac.nz Phone: 463 6993 Office hours: Mon & Thurs 1-2pm in CO202 Lecturer Dr Wokje Abrahamse Email: wokje.abrahamse@vuw.ac.nz Phone: tba Office hours: tba Lead Tutor: Amanda Thomas Email: Amanda.thomas@vuw.ac.nz Office Hours: Thursdays 10-11:50 in CO216

Lecture times and location

2.10 - 3.00pm: Monday, Tuesday and Friday in Hugh McKenzie Lecture Theatre (HMLT) 206

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

2

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

3

Prescription and Introduction This course integrates the physical, social, economic, and political factors associated with environmental change. First, the course introduces the earth systems associated with environmental change (both natural and human induced). Second, the course explore the social, political and economic implications of contemporary environmental issues and human-environment relations. It is also taught as GEOG 114 as an introduction to Environmental Studies. The course focuses on both the global and New Zealand environments. It aims to build an understanding of complex environmental problems and to develop strategies for their solution. You will see how the environment is made up of a series of interacting and interdependent biological and physical systems that, when disrupted, can lead to environmental degradation. As degradation often occurs as a consequence of human resource use, understanding environmental issues requires an appreciation of the way in which physical, biological and social systems interact. The course employs geography as a core discipline and incorporates other bio-physical and social sciences to cover the spectrum of environmental science and management.

Course Objectives

In GEOG/ENVI 114 students will develop an understanding of:

1. the physical, biological and climatic components of the Earth System and their significance for life on Earth;

2. the interdependency of these Earth system components that, when disrupted, can lead to environmental degradation;

3. the need for sustainable resource use to be compatible with this physical and biological dynamic (as all societies rely on environmental systems for their survival);

4. the changing character of human resource use and resultant environmental impacts over time;

5. how social systems (political, cultural, economic) and processes are implicated in environmental change, making the natural environment and resource use political;

6. a variety of technologies, innovations and strategies that can help promote both sustainable resource use and environmental protection.

Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes below relate to each of the course objectives. At the completion of this course students will be able to:

1. distinguish between different physical and biological systems and identify key aspects of interdependence between systems;

2. demonstrate an understanding that environmental change arises both from natural processes and human intervention and that the disruption of systems can lead to environmental degradation;

3. provide examples of unsustainable and sustainable resource use and relate these examples to the sustainability of physical and biological systems;

4. identify how human resource use has changed over time and explain the varying interruptions human resource use has had on biological and physical systems;

5. identify the role of core social, political, economic and cultural structures in environmental degradation; and

i. explain how the natural environment and resource use is politicised through these social, economic and political structures; and

ii. relate the politics of environmental change to the biological and physical interruptions that cause degradation;

6. provide examples of different tools, technologies, and environmental management approaches that can be employed to promote sustainability and environmental protection.

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

4

Teaching format

The course is delivered principally through a structured series of 36 one-hour lectures and 6 two hour tutorials. The structure of the course is shown in the diagram on page 7. Each segment indicates a module and the weeks in which it will be covered in lectures. Learning outcomes (LOs) that relate to each module are also indicated. There are four central themes on which lecture modules are based. These themes are interrelated. They are:

- Natural Earth systems; - Human induced environmental change; - Drivers of environmental change; and - Politics of environmental change.

As a 15 point paper, the expected workload for the whole course is 150 hours. This includes:

- 3 one hour lectures per week over the trimester; - 6 two hour tutorials spread over the trimester (4 of which are formally assessed).

The remainder of your time should be spent on reading preparation for lectures and tutorials, the two assignments and the final exam (details below).

Key Dates Term begins/first lecture: Monday 15 July 2013 Last date for withdrawal: Friday 26 July Mid Trimester Break: Monday 26 Aug – Friday 6 Sept. Assignment 1 due: Friday 16th August 2013, 4.00 pm Assignment 2 due: Friday 27th September 2013, 4.00 pm Last assessment (Tutorial 6) Week 10, 30th September – 4th October 2013 Last lecture: Friday 18 October 2013 Exam period: 25 October to 16 Nov. 2013 (exam date to be advised)

You are expected to come prepared for lectures having completed any required reading beforehand.

You are expected to attend all lectures.

Powerpoint slides are available on Blackboard BUT these are not enough – you will need to take good notes from the

lectures to understand the material

Hints on exam content will be scattered through lectures.

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

5

Course Calendar The following table shows the outline of lectures, their broad content and the staff involved. It also shows when tutorial weeks fall. The asterixes (*) indicate the days on which assignments are due.

Wk Lect # Date Tut # Theme Staff

Part 1: Earth System Science

1 1 15/7 Intro All

2 16/7 Physical Geography & Earth Systems Science RN

3 19/7 Geomorphology & Hydrology (1) KN

2 4 22/7 T1 Geomorphology & Hydrology(2) KN

5 23/7 T1 Geomorphology & Hydrology(3)

Outline of Assignment 1 (10 min)

KN

PB

6 26/7 T1 The Biosphere & Biogeography (1) RN

3 7 29/7 The Biosphere & Biogeography (2) RN

8 30/7 Ecological Processes & Ecosystems (1) RN

9 2/8 Ecological Processes & Ecosystems (2) RN

4 10 5/8 T2 Climate and Weather (1) JR

11 6/8 T2 Climate & Weather (2) JR

Part 2a: Early Human-Environment Interaction

12 9/8 T2 Environmental history RN

5 13 12/8 Hunter-gatherers to farmers RN

14 13/8 Civilizations and resources PB

15 16/8 * Industrial revolution PB

Part 2b: Climate Change: an illustration of human induced environmental change

6 16 19/8 T3 Climate Change Science RN

17 20/8 T3 Climate Change Impacts RN

18 23/8 T3 Climate Change mitigation and adaptation RN

Mid trimester break

Part 3: Consumerism, Capitalism & Globalisation

7 19 9/9 T4 Introducing the trajectory, human population growth WA

20 10/9 T4 Population and sustainable development

Essay writing – Assignment 2

WA

PB

21 13/9 T4 Consumerism and waste WA

8 22 16/9 T5 The growth imperative – energy consumption & the demand for oil PB

23 17/9 T5 Energy supply – the need for alternatives PB

24 20/9 T5 Agriculture and the environment (1) PB

9 25 23/9 Agriculture and the environment (2): The Green Revolution PB

26 24/9 Agriculture and the environment (3) PB

Part 4a: Managing the Commons

27 27/9 * Tragedy of the commons? PB

10 28 30/9 T6 Whose rights to water? PB

29 1/10 T6 Biodiversity BH

30 4/10 T6 Conservation and control BH

11 31 7/10 Cities and sustainable development WA

32 8/10 Human behaviour in commons dilemmas WA

33 11/10 Can we save the world with economics? WA

Part 4b: Politics of knowledge

12 34 14/10 Evidence, ways of seeing and knowing WA

35 15/10

„Junk science‟ v „sound science‟

Essays back WA

36 18/10 Wrap up – course review PB/

RN

Note: lecture titles and timing details may change

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

6

Readings and Recommended Texts

The recommended text for the first part of Envi/Geog 114 is:

Holden, J. (2008) (2nd edition) An Introduction to Physical Geography, Pearson Prentice

Hall, Harlow.

Other textbooks which are useful generally throughout the course are: Christopherson, R., 2011. Geosystems, An introduction to physical Geography, 8th edn.

Pearson Education. Rowntree L., Lewis M., Price M., and Wycliff W. (2012) Diversity Amid Globalization.

Prentice Hall: New Jersey. (This is also the recommended text for GEOG 112. Read Chapter 2 especially).

Enger, E., and Smith, B. (2010). Environmental Science: A Study of Interrelationships.

McGraw Hill Higher Education: New York. Cunningham, W., and Cunningham, M. (2010). Environmental Science: A Global

Concern. McGraw Hill Higher Education: New York. Simmons, I. (2008). Global Environmental History: 10,000 BC to AD 2000. Edinburgh

University Press: Edinburgh.

These books are all available on closed reserve or three day loan.

Note: If you have already purchased the recommended text for GEOG-ESCI 111 by

Christopherson, that text (details above) will suffice for GEOG-ENVI114 as well, i.e. there is no need to purchase both Christopherson and Holden. Similarly If you have already purchased the recommended text for GEOG 112 by Rowntree et al (details above) that will be useful for GEOG-ENVI114 as well, but will be well supplemented by the other texts above.

There is no specific recommended text for the second part of the trimester. Some additional readings for lectures and tutorials are shown below and more will be posted on Blackboard with an indication of how you can access them. Some book chapters or articles may be available to download direct from Blackboard. Other material indicated will be available either from the library open shelves, on 3-day loan, or on closed reserve.

Lecture 6:

Holden, Ch 7 OR Christopherson, Ch 18 Lecture 7 and 8:

Holden Ch 8 OR Christopherson, Ch 20 Lecture 9: Jonathan A. Foley, et al. (2005). Global Consequences of Land Use. Science 309, 570-574. Royal Society of New Zealand (2009). Virtual Water: Emerging Issues. Published September 2009, sourced from www.royalsociety.org.nz Lecture 10:

Thompson, D., Solomon, S., Kushner, P., England, M., Grise, K., Karoly, D. (2011). Signatures of the Antarctic ozone hole in Southern Hemisphere surface climate change. Nature Geoscience 4, 741–749 Lecture 12:

Holden Ch 20 OR Christopherson, pp 555-560 Gill, J. et al. (2009). Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Novel Plant Communities, and Enhanced Fire Regimes in North America. Science, 326, 1100-1103. Johnson, C. (2009). Megafaunal Decline and Fall. Science, 326, 1072-1073. Lectures 13 - 15:

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

7

Simmons, I. (2008). Global Environmental History: 10,000 BC to AD 2000. Edinburgh University

Press: Edinburgh. [Read especially Chapters 2 and 3 on “The gatherer-hunters and their world” and “Pre-industrial agriculture”]. Lectures 16-18:

Holden Ch 21 OR Christopherson, Ch 10, pp 282-291 Ministry for the Environment (2012). The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme: NZ ETS 2011 – Facts and figures. Ministry for the Environment: Wellington. UNFCCC (2011). Fact sheet: Climate change science - the status of climate change science today.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Retrieved 25 March 2013 from http://unfccc.int/files/press/backgrounders/application/pdf/press_factsh_science.pdf Lectures 19-21: Beder, S. (2004). Consumerism: an Historical Perspective. Pacific Ecologist 9. Carroll, C. (2010) High Tech Trash: Will your discarded TV or Computer end up in a ditch in Ghana? in Z. Sharp (ed) Environment, 10/11, Annual Editions, McGraw-Hill, New York pp 58-61 Lectures 22-23: Enger, E., and Smith, B. (2010). Environmental Science: A Study of Interrelationships. McGraw

Hill Higher Education: New York. [Read Chapter eight on “Energy and Civilization: Patters of Consumption”] Cunningham, W., and Cunningham, M. (2010). Environmental Science: A Global Concern.

McGraw Hill Higher Education: New York. [Read Chapter 19 – Conventional Energy] Lectures 24-26:

International Food Policy Research Institute (2002) Green Revolution: Curse or Blessing? International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, retrieved from http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/pubs/pubs/ib/ib11.pdf on 14/9/20122012. Evenson, R. E. & Gollin, D. (2003) Assessing the Impact of the Green Revolution 1960- 2000, Science 300, p753 Lecture 27: Hardin, G. (1968). The Tragedy of the Commons, The Social Contract. Science 162, 1243- 48. Republished in The Social Contract 1(1), 26-35. Monbiot, G. (1994). The Tragedy of Enclosure, The Social Contract, Spring, 1-2 Lecture 29: Igoe, J. (2004). "Fortress Conservation: A Social History of National Parks" Chapter 3 in Conservation and Globalization: A Study of National Parks and Indigenous Communities from East Africa to South Dakota. Australia: Wadsworth pp.69-100. Lecture 30:

Coombes, B. and Hill, S. (2005) "Na whenua, na Tuhoe. Ko D.o.C. te partner"-Prospects for Comanagement of Te Urewera National Park. Society and Natural Resources 18 (2): 135-152.

8

Natural Earth Systems

Human Induced

Environmental change

Drivers of Environmental change

Politics of Environ- mental change

Environmental

Change

Earth Systems - Biological - Physical

wks 2-4 LO 1

Early Human-Environment Interaction

wk 5 LO 4

Climate Change: an illustration of

human induced environmental

change wk 6 LO 2 & 6

Population and consumerism

wk 7 LO 2-6

Globalisation and capitalism

wks 8-9 LO 2-6

Managing the Commons wks 10-11

LO 4-6

Politics, science &

knowledge wk 12 LO 5

Earth System Science

wk 1 LO 1

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

9

Means of Communication

The main means of communication for ENVI/GEOG 114 are by Blackboard, notices given in lectures and tutorials, and email. Please make a habit of checking Blackboard and your email

regularly.

Assessment

There are four components to assessment in ENVI/GEOG 114, outlined in the following table.

Assessment % of final

mark Due Date Length

4 Assessed Tutorials 20%

(5% each)

Weeks 6, 7, 8, 10 – hand-in in tutorial BUT you must still attend the tuts in wks 2 & 4

Variable

Assignment 1: Library

and Research skills 10% Friday 16th August 4pm (end of week 5) Variable

Assignment 2: Research Essay

20% Friday 27th September 4pm (end of week 9) 1500

words

Final Exam 50% TBA 2 hours

Submitting Assignments

You must submit assignments 1 & 2 electronically via Turnitin on Blackboard AND in hard copy

in the assignment box in the copy room on level 2 of Cotton (behind the kitchen area). If you fail to submit both digital and paper copies you will be penalised by 5%. Turnitin will be used to check for plagiarism – for more details see p.12 below on referencing. Save your electronic file with your tutorial name (see table below) followed by your surname and first initial in uppercase, then underscore and the assignment number.

E.g. ruruBONDS_1, or kakaSMITHB_2

Penalties

Marks will be deducted from your percentile grade if you:

submit your assignment after the deadline. Deductions will be at a rate of 5% per day

(weekend is two days), and/or

if you fail to submit two copies of your assignment - one digital and one hard copy (see above for details). 5% will be deducted if only one copy is received, and/or

If your assignment is excessively long or short (deductions of up to 2%;, see p 10).

For example, if you scored 75% for assignment 2, but handed it in two days late, you will get 10% points deducted and the grade will be reduced to 65% (i.e. where 100% is 20 out of 20). The same would be the case if you were one day late and submitted only an electronic copy via Turnitin on Blackboard – you would lose 5% for being late and 5% for not handing in a paper copy.

Deductions for lateness apply to both the written assignment and to tutorials. Tutorials should be handed in at the end of the tutorial. Note: The excuse that the computer crashed or the disk was corrupted is not accepted as a reason for not handing in on time or in the right way. Back up your work religiously!

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

10

Tutorials Tutorials are an essential part of the course and are crucial to achieving the course learning outcomes. Tutorials will be held in weeks: 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10 (6 tutorials in total). Choose a

tutorial time from the following options then go onto Blackboard after the first lecture where you‟ll find a link to S-Cubed, an online tutorial sign up tool. You must use S-Cubed to sign up for a tutorial group. There are limited places in each stream.

Tut Name Day Time Room Tutors Whio Monday 10:00 – 11:50am CO216 Amanda, Juliet Kiwi Monday 3:10 – 5:00 pm AM102 Lisa, Jerome Tui Tuesday 12:00 – 1:50pm CO216 Lisa, Juliet

Weka Wednesday 3:10 – 5:00pm CO119 Alyssa, Elle Ruru Thursday 8:00 - 9:50am KK202 Amanda, Samwell Kaka Friday 11am - 12:50pm CO228 Alyssa, Samwell Kea Friday 3:10 – 5:00pm CO216 Womba, Jerome

* Tutors may be subject to change

All tutorials, except those in weeks 2 and 4 will include a marked tutorial exercise that needs to be completed within the tutorial and handed in at the end of that tutorial. All tutorials involve exercises and discussion, and your level of participation will determine how worthwhile and enjoyable the tutorial is. The tutorials in weeks 2 and 4 are not assessed but you still must attend (and a roll will be taken) as it forms an essential introduction to tutorials, and provide you with skills and tools that will be important in assisting you in completing Assignment 1. Each assessed tutorial is worth 5% of your total mark for the course, so all 4 assessed tutorials are worth a total of 20% of your final mark. Penalties will apply if you do not hand your tutorial exercise in on time i.e. at the end of the tutorial (see below). Your tutors are your first port of call for any issues associated with the course. You can contact

them by email (posted on Blackboard) or in your tutorials. In addition, Amanda, your lead tutor, has specific office hours that you can use to talk through any issues such as assignment topics, problems with assessment etc. Amanda‟s office hours and her email address are on the front of this document.

Assignment 1

Assignment 1 is worth 10% of your final grade. It is designed to provide you with essential research skills, to teach you how to reference material so that you avoid plagiarising others and

to encourage you to learn how to use the library even better than you already do. These skills will be essential to doing well in Assignment 2, your research essay, as well as providing you with good habits for the remainder of your degree programme. Assignment 1 will be made available on Blackboard in week 2. You will need to download the

„word doc‟ form and electronically complete it. Submit one copy via Blackboard (see details above) and print out another copy and submit it in the assignment box on level 2 of Cotton. Ensure your name, tutorial group name and your student ID number are clear on the front page of your assignment. The tutorials in weeks 2 and 4 will provide you with some guidance and practice for the assignment. In week 4 you will evaluate different types of information during the tutorial. Remember: Submit your assignment in both paper copy (assignment box on second floor of Cotton in the copy room behind the kitchen) and in digital form via Turnitin on Blackboard. Save your electronic file with your tutorial name (see table above) followed by your surname and first initial in uppercase, then underscore and the assignment number. E.g. ruruBONDS_1, or kakaSMITHB_2

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

11

Assignment 2

For assignment 2, you are required to complete a research essay of 1500 words on an aspect of climate change or peak (conventional) oil. That is, you must define your focus. We require you

to focus down on a specific issue of climate change or peak oil. You can narrow your research by asking a specific question (i.e. create your own essay question that you address). A question such as how does human activity give rise to climate change is too broad to address in 1500 words. You can narrow the scope of your essay further (which will make it easier for you to develop a strong argument) by focusing on a specific type of human activity or an effect of climate change in a particular location. How will Aotearoa New Zealand be affected by climate change projected for the 21st century? What are the main issues Aotearoa New Zealand will face in relation to peak oil? And even more focused: What are the major contributors of GHGs in Aotearoa New Zealand and what policies (if any) are in place to address these? In relation to the last question you would be expected to give some evaluation of the effectiveness of policy measures. Your research need not be focused on Aotearoa New Zealand – you can look to international examples or issues. Please note: these are just examples, and part of the assignment is for you to come up with your

own research question. There will be opportunities in the tutorials to discuss ideas for potential topics. Essay writing will also be discussed in a lecture at about the time you should be writing your essay (having already done or at least started the research!) Remember: the more focused your question is, the easier it is to write the essay and to do well.

As indicated below, your essay must have a clear argument. You make your argument in the way you address the key question you have posed. Your essay must be in line with the required length of 1500 words (not including the reference list), i.e, a tolerance of plus or minus 10% is allowed, but markers will penalise essays that are significantly longer or shorter than the specified length. The penalty is up to 2 percentage points (out of 20%) The required structure of the essay and marks allocated to each part are outlined in the table

below. Your essay MUST: 1. Demonstrate your understanding of the integrated nature of both earth system

processes and social, economic and/or political factors as they relate to either climate change or peak oil;

2. Make a clear argument that you substantiate with appropriate evidence; 3. Be sufficiently focused; 4. Be well referenced, using good quality sources and referenced correctly; 5. Be well written, proof read, and well presented. You may use diagrams, but these

must be properly labelled, referenced, and add to your argument.

Some of the work associated with this assignment will arise from discussions you will have in groups in the tutorials. As such, you are encouraged to collaborate with others to help build your understanding of the topic. It is important however, that your actual assignment is your own work (i.e. do not share in the writing of the assignment as this will be plagiarism and you will be

penalised, receiving a zero grade for any plagiarised work – see page 15 below).

Assignment 1 is straightforward.

It will give you basic skills to do good research at university and avoid plagiarism.

It is easy marks if you: Take it seriously Listen carefully to advice and follow instructions Understand why these skills are important

Pay attention to detail.

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

12

Section Task Word limit

Marks allocated

Introduction Introduce your topic, your main argument, and the structure of your essay.

150 2

Part 1 Outline the earth system processes associated with your topic.

300 6

Part 2

Substantiate your argument by making some key points that are backed up by appropriate evidence. Ensure that you incorporate a consideration of how the earth system processes identified in part 1 relate to social, economic and political factors associated with your topic.

900

6

4

Conclusion Synthesise your main points and conclude your essay. 150 2

Start work on your assignment early! It will also be helpful to check how the arguments you develop in the essay relate to the objectives and learning outcomes for the course (p 2).

It is expected that appropriate literature and/or examples will be used throughout your assignment to provide evidence for your claims. All literature/resources used must be referenced in the correct way as detailed below or by using a recognised style guide. Recommended reading for the assignment includes that listed for the relevant lectures in weeks 6 (Climate Change) and 8 (Energy) and will be posted on Blackboard. It is expected that you will also research your own additional material (lectures will not provide enough material for you to complete this assignment). It is recommended you begin reading prior to week 8 even if you are doing your essay on an aspect of peak oil. Readings will be posted on Blackboard in advance.

Submit your essay in both paper copy (assignment box on second floor of Cotton in the copy room behind the kitchen) and in digital form via Turnitin on Blackboard. Save your electronic file with your tutorial name (see table above) followed by your surname and first initial in uppercase, then underscore and the assignment number. E.g. ruruBONDS_1, or kakaSMITHB_2

General criteria used in assessing work

Content and Structure: Has the student undertaken the task asked of them? Has the material been covered comprehensively (not significantly shorter than 1500 words), but with discrimination of what is important and relevant? Is the material logically ordered, aim and scope clearly identified?

Depth of analysis: Does the work indicate that the student understands the topic, have they critically considered various viewpoints, and interpreted the information available?

Use of readings and supplementary materials. Is the range of sources appropriate? Has the

student used their initiative in seeking additional sources? Is the material critically evaluated? Is the material properly cited? (See below for referencing information – poor referencing can be considered to be plagiarism.)

Clarity of expression. Can the student convey ideas and conclusions in a clear and concise way, which is not significantly longer than 1500 words and doesn't require re-reading and interpretation for the reader to understand?

Technical presentation. Is the student able to write in good English, spell correctly, lay out work

neatly, and make effective use of graphics and tabulations. Are format instructions followed?

Originality. Is there evidence of original thinking on the part of the student, in addition to merely reporting the views of others? Note: the University takes a very serious view of plagiarism.

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

13

Penalties - Timeliness of handing in. See details above on p.7 for how to submit your work and the penalties for not doing so in the requested manner.

Final Exam

The final exam is worth 50% of the final grade. This will be a 2-hour exam paper covering all of the

material dealt with in the course. Tips about what is in the exam will be given throughout the lectures, with an overview of the structure of the examination given in the final lecture – it is therefore highly recommended that you attend all the lectures. The exam will be held during the exam period at

the end of the second trimester.

You MUST pass the exam to pass the course. Even if your combined internal assessment and exam marks are over 50% you will NOT PASS IF YOU DO NOT PASS THE EXAM. These are

mandatory course requirements – see below.

Grades for all assessment

Grade Scale

A+ > 85% A 80 - 84% A- 75 - 79% B+ 70 - 74% B 65 - 69%

B- 60 - 64% C+ 55 - 59% C 50 - 54% D 40 - 49% E < 40%

Referencing

It is essential that you get into good habits with referencing. There are three reasons for this:

1. it is good academic practice in that it clearly marks your own ideas from those of others; 2. if someone wants to read further on the topic, they can follow the references you used;

and 3. it is the only way to avoid plagiarism. Marks will be deducted from your assignments in

this course and others if you do not reference material properly.

There are conventions to follow when referencing. Assignment 1 is designed to help you become familiar with these conventions. They are not hard and once you get used to them they are easy to put into practice if you pay attention to detail and be consistent. You must cite and provide the reference details for any material that you use in your

assignments – „use‟ means any books, articles, reports, videos, images, diagrams etc that you get ideas from, or quote directly (although keep quotes to a minimum). Referencing is a standardised and systematic way to give the reader the necessary information so that they can see where ideas come from and what is original. If you fail to do so, it is considered to be plagiarism. It is possible to plagiarise unintentionally. So referencing carelessly is not an excuse – plagiarism is taken very seriously. Footnotes or endnotes may be used in moderation to note important information that relates to a part of the text, but should not be used for referencing.

There are a variety of styles for referencing. For this course the Harvard author-date or the APA systems are preferred. Consistency and accuracy are crucial to good referencing. There are several excellent „Style Guides‟ that provide detailed information on how to present your in-text citations and your reference list. Here is a summary (from Nick Preston‟s Referencing Guide 2007), but for more detail refer to the links at the end of this section.

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

14

There are two places where references are required. One is in the body of the text (ie your essay) referred to as in-text citing and the other at the end of the document in a reference list. Please

note, a reference list differs from a bibliography. A reference list is the list of references cited (used) in the body of the text. A bibliography is a list of all material read or consulted during the preparation of the text, but not necessarily cited. You are required to present a reference list not a bibliography. In-text citing

In Geography, footnotes can be used to append peripheral information; they should not be used for referencing. Within the text, you should indicate the author/s and the year of publication. There are two ways you can do this, depending on how you structure your sentence. If you wish simply to acknowledge the source of the statement you have made, this should be in brackets at the end of the sentence, e.g.:

This is a statement that relates to a fact or piece of information derived from somebody else‟s work (Bloggs, 2005).

Note that there is a comma between the author and the year of publication, and that the fullstop comes after the citation. If you wish to cite a number of different sources, they should be separated using semi- colons, e.g.:

Examples of the idea contained within this sentence can be found in a number of different sources (e.g. Bloggs, 2005; Smith & Jones, 2004; Brown et al., 1997).

Alternatively, you may wish to incorporate the reference into your writing, e.g.: This was emphasised by Bloggs (2005), who stated that .... Page numbers are not necessary unless you are quoting directly, in which case the quoted text must be clearly indicated as such. The appropriate format is:

“Cats have nine lives” (Bloggs, 2005:123).

Note that the number of the page on which this quote appears in the source text is given; note also the format: a colon is used to separate the year and the page number (or range of pages if necessary). If there are two authors, both names should be included, e.g. Smith & Jones (2004). Note the use of the ampersand (&). If there are more than two authors, refer only to the first and indicate that there are multiple authors with „et al.‟. This is an abbreviation of the Latin term et alia, which means „and others‟. For example, “Bloggs et al. (2004) found that ....”. Note the use of italics (foreign language) and a full stop because „al.‟ is an abbreviation of „alia‟. Thus, if you use this expression in a bracketed citation the correct punctuation would be (Bloggs et al., 2004), i.e. with

both fullstop and comma.

If you use secondary sources, within the text you should name the original source and cite the secondary source. For example:

The work of Smith & Jones (1999, as cited in Bloggs, 2004) demonstrates ....

Both Smith & Jones (1999) and Bloggs (2004) should appear in your Reference List. It is possible that Bloggs may have misinterpreted Smith & Jones, or s/he may have altered a diagram, so it is important that you make clear what is the source of information that you are using. Under no circumstances should you cite something that you have not seen yourself. Using this example, you should not cite Smith & Jones (1999) alone if you have only read about their work in Bloggs (2004). You must go to the original source.

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

15

Reference List

There are many different formats that you can use for referencing. No style is inherently right or wrong, although you will note that different disciplines tend to follow similar styles. What is crucial is that you follow and stick to one style consistently. Within Physical Geography typical citation styles can be seen in journals such as Earth Surface Processes & Landforms or Geomorphology. Within Human Geography, journals such as Progress in Human Geography or Antipode demonstrate an appropriate style. Whichever format you choose, you must keep the

following points in mind:

- You should be consistent in your formatting. - You must communicate the essential information that is necessary for your reader to

locate the material in question. - The Reference List is arranged alphabetically by first author. - Indent the second and subsequent lines of the reference – ie use a hanging indent.

Templates for different types of references are given below with some examples of the most commonly used reference types in academic research. Pay attention to the punctuation and formatting - it is important! Square brackets indicate fields; insert substitute information as appropriate. Some comments on the use of these various fields follow.

Book

[Author/s], [year of publication]. [Title of the Book] ([edition no.] edn.). [Publisher], [City].

(Note that it is only necessary to indicate the edition if this is other than the first.)

e.g. Hopkins, R., 2008. The Transition Towns Handbook. From oil dependency to local resilience. Green Books, Totnes.

Edited Book

[Editor/s] (ed/s.). [year of publication]. [Title of the Book] ([edition no.] edn.). [Publisher], [City].

E.g. Heynen, N., McCarthy, J., Prudham, S., & Robbins, P. (eds.). 2007. Neoliberal Environments: False promises and unnatural consequences. Routledge, London.

Chapter in an edited book

[Author/s] [year of publication]. [Title of chapter]. In [Editor/s] (ed/s.), [Title of the Book] ([edition

no.] edn.), (pp [page range of chapter]) [Publisher], [City].

e.g. Sharp, J., Routledge, P., Philo, C., & Paddison, R., 2000. Entanglements of power. Geographies of domination/resistance. In J. Sharp, P. Routledge, C. Philo & R. Paddison (eds.), Entanglements of Power. Geographies of domination/resistance (pp. 1-42).

Routledge, London. Note that entries in edited encyclopedias and dictionaries should be treated as edited books.

Report

[Author/s], [year of publication]. [Title of the Report]. [Type of Report] [Report No.].

[Publisher/Institution], [City].

e.g. Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 1997. Future Directions. Strategic focus of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. Parliamentary Commissioner for the

Environment, Wellington. Sometimes reports do not have a number, so include as much information as possible.

Thesis

[Author], [year of publication]. [Title of the Thesis]. unpub. [Thesis Type] thesis, [Academic Department], [University], [City/Country].

e.g. Bond, S., 2008. Participation, Urbanism and Power. Unpublished Doctoral thesis, Geography

Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

16

Journal Article

[Author/s], [year of publication]. [Title of article]. [Name of Journal] [Volume]([Issue No.]), [page

range].

e.g. Bakker, K., 2010. The limits of „neoliberal natures‟: Debating green neoliberalism. [Article]. Progress in Human Geography, 34(6), 715-735.

Newspaper Article

[Author/s], [year of publication]. [Title of article]. [Name of Newspaper], [Date of publication], [page range].

Magazine Article

[Author/s], [year of publication]. [Title of article]. [Name of Magazine] [Date of publication], [page range].

Article published in a Conference Proceedings

[Author/s], [year of publication]. Title of the chapter. In: [Editor/s] (ed/s.) [Title of the Book].

[Publisher], [City]. [page range].

In many cases it will be appropriate to include an indication of the conference name as, or within, the title of the book.

Web pages

[Author/s], [year of publication]. [Title of website]. [URL] Accessed on [date].

Notes:

Title and Journal Title

Note the capitalisation in the examples given above. For books, reports and theses, capitalise all the significant words in the title, i.e. not articles, conjunctions and prepositions unless they are the first word of a title. For journal articles and book sections (e.g. chapters), capitalise only the first word and any proper names.

Journal titles should be given in full, capitalised as for book titles and italicised. Note the

distinction between the Journal title and the Journal article title; the former is italicised, the latter is not.

Publisher

For books and sections in edited books, list the publisher and the city/country in which the material was published.

Page Numbers

Note that in many citation styles for whole publications (books, theses, reports), the total number of pages is given at the end of the citation, followed by the abbreviation „pp.‟, e.g. a 23 page report might have (23 pp.) at the end of the citation. For journal articles, chapters, conference proceedings it is essential to include the relevant page range (e.g. 23-34.).

Authors and Editors

Authors and editors should be listed by surname and initials, e.g. Author, T.H.E.

In some cases, the author may be unknown. You can either refer to them anonymously (Anon.) or, in the case of corporate publications (e.g. government agencies), treat the name of the corporate entity as the author.

For subsequent entries for the same author/s the name/s can be substituted with a series of hyphens equivalent to the depth of indent, e.g.:

Bloggs, J. 1997. The art of referencing in academia; how to avoid committing plagiarism. The Journal of Getting it Right. 1(4) 1-23.

------ 1999. Justifiable Use of Others’ Material. How To Publishing, Cityville. 101 pp.

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

17

List all authors and note that:

- Where there are two authors, they are separated with an ampersand (&). - Where there are more than two authors, they are separated by commas, with an

ampersand for the final author in the list, e.g.:

Smith, J., Jones, T., Brown, J. & Bloggs, J. 1998. .......

- Multiple entries for the same author/s in the same year should be distinguished using (a),

(b), etc. e.g.

Smith, J., Jones, T., Brown, J. & Bloggs, J. 1998(a). A journal article that they published in 1998. In This Journal 21(8), 23-34.

------ 1998(b). A book chapter covering much the same material. In Editor, T.H.E. (ed.) The Name of the Book. Publisher, City. 56-70.

Ensure that the order of lettering is consistent with the order of appearance in the text, i.e. the first of these authors‟ works referred to in the text should be (a), the second (b), and so on. And this should be the order in which they are listed in the References.

This applies only to the same list of authors. If even one of them is different, the full list should be given.

- Where an author has published material with a number of different co-authors, the references should be listed in the following order: 1. Sole publications, i.e. no co-authors, in ascending chronological order (oldest islisted

first). 2. Publications with one co-author in ascending chronological order and, if there are

more than one of these in any given year, ranked alphabetically by the second author‟s name.

3. Publications with more than one co-author in ascending chronological order and, if there are more than one of these in any given year, ranked alphabetically by the second author‟s name.

- If there is more than one editor, they should be treated in the same way as multiple authors, and the abbreviation used should be „eds.‟

For more information on style guides see:

http://www.unisa.edu.au/ltu/students/study/referencing/harvard.pdf

http://www.ul.ie/~library/pdf/citeitright.pdf

http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/tutorials/citing/harvard.html

Mandatory Requirements

To pass the course you must achieve at least 50% in the final exam, and 50% of the total final grade, which is an aggregate of the internal assessment (tutorials and assignments) and the final exam. In other words, if you fail the final exam you will fail the course. Even if you did well in the internal assessment and gained over 50% in total if you fail the exam you will receive a K grade which is a fail indicates that you did not meet the mandatory course requirements. Conversely if you do not attend tutorials and take the assignments casually you would have to pass the exam with a very high mark just to pass the course.

Materials and Equipment

There are no specialised materials or equipment needed for this course. It is preferable that you have access to a computer to enable you to write your assignments and search for appropriate literature.

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

18

Environmental Studies Major

GEOG/ENVI 114 is the foundation course for the Environmental Studies major, and also a core foundation course for the major in Geography. The Environmental Studies Major is designed to cater to the needs of students from a diversity of backgrounds and can be designed to suit your aspirations in just about any form of environmental career.

One way of designing your degree for an environmental career is to think about the way you might combine Environmental Studies with another discipline to give you a strong foundation for that career. For example, if you wanted to be an environmental chemist you might want to do a major in Chemistry but take Environmental Studies courses as electives, whereas if you wanted to work for a local council in pollution prevention you might want to do a major in Environmental Studies and take Chemistry papers as electives. Similarly, if you wanted to be an environmental journalist then you might want to combine Media Studies with Environmental Studies in some way. There are many different environmental career themes in the environmental arena, including the following:

Environmental science Resource management Sustainable development

Environmental policy Environmental law Environmental education

Environmental journalism Industrial ecology Environmental design

Environmental health Conservation management Environmental planning

Academic Integrity & Plagiarism

Academic integrity means that university staff and students, in their teaching and learning are expected to treat others honestly, fairly and with respect at all times. It is not acceptable to mistreat academic, intellectual or creative work that has been done by other people by representing it as your own original work.

Academic integrity is important because it is the core value on which the University‟s learning, teaching and research activities are based. Victoria University‟s reputation for academic integrity adds value to your qualification.

The University defines plagiarism as presenting someone else‟s work as if it were your own, whether you mean to or not. „Someone else‟s work‟ means anything that is not your own idea.

Even if it is presented in your own style, you must acknowledge your sources fully and appropriately. This includes:

Material from books, journals or any other printed source

The work of other students or staff

Information from the internet

Software programs and other electronic material

Designs and ideas

The organisation or structuring of any such material

If we find that you have plagiarised, you will receive a zero grade for that work, and will be registered on the University‟s plagiarism register. The subsequent process will depend on the severity of the case and your record.

Find out more about plagiarism, how to avoid it and penalties, on the University‟s website: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/studying/plagiarism.html

Use of Turnitin

Student work provided for assessment in this course will be checked for academic integrity and plagiarism by the electronic search engine http:/www.turnitin.com, which is available through Blackboard.

Course Outline ENVI/GEOG 114 2013

19

Turnitin is an online plagiarism prevention tool which compares submitted work with a very large database of existing material, including previous year’s assignments. Therefore you are

required to submit your work both electronically via Turnitin on Blackboard, and in paper copy for your tutors to mark. You will be penalized by 5% if you fail to do so. In addition at the discretion of the Head of School, if you fail to submit an electronic copy, a paper copy may be typed by the School and subject to checking by Turnitin. Turnitin will retain a copy of submitted material on behalf of the University for detection of future plagiarism, but access to the full text of submissions is not made available to any other party.

Class Representative

A class representative will be elected in the first class. Your class representative provides a

useful communication channel to liaise with the teaching staff on behalf of students. Students may like to write the Class Rep‟s name and details in this box: ENVI/GEOG 114 Class Rep name and contact details:

Student feedback Student feedback on University courses may be found at www.cad.vuw.ac.nz/feedback/feedback_display.php.

Other important information You can find further information on the course on Blackboard. All materials relating to the course and any additional instructions concerning assignments, tutorials, and the exam will be posted there. If you have any difficulty accessing Blackboard please contact the ITS Service Desk.

The information above is specific to this course. There is other important information that students must familiarise themselves with, including:

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/study/plagiarism

Aegrotats: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/study/exams-and-assessments/aegrotat

Academic Progress: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/study/academic-progress (including restrictions and non-engagement)

Dates and deadlines: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/study/dates

Grades: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/study/exams-and-assessments/grades

Resolving academic issues: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/about/avcacademic/publications2#grievances

Special passes: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/about/avcacademic/publications2#specialpass

Statutes and policies including the Student Conduct Statute: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/about/policy

Student support: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/viclife/studentservice

Students with disabilities: www.victoria.ac.nz/st_services/disability

Student Charter: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/viclife/student-charter

Student Contract: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/admisenrol/enrol/studentcontract

Turnitin: www.cad.vuw.ac.nz/wiki/index.php/Turnitin

University structure: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/about

VUWSA: www.vuwsa.org.nz