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  2. Geography and Environment: People, Pattern, Process [GEO1150]

Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science

School: Natural Sciences

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Geography and Environment: People, Pattern, Process

  • Unit Code

    GEO1150

  • Year

    2015

  • Enrolment Period

    1

  • Version

    2

  • Credit Points

    15

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus

Description

This introductory unit explores the interplay of past and present physical and ecological processes in shaping the human environment. Emphasis is given to the complex and dynamic relationships between people and places. Students investigate interactions between people and environmental systems and processes in such themes as the environment as an integrated system, and the changing form and function of the built environment. These themes are expressed locally and have broader global significance. The unit draws on interdisciplinary perspectives and students develop geographical skills and knowledge through practical activities and field projects

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate the ability to use conceptual frameworks such as the ecosystem approach and cultural landscapes.
  2. Describe some of the complex interrelationships that exist between the natural and cultural environment.
  3. Develop and interpret data from geographical sources, such as maps, photographs and satellite imagery.
  4. Identify and analyse social and environmental problems in a geographical context, including fieldwork.

Unit Content

  1. Cultural and cross-cultural relationships to the environment e.g. Aboriginal, colonial, post colonial and multicultural perspectives on landscape and environment.
  2. Cultural landscape theory, sustainable cities, communities and ecosystems.
  3. Ecosystems as an expression of the integrated environment, e.g. the role of water in the natural and cultural landscape.
  4. Frameworks for understanding the natural and social environment.
  5. Processes operating in the physical and biological environment.
  6. Processes operating in the social and urban environment, e.g. the city as a reflection of its society.
  7. The development of modern urban planning, emphasising sustainable cities.
  8. The nature of geographical enquiry.
  9. Time, change and periodicity in the understanding of geographical phenomena and environmental processes.

Additional Learning Experience Information

Lectures, workshops, fieldwork

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
PortfolioWorkshop File60%
ExaminationEnd of semester examination40%

Text References

  • ^ Renwick, W. (2010). Introduction to geography: People, places and environment (3rd ed.). London: Pearson.
  • ^ Selected Readings compilation.
  • Giradet, H. (2008). Cities people planet: Urban development and climate change. West Sussex: Wiley.
  • Goldie, J., Douglas, B., & Furnass, B. (Eds.). (2005). In search of sustainability. Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing.
  • Jackson, P. (1992). Maps of meaning. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Anderson, J. (2010). Understanding cultural geography: Places and traces. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Wallace, B. (2005). Understanding the cultural landscape. New York: The Guildford Press.
  • Thompson, S. (Ed). (2007). Planning Australia: An overview of urban and regional planning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • State Planning Commission of Western Australia (2005). Network city: A milestone in metropolitan planning. Perth: State Planning Commission of Western Australia.
  • Simmons, I. G. (1996). Changing the face of the Earth: Culture, environment, history. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Inc.
  • Low, N., Gleeson, B., Green, R., & Radovic, D. (2005). The green city: Sustainable homes, sustainable suburbs. Sydney: UNSW Press.
  • Head, L. (2001). Cultural landscapes and environmental change. London: Arnold.
  • Hay, I. (2006). Communicating in geography and the environmental sciences. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
  • Forster, C. (2005). Australian cities: Continuity and change. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
  • Flood, J. (2004). Archaeology of the Dreamtime: The Story of Prehistoric Australia and its people. Pymble: Angus & Robertson.
  • Arthur, B., & Morphy, F. (Eds.). (2005). Macquarie atlas of Indigenous Australia: culture and society through space and time. North Ryde: Macquarie Library.

Journal References

  • Geographical Research.
  • Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia.
  • Urban Water Journal
  • Australian Geographer.
  • Water Resources Research
  • Australian Planner.

Website References

^ Mandatory reference

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

GEO1150|2|1

Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science

School: Natural Sciences

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Geography and Environment: People, Pattern, Process

  • Unit Code

    GEO1150

  • Year

    2015

  • Enrolment Period

    2

  • Version

    2

  • Credit Points

    15

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus

Description

This introductory unit explores the interplay of past and present physical and ecological processes in shaping the human environment. Emphasis is given to the complex and dynamic relationships between people and places. Students investigate interactions between people and environmental systems and processes in such themes as the environment as an integrated system, and the changing form and function of the built environment. These themes are expressed locally and have broader global significance. The unit draws on interdisciplinary perspectives and students develop geographical skills and knowledge through practical activities and field projects

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate the ability to use conceptual frameworks such as the ecosystem approach and cultural landscapes.
  2. Describe some of the complex interrelationships that exist between the natural and cultural environment.
  3. Develop and interpret data from geographical sources, such as maps, photographs and satellite imagery.
  4. Identify and analyse social and environmental problems in a geographical context, including fieldwork.

Unit Content

  1. Cultural and cross-cultural relationships to the environment e.g. Aboriginal, colonial, post colonial and multicultural perspectives on landscape and environment.
  2. Cultural landscape theory, sustainable cities, communities and ecosystems.
  3. Ecosystems as an expression of the integrated environment, e.g. the role of water in the natural and cultural landscape.
  4. Frameworks for understanding the natural and social environment.
  5. Processes operating in the physical and biological environment.
  6. Processes operating in the social and urban environment, e.g. the city as a reflection of its society.
  7. The development of modern urban planning, emphasising sustainable cities.
  8. The nature of geographical enquiry.
  9. Time, change and periodicity in the understanding of geographical phenomena and environmental processes.

Additional Learning Experience Information

Lectures, workshops, fieldwork

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
PortfolioWorkshop File60%
ExaminationEnd of semester examination40%

Text References

  • ^ Selected Readings compilation.
  • ^ Renwick, W. (2010). Introduction to geography: People, places and environment (3rd ed.). London: Pearson.
  • Wallace, B. (2005). Understanding the cultural landscape. New York: The Guildford Press.
  • Thompson, S. (Ed). (2007). Planning Australia: An overview of urban and regional planning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • State Planning Commission of Western Australia (2005). Network city: A milestone in metropolitan planning. Perth: State Planning Commission of Western Australia.
  • Simmons, I. G. (1996). Changing the face of the Earth: Culture, environment, history. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Inc.
  • Low, N., Gleeson, B., Green, R., & Radovic, D. (2005). The green city: Sustainable homes, sustainable suburbs. Sydney: UNSW Press.
  • Head, L. (2001). Cultural landscapes and environmental change. London: Arnold.
  • Arthur, B., & Morphy, F. (Eds.). (2005). Macquarie atlas of Indigenous Australia: culture and society through space and time. North Ryde: Macquarie Library.
  • Flood, J. (2004). Archaeology of the Dreamtime: The Story of Prehistoric Australia and its people. Pymble: Angus & Robertson.
  • Forster, C. (2005). Australian cities: Continuity and change. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
  • Giradet, H. (2008). Cities people planet: Urban development and climate change. West Sussex: Wiley.
  • Goldie, J., Douglas, B., & Furnass, B. (Eds.). (2005). In search of sustainability. Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing.
  • Anderson, J. (2010). Understanding cultural geography: Places and traces. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Hay, I. (2006). Communicating in geography and the environmental sciences. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
  • Jackson, P. (1992). Maps of meaning. London and New York: Routledge.

Journal References

  • Urban Water Journal
  • Water Resources Research
  • Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia.
  • Geographical Research.
  • Australian Planner.
  • Australian Geographer.

Website References

^ Mandatory reference

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

GEO1150|2|2