ATS2548: Environmental policy and management

10% Attendance and participation:
Tutes are compulsory and there is a sign-in sheet to prove you attended. Most tutes were enjoyable and involved working together in small groups (these small tasks weren't assessed). These small tasks often were slightly related to the lecture content for that week, or were an extension of something mentioned in the lecture (eg. using a specific environmental assessment framework/method to analyse an environmental problem we are familiar with).

30% Reading diary:
Each week had a key reading related to the lecture content. The idea of this task was that you read the article/book chapter, write a 3-4 dot point summary and then critically analyse the article, using other resources/articles/reviews to discuss why you enjoyed/agreed/disagreed with the key reading. Some weeks also had recommended readings that might help in critically analysing the main article, or you could find your own (eg. a review of the article/book could be helpful). Each week (summary and analysis) required around 400 words. Weeks 1-4 and 5-8 were submitted together, hence each one is worth 15%.

30% Tutorial presentation:
In groups of 3-4, you pick an environmental policy problem (eg. air pollution in a city, overfishing in a specific location). You need to look at how it came about, the policy response to the issue and whether it has been effective or not. This is all put into a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation to be presented in one of the tutorial sessions (weeks 9-12). I would recommend trying to present in one of the first few weeks, because after that, in tutes all you have to do is sit and listen to the other groups. You may also want to present early to have a head-start on writing the policy proposal (discussed below). I really enjoyed this task as I had a great group that regularly met and worked together well.

30% Brief environmental policy proposal:
This task was the final assessment of the unit, due on the first day of the exam period. It is a 2000 word essay/report in which you choose an environmental policy problem, discuss its causes, evaluate the current policy response and suggest improvements to better manage it. This is essentially the same task as the tutorial presentation, except in an essay format as opposed to a presentation. You are even allowed to do the same topic as your group did for the presentation, however most people I knew wanted to do a different topic that was of more interest to them. I found this task to be relatively okay, however trying to study for exams and write this essay at the same time was quite stressful, so I would recommend trying to start writing as soon as you can.

This subject has changed a little bit since ShortBlackChick's review in 2014 so I thought I'd provide an update!

Overall, I found this unit to be quite enjoyable. It involved a lot more reading than I had done in previous units which I found difficult to adjust to, and I didn't really enjoy the reading diary task. However, the content in the lectures was interesting. Bruce was also a fantastic lecturer and tutor. He was really engaged and enjoyed what he was teaching, which I think helped keep lecture attendance relatively high. Lectures usually ran for 30-40mins and introduced key frameworks and examples that could be used in the assessment tasks. The four main assessment tasks (two reading diary submissions, tutorial presentation, policy proposal) were well spread out throughout the semester and allowed for a better understanding of the main ideas presented in the unit.
So in general, a fun unit with very few contact hours and a lot of relevant knowledge for someone interested in environmental management.

Dr. Bruce Missingham

No exam for this unit (the 2000 word policy proposal serves as the final assessment)

4 out of 5

Yes, with screen capture

No textbook required. The articles required for the reading diary are on the reading list, which can be found on the moodle page.

1x1hr lecture, 1x1hr tutorial

2018, Semester 1

Essay: 40%
Tutorials presentation: 25%
Tutorial paper: 25%
Participation in tutorials: 10%
Total assessment: = 100%

Love this unit, given how easy it was, based on my prediction for what my mark will be. I averaged a raw HD in all my assessments but as always had marks taken off for lateness. Bruce is easy to engage with and is ever so helpful with anything and always interacts with the class well. The topics were interesting and it was great to see the different ideas students came up with to have the practical and interactive element in class. Groups get chosen in week 3 or so for the Student led tutorials from week 6-12, my tutorial was in week 7 and was so fun to do. The tutorial paper of 600-800 words was a breeze, you just had to summarise the articles from any given week and critically analyse them, which wasnt hard to do- you could just read some reviews of the articles and reference them. The Mini State of the Environment Report was also fun and easy, where you had to pick an environmental issue and answer the questions given in the unit guide and you just needed to reference the topics and articles studying in the unit as the basis for your findings, as well as do other research. Lucy, the other tutor was fun as well, loved both Lucy and Bruce, they made the unit so interesting and engaging. I guess I would have expected/liked the unit to be more harder/challenging, given that I put the bare minimum into the unit. But that said I find that most units from the School of Geography are quite easy.

UNIT OVERVIEW:
1 Introduction & Overview of Unit
2 Background: Contexts for environmental policy; State of the Environment in Australia; causes of environmental problems and policy needs
3 Sustainable Development in Principle & Policy
4 Actors & Institutions in policy processes
5 Public Participation - As element of sustainable development, aspect of governance, & policy instrument
6 Tools for Environmental Decision-Making: Environmental Assessment, Environmental Monitoring and Reporting
7 Policy Approaches/Instruments: Market based approaches
8 Policy Approaches/Instruments: Corporate sustainability; Environmental management systems
9 Policy Approaches/Instruments: Environmental Communication and Media for Public Education
10 Environmental policy in practice: Environmental & Sustainability Policy at Monash - Guest speaker: Paul Barton, Director of Monashs Office of Environmental Sustainability
11 Environmental policy in practice: Local Government Sustainability Policy
12 Environmental policy in practice: Climate Change & Carbon Emissions Policy

Bruce Missingham

There is no exam, the 40% Mini State of the Environment Report serves as the final assessment due at the end of SWOTVAC

4.5 out of 5

Yes, with screen capture

Harding, R., Hendriks, C.M., and Faruqi, M., 2009. Environmental Decision-Making: Exploring
Complexity and Context. The Federation Press, Sydney. The full text is available online through the library

1x1 hour weekly lecture, 1x 1-2hr weekly Tutorial; Weeks 1-5 led by Tutor, Weeks 6-12 led by Students

Semester 1, 2014

Should be a D