Overview
In this unit, you will analyse the physical characteristics of natural and man-made disasters to identify the mechanisms of destruction and the potential damages from an engineering viewpoint. You will consider the stakeholders and necessary framework relevant to the disaster management including necessary training and preparation for the investigators. You will learn to make recommendations to current disaster management plans to improve the access to critical infrastructure in the aftermath of a disaster. You will also investigate possible modifications of the relevant statutory frameworks, standards and infrastructure management plans to improve the community preparedness and resilience to disaster.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisites: ENEC12010, ENEC12011, ENEC13015
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
- Identify the risk to infrastructure associated with a disaster
- Analyse the infrastructure for disaster resilience using engineering principles and fundamentals
- Recommend improvements in design and management of infrastructure to improve post-disaster recovery
- Promote principals of sustainable development while applying ethical practices and stakeholder requirements
- Apply effective communication, creativity, time management and collaborative skills to work and learn individually and in a team.
The Learning Outcomes for this unit are linked with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards for Professional Engineers in the areas of 1. Knowledge and Skill Base, 2. Engineering Application Ability and 3. Professional and Personal Attributes at the following levels:
Introductory
Intermediate
Advanced
Refer to the Engineering Undergraduate Course Moodle site for further information on the Engineers Australia's Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineers and course level mapping information
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Case Study - 40% | |||||
| 2 - Report - 60% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||||
| 5 - Team Work | |||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Case Study - 40% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Report - 60% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Disaster Resilience and Sustainability
1st Edition (E-book) (2022)
Authors: Saeid Eslamian and Faezeh Eslamian
Springer Cham
ISBN: 978-3-030-72196-1
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
k.jinadasa@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Understanding disasters and their
impact on society
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Understanding different disasters and
associated risks
• Natural disasters
• Man-made disasters
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Evaluating damages after the
disasters - risks and challenges
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Managing public safety and reducing
potential health risks
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Effect on Supply Chain
• Essential supply to the affected area
• Business concerns
• Need for urgent restoration of
damages
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Managing disaster risks and
preparing the community I
• Pre-disaster management
• Post-disaster Management
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Managing disaster risks and preparing
the community II
• The complexity of disaster management
• Existing pre-disaster management tools
• Real-time disaster management
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Evaluating the long-term impact on
community and their livelihood
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Disaster resilience - building a better
society from the past experiences
• Learning from past disasters
• Translate the challenges to
discoveries/frameworks
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Developing framework for community
resilience I
• Identifying stakeholders of a
community disaster resilience
framework
• Importance of practical framework
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Developing framework for community
resilience II
• Understanding of project cycle
(analysis, formulation, implementation
and evaluation) and lines of resilience
(Infrastructure, community, economy,
and environment)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Challenges to disaster management
and resilience
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Case Study
You will be given a past disaster event. Based on this you are required to prepare a report that explains the following.
- Nature of the disaster
- Identify risks and challenges faced on disaster management
- Management of public safety and health risks
- Lessons learned
Work Limit: 2000 words (excluding references)
Week 6 Monday (21 Apr 2025) 9:00 am AEST
Within two weeks of the submission.
The submission will be assessed based on the following criteria:
A comprehensive description of disaster and impacts [05 marks]
Correctly identify the challenges and risks [10 marks]
Critical analysis of the management of public health risks [10 marks]
Logical articulation of lesson-learnt [10 marks]
Tidiness, reference list and presentation [05 marks]
Full assessment details/marking rubric will be available in Moodle
- Identify the risk to infrastructure associated with a disaster
- Analyse the infrastructure for disaster resilience using engineering principles and fundamentals
- Promote principals of sustainable development while applying ethical practices and stakeholder requirements
- Apply effective communication, creativity, time management and collaborative skills to work and learn individually and in a team.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Ethical practice
- Social Innovation
2 Report
You will be given a future disaster event. Based on this you are required to prepare a Disaster Resilience Report that contains the following details.
- Nature of the disaster
- Evaluating risk (community risk and impact on supply chain)
- A proposal to manage public safety and health risks
- Prepare the plan for the disaster readiness (i.e. evacuation plans, organising supplies)
- Possible challenges for resource allocation, accessibility for essential supplies.
Word Limit: 2500 Works (excluding references)
Review/Exam Week Friday (13 June 2025) 5:00 pm AEST
Within two weeks of the submission.
The submission will be assessed based on the following criteria:
A comprehensive description of disaster [05 marks]
Critical analysis of challenges and risks [10 marks]
Clear management plan for public health risks [10 marks]
Identification stakeholders and their responsibilities of the Disaster Management [05 marks)
Logistics of the resilience plan [15 marks]
Identification of possible challenges in resource allocation and supply chain [10 marks]
Tidiness, reference list and presentation [05 marks]
Full assessment details/marking rubric will be available in Moodle.
- Analyse the infrastructure for disaster resilience using engineering principles and fundamentals
- Recommend improvements in design and management of infrastructure to improve post-disaster recovery
- Promote principals of sustainable development while applying ethical practices and stakeholder requirements
- Apply effective communication, creativity, time management and collaborative skills to work and learn individually and in a team.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Ethical practice
- Social Innovation
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
