Unit Synopsis
Using real-life examples, you will examine the notion of community, voluntary participation by community members in emergency and disaster management contexts and situations and how these align with the broader volunteerism literature. You will evaluate the different models and theoretical constructs related to volunteerism and how these have changed over time. From this foundation, you will look at how the broader principles of volunteerism are applied in emergency and disaster management and look at ways in which volunteerism can be enhanced, both in the short and longer-term. By working with authentic examples, you will explore and apply your learning within your specific context or area of interest.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 9 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
The pre-requisite for the unit is DSMG28001 Foundations of Emergency and Disaster Management. 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). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
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 Postgraduate 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.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 20% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 50% |
| 3. Presentation | 30% |
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 91.67% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 19.35% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: SUTE
Concepts were clearly explained, with engaging content and discussions.
Continue to engage with students and share lecturer experiences where opportunities permit. A review of this unit will be undertaken in 2025. A Human-Centered design approach will be adopted, where possible, as part of this review of the unit.
I have continued to engage with students and share my own contextualised, lecturer experiences where opportunities permit, especially during drop-in sessions, which are now conducted weekly, rather than fortnightly. These are also now all recorded, recognising that many students work paid jobs, and are juggling multiple other commitments as well as their studies. A review of this unit is ongoing. It is hoped that content presentation will be updated and refreshed to incorporate gamification learning style.
Source: SUTE
The unit coordinator's enthusiasm was evident, showing his many years of experience in the volunteering sector.
Continue to engage with students, ensuring information continues to be shared in a clear manner, with references to relevant sources to encourage students to expand their reading beyond the recommended texts and sources.
I have continued engaging with students, throughout the term, ensuring information continues to be shared in a clear manner, with references to relevant sources to encourage students to expand their reading beyond the recommended texts and sources. Weekly drop-in sessions are offered, and these will focus on content elaboration, appropriate AI use, as well as providing an opportunity for discussion in relation to assessment tasks.
Source: Self-reflection
To encourage independent study and thinking, include more formative activities in the learning guides. Include the use of gamification.
The unit learning guide will be enriched with expanded narratives and formative learning activities, purposefully framing the context and establishing a robust foundation to guide students through independent study. Incorporation of more interactive activities (gamification) will enhance student engagement, learning and knowledge acquisition.
In Progress
Source: Student Feedback
The lecturer was very helpful, and this was appreciated. (SUTE Teacher Evaluation)
Continue to encourage students to interact and actively participate in weekly drop-in sessions. Recording of these sessions will provide better access for students. Timely feedback and responses to student enquiries will be continued.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse the concept of community and its nexus with emergency and disaster management contexts, settings and situations
- Critique the different types of voluntary participation by individuals and groups
- Evaluate different models and theoretical constructs related to volunteerism and how these have changed over time
- Apply the principles of volunteerism to emergency and disaster management contexts, settings and situations
- Collaborate with individuals and groups from within the community to enhance voluntary participation.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | |||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Presentation | • | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Communication | • | ||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Research | • | • | • | ||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | • | • | • | • | |
| 7 - Leadership | • | ||||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |