Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 2 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Global Sustainability will be the driving force changing the way we work and live in the 21st century, a primary focus in our intellectual and material work, as well as in our collective and individual lives. Demands for greater accountability and transparency are increasing for government, corporations and civil society, particularly in the context of the Knowledge Economy, with significant ramifications for the accepted norms of R&D, including scientific merit, technological advancement and research integrity. Globalisation, revolutions in communication and information, increased environmental and social awareness are pressing leaders, citizens and communities alike to view the future in very different ways.
This unit deals with a number of key principles and practices relating to global sustainability which are part of an R&D manager's activity and operating context. Global sustainability will be viewed as a case study of an emergent field in R&D, against the background of R&D's historical and ongoing responsibility for many of the phenomena requiring amelioration under the global sustainability agenda.

Aims

This unit aims to develop advanced understandings of the implications for, and potential applications of, R & D in the context of Global Sustainability. The unit will require a re-examination of key norms of the R & D field including scientific merit, technological merit and research integrity.
As well, new opportunities for research, particularly of an interdisciplinary nature, and new constraints on R&D will be analysed using the dimensions of natural environment, society & culture and the economy, often referred to as The Triple Bottom Line. Governance is added to the Triple Bottom Line Model to recognize the importance of developing systems for governing, managing and making R & D decisions that will impact positively on our natural and social environments.

Objectives

On completion of the unit, you will
(a) have an understanding of
· current issues in global sustainability
· triple bottom line model and its application in R & D Management

(b) be able to identify
· potential applications of R & D in solving sustainability problems
· the negative impacts historically of R & D on global sustainability

(c) have advanced conceptual and analytical tools for analysis of
the challenges Global sustainability presents for the key norms of R& D, including scientific merit, technological advancement and research integrity

Content

This unit allows you to engage with the following content areas, to extend your understanding of these domains for R & D management activity and to develop conceptual tools and skills to inform some of the research management tasks which derive from them.

· Global Sustainability discourse - an overview, including the environmental, social and cultural, economic and governance dimensions
· The key norms of R & D
· R & D and sustainability - the historical interfaces, current dynamics and future opportunities

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

The design of the unit encourages active learning through online collaboration. While the unit moderator (teacher) provides expert content input and guides your learning, the peer learning opportunities are equally important, as the class group will include a significant cohort of practicing research management professionals. You will participate and interact in the online learning environment provided by this unit in a variety of ways, including:
a) Reading and responding to online content, including completion of online quizzes
b) Participating in online interactions such as forums and chat sessions
c) Engaging in formal assessment tasks (reading, reflecting, responding, writing, discussing) The emphasis in formal assessment tasks will be on extending your conceptual reach tough your own experience and knowledge, and to facilitate this, opportunity will be provided for workplace-based assessment tasks and workplace-relevant modes (eg case studies, project reports, project plans, presentations).
Opportunities will be provided for formation of groups and for particip

Assessment name: Discussion Forum
Description: You are required to contribute analytical comments weekly to the Online Forums (on response to weekly stimulus questions or responses to designated key reading) and also to a Personal Journal (online blog), as a record of personal reflections on your progress through the unit and to demonstrate the development of advanced understanding, and conceptual frameworks.
Relates to objectives: objective 3 a, b, c
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Ongoing

Assessment name: Quiz/Test
Description: Description: Students will be presented with a scenario drawn from the professional practice of specific program areas, and will be asked to devise a response to this scenario. The response must draw on the concepts of at least 5 weeks of the course. Specifically, you will be asked to describe the steps you used to outline a response, why you took the approach you did, and the application of skills and knowledge from your discipline to this particular problem.
Relates to objectives: objective 3 a, b
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 7

Assessment name: Essay
Description: Essay Topic: How sustainability is relevant to my discipline/researchWhat are the three key sustainability principles relevant to my research? Discuss with reference to the academic literature presented in the course, and provide some illustrative examples.
Relates to objectives: (objective 3 a, b, c)
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: End of Unit

Assessment name: Self-assessment
Description: Description: The unit moderator will be able to respond to email enquiries throughout the unit, s/he will provide written feedback on short answer tests within one week of completion and you will also have the opportunity to participate in online chat sessions. Together, these provide for ongoing evaluation of your progress through the unit, for example through moderator and peer feedback on forum and journal posting, and also an assignment draft.
Relates to objectives: (objective 3)
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Ongoing

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

The key resource is the unit website. Reference materials are provided online in the unit's 'Resources' section and throughout the body of the website. They include:
§ Documents for download
§ Links to offsite websites and web pages

You will also have access to:
§ An online chat facility
§ A personal journal/blog site
§ Online discussion forums

The resources are identified in relation particularly to the topics covered on a weekly basis, as described in the semester calendar for the unit to be provided to students in week one.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks, other than those relating to the functioning of the internet and the provision of QUT systems access to the website for enrolled students.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 06-Mar-2013