Programs and Courses

This subject investigates ways in which education for sustainability can be incorporated in the F–6 curriculum, in particular HSIE/Geography and Science and Technology, and the mandate for its inclusion. Education for sustainability involves recognising the need to understand the world around us and how it works, natural and human/social systems, and how these things interrelate. The subject also investigates and supports the development of the skills and experience necessary in implementing, integrating and evaluating related teaching/learning experiences in current curriculum documents and those that are under development. The subject addresses values such as a commitment to an understanding of environmental sustainability, as well causes and effects related to social justice, globalisation, economics, intercultural understanding, democratic processes and responsible uses of technologies.

In this subject students study three arenas where there are intense efforts to lead and facilitate change. The first arena is organisational management with a focus on improving organisational learning, performance and productivity. The second arena focuses on workers and community groups that are concerned also about quality of life, work conditions and corporate social responsibility. The third arena is that of large organisations seeking to lead and facilitate change for environmental sustainability. The subject is designed to provide a counter-point to the widespread interest only in changing organisational effectiveness through the development of people (or 'human capital').

 The emphasis of this unit is on the strategic and operational aspects of human resource management in the management of the employment relationships between employers and employees in the changing business and culturally diverse context. The obligations of the HRM function with respect to the range of stakeholder interests is explored to develop an awareness of the principles of ethics and corporate governance. Students acquire an understanding of the contemporary human resource management issues and challenges faced by organisations.

The Western academy is organised around a fundamental distinction between nature and society, with nature defined as that which is independent of human action. What can this idea of nature mean in our Anthropocene era, when chemical and thermal pollution are universal, when human cells are cultured and can achieve immortality outside the body, when wilderness exists only in legally designated protected areas, when evolution itself is driven by human-caused extinctions, and the recombination and design of species to order in commercial laboratories? Introducing key debates at the intersection of science and technology studies and environmental policy, this subject enables students to evaluate the vexed concept of sustainability, and the utopian prospect of a transformation from fossil-fuelled industrial modernity to a post-industrial mode of production, sometimes called the 'knowledge-based bioeconomy'. Students undertake an informed critical analysis of the social, political, economic and ethical issues associated with the life industries, from the level of molecular biotechnology to global ecological management.

In this subject students tackle a real-world global problem for an external organisation. Learning is done in seminars where students focus on solutions to the problem in small groups, utilising approaches from their majors. At the end of the semester students make written and oral presentations of their solutions to the external organisation. Skills developed include combining knowledge from global studies with knowledge from majors, ability to collaborate across disciplines, engaging with external organisations, independent and collaborative research on global phenomena, teamwork, and oral and written presentation.

This course explores issues related to climate change and sustainability and the implications for industry sectors and businesses. Established and proposed policy frameworks are surveyed and evaluated to highlight the significance of transparency and accountability in reporting environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. The current state and trends in accounting and reporting for carbon emissions in regulated and voluntary settings will be covered, including the mandatory reporting requirements in Australia under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth) (NGER Act). 

This course explores a toolbox of conceptual approaches and methods to model and analyse a range of highly complex, often non-deterministic problems. It provides a true enabling technology for the natural sciences and a rich source of computational and representational challenges for the computer sciences. Topics covered include spatial dynamic spatio-temporal modelling; geostatistics; error analysis and data accuracy; network analysis; and machine learning and artificial intelligence methods in GIS

Fundamental aspects of the chemistry and biology of aquatic environments are reviewed and extended enabling analysis and interpretation of processes occurring in surface and ground waters as well as water and wastewater treatment systems. Tools are developed enabling solution of realistic water quality problems including introduction to use of chemical speciation computer codes and other water quality modelling packages.

This intensive course is designed to engage students who have a concern for environmental issues, particularly in the arid zones of Australia. Students will travel to Broken Hill and Fowler's Gap, a remote desert location north of Broken Hill, where they will engage with local resources and communities to address the question of how we see, interact with, live in, and represent an arid land under environmental stress.

This course provides parks, recreation and heritage related studies aimed at the management of national parks, recreation parks, Aboriginal and historic sites, urban parks and wildlife management.

Contemporary climatic patterns and controls in Australia. Development of the Australian vegetation. Elements of the Australian vegetation and their distribution. Climate change with particular emphasis on the Quaternary. ENSO phenomena and climatic variability in Australia. Fire and vegetation interactions. The impact of European occupation in Australia.

This course examines the Australian legal regime relating to global climate change. The course begins with an overview of the scientific, economic, equity and international contexts of Australian climate law and then proceeds to a detailed examination of the Australian legal framework, including Commonwealth and State policy and legislation relating to emissions trading, carbon markets and carbon sequestration. The course also examines the substance and process of climate change litigation in Australia, as well as local government and planning issues, and the legal implications of climate change for businesses, including corporate reporting, directors’ duties, and management of risk.