Value: 3
Pre-requisite: Permission must be granted by the Dean of Science

Modern coral reefs are dynamic systems consisting of a complicated interplay of biological, chemical and geological processes that presently cover approximately 600,000 km2 of the Earth's surface. The aims of this unit are to provide each student with first hand experience of modern reefs as dynamic systems by using quantitative and qualitative scientific methods to explore a diverse range of multidisciplinary topics including: reef formation and structure, reef zonation, carbonate sedimentology, biodiversity, ecology, taxonomy, taphonomy, symbiosis, recruitment, bioturbation and bioerosion, human impacts on reef systems, global warming and the evolution and importance of reef formation in the geological record. This latter point is a particular focus – students learn about the changes associated with the evolution of reefs through geological time. The study of ancient reefs provides a counterpoint and analogy to the modern reef setting studied in the field. The unit involves a compulsory one day on-campus session and an eight-day field excursion to Heron Island Research Station, Capricorn-Bunker Group, Great Barrier Reef (separate excursion fee applies).

Value: 3

This unit provides an introduction to geographical perspectives on population issues and research, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. Topics studied include historical and contemporary fertility and mortality patterns, migration, urbanisation, ageing, indigenous populations, population-physical environment interactions, and the politics of population.

Value: 4
Pre-requisite: Field excursion 20 to 24 April (F), South Coast.

Geological processes and products of modern and ancient marine environments. Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction using lithological, geometrical and palaeontological data. Volcanism and its products in marine environments. Evidence of present day hydrothermal alteration and metamorphism of the oceanic lithosphere and the formation of ore deposits in marine rocks.

Value: 3

Geographical; perspectives on the Australian environment and human relationships with it will be investigated, drawing on the expertise of a number of Human geography staff. Major themes to be examined include: indigenous issues, sustainability, population, rural issues and regional settings. Contemporary policy debates and cultural dimensions will be considered in context.idence of present day hydrothermal alteration and metamorphism of the oceanic lithosphere and the formation of ore deposits in marine rocks.

Value: 3
Note: Check that it is on offer this year

Interdisciplinary perspectives on the origin and evolution of the Earth, especially the changing web of interrelations between atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere through time, and from this background to reflect on current environmental concerns in a way that will help participants make informed decisions no matter what those decisions might be.

Value: 4
Note: Check that this unit is being offered this year in this semester

This course is devoted to examining the ways in which evolutionary biology can shed light on the nature of the human mind and culture. The course begins with an introduction to evolutionary theory and a discussion of some foundational issues concerning its nature and structure. What is fitness? What is adaptationism? What is the unit of selection? A substantial part of the course, however, will be taken up with investigating extensions of evolutionary theory to the explanation of human mind and culture. The course will examine recent theories of cultural evolution, evolutionary epistemology, and evolutionary psychology. A special study will be made of the ambitions and limitations of sociobiology: in particular, of sociobiological explanations of human sexual and ethical behaviour.

Value: 4

Why are some foods considered inedible in some cultures and not in others? Are there some foods which are universally considered repulsive - like human flesh? When and how is eating a barometer of one's moral state? From subsistence strategies to nutritional intake, from food taboos to the social rules that structure how people sit down at the table together or refuse to eat with certain other people, the everyday activities of cooking and eating are packed with economic, medical, and particularly political and cultural meaning. Indeed, for most (if not all) cultures, what people will and won't eat determines their status as civilised beings. This course explores the extraordinary variety of food likes and dislikes, food taboos around the world, and the way food mediates and shapes core social relations to place, to time, and to gender, sexuality and social rank. We will also look at political economies and the ways that food industries shape labour practices, nutritional intake, economies, pleasure and suffering. Not only will we talk about food, we will also come together to share food, in the hopes that this will provide insight!

Value: 4

This unit explores the multiple ways in which Australia has been represented through cultural narratives. It focuses on three 'places' in Australia, including Sydney, examining the different ways in which film, literature, television, historical writing, life-writing and other cultural forms have responded to, contested and made sense of the 'new' place that settler Australia has been. It provides training in the inter-disciplinary approaches of Australian Studies, exposing students to representations from many sources and periods.

Value: 3
Pre-requisite: Some stats and biology

Ecology is the study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and of the processes that generate these patterns. This unit will cover basic ecological concepts at the level of organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems. We will study how interactions among organisms and between organisms and their physical environment shape the natural world. This course will also address how ecological concepts can be applied to current issues like conservation and fisheries and agriculture. There is a compulsory fieldtrip in the September vacation.

Value: 3
Pre-requisite: Must have some stats

This unit is designed to extend the basic statistical methods developed in STAT170 and STAT171. Topics include one-way and two-way analyses of variance, nested analyses of variance, multiple comparisons, simple linear regression, multiple regression and an introduction to logistic regression. The design aspects of the methods given are emphasised. Use will be made of the statistical package, Minitab.

Value: 3

The unit provides a geographical perspective on social, cultural, economic, political and environmental development at a variety of scales from the global to the local, drawing evidence from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Topics include: the legacies of colonialism and imperialism; international trade, debt and foreign aid; regional change in rural areas; impacts of industrialisation, transnational corporations and technological change; the changing nature of work; the role of governments in regional and local development.

Value: 3

This unit offers an introduction to concepts, techniques and issues in contemporary Resource and Environmental Management. The unit examines the importance of resources and outlines changing environmental values at a range of geographical scale.

It examines critically the biophysical, economic, social, cultural and political processes and relationships that underpin resource use and environmental sustainability. Issues and solutions are illustrated with case studies of resource management and environmental decision-making drawn mainly from Australia. Integrated into the program are a range of professional literacy skills, which together with an understanding of the issues are designed to enhance employability within the broad field of resource and environmental management.

Value: 3

Everybody is at risk from natural hazards, either physically or economically, and as global population grows, so too does the social and economic impact of natural disasters. Recent disasters in Australia have caused damage greater than 1.5 billion dollars and, globally, individual disasters have caused damage greater than 100 billion dollars. These disasters are a significant drain on our economy and cause enormous human suffering. However, some individuals, communities and societies are more at risk than others and experience greater losses following natural hazards. This unit examines the risk posed by natural perils through an understanding of the causes and impacts of the most significant natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, tropical cyclones and tsunami as well as 'megahazards' like asteroid impacts with the earth. A number of career paths are available for specialists in natural hazards - for example, the emergency services, disaster managers, the insurance industry and hazards research. Students with internet access can take the unit without attending campus, as the practicals, extensive lecture notes and other support materials are available on the web.

Value: 3

This unit aims at understanding and providing for the management of urban form and social development. Topics focus on planning in an Australian context for urban growth and land use change, different suburban cultures, a multicultural society, urban labour markets and impacts of economic and social change.

Value: 3
Pre-requisite: You will require permission from the Dean of Science.
Note: You will be required to pay for your travel and accommodation in Fiji. This unit may be withdrawn if advice from DEFAT recommends not to travel to Fiji at the time the unit is offered.

In this unit students will be introduced to Tropical Marine Ecosystems in situ in the South Pacific. This is an intensive three week vacation program based at the University of the South Pacific's Institute of Marine Resources.

The unit places a strong emphasis on a cross-disciplinary approach to studying South Pacific marine ecosystems.

Tropical marine environments will be studied using a four module schema. The oceanography and geological history of the South Pacific islands will be the focus of the first module. The second module will examine the biodiversity of tropical marine fauna and flora in South Pacific.

In the third module, tropical marine ecosystems at a large scale are studied. Finally, the fourth module will look at the harvesting and conservation of coral reef environments with a particular focus on how cultural issues interplay with the science of sustainability. Dates for this unit may be obtained from the Department.