Hazard and Disaster Investigation

Marks and Grades
The Department of Geological Sciences uses the following scale to convert marks into grades:
100 – 90 A+ 75 – 79 B+ 60 – 64 C+
89 – 85 A 70 – 74 B 55 – 59 C
84 – 80 A- 65 – 69 B- 50 – 54 C-
Below 50 D/E

The Department of Geological Sciences reserves the right to adjust this mark/grade conversion, when deemed necessary.
Late Work
Late work should be accompanied with a short note explaining why the work is late. The work will be marked and marks will be subtracted for each day the work is late. Days late include week-ends and holidays.
Aegrotat Applications
If you feel that illness, injury, bereavement or other critical circumstances has prevented you from completing an item of assessment or affected your performance, you should complete an aegrotat application form, available from the Registry or the Student Health and Counselling Service. This should be within seven days of the due date for the required work or the date of the examination. In the case of illness or injury, medical consultation should normally have taken place shortly before or within 24 hours after the due date for the required work, or the date of the test or examination. For further details on aegrotat applications, please refer to the Enrolment Handbook. You have the right to appeal any decision made, including aegrotat decisions.
Missing of Tests
In rare cases a student will not be able to sit a test. In such cases, the student should consult with the course co-ordinator or the Head of Geological Sciences to arrange alternative procedures. This must be done well in advance of the set date for the test, unless the situation is covered by the aegrotat regulations.
Reconsideration of Grades
• Grades for individual items of coursework may be reassessed, and in the first instance students should speak with the course coordinator. If an agreeable solution cannot be reached students should then speak to the Head of the Geological Sciences Department. Reconsideration should normally be requested within 4 weeks of the test or the return of the item of assessment.
• Grade reconsideration for courses as a whole can be obtained by applying to the Registry within 4 weeks of the date of publication of the final results. Students should refer to UC Calendar under general course and examination regulations for details of the appeal process.
Academic Liaison
Tom Brookman and Tim Stahl currently share the Chairperson role on the Postgraduate Liaison Committee. A student representative is appointed to the Liaison Committee at the start of the semester. Please feel free to talk to Tom, Tim or the student representative about any problems or concerns that you might have.
Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities should speak with someone at the Disability Resource Service. Inquire in the first instance at Level 4 Erskine Building (Maths & Computer Science). Email: disability@canterbury.ac.nz
Policy on Dishonest Practice
Plagiarism, collusion, copying and ghost writing are unacceptable and dishonest practices.
• Plagiarism is the presentation of any material (text, data, figures or drawings, on any medium including computer files) from any other source without clear and adequate acknowledgement of the source.
• Collusion is the presentation of work performed in conjunction with another person or persons, but submitted as if it has been completed only by the named author(s).  
• Copying is the use of material (in any medium, including computer files) produced by another person(s) with or without their knowledge and approval.
• Ghost writing is the use of another person(s) (with or without payment) to prepare all or part of an item submitted for assessment.  
In cases where dishonest practice is involved in tests or other work submitted for credit, the student will be referred to the University Proctor. The instructor may choose to not mark the work.

The investigation, synthesis and reporting in HAZM 403 require application of the material in HAZM 401 to real-life situations, and further require the student to seek, acquire, assimilate and use additional material from a variety of sources. Students are required to complete reports both as individuals and also as groups, to gain experience of the benefits and difficulties of working in a team situation.

A significant component of the course is focused on developing written, oral and visual communication skills for expert and non-expert audiences.  This includes working with senior policy advisors from central government (e.g. MCDEM) and a mock media conference with journalism/mass communication students and academics.

Whilst the course utilises knowledge gained from completing HAZM 401 on the nature of hazards and disasters, relevant experience in other courses/programmes is acceptable as preparation for HAZM 403.

Staff will be available for appropriate advice and mentoring throughout the course; however the major benefit from the course is that students learn how to learn, by discovering that they have the ability to think through a novel situation and devise ways of solving problems on which they have not been instructed.

July – course introduction and formulation of research plan
August – collection of data and submission of individual reports
September – collection of data and writing of group report
October – Presentation of personal research for group report and submission of group report

Weeks 29 + 30: Introduction to the course, overview of basic research skills and identification of possible research topics TW
Weeks 31 + 32: Advanced HAZM Research Methods and Communication; selection of research topic TW/EB
Weeks 33 + 34: Class presentation of initial research and guest lecture (translating research speak into policy speak) TW
Weeks 37-38: Mock Media conference (preparation and application).  Includes informal progress meetings (briefing of course supervisors and wider group).  Further lectures and discussions are delivered as necessary TW/EB
Weeks 39 + 40: Informal progress meetings (briefing of course supervisors and wider group).  Further lectures and discussions are delivered as necessary TW
Week 41: Presentation of individual research projects (formal presentation) TW
Final Week 42:  Oral interviews TW

Field Trip – 2 day trip, last weekend of semester break August 29-30.