- The powers that be have removed the grades-by-student-number page
("Grades" link on the left menu) as this technically does not meet
freedom of information guidlines. You will have to wait for your
final grades to be posted on the main university system.
- The pre-exam grades are posted (see menu). Please double check
that your grades have been recorded accurately, particularly if you
have asked Steve or I to correct addtion and Turnitin issues.
- A reminder than everyone has to submit their paper to Turnitin.com. You will lose a mark if you do not.
- list of potential hazards/disasters provided in assignment 2
instructions.
- Want
your Turnitin mark? If you lost a mark for not submitting to
Turnitin, if you do so you will get the mark back (see class id and
pass next). Notify Steve or myself by email if you do and we will
check it and change your grade.
- class id = 2462026; pass = hazards.
- the syllabus is
ready
for use for Fall 2008. For the first class, I will go over the
syllabus and clarify the goals of the course so you can decide if the
course is right for you. Even if you are not registered for the course
(yet) feel free to attend!
A survey of the methods and models used to understand human responses
to hazards. The course reviews the rich tradition of hazards research
in geography, particularly through the lens of social science. While
the course focuses on concepts and models for understanding human
influences on and responses to hazards, the course will include
discussions of both "natural hazards" (e.g., floods, fires,
earthquakes) and "technological hazards" (e.g., nuclear technology,
genetically modified organisms, terrorism, war) as examples.
This course consists entirely of lectures - no labs. Some of the class
time will be devoted to tutorial-style discussion. That is, there will
be group break-out (3 or 4 per goup) discussions. Thus, students are
responsible for completing the reading for each class prior to lecture.
Instructor/TA
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Room
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Email
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Office Hour
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Jamie Baxter
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SSC 1407
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jamie.baxter@uwo.ca
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Tues after class or by appt. (email me)
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Lect/Lab
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Day
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Duration
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Start Time
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End Time
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Room
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Instructor
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Lect 001
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3 hours
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Baxter
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Component |
Weight |
Assignments (two) |
40% |
Midterm Exam |
20% |
Final Exam |
40% |
Each student must
complete all components of the course to pass.
(midterm format below may change,
watch for updates)
Weight: 20%
Duration: 1.5 hours
Date:
Location: in class
Format: mixed, all answers on exam paper -
marked out of 85
Multiple choice and true/false - 20
- 1 mark ea. (20 marks)
- MC usually 1 of 5 choices (a - e)
- NOT scantron, circle on exam paper
- no "correction factor" (i.e., NO subtraction of incorrect answers
from correct answers)
Instructions
Multiple Choice/True-False: Circle the letter next to
the best, single answer for each question. (20 @ 1 ea. = 20 marks).
Sample question
Most people, in their decision making regarding
hazard adjustment and preparedness, will decide in favour of protecting
against losses. That is, as per Kahneman and Tversky’s S shaped graph
of gains and losses, losses are more strongly felt (than proportional
gains). This helps explain why people sometimes do not make choices
which maximize utility.
a. True
b. False
Definitions - 25
- 5 marks ea. (25 marks)
- choice - you will choose 5 from at least 6
- identify what the thing is, why it is important, how it relates to
other things in hazard and risk research and provide an example(s)
- I have been told by students that I, "expect a lot in a definition".
I agree.
- only those definitions that include an example will receive full
marks
- space - use only the space provided - approximately 1/5 of a page
Instructions
Definitions: Define 5 only with at least one example,
no point form (5@ 5 ea. = 25 marks) Use only the space provided. Write
in sentences. Hint: Start by telling what the thing is.
Sample question
technological hazard
Short Answer - 40
- 10 marks ea. (40 marks)
- choice - you will choose 4 from at least 5
- address the question directly and include at least one example
- examples- only those short answers that include at least one example
will receive full marks
- space - use only the space provided - approximately 1/3 of a page
Instructions
Short Answer: Answer 4 only with an example(s),
no point form (4 @ 10 ea = 40 marks) Use only the space provided. Write
in sentences.
Sample question
Distinguish the sociological,
geographical and critical perspectives in hazards research.
Material Covered:
All lectures and readings up until the end of the class immediately
prior to the midterm date. The focus will be on lectures, but the
readings are generally worthwhile to fill in details and provide
examples. Rarely are there questions on my midterms that are specific
only to a reading. Generally speaking you do not have to know specifics
like who said what in what year for the multiple choice, but it could
not hurt to know some of the more important figures mentioned in class
to round out your definitions and short answer. Provide an example for
all definitions and short answers.
(exam format below may change, watch
for updates)
Weight: 40%
Duration: 3 hours
Date:
Location:
Format: mixed, all answers on exam paper.
Multiple choice and true/false
- 1 mark ea. (20 marks)
- MC usually 1 of 5 choices (a - e)
- NOT scantron, circle on exam paper
- no "correction factor" (i.e., NO subtraction of incorrect answers
from correct answers)
Definitions
- 5 marks ea. (20 marks)
- choice - you will choose 4 from at least 5
- identify what the thing is, why it is important, how it relates to
other things in hazard and risk research and provide an example(s)
- I have been told by students that I, "expect a lot in a definition".
I agree.
- only those definitions that include an example will receive full
marks
- space - use only the space provided - approximately 1/5 of a page
Short Answer
- 10 marks ea. (30 marks)
- choice - you will choose 3 from at least 4
- address the question directly and include at least one example
- examples- only those short answers that include at least one example
will receive full marks
space - use only the space provided - approximately 1/3 of a page
Essay
- 30 marks ea. (30 marks)
- choice - you will choose 1 from 2
- address the question directly and include examples
- space - use only the space provided - approximately 2 1/2 pages
- outline - though there are no marks explicitly awarded for this,
sketch an outline on the extra sheet of paper provided (back of last
page)
Material Covered:
All lectures and readings since the midterm date. You are also
responsible for material you might use in an essay answer. That is, the
essay question will be quite general and will allow you to draw on
material from the entire course. The focus will be on lectures, but the
readings typically overlap the lectures considerably. Generally
speaking you do not have to know authors and dates for the multiple
choice, but it could not hurt to know some of the more important
details of concepts/theories/studies to round out your definitions,
short answer and essay.
A copy of each reading will be available either on-line
(see schedule below) or in the Map
Library (ground floor SSC). Please do NOT
KEEP Map Library copies of readings from these folders -
return after
2 hours max. This is an honour system that should save you a
lot of money - even moreso than courseware. You DO have to make your
own copies though - if desired - or simply borrow, read and return to
the appropriate folder.
Two key books from which the readings come are as
follows:
on reserve
Cutter, S. (Ed.)(1994) Environmental Risks and
Hazards Upper Saddle River NJ: Prentice Hall.
on reserve
Smith, K. (2001) Environmental Hazards:
Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster (3rd Edition) New York:
Routledge.
“Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to
read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what
constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site:
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/scholoff.pdf.
For a full set of regulations please visit this website: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/exam/crsout.pdf"
"All required papers may be subject to submission for textual
similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under
license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers
submitted will be included as source documents in the reference
database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently
submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing
agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com"
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