PY5020 - Psychology of Disasters

Credit points:	03
Year:	2013
Student Contribution Band:	Band 1
Administered by:	School of Arts & Social Sciences

Disasters, both human and natural, have a significant impact on psychologial well-being. This subject discusses how cultural, social and community dynamics as well as individual beliefs and cognitions can influence a community's response to disaster, the individual health outcomes, and the long-term recovery of both the community and the individual.

Learning Outcomes

• the ability to recognise the interaction between psychological, social, and physical needs of individuals and the wider community and the importance of these factors in protecting and maintaining health and well-being within disaster struck communities;
• to understand how individual/community resilience and/or vulnerabilities are subject to change depending on the different phase of the disaster.

Graduate Qualities

• The ability to adapt knowledge to new situations;
• The ability to deploy critically evaluated information to practical ends;
• The ability to select and organise information and to communicate it accurately, cogently, coherently, creatively and ethically;
• The acquisition of coherent and disciplined sets of skills, knowledge, values and professional ethics from at least one discipline area;
• The ability to read complex and demanding texts accurately, critically and insightfully;
• The ability to lead, manage and contribute effectively to teams;
• The ability to work with people of different gender, age, ethnicity, culture, religion and political persuasion.

Assumed Knowledge:

As per entry. Students from across disciplines (e.g. Graduates from Bachelors of Psychology or Social Sciences) are welcomed and are not required to have working knowledge of key psychological principles. The subject is targeted at those who are entering the emergency management profession, emergency management professionals with extensive experience who wish to enhance their qualifications and professionals who want to include emergency management in their portfolio. Students of non English speaking backgrounds must have adequate English language capacity assesssed under the Australian International English Language Testing System. An IELTS score of 6.0 with no component lower than 5.5 is required.

Availabilities
Townsville, Limited, Study Period 1
Census Date 28-Mar-2013
Face to face teaching (Limited attendance dates will be provided pior to Study Period.)
Coordinator:	Dr Connar McShane
Lecturers:	Dr Connar McShane, Dr Wendy Li.
Contact hours:	16 hours workshops/Seminars - Face to face attendance on TSV campus 23 hours
Assessment:	presentations (15%); essays (30%); assignments (40%); group discussion (discussion board ljcu) (15%).
Restrictions:	An enrolment quota applies to this offering.

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.