GEOGRAPHY

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr N Spedding

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Notes

This course may not be included in a graduating curriculum with GG 1005, GG 1006 or KL 107Y.

Overview

Related study blocks will address:

• How the planet works. The interdependence of natural and human systems: interaction of atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, world cultures, economic and political systems.


• Global environmental change. Atmosphere and oceans. The relationships between land cover and land use, population, and development. Political, economic and ethical consequences.
  
• Resources, development and environmental degradation. Natural resources as the foundation of prosperity and human well-being. Agricultural and industrial development, social and environmental justice.


• Globalisation, society and lifestyles. What are the impacts of global economic and technological change? What is sustainable development and is it achievable?

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week plus 5 one-hour workgroups and 1 two-hour computer practical

Assessment

1st Attempt:

Formative Assessment

The course includes a workgroup exercise on assessment of essays.  Students must sit a mock exam in-class.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard  comments sheets. For the practical, we also provide whole-class feedback via MyAberdeen.  We also put model answers/mark schemes for all coursework and the mock exams on MyAberdeen to give students the chance to self-assess their own performance.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr J.E Schofield

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Notes

This course may not be included in a graduating curriculum with GG 1506, GG 1507 or KL 157Y.

Overview

This course examines how geographical patterns and processes are reflected at a varitey of spatial scales (from global to local). Related study blocks will address:

• Environmental change and landscape response;-topography ice and climate, (the cryosphere), and the factors affecting the contemporary distributions of plants, animals and soils (biogeography).


• Globalisation and the challenges to sustainable transport;- regional development and the post-industrial economy of Scotland.


• New social and cultural spaces;- mobility and difference; poverty and exclusion; imaginative geographies and unequal power relationships; memories, places and nations.

Structure

2 1-hour lectures per week + 6 1-hour workgroups.

Assessment

1st Attempt:

• For students who complete the coursework to a satisfactory standard: coursework, 100%.  These students will obtain exemption from the degree exam, and their coursework mark will provide the overall course CAS mark.


• For students who do not obtain exemption from the degree exam: coursework, 50% plus exam, 50%.

Formative Assessment

The course includes a practical assignment, a group poster/presentation, and an essay.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr D Mair

Pre-requisites

GG 1007 or GG 1509

Overview

The course focuses on understanding physical environmental processes and change. In particular three broad themes of hydrology, glaciology and palaeoecology will be explored to illustrate the linkages and interactions between process and form over a range of temporal and spatial scales. The three themes are team-taught by staff with a strong emphasis on using examples from their own research projects.

Structure

20 lectures (2 per week). Online practicals TBA

Assessment

1st Attempt: For students who complete the two coursework exercises to a satisfactory standard: coursework (100%). These students will obtain exemption from the degree exam, and their coursework mark will provide the overall course CAS mark. For students who do not obtain exemption from the degree exam: coursework (50%) plus exam (50%).

Resit: Original coursework carried forward (50%), plus exam (50%).

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, feedback on summative assessments should help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for follow-up second half-session courses.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets. We also provide whole-class feedback via MyAberdeen. This includes the main points of answers/tutors' mark schemes to encourage students to review where they gained and lost marks.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr D Watts

Pre-requisites

GG 1007 or GG 1509 or permission of course coordinator.

Overview

This course examines political, economic, social and cultural change from a spatial perspective, using a range of concepts and case studies. Although intended to provide a foundation for higher level study of human geography, it is designed to be accessible to students of cognate disciplines such as anthropology, economics, history, international relations and sociology. Topics to be addressed include, for example:
globalisation; political geography; uneven development; rural change in Western Europe; relationships between place and identity. The course is team-taught, often using examples drawn from our own fields of research.

Structure

The course is delivered through 2 one-hour lectures per week (22 hours in total). There are also two drop-in surgery sessions for informal discussion of any issues that students have concerning the coursework assignments (up to 4 hours in total).

Assessment

1st Attempt: For students who complete the two coursework assignments to a satisfactory standard: coursework (100%).

For students who do not obtain exemption from the degree exam: coursework (50%) plus exam (50%).

Resit: Original coursework carried forward (50%), plus exam (50%).

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework assignments using standard comments sheets. This feedback will help students to improve their subsequent performance within the course and on following courses. There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment for this course.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Beecroft

Pre-requisites

Only available to students in Programme Year 2 registered for one of Geography and Environment's degree programmes, or at least three from GG 2010, GG 2012, GG 2509 and GG 2510. Students who do not meet these criteria may be admitted to the course at the discretion of the course coordinator.

Notes

This course involves an Easter field trip. Students are advised not to make arrangements for the vacation until details of the trips are confirmed. Please note the field course involves a student financial contribution.

Overview

The course introduces key research skills for the geosciences, both scientific and social scientific, and includes both lecture and practical components. Students will learn how to conduct investigations in their chosen field of study effectively and safely. Topics considered include concepts underpinning geosciences research, and basic methods of data gathering, analysis and presentation (such as questionnaire design, keeping of a field notebook, basic field skills, some statistical training, report writing). The core element of the course is a residential fieldtrip in the Easter vacation. This enables students to employ the skills and techniques learned in lectures and workgroup sessions to conduct original research into phenomena/issues covered elsewhere in the suite of Level 1 and 2 courses in Geography & Environment.

Structure

Lectures to introduce principles of research design, key techniques of data collection and analysis, supported by workgroup sessions for field trip preparation, plus the field trip itself.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Coursework (100%): pre-trip presentation (20%), end-of-trip presentation (20%), fieldwork diary and 2,500 word report written up as a short research paper (60%).

Resit: Apply to course coordinator. In exceptional circumstances, students may be permitted to resubmit the field trip report.

Formative Assessment

Students work in groups, supported by staff, to prepare their field trip projects. Students are expected to keep a diary/notebook that records the progress of their project. Pre-trip and end-of-trip presentations provide opportunities for formative feedback that can be used to improve students' performance at the next task/stage of assessment.

Feedback

Feedback (verbal and/or written) on students' pre-trip presentation before the field trip provides opportunities to adjust the proposed research design. Feedback (verbal and/or written) on students' end-of-trip presentation provides opportunities to adjust the processing and write-up of data. Students receive individual written feedback on their project report. We also provide a group debrief that identifies strengths and weaknesses and looks ahead to the additional demands of Level 3 study.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr T Mighall

Pre-requisites

GG 1007 or GG 1509 or relevant Sixth Century Course. Other students with an interest in current environmental issues may be admitted at the discretion of the course coordinator.

Co-requisites

None

Overview

Study of the relationship between people and their environment is perhaps the most durable of geography's core traditions. The spatial diversity of the natural environment, the distribution of resources, and the associated opportunities or constraints for socio-economic development dominated much of the work done in the first few decades of the discipline's existence as a recognised school and university subject. In the second half of the twentieth century, as the negative impact of human activities on the environment became increasingly obvious, other disciplines - such as the natural sciences, economics, sociology and politics - also started to think of the environment as part of their territory. The rise of the environment as a pervasive, but often ill-defined or disputed, 'real world' issue was matched by the proliferation of ideas about how best to study it, drawn from all parts of the academic spectrum. This course provides a survey of some of the most important of these current environmental issues (e.g., biodiversity, climate change, natural hazards, organic foods, sustainable transport, water resources), examined from various conceptual perspectives (e.g., earth systems science, political ecology, risk and vulnerability, social construction of nature). Although the diversity of environmental debates and the different perspectives that sustain and/or explain these provides the core theme of the course, coursework will give students the opportunity to focus on topics of particular interest.

Structure

Two 1-one sessions per week, to include both lectures and practical briefings. Two 2-hour surgery sessions to support coursework. Further support from MyAberdeen.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 100% coursework. Two data-response exercises + poster project.

Resit: Apply to course coordinator. In exceptional circumstances, students may be permitted to resubmit coursework.

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, feedback on summative assessments should help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for follow-up second half-session courses.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets. We also provide whole-class feedback via MyAberdeen. This includes the main points of answers/tutors' mark schemes to encourage students to review where they gained and lost marks.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Spagnolo

Pre-requisites

Only available to students in Programme Year 2.

Overview

The course covers: map reading and map creation; measurement, recording and manipulation of ground-surveyed and remotely-sensed data; data acquisition via a Global Positioning System; analysis of aerial photograph and satellite images; approaches to environmental monitoring based on multi-temporal images; the storage, manipulation and timely provision of geographical information; methods of analysing and presenting the results through Geographical Information Systems. The theoretical basis of both Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing techniques will form the foundations of the course, with reference to case studies at a range of scales (from local to global) both in lectures and practical work.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week (14 hours in total) plus surgery sessions to support practical work (6 hours).

Assessment

1st Attempt: For students who complete the two coursework exercises to a satisfactory standard: coursework (100%). These students will obtain exemption from the degree exam, and their coursework mark will provide the overall course CAS mark. For students who do not obtain exemption from the degree exam: coursework (50%) plus exam (50%).

Resit: Original coursework carried forward (50%), plus exam (50%).

Formative Assessment

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments. There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, feedback on summative assessments should help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for subsequent courses.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets. We also provide whole-class feedback via MyAberdeen. This includes the main points of answers/tutors mark schemes to encourage students to review where they gained and lost marks.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr N Spedding

Pre-requisites

Available only to candidates in Programme Year 3 who have passed GG 2508 and at least three from GG 2010, GG 2011, GG 2509, GG 2510.

Notes

This course may not be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with GG 3052 or GG 3071.

Overview

The course is designed to introduce students to key debates, both past and present, on the nature and scope of academic geography. As such, it provides essential background for study of geography at an advanced level, irrespective of any intended specialisation. Wherever possible, parallels are drawn between the physical, environmental and human branches of the subject, although the reality (or otherwise) of geography as a single, coherent discipline is also put under scrutiny. Students are encouraged to take a critical stance towards the various claims made for and against the different types of geography, and the notion of geography as a 'contested enterprise' forms a major theme of the course.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture per week plus 1 two-hour Honours induction/skills session and 4 two-hour seminars.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One two-hour examination: (50%) and coursework (50%), made up of one seminar presentation plus written exercises (e.g., an essay and a report).

Resit: original coursework carried forward (50%) plus one 2-hour written examination (50%). Under exceptional circumstances, resubmission of failed coursework components, with mark for those components to be capped at CAS 9.

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, the course includes a dedicated introductory session on reading, writing and talking Honours geography and a group tutorial to support the first written assignment. Feedback on summative assessments should help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for follow-up second half-session courses.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets. We also provide whole-class feedback via MyAberdeen. This includes the main points of answers/tutors' mark schemes to encourage students to review where they gained and lost marks.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr N Spedding

Pre-requisites

GG 2010 and GG 2508. Available only to students registered for BSc joint programmes with Geography.

Notes

This course may not be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with GG 3031 or GG 3071.

Overview

This course is designed to introduce students to key debates, both past and present, on the nature and scope of the earth and environmental sciences. As such it provides essential background for study of physical geography/geosciences at an advanced level. Content will include key aspects of the history of the earth and environmental sciences (e.g., the discovery of "deep time", the development of ideas about ice ages, the impact of evolutionary theory, the quantitative revolution in physical geography post-1945, the importance of digital technologies, the influence of environmentalism). We relate these to important concepts used to structure explanation in the earth sciences (e.g., uniformitarianism, historical approaches vs. process studies, systems and models). The last third of the course addresses the implications for research (e.g., the possibilities and pitfalls of different qualitative and quantitative approaches). This part of the course incorporates some practical work, including a one-day field trip.

Structure

Flexible according to students' interests. Typically 16 hours of lectures, one 2-hour introductory skills session, 4 hours of seminars, 4 hours of practical classes + one day field trip. Teaching is spread across both half-sessions.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Coursework (67%): one seminar presentation, first half-session (33%); one research practical exercise, second half-session (33%); one 1-hour written examination in January (33%).

Resit: Original coursework carried forward (67%) plus one 2-hour written examination (33%). Under exceptional circumstances, resubmission of failed coursework components, with mark for those components to be capped at CAS 9.

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, the course includes a dedicated introductory session on reading, writing and talking Honours geography. Feedback on summative assessments should help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for follow-up second half-session courses.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets. We also provide whole-class feedback via MyAberdeen. This includes the main points of answers/tutors' mark schemes to encourage students to review where they gained and lost marks.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Mr J Carnie and Dr N Spedding

Pre-requisites

At least one of GG 2011, GG 2509, LE 2031, MR 2510 or MR 2511. Available only to students in Programme Year 3 or above.

Overview

This course is designed for students with an interest in how best to make use of land, water and cultural resources. It examines the science, ethics, aesthetics, economics, law and politics of land and marine management at a variety of geographic levels from the international down to the local, and draws heavily upon case studies from the UK and elsewhere. Potential examples include the protection and management of: Antarctica; fish stocks; areas of natural beauty; historical cities; and the peri-urban fringe from the threats posed by the likes of: mineral extraction; energy schemes; airport expansion; intensive farming practices; urban sprawl and tourism/leisure proposals.

Structure

The course will be taught through a mixture of lectures, discussions and seminars, supported by self directed learning.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 x 2,000 word essay (33%); 1 x project report on a relevant topic of your choice (2000 words per student) (33%); a document response based written examination (33%).

Resit: Original coursework carried forward (67%) plus examination (33%). Under exceptional circumstances, resubmission of failed coursework components, with mark for these components to be capped at CAS 9.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr D. Mauquoy

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed GG 2508.

Co-requisites

None

Overview

• Topic 1: Introduction: sampling design, data types, descriptive statistics, use of data tables and charts, parametric vs. non-parametric statistics.


• Topic 2: Testing for relationships: data inspection, assumptions and transformations, linear regression, multiple linear regression, correlation.


• Topic 3: Testing for differences: 2 samples (t-test, Mann-Whitney and Kolmogorov-Smirnov); more than 2 samples (ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and multiple range tests).


• Topic 4: Multivariate statistics: linear vs. unimodal ordination techniques; PCA and DCA; RDA and CCA.


• Topic 5: Design and analysis of social surveys.


• Topic 6: Synthesis: key do's and don'ts, presenting statistics, use of statistics in published work.

Structure

One-two hour lecture/practical per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 100% coursework. Students complete 3 short assignments plus one longer assignment.

Resit: Resubmission of failed project work, with mark for those components to be capped at CAS 9.

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, feedback on summative assessments should help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comment sheets. We also provide whole-class feedback in class meetings and via MyAberdeen, covering generic issues and running through model answers.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr R Bingham

Pre-requisites

GG 2510

Overview

The course focuses on practical training in the use of remote sensing and GIS software and techniques to examine, analyse and present geographical issues. Emphasis is placed on giving students technical experience through project-based learning, with all sessions based in the computer lab and working with software such as ArcGIS and ERDAS Imagine. Project management and graphical presentation of results and analysis will also form a strong theme of the course. Students will be offered a range of projects to work on, which will reflect directly contemporary research being undertaken across the discipline of Geography and Environment. Staff in all areas of G&E will provide projects; computer practicals and support will be undertaken by GIS experts based in G&E.

Structure

Ten 2-hour practical sessions based in a computing laboratory.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Coursework (100%): two project exercises.

Resit: Resubmission of failed project work, with mark for those components to be capped at CAS9.

Formative Assessment

Surgeries will be integrated into the course.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr N Spedding

Pre-requisites

Available only to candidates in Programme Year 3 who have passed GG 2508 and at least three from GG 2010, GG 2011, GG 2509, GG 2510.

Notes

This course may not be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with GG 3031 or GG 3052.

Overview

The course is designed to introduce students to key debates, both past and present, on the nature and scope of academic geography. As such, it provides essential background for study of geography at an advanced level, irrespective of any intended specialisation. Wherever possible, parallels are drawn between the physical, environmental and human branches of the subject, although the reality (or otherwise) of geography as a single, coherent discipline is also put under scrutiny. Students are encouraged to take a critical stance towards the various claims made for and against the different types of geography, and the notion of geography as a 'contested enterprise' forms a major theme of the course.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture per week plus 1 two-hour skills session and 4 two-hour seminars.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Coursework (67%): one seminar presentation (33%) plus one piece of written work (33%), plus one 1-hour examination (33%).).

Resit: Original coursework carried forward (67%) plus one 1-hour written examination (33%). Under exceptional circumstances, resubmission of failed coursework components, with mark for those components to be capped at CAS 9.

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, the course includes a dedicated introductory session on reading, writing and talking Honours geography and a group tutorial to support the first written assignment. Feedback on summative assessments should help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for follow-up second half-session courses. See box below.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets. We also provide whole-class feedback via MyAberdeen. This includes the main points of answers/tutors mark schemes to encourage students to review where they gained and lost marks.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr D Watts

Pre-requisites

GG 2011 (Perspectives in Human Geography) and GG 3031 or GG 3071 (Approaches to Geography).

Overview

This course examines economic, cultural, social, political and environmental change from a spatial perspective, using a selection of key geographical concepts and related case studies. The concepts to be addressed include, for example: space, place (region or landscape), power, nature/culture hybridity, mobility, difference/diversity and identity, and uneven development/globalisation. The various themes are team-taught by staff, often using examples drawn from their own fields of research in areas such as transport, agri-food/rural change and political ecology.

Structure

Ten 2-hour weekly sessions (i.e. 20 in total, with four hours spent on each concept): Five 2-hour lectures to introduce concepts to be followed by five seminar-style sessions to investigate application of concepts to particular topics, for which students will be expected to prepare work.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Three pieces of assessment (each 33%): one long essay, a portfolio of short pieces based on prescribed reading for seminars, and one 1-hour exam.

Resit: Resubmission of failed coursework components, with mark for those components to be capped at CAS 9; resit of exam.

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, feedback on summative assessments should help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for follow-up courses. See box below.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets. We also provide whole-class feedback via MyAberdeen. This includes the main points of answers/tutors mark schemes to encourage students to review where they gained and lost marks.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr N Spedding and Dr L Philip

Pre-requisites

Available only to candidates in Programme Year 3 registered for one of G&E's Honours programmes.

Notes

This course may not be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with GG 3574.

Overview

• The nature of the research process.


• Considering 'what makes a good piece of research' and 'how does a particular approach to your subject influence the type of research undertaken'.


• Aims and learning outcomes of the undergraduate dissertation.


• Selecting research topics and developing research questions. Literature searches and how to write a literature review.


• Sources of quantitative and qualitative secondary data.


• Data collection methods applicable to a wide range of geographical research questions.


• Strategies for interpreting qualitative data.


• Research ethics.


• Health and safety for researchers.


• Writing up research, how to present your dissertation and make the most of your research efforts.

Structure

9 x two-hour lectures; 2 x 2 hour workshops; optional field day.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 100% coursework. Students complete four assignments; each of which counts for 25% of the overall mark:
(i) research contexts essay; (ii) preliminary literature review / research planning exercise; (iii) short report: data analysis and interpretation case study; (iv) portfolio of careers-related coursework.

Resit: Resubmission of failed project work, with mark for those components to be capped at CAS 9.

Formative Assessment

Feedback on summative assessments should help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for subsequent courses. The course incorporates the initial stages of dissertation supervision. Although summatively assessed for the purposes of this course, the preliminary literature review acts as a key component of formative assessment for the final dissertation.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets. Students are also expected to liaise with their dissertation supervisor, to include two formal meetings.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr L Philip and Dr N Spedding

Pre-requisites

Available only to candidates in Programme Year 3 registered for one of G&E's Honours programmes.

Notes

This course may not be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with GG 3573.

Overview

• The nature of the research process.


• Considering 'what makes a good piece of research' and 'how does a particular approach to your subject influence the type of research undertaken'.


• Aims and learning outcomes of the undergraduate dissertation. Selecting research topics and developing research questions.


• Literature searches and how to write a literature review.


• Sources of quantitative and qualitative secondary data.


• Data collection methods applicable to a wide range of geographical research questions.


• Strategies for interpreting qualitative data.


• Research ethics.


• Health and safety for researchers.


• Writing up research, how to present your dissertation and make the most of your research efforts.

Structure

9 x two-hour lectures; 2 x 2 hour workshops; optional field day.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 100% coursework. Students choose two assignments (each worth 50%) from :
(i) research contexts essay; (ii) preliminary literature review / research planning exercise (this being compulsory for students intending to complete their dissertation in G&E; (iii) short report: data analysis and interpretation case study; iv) portfolio of careers-reated coursework.

Resit: Resubmission of failed project work, with mark for those components to be capped at CAS 9.

Formative Assessment

Feedback on summative assessments should help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for subsequent courses. For dissertation students, the course incorporates the initial stages of supervision. Although summatively assessed for the purposes of this course, the preliminary literature review acts as a key component of formative assessment for the final dissertation.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets. Dissertation students are also expected to liaise with their supervisor, to include two formal meetings.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr B R Rea

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed GG 2010 and GG 2508 and at least one from GG 2509 and GG 2510.

Co-requisites

None.

Notes

Field trips may form part of the course.

Overview

The course will deliver training in techniques related to our specific strengths in physical geography and will develop on the introduction to these provided by the 2nd year physical geography course.

Topics/techniques will include some of the following:

• Topographic survey.


• Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology.


• Glaciology.


• Ecology.


• Palaeoecology.


• Modelling.

Case studies (e.g. blue skies research papers and applied reports) will be used to introduce the techniques; some will be hands-on in the lab or in the field with others being solely theory based. It will provide a research-led introduction to techniques required at Honours and advanced level study and in the workplace beyond.

Structure

The course will be delivered through a mixture of lectures and practical/lab exercises - 12 x 2 hrs in total. This will be supplemented with self-directed learning and, where applicable, there will be field-based teaching excursions.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Coursework (100%).

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, feedback on summative assessments will help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for follow-up Level 4 courses.

Feedback

Students will receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using our standard comments sheets.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr J Anable

Pre-requisites

GG 3570. This course cannot be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with GG 3028.

Overview

Introducing transport geography; transport trends; transport policy in Scotland, England and Europe; transport and the environment; travel behaviour change; rural transport and accessibility; plus project project/mock inquiry.

Structure

Lectures / workshops: 24 hours in total (1 two-hour lectures/workshops each week).

Assessment

1st Attempt: Coursework (33%) plus 1 two-hour exam (67%).


A resit for this course is not normally available until the following academic year.

Formative Assessment

There is no stand alone formative assessment. Coursework incorporates peer assessment.

Feedback

Students will all receive individual written feedback on their essay using G&E's comments sheets. Verbal feedback on exam performance will be provided on request.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr L Philip

Pre-requisites

GG 3571 or GG 3572 or GG 3052 Research Design. Only available to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

Personal research on a specialist subject of the student's choice.

Structure

There are no formal classes. The course builds on the introduction to advanced research provided by GG 3571/GG 3572 Research Design. Students are welcome to ask members of staff for guidance at any time. Three formal supervision meetings are mandatory;other interaction should be initiated by the students.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 9,000-12,000 words dissertation (100%).

Resit: Apply to Head of School. Only in exceptional circumstances may students be permitted to resubmit a dissertation.

Formative Assessment

The dissertation supervison process provides continual formative assessment.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback (using standard comments sheets) on their dissertation from two members of staff who have marked the thesis independently. Marks and comments sheets are made available after the June external exam board.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr L Philip

Pre-requisites

GG 3571 or GG 3572 Research Design. Only available to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

Personal research on a specialist subject of the student's choice.

Structure

There are no formal classes. The course builds on the introduction to advanced research provided by GG 3571/GG 3572 Research Design. Students are welcome to ask members of staff for guidance at any time. Three formal supervision meetings are mandatory; other interaction should be initiated by the students.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 9,000-12,000 words dissertation (100%).

Resit: Apply to Head of School. Only in exceptional circumstances may students be permitted to resubmit a dissertation.

Formative Assessment

The dissertation supervision process provides continual formative assessment.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback (using standard comments sheets) on their dissertation from two members of staff who have marked the thesis independently. Marks and comments sheets are made available after the June external exam board.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr D Mair

Pre-requisites

GG3569

Co-requisites

None

Overview

The course will be delivered through a series of four inter-related blocks, extending from background theory and concepts to the application of sophisticated, modern day monitoring and modelling approaches used to understand glaciological processes and form. The course will draw upon a wide range of case study material, underpinned by staff research experience from various glaciated regions of the world, including both polar regions.

Block 1: The physics of glaciers (DM)
Block 2: Glacier hydrology (DM/RB)
Block 3: Ice-ocean interactions (DM/RB)
Block 4: Past glacial landscapes and glacial sedimentology (BR)

Structure

The course will be delivered through a mixture of lectures, reading-based discussions and self-guided practical exercises, 12 two-hour in total. These will be supplemented with self-directed learning, aided by the provision of essential support notes, reading lists and details of the assessment exercises.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 67% continuous assessment (based on 2 data response exercises); 33% oral examination.

Resit: A resit for this course is not normally available until the following academic year.

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, feedback on summative assessments will help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for related second half-session courses.

Feedback

Students will receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using our standard comments sheets.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr L Philip and Dr D Watts

Pre-requisites

GG3570 or permission of the course coordinator

Co-requisites

None

Notes

Students from other social science/humanities subjects interested in taking this course for 'disciplinary breadth' are welcome to discuss this possibility with one of the course coordinators.

Overview

Conceptualising 'rural'
The diverse rural economy
Productivist agriculture
Post-productivism and the consumption countryside
The changing demography of rural communities (including depopulation and repopulation, experiences of rural life for different demographic sub-groups)
Rural challenges: service provision, housing, accessibility
Rural opportunities: the digital society, entrepreneurialism
The multi-functional countryside
Agricultural change and rural policy
Rural futures
Comparative perspectives on key challenges facing rural communities: international case studies.

Structure

1 two-hour slot per week comprising (a) 9 two-hour lectures and (b) 3 two-hour seminars, for which students will be required to prepare short briefing papers.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Coursework (33%) one 2,500 word essay; 1 two-hour examination (67%).

Resit: A resit for this course is not normally available until the following academic year.

Formative Assessment

Students will receive formative feedback after the three seminar sessions, for which they will be required to prepare three 750-1000 word reports.

Feedback

Formative (verbal) feedback will be given to students during class. Students will all receive individual written feedback on their essay using G&E's comments sheets. Verbal feedback on exam performance will be provided on request.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr C Gibbins

Pre-requisites

GG3569

Co-requisites

None

Overview

The course will be delivered through a series of blocks, extending from background theory and concepts to the application of sophisticated, modern day monitoring and modelling approaches used to understand catchment behaviour. The course will draw upon wide a range of case study material, underpinned by staff research in the UK, across the Northern Hemisphere and in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Block 1: What happens when it rains? Water movement through catchments - understanding hydrological pathways and links to applied problems (such as drought, floods) (DT)
Block 2: Water and sediment movement in river channels - fluvial processes and river habitats (CG)
Block 3: Using models to help understand catchment hydrology and to simulate hydrological processes (DT)
Block 4: Linking hydrology to ecology (CG)

Structure

The course will be delivered through a mixture of lectures and self-guided practical exercises - 12 two-hours in total. This will be supplemented with self-directed learning.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 100% coursework: three data response exercises, the last to be set as part of the examination diet.

Resit: A resit for this course is not normally available until the following academic year.

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment. However, feedback on summative assessments will help students to improve their subsequent performances within the course and for related second half-session courses.

Feedback

Students will receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using our standard comments sheets

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr N Spedding

Pre-requisites

GG3031 or GG3052 or GG3063. Only available to students in Programme Year 4.

Co-requisites

None.

Overview

Geographical Issues explores the frontiers of geographical knowledge as it examines some of the 'cutting edge' debates associated with:

• new philosophies and methodologies;
• the relationships between geography and other academic disciplines;
• applications of academic geography to real world problems.

Structure

Part A (25% of the total workload): two introductory sessions (in November/December - dates TBC) to introduce the career planning report task
Part B (75% of the total workload): introductory sessions and/or supporting web materials to guide independent study, plus 3 two-hour seminars with student presentations

Assessment

1st Attempt: By coursework (100%), two parts:

• Part A: reflective career planning report (20%)
• Part B: one seminar presentation (20% delivery + 20% content) plus two pieces of written work (20% each)

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone, formal formative assessment.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr J S Kelman

Pre-requisites

Only available to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

As a broad overview of the subject, course content will include topics from across the full range of the subject. Although the specific topics covered in lectures may change from year to year, due to staff turnover, changing requirements from the professional body, and/or opportunities that may arise, coverage is currently anticipated to include:

• Developers and the built environment


• Definitions and scales of economic development.


• Economic development, growth and productivity.


• Goals and rationales for state intervention into property markets.


• Contrasting perspectives in addressing regional disparity.


• Stakeholders, communities and markets.


• Dimensions of regeneration.


• Social inclusion and economic competitiveness in regeneration.


• Urban evolution and structural change.


• Waves of industrial development.


• De-industrialisation.


• Spatial expression of de-industrialisation


• Consequences of changing patterns of production for the developed World


• Dereliction in the inner cities: scale and consequences.


• Challenges and opportunities in regeneration.


• Regeneration and sustainable development.


• Land dereliction and contamination.


• Definitions of contaminated land and brownfield land.


• Site contamination as a hazard.


• Exposure pathways.


• Significance of contaminated land for regeneration and the property market.


• Site profiles and site registries.


• Site investigation and remedial planning.


• Risk perception, acceptability and standards.


• Risk assessment.


• Risk management.


• Remediation: approaches, implications and trade-offs.


• The post-industrial city.


• Spatial trends since the 1980s.


• Gentrification.


• Agents of Gentrification.


• Gentrification: challenges and opportunities.


• Flagship developments (definitions, examples, implications).


• Flagship developments: advantages and disadvantages.


• Festival retailing.


• Urban regeneration policy and new economic futures.


• Master planning mega projects.


• Urban regeneration corporations, past and present.


• Conservation and regeneration.


• Property-led regeneration.


• Retail-led regeneration.


• City centres versus suburbs.


• Area-based or regional niche


• Growth poles and technology focussed regeneration.


• Culture-led regeneration.


• Education-led regeneration.


• Housing-led regeneration.


• Building community capacity.

Structure

One two-hour lecture per week

Assessment

1st Attempt: Coursework (33%); two-hour exam (67%).

Resit: Not applicable

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone formative assessment.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Ms G Wall

Pre-requisites

None.

Overview

• Introduction to design principles, policy, toolkits and practice.


• The costs of poor design and the value of maximising design quality.


• Principles of design introduction to design, form and function, sustainable placemaking, space design and the public realm, appreciating and evaluating alternative approaches to design.


• Principles of development.


• The role of various factors in the development process, constraints, obstacles and feasibility.


• Social equity and design issues.


• Role of design in development and planning processes.


• Design control and quality, design policies, frameworks, guidelines, codes and statements, masterplans, charrettes, community participation in design.


• Evaluating alternative design approaches in the wider context.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture / workshop per week. Additional support from My Aberdeen.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One 2-hour written examination (50%). Coursework project: group presentation and poster (20%) and individual report (30%) supported by peer assessment.

Resit: Not applicable.

Formative Assessment

Feedback on the summative assessment will help students improve their subsequent performance.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets. We also provide feedback via MyAberdeen

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Mr j Carnie

Pre-requisites

Successful completion of Programme Year 3 of an accredited programme in Spatial Planning.

Overview

This course provides an awareness of theoretical debates which are crucial to understanding the assumptions implicit in spatial planning practice and the challenges confronting practitioners. Simply put, what guides to action are available to help planners in deciding how to act and in determining whether their actions have been appropriate. This raises fundamental questions about the very nature of spatial planning and its relationship to politics and power. The course, therefore, addresses such questions as:

• What are the justifications for spatial planning and what goals should it have?


• What procedural theory should guide the work of practitioners?


• Whose interests does the spatial planning system serve?


• How do we judge what constitutes fairness?


• How do we conceive ethical action in spatial planning?

Structure

Two hours of lectures per week plus one day field excursion.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Coursework: (33%) (individual/small group presentation) plus 2-hour exam: (67%).

Resit: Not applicable.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment will be primarily based on individual presentations.

Feedback

By standard feedback sheets and discussion in staff office hours.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Mr D R Green

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 with a School of Geosciences study aim. Students from other Schools may be admitted at the discretion of the Course Coordinator. This course may not be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with GG 3563.

Notes

Running in academic year 2014-2015.

Overview

The OilSim simulation software offers a novel and innovative way to provide the basis to combine theory with practice and draws upon many different subjects including geography, GIS/digital mapping, ecology, oil and gas exploration, the marine and coastal sciences, and business etc. The first part of the course will provide essential theoretical background to the subject matter including the OilSim software with guided practical 'dummy' sessions on the use of the software tools and techniques. The second part of the course will provide a group learning environment to apply the theory in a competitive problem-solving environment. The course/module will run for 12 weeks as a 24 hour module. The first 6 weeks will focus on learning the background and theory, together with familiarisation with the OilSim simulation software. The second 6 weeks will focus on running the simulation 'for real', culminating in completion of the simulation exercise.

Structure

6 two-hour lecture/practical and 6 two-hour computer laboratory sessions. In addition an occasional guest speaker (from ACC/Simprentis).

Assessment

1st Attempt: Course-work based assessment (100%) with no examination in the normal examination period. Written exercise based on the theory taught in the first half of the module (33%) plus 1 two-hour online simulation examination (where groups will be in competition) (67%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Feedback

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Mr B Walton

Pre-requisites

GG 2011 or LE 2031

Overview

This course will cover:

• The institutional framework within which the UK (and Scottish) spatial planning system operates.


• The legal meaning of 'development'.


• The submission and determination of planning applications.


• The use of conditions and agreements.


• The role of enforcement action against unauthorised development.


• Special legal controls for the regulation of advertisements and the protection of the historic built environment, the natural environment and trees.
• Compulsory purchase powers and compensation.


• The legal duties of spatial planners and surveyors.

Structure

12 two-hour lectures or discussion sessions, to include mock planning enquiry exercise.

Assessment

1st Attempt: (33%) - coursework: participation in a mock planning inquiry. (67%) - exam with students being required to answer 2 questions from a choice of 6 in two hours.

Resit: Not applicable.

Formative Assessment

There is no stand-alone formative assessment.

Feedback

Students receive individual, written feedback on their coursework using standard comments sheets.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

TBC (rotates on an annual basis).

Pre-requisites

GG 2011 and GG 2508

Co-requisites

Research Design (GG 3571 or GG 3572) and Concepts in Human Geography.

Notes

Teaching for this course begins in the second half-session of third year. Normally this course will only run if 10 or more students are registered. Students are asked to make their own travel arrangements to and from the field course venue and they are also asked to make a contribution towards the cost of the field course. Please ask for further details.

Overview

Building on content introduced in the complementary course Concepts in Human Geography, material will cover theory, background information and case studies appropriate to the chosen field area. Students will design and execute projects that target specific human geographical aspects of their choice (e.g., addressing how hybridity, mobility, difference/diversity, regional development or globalisation affect the social spaces of the field area).

Structure

Typically 6 x 2-hour preparatory sessions plus six days fieldwork, typically:

• days 1 and 2 tour of the area, to highlight key features and issues, and to permit reconnaissance of field sites.


• days 3, 4 and 5 group work on specific field projects, supplemented by evening sessions (data collation and interpretation, preparation of field diary).
  
• day 6 individual field presentations on group projects.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 100% coursework: pre-trip presentation, project diary/field notebook, end of trip presentation (each 16.67%) plus final report (50%).

Resit: Resubmission of failed project work, with mark for those components to be capped at CAS 9.

Formative Assessment

Students work in groups, supported by staff, to prepare their field trip projects. Students are expected to keep a diary/notebook that records the progress of their project. Pre-trip and end-of-trip presentations provide opportunities for formative feedback that can be used to improve students' performance at the next task/stage of assessment. Production of the report provides useful practice, with feedback, for students who will submit a dissertation.

Feedback

Feedback (verbal and/or written) on students' pre-trip presentation before the field trip provides opportunities to adjust the proposed research design. Feedback (verbal and/or written) on students' end-of-trip presentation provides opportunities to adjust the processing and write-up of data. Students receive individual written feedback on their project report.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

TBC (rotates on an annual basis).

Pre-requisites

GG 2010 and GG 2508

Co-requisites

GG 3052 or Research Design (GG 3571 or GG 3572 currently) plus Techniques in Physical Geography.

Notes

Teaching for this course begins in the second half-session of third year. Normally this course will only run if 10 or more students are registered. Students are asked to make their own travel arrangements to and from the field course venue and they are also asked to make a contribution towards the cost of the field course. Please ask for further details.

Overview

General material will cover:

• The influence of tectonics, structure and lithology on alpine landforms.


• Glacial and glacio-fluvial processes and landforms.


• Slope processes and forms characteristic of high altitudes and steep relief.


• Alpine ecosystems, water resource and hazard management in alpine areas.


• The interactions between alpine climate, ecology, hydrology and geomorphology responsible for landscape change.

Students will design and execute projects that target specific aspects of their choice.

Structure

Typically 6 x 2-hour preparatory sessions plus six days fieldwork, typically:

• days 1 and 2 - tour of the area, to highlight key features and issues, and to permit reconnaissance of field sites.


• days 3, 4 and 5 - group work on specific field projects, supplemented by evening sessions (data collation and interpretation, preparation of field diary).
  
• day 6 - individual field presentations on group projects.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 100% coursework: pre-trip presentation, project diary/field notebook, end of trip presentation (each 16.67%) plus final report (50%).

Resit: Resubmission of failed project work, with mark for those components to be capped at CAS 9.

Formative Assessment

Students work in groups, supported by staff, to prepare their field trip projects. Students are expected to keep a diary/notebook that records the progress of their project. Pre-trip and end-of-trip presentations provide opportunities for formative feedback that can be used to improve students' performance at the next task/stage of assessment. Production of the report provides useful practice, with feedback, for students who will submit a dissertation.

Feedback

Feedback (verbal and/or written) on students' pre-trip presentation before the field trip provides opportunities to adjust the proposed research design. Feedback (verbal and/or written) on students' end-of-trip presentation provides opportunities to adjust the processing and write-up of data. Students receive individual written feedback on their project report.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Tim Mighall

Pre-requisites

GG3068 and/or GG3569 and/or AY3003; alternatively permission of the course coordinator

Co-requisites

None

Overview

Lecture Programme
Week Lecture Practical/seminar
30. Introduction to Quaternary environmental change (2 hours)
31. Dating methods 1 Practical
32. Rapid climate change Practical
33. Rapid climate change Practical
34. Lateglacial vegetational patterns Practical
35. Holocene vegetational patterns Practical
36. Human-environment interactions in the British Isles Practical
37. Human-environment interactions in the wider North Atlantic Practical
38. Dating methods 2 x2 hours
39. Environmental change and the future Seminar
40. Environmental change and the future Seminar
41 Summary and Revision session x2 hours

Structure

Two hours per week consisting of a total of 15 hours of lectures, 7 hours of practicals and 2 hours of seminars (to be arranged).

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (67%); continuous assessment (33%) written report of laboratory work.

Resit: A resit for this course is not normally available until the following academic year.

Formative Assessment

Verbal feedback will be given to students after the completion of the practical classes but before they write up their final report based on the data generated in the practicals.

Feedback

Further feedback (written and verbal) on students' reports will be provided, both verbally in class prior to the end of year exam, and by written feedback sheets for the reports.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Beecroft and Dr C Cottrill

Pre-requisites

GG3570 or permission of the course coordinator.

Overview

The emergence of an academic sub-discipline of Digital or Virtual Geography
Digital networks and infrastructure
Key trends in digital technologies
The political and economic geography of the Internet
Digital divides (economic, social, spatial, demographic) + divides within the Internet
Digital technology and international development
Public policy and private investment (including international comparisons)
Digital economy including new economic models and IT as a utility
Digitisation of social practices and networks
Data shadows/privacy
Urban and rural digital geographies
Digital modification of place and mobility
Undertaking research in digital geography to include:
* Innovations in research methods and techniques
* Handling digital data in the social sciences
* Research design
* Data analysis and presentation
* Ethical considerations

Structure

Twelve 2-hour weekly sessions (24 in total), 10 2-hour lectures and 2 2-hour computer practical classes.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Three pieces of assessment: one long essay (33%), one computer-based practical assignment (33%) and one 1-hour exam (33%).

Resit: A resit for this course is not normally available until the following academic year.

Formative Assessment

Feedback

Students will all receive individual written feedback on their essay and computer-based practical assignment using G&E?s comments sheets. Verbal feedback on exam performance will be provided on request.