PUQ454 Leadership in Disaster Management
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | PUQ454 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | PUQ451 or PUN451 or PUN450 or PUZ451 |
| Equivalent(s): | PUN454, PUZ454 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $1,164 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,216 |
| International unit fee | $4,668 |
Unit Outline: Session 2 2025, QUT Online, Online
| Unit code: | PUQ454 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | PUQ451 or PUN451 or PUN450 or PUZ451 |
| Assumed Knowledge: | Core concepts, definitions and underpinning principles that guide the effective management of local, national and international man-made, technological, and weather-related disasters, and emergencies and their impact on communities. |
Overview
The unit addresses the key leadership and strategic concepts and issues related to disaster risk management. It provides opportunities for stakeholder mapping, crisis communication and decision-making in rapidly changing environments. It examines case studies of leadership in disaster management responses and recovery, and further opportunities for research and learning in this area. Upon completion of this capstone unit, you will have a greater understanding of the critical role of disaster risk management and how to prepare and deliver a media briefing using effective communication strategies and protocols.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Critically analyse strategies, approaches and frameworks for leading disaster response and recovery within health and community services.
- Brief and respond to questions from diverse audiences about the impact on and responses to an unfolding disaster on health and community services.
- Plan immediate actions for health and community services in response to unfolding disasters and emergencies.
- Apply strategic leadership theory and models to evaluate disaster responses and recovery.
- Critically reflect on current approaches to disaster risk mananagement to inform future research and practice.
Content
This unit will cover the following:
- strategic issues in disaster risk management,
- strategic leadership of emergencies with interdisciplinary teams,
- media and crisis management,
- evaluation of disaster responses and recovery,
- future developments and emerging challenges, and
- reflection on personal leadership capabilities for career planning
In particular, the unit will draw on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Learning Approaches
In this fully online unit you will have the opportunity to learn through active engagement with the self-directed learning materials in the online Study Guide and online discussions. Uniquely, this unit enables you to demonstrate leadership and media communication skills through a group simulation activity. As an online student you are expected to sustain a regular study schedule and maintain regular contact with your online tutor.
Supporting materials will be provided to develop technological skills for producing piece-to-camera media briefings.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You will receive feedback on your learning in a variety of ways, including:
- Informal formative feedback will be provided through self-check exercises and learning activities in the Study Guide in online discussions.
- Formal written or recorded feedback will be provided on both formative and summative assessment tasks via Turnitin or the Canvas Assignment tool, in addition to the grade on the Criterion Reference Assessment sheet.
- Feedback on your assessment task 1 will be received prior to the submission of your assessment task 2.
Assessment
Overview
You are required to complete two assessment tasks: a critical analysis of leadership style across the disaster management framework in the context of a specific disaster; and an authentic leadership simulation. The leadership simulation requires group work to allow for a more real-world simulation. These two tasks are designed to provide you with the opportunity to draw together your knowledge and skills developed in the other units and to reflect upon and develop your strategic leadership and media communication skills.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Critical analysis of leadership in a disaster context (Leadership Report)
You are required to familiarise yourself with the activities of a leader in disaster management and examine how they fulfill their role and the strategies they use in a practice context and how they prepare for future challenges.
You should then analyse this against the backdrop of the research, models and practices of leadership, which you will have studied in the Study Guide and prescribed readings. You will also critically reflect on lessons learned and implications for your own development as leader in emergency and disaster management.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Leadership Challenge
You will be assigned a specific agency role where you must collaborate with others representing different agencies to manage a complex, volatile, changing issue. Individually, you will prepare and deliver to camera a media briefing on the emergency/disaster that is currently emerging. You will need to critique the recording of your media briefing drawing upon the literature and identify actions for improvement.
After the completion of the scenario and media briefing, you will undertake a retrospective, where you will individually reflect upon both the performance of the team and your individual leadership capabilities demonstrated, media briefing presentation, lessons learned and what you would do differently in the future. Your reflection should be supported by and reference relevant scholarly literature.
The reflection part of this assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
- FitzGerald, G., Tarrant, M., Aitken, P. and Fredriksen, M. (2016). Disaster Health Management: A Primer for Students and Practitioners (1st ed.). London & NY: Routledge.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with general participation in this unit. Workplace Health and Safety protocols associated with computer use will apply.
You are expected to communicate in ways that are professional and respectful of others in all interactions. Please refer to QUT guidelines on communication.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.PQ30 Graduate Certificate in Emergency and Disaster Management
- Apply emergency and disaster management theory, frameworks and procedures to inform and develop professional practice in complex situations.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, Critical analysis of leadership in a disaster context (Leadership Report), Leadership Challenge - Synthesise complex information to inform decision making in response to a broad range of emergency and disaster management issues.
Relates to: ULO5, Critical analysis of leadership in a disaster context (Leadership Report), Leadership Challenge - Apply communication skills effectively to convey key messages and complex information to diverse stakeholders to achieve common goals.
Relates to: ULO2, Leadership Challenge - Plan ways to lead and coordinate transdisciplinary responses to emergency and disaster management issues.
Relates to: ULO3, Leadership Challenge
Unit Outline: Session 4 2025, QUT Online, Online
| Unit code: | PUQ454 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | PUQ451 or PUN451 or PUN450 or PUZ451 |
| Assumed Knowledge: | Core concepts, definitions and underpinning principles that guide the effective management of local, national and international man-made, technological, and weather-related disasters, and emergencies and their impact on communities. |
| Coordinator: | Jo Durham | joanne.durham@qut.edu.au |
Overview
The unit addresses the key leadership and strategic concepts and issues related to disaster risk management. It provides opportunities for stakeholder mapping, crisis communication and decision-making in rapidly changing environments. It examines case studies of leadership in disaster management responses and recovery, and further opportunities for research and learning in this area. Upon completion of this capstone unit, you will have a greater understanding of the critical role of disaster risk management and how to prepare and deliver a media briefing using effective communication strategies and protocols.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Critically analyse strategies, approaches and frameworks for leading disaster response and recovery within health and community services.
- Brief and respond to questions from diverse audiences about the impact on and responses to an unfolding disaster on health and community services.
- Plan immediate actions for health and community services in response to unfolding disasters and emergencies.
- Apply strategic leadership theory and models to evaluate disaster responses and recovery.
- Critically reflect on current approaches to disaster risk mananagement to inform future research and practice.
Content
This unit will cover the following:
- strategic issues in disaster risk management,
- strategic leadership of emergencies with interdisciplinary teams,
- media and crisis management,
- evaluation of disaster responses and recovery,
- future developments and emerging challenges, and
- reflection on personal leadership capabilities for career planning
In particular, the unit will draw on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Learning Approaches
In this fully online unit you will have the opportunity to learn through active engagement with the self-directed learning materials in the online Study Guide and online discussions. Uniquely, this unit enables you to demonstrate leadership and media communication skills through a group simulation activity. As an online student you are expected to sustain a regular study schedule and maintain regular contact with your online tutor.
Supporting materials will be provided to develop technological skills for producing piece-to-camera media briefings.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You will receive feedback on your learning in a variety of ways, including:
- Informal formative feedback will be provided through self-check exercises and learning activities in the Study Guide in online discussions.
- Formal written or recorded feedback will be provided on both formative and summative assessment tasks via Turnitin or the Canvas Assignment tool, in addition to the grade on the Criterion Reference Assessment sheet.
- Feedback on your assessment task 1 will be received prior to the submission of your assessment task 2.
Assessment
Overview
You are required to complete two assessment tasks: a critical analysis of leadership style across the disaster management framework in the context of a specific disaster; and an authentic leadership simulation. The leadership simulation requires group work to allow for a more real-world simulation. These two tasks are designed to provide you with the opportunity to draw together your knowledge and skills developed in the other units and to reflect upon and develop your strategic leadership and media communication skills.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Critical analysis of leadership in a disaster context (Leadership Report)
You are required to familiarise yourself with the activities of a leader in disaster management and examine how they fulfill their role and the strategies they use in a practice context and how they prepare for future challenges.
You should then analyse this against the backdrop of the research, models and practices of leadership, which you will have studied in the Study Guide and prescribed readings. You will also critically reflect on lessons learned and implications for your own development as leader in emergency and disaster management.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Leadership Challenge
You will be assigned a specific agency role where you must collaborate with others representing different agencies to manage a complex, volatile, changing issue. Individually, you will prepare and deliver to camera a media briefing on the emergency/disaster that is currently emerging. You will need to critique the recording of your media briefing drawing upon the literature and identify actions for improvement.
After the completion of the scenario and media briefing, you will undertake a retrospective, where you will individually reflect upon both the performance of the team and your individual leadership capabilities demonstrated, media briefing presentation, lessons learned and what you would do differently in the future. Your reflection should be supported by and reference relevant scholarly literature.
The reflection part of this assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
- FitzGerald, G., Tarrant, M., Aitken, P. and Fredriksen, M. (2016). Disaster Health Management: A Primer for Students and Practitioners (1st ed.). London & NY: Routledge.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with general participation in this unit. Workplace Health and Safety protocols associated with computer use will apply.
You are expected to communicate in ways that are professional and respectful of others in all interactions. Please refer to QUT guidelines on communication.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.PQ30 Graduate Certificate in Emergency and Disaster Management
- Apply emergency and disaster management theory, frameworks and procedures to inform and develop professional practice in complex situations.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, Critical analysis of leadership in a disaster context (Leadership Report), Leadership Challenge - Synthesise complex information to inform decision making in response to a broad range of emergency and disaster management issues.
Relates to: ULO5, Critical analysis of leadership in a disaster context (Leadership Report), Leadership Challenge - Apply communication skills effectively to convey key messages and complex information to diverse stakeholders to achieve common goals.
Relates to: ULO2, Leadership Challenge - Plan ways to lead and coordinate transdisciplinary responses to emergency and disaster management issues.
Relates to: ULO3, Leadership Challenge