EEES 1050-031 Geological Hazards & the
Environment
Summer Session III: June 15 – August 7, 2009
Distance Learning Format
Dr. Don Stierman, Instructor
Text: Natural Hazards by Edward Keller and Robert Blodgett (Pearson Prentice Hall) SECOND EDITION. You will be required to use the Hazards City CD-ROM supplied with the textbook (version 3-e).
Students are required to have access to reliable computers with PowerPoint (download free viewer from Microsoft at this site) and stable Web links. It is your responsibility to identify and arrange for the resources needed to participate in this class. Unless University systems crash or there is a general regional Web server problem, I will not reopen or reset quizzes missed because of home computer problems (exception: documented, widespread power outage due to severe weather). If your home computer is slow and Web service prone to disconnects, take quizzes in a campus computer lab. If you want to take Geological Hazards in the traditional lecture format, Dr. Krantz is scheduled to teach EEES-1050 Autumn semester.
This course fulfills the Natural Science core requirement in that it:
Students will recognize relevant scientific terms, how scientists seek out and use the best available information to evaluate geologic hazards, and read examples of how some previously unrecognized hazards were discovered. Through short essays, students will demonstrate knowledge of scientific methods and reasoning (example: interpret maps showing variations in seismic shaking due to strong earthquakes). Students will post informed opinions regarding ways of dealing with risks due to geological hazards, drawing their conclusions from the scientific information available while taking into account economic and political realities.
Why I teach this class. Few, if any, of you will become scientists, but you may purchase a home, be elected to public office, serve on planning commissions, or work in a field that deals with public safety, investment, insurance or construction. Ignorance of natural hazards is usually expensive and frequently deadly. Ignorance can also raise irrational fears or panic people into taking hasty but ineffective, costly actions. I hope to help you understand the nature of these geological hazards and learn some ways of reducing harm resulting from exposure to damaging geological processes.
If you must contact me regarding course management or problems, please use my utnet.edu email address (link above), NOT the WebCT email.
I use WebCT email for receiving assignments and extra credit, and I do not look at WebCT email every day. My utnet email rings the gong when a new message arrives and I look at my mailbox almost every morning and evening, even weekends, unless I am traveling (I am not that wireless) or doing field work. Letters might sit in my WebCT mailbox for a week or more, and I tend to NOT respond to messages sent by people who do not read and follow instructions.
For those who can read and follow directions (most of you, no doubt), I apologize for shouting. Please bear with me while I make a few more policies clear.
All deadlines will be posted on the WebCT calendar visible on the WebCT EEES 1050 Home Page. I do not accept late work and will not reopen quizzes or tests for students who forget or otherwise cannot tell time or read a calendar. If you are a bit late with an assignment, send it anyway (do NOT ask) and you might catch me in a good mood.
Evaluation (final grade) will be based on:
Written responses to a question
(short essays)
posted as part of each chapter. Sometimes you will have the choice of
questions. Submit these to my WebCT mailbox, NOT the bulletin board or my
utnet address (I suggest you write and spell check your
essay in your favorite word processor, then cut and paste into the body of the WebCT
email): 20%
Hazard City projects (instructions will appear in
lectures): 25%.
Participation in chat and/or bulletin board
discussions: 15%
Chapter quizzes (online): 20%
Midterm and final exam (online): 20%
I do not calculate grades until the end of the semester, but you can keep track of your scores yourself and generate your own spreadsheet, if you wish. Download the table.
If the midterm or final exam is missed for circumstances qualifying for an excused absence, make-up tests are on campus in short essay format.
IMPORTANT! I 'forgive' your lowest scores in quiz and in Hazard City. This means missing one quiz and one Hazard City project does not hurt your final grade. The reasoning behind this policy is, even the best, most focused students miss a deadline now and then (flight home was cancelled, had to take Grandma to the hospital in Cleveland) so do not panic when life does you an ill turn. I do suggest you save your mulligan for a real emergency. If you skip a quiz and have a problem later on, you will have to explain and document both missed quizzes in order to qualify for an excused absence and opportunity to make up the quiz.
How do student attitudes regarding educational goals influence outcomes? Some thoughts on approaching an intellectual challenge.
Those who earn certificates as "Virtual Seismologist" (and other extra credit challenges) when offered will receive additional credit. It is not impossible to earn an "A" without doing the extra credit but most top students do complete these challenging exercises. Extra credit opportunities are specified in lecture slides. Not every chapter has an opportunity for extra credit.
Essay assignments should be short (300 words or less) and to the point, like a Letter to the Editor. Select what you consider the concept you find most critical, interesting or ironic and focus on that. Back up your answer with appropriate facts. In some cases, recognition of facts or arguments opposing your position should be mentioned.
I will post PowerPoint 'lectures' on the WebCT site. You will also be expected to use links provided below to view materials posted by others on the Web. All assignments are specified in lecture slides. You must read the lectures in order to discover what the assignments are.
Expectations: during the normal 15-week semester, you would spend 3 hours per week in lectures (that's 45 hours total). Rule of thumb is, 2 hours of study for each hour of lecture. During this 8-week semester, you should devote 18 hours per week reading the textbook, visiting the Web sites suggested, reading the PowerPoint slides I prepare, taking the online quiz, posting short essays to the appropriate bulletin board and participating in chat rooms. If your job conflicts with chat room times, you can make up for this by superior bulletin board input. I do not sit in a chat room waiting. If nobody shows up when I open it, I leave after a few minutes and do not return that evening. I also expect students to use all links on this page to view details regarding policies, instructions, and so on.
This class runs by the calendar. Most students who fail this class do so because they fail to submit assignments. You are free to schedule your time as you see fit, but it is your responsibility to complete and submit each assignment and take each chapter quiz during the appropriate time window. Students have taken a week of vacation and even given birth without any problem because they looked ahead, planned well, and got their work in.
Be alert to news stories on geological hazards. Floods hit Toledo in June of 2006, including homes where students taking this course lived. Close to home (Toledo for most of us - The Blade) is most important, but big (M > 7.8) earthquakes anywhere on earth should catch your eye. A quiz or test question can be based on recent (while the class is in progress) news that is not mentioned in either the lecture or the book (you are of course free to post comments on current events to the Bulletin Board and read - and respond to - posts by the other students).
Although there are no mandatory on-campus meetings, students are expected to submit written work in time to meet posted deadlines and take weekly quizzes within the time frame during which each topic is under discussion. The midterm and final exam will be scheduled for specific times, TBA after polling the class for preferences/work conflicts. I will be available in a chat room at least once a week most weeks. I sometimes host an optional on-campus 'film festival' at least once where interested students can view a couple of videos that deal with geological hazards.
Watch the WebCT Calendar for deadlines.
If you have problems and are using Microsoft Explorer, install and test Mozilla Firefox.
My totally unreasonable policies are also posted. Some do not apply to Distance Learning. For example, having your leg in a cast does not constitute an excuse for missing a DL exam, although being confined in the hospital does permit you to take a make-up provided you submit documentation.
Tentative schedule (watch the WebCT online calendar):
June 15 – 20: Chapter 1 – Introduction of geological hazards.
June 21 – June 30: Chapters 2 & 3 – Earthquakes and Tsunamis
July 1 – July 10: Chapter 4 – Volcanoes.
Midterm on or about July 16, covering earthquakes and
volcanoes.
Last day to withdraw is July 17. Instructors no longer are permitted to
drop or withdraw students.
July 11 – 17: Chapter 5 – Floods.
July 18 – 23: Chapter 6 – Landslides (Mass Wasting).
July 24 – 28: Chapter 7 – Subsidence and Soils
July 29 – August 3: Chapter 10 – Coastal Hazards.
August 4 & 5: Chapter 13 – Impacts & Extinctions.
August 7: Final exam.
If you have a problem with either the midterm or final date, let me know ASAP and we will seek a solution to the scheduling conflict. Midterm and final missed for legitimate reasons are allowed make-ups but these are usually on campus, short essay format. I will not reopen quizzes or tests once grades are released to the students and correct answers become available.
Quizzes and exams are time limited. Students who are certified by the Office of Accessibility as requiring additional time must have that office contact me. Those taking tests on-line will be permitted to use textbooks and notes (some will use them anyway so why penalize men and women of integrity) but I’ll wager that anyone taking one of my tests without having cracked the book for 8 weeks will not be able to look up answers fast enough to pass. I generally keep midterm and final exam windows open for 24 hours, quizzes are open for most of the interval scheduled for that topic. You should do all assignments (including Hazard City) before attempting the quiz as Hazard City issues might pop up as quiz questions.