This unit introduces students to the study of disease as a development issue within the context of people and their environments. The geography of disease should be analysed in terms of its relationship to a particular society, culture, resource base and political context.
This geographical study of disease is closely related to development and includes concepts drawn from economics, sociology, politics, and cultural and environmental studies. Geography’s contribution to the study of disease and development issues lies in its focus on synthesising a number of concepts such as human wellbeing, social justice and equity, and ecologically sustainable development. This study requires the application of criteria to evaluate the allocation of resources and to consider a range of sustainable solutions. This unit provides a focus for understanding the changing pattern of global development and a consideration of the factors that cause variation in this pattern. It allows consideration of the impact of those variations and the ways that resulting inequities can be dealt with.
In your next assessment task/ exam, you will be required to make a decision about a specific issue and will therefore need to use your decision-making skills, which we will develop now. The decision-making exercise is intended to test your understanding of the concepts in the unit 'Exploring the Geography of Disease'. The things you should be aware of and will have to consider are: the geographical pattern of a specific disease, the social, economic, political and environmental impact of the disease and how to limit its impacts.
The key to making a decision is to understand the problem. Decision making would best be described as an exercise in evaluating trade-offs as most of the times solutions are not just black and white but have positive and negative impacts or consequences and as a result these impacts have to be weighed up in order to make an informed decision about an issue.
Once you looked at all the positives and negatives (in our case due to the stimulus material you receive and the research you undertake before the exam) you will have to write an essay with the following outline:
Introduction: You will need to describe the main issue(s), the possible strategies and the criteria you will be using to evaluate the problem (social, economic, political and/ or environmental). Analysis (1st body paragraph): You will need to describe the problem in more detail, e.g. where and why does the disease occur, and explain the possible social, economic, political and/ or environmental impacts on the area(s). Evaluation (2nd body paragraph): You will need to evaluate the alternative strategies, therefore go through each strategy examining the positives and negatives using the criteria from the previous paragraph. Decision making and justification (3rd body paragraph): You will need to decide which strategy is the most suitable, giving reasons why (based on your assessment done in the previous paragraphs) your strategy is the better option. Include the positive benefits of your choice, but also a comment on the disadvantages or 'costs' of your choice. Also, indicate why the other strategy is not as suitable. Conclusion: You will need to restate your chosen strategy and your main arguments why your solution is the better one. Finish with a clincher (an overall interesting statement). Don't raise any new ideas here!
Also, make sure your body paragraphs follow our TEEL structure: T: Topic sentence- what this paragraph is about E: Evidence/ analysis- examples (and here you must refer to the sources) to support your opinion E: Evaluation/ justification- prove the reason why L: Linking/ transition sentence to link to the next paragraph