Unit Outline

Digital disruptions such as the sharing economy have caused major disruptions for the tourism industry – both positive and negative. Platforms such as Airbnb and Uber, plus Airtasker, UberEats and HomeAway, have transformed the way tourists travel, the way that purchases are made, the way in which employees are hired, the way in which the industry is regulated and ultimately the way in which tourism as an industry is regarded by communities. Further disruptions such as big data have challenged norms of research, the ethics of collecting data and have ultimately challenged our understanding of how the tourism industry works. In this unit, you will tackle these issues by exploring the reasons for the rise of disruptive innovations such as the sharing economy. You will assess positive and negative impacts, from a diverse range of perspectives including those of consumers, tourism operators, the tourism industry and policy makers.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Reflect upon and synthesise the complex forces behind the rise of the sharing economy and disruptive innovations
2	Critically evaluate the range of products that have emerged as a result of the sharing economy and disruptive innovation
3	Critically assess the positive and negative impacts of disruptive innovations on the tourism and cultural heritage industries
4	Analyse the impact that the sharing economy and disruptive Innovations has had upon consumer behaviour

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Fortnightly workshops have been added

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Social Media Assessment	Week 5	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Podcast on the ethics of tracking tourists’ movement.	Week 8	25 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	A critical review of the worth of the Sharing Economy in Tasmania	Week 12	45 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Social Media Assessment

Task Description:

For this assignment, you will be required to select a social media
page or a hashtag (e.g the page “portarthurtassie” or the
hashtag “#portarthurtassie”) and conduct an analysis of the
Page 4 HGA 602
photos and text of the 20 “most recent” posts. You can use your
own business to assess, if you have one and wish to assess it.
Your assignment should be written in a report format and
should contain the following sections:
1. Introduction
2. Literature review of assessing text and visuals on social
media sites
3. Methods section where you describe the process you
took- only using public, outward facing posts
4. Results- where you describe what you found when you
assessed both the visual and textual data
5. Conclusion

Task Length:

2500 words

Due Date:

Week 5 (23/Aug/2024)

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Well developed introduction and literature review	LO1
2	Clearly outlined ethical methods	LO2
3	Clear analysis of visual data	LO2, LO4
4	Clear analysis of textual data	LO2, LO4
5	Concise summary that highlights key emergent themes from the posts	LO2, LO4
6	Ability to communicate in clear English	LO1
7	Accurate referencing	LO1

Assessment Task 2: Podcast on the ethics of tracking tourists’ movement.

Task Description:

I would like you to prepare a podcast of 5 minutes in MP3 or MP4 Format.
Your podcast should
• Tell the listener briefly about yourself and whether you
engage with social media and the internet (and why/why not)
• Briefly review the range of methods available to track tourists’ movement
• Describe the benefits of tracking tourists’behaviour using technology
• Describe the ethical drawbacks of tracking tourists’ behaviour using technology
• Based on your argument, state your opinion on the ethics of tracking tourists movement
• Refer to readings you have done to support your position

Podcasts should be uploaded into the normal ‘Assignment’ section on MyLo. You will need to record you podcast in MP3 format.

Note: if you would like, you can upload your podcast into a module called “podcast sharing” for others to listen to. I want you to be able to enjoy the variety of opinions that exist.
There is no right or wrong answer for this assignment. The most important thing is to create an argument that is clearly laid out and backed up with references (eg. “Smith in 1999 argued that…..)

Task Length:

Five (5) minutes

Due Date:

Week 8 (20/Sep/2024)

Weight:

25 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Clear and well structured podcas	LO1
2	Concise review of tracking methods	LO2
3	Review of the benefits of tracking tourists’ behaviour using technology	LO3
4	Review of the ethical drawbacks of tracking tourists’ behaviour using technology	LO3
5	Well developed argument	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment Task 3: A critical review of the worth of the Sharing Economy in Tasmania

Task Description:

For this assignment you are required to write a report that critically reviews the worth of the sharing economy in Tasmania.

Your report should use literature (journals articles and reports, plus news media) to develop your case and support your argument.

The structure of your report should mirror the criteria listed below.

You can stake any stance that you wish.

Task Length:

2500 words

Due Date:

Week 12 (18/Oct/2024)

Weight:

45 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Description of the sharing economy	LO1
2	Description of the nature of the sharing economy in Tasmania, both pre-COVID and in the present day	LO1, LO2
3	Assessment of positive aspects of the sharing economy in Tasmania	LO3, LO4
4	Assessment of negative aspects of the sharing economy	LO3, LO4
5	Well-developed and articulated summary and conclusion	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
6	Accurate referencing	LO1

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.