Quick Analysis 

Select one public event in Australia, reported in one or more news media in 2016, that dealt with a person or a group, not a state actor, concerned with an issue of public policy.

Then:

1. Summarise the gist of the reportage in 50 words or less.

2. Cite the source (but do not attach it to your report).

3. Delineate the apparent viewpoint of the creator of the report.

4. State your own estimation of the likely or known impact of the event on the policy at issue, noting any evidence you may have in support of your view.

5. State (one sentence) the state actor most likely, in your view, to have an interest in the report, and why.

Total word limit (including point 1): 250 words. Except for the citation, write in formed sentences (that is, eschew 'dot points').

Format: two pages -

1. The first with your name and SID;

2. the second with your response to the assignment as above.

The second page will be posted (anonymously) to the general page of the unit for the information of class members.

Points to note:  the key and limiting words are obvious but please observe them: “public”, “event”, “Australia”, “one or more”, “in 2016”, “person or group”, “not a state actor”, “issue”, “public policy”.  The event, though reported in 2016, need not necessarily have happened in that year, however, and the medium is not necessarily Australian.

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All students are required to submit a research essay (2,100 words) by the end of Week 12 (17:00 - 5pm, Friday 3 June 2016).  A list of research essay questions will be posted on iLearn in Week 6.

General rules and guidance for seminar discussions

There are two components of discussion in the seminars held weekly for two hours (though the introductory and essay preparation weeks vary from the general pattern).  The aim of the seminars is to give every student a number of opportunities to speak to issues covered in the course. 

The essay, to be submitted late in the semester, is your major opportunity to show skill in written work.  During the course of the semester, the seminars in contrast emphasise the development of speaking and listening skills, important in both the study and practice of public policy.

The arrangements for the seminars are relatively complex but not difficult to implement if the procedures are widely understood, so please read the following notes carefully. There will be time in the first seminars of the unit (held in WEEK TWO) to discuss the arrangements in detail.

The usual pattern is

1. A general class discussion, led by the tutor, of the topic or topics listed in the course hand out and based on the readings listed.  This discussion will last about half an hour, and the class will then divide into a number of smaller groups to discuss a question or questions nominated by the tutor, based on the general discussion to that point.  Each group will be formed around one class member who volunteers to be the rapporteur for that discussion.  Across the course of the semester, each class member should act as rapporteur once. Group discussion will be relatively brief – not more than ten minutes.  Each rapporteur will then speak for no more than three minutes in summary of their group’s discussion.

Note that these discussions and reports back are not specifically assessed (unlike the points following), as they are intended to be free flowing, encouraging respectful exchange in the group format. However, failure to act as a rapporteur at least once will result in the deduction of half the marks earned from the points immediately following.

2. In addition to the above, each member of the class is expected to speak twice during the semester on topics chosen from the list in the unit handout.  These talks are brief (no more than three minutes) and are essentially mini-role plays.  You will adopt the persona of a stated actor in public policy (see the detail in the weekly list) and speak plausibly to that role.  You will receive an assessment from the class (as explained in the next point) and from the tutor. Class evaluations will be provided anonymously to speakers individually for their information but the tutor’s evaluation will form the mark for this assessment.

You will have two opportunities to speak, so keeping your remarks to the limit of three minutes will be essential – and part of the evaluation.

Value of this component: 20% (10% each talk).

3. Each member of the class is also expected to evaluate a talk given by other students and to do this on two occasions during the semester, with those occasions being selected by the evaluator (that is, yourself).  Please note that you evaluate one speaker on two different occasions, not all the speakers on one occasion, or two speakers on the one occasion.  You will thus complete and submit two evaluations at different times during the semester (these could be adjoining or widely separated weeks).

The evaluation form is available on the iLearn site, and you will need to down load or copy it, fill it in during the two weeks of your choice (with revision of the form possible after the seminar period of course), and return it to the iLearn site.  The form has two pages: the first contains your name and SID, the second the points of evaluation that will be made available, anonymously, to the speakers concerned.

Value of this component: 10% (5% each evaluation).

Note that the number of evaluations received for individual speakers is bound to vary from week to week and from speaker to speaker.

In summary: each member of the class is both an speaker and an evaluator, and will have four chances at participation during the semester, two as a speaker and two as an evaluator.

Total value of the components in this section: 30%

All students are required to sit a two hour examination at the conclusion of the course. The closed-book, sit-down examination is mandatory. Students who fail to attempt the examination will automatically fail the course.