Skip to main content
The Australian National University
School of Sociology
ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences
School of Sociology ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences
 School of Sociology

School of Sociology

  • Home
  • People
    • Head of School
    • Academic Staff
    • Visitors and Honorary Appointees
    • PhD students
    • Graduated PhD students
  • Events
    • Seminar series
    • Past events
  • News
  • Study with us
    • Undergraduate programs
    • Honours program
    • Higher Degree by Research
  • Research
  • Contact us
 Related Sites

Related Sites

  • ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences
  • Research School of Social Sciences
  • Australian National Internships Program

Administrator

Breadcrumb

HomeUpcoming Events and SeminarsWhat Shark Bites Teach Us About Public Policy: A Proposal For Locating Affect In a Policy Response Framework
What shark bites teach us about public policy: A proposal for locating affect in a policy response framework

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:EN-AU;mso-fareast-language:
EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Christopher Neff, PhD candidate, Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney  

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE

Larry Saha Seminar Room 2175, Level 2, Haydon-Allen Building, The Australian National University

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE

Shark bites can teach us a lot about public policy. As the most globally dispersed human-wildlife conflict in the world, policy comparisons following shark bites are available from Jeffrey's Bay to Jervis Bay and Cape Cod to Cape Town. At issue; however, is not a question about sharks but a question about people and politics: what factors are at work in the adoption of "knee-jerk" policy responses? I use the shark bite policy responses of the Barnett Government in Western Australia to illustrate an affect-centred policy design framework. I review the impacts of affect on agenda setting, policy entrepreneurship and response selection. In particular, I argue that the speed of policy responses has been an under-studied element of policy design and that affect offers a critical piece of this lingering puzzle. Understanding knee-jerk reactions is important because they can create legacies that inform future policymaking and because of the wide breadth of issues impacted. From livestock slaughter, gun-violence, and international terrorism to computer crime and political scandals; the cement of short-term fixes can dry into political path dependencies. Shark bite policy responses provide a valuable case study to explore these issues and examine the way emotion fits into policy frameworks.

 

Date & time

  • Mon 29 Apr 2013, 1:00 pm - 2:15 pm
Back to topicon-arrow-up-solid
The Australian National University
 
APRU
IARU
 
edX
Group of Eight Member

Acknowledgement of Country

The Australian National University acknowledges, celebrates and pays our respects to the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people of the Canberra region and to all First Nations Australians on whose traditional lands we meet and work, and whose cultures are among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.


Contact ANUCopyrightDisclaimerPrivacyFreedom of Information

+61 2 6125 5111 The Australian National University, Canberra

TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12002 (Australian University) CRICOS Provider Code: 00120C ABN: 52 234 063 906