Political culture on the northern plains : North Dakota and the Nonpartisan experience

This thesis investigates the history of North Dakota during the era of the Nonpartisan League (roughly 1915 through 1921). A significant body of research on the League exists, but no study has yet specifically addressed itself to exploring the political culture of the League and of its opponents in such a way that the full nature of the Nonpartisan revolt is made clear. The League was indeed the result of farmers’ perception of economic exploitation at the hands of big business, yet it was more basically a proactive struggle for inclusion. While employing elements of agrarian ideology, the League was also the product of a world dominated by the urban-based values of business. Leaguers hoped, through occupationally-based, collective political action to gain power, dignity, and material success within that world. Although this consciousness was a departure from the received political culture of the 1910s, in other ways the Leaguers\u27 political culture was fairly mainstream. The League\u27s program of political inclusion, for example, kept well within traditional gendered boundaries. Nor was the league vision of material progress revolutionary. Being a historical inquiry, the preparation of this thesis is the result of standard historical research methodologies. In terms of theory, however, this project has been informed by post-structuralist theories of “language. Thus, particular attention has been paid to the process of language building especially during the early years of the Nonpartisan era. How Leaguers and their opponents defined themselves and their world, inclusively and exclusively, provides a more subtle understanding of the Nonpartisan revolt

Barriers and enablers for participation in healthy lifestyle programs by adolescents who are overweight: a qualitative study of the opinions of adolescents, their parents and community stakeholders

Background: Overweight or obesity during adolescence affects almost 25% of Australian youth, yet limited research exists regarding recruitment and engagement of adolescents in weight-management or healthy lifestyle interventions, or best-practice for encouraging long-term healthy behaviour change. A sound understanding of community perceptions, including views from adolescents, parents and community stakeholders, regarding barriers and enablers to entering and engaging meaningfully in an intervention is critical to improve the design of such programs. Methods: This paper reports findings from focus groups and semi-structured interviews conducted with adolescents (n=44), parents (n=12) and community stakeholders (n=39) in Western Australia. Three major topics were discussed to inform the design of more feasible and effective interventions: recruitment, retention in the program and maintenance of healthy change. Data were analysed using content and thematic analyses.Results: Data were categorised into barriers and enablers across the three main topics. For recruitment, identified barriers included: the stigma associated with overweight, difficulty defining overweight, a lack of current health services and broader social barriers. The enablers for recruitment included: strategic marketing, a positive approach and subsidising program costs. For retention, identified barriers included: location, timing, high level of commitment needed and social barriers. Enablers for retention included: making it fun and enjoyable for adolescents, involving the family, having an on-line component, recruiting good staff and making it easy for parents to attend. For maintenance, identified barriers included: the high degree of difficulty in sustaining change and limited services to support change. Enablers for maintenance included: on-going follow up, focusing on positive change, utilisation of electronic media and transition back to community services. Conclusions: This study highlights significant barriers for adolescents and parents to overcome to engage meaningfully with weight-management or healthy lifestyle programs. A number of enablers were identified to promote ongoing involvement with an intervention. This insight into specific contextual opinions from the local community can be used to inform the delivery of healthy lifestyle programs for overweight adolescents, with a focus on maximising acceptability and feasibility