Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1965. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis shows the development and shifts in rhetorical form as strategies evolve to meet heresthetic demands. This thesis explores the rhetorical crisis that emerged between the Democratic Party and the Mississippi Freedom Party at the 1964 Democratic Convention. Specifically, the focus is on the rhetorical discourse presented by the members of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, Fannie Lou Hamer in particular, at the Credentials Committee two days before the onset of the actual Convention. It is the rhetorical interplay in the specific context of the Committee, the subsequent political bargaining behind the scenes during the next four days of the Convention, and the emerging and evolving constraints as a result of this bargaining that illuminate the symbolic power and limitations behind a rhetoric aimed at redefining race in the nation??s social and political consciousness.

Thesis--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

The author's Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1914. / Reprinted from Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, v. 24, no. 1, Jan. 1915. Bibliography: p. 3-5.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed June 17, 2008). PDF text: 319 p. ; 839 K. UMI publication number: AAT 3293922. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of Wisconsin at La Crosse.

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / This study explores the motivations of voters who chose to switch their vote or support from the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the Congress of the People (COPE) to another opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the 2011 local government election. The study was informed by a qualitative research approach. Accordingly, an interview schedule was utilized as a research tool. This schedule contained questions prepared in order to acquire the necessary insight of voters who previously supported the ACDP and COPE (in the 2009 general elections) and moved to the DA in the 2011 local government election. In addition, interviews were conducted with party representatives from the ACDP and COPE in order to gain further insights into their perceptions of the key reasons for their party’s poor performance in this election. Popkin’s integrated theory is used as a basis to make sense of the behaviour and movement of voters during the 2011 local government election. Popkin (1991) argues that voters utilise low-information rationality or “gut-reasoning” when evaluating political parties, their candidates and the issues they present. As will be shown throughout this thesis, Popkin’s approach, where voters combine various sets of information obtained through daily life, the media and political campaigns, best explains the dynamics in the research findings. Based on the research findings, it appears that Popkin’s approach is the most useful for understanding the reasons for the voter migration to the DA in the 2011 election.

The policy of a political party reflects its philosophy and historical background. Social welfare has become an integral part of our modern society and as a result a major concern of political parties. Therefore, specific political parties will have social welfare policies based on their philosophical views. The subject of this thesis is the philosophy of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia and its social welfare policies. This thesis has examined the historical development of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation-New Democratic Party from its inception. In doing this the history of socialism has been explored from the early 19th century in Europe. The socialist movement began its development in Canada in the early 1900’s and has evolved from a theoretical socialist base (emphasis on the class struggle) to an essentially welfare state focus. The methods used to obtain this information were drawn from a review of historical literature and interviews. The resolutions which were examined from the convention proceedings did not demonstrate this movement to welfare statism so completely, since a large group in the Party gives a higher priority to economic reforms. A questionnaire, sent to a sample of the New Democratic Party membership, indicated that there was a great deal of consistency among them in favor of the welfare state. The thesis is, to our knowledge, the first attempt at providing a comprehensive review which links the philosophy of the New Democratic Party to their social welfare policy. Because political parties play a major role in the genesis and development of welfare programs, it is essential to the public, and to persons directly concerned with social welfare, that accurate descriptions of philosophy and policies of individual parties be available. This thesis has been an attempt to provide such a description with respect to the New Democratic Party. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The decline in traditional methods of civic engagement is a cause for concern in many Western democracies. Similarly, studies of American party politics point to a transformation from locally-based volunteer organizations to national ones assisting candidate-centered, professionally-run campaigns, leaving little room for volunteer participants. This thesis analyses the recent resurgence of grassroots participation and organization in the United States. Using interpretive methods, I present a study of grassroots participants in Massachusetts Democratic Party primary campaigns in 2006. Primary documents, interviews with volunteers and paid members of field staff, and observations of canvassing work all detail the personal and organizational contexts of participation, illuminating the meanings individuals found in campaign work. Grassroots participation takes place in a loosely organized set of candidate-based campaigns, local party committees, and civic spheres. When participants first engage in this environment, they become socialized into a community with learned norms, practices, and ways of knowing. While those interviewed shared some of the motivations of party activists in previous studies, the motives and beliefs described by both professional organizers and volunteers were less policy focused than expected, and blurred the distinction between ideological and social categories. Indeed, while organizers and volunteers build distinct identities through their campaign participation, they share many more similarities than the literature on activism and professionalism in parties would suggest. Participants also serve a crucial role as translators between party elites and their fellow citizens, with important implications for linkage and the problem of decoupling. Rather than a return to traditional methods and structures of political engagement, the participants observed take part in and are building communities which have much in common with new forms of non-traditional participation. These findings contribute to the development of party organization theories and point towards the need for greater dialogue between scholars of party politics, organizational studies, and civic engagement.