Classify, divide and conquer: Shaping physical activity discourse through national public policy. Research Completed

Title

Classify, divide and conquer: Shaping physical activity discourse through national public policy.

Lead Author

J Piggan, S J Jackson and M Lewis

Organisation(s)

University of Otago

Publication Year

2007

Publisher

New Zealand Sociology, 22(2), 274-93

Contacts

Abstract

The authors aim to draw attention to the role of public policy in shaping power relations discursively, and highlight how these power relations can be debilitating for particular groups in a public policy setting. In particular, they analyse the construction and implementation of a New Zealand physical activity policy that compares physical activity rates around the world. They use Foucauldian theorising to argue that classifying and dividing practices construct a view of New Zealand and the world that automatically and problematically favours particular nationalistic conceptions. The authors conclude that SPARC’s use of the term “international standards” is inherently problematic when comparing rates of physical activity, and such a policy serves to dominate by default over other nations.

Keywords:

cross cultural comparison, physical activity, policy, wm

Areas of Focus

Views

1001

Added

December 14, 2011