In December 2007, the Ministry of Public Safety published the Report of the Correctional Service of Canada Panel Review, a comprehensive analysis of Canada's federal prison system. The release of this report, and the 'transformation' agenda that it presents, is being hailed as a pivotal moment in Canadian corrections, one that will significantly change the manner in which prisons and prisoners are governed. Using a form of Foucauldian discourse analysis, this study 'unpacks' the various meanings and effects that are produced by this report. Drawing on these findings, and through an application of the work of Michel Foucault and the governmentality approach, it then engages with the different ways in which mentalities and strategies of government, discipline and sovereignty are implicit in the 'transformation' agenda that is put forth. In doing so, it engages with Foucault's notion of the 'triangle' of governmentality. The conclusion of this study explores how the agenda presented constitutes a programme of governance with a dual mandate of repression and responsibilities, one that vacillates between strategies of coercion and subjugation and more 'gentle' and 'distant' technologies of self-government.

This thesis assesses the role conceptions of masculinity, more particularly hyper-masculinity play in male prisoners' strategies for coping with the challenges posed by a virtually unisexual prison environment. The study used eight autobiographies by former male prisoners who served sentences in either Canada or the United States in the last forty years. The findings were gathered using a qualitative three-stage coding process and were analyzed using masculinity theories. The results reveal that male prisoners use both hyper-masculine, violent coping strategies and non-violent strategies depending on the circumstances. Critical masculinity theory is better able to explain the violent strategies rather than the non-violent ones. This research is significant because it illuminates the impact of gender on male prisoners' lives and their abilities to cope with imprisonment. The results can be used to inform both treatment and policies regarding male prisoners' incarceration.

Often simplistic and misleading, the reporting of child sexual abuse has long been a staple of commercial news media's portrayal of crime and criminal justice. A mixed quantitative/qualitative content analysis methodology is applied to the study of three Toronto-based newspaper's construction of Internet Child Luring, between the 1st of January, 1998, and August 1st, 2008. Erected as a serious problem, above which a sober appraisal of known facts could sustain, a Textual Panic is said to exist within newsprint's rendering of the information-age crime. Rational cogitating offenders, undeterred by weak legislation and underfunded police forces, are described as exploiting the communication medium in attempts to lure defenseless children into illicit sexual activity.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / L. Susan Williams / Law enforcement is widely regarded as one of the most stressful and violent professions. Officer stress is associated with a number of negative behaviors and psychological outcomes including high rates of substance abuse, divorce, and violence. Concerns over officer violence include both work-related acts, like use of excessive force or unwarranted deadly force, and non-work related violence such as domestic abuse. Despite interest in the interplay between subcultural attitudes, organizational structure, and high stress events, most research on police violence fails to address a fundamental concern--that of gender. In fact, the majority of research addressing officer stress fails to mention gender or concentrates on gender as a simple control variable. In order to examine how gender, stress, and law enforcement structures predict violent behavior among police officers, this dissertation utilizes both existing data and direct officer interviews. Findings show that law enforcement remains largely a masculine enterprise, and that gender drives images, interaction, and organizational behavior, often at the expense of both men and women officers. Stress, burnout, and use of violence by officers are not simply a response to high stress events, but are embedded in the gender structure and process of policing.

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

The recognition of one's exercise of sexual rights and reproductive rights, including the right to health, sexual health and reproductive health are critical matters. Also critical, and especially for women in a patriarchal society are rights related to contraception, natality control, and education on fertility matters since these rights contribute to women's control over their own bodies. In Peru, between 1995 and 1998, and as recently as May of 2003, documented evidence points to legislation and institutional practices that continue to deny women these rights thus affecting their lives, the lives of their children and the outcome for their unborn. The Peruvian government, in enacting the 1995 National Population Law (hereinafter 1995 NPL) applied under the "1996--2000 Family Planning Program" and guided by the "Procedural Manuals for Sterilisations" reinforces these beliefs. In so doing, the state contributes to the oppression and domination of marginalised social groups while alienating some bodies from fertility choices and transforming them into objects of manipulation. Four main chapters constitute this thesis, as well as an introduction, conclusion, and appendices. The introduction presents an overview of reproductive health, or lack thereof, in Peru. Chapter One introduces the examined material through a literature review, as the basis for the following chapters. Chapters Two and Three, address theory and methodology respectively acting as lenses and suggesting ways of examining the oppression that disables marginalized social groups. In light of the foregoing chapters, Chapter Four analyses the stories of oppression and domination of marginalized social groups, embodied in state sanctioned practices of fertility control. Bringing the margins to the centre, this portion of the story relies on the testimony of the women themselves, reflecting their voices and opinions as producers of knowledge rather than victims. This research work closes with questions formulated to elicit further stories, and reaffirms its aim to serve as a basis for political consciousness, social change and activism through academic means. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)