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.)

This study identifies the dominant characteristics of official Canadian state discourses on national security and terrorism in the post-September 11 context, using a content analysis methodology; identifies key themes and/or areas of incongruity in these discourses, and relates these findings to a broader discussion of contemporary Canadian national security policy and practice. Major themes of interest and key terms are identified through a review of the literature, and used as the basis for an analysis of twenty (20) samples of open-source official (federal government) Canadian discourse from the post-September 11 context. It is argued that state discourses about terrorism and security are a core component of national security campaigns, and that through the construction of insecurity narratives (constellations of discourse about a particular security threat), states effectively 'do national security '. The study finds that the current Canadian insecurity narrative is characterized by themes of exceptionality, urgency, necessity, secrecy, and crisis---and consistent references to September 11 as a mobilizing event. The nature of this narrative is such that the current national security campaign is indeterminate in length, ambiguous in purpose, and expansionary in trajectory.

Ce travail de maîtrise est une analyse comparative du droit législatif en matière de prostitution. Plus précisément, on tente de savoir si les systèmes législatifs en matière de prostitution ont une influence sur la dynamique prostitutionnelle mondiale. Trois parties composent cette thèse de maîtrise. Un premier chapitre explorant la situation prostitutionnelle mondiale. Dans ce chapitre on y explique les deux principales causes de l'expansion de la prostitution à travers le monde: la mondialisation néo-libérale et la libéralisation de la sexualité. Dans le deuxième chapitre il y est expliqué en quoi différent les quatre différents systèmes législatifs en matière de prostitution (règlementariste, prohibitionniste, abolitionniste et néo-abolitionniste). Alors que le dernier chapitre est une analyse comparative de la situation prostitutionnelle dans quatre pays distincts: les Pays-Bas, la France, la Suède et le Maroc. L'auteur arrive à la conclusion que les systèmes législatifs ont une certaine influence sur la dynamique prostitutionnelle mondiale. Tant en Suède qu'aux Pays-Bas, la prostitution est influencée par le système législatif alors qu'au Maroc et en France, ce n'est pas tant les systèmes législatifs qui ont de l'incidence sur la dynamique prostitutionnelle, c'est plutôt la volonté politique d'appliquer ces mêmes systèmes qui est le facteur déterminant!

Contemporary society is plagued with perceived risks and feelings of uncertainty. In traditional societies, people relied on kinship, norms, and shared identity to establish ties and manage the risks of the collective. Technology is increasingly sought to manage risks as present day society is thought to be facing manufactured, virtual, and borderless risks not experienced in previous eras. Technologies, such as biometric identification systems, operate within a network society capable of processing and disseminating information like never before. The science behind the various types of technological systems enable greater risk detection but also reinforce the public's fear of crime as these technologies highlight the omnipresence of risk. Greater awareness of risk ultimately heightens fear of crime and creates anxiety amongst the public towards expert systems that cannot effectively manage the risks they detect. Van Loon (2000) identifies the increasing reliance on technology to manage risks at a time when science is facing severe criticism as a central paradox within the risk society. Therefore, the focus of the current study is to expand the current knowledge regarding how extraordinary technologies that were once used to identify immigrant and marginalized populations have permeated all facets of society. More specifically, the current study examines biometric technologies that are increasingly used to securitize the identity of the whole population, to control access to restricted areas, and to secure items of personal property. To investigate the normalization of extraordinary technologies and the nature of the hypothesized ambivalent relationship people have towards science, the current study utilizes a group-administered student questionnaire. Students' were asked about their perceptions of risk, safety, and biometric technologies in order to gain a greater understanding of the factors that contribute to the acceptance or non-acceptance of biometric passports in Canada before their issuance in 2011. In the current study it was hypothesized that people who possessed certain individual characteristics such as anxiety towards expert systems, previous victimization, negative perceptions of safety, or a lack of familiarity with biometrics would be less accepting of biometric passports. It was also hypothesized that finger scans would be the biometric identifier of choice as finger scans have been slowly integrated into multiple facets of society over a long period of time. Trust in expert systems was found to be of central importance in the acceptance of finger scan passports, while potential discriminatory consequences of biometric passports contributed to the ambivalent relationship people have towards science. Despite their association with criminal investigations finger scans were preferred over the use of facial scanning for various purposes including for use on biometric passports.

This thesis is based on the author's English translation of key passages of an Argentine crime novel: Jose Pablo Feinmann's Ultimos dias de la victima (1979). The thesis establishes a theoretical framework revolving around the original text and its translation. This theoretical framework examines the novel's place in the history of the crime fiction genre in Argentina, translation's role in this history, the socio-political context in which the novel was created, and the linguistic, cultural, stylistic, and interpretive challenges of its translation. Most importantly, this thesis will examine how the novel can be translated for an audience who might not be aware of the socio-political situation that provides the context for a number of interpretations of this story.

This study examines how rhetoric was used to socially construct a torture sustaining reality in the United States after the September 11th terrorist attacks, by both print journalists and President George W. Bush's Administration. After the 9/11 attacks terrorism received wide attention from the media and public. As a result of these attacks, the United States began the ''war on terror" and invaded Afghanistan and later Iraq. During these invasions allegations of torture by the American military began to emerge. This study carries out a content analysis of claims about terrorism and responses to allegations of torture. This analysis is guided by the contextual social constructionist approach of Joel Best (1990) and Stanley Cohen's (2001) study of "denials". The contextual social constructionist approach of Best (1990) is the theoretical departure point for a sample drawn from the New York Times as well as a sample drawn from the Internet website for the Whitehouse during George W. Bush's tenure as President. A final sample drawn from the same Whitehouse website will be engaged through an amalgamation of Best's (1990) contextual social constructionist approach and Cohen's (2001) study of "denials". This study reveals that the construction of terrorism as a social problem aided the maintenance of a torture sustaining reality. This study further explains how rationalizations are used by a liberal government to maintain a torture sustaining reality through the use of rhetoric and denials. In addition, this study shows that a torture sustaining reality is supported through the mobilization of language that dehumanizes (the process of othering) those who stand in opposition to it. As well, this study demonstrates how the concepts of risk and moral panic also help to explain how this torture sustaining reality is maintained in a liberal state. Furthermore, this study also investigates the claim-making process. In pursuing these areas, the study illustrates how denials are rhetorically composed, or in other words what language is used and how it is used to form denials. More specifically, this study reveals how the rhetoric of denial is formed and shifts to support a torture sustaining reality during a claims-making episode. Secondly, claims-making about terrorism does not always follow the "typical" path of most claim-making about social problems. Claims-making about terrorism sometimes involves the "Rhetoric of Rectitude" and the "Rhetoric of Rationality", which can be intertwined to help predicate a torture sustaining reality, or may predominantly rely upon the "Rhetoric of Rectitude". Finally, this study alerts us to very paradoxical nature that freedom occupies in this world, and how easily the notion of freedom may be championed to justify atrocities.

Despite a loss of readership and revenue, newspapers, one of the main providers of new information to the public, continue to playa major role in helping to shape public debate about social problems. The news media is therefore one of the primary ways for claims-makers to distribute their claims to a large audience. By presenting the claims, the news media alters the claims and re-presents them. These new claims represent one possible worldview, and because of the news media's major role in public debate, these claims may be very influential. A review of the research literature on political corruption shows that few media studies about political corruption have been conducted in Canada. Furthermore, the research literature uses a wide variety of different definitions for what constitutes political corruption, making it extremely difficult to compare and analyze different articles in the research literature. I chose to examine how The Globe and Mail, which many people consider to be Canada's premier newspaper, perceived, reported, and describes political corruption. My goal is to explore how The Globe and Mail describes political corruption and presents claims-makers' claims, and how these claims may influence debate. I used a quantitative content analysis to analyze newspaper articles about political corruption published in The Globe and Mail from 1990-2000. I found that numerous articles published in The Globe and Mail identified political corruption as a serious problem with serious effects on Canadians. Grand corruption in the Federal level of government was the most identified type of corruption, with favouritism as the main form. For quotes, The Globe and Mail primarily used State sources and alleged offenders. The structure of Canada's political system was identified as the primary cause of political corruption, while solutions were constructed to include either increased accountability or stronger laws. The information provided by The Globe and Mail usually came from others sources, and there was very little independent investigation of claims. These results show that The Globe and Mail presents a limited debate about political corruption. The focus on presenting State viewpoints may limit discussion of other possible causes and solutions, and this limited discussion may result in ineffective legal responses.

The recreational use and mere possession of marijuana is considered a criminal offense under current Canadian legislation. This thesis argues that the criminalization of recreational marijuana use in Canada is not justified because the "criminal" punishment exceeds the seriousness of the crime. Furthermore, excessive criminalization results in an unwarranted infringement of the autonomy and moral right of citizens to recreational marijuana use. Chapter 1 identifies the contemporary science and medical research surrounding cannabis, especially the psychological and physiological risks of marijuana use and the medicinal benefits of marijuana use. Chapter 2 presents a socio-cultural perspective on marijuana use. We look at how Canadians' views have changed toward marijuana, as well as the social ramifications of two major Governmental reports: The Le Dain Commission Final Report of 1974 and the Senate Special Committee Report on Cannabis of 2002. The socio-cultural context of marijuana in Canadian society is illustrated and compared with other licit and illicit drugs and the stigma associated with a criminal marijuana conviction is illuminated. We move from the social to legal arena in Chapter 3 and outline Canadian laws regulating marijuana offenses from past to present. We show how politics has affected marijuana policy in Canada and how increased penalties to marijuana offenders are irrational and out of step with socio-cultural attitudes toward cannabis use. Chapter 4 marks the beginning of our philosophical, non-consequentialist moral rights argument. The philosophical framework of Douglas Husak is appropriated in order to introduce ethical arguments that challenge the criminalization of marijuana based on the harm it poses to the individual user and to others in society. The principle of autonomy is analyzed as a basis for challenging state interference on paternalistic grounds in the state's efforts to prevent harm to users. The "harm principle" is also put to the test in identifying the plausible harms caused to others. Chapter 5 differentiates our philosophical position from that of Douglas Husak by providing arguments for why marijuana ought to be separated from other "harder" drugs under a moral rights approach. We recommend a more liberalized marijuana policy (although not as liberal as Husaks!) in light of a decriminalized system in Canada, and suggest why such a system could continue to uphold the moral rights of citizens to recreational marijuana use. In order for the moral rights of marijuana users to be upheld, marijuana use and possession ought to be decriminalized, and penalized by no more than a $100 civil fine, accompanied by community service, rehabilitation and job training programs at the discretion of the judiciary. Under a policy of decriminalization, the risk of receiving a conditional discharge, criminal record, and imprisonment is diminished and the vast number of recreational marijuana users will not be hindered from further contributing to Canadian society.

This study examines the ways in which residents of a Canadian gated community in southern Ontario, Canada socially construct the meaning of both "community" and "safety". In particular, the study examines whether the assumptions and findings on community safety found in the literature on American gated communities apply to similar communities in Canada. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with four participants to explore the underlying assumptions and stereotypes that participants used in the discussions of community safety. Participants defined a safe community as one that is: homogeneous; excludes strangers and 'others'; provides both physical and social security; built on a sense of community life; and governed by rules and regulations. This study found empirical evidence that helps to validate many of the assumptions in the existing literature: the restriction of access helps residents feel safe; physical infrastructure is needed in order to feel safe; the ability to recognize who is a member of the community makes residents feel safe; and gated communities are viewed by their residents as nostalgic neighborhoods.