Digital Commons Network^™

The Business Of Punishment “The National Post's” Adherence To Canadian Punitive Policy, Chris Overton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Penal practices have shifted dramatically in Canada since the 1960s. Rehabilitation, which was once at the forefront of penal practice, has been put on the back-burner in favour of a more stringent method of penal reform. The National Post has identified with this punitive policy, and with Karla Homolka as their poster child, have crafted a long line of articles painting Canadian penitentiaries as "soft," using the imagery of both summer camps and country clubs. This research is informed by Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish, which takes aim at modern penology by claiming that while it "tortures the soul" …

Securing Autonomy: Elite Discourse And Migrants In Canada, Shannon Theresa Speed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the wake of a 2006 change in the party in office for the Canadian government there were routine rearrangements in the House of Common's Standing Committees and Subcommittees. Novel changes came about with the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights and committees associated with security ceasing to be connected to one another. Discourses in the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration were analysed using critical discourse analysis to examine participant roles with regards to power and mystification as evident in the discourse of the invited speakers/witnesses at the meetings on 'Refugee Issues' in the 1st Session of the …

Recovery From Mental Illness – The Experiential Perspective, Jean Laforge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore what recovery means to people who have had personal experiences with mental illness. A qualitative design using exploratory and descriptive approaches was used. Two focus groups consisting of seventeen participants were asked questions about their recovery process. The data were categorized and themes emerged from the analysis. This thesis will discuss the four themes that emerged: recovery means stability and growth in a meaningful way; recovery includes a process of self-actualization supported by both natural and professional supports; barriers to recovery; and, facing barriers using steps towards recovery. The findings elaborate on …

The Contradictory Chinese Media In The Name Of “Socialism With Chinese Characteristics”, Weimin Yu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For the past 30 years, the Chinese communication system has experienced tremendous changes, which have brought it from the ultimate "propaganda machine" to a striking contradictory mix of capitalist neoliberalism and socialist authoritarian ideological indoctrination. Since the central hypothesis of my research focuses on the fact that socialist Chinese media are undergoing capitalist neoliberal operations, the American communication system, a very typical capitalist neoliberal corporate media system, is contextualized. The thesis intends to explore the current Chinese communication system, media phenomena, and media practices that have manifested contradictions. I also attempt to find out the underlying drive to propel the …

Experiences Of Treatment And Sexuality For Women With Cervical Cancer, Maureen Reynolds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What is the experience of cancer treatment and sexuality after treatment for women with cervical cancer? Although the number of women with cervical cancer is low in North America, the potential for sexually devastating treatment side effects is high.

Eleven women, aged 33 to 71, were interviewed from April to August 2008 using a qualitative research design intended to capture their subjective experience. All women had received treatment from 2003 to 2008 at a small cancer centre in Ontario.

Most women felt an ongoing loss of sexual pleasure and desire, and several experienced continuing pain and discomfort during intercourse. Although …

As I Die Lying, Neil Wood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis contains creative redactions from selected works drawn from the Twentieth Century American canon. The works were written by Langston Hughes, Joyce Carol Oates, Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger and John Updike. This these creatively examines the criteria and identity politics surrounding canonical inclusion.

The Myth Of Cyberdemocracy In China's Information Society, Yun Wen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The explosive development of the Internet in China has catalyzed the emergence of the information society. It is a commonly held view that the Internet provides an online public sphere which provides citizens real opportunities for the democratization of public life. This common sense creates a "myth" of cyberdemocracy. My thesis tests whether this "myth" can be justified with respect to China's information society. First, the nature of the "myth" is analyzed. I examine how the Chinese people understand and interpret the "myth". Second, I focus on whether the "myth" of cyberdemocracy can be justified, especially in the context of …

The Influence Of Social Capital On The Timing Of First Sexual Intercourse Among Canadian Youth, Lisa Smylie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the nature of social capital and the mechanisms of its development and mobilization as it relates to the sexual behaviour of young people in Canada between the ages of 16 and 19 years. It extends the youth-centred social capital literature, pioneered by Virginia Morrow, and builds upon its foundations to integrate it with the youth sexuality literature. Using cycles two through four of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), the dissertation examines the relative influence that social context at various sites, including family, school, peers, leisure activities and community groups, has on the timing …

The Great Bear Media Battle: How The Forest Was Finally Won, Gemma Richardson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the struggle for environmental protection in the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia and how this decade-long battle was covered in the media. It also seeks to add to the discussion on how social movements can utilize the power of the mass media. First, literature on social movements and the media is reviewed within the contextual framework of political economy, as well as literature on Greenpeace and its media tactics, a key actor in the forest battle. A critical discourse analysis was then carried out on a sample of articles from the 'Globe and Mail' and the …

Resisting Patriarchy Through Literature: The Feminist Writings Of Nawal El Saadawi And Hanan Al-Shaykh, Donya Tag-El-Din

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With renewed Western interest in the Middle East and Middle Eastern women since September 11th 2001 the discourse surrounding Arab women's oppression, and their supposed inability to resist that oppression on their own is becoming prevalent in the West. Through an examination of the novels of Nawal El Saadawi and Hanan Al-Shaykh, this paper seeks to reveal Arab women's writing as an avenue for resistance to male domination. I examine the issues of cultural translation and readership as well as the narrative strategies these authors utilize in their novels. I examine the body as sensual site of reclamation for Arab …

Experiences Of Mennonite Immigrant Women Accessing And Receiving Services In The Mental Health Care System In Essex County, Diane Quadros

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although the success rate for treating mental illness is high, relatively few people, especially immigrants, seek help. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of six Mennonite immigrant women who have received services in the mental health care system in order better understand and improve upon this populations' access to services.

A qualitative methodological approach was used to study this topic in depth. Findings offer insight about how internal and external barriers such as lack of knowledge about mental illness; experiences of judgement and lack of support from the Mennonite community; language barriers; …

Americanization Of Chinese Television: ---A Critical Analysis Of 'Yearning For Love', Dong Zhao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

President Deng's promulgation of "taking bolder steps" in economic reform sanctioned the building a socialist market economy that led Chinese society to experience a sweeping change, while also becoming the site affected by U.S. - led cultural imperialism. In the new climate of social reform, mass media led the way in creating an awareness of commercial identity and branding. One interesting phenomenon in this development is the increasing number of cloned foreign entertainment shows that have seized the entire nation's attention, giving rise to a national cloning mania. To examine the cultural impact of cloned media shows, this paper focuses …

Exploring Protofascism In George W. Bush's Post 9-11 Speeches, Danielle Sabelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After the 9/11 attacks on America and the subsequent onset of the "war on terror" declared by former President George W. Bush, several scholars and political observers began to suggest that the Bush administration was exhibiting what could be called "proto-fascist" proclivities. Incorporating elements from Laurence Britt's "fourteen points of fascism" as a conceptual framework and critical discourse analysis as a methodological approach, this thesis examines various speeches made by Bush following 9/11 in an attempt to illustrate the discursive manifestations of those proto-fascist tendencies.

An Assessment Of The Intersection Between Love And Violence: Do Romance Narratives Support The Development, Continuation And Attitudinal Tolerance Of Intimate Partner Violence?, Surbhi Bhanot

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study tested whether two specific romance narratives, the Dark Romance and Prince Charming narratives, support the development, continuation, and attitudinal tolerance of intimate partner violence. Moreover, the study explored the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Four hundred and one participants completed an online survey comprised of the Love Stories Scale (Sternberg, 1998), the Conflict In Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory (Wolfe et al., 2001), the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996), the Inventory of Beliefs about Wife Beating (Saunders et al, 1987), the Acceptance of Sexualized Aggression subscale (Stevens, DiLalla, & Che, 1994) and the Attitudes Towards Male Psychological Dating …

Revisiting Community Assemblages: Leamington's Response To Neoliberal Globalization, Karina Schneider

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following is an analysis of shifting economic assemblages in communities and their creative responses to neoliberal globalization. This research suggests that perceived traditional forces of globalization, such as multinational corporations, may be in retreat from shaping community affairs. Instead, neoliberal globalization opens new avenues of global enterprise for smaller players and brings to light imaginative alternatives in community assemblages. The current literature has little to offer for tracing the reassemblage of communities. The case study examines the small community of Leamington in South-Western Ontario, Canada, and its changing relationship with the local H. J. Heinz production facility. It is …