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student paper: 18 pp., digital file. ; Prostitution is a matter that affects many in Winnipeg; most obviously, the women and girls who are exploited through street work in the north and west end communities. These women and children are disproportionately of Aboriginal descent, further marginalizing a group of people who are already disadvantaged in Winnipeg. With current revision of legislation surrounding prostitution in Canada, understanding who makes up Winnipeg's street sex workers, and how these changes affect our society, becomes the responsibility of every member of the city.

On the 18th August 2003 in the City of Accra, Ghana, representatives of the new Liberian government signed what became known as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The Agreement marked the formal end of over twenty years of civil war and strife for Liberia and the Liberian people. Article XIII of the CPA outlines the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Accordingly, the Commission was mandated to provide a forum that will address issues of impunity, as well as an opportunity for both the victims and perpetrators of human rights violations to share their experiences in order to get a clear picture of the past to facilitate genuine healing and reconciliation.In essence, the proposal was for individuals to share their experiences, through speech and language, of the violence and inhumane treatment suffered through the years of war, in order to provide the greater community of Liberia with a clearer understanding of their collective history and, as a result, lead the country to realise "genuine healing and reconciliation" through this process. Through a philosophical and psychological framework this paper seeks to explore the promises and limitations of truth commissions - with specific refererence to the truth commission established in Liberia - through a deconstruction and discussion of their central elements: truth, testimony, history and reconciliation. The paper will contest the notion posited in the mandates of truth commissions that truth is something objective and verifiable that can be found; rather, I insist that if we align our understanding of truth with Nietzschean thinking on the subject, truth commissions can foster the creation of truth through the individual's creative engagement with speech and language as they testify at truth commission hearings. The paper then goes on to discuss some of the problems inherent in the idea that, through the act of narrative, individuals can heal through a spoken testament of their traumas. Following post-modernist thinking, this paper is sceptical of claims of official truth and history which privileges certain memories and narratives and in fact subscribes to a version of history which suits the agenda of the new order and government, or those who have been tasked with writing this official truth and history. Indeed, by the very notion that truth commissions 'rewrite' the past they admit that truth and history are permeable, biased and privileged to whomever is writing it. This paper argues that despite truth commission's claims that they are therapeutic bodies aimed at the overall healing and betterment of those afflicted by the pains of war, truth commissions are in fact political bodies designed to forward the agenda of the new reigning order. In addition, this paper makes suggestions as to what elements of a truth commission can have a positive and healing effect, and could therefore lead to what I argue to be true and lasting reconciliation. The paper will contest the notion posited in the mandates of truth commissions that truth is something objective and verifiable that can be found; rather, I insist that if we align our understanding of truth with Nietzschean thinking on the subject, truth commissions can foster the creation of truth through the individual's creative engagement with speech and language as they testify at truth commission hearings. The paper then goes on to discuss some of the problems inherent in the idea that, through the act of narrative, individuals can heal through a spoken testament of their traumas. Following post-modernist thinking, this paper is sceptical of claims of official truth and history which privileges certain memories and narratives and in fact subscribes to a version of history which suits the agenda of the new order and government, or those who have been tasked with writing this official truth and history. Indeed, by the very notion that truth commission's 'rewrite' the past they admit that truth and history are permeable, biased and privileged to whomever is writing it. This paper argues that despite truth commission's claims that they are therapeutic bodies aimed at the overall healing and betterment of those afflicted by the pains of war, truth commissions are in fact political bodies designed to forward the agenda of the new reigning order. In addition, this paper makes suggestions as to what elements of a truth commission can have a positive and healing effect, and could therefore lead to what I argue to be true and lasting reconciliation The paper then goes on to discuss some of the problems inherent in the idea that, through the act of narrative, individuals can heal through a spoken testament of their traumas. Following post-modernist thinking, this paper is sceptical of claims of official truth and history which privileges certain memories and narratives and in fact subscribes to a version of history which suits the agenda of the new order and government, or those who have been tasked with writing this official truth and history. Indeed, by the very notion that truth commission's 'rewrite' the past they admit that truth and history are permeable, biased and privileged to whomever is writing it. This paper argues that despite truth commission's claims that they are therapeutic bodies aimed at the overall healing and betterment of those afflicted by the pains of war, truth commissions are in fact political bodies designed to forward the agenda of the new reigning order. In addition, this paper makes suggestions as to what elements of a truth commission can have a positive and healing effect, and could therefore lead to what I argue to be true and lasting reconciliation.

This article provides some insight into the variety of political roles in which unionist and loyalist women engage. While they are still under-represented in the formal political sphere, their work ensures that the political parties and community organisations continue to function effectively. The parties' policies do little more than to encourage greater participation by women, which does not account for the barriers of time, money, stereotypical attitudes and self-confidence. However, the experience that unionist and loyalist women are gaining through their political participation suggest that in the future these women will be less content to remain in the background of politics. Their contribution is much more than 'tea and buns and opening up halls'. (Parliamentary Affairs / FUB)

Policy delegation is, in part, a function of the precision of statutes—the more ambiguous or open-ended the statute, the more decisions are delegated to agencies and the courts. Moreover, the study of policy detail sheds light on the objectives pursued, and constraints faced, by policy-making actors. Yet surprisingly little work in political science has concentrated on the conditions that contribute to or diminish the specificity of statutes, and the work that has been done promotes contradictory findings. This article treats the effects of institutional and political fragmentation on the specificity of mental health insurance laws across states. Using a new measure of statute specificity and identifying new sources of fragmentation as independent variables (e.g., gubernatorial power, interest group diversity, and party polarization), the author shows that fragmentation encourages ambiguity in mental health policy. This ambiguity may serve as a tool to achieve compromise when disagreement precludes precision.

Policy delegation is, in part, a function of the precision of statutes--the more ambiguous or open-ended the statute, the more decisions are delegated to agencies and the courts. Moreover, the study of policy detail sheds light on the objectives pursued, and constraints faced, by policy-making actors. Yet surprisingly little work in political science has concentrated on the conditions that contribute to or diminish the specificity of statutes, and the work that has been done promotes contradictory findings. This article treats the effects of institutional and political fragmentation on the specificity of mental health insurance laws across states. Using a new measure of statute specificity and identifying new sources of fragmentation as independent variables (e.g., gubernatorial power, interest group diversity, and party polarization), the author shows that fragmentation encourages ambiguity in mental health policy. This ambiguity may serve as a tool to achieve compromise when disagreement precludes precision. Adapted from the source document.

This article assesses the reasons for the ongoing under-representation of women in Northern Ireland politics, with particular reference to women who take a pro-union stance. The stereotype that unionist women 'just make the tea' is challenged through evidence that they participate in many different tiers of government and in community organisations. The article draws upon qualitative evidence of pro-union women's political activism and their motivations, analysed through perspectives from the literature on gender, nationalism and participation. The article argues that while women remain under-represented, particularly in the more powerful and salaried regional and national levels of government, they also do more than the stereotype allows.

This article assesses the reasons for the ongoing under-representation of women in Northern Ireland politics, with particular reference to women who take a pro-union stance. The stereotype that unionist women 'just make the tea' is challenged through evidence that they participate in many different tiers of government & in community organizations. The article draws upon qualitative evidence of pro-union women's political activism & their motivations, analyzed through perspectives from the literature on gender, nationalism & participation. The article argues that while women remain under-represented, particularly in the more powerful & salaried regional & national levels of government, they also do more than the stereotype allows. 2 Tables, 32 References. Adapted from the source document.