Jenn Dumoulin

During times of crises such as the present COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, digital helpers emerge as key agents of the promotion of digital literacy in society. Using data from the CPSS-5 national survey, the authors looked at the digital help provided by individuals to various demographic cohorts during the pandemic period in Canada. This survey comprised 3,961 adult respondents aged 15 years old who were interviewed in September, 2020. Digital helpers assisted fellow Canadians in through navigating digital technologies such as videoconferencing, online voice chats, online shopping sites or educational resources. Digital helpers comprised 48% of the total adult population where the most typical form was the assistance of adult respondents aged 18 to 64 years old. Assistance to specific demographic cohorts such as children, teens and seniors varied according to the socio-demographic profiles of helpers. Multivariate analysis of seven typical types of digital help suggests that the likelihood of digital help increased with a younger age of the helper, the presence of a child living at home, university education, urban residence status and/or living in large households. Overall, digital help outcomes appeared to be linked to the life course position of the individual and the types of family or non family networks situated around the helper. The role of young married women living with children and other individuals as the new "Good Samaritans" of digital help is relevant in this regard.

Virtual social movements are not restricted by traditional borders or boundaries. They attract a geographically, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse membership whose engagement ebbs and flows on issues rather than ideologically based motives. Despite seemingly loose and temporary ties, virtual social movements are nevertheless able to maintain a sustained membership and successfully carry out collective action operations. The digital hacktivist group Anonymous, whose membership is both placeless and faceless, does not focus its efforts against a single target or a single cause. Its diverse members strike wherever they see injustice-a subjective concept that is defined and shaped by individual lived experiences. Through an examination of the videos published on its YouTube Channel, this paper considers how Anonymous uses issues-based collective identity narratives to mobilize and sustain members around a concept that is, traditionally, subjective and shaped by our ideological, socioeconomic and cultural experiences.

Why does the definition of “direct participation in hostilities” matter?

The purpose of international humanitarian law (IHL) is to regulate the conduct of military operations during armed conflicts and, in particular, to protect civilians and the victims of war. Under IHL, civilians are to be protected from military operations in both international and non-international armed conflicts - unless and for such time that they take a direct part in hostilities. The concept of direct participation in hostilities is, therefore, a determinative factor in armed conflict situations as it delineates those civilians who should be protected from those who have engaged in unlawful conduct and, as a result, have forfeited their protected status. Despite its importance,
identifying the precise conduct that causes a civilian to lose his or her protection remains elusive.

There has been much debate surrounding the concept of direct participation in hostilities. In an attempt to clarify this debate, the International Committee of the Red Cross published its Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities under International Law. The Interpretive Guidance
considered three questions: who is a civilian, what constitutes direct participation and what causes the loss of protection.

Despite the issuance of the Interpretive Guidance, many aspects of direct participation in hostilities remain unsettled. This paper explores the three elements of the "act" component of the concept of direct participation in hostilities: (1) what is meant by direct participation (”conduct-ual” nature of the act); (2) for what length of time does an individual directly participate in hostilities (temporal nature of the act); and, (3) what are hostilities (contextual nature of the act). It then establishes – in a preliminary manner – a classification system that can be used to assess whether a civilian has undertaken an act that should result in the loss of their protected status.

Jürgen Habermas’ The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere has been described as outdated and incompatible with 21st century democracies. Among other things, Habermas’ initial formulation excluded the state from the public sphere. Recently, a revised model of the public sphere has emerged that positions the state and other law-making bodies at its centre. Although some theorists have embraced this revised model, others continue to exclude the state or oversimplify its role. While some research has examined how parliaments fit into this revised model, no research has been published on this in a Canadian context. This thesis attempts to fill this gap by answering the research question: Does the Canadian House of Commons constitute a form of the public sphere?
To answer this question, the Canadian House of Commons is explored along three dimensions of the public sphere – structure, representation, and interaction. This system of classification conforms to the essential function and institutional criteria of classical theory and also accounts for revised models of the public sphere. Ultimately, this work argues that the Canadian House of Commons satisfies the structural and representational dimensions of the public sphere. Its interactional dimension, however, is found to be inconsistent with public sphere theory due to a lack of real deliberation and the pervasiveness of party politics.

Contemporary propagandists often referred to as doctors of spin, are highly criticized for misleading their audiences in order to achieve a specific and desired outcome on behalf of their client. Propagandists and the very notion of propaganda were not always viewed in such a contemptuous manner. In fact, propaganda – which dates back to 1622 when the Roman Catholic Church was attempting to broaden the reach of its religious doctrine – became associated with deception and immorality following the First World War.  It is therefore not surprising that much of the contemporary literature on propaganda examines the concept in the context of military operations and training exercises or describes propaganda techniques using traditional war terminology.

The objective of this paper is to dissect the concept of propaganda – examining the mediums used for communication, its functions, and its constitutive features – in order to situate the concept of propaganda as a form of mass communication and therefore differentiate it from other forms of mass communication.

The British North American Act of 1867, also known as the BNA Act, established Canada as a nation with four provinces; Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. With the exception of Nunavut, a division of the Northwest Territories that was recognized as an independent territory in 1999, Newfoundland was the last province to join Canada in 1949.

Unlike the American Constitution, the BNA Act did not contain any provisions on Human Rights. The Parliament of Canada enacted the Canadian Bill of Rights in 1960. However, the Bill did not take precedence over other federal laws, had no jurisdiction over provincial laws, and served more as an ideal than as a functional piece of legislation (“Charter of Rights and Freedoms – History”, 2006).
Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau is credited with the establishment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In order to do so, he lobbied the British Parliament and successfully repatriated the British North American Act in 1982, giving Canada control over its Constitution. Under the Constitution Act of 1982, this historic piece of legislation became known as the Constitution Act of 1867.

The Constitution Act of 1982 also entrenched the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution. This meant that the Charter could not be repealed by an ordinary act of Parliament or of provincial and territorial legislatures (Smyth, Soberman, & Easson, 2007). Section 1 of the Charter “guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society” (“Charter of Rights and Freedoms”, n.d.). The Charter is therefore considered to be overriding, wherein the rights guaranteed in the Charter take precedence over other legislation that is in conflict with those rights. The Canadian Charter guarantees four fundamental freedoms along with democratic, mobility, legal, education, language, and equality rights to all Canadian citizens.

Based on the definition in the Charter, Canada is a free and democratic society. In democratic societies, citizens are guaranteed certain rights and freedoms, including the freedom of association and freedom of thought.

Contemporary technological advancements are facilitating the collection, tracking, and sharing of personal information between the private and public sectors of society. One method of such data collection, tracking, and sharing is through the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

Despite the benefits that RFID technology has for the private sector, including inventory management and theft prevention, this paper argues that RFID and other forms of information tracking and collection technology are detrimental to the rights and freedoms of citizens in democratic societies.

The genre of reality television is one that is not easily definable. In recent years, there has been a veritable explosion of sub-genres in the category – many of which are overlapping. Although it is difficult to identify reality television as one particular form of culture, the one trait that all reality television programming does have in common is the constant observation of its subjects. Whether the program itself is staged, in the sense that the scenario has been created, or real-life, where a subject is portrayed in his natural environment, they are being filmed from countless angles, at all hours of the day.

The rise of reality television was paralleled in North America by a resurgence in anti-privacy and government surveillance legislation. The increase in such legislation was especially predominant after the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001 in New York City.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the rise of reality television and the post-9/11 surge in American legislation, specifically that which pertains to the increased government surveillance of the American public. In order to fully grasp the impact of reality television on its American audiences, this study begins by examining the history and growth of the genre. The reality television phenomenon has gripped the nation in recent years, due in part to the introduction of sub-genres. This paper evaluates the similarities and differences between the sub-genres as well as their place in contemporary North American culture.

The social and psychological effects of television are scrutinized, and these theories are then applied to reality television. A discussion of how reality television works as well as the reasons why mass audiences are drawn to the genre are used in an analysis about the power that reality television holds over both its audience and its participants. Upon completion of the study of reality television, this paper shifts its focus to provide an overview of American legislation pertaining to privacy and government surveillance. This essay specifically examines the USA-PATRIOT Act and the amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act since September 11, 2001 to provide concrete examples of the impact that 9/11 and the Bush Administration have had on the privacy of American citizens.

Ultimately, this essay attempts to avoid being labeled as a conspiracy theory and strives instead to suggest the existence of a possible naturalizing relationship between the rise of reality television and the surge in government surveillance and “anti-privacy” legislation.

The televised world comprised of reality programming and the 24-hour newsroom is increasingly dominated by the desire for up-to-the-minute information about breaking events taking place both within and beyond the realm of television. It is therefore no surprise that the emphasis placed on the real-time depiction of events is also present in the realm of televised fiction.

Real-time techniques have begun to emerge outside of the genres discussed above, transitioning to the world of televised fiction. This is most evident in the FOX television series 24, wherein each season of the series takes place over the course of twenty-four hours, with each individual 60-minute episode representing one hour. Using the series 24 as a lens through which to examine the emphasis on time and the use of real-time techniques in televised fiction, the purpose of this paper is to answer the following question: What impact do time and real-time techniques have on authenticity and the representation of reality in televised fiction?

On September 11, 2001, two hijacked planes crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a fourth crash-landed in a field in Pennsylvania. The World Trade Center towers, affectionately known as the Twin Towers, collapsed mere hours after impact. Two years after this tragic event occurred, CNN’s Phil Hirschkorn (2003) noted that the revised death toll of September 11 totaled 2,752 individuals, not including the 10 hijackers who crashed the airplanes.

The purpose of this essay is to determine how television might negatively affect democracy, politics, and government policy in the United States of America following the terror attacks of 9/11. In order to do so, this study begins by briefly examining the development of television technology and the origins of political broadcasting in the United States. This is followed by a discussion of theories on the negative effects of television news media on interpersonal trust, political trust, and policy support. After examining the effects of varying media forms, this essay shifts its focus to a post-9/11 evaluation of news media in the United States in order to examine the degree of influence that the media may have had on government policies, political attitudes, and public opinion. The essay concludes by discussing potential future impacts of information communication technologies on democracy, politics, and government.

Freedom of expression is a necessary condition for democracy. It ensures that issues of common concern are freely and openly debated and allows for the criticism of government actions.  In this sense, its purpose is to “[promote] the free flow of ideas essential to political democracy and the functioning of democratic institutions”.  Despite this important function, freedom of expression is not absolute. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [hereafter the Charter] permits limits on freedom of expression if they are reasonable and justifiable in a free and democratic society. 

While it is possible to debate whether any limits to such a fundamental freedom are justifiable, and indeed the courts have done so many times, it is nevertheless commonly accepted that this is the case. Interestingly, freedom of expression is limited not only within society as a whole, but also within its governing democratic institutions. At first glance, such limitations appear counterintuitive. How can elected representatives properly deliberate and create laws if they do not have the ability to speak freely while doing so?

The purpose of this paper is to explore this inconsistency in the law surrounding freedom of expression. Section I of this paper reviews the existing jurisprudence on freedom of expression as guaranteed by Section 2(b) of the Charter and lays out the analytical framework found in Irwin Toy Ltd. v Quebec (Attorney General) [hereafter Irwin Toy]  and Montréal (City) v 2952-1366 Québec Inc. [hereafter Montréal (City)].  Section II then considers the scope of freedom of expression guaranteed within the House of Commons using the lens of parliamentary privilege. Lastly, Section III applies the tests from Irwin Toy and Montréal (City) to determine whether the limits imposed on freedom of expression within the House of Commons are consistent with the Charter guarantee under Section 2(b).

Following the events of 9/11, the Bush Administration launched the Global War on Terror. Abroad, U.S. Forces aggressively pursued alleged terrorist organizations and supporters in Central Asia and the Middle East – beginning with Afghanistan and Iraq. These military operations coincided with a rise in anti-privacy legislation and government surveillance operations at home – see, for example, the Combating Terrorism Act, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act), the Cyber Security Enhancement Act, Operation Terrorist Information and Prevention System, and the Total Information Awareness (TIA) tracking system – as well as a resurgence of wartime propaganda. News programs and television series covered the Global War on Terror in both domestic and international settings, bombarding the American public with images of war in the form of information and entertainment. Media thus performed a propagandistic function: limiting, censoring, and presenting war content in both fiction and non-fiction programs.

The purpose of this paper is to examine propaganda, in particular wartime propaganda, in a post-9/11 context in order to understand the complex role that television plays as a tool of social control and mass persuasion. In doing so, this paper begins with an in-depth study of propaganda which explores the target audience and scope of propagandistic campaigns, the functions and objectives of propaganda, and, finally, the techniques and features employed in such campaigns. In order to distinguish between propaganda and other forms of promotional discourse, a discussion on the ethics of propaganda is conducted.

After establishing a solid definition of the concept and techniques of propaganda, it is further examined in the context of wartime operations. An emphasis is placed upon the techniques and objectives of wartime communication campaigns in order to determine how war propaganda can be employed to influence attitudes and beliefs. In doing so, this paper will also explore how ideologies and values can be employed to promote particular agendas.

Finally, a case study focusing on the television series 24 is conducted to illustrate how patriotic and idealistic images can be used to mobilize support for the American military establishment and its strategic operations, including the acceptance of morally questionable conduct. This case study demonstrates the influential role that television can play in the context of wartime operations by encouraging support for the military and law enforcement agencies.