The role of coloured papers

Abstract. White, green and other coloured papers have been used by the government of Canada as a means of providing information on public policy and involving parliamentarians and interested groups and individuals in debates on policy issues. They have also been used as a basis for consultation with provincial governments. Although the government has issued papers on a wide variety of subjects over the years, no systematic procedures respecting their use as a policy technique have been established. Nevertheless, these papers have the potential of strengthening the role of Parliament in policy-making activities through debate and public discussion of issues. Some basic measures could be implemented to establish their regular application in policy formulation and review. Sommaire. Le gouvernement du Canada s'est servi de livres blancs, verts et d'autres couleurs pour fournir des renseignements sur les politiques publiques et pour faire participer parlementaires, groupes divers et individus à des débats sur des questions de poJitique générale. Il les a aussi utilisés comme base de discussion lors de consultations avec les gouvernements provinciaux. Le gouvemement a ainsi publié des “livres” sur toutes sortes de sujets au cours des années, mais n'a pas établi de procédures systématiques pour les utiliser en tant que techniques de prise de décision. Néanmoins, ces “livres” peuvent renforcer le rôle du Parlement dans la détermination des politiques, par le truchement du débat et de la discussion publique. Il devrait donc être possible d'adopter certaines mesures pour assurer leur usage régulier dans la formulation et l'examen des politiques.     

The Associations Among Family-of-Origin Violence and Young Adults' Current Depressed, Hopeless, Suicidal, and Life-Threatening Behavior

The purpose of the current study was to determine if college students' retrospective reports of family-of-origin physical abuse were related to their current reports of depressed symptomology, hopelessness, and suicidal and life-threatening behavior. Consistent with hypotheses, abuse by a parent (physical and psychological) and physical perpetration toward a parent were associated with increased rates of suicidal and life-threatening behavior. Gender of the parent was also shown to be important as symptoms of depression were related to mother but not father victimization and perpetration. Contrary to expectation, witnessing parental spouse abuse was not associated with young adults' current symptoms of depression, hopelessness, and suicidal and life-threatening behavior. These findings were interpreted with regard to the intergenerational transmission of violence theory.     

Europe's Identity Problem and the New Islamist War

Fundamental transformations of identity within Europe have historically resulted in great wars, which in turn resulted in fundamental transformations of identity. This essay discusses, first, four great periods of war in Europe and the succession of identities they produced, and then the new war that Islamist terrorists, and Islamism more generally, have brought to Europe and the West. It considers the inherent weaknesses and failures of the now-dominant Western ideology and identity, liberalism, in dealing with this new war, and concludes with a consideration of the once-dominant Christian identity in Europe. That identity, much more than liberalism, would have strengthened Europe in its current war with Islamism.