Marie-Claire Blais and Dostoevsky: Observations from the Notebooks

This article demonstrates the pervasive presence of Dostoevsky in the oeuvre of Canadian writer Marie-Claire Blais—three-time winner of the Governor-General’s Award for literature—through analysis of her working notebooks and individual novels. Blais’ thirteen working notebooks (1962–1974) contain one hundred eighty references to works and characters in Russian literature, some sixty of which relate to Dostoevsky. Analysis of these references shows that Blais throughout her formative years studied Dostoevsky rigorously and thoroughly. Using the seven mentions of Alyosha from The Brothers Karamazov as a starting point, we examine Blais’ creation of a series of Alyosha-figures in Un Joualonais sa Joualonie (1973), Visions d’Anna, ou le vertige (1982), and Dans la foudre et la lumière (2001), each representing a possible alternative development of the character-type. The theme of innocent suffering (Ivan Karamazov’s “the single tear of a child”) is traced in David Sterne (1967), Un Joualonais sa Joualonie (1973), and Soifs (1995).     

Correlates of the contraceptive behavior of adolescents/young adults

Pregnancy among adolescents/young adults continues at epidemic levels despite widespread concern regarding its social and psychological consequences. Cognitive psychologists point out that active decisions and behaviors such as those involved in effective contraception are facilitated or inhibited by any of a number of relevant attitudes and beliefs. The present investigation examined several such cognitive variables. Specifically, the following hypotheses were tested: Among adolescents/young adults, the use of effective contraception would be positively related to (a) the number of known cases of unwanted pregnancy of which subjects were directly aware, and (b) sexual guilt. A sample of 147 sexually active single college students aged 18–19 provided information relevant to these hypotheses. Analyses indicated that contraceptive behavior was unrelated to the number of unwanted pregnancies of which subjects were aware, but was substantially and significantly associated with sexual guilt, even when the possibility of pregnancy was precluded. The nature and implications of these findings are explored.     

On becoming a prostitute: An exploratory case‐comparison study

We examined the effects of sexual arousal on cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) elicited by electrical stimulation delivered to the skin over either the dorsal penile or posterior tibial nerve. The electrical stimuli were initiated by the subject pressing a button. In Experiment 1, a single stimulus was delivered immediately upon button press. In Experiment 2, a randomly spaced train of stimuli was delivered after a randomly varying delay. SEPs were obtained during (1) a baseline condition during which subjects viewed a non‐erotic videotape, (2) an arousal condition in which subjects viewed an erotic videotape, and (3) a post‐orgasm condition during which subjects again viewed the non‐erotic videotape. Amplitudes of SEP components elicited by stimulation of either nerve decreased with sexual arousal and tended to return towards baseline values in the post‐orgasm condition. The SEP components that showed these changes included slow potentials generated before and after stimulus delivery, as well as the vertex potentials, N100 and P200.     

The American Trade Dollar

The changes in technology that have affected mail delivery are a dynamic way to encourage students to think critically and make meaningful connections across historical eras. In the classroom, personal communication through the mail can become the “thematic glue” used across historical units to highlight the changes in everyday life caused by technological innovation. The post office initiated changes in streetlighting and crosswalks, stimulated the development of rural roads and highways, and provided passenger services on railways. Classroom teachers can use the activities and discussion questions to introduce students to this entity and its influence on our history.     

Heterosexual vs. homosexual attitudes: Male partners' perception of the feminine image of male transexuals∗

This paper explores and discusses the social and emotional conflicts engendered by a sample of twelve passing phase transsexuals (four females and eight males) and the coping mechanisms which they have adopted to meet the demands of this period. “Passing phase” is defined as that period prior to sex change in which the surgical candidate is required to live and work as a member of the opposite anatomical sex.

The transsexuals in this study were deeply alienated individuals who received negative support in their dilemma, both from society as well as from the individuals close to them. There seemed to be virtually no means of tension reduction available to these transsexuals. Anger and loneliness were overriding factors in their emotional distress, as well as was the constant fear of being discovered and discredited.

Differences were found among four subgroups of transsexuals in regard to several areas.     

Proper Perspective in American History

This article describes the instructional methods of four high school government teachers during their coverage of the 2008 presidential election. By analyzing the ways in which these teachers attempted to generate interest in the election and further their students’ conceptualization of politics, the author seeks to better understand political instruction at the secondary level. Overall, the author observed that the teachers were successful in capturing student interest in both politics and the election; however, the teachers often missed opportunities to foster this interest into a nuanced understanding of politics.