University of Calgary Journal Hosting
Not a member yet
20552 research outputs found
Sort by
Selling Sexual Products in Sweden: Gender, Disability, and Sex Toys, 1978-1996
No full textThis study addresses the controversial question of making sexual commodity consumption respectable in the purportedly sexual liberal Sweden. Despite the country’s reputation of the “Swedish sin”, sexual consumption had been severely stigmatized both before and after the legalization of pornography in 1971. Thus, the attempt of the Swedish National Association for Sexual Health (abbreviated RFSU) to try to sanitize “sex aid” usage in the late 1980s is noteworthy, as this consumption was still being repeatedly linked to pornography. In the midst of a heavy mobilization against pornography ongoing from the late 1970s up to the ealy 1990s, RFSU went from supplying only a single type of vibrator to launching a whole product line of “sexual technical aids” in 1987. In so doing the products were explicitly linked to ongoing discussions of sexual capability and disability, yet still struggled to gain legitimacy both within and outside the RFSU. Thus, this article shows how different narratives of sexual products was used to advocate for or against certain sexual expressions and their desirability. By retracing these narratives of sexual consumption, I do not only provide the reader with an understanding of how ideas of gender, sexuality, and corporeality changed from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, but also introduce a hitherto unacknowledged process in the Swedish historiography of sexuality. Through this, I open up for further research both in Sweden and other national contexts, by presenting entanglements of sexual product consumption that have been overlooked in the past
A Heart-To-Heart Conversation: Debating the Limits of Adolescent Friendship, Love, and Courtship in 1960s Russia
No full textThe article explores the experiences of teenagers as they sought romantic and sexual autonomy against the background of shifting attitudes toward sexuality, marriage, and reproduction in Russia in the 1960s. In the early 1960s, a new wave of publications celebrated high-school romance as a way to constrain adolescent sexuality and as a path to a stable Soviet family. Emphasizing the need to teach teenagers about the dangers of premarital sex, the experts argued that first love was wholesome because it was based on idealization of the object of affection. This idea, however, met with resistance from many parents of teenage girls. Fixation on teen girls’ chastity cut across class lines, with middle-class parents relying on the morality discourse to make sense of their children’s lives, while working-class families reproduced peasant norms of girls’ “honor,” synonymous with virginity and determined by the community. Based on the analysis of teenage letters, diaries, and sociological studies along with publications on adolescent love and friendship in the Soviet press, the article shows that the state-sanctioned discourse empowered teenagers to challenge the rules established by their parents and the broader community and claim romantic and sexual autonomy. Teenagers pursued romantic relationships they called “friendships,” although no consensus seems to have existed on its legitimate conduct. Moreover, the state-initiated conversation about high-school love encouraged adolescents to talk to adults about sexuality in more or less direct terms—an important step in liberalization. At the same time, despite its emancipatory potential, the official discourse reinforced highly gendered views of the relationship between the sexes and thus set strict parameters for what was appropriate, parameters internalized by many teenagers. Official discourse legitimized conservative concepts such as “maiden honor,” condemning premarital sex and placing the burden of chastity on women. Even more so than the morality lectures, the price paid by teen girls if premarital sex led to pregnancy reinforced the prejudice that it was their responsibility to keep first love “pure.” Thus, while the public conversation about adolescent love had an emancipatory thrust and encouraged young people to seek romantic autonomy, it also reinforced a gendered understanding of romance and sexuality, according to which men were active sexual beings while women were above all wives and mothers
Pedagogies of Resilience amidst a Planetary Crisis: From Mind Training to Social and Environmental Justice
Full text linkThis article offers a circular framework for teaching and learning about resilience in higher education contexts. In order to navigate considerations of resilience as both potentially problematic and helpful, our framework stresses the importance of distinguishing between two different sets of questions: a) questions about the possibilities that humans have for cultivating qualities and skills that promote their flourishing, such as attention and mental balance, and b) questions about system change and social design from a social and ecological justice perspective. These questions are deeply implicated with one another, so one of the aims of our framework is to encourage students to explore the unity and mutual interdependencies between the two sets, as well as the possibilities of creating virtuous circles where the quest for nature restoration, social justice, and mental health sustain each other. In combining elements of “learning how” and “learning about,” this framework aspires to provide students with tools to make up their own minds about resilience, a term that has become all too present in public discourse and yet remains contentious. Alongside this framework, we also offer a summary of our pedagogical approach, one that stresses reflection, situated learning, and the use of the university campus as a playground to test ideas and build communities of learning
Crude Oil Curtailment and Collusion: Heterodox Trade War Strategies for Canada
Full text linkThis paper examines two non-traditional retaliation strategies that Canada could employ in response to U.S. import tariffs during a trade war: i) crude oil production curtailment and ii) potential exemptions to Canada’s Competition Act. Unlike traditional retaliatory tariffs or export restrictions, these measures could provide economic benefits to Canada rather than exacerbating the negative impacts of U.S. tariffs. While this paper does not advocate for any specific course of action, it highlights the need for policymakers to consider innovative and pragmatic responses to U.S. trade aggression. Crude oil curtailment and competition law exemptions present unconventional but potentially effective strategies for mitigating the adverse effects of tariffs while safeguarding Canada’s economic interests. Both strategies are preferred to export restrictions and export taxes. Nonetheless, their success in compelling U.S. policy changes remains uncertain and further analysis is required to fully assess their implications before implementation
L’Instruction au Sosie : une méthode socioconstructiviste prometteuse pour l’enseignement médical
Full text linkInstruction to the Double is a method used in work psychology. Its key interest is that it bridges the gap between real and prescribed work. From a theoretical standpoint, Instruction to the Double is embedded in Vygotskian socio-constructivism. It aims at developing the learners’ power to act. In practice, learners select a practical situation from their work experience and participate in an interview where the learner presents step-by-step instructions to a facilitator as to how intervene in that situation. The facilitator must focus on the how, rather than the why. Learners subsequently access the recorded interview and transcript. The method’s potential for development resides in surprising learners with the discrepancy between what they think they do, and what they say they do. Such discrepancy facilitates learner’s development of their power to act. Instruction to the Double can be a promising learning method in medical education, especially for post-graduate and continuing professional development learners.L’Instruction au Sosie est une méthode utilisée en psychologie du travail. Son principal avantage est qu’elle comble le fossé entre le travail réel et le travail prescrit. D’un point de vue théorique, l’Instruction au Sosie est ancrée dans le socioconstructivisme vygotskien. Elle vise à développer le pouvoir d’agir des apprenants. Dans la pratique, les apprenants choisissent une situation réelle tirée de leur expérience professionnelle et participent à un entretien au cours duquel ils fournissent à un facilitateur des instructions étape par étape sur la manière d’intervenir dans cette situation. Le facilitateur doit se concentrer sur le comment, plutôt que sur le pourquoi. Les apprenants peuvent ensuite consulter l’enregistrement de l’entretien et sa transcription. Le potentiel de développement de la méthode réside dans sa capacité à révéler l’écart entre ce que les apprenants pensent faire et ce qu’ils disent faire. Cet écart facilite le développement de leur pouvoir d’agir. L’Instruction au Sosie peut constituer une méthode d’apprentissage prometteuse dans l’enseignement médical, en particulier pour les apprenants du troisième cycle et de la formation professionnelle continue
HONOURABLE MENTION Reevaluating the Fall of Babylon
No full textCyrus the Great’s conquest of Babylon brought the cultural capital of the ancient world under a new universal empire, overthrew the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and ended the Jewish captivity. Despite its significance, inconsistencies between the two main sources on the event have created ambiguity around how exactly the city fell. While Herodotus describes a siege, the Nabonidus Chronicle implies the city surrendered, leaving the scholarship at a standstill. This article establishes a solution to the problem by identifying several striking parallels between the two supposedly contradicting narratives. In Herodotus, the Sippar basin and Cyrus’ absence during the city’s capture mirror the same locations and sequences of events described in the chronicle. Additionally, his reference to a festival when Babylon was taken is confirmed elsewhere. Both accounts ultimately reflect the same historical reality, leaving significant implications for the understanding of Cyrus’ broader military strategy and Herodotus as a source
Ensuring that people who use drugs are safely and equitably included at meetings and conferences
Full text linkCollaborating with people who use or used drugs (PWUD) in research and policy fora and incorporating their perspectives in decision-making processes is a crucial step towards mitigating drug policy-related harm. PWUD are experts in drug use and equipped to share their experiences and knowledge and impact drug policy change. However, equitable inclusion of PWUD in conferences and other fora is typically inadequate. PWUD were central participants in the planning and implementation of the Stimulus 2018: Drugs, Policy, and Practice conference. Conference planners made considerable effort to ensure PWUD attendees had their physical and emotional needs met, including access to overdose prevention services. However, guidance is needed to better safeguard the physical and mental health of conference attendees who use drugs. This Research & Practice Note aims to initiate discussion on this underexplored topic and provide ideas for the safer inclusion of PWUD within research and policy fora
Linguistic enablers of Pākehā racism: Excuses from the health sector in Aotearoa New Zealand
Full text linkRacism is a modifiable determinant of health that permeates the practices, relationships and environments of the health sector. Having produced and maintained grievous health disparities and injustices for generations, racism has done harm to the wellbeing of communities that is well understood but under-acknowledged. Questions arise as to how racism continues to flourish. We argue that everyday relational discourses within the health sector, especially explanations used by people in clinical, public health and bureaucratic roles, maintain systemic and localised inaction in the face of injustice. In this commentary we curate sets of excuses for racism garnered from our cumulative experience and organise them into narratives: i) resource allocation, ii) responsibility, iii) Māori blaming, iv) too hard, and v) we tried. We highlight the power of words in promoting racist agendas, but also the value of identifying such usage and acting to change the discourse toward an antiracist future. We believe these excuses or similar may be used in other settler-colonial contexts
Social Policy Trends: Bail Violations are Frequently a Precursor to a Domestic Violence Charge
No full textA Case for Reinforcing Agri-food Research and Development Spending: Where Does Canada Stand Internationally?
Full text linkGlobal spending on agricultural research and development (R&D) increased from 47 billion in 2016, reflecting the sector\u27s growing importance for food security, climate adaptation, and economic competitiveness (IFPRI, 2020). Despite these global advances, Canada’s agricultural R&D spending declined from 0.68 billion in 2022, ranking it lowest among the top seven OECD countries (OECD, 2022). Countries like China and Brazil demonstrate how strategic investments can drive innovation, sustainability, and economic resilience. This policy brief analyzes global trends, highlights Canada’s comparative underperformance, and offers actionable recommendations to strengthen its agricultural R&D framework. Prioritizing increased investment, fostering public-private partnerships, and integrating sustainability into research agendas are critical for ensuring Canada’s agricultural sector remains competitive and resilient in the face of global challenges