Russian Girls Research Articles

Comparison of executive functions in Russian and Japanese preschoolers.

This study analyzed differences in level of main executive function (EF) components (such as inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) among Russian and Japanese preschoolers. The study involved 102 children of 5-6.9 years old: 51 child from Russia and 51 child from Japan. Out of 102 children 48 were boys and 54 girls. It was found that the cognitive flexibility level in Russian children is higher and inhibition level is lower than in Japanese children. The results of the boys' EF comparison showed that boys from Russia have lower cognitive and physical inhibition levels than boys from Japan. Also it was shown that cognitive flexibility in Russian girls is significantly higher and cognitive inhibition is lower than in Japanese girls. The results obtained are discussed from the point of view of possible cultural differences in the two countries studied, which are manifested in the expectations of adults from children.

Social well-being of Russian girls in the conditions of a special military operation

In the article, based on the data of an empirical sociological study conducted by the authors in February 2023, certain aspects of the social well-being of Russian girls in the conditions of a special military operation are analyzed.The study was conducted in 10 subjects of the Central Federal District of the Russian Federation, as well as on the territory of the Republic of Crimea by online questionnaire. The study sample is quota-based, stratified by gender. The sample size is 960 people, aged 18 to 29 years. The volume of the subsample of young women is 510 people.The article examines the emotional well-being of girls, their stress level, analyzes the impact on them of the geopolitical situation in which Russia is located. The authors draw conclusions about the impact of a special military operation on the professional activities of girls, as well as on their relationships with friends and family. The article substantiates the conclusion about the polarization of young Russians depending on the degree of impact of the military situation on them.

Peculiarities of contraceptive behavior among female medical students

BACKGROUND: This paper presents a review of the current literature on reproductive health problems and contraception in Russian girls. The history of the development and use of contraception in our country was considered, and the awareness, and choice of a suitable method of protection against unwanted pregnancies among Russian university students were analyzed. In addition, data on the contraceptive preferences of students in Europe, Asia, and United States were presented. The MEDLINE, Global Health, CyberLeninka, RSCI, and databases were searched for papers. Moreover, this review presents the results of the authors study aimed at determining the contraception methods preferred by third- and fifth-year female students of the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University) and assessing the level of awareness on pregnancy planning.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS: An anonymous online questionnaire was administered to third- and fifth-year girls at Sechenov University. A total of 360 questionnaires (filled out on the Yandex.Forms platform) administered to female students aged 1924 years were analyzed.
 RESULTS: The questionnaires of 176 third- and 184 fifth-year female students were evaluated. The majority of the third-year (72.2%) and fifth-year (83.8%) students had sexual experiences. The main contraception methods among third- and fifth-year female students were barrier methods and interrupted intercourse, hormonal methods of contraception were rarely used (up to 10% of the respondents), and no experience in using intrauterine contraceptives and spermicides was reported.
 CONCLUSIONS: The lack of awareness among medical students on modern and reliable contraception methods and their preference for ineffective methods indicate the need to cover reproductive health issues from the first year of study.

The October Crisis Revisited: Some Archaeological and Anthropological Examples

This text presents findings from a contemporary archaeology project that has been exploring the October Crisis (1962) and its material and immaterial remains in Cuba since 2005. The project is a cooperation between Swedish archaeologists and Cuban archaeologists, anthropologists and historians, and its primary aim is to complement the dominant narrative of the crisis with material and immaterial remains and memories in a way that approaches and explains the event “from below”. The current text focuses on the US Marston mats that can be found at a number of locations in farmsteads and villages surrounding the former missile sites in the Los Palacios and San Cristóbal areas, as well as on a photo of a Russian girl that was a gift from a Russian soldier to a Cuban peasant during the crisis. These objects present the reader with new material and human insights concerning the crisis that until now have been more or less concealed and unknown, contributing new complementary dimensions to the understanding of the October Crisis while also challenging the stereotypes constructing the dominant narrative.

Особенности морфофизиологического развития сельских школьников Чувашии и Нижегородской области

Introduction. Due to the need to identify patterns of formation of the morphophysiological status of rural schoolchildren in modern intensively changing economic and demographic conditions, this work is devoted to the study of the characteristics of schoolchildren in Chuvashia and the Nizhny Novgorod region. Materials and methods. The results of the survey of children and youth of the Yadrinsky district of the Chuvash Republic (333 girls and 298 boys), as well as Russian rural schoolchildren living in the Arzamas district of the Nizhny Novgorod region (1930 girls and 1635 boys), aged 7 to 17 years, were used in the work. The examinations were carried out according to the program adopted in Russian anthropology, the total body dimensions were included and analyzed: body height and weight, BMI, chest circumference. In addition, the rate of ontogenesis in the examined girls was estimated: the frequency of menarche age was calculated in each group. Results and discussion. For schoolchildren of the Arzamas region of the Nizhny Novgorod region, large average values of total body size are characteristic, pronounced in the case of body height and chest circumference. Analysis of the percentile curves of the BMI of the surveyed contingent suggests a shift in the boundaries of variation of the indicator in the greater direction in Russians, especially in the area of increased values of the indicator corresponding to overweight and obesity. The frequency of occurrence of individuals with borderline BMI values in the examined groups does not demonstrate significant differences, which may be evidence of a similar nature of the shifts in physical development occurring in them. The analysis of the rates of ontogenesis using the age of menarche confirms the earlier puberty of schoolgirls of the Nizhny Novgorod region. At the same time, however, intergenerational analysis of tempos of ontogenesis confirms the continuation of acceleration processes in the Chuvash group, while no similar trend was found among Nizhny Novgorod residents. Conclusion. Russian and Chuvash schoolchildren, the results obtained allow us to make a cautious conclusion about the similarity of the shifts in physical development occurring in the groups of Chuvash and Russian schoolchildren, which are more pronounced in the case of the latter, as evidenced by the earlier puberty of Russian girls. The continuation of acceleration processes in the Chuvash group indicates that this group is in conditions of less social stability.

Introduction

Introduction

Features of the sovereignty of the psychological space of students in the context of ethnic identity: a cross-cultural aspect

Introduction. The study of the sovereignty of the psychological space of the individual in the context of ethnic identity is highly relevant in the modern conditions of the spread of globalism and the erosion of cultural reference points. One of the applied values of such a study can be the use of its results in the practice of organizing the educational work of an educational institution. The aim of the study is to identify a statistically significant relationship between the sovereignty of the psychological space (SPP) and ethnic identity (EI) in Armenian and Russian students. Materials and methods. The study was conducted in 2021 in Russia (Volgograd) and Armenia (Yerevan). A total of 166 people took part in it, representatives of the Armenian and Russian nationalities, boys (76 people – 36 Armenians, 40 Russians) and girls (90 people – 48 Armenian and 42 Russian girls) aged 18 to 25 years. To determine the level of development of SPP, we used the SPP questionnaire (S. K. Nartova-Bochaver), and to determine ethnic identity – the method “Types of EI” (G.U. Soldatova, S.V. Ryzhova). Research results. Differences in the indicators of SPP, and the relationship between the SPP and the type of EI have been established. The results obtained in general and in each of the groups allow us to draw the following conclusions. First, the average-normal SPP in the sample as a whole indicates the absence of obvious neurotization and deviations. Secondly, the higher level of SPP among Armenians (mainly Diaspora Armenians) corresponds to the assumption of such a reaction to the conditions of existence outside the mother ethnic group (for such sectors of the PPP as “territory” (p = 0.003), “world of things” (p = 0.014), “social ties” (p = 0.004) Third, the conjugation of the level of SPP with the prevailing type of EI is due to the actualization of ethnicity in the conditions of multicultural existence (K = 0.509, at p = 0.000). Conclusion. Comparative analysis of SPP and ethnic identity among respondents of two ethnic groups showed that, indeed, the severity of the problem of sovereignty in general and the relevance of its various aspects may be associated with attributions of belonging. We found statistically significant differences in the SPP related to the ethnicity of the respondents, as well as the relationship between the SPP and the dominant type of ethnic identity.

Особенности регуляции ритма сердца у подростков разных этнических групп в условиях Северо-Востока России

The climatic and geographical conditions of Russia’s northeastern region form certain biological adaptation mechanisms in the population, contributing to the body’s optimal functioning in this environment. In spite of the fact that the body’s adaptation mechanisms to extreme conditions of Northeast Russia have been sufficiently studied, this issue remains relevant. The influence of negative factors during adolescence, when the body is extremely vulnerable, can disrupt the adaptation mechanisms and initiate pre-pathological and pathological processes. The function of the cardiovascular system is one of the main indicators that can be used to evaluate the body’s adaptive mechanisms. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to study heart rhythm regulation mechanisms in adolescents (Russians and Yakuts) permanently living in Northeast Russia. Materials and methods. Heart rate variability (HRV) parameters were evaluated in adolescents (native Yakuts and second-generation Russian newcomers to Yakutsk) aged 14–15 years (mean age 14.34 ± 0.17 years) studying at the secondary schools of Yakutsk. Results. We found an increase in the share of the very low frequency spectrum in the total HRV spectrum in Russian girls and boys (48.8 and 47.5 %, respectively) and in Yakut boys (47.9 %), which indicates an increased activity of neurohumoral regulation of metabolic processes in adolescents due to the extreme climatic and geographical conditions. Moreover, some ethnic features of heart rate regulation were identified. Unlike their Russian peers, Yakut adolescents showed statistically significant sex-related differences in HRV (p < 0.01): in boys the autonomic balance is shifted towards the sympathetic division, the power of the highfrequency spectrum is decreased, and the stress index is increased. HRV spectral power parameters in the remaining groups correspond to the average age norm and indicate a favourable course of adaptation processes with a high level of the body’s mobilization and restorative potential.

“Childfree” as a created image of a successful woman in context of her gender role in the modern world (based on modern TV-series)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the formation of the image of a successful woman by modern cinema, foreign and domestic TV series. Based on the study of the latter in conditions through sociological methods, the change in the gender role of women in the conditions of modern nonlinear transformations is considered, one of the manifestations of which is “childfree” - a rationally conscious, rather than sensually emotional rejection of the birth and upbringing of children. This choice is often determined by a woman’s desire to independently achieve certain professional heights, quality of life at the level of modern standards, to be beautiful and youthful. Such an image is gradually formed by modern Western, and, often, Russian cinema and advertising. These values also determine the reproductive strategies of modern youth, who, as the study showed, perceive children as an obstacle to self-realization. The “ideal woman” - strong, independent, beautiful in the view of modern Russian girls pushes into the background a woman-mother, a woman-mistress. According to the author of the study, the emotional perception of such an image of a successful woman, imposed by TV series, leads to a rational choice of a strategy of “non-parenthood” in real life.

Гендерные, этнические и другие особенности кожной чувствительности

We considered the current problem of determining pain sensitivity of different sections of the human body to find the most painless and safe zones for different medical procedures. The study involved 3 groups of students, 8 people in each group. In the first group were Russian boys, in the second – Russian girls, in the third – African girls aged 18–22 years. We carried out studies in 8 areas of the body, which are most often used in medicine for injecting: cheek, shoulder, forearm, wrist, underarm, shin behind (under the knee), iliac and gluteal areas. These areas are most commonly used for various medical procedures. We determined objective differences of sensitivity thresholds of different body sections. As the threshold increases (decrease in sensitivity), these are: underarm, forearm, iliac region, lower leg behind, gluteal region, shoulder. There were no pronounced sexual features of pain sensitivity among boys and girls 18–20 years old. We revealed ethnic features of skin sensitivity. The overall sensitivity of African students is higher than that of Russians. Taking into account the features of tactile and pain sensitivity will reduce the negative sensations of patients during pain-provoking procedures.

Features of Physical Activity of Russian and Foreign Students: Motivators, Barriers, Self-Esteem

Introduction. Intense physical activity is associated with good health and wellbeing of an individual, and its manifestations in students can have gender and socio-cultural features. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of physical activity of Russian and foreign students of a regional university through the assessment of its motivators, barriers and interrelation with self-esteem indicators, the knowledge of which can be used as the basis for creating personalized preventive health promotion programs. Materials and Methods. An online survey among 423 Russian and foreign students of a regional university was conducted using the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire using the Ashton Motivators and Barriers Scale and the modified method of Dembo – Rubinstein. The data obtained were statistically processed with the calculation of Student’s t-test, chi-square, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results. It has been revealed that two-thirds of the respondents have an optimal level of physical activity, and its motivators (the desire to improve health, physical shape, and body) and barriers (lack of time) are universal. Russian female university students surpass foreign ones in terms of the duration of physical activities, and foreign girls are inferior to foreign young men in terms of the frequency of classes. Barriers specific to Russian girls have been identified: Inappropriate weather and the belief that physical activity is not a right occupation for women. Russian young men have mentioned the lack of conditions for training as a barrier. The difference between Russian young men and foreign ones is that foreigners find positive correlation between physical activity, confidence, and physical attractiveness. Discussion and Conclusion. The results obtained may be useful for teaching personnel of university departments of physical education, medical and psychological services, and student self-government organizations. It is recommended that university prevention programs be gender-specific, culturally oriented, aimed at neutralizing the system of internal and social barriers to attending classes, and based on the student's self-esteem potential.

Russian Girls Construct Freedom and Safety in Pandemic Times

In this article we analyse ten structured interviews with girls aged 15 to 19 from Moscow and St. Petersburg. We look at how the girls are dealing with the fundamentally new and dangerous situation created by the coronavirus pandemic and note that they are looking for a social and psychological space for themselves in which they can create and experience stability and safety. They are more concerned about security than ever before, while being, at the same time, very sensitive to restrictions on their freedom and agency. Girls’ clear desire for privacy, fuelled by the pandemic’s increasingly rapid invasion of their digital space, reinforces their urge towards agency and their understanding of freedom as autonomy.

Особенности и тенденции кросскультурных браков в Японии

Analyzed are peculiarities of creating and developing cross-cultural marriages in modern society. The authors draw attention to the viability of cross-cultural marriages in Japan that account for about 3% of the total number of registered marriages. Special attention is paid to problematic aspects of marriage between Japanese men and Russian girls. Despite existing problems in the life of cross-cultural marriages, the authors note positive role of marriage and family relations between spouses of these marriages, which are able to ensure not only close interaction between representatives of different cultures, ethnic groups and religions, but also to form managerial and organizational processes aimed at improving relations between countries and ethnic groups.

“We Show What Is Concealed”: Russian Soft Power in Germany

ABSTRACT Using a modified theoretical model derived from the work of Joseph Nye, this paper argues that Russian media have conducted a soft power campaign in Germany that targets that country’s Russian-speaking population. Among a portion of the target group, Kremlin-funded outlets have succeeded in encouraging skepticism of German culture and authorities while presenting Russian culture and government as representative of a superior alternative value system. These conditions have helped generate political disruption (significant Russian-German support for the right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland) and physical unrest (a protest over the purported rape of a Russian girl by migrants).

Ivana DobrakovováBellevue

Sonallah Ibrahim Ice Trans. Margaret Litvin. London. Seagull Books. 2019. 303 pages. IN 2016 I CHATTED with Sonallah Ibrahim about his then-new novel, Berlin 69. I asked him: “Did your experience in East Germany and Russia (1969–74) give you a useful perspective on Nasser’s version of socialism?” He replied: “The dream was fantastic, but it remains a dream.” His new novel, Ice, translated by Margaret Litvin, takes a scalpel to the “fantastic dream” of communism through the eagle eyes of a wry Egyptian narrator who has come to study in Russia. The novel echoes some of the themes of Berlin 69: coping with paranoia and the fear of intelligence services, nostalgia for Egypt, transient relationships with foreign women, the hunt for scarce commodities, and a corrupt party elite. Unlike Berlin 69, however, the structure of Ice mimics a diary—and depends on the writer’s telegraphic but carefully honed style, which gives the reader a sense of the chilling, grim texture of daily life in Soviet Russia in the 1970s. Ibrahim lived in Moscow during a crucial period in Egypt’s history , following the 1967 defeat and Egypt’s 1973 victory over Israel. Ice is an episodic novel rather than a plot-driven one, which quietly circles around the “fantastic dream” until it has been picked clean, like a carcass. The “dream” begins to curdle soon after the narrator’s arrival to the obshchezhitie, the student dorm. The officials in charge of the dorm want to place a Russian in with the foreigners so they can report on their activities . An inordinate number of foreigners are crammed in the same dorm room. The Egyptian narrator, presumably a younger version of Ibrahim, is awed by his roommate , Hans, a handsome East German and a Don Juan who attracts women and men. A constant parade of friends and acquaintances marches through the small room, along with plenty of uninhibited foreign and Russian girls, who are generous with their bodies. The reserved narrator tires of the bacchanalia and yearns for solitude and time to write, read, listen to classical music, or work his way through the Arabic newspapers about the disturbing news from Egypt. Desperate for a little privacy, he moves out of the broom closet to an even tinier abode with a cranky old Russian lady—only to jump from the frying pan into the fire. The landlady is nosy, lonely, and demanding and comments on his love life. Shortages of goods and commodities in a state-controlled economy lead to other absurd situations and behavior. When he is getting medical treatment, the doctor clearly states that he needs a new tire for his car. On SONALLAH IBRAHIM Books in Review for giving her a shiner. For her part, Serena equates the puppy with her abuser and instinctively unleashes her fury at her canine companion, perpetuating the cycle of violence and reconciliation: When he [Niko] picked Trouble out of the litter, I thought he’d stay that same size forever, the size of an organ, sticky-soft and warm. We took Trouble home. He trembled, then ripped up the sectional Niko had bought without insurance. “Cut it out, you fucking monster!” I screamed. In my spot, in the closet of the guest room, he fell asleep in my arms, where he had puppy dreams. His paws moved like levers in a field where he was free and unleashed. By tracing these interiorities, Driving in Cars with Homeless Men invites readers to face the underbelly of human nature, our precariousness, and intermittent despair with determination, grit, and hard-won humor. Kathleen A. Kelly Austin, Texas Ivana Dobrakovová Bellevue Trans. Julia & Peter Sherwood. London. Jantar. 2019. 219 pages. IN BELLEVUE, Ivana Dobrakovová, winner of the European Prize for Literature, pulls no punches for her readers or her protagonist, nineteen-year-old Slovak student Blanka, a volunteer at an international summer camp providing care for people with mental and physical disabilities. At the center in Marseille that gives the book its title, Blanka experiences disgust at the residents’ deformed limbs and uncontrolled bodily functions—as well as disgust at her own disgust. Faced with Laurence, a woman her own age with particularly severe...

Sonallah IbrahimIce by Margaret Litvin

Sonallah Ibrahim Ice Trans. Margaret Litvin. London. Seagull Books. 2019. 303 pages. IN 2016 I CHATTED with Sonallah Ibrahim about his then-new novel, Berlin 69. I asked him: “Did your experience in East Germany and Russia (1969–74) give you a useful perspective on Nasser’s version of socialism?” He replied: “The dream was fantastic, but it remains a dream.” His new novel, Ice, translated by Margaret Litvin, takes a scalpel to the “fantastic dream” of communism through the eagle eyes of a wry Egyptian narrator who has come to study in Russia. The novel echoes some of the themes of Berlin 69: coping with paranoia and the fear of intelligence services, nostalgia for Egypt, transient relationships with foreign women, the hunt for scarce commodities, and a corrupt party elite. Unlike Berlin 69, however, the structure of Ice mimics a diary—and depends on the writer’s telegraphic but carefully honed style, which gives the reader a sense of the chilling, grim texture of daily life in Soviet Russia in the 1970s. Ibrahim lived in Moscow during a crucial period in Egypt’s history , following the 1967 defeat and Egypt’s 1973 victory over Israel. Ice is an episodic novel rather than a plot-driven one, which quietly circles around the “fantastic dream” until it has been picked clean, like a carcass. The “dream” begins to curdle soon after the narrator’s arrival to the obshchezhitie, the student dorm. The officials in charge of the dorm want to place a Russian in with the foreigners so they can report on their activities . An inordinate number of foreigners are crammed in the same dorm room. The Egyptian narrator, presumably a younger version of Ibrahim, is awed by his roommate , Hans, a handsome East German and a Don Juan who attracts women and men. A constant parade of friends and acquaintances marches through the small room, along with plenty of uninhibited foreign and Russian girls, who are generous with their bodies. The reserved narrator tires of the bacchanalia and yearns for solitude and time to write, read, listen to classical music, or work his way through the Arabic newspapers about the disturbing news from Egypt. Desperate for a little privacy, he moves out of the broom closet to an even tinier abode with a cranky old Russian lady—only to jump from the frying pan into the fire. The landlady is nosy, lonely, and demanding and comments on his love life. Shortages of goods and commodities in a state-controlled economy lead to other absurd situations and behavior. When he is getting medical treatment, the doctor clearly states that he needs a new tire for his car. On SONALLAH IBRAHIM Books in Review for giving her a shiner. For her part, Serena equates the puppy with her abuser and instinctively unleashes her fury at her canine companion, perpetuating the cycle of violence and reconciliation: When he [Niko] picked Trouble out of the litter, I thought he’d stay that same size forever, the size of an organ, sticky-soft and warm. We took Trouble home. He trembled, then ripped up the sectional Niko had bought without insurance. “Cut it out, you fucking monster!” I screamed. In my spot, in the closet of the guest room, he fell asleep in my arms, where he had puppy dreams. His paws moved like levers in a field where he was free and unleashed. By tracing these interiorities, Driving in Cars with Homeless Men invites readers to face the underbelly of human nature, our precariousness, and intermittent despair with determination, grit, and hard-won humor. Kathleen A. Kelly Austin, Texas Ivana Dobrakovová Bellevue Trans. Julia & Peter Sherwood. London. Jantar. 2019. 219 pages. IN BELLEVUE, Ivana Dobrakovová, winner of the European Prize for Literature, pulls no punches for her readers or her protagonist, nineteen-year-old Slovak student Blanka, a volunteer at an international summer camp providing care for people with mental and physical disabilities. At the center in Marseille that gives the book its title, Blanka experiences disgust at the residents’ deformed limbs and uncontrolled bodily functions—as well as disgust at her own disgust. Faced with Laurence, a woman her own age with particularly severe...

Phenomenon of Self-Objectification in Women: Analysis of foreign Studies and a View through the Prism of Russian Psychology

Background. At present, self-objectification of females is a very common phenomenon, reflecting the desire of women to meet the standards accepted in the society and manifested in excessive (even pathological) care of achieving the “ideal” appearance. This phenomenon was under study in various foreign psychological concepts and approaches, and especially in the theory of B. Fredrickson and T.E. Roberts. However, despite similar research in Russian psychology, the phenomenon has not been disclosed within Russian psychological methodology. In this regard, it is very important to analyze foreign publications for the subsequent development of an integrative approach to the study of self-objectification in females in the context of Russian psychology. Looking into this phenomenon from the standpoint of Russian psychological methodology would be useful for developing methods of assessment, intervention, and psychotherapeutic assistance for Russian girls and women experiencing psychological problems due to negative self-objectification. The Objective is to conduct a theoretical analysis of the phenomenon of women’s self-objectification in line with the national cultural-historical and activity methodology. Design. The paper provides a review of the publications on self-objectification in females which is analytical in its nature. In the paper, the basic approaches to the study of the phenomenon of self-objectification in females in foreign psychology are determined, and also the ways to understand the phenomenon in the context of the Russian psychological tradition proposed in the works of L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, S.L. Rubinstein developed by their students and the followers are shown. Results. The phenomenon of self-objectification in females is considered within the context of fundamental issues of psychology — the relationship of ‘outer’ and ‘inner’ contents, and particularly, within the framework of the subject-activity approach of S.L. Rubinstein and the activity theory of A.N. Leontiev. The role of the “social situation of the development” (L.S. Vygotsky) in the development self-objectification in females is shown. The mechanism of interiorization as a female’s adoption of the social ideas and attitudes is described. The process of interiorization is considered through three facets: individualization, intimization, and production of consciousness. The phenomenon of self-objectification was interpreted through the lenses of L.S. Vygotsky ideas about the intertwining of two domains of mental development in ontogenesis, i.e. the biological maturation of a person and the processes of mastering culture, and also within the notions of cultural-historical defectology. Conclusion. The research results contribute to expanding the scientific theoretical views of psychologists working within the national methodology to shape the phenomenon of self-objectification in females, which could facilitate further understanding of this theoretical construct and increase the number of empirical works in the research area. Female self-objectification through the prism of the Russian research methodology will contribute to the methodological status of this issue, enriching the idea of female self-objectification primarily at the philosophical (worldview) level and at the general scientific level of methodology (E.G. Yudin). All these will increase the interpretative capabilities of the concept. The materials of the paper can contribute to developing an integrative approach for understanding female self-objectification. The findings can be sufficient for creating methods of psychodiagnostics and psychotherapy for girls and women experiencing psychological problems due to the negative impact of self-objectification.

Looking-Glass Space in “Pattern Recognition” by William Gibson

The paper deals with the poetics of the novel, based on the principles of literary cyberpunk. William Gibson, the founder of cyberpunk as a genre, in the novel “Pattern Recognition” used the looking-glass image of Lewis Carroll’s book “Through The Looking-Glass And What Alice Found There” as a leitmotif, reminiscently curved and shown only in the mind of the main character Case Pollard. The paper analyzes the semantics of the leitmotif of looking-glass and its functionality in the novel, as well as the conformity with the principles of transrealism and posthumanism. The state of the main character is not explained by some acts or periods of the day, but by hormonal disorder; the scientific awareness is intertwined with the metaphoric field. Thus William Gibson’s artistic style acquires obvious features of cyberpunk. If Alice was just a weird kid who invented the world of fairy-tale creatures, Gibson’s character Case lives in a transreal world, full of various man-made modifications of space and humans.
 The modern Case-Alice does not invent anything, because the fairy-tale situation of her life is already embedded in the nature of civilizational development. Case as a heroine of the novel fully complies with the requirements of transrealism: she is not ‘normal’, she has a diagnosis and medical history. Тhe ‘F: F: F’ program (fragments) is created by an autistic Russian girl. The neurotic characters that Case meets are atypical, all in their own way. That is why the world around modern Alice, who is Case at the same time, is distorted by the abnormality, which is not hidden by the heroes. The cyberspace of modern human existence transforms all the sores of society into customary artificial symbols of degradation – posthumanistic codes.

Psychological and Genetic Differences Among Representatives of Various Ethnic Groups Living in South Russia

Introduction. This paper (a) presents the study of psychological differences in manifestations of aggressive attitudes and personal characteristics among representatives of various ethnic groups living in South Russia and (b) concentrates on genetic differences in the COMT Val158Met polymorphism within the study sample. This is the first study that (a) has assessed manifestations of aggressive attitudes and personal characteristics in healthy representatives of various ethnic groups with different COMT genotypes and (b) has offered normative data for the Wagner Hand Test obtained from an investigation in a sample of South Russian individual participants.
 Methods. The study used the following techniques: (a) the Spielberger–Hanin anxiety test, (b) the questionnaire of formal-dynamic characteristics of personality by Rusalov, and (c) the Wagner Hand Test (in Kurbatova’s modification). Genetic analysis included the method for DNA extraction from buccal epithelial cells and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The psychological study involved university students (n = 163; mean age, 18.9 years); the psychogenetic study involved residents of Crimea (n = 76; 57 women and 19 men).
 Results. The representatives of Russian and Tatar ethnic groups with the Met/Met COMT genotype had significantly higher total scores of aggression and direction, higher level of trait anxiety, and low motor ergicity. Tatar girls from the Val/Val COMT genotype group had high scores in the exhibitionism scale. The Val/Met COMT genotype in Russian girls was associated with manifestations of tension (anxiety) and ‘pathology’ as a total index of ‘personal maladjustment’ and the ‘tendency to escape from reality’.
 Discussion. The obtained results can be applied to the practice of individualized socio-pedagogical impacts on representatives of various ethnic groups with the genotypes associated with maladaptive personality traits.

Bastard Mentors

Bastard Mentors Jacob Weber (bio) Outside is the Ocean Matthew Lansburgh University of Iowa Press www.uipress.uiowa.edu 192 Pages; Print, $17.00 Society nearly fetishizes the role of the mentor. In any corporation in America, an employee can make up for a near total lack of productivity if that employee can convince his managers that he is a mentor to newer employees. In a way, this makes sense: if you are contributing to the future productivity of a whole generation of workers, isn't that more important than being a good worker today? Matthew Lansburgh's series of linked short stories, Outside is the Ocean, demonstrates a healthy skepticism toward would-be mentors. For every person who gives of herself because she cares, there are ten more self-serving advisors in it for their own reasons. Indeed, the relationship between mother Heike and her son Stewart is so toxic, the first comparisons it brings to mind are to Augusten Burrows' memoir Running with Scissors (2002). Heike uses advice to shame her son into complying with her wishes, as she manipulates nearly everyone in her life. She moves through three husbands in her life, with each, advancing in her ability to get what she needs out of them. Heike, however, is desperately in need of advice herself. Outside depicts her receiving both gratuitous and asked-for advice about one of her obvious areas for improvement. Her English is not perfect, as she arrived from Germany at age twenty. Her first husband, Raymond, the only less sympathetic character in the book than Heike, forces language help upon her: "In school, English was always her best subject, but here in America people talk quickly and sometimes—often—she still makes mistakes. Raymond likes to correct her. 'Adverbs end in l-y,' he instructs." His instruction is unwanted, but Heike knows she needs to improve, so she pays the girl down the street to tutor her. "Even if it is a small thing, please correct me," she asks the girl. Once her son, Stewart, is old enough to be embarrassed by his mother's freeness towards showing her body in public and sharing details about her love life with him in private, he rejects advice from his mother. This includes even some good advice. After ignoring his mother's caution about contracting AIDS, he himself wonders if he is playing with fire by running around with too many men in New York in the 1980s. Much as his mother overcompensates for rejecting Raymond's advice by asking the neighbor girl to correct even small mistakes, Stewart seeks out men who will be forceful telling him what to do. At the exact moment Stewart, while exasperated about mess his mother had created by taking a neighbor's dog for a walk without permission and then allowing the dog to get skunked, is wondering how he will "get from point A to point B," he finds himself reminiscing about a man who had "made it clear who was boss, who was going to do the fucking." Perhaps not coincidentally, soon after thinking of this man who forced himself upon Stewart, Stewart realizes that his own mother may need some direction from him: "He wanted to say something else, felt he ought to say more." But if Heike's weakness is giving her son too much advice, his is that he gives her too little: "He knew what his mother wanted to hear, but, instead of comforting her, he sat in the car next to her, unable, unwilling to respond." While Stewart and Heike seem caught in a cycle of damaging one another through advice that is forced, ignored, and withheld, the one character who escapes the cycle is the one most vulnerable to it: Heike's adopted daughter Galina. On the surface, adopting a Russian girl who lost an arm through suspicious circumstances might be Heike's most selfless act, but there are dark hints Heike might have also been motivated by a desire to make her grown son, who now ignores her, jealous: "For years, she'd been threatening to adopt one of the children she sponsored . . . so she would have...