Are there vestiges or elements of African traditional cultural beliefs and practices that affect the psychological and spiritual well-being of African Christian students in Tangaza University College (TUC)? If there are, how best can pastoral carers work with the affected students to help them deal with the issues and regain congruence? These questions, arising out of our practice in the Student Life Ministry in TUC, are the puzzles I set out this study to try to resolve. Our experience was that some of the students were presenting issues in counselling and spiritual direction emanating from unresolved conflict between their African backgrounds and the Christian faith. Observation was that the issues did not surface easily and when they did the carers were not sure how best to help the clients. I thus felt a need to find out what cultural issues affect the students, how the issues manifest in their lives and how best the pastoral care team could work with those affected to help the issues surface and be resolved. This is an original research designed as an inductive case study and to collect data, a multi-dimensional approach including focus discussion groups with students and members of the SLM, depth interviews with SLM members, selection of some vignettes of counselling and spiritual direction and practitioner observation - were used. The main finding is that there indeed are elements of African beliefs and practices that impinge on the psychological and spiritual wellbeing of some of the African Christian students in TUC. However, not all the students experience such dissonance as some have developed a synthesis between their two world views. Those who have not are embarrassed about and reticent in disclosing the issues thus the need for the pastoral carers to help them to integrate their traditional culture with their Christian faith. Clinical experience has shown that by combining two counselling models – the Rogerian Person-centred and Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, underpinned in a dialogical, theological paradigm, counsellors and spiritual guides can help the affected students not only to talk about the issues but also to work through them to re-gain equilibrium and enjoy greater fullness of life.

This thesis studies the MMORPGs and the ludonarrative dissonance that exist in the complexity of their design. Given the massive multiplayer nature of these games, players of different ambitions and gameplay preference need to coexist, which is a massive challenge for both the players themselves and the designers of these worlds. The balance of these two major aspects of the game, what affects the players and this tension, is the focal point of this thesis. By conducting a survey through various MMORPG player bases, this thesis concludes that this tension is not only a balance between narrative and mechanics but of other aspect as well. These aspects, intertextuality and community, this thesis argues, are the extra aspects that are tight connected with the balancing of narrative and mechanics in a MMORPG and the creation of these complex games and world. All these aspects are affected by the design decisions and affecting of how the players perceive the game world.

The problem of this study was to determine through the use of taped media receptivity to dissonant or consonant information and to appraise those conditions which bring about change in attitude in light of dissonance theory.

This study tested effectiveness of a film in forced compliance situations on neutral and negatively predisposed individuals. Subjects (N = 48) were administered an attitudinal questionnaire, subjected to a no (control), low, moderate, or high dissonance-producing situation, and retested for attitude change. Analysis of variance for repeated measures, Scheffe's F tests, and t tests were used for analysis. Results indicated attitude change was greatest under a low dissonance-producing situation for all subjects. The moderate-dissonance situation moved unfavorable subjects toward favorability while the high dissonance situation moved extremely unfavorable subjects toward favorability. No relationship was found between degrees of dissonance and attitude change for netural subjects.

This study considers only one aspect of music of the twentieth century--that of dissonance. Through an analysis of harmonic tension in the twelve fugues of the "Ludus Tonalis" by Paul Hindemith, a two-fold significance is notable. First, consideration of the broad tendencies of modernism is necessary. second, with Hindemith as a chosen representative of certain aspects of the twentieth century style, the study attempts to show more specifically certain characteristics of the composer himself in the use and treatment of dissonance, one of the more technical features of style in modern music.

One of the biggest challenges for the modern society is that of climate change. Despite the growing accumulation of scientific evidence that points towards a strong need for action to be made regarding anthropogenic (human made) climate change, there is a lack of unity in what actions are needed and an outspread passivity amongst both establishments and the public. The reason behind this is attributed to lack of belief in anthropogenic climate change, and lack of pro-environmental attitudes amongst the public. Furthermore, these issues have been found to relate to identity related beliefs and attitudes that conflict with pro-environmental beliefs and attitudes, where political orientation has proven to be a strong factor. One way of dealing with these issues could be through informational influences. By presenting people to information shaped in different ways, one could increase the belief in anthropogenic climate change and pro-environmental attitudes. This study examined the relationship between three different informational influences, and its potential effect on climate change beliefs and attitudes. Furthermore, this study examined the relationship between demographic factors such as age, gender and political orientation with regards to their potential effect on climate change beliefs and attitudes. 449 participants completed a survey with intent to measure the potential effects informational influences and demographic factors had on climate change beliefs and attitudes. Despite that indications where found, no significant results could be identified for the informational influences. All demographic factors had some significant effect on climate change beliefs or attitudes, where political orientation was the strongest influencing factor. This relates to earlier research and further implications were discussed for future studies.

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The aims of this research are to identify the elements of leader sensemaking which both promote and hinder mindset change. I Use a qualitative, ethnographic active participant research approach in three organisations and semi-structured interviews with leaders from other organisations. My research identifies the inter-related elements of leader sensemaking of an organisational change methodology which is influenced in its approach by postmodern thinking and which challenges current mindsets about leadership and organisation. By identifying and establishing the interrelationship between nine key elements of leader sensemaking my research provides academics and practitioners with a basis for facilitating leader mindset change. I also identify further research opportunities around issues of sustaining individual mindset change and embedding this in organisational culture, which I have identified as a result of my research. Nine key elements of sensemaking are identified and used to understand the sensemaking process of leaders. I identify the relationship between the elements and the impact they can have in both promoting and inhibiting mindset change. My research finds that current leader thinking about organisations, leadership and organisational change is largely modernist in perspective. When presented with a methodology that is influenced by a postmodern perspective all the elements shape and influence the sense the leaders make of the challenge to their mindset and their decision on whether or not to engage with the methodology. These elements are inter-related, each is essential but insufficient in isolation, and each influences, and is influenced by, all the others. My research explores the relationship between the sensemaking elements in a range of practical organisational settings. In so doing it provides insight into how those wishing to influence the mindsets of others can understand and recognise the dynamic of sensemaking, whilst highlighting that changing leader mindsets is not something that has easy ‘how to’ answers or which can be achieved by following simplistic cause and effect step models that are prevalent in the current literature which many practitioners are familiar with.

Denna undersöker hur ungdomars attityder till tobak påverkas av olika typer av exponering. Det finns idag specifika begränsningar och restriktioner för hur marknadsföring av tobak får se ut i Sverige men trots det exponeras vi dagligen på sociala medier, i affärer och liknande, ofta utan vidare medvetenhet. Vi ville genomföra en undersökning över hur ungdomars attityder till tobak skapas och påverkas av sociala, interna och externa påtryckningar. Genom våra två fokusgrupper har vi lyckats samla önskat material och där av kunnat klarlägga flera svar till hur olika typer av exponering påverkar ungdomars attityder till tobak.

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