This project explores the connections between the worlds we hope for and the worlds we help create. Over the course of several months, I conducted three sets of narrative interviews with three anti-oppression education facilitators, and a self-study with myself. Using narrative inquiry through a specifically anti-colonial lens as my method of analysis, I worked in partnership with my interview participants to draw meaning out of our interviews. Growing from these discussions, this thesis explores the work that discourses of hope do in our practices as facilitators of education for change. How do the things that we learn to hope for inform the way we teach, and the possibilities that are allowed in, or locked out, of our classrooms? In problematizing certain functions of certain discourses of hope, this study also explores the possibilities of anti-colonial hopings as a process of generating decolonizing dreams through education for change.

My thesis examines existential questioning as a method towards becoming pedagogical. I argue that a pedagogy of existential questioning, as an experience of a distinctive moment characterized by growing uncertainty, is the complete opposite of what we understand the role of pedagogy in the culture of learning to be. As a result, existential questioning is uncomfortable and often unbearable. I argue through Heideggerean and Sartrean questioning, that it is precisely this feeling of discomfort that signals the beginning of becoming pedagogical. I then proceed to articulate the process of existential questioning as hopeful, developing my concept of “hopeful despair” and “desperate hope” to argue for the ambiguous and pedagogical nature of hope. I proceed to look at ways in which existential questioning can be “played” in higher education, and the ways in which the uncomfortable work of becoming pedagogical can in fact be full of wonder, gratification and utter delight.

This project explores the connections between the worlds we hope for and the worlds we help create. Over the course of several months, I conducted three sets of narrative interviews with three anti-oppression education facilitators, and a self-study with myself. Using narrative inquiry through a specifically anti-colonial lens as my method of analysis, I worked in partnership with my interview participants to draw meaning out of our interviews. Growing from these discussions, this thesis explores the work that discourses of hope do in our practices as facilitators of education for change. How do the things that we learn to hope for inform the way we teach, and the possibilities that are allowed in, or locked out, of our classrooms? In problematizing certain functions of certain discourses of hope, this study also explores the possibilities of anti-colonial hopings as a process of generating decolonizing dreams through education for change.

Bakgrund: I Sverige är det 31000 stycken människor som har palliativ vård. Cancer är oftast den vanligaste orsaken till palliativ vård. Palliativ vård handlar om att vårda hela människan och lindra symptom. Hopp är motiverande impuls som driver människan till att hantera svåra och stressiga situationer. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien är att belysa upplevelser av hopp i palliativ vård vid cancer ur ett patientperspektiv. Metod: Studien är gjord som en allmän litteraturstudie med systemisk ansats. Till hjälp används 14 artiklar. Resultat: Fynden som hittades var överlevnad, mål, framtiden, meningen med livet, relationer till andra, symptom kontroll och självkänsla. Slutsats: Patienten bör få vara delaktig i sin vård och känna tillit till vårdpersonalen. Vårdpersonalen kan hjälpa till med det genom att vara ärlig. / Background: In Sweden it is 31000 persons who have palliative care. Cancer is usually the most common cause palliative care. Palliative care is about nurturing the whole person and relieves symptoms. Hope is the motivating impulse that drives man to deal with difficult and stressful situations. Purpose: The purpose of literature is to illuminate the experience of hope in palliativ care for cancer from a patient perspective. Method: The study is designed as general literature review with a systematic approach. For help using 14 items. Results: The findings that were found were survival, goals, future, meaning of life, relationships with others, symptom control and self-esteem. Conclusion: Patients should be involved in their care and have confidence in caregivers. Health professionals can help with that by being honest.

Research on humility has long been handicapped by the lack of a valid and reliable measure. This research focuses on constructing and validating a measure of Healthy Humility, defined as an unexaggerated, open perception of the abilities, achievements, accomplishments, and limitations of oneself and of others - a perception that focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on the value of the non-self. Through a series of two separate studies using a total sample of 678 undergraduates, an 11-item scale scored on a 6-point Likert scale was developed. A third study using a sample of 183 undergraduates used measures of self-esteem, hope, existential meaning, depression, and anxiety to validate and explore the relationship between the Healthy Humility Inventory (HHI) and the aforementioned variables. Regression analyses supported hypothesized relationships between the HHI and measures of hope and existential meaning, and the trend of the relationship between measures of self-esteem and the HHI, though not significant, also followed along the lines of the hypothesized relationship. A hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that the HHI explained a significant amount of variance (p<.05) on measures of depression and anxiety above and beyond that explained by self-esteem.

This study examines whether hope appeal and fear appeal in service advertisements would significantly influence consumers¡¦ perception of innovation characteristics such as relative advantage, compatibility, and perceived risk, thus further influence the consumers¡¦ decision on whether to adopt the innovative service product or not. As to the literature support, the researcher advocate that when consumer perceives a stronger appeal of hope or fear, he/she will generate a selective exposure to the information from the specific advertisement, thus further influence the consumers¡¦ adoption decision. And by experimental design, besides the main effect of hope and fear appeal, the researcher also considered and included the negative reactivity of consumers and also the amount of benefit information within the advertisement to explore their moderating roles in the effects of emotional appeal on the customers¡¦ adaptation of service innovation. The results shows that except perceived risk, other perceived innovative characteristics (compatibility and relative advantages) are significantly affected by the hope and fear appeal. The result also shows that perceived innovative characteristics partially mediate the effect of emotional appeal on the customers¡¦ adaptation of service innovation. But unexpectedly, negative reactivity and the amount of benefits information within the advertisement do not show significant moderating effects on the relationship between emotional appeal and adaptation of service innovation.

Thesis--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., 1994-95. / Title from title screen (viewed Nov. 7, 2003). "February 1996." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 262-271).

Thesis (M.A.)--Youngstown State University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-83). Also available via the World Wide Web in PDF format.

published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences