Sources of Hope in Postmodern Times

This paper begins by identifying some of the hazards of living in postmodern times, including a sense of disconnectedness and loss of meaning. In the face of global uncertainty psychologists and others have noted a growing ‘psychology of despair’. How does this affect educators who are directly involved in teaching about environmental and global issues? And what sources of hope and inspiration might they draw on in their work? A recent pilot project is described in which a small group of global educators individually and collectively explored their main sources of hope, several of which were spiritual in nature.     

Connections:

Network analysis techniques were utilized to corn- Dare the dace of the church in the lives of resoondents from three Jmifafne rCenatth 'coolincg. rAeg bartiieofn sd:e bslaccrki~ Btiaopnot ifs te, aEc R icscoonpgare'lgiaanti,o ann di sP porloisvhid Redo.- Differences were found both'in network structiresand in the subjective experience of the churches as reported by respondents. Irnplications for theological education and congregational work are suggested, with approaches tailored to each type of congregation.     

Raising Hope: Hope Inducement and Voter Turnout

Politicians routinely invoke hope on the campaign trail, presumably because they believe that inducements of hope attract supporters and impel citizens to the polls. Social psychologists and political scientists similarly posit that activating positive emotions like hope and other powerful psychological mechanisms has the capacity to stimulate prosocial behavior, like voting in elections. In this study, I subject these claims to empirical scrutiny by designing and implementing a series of randomized field experiments to examine whether inducing hope raises electoral participation. Overall, I find little evidence that hope affects voting behavior, but I acknowledge the null effects may reflect the [im]potency of the treatment.     

Hope: Being Human in the Anthropocene

Given the calamities involved in climate change and the impact it is having – and will continue to have, on lives driven towards subsistence – what can be said about the goodness of creation? This essay explores how privileged theologians might rethink the notion of the common good in a situation where the majority are under-privileged. It argues for a need for imaginative investment to develop empathy, not sympathy; a need to listen in ways that are attentive and tending; and for a learning to accompany, such that dependence can be empowering when recognised and practised as mutual. Theologically, the sharing and accompaniment necessary has to be appreciated as inhering to the existence of all things, such that relationality and dependence are living expressions of the goodness of creation. Such sharing and accompaniment are expressions and incarnations of the uncreated goodness of the Triune God, operating in and through the ongoing processes of creation.     

Hope Against Hope in Cancer at the End of Life

Hope has many facets to it in the context of cancer. This article outlines an instrumental case study for a patient with aggressive lymphoma who rapidly deteriorated to the point of dying. How her and her family’s hope was managed is outlined here from various perspectives. Interviews were carried out with the patient’s family, medical consultant-in-charge (attending physician) and nurses caring for her at the end of life. The findings outline the transition from hope for cure to hope for a good death and the role that the patient and family’s Christian hope played in this. Religiosity and spirituality of hope in terms of Christian hope is explored from the theological perspective. Practical aspects of care in the face of changing hope are discussed. Conclusions are drawn about reframing hope in a changing clinical situation with reference to theories of hope. The importance of acknowledging hope, coping, spirituality and religiosity, especially at end of life, is emphasised.     

Hope When There Is No Hope: Discussion of Jill Scharff's Case Presentation

Jill Scharff's case material is viewed and discussed here from the vantage point of the two partners being an interpenetrating unit held in the grip of an “enactment”—a coconstructed event in which the analyst's participation sometimes becomes so enmeshed with the patient's in an ongoing way that analyst and patient seem to be trapped together in a narrow and concrete tunnel of reality from which they cannot find an escape, gradually making the treatment feel more and more hopeless because it is immune to interpretation of internal conflict. In the language of enactment, analyst and patient are held conjointly in the grasp of a shared dynamic that is a central hallmark of dissociation—an intrapsychic phenomenon that is played out interpersonally. The relationship between trauma, dissociation, shame, and affect regulation is explored in the context of impasse, repair, and psychoanalytic “technique.”     

Fear and Hope: Author's Response

This response seeks to pick up on the key questions and concerns raised by Nancy C. M. Hartsock and Karen Houle in their critiques of The Spectacle of Violence. I mold my response around two emotions that are never far from the question of violence: fear and hope. Is it fear of ambiguity that stops us from delicately blending the experiential with the discursive, the nodal with the circular, the corporeal with the epistemic, or the oppressive with the constitutive? If so, we can only hope that the power of such ambivalence lies in its ability to unsettle these treasured lines of force.     

表演心理学:一种新的研究取向

表演心理学是20世纪70年代在美国兴起的新的心理学研究思潮。表演心理学在对主流心理学挑战的基础上提出了发展式表演的理论,该理论致力于唤起人们对生活中表演维度的注意,并试图通过发展式表演来改进人类生存环境、提高人类的生活质量。当前关于表演心理学的研究主要集中在社会治疗、教育改革与社会变革等方面。作为一种新的研究取向,表演心理学还有其不完善之处,但其发展式表演的理论及其应用正被更多的人所接受。     

Hope in Personnel Selection

This study examined the potential role of hope as a personality trait in performance in personnel selection batteries. We hypothesized that hope would be associated with overall success in the selection process, mediated by coping. One hundred twenty job applicants who went through a full day of individual psychological assessment also filled out measures of hope and coping style. Structural equation modeling analysis provided support for a partial mediation model, with problem‐solving‐oriented coping mediating the association between hope and the psychologists’ general recommendation based on various psychological measures (though hope and coping were not included in the psychologists’ considerations). The model remained significant after controlling for general mental ability, personality, interview, and group simulation measures used in the assessment. The potential implications and limitations of the study are discussed in light of existing research on hope and performance.     

危机中的希望——2009年新年献词

2009年的冬天，人间似乎格外寒冷。郁积已久的金融危机使所有的传播媒体几乎都充斥着“救助”、“裁员”、“破产”、“倒闭”之类的字眼。华尔街这座眼中的金山、银海，突然崩塌和呼啸起来。塌落的不仅是股票的面值，还有人们对建造这座金山的制度的信心，对经管这座金山的人们的信任。因为在银海呼啸的浪潮里，翻出了以往被掩盖的腐朽：圣贤原是骗子，英雄乃是罪犯。