Intense therapy in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer beyond hope for surgical cure: a prospective, multicenter phase II trial of the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK 76/02)

There is no standard treatment for patients with locally advanced esophageal carcinoma without systemic metastasis in whom surgery is no longer considered a reasonable option.

SEARCHING FOR HOPE IN SAMUEL BECKETT, EDWARD ALBEE, AND SAM SHEPARD

Reading absurdist plays as hopeful is rare because they are filled with portrayals of horror and despair. However, the tragedy of these plays can allow the audience to experience an atypical kind of hope, often during the final moments of the play. Though the conclusions of the plays are usually ambiguous, this ambiguity and lack of resolutiondoes not preclude hope. The characters persist through their suffering and react in ways that can allow a hopeful affect on the audience. The three absurdist playwrights, Samuel Beckett, Edward Albee, and Sam Shepard, express differing views of the tragic nature of the human condition. However, persistent through all of their work is the ability to view tragedy as having a hopeful affect on the audience. Though the plays do not necessitate a reading of hopefulness, their plays do not preclude this. These absurdist plays do not force the audience into despair, but instead leave open the option of experiencing an expectation and determination for life.

Cultural and Educational Society of Muslims "Narodna Uzdanica" /"National Hope"/ 1923-1941

Ibrahim Kemura. The Muslim Cultural-Educational Society Narodna uzdanica from 1923/4 to 1941 One of the features of the cultural history of the Bosniacs between the two world wars (1918-1941) was a cultural and educational society named Narodna uzdanica, which was a significant institutional and cultural-intellectual centre of the Bosniac people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Narodna uzdanica expressed the aspirations and needs of the Bosniac citizens who were its main support and axis and was aimed at fulfilling their interests. This was reflected in an ideological-cultural orientation towards the West and the adoption of positive western achievements while at the same time stressing its Slavic origins and individuality, the education of young people and the formation of a European-type civic intelligentsia, adaptation to life in capitalist society, the development of modern trade and crafts, the emancipation of women, and cultural education based on European values. Thus conceived, the programme enjoyed the support of a wider circle of members, the reading public and the cultural consumers of those particular elements such as education and economic prosperity which it sought to achieve. The political involvement of Narodna uzdanica and its use as a platform for the leading Bosniac political party Jugoslovenska muslimanska organizacija (JMO - Yugoslav Muslim Organisation) which had founded the society, played a significant role in the socio-political life and development of Bosniacs. The opposition to the ruling regime, often expressed through close cooperation with similar Croat organisations and through the pro-Croat attitude of some of the society's leading figures, offered both the regime and Narodna uzdanica's political adversaries grounds for describing it as separatist and Croat and served as a pretext for repressive measures to hinder its normal operations. This research proved these accusations to be groundless, showing that the pro-Croat orientation was primarily political and cultural and that throughout its existence Narodna uzdanica was active in the cultural and educational renaissance of Bosniacs, helping to strengthen their national identity.

Between anxiety and hope: the experiences of women with vulval intraepithelial neoplasia during their illness trajectory - a qualitative approach

The vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) is a rare chronic skin condition that may progress to an invasive carcinoma of the vulva. Major issues affecting women's health were occurring symptoms, negative influences on sexuality, uncertainty concerning the illness progression and changes in the body image. Despite this, there is little known about the lived experiences of the illness trajectory. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the experiences of women with VIN during the illness trajectory. In a secondary data analysis of the foregoing qualitative study we analysed eight narrative interviews with women with VIN by using thematic analysis in combination with critical hermeneutics. Central for these women during their course of illness was a sense of "Hope and Fear". This constitutive pattern reflects the fear of recurrence but also the trust in healing. The eight narratives showed women's experiences during their course of illness occurred in five phases: "there is something unknown"; "one knows, what IT is"; "IT is treated and should heal"; "IT has effects on daily life"; "meanwhile it works". Women's experiences were particularly influenced by the feeling of "embarrassment" and by "dealing with professionals". Current care seems to lack adequate support for women with VIN to manage these phases. We suggest, based on our study and the international literature, that new models of counselling and providing information need to be developed and evaluated.

A history of messianic speculation in Israel : from the 1st through the 17th centuries

by Abba Hillel Silver

Assessing Calling in Chinese College Students: Development of a Measure and Its Relation to Hope

Research suggests that perceiving a calling towards a particular career is relatively frequent among college students in Western cultures. However, little is known about how this applies to other cultural contexts. This study assessed the perception of career as a calling in the Chinese culture. Study 1 reports the development of the Chinese Calling Scale (CCS), based on a sample of 788 Chinese college students, and identifies three dimensions of a calling: Altruism, Guiding Force, and Meaning and Purpose. Measurement invariance across gender is supported by the CCS. In Study 2, the convergent and criterion validity of the CSS is examined based on a sample of 387 college students. The CCS is strongly related to an existing calling measure and moderately related to life meaning and life satisfaction. Study 3 examines the relation between calling, hope, life meaning, life satisfaction, and career decidedness among 518 college students. The findings reveal that hope significantly mediated the relation of calling with career decidedness, life meaning, and life satisfaction. In summary, this study provides a new scale to assess calling in Chinese culture and is the first to explore how calling relates to dispositional hope.

Hope as a resource for self-directed career management: Investigatiing mediating effects on proactive career behaviors, life and job satisfaction

ABSTRACT Hope is increasingly recognized as an important psychological resource for career development, yet the empirical research on its functioning in this domain is sparse. This paper describes an investigation of how dispositional hope is related to career decidedness, career planning, and career self-efficacy beliefs and whether these more proximal career attitudes mediate the effects of hope on proactive career behaviors, life satisfaction, and job satisfaction. This investigation was conducted using two independent samples of university students (N = 1,334) and working professionals (N = 233). The results showed that in both samples, hope was significantly related but empirically distinct from career variables. In both samples, hope had a direct effect on proactive career behaviors, partially mediated by more career planning. Hope had significant direct and indirect effects on life satisfaction among students, mediated by the three career development attitudes. Although hope was significantly correlated with job satisfaction among employees, no direct effect of hope was found in the mediation model, but an indirect effect through career decidedness was found. The results suggest that hope is an important resource for proactive career development at different career stages and that the positive relation of hope to life and job satisfaction can partially be attributed to the positive relation between hope and favorable career development attitudes.