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Deborah L. Delanoy
Psychology Department
University of Edinburgh
Abstract
European
parapsychologists
face
a
,,f
,
.
mlitate
against
thT existenS
of
!n IfS“
“
collaboration network between researchers
PrlS
communication
and
are
language
differences,
the
physical isnb? ^f9
these
Problerr®
the
dwindling number of established
reselrch
T ° ^ searchers,
funding.
m
an
attempt to
f h
and
a
lack
of
parapsychological researchers have started
to
dlfflculties '
European
the Euro-PA.
The history and goals
crf thZ -
£°ld an annual conference,
effectiveness
in
overcSnSJg ^e
of
3 disCUSSed '
and its
parapsychologists
is
considered
A mpf
Problems
facing
European
European
parapsychologists
collect ina
CJl^'stlormaire
was
circulated
to
questions
relevLt S
cLnSnicaSon
™
Variet^
of
responses to this questionnaire are presented.
^
1SSUeS '
The
S3 &
/*s y cAu /p tc#/
c
SS„»»as S;VT£-„S
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r.*S
-i.it
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^rt2rjn
casrfiew or“?s
ati
°?
are *
parapsychology
,W rcfeaSs arlVen"’
1^
1'611 '
fXlHSK
fron
their
colleaouec:
+.u„
.
are often working in relative
i c-ru
- as
an
annual
convemi™,
Parapsychology Association
(pa)
oh,
...;
a
provide
BuT"9
a«ivitSi: ShtSfS
rn providing the necessary ooUnication/SllS^tS? SUCCessfuI
inter-related problS^nm^Sigue^th
it?"
Europe confront a set of
=een
as
militating STi^
European situation,
which mt
communication
and col l!bo?Si« st^ecSf '^
• of
these ™ve£?oS
are language differences,
the physical
i'
^ Primry “9 these problems
of
Cl^?
r ®d from est^blSSed^^ Sselrch SnT
°f
resea^ers S
lack
research
centers,
and
las^h^
dwindlin9 number
lack of funding,
it is
nrvt-
4-k~
•
,
,
last
but by no means
leacd-
various problems in detan? Instead S
this **** to examinethese
h?5M
fc
u the
conventional
communication
Why these
factors
can
highlighted.
The
efforts
beinn
maa
n^
co1 laix)ration
means
will
be
oortat these difficulties wilfStiSLJf **“?’?" Psychologists to
tte opinions of European pa members
°/:ata collected examining
collaboration issues will be presented.
.
variety
of
caimunication and
found between reseT^chers
Carlos
Alvarado
(1989)
i?
JS
"fr
11?
1* been admirably addresKdb?
Parapsychology".
t this arHet
arV°l8
Language bS?5 S
which
arise
from
language
differenee
ad
°+-K
eSCribeS the vari°us problems
researchers,
pertitola^those
^rtant
being
are unaware of important wrk tiob
0,811 first languaS
non-English speaking researchers
as a
:^
n
J'
r"/or Is
,J~ ir" conducted^?
detrimental consequences:
Alvarado notes,
such ignorance has
Mrt
y
tor
afSSt?““y
of any publication in
but also for practicalreasons'
such^V^
Ccrnplete coverage,
successful or failed repliratiAnci
h
-haVlng kn°wledge of
mistakes or problems found in previoiH°
ldl
£g
tile repetition of
ideas for further w>rk."
(AlvLado,
1989? p.
i29,
0btaillin9
B^rzsss?
s£pken “ithin 0,8
LrTS
h“tred^tST?
1" fSt
be
necessary
to
have
a
nnit„v stered all the languages which won
parapsychologicallv-relp=.t ra r,+-
comprehensive
knowledge
of
all
4-k
created by
SfS^^llshsd “
^°Pe.
Anotoer “b?^
European
parapsychologists.
since
camunia>tion tetween
G
most
^opeans
know seme English,
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tins tends to be the language
used
when
one
is trying to reach a broad
European
audience.
Hence,
the European Journal
of Parapsychology
(EJP)
Euroneln^mrial^^
^
?!'! ^
fGW 0ther Panapsychological ly-oriented
mropean Journals and bulletins
(e.g.,
the
Sychronicity
Research
Unit
Wieoretica 1
f
te
3001 etY
for
Psychical
Research
and
mu??SJnfmAi
aP Y ? KCgY
'
fUt '
Europeans,
even those who are
multi,
lingual,
do not have a truly fluent
courand
of English.
This can
rna e
irect
canmunication between individual researchers very difficult
as one may lack the necessary vocabulary with which to express one is ideas
and/or apprehend those of others.
These dlff realties crSf^ratt^S
communication and make any form of collaboration exceedingly difficult.
Another
problem
which
hinders
canmunication
and
collaboration
amona
researchers involves the
gec^raphic
isolation
of
resea^ers ?rot^ch
t
C0
!!
terS
Of
r
reSf
rCh -
The
lone
researcher often lacks the
reselloh
lhioh
eC
l‘
nlw
1 tnowledJ
! '
and
equipnent
necessary
to conduct
research
which
would
be considered competent by
current,
iustifiablv
demanding,
standards.
And, as
shall
be
discussed,
research
centers
Sc
,h
supply these are an increasingly rare ccrrmodity in Europe,
as
elsewhere.
Also the psychological effects of
being
isolated
from one 's
the "Z?
S C
f
n bS T
ry d
fl
no
falizin9-
One needs colleagues who understand
the complexities of our field,
with whem one can
explore new ideas
etc
Ccmmunicatmg
with
distant colleagues,
even when no language bSrier i^
Present,,
can still
be a difficult undertaking.
While modern tSSoW
has provided us with
sane
excellent ccmmunication aids,
many individual
nail,
and the
telephone
can
be
prohibitively
expensive.
The costal
services cau provide an affordable alternative,
but it
is
noneSelSs
a
very .time-consuming
and frustrating means of exchanging information,
as
it entails long delays between each ccmmunication.
The
lack
of
reseach
centers
in Europe is another
major
obstacle
to
ccmmunication and collaboration
between
European researchers.
with the
™cent<^
Utrecht
University
in
teaded ^d ^f fin h
remainin<? parapsychological research center,
^ich^S^he
full :
tlIlne
,
Personnel who are PA members/associates,
vartetv
facilities and equipment
necessary
to
carry
out
a
wide
Y
°f
research is the Koestler Chair of Parapsychology,
located at
the University of
Edinburgh in Scotland.
Unfortunately sStland,
whilst
resect-
f
?
VOrab
i
e
in many respects,
is not centrally located with
noKSrPnt?v
nSfrS
Earo^e -
And
regretably,
the Koestler Chair does
count
?
u
he resources necessary
to
sponsor
research in other
larl^if
to have guest researchers come and work
at Edinburgh.
This
Jhe fieM S
S° rSSUltS “
opportunities within
the field of parapsychology m Europe being virtually non-existent.
bS
6 aSL
SeVeral 0ther research 9rouPs in fTirope.
These groups generally
SbLat™!
res°urces
associated
with
a
fully
functioning
research
laboratory,
and
are
most
cctimonly
'staffed'
by
dedicated part-time
the
an
rhers '
who
ronst
look to other full-time occupations
to
sunnort
SSS
^ ‘S
611 famiUeS
:
Glven ^
SL“fS
P
, they tend, quite sensibly,
to
concentrate upon fairly
specific
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lines
of
nesecurch
mu.*
isolating
other
researchers/resef^
t:U^S
haVe the
result
of
further
relative
proximity
to
the
rSSrrk 9^
UPS '
**>
althou9h ^9 in
intereEts and/or perspectives .
Nonetheless
dlfferin9
research
underiies all the others mentioned thus far
d
a
, genaral -
This problem
to the difficulty of solving ttef
We iS'rt
r
the
raln c^tributor
which could help resolve the S™! /
funds to
hire translators
whrle
rany
European
^
fluent m a
language(s) does
not
necesSn,
* lngua
1 '
telng
(relatively)
required
to
accurately
translate
lnV?Ve
having
the skill
Furthermore,
most
multi-liroual
arefully
worded
technical
papers
themselves via parapsychology
(due to laS^fund
9^^
t0
supP°rt
. fher occupation8 for
their
livelihood
Th ™ding)
'
and
^st turn to
thie ability usually
do
not
have
'
even those th3t do have
for their own work,
or that
of
others
T
slators '
either
that
most
individual
researchers aS
*
\ laCk of funding also means
necessary to conduct many types of wSk S a re
9r
£vPS lack
1116 res°urces
others as readily as
is
dSrable
rnSfj
Umhle to c<™nicate with
find it impossible even to attend conferencSK h
I"£St
researchers
their vicinity.
The
lack
not
' Cartel
in
consequence of the
lack
of
fuSSa
SfiZ T
ln SaxPe is 3 direct
virtual
ccnplete lack of employme^opnort^f
S^??uentlY
leads to the
Europe.
Furthermore,
lest we tecLTS ^
"
Parapsychology in
m Europe
generally,
there
hac;
ho
yopic
',
lt: must be remembered that
academic
and research purposes for Jl?
n a "^d
. reduction in funding for
reduction,
whilst affeSti^Ill Sei^
f“ f “
years.
ttis
such as
parapsychology
which
at
^ especially felt in areas
rnore than a subsistence level of funding
S
t:Lmes ' bas never enjoyed
Europe s^ecifically^o? E^op^^r^SS W°^d
te to h°ld meetings in
opportunity
for
greater
cwniStion
provide the
researchers.
This
idea
was
put
forth hv
collaboration
between
a European branch of the
PA
in^cn^/T ^ohnson '
^o proposed
(1978)
raised the issue again in 1978 ^
( ?X?SOn '
1976)
'
******
formation
of
a
European
regional' branrh
of^S
he
announced
the
sociation
(ERPA)
(Johnson,
1979 )
Qnp nhw
the
Parapsychological
arrange regional oolloquia for p/msrtS® ^f*
1Ve °f
9roup «s to
where they could exchange ideas
and
clates '
active in research,
proposed research projects.
The other nrimav,
c'-inatrL'ct ivc
criticism of
and guide students and persons interested in^ °kjcctive was
'to stimulate
research
but living in areas wSc^retesi
seme
piece
of
^ parapsychological
research'
[JcCi ,2^“ “
Beloff, who was elected to the work-inn
'
-3 979,
P* 2 ^
According to John
at other conferences
(pa conventions and^
;
the ERPA met 3 few times
a meeting independently of another organist i
nfer^nces
}
'
b^t never held
rather infernal meetings ceased in thl early ?980 sllSSf
199^^
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The idea of having
a
specific meeting for European parapsychologists was
revived in the late 1980 s.
Again,
it was thought that a conference for
European
PA
members
and
researchers would help
address
seme
of
the
canmunication/collaboration problems discussed above.
The necessity for
a
European
parapsychology
conference,
in
addition
to
the
annual
PA
convention,
stemmed from many European
parapsychologists being unable to
afford either the time or
the
money to travel to the PA conferences when
they are held outside of Europe,
as is
usually
the case.
Thus,
it was
decided
to
hold
a
three
day conference
for European PA
members
and
associates
who were actively pursuing parapsychological
research.
This
conference was
brought
about
by the combined efforts of Jeff Jacobs and
Hans Michels of the Synchroncity
Research Unit
(SRU),
Dick
Bierman of
Amsterdam,
and Robert Morris from the Edinburgh research unit.
The
first
meeting
of
European members/associates of the Parapsychology
Association
(Euro-PA) was held during
October
1988,
in
Holland.
The
format for
the first conference was that each participant was required to
make a brief
presentation
lasting no longer than fifteen minutes,
which
would be followed by a
lengthy
discussion
period
of
approximately
minutes.
With
the
format
being
aimed at encouraging open discussion,
attendance was to be limited to
participants ,
and in fact,
only 23
attended.
Given
the
funding situation in Europe,
conference costs were
kept
to a minimum.
Holland
was
chosen
as
a
venue
as it occupies
a
relatively
central European location,
thus being readily, and relatively
inexpensively ,
accessible to
many Europeans.
There were no registration
fees,
and a very
pleasant
yet
inexpensive
venue
was
found
for
the
conference.
Costs
were further reduced by having participants make their
own bed, assist with serving food and clearing tables,
and performing our
own bar catering.
These
measures
resulted
in
an
eminently affordable
conference,
a necessary and much appreciated feature.
A
wide
variety
of primarily
theoretical and methodological topics were
discussed the first two days of the conference,
and
the half-day session
of
the
third
day
was
devoted
to
a
roundtable
discussion
about
inter- laboratory
research
(for
further details of
the
conference
see
Blackmore,
1989)
.
The primary
outcome
of this first conference was that
communication
between
researchers
was
greatly improved.
The
lengthy
discussions which followed each presentation,
and
continued
during the
breaks,
over meals,
and at the bar into
the
not-so-wee
hours
of
the
morning,
resulted
in
all
of
us
having
a
much better knowledge and
understanding
of
each
other,
our
ideas
and
perspectives,
and our
individual
problems
in pursuing parapsychological research.
in
short,
it was a
great
success
and
it was unanimously decided to hold a second
conference.
Further,
it is thought that most
participants
would
agree
they left
the conference with renewed enthusiasm and increased impetus to
continue
pursuing
their
parapsychological
work,
despite
the
many
difficulties this entailed.
Before
holding
the
second
Euro-PA
conference the Edinburgh research
unit circulated a
questionnaire to all European members and associates of
the PA,
eliciting
their
opinions on a variety of issues concerning the
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organization
of
the
Euro-Pa
T
parapsychol ogica 1 research
of ST
0t?Gr
toPics
relevant
to
Euror*.
returned.
Those
who
Stunned
^estlo^ires
distributed, 2??
actively engaged in condnofi
questionnaires tended
to
be
thocio
re
resT
ch ^ -S
these issuer
r
TOld
r
te
Yd2cCss^^^
nf^reSSa3,
^tS^cSf
which was held
at
the end
^ deci sions made at a business
m2*?
'
m November 1989).
it should
f
pertiTS/ £
r°‘PA ?onfe^ce
(which occuSS
annual
Euro-PA
meeting
there^^P no^
roGntloned '
that at the secoS
Fjople attending the co?ferSce,
eSeSinffw
Ctl°n
°n
***
nunfceTS
associate
of
the PA.
The main noinfS
°ne had to
a member or
Se
^2521
SS,:
f°r 8
°f
^tiomaire
importenS“
n
A
coordination were of primary
should
establish
a
formal ^
ded
whether
European parapsychol oai sfl
whether
to
organize by^^nS/^
^ve" ' t-v/
related
question involvS
represented
by
the
Euro-Pa
G Ven the ^ny
different
countries
divergent,
Search intents cSSSd if ^
di«-ent,
££££
have a
committee
established
in Q
n each country,
was it best to
and associates of that
county,
to coordSt
eleCted by the PA ™®ters
country,
or would it be oreferahi«
coordinate communication within that
ctmtdttee?
The
resp2s£ ^ to
So
ahovn^
*
°entral
°rgani ZatiSS
Approximately 65
per
cent
of
the S
questions
were
clear
cut.
Wh°Se ^'tership would rotate Span
faVorf having one central
ished to see ccnmittees organized bv rnnU
Y ' ^ °nly me resPondent
opinion
was
against
establishSa^a
^^^e,
the majority
=fs2
his a— -^s-j ?~S'EUP- sd
shouid
ho
an annual
an annual conference,
other Scisioni r
f ^ resP°ndents favored having
^ h^r '
lo^
discussiorSt Sid bT S- “nferGnce were: S
would be open to
all pa members
ald be retained;
the
conference
number of invited guests;
aM
a “
of
issues
as
oooosed
^
;jrerence
would focus on a wide variety
presentations would be refereed
fh°
n
?
specific
topic;
conference
vary throughout Europe;
and
a'maS
l0Cat^0n of
tha
conferences should
should be kept as lofas SsiblS
Pri0rity Was that
conference
costs
Cfiier questions posed regarded
fnnfi v
•
•
2n?f
Ch
n
and
P^JiStions. “ith ^art t^S
re
lati°"s '
inter-lab
iy,'
,
respondents
were
in
f?2r
ten
136 per
P
J cts, but
only
one
was
willing
+
u
t
conducting
fund-raising
onunistration
of
such
projects
t?
helP d
th ^ or9anization and
fund-raismg
activites were outside Vh/
ultimately
decided
that
with an
annually
rotating
committee.
22ver “ ffor,nal organization
However,
it
was stated at the
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business
meeting
following
the second Euro-PA conference,
that members
would make an effort
to
keep
one
another
informed of possible fundinq
an<^
that
_
this
would continue to be a
topic
of
discussion.
Indeed,
an informative presentation on how to pursue funding for research
projects had already been presented at the conference
{Parker,
1989)
(for
further information on the second Euro-PA conference,
see Watt,
1990).
Ihe issue of public relations is
complex given the many differences which
exist
among the European countries
lay populations.
While
there
is
a
generally high level of lay interest in parapsychology in Europe,
this
is
especially
marked
in
some
countries,
with The Netherlands possessing
arguably the greatest degree of
such
lay
interest.
Other countries are
confronted by a most vociferous sceptical community.
West Germany being a
notable example.
Much of the discussion regarding public
relations
had
focused
on
the
interest
accorded
our field by the lay population.
To
address and support this population,
several
mentors
were
in
favor of
supporting a popular journal where formally conducted research,
including
that
published
in
our
professional
journals,
would be re-written in
a
manner
accessible
to
laymen.
Here
again,
language
difficulties
intervened.
It
was
feared that an English language journal
would
not
address the needs of many non-English speaking
layman,
and producing such
a journal m several
languages
was
obviously
beyond
the
means of the
Euro-PA members.
In the end,
it was decided that the
pursuing
of
both
ppolrc
relations
and publication activities per se were beyond the scope
°1, the
Euro-PA
members.
However,
with
regard
to
professional
p
lications,
at
the?
business
meeting
a motion to support the European
Journal
of
Parapsychology by publishing research
in
that
journal
was
strongly carried.
Twenty-one
(75 per cent) of
the respondents thought that inter- laboratory
research
projects
should be a priority
of
the
Euro-PA,
with
eleven
indicating interest in
participating
in
such projects.
Supporting this
idea is difficult due to many reasons previously discussed
(e.g.
,
lack of
labs,
distance between researchers,
lack of
funds,
etc.).
Nonetheless,
means
of
making
inter-lab
(or inter-researcher, as
the
case
may
be)
research more of a
reality continues to be a topic for active discussion,
direction
*** Sh°rtly
discussed '
some
strides
are occurring in that
Che
final
comment
about
the
Euro-PA
concerns
language.
The
question of
language
was
not
raised in the questionnaire,
"as prior to
holding the first conference,
it was
decided
that
English
would
be
spoken
at
the
conference,
and
indeed,
all carmunications about the
conference,
and the Euro-PA in general,
have been in English.
The reason
r.™^
3 1S
shfriply that it is the language of which the greatest number of
Ehro-PA members have at least seme knowledge.
Yet,
some of our members,
Jiff
wlP
are nulti-lingual,
find ccmmunication in
English
very
: 1CUlt
'
J
1*3 as Previously mentioned, not only is it difficult for seme
SdSS^a ^
emselves la English,
also
it can be difficult for others to
understand them,
especially those for whom English
is
not
their
first
difftonVHo
AlS?'
t^
ere
,,have
teen
a
few
instances
where
language
itriculties
have
dissuaded
researchers
frem
attending
the
Euro-PA
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: CIA-RDP96-00792R0004001 00009-4
Approved For Release 2000/08/11
: CIA-RDP96-00792R0004001 00009-4
conferences.
Furthermore,
it
^
S3 'S'SSSS,
2“'"" "f
°«ers a
toss than ideal solution to
altta*h *
toS/so^SSde^
t0
an
observed
s
?“oXr™
on®
livin9
in Spain or Italy
(scSth^r
and Hollar>d, while
attended the conferences as
yet
Y
Th2e
^lterranean countries) has
than
languages differences for
t-h-i^
re
possible reasons other
approaches/interests
, standards
anfl
r_ffarent dlvide '
such
as
differino
(ln The Netherlands)
of
the
pwr)
d
r,them°re northernly-oriented location
W to address a few o^hesTpo^SSSies^®^;
held m
France,
a
countrv whibn
rties,
the 1990 Euro-PA will be
boundaries with both
northed ^
a
centra l
location
having
reason for the lack of southern rarticW™
countries,
if thf
language,
it
i s hoped th^t the^Qgo
^
18 locaticn '
as opposed to
inTh?
S
°u
t
/
ilern countries.
However
i/wL WU
attract
attendees
*
” aon
nofTfc^S
-
r^
em sfswss arssrz - *-
as
o^Lr^tis rin rpoSM aHv ^"
d ^
ir“"»
been able to
acoonplish
thus
far is
t-n
d
£
S?’
The most ^ Euro-PA has
whrch makes the ^nferencef^re accSsrble
^ COSt c^erenceS?
still potential Euro-PA nartiH™
“^cessibie to its members.
Yet there are
mainland,
find travel expenses** prohibitiwffacF
°n the continer‘tal
has
provided travel grants for a iimi^tlVe
, factor.
On
occasion the PA
would have otherwise been unable to attend”???^
°f ?verseas attendees who
year the PA has dedicated $2000 00 fo^h^
1 COnVention -
Indeed,
excellent
idea,
and it win
* UU for pbrs
purpose.
This
iq
an
tMrd Euro-PA
too
to
told
In FraSf^l S’6 bUsireiss ”«ting of toe
seta*
which Lto
to
toSl b^
1"0 ’'
«»* * adcp^
“?ntS
3 “
“>
^
STttoe XVutortoTL^^g *" ”b~h «»™toy have a
involves toe Euro-PA 's dtotoiofS i^“9
sltu«ion.
One
such
^2ns
our conferences.
ParapsycholonJ
is
an
^ h™other “elds to
through increased interaction wbth those fr^ ^SClpllnary
field ,
and
ray
arise joint research projectsS
frcrn
, other related fields,
there
parapsychology and
other
fglS
c^h
^ 1SSUes °f «*«m to toS
opportunities
than
do projects concJ^P
?
e
?
tS
have better funding
issues,
/mother possible
way
the
Euro-PA°coild
f^^^ho logical
ruro fa could serve to indirectly aid
Approved For Release 2000/08/11
: CIA-RDP96-00792R0004001 00009-4