Guest Editorial: European Journal of Parapsychology

Abstract

One of the most rewarding features of an academic career is the periodic opportunity to take sabbatical leave. I was granted such leave for the 2002 calendar year and was able to utilise the time very productively. The large part of the year was devoted to writing a monograph on the psychology of paranormal belief (soon to be published by the Parapsychology Foundation). In addition it was possible to leave the shores of Australia and visit parapsychological laboratories in the Northern Hemisphere, something I have great difficulty in organising during normal teaching years. One of my visits was to Bob Morris, Caroline Watt, and their colleagues at the Koestler Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, and the other was to Adrian Parker in the Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg. In the latter laboratory I involved myself in the auto Ganzfeld research being undertaken by Adrian and his students, most notably Anneli Goulding. During a memorable month in Gothenburg I was invited also to be a guest editor of the Journal, giving me first-hand experience of the diverse editorial processes associated with the production of a major academic publication in the field of parapsychology. I must record my profound gratitude to Adrian Parker for granting this valuable opportunity and for his sage guidance throughout the execution of the task. As I had anticipated, the editorial experience was something of a mixed blessing. It brought an enriching range of professional interactions with several European parapsychologists, but there were also some seemingly inevitable frustrations of frequently reminding one or two contributors to do as they were asked and of having to plead with referees to complete their evaluations of manuscripts within the tight schedule of my visit to Gothenburg. In any event, it seems to me the ultimate outcome of these joint efforts is impressive. I do hope readers profit from this issue of the Journal as much as I did in its compilation. The individual contributions are of high quality and collectively they convey something of the stimulating diversity of interests being pursued in contemporary parapsychology.