CultNEWS101 Articles: 7/17/2024
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Patrick Ryan
Jul 17, 2024, 3:01:08 AM (10 days ago) Jul 17
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Awards, Universal Knowledge, Australia, Legal, Neuroscience Research
Info-Cult: Centre for Assistance and for the Study of Cultic Phenomena: Winners of the Dianne Casoni International Award 2024
The International Dianne Casoni Award aims to promote and reward a written work that addresses one or more aspects of cultic phenomena.
Scientific Category: This year the award winners were Omar Saldaña, Emma Antelo et Álvaro Rodríguez-Carballeira for the outstanding quality and relevance of their article: “Group Psychological Abuse Perpetration: Development and Validation of a Measure Using Classical and Modern Test Theory”
Popular Category:This year the award winner was Gillie Jenkinson for the outstanding quality and relevance. of her book “Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse. A Workbook for Recovery and Growth”
Ann Stamler: "Though I am profoundly grateful to be considered for this award, I actually think it is we, who have benefited so deeply, who should be giving this award to ICSA.
According to its website: “ICSA’s Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals who have, to an exceptional degree, embodied in their work ICSA’s values of openness, courtesy, and dialogue, and who have made academic and/or other exceptional contributions to the field of cultic studies." I remember when I attended my first full ICSA annual conference, in 2010 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, what thrilled me was that every aspect of the conference exemplified exactly the values this award names: openness, courtesy, and dialogue.
Like an increasing number of people today, I grew up in an environment that was the polar opposite of those values—it was closed, abusive, and unwilling to hear to any but one person’s philosophy. At that 2010 conference’s closing ceremony (I believe I was sitting next to Bill Goldberg, who had just received the first Lifetime Achievement Award), I remember saying, out loud, I want to retire so I can volunteer with ICSA. Not long afterwards, I was able to do exactly that, and in the years since have had the honor of enjoying the most meaningful work of my life."
Previous award recipients:2022: Joseph Kelly2018: Carol and Noel Giambalvo
2016: David Clark
2016: Joseph Szimhart
2013: Eileen Barker, PhD; Friedrich Griess
2011: Patrick L. Ryan
2010: William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., Psy. A.
"Accused former cult leader Natasha Lakaev has failed in her bid to overturn the findings of her marathon libel trial against one of her former members, Carli McConkey.
Ms Lakaev, who headed the Universal Knowledge organisation throughout the 2000s, launched libel proceedings against Ms McConkey following the publication of her book, 'The Cult Effect', in 2017.
In it, Ms McConkey detailed her experience of living as a Universal Knowledge member over a [13]-year period, and described the organisation as a "doomsday cult" that abused its members and prophesied the end of the world in 2011 or 2012.
During the trial, Ms Lakaev's lawyer Daniel Zeeman claimed that the book and other articles Ms McConkey published online improperly impugned her as a criminal, a bully, a fraudster and as someone that indoctrinated people into a cult.
Ms Lakaev denied the allegations in the book and articles, but in March this year, Justice Stephen Estcourt found that all 16 of Ms McConkey's imputations were either true or substantially true.
Ms Lakaev later appealed the decision, claiming that Justice Estcourt erred in his decision by finding that four of the imputations in Ms McConkey's book were truthful.
Former Universal Knowledge member Carli McConkey defended herself during the libel trial.
In his reasons for decision released on Friday, July 12, Supreme Court Chief Justice Alan Blow ruled there was little chance of Ms Lakaev's appeal grounds succeeding."
" ... Dr Lakaev previously launched a defamation battle against former follower Carli McConkey over claims she made about Dr Lakaev in her self-published book, The Cult Effect.
The claims include that Lakaev labelled herself a reincarnation of Jesus Christ and Ms McConkey was forced to parade naked in front of Lakaev.
Dr Lakaev wished to challenge all sixteen findings found in the dismissal of her defamation claim.
She alleged the presiding judge made findings based “solely on character” and “improper handling” of Ms McConkey’s expert witness and that her former legal counsel represented her “so badly” an appeal should be allowed.
Lakaev ran into issues when filing her appeal to the Supreme Court however, with a change of legal representation three times before finally representing herself, a process which took two months.
Court documents revealed that Lakaev’s original legal representation Hobart firm Butler McIntyre & Butler was unwilling to act for her in the appeal due to an outstanding trial bill over $100,000.
In handing down his decision, Chief Justice Alan Blow said Dr Lakaev was “unlikely to succeed” in an appeal to the Full Court – a court consisting of three or more Supreme Court Judges.
“If the appeal is not dismissed, the respondent will suffer significant prejudice in bearing the burden of defending the proceedings,” Chief Justice Blow said."
PsyPost: Brain neurons key to learning from negative experiences identified in new study
"Negative experiences often drive us to avoid repeating them. This fundamental aspect of learning is crucial not only for humans but also for animals.
A recent study conducted by neuroscientists at the HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine in Budapest, Hungary, and published in Nature Communications, has identified a specific group of neurons in the brain that play a key role in this process. The study found that neurons located in a deep brain region known as the horizontal limb of the diagonal band of Broca (HDB) are essential for learning from negative experiences.
The ability to learn from negative experiences is a critical survival mechanism. When faced with adverse outcomes, our brain processes the event, learns from it, and adjusts our behavior to avoid similar situations in the future. This type of learning is often driven by increased attention and arousal triggered by negative stimuli. The researchers aimed to understand which specific neurons and brain regions are responsible for this enhanced attention and learning from negative events, a concept they refer to as 'attention for aversive learning.'"
" ... The study, “Parvalbumin-expressing basal forebrain neurons mediate learning from negative experience,” was authored by Panna Hegedüs, Bálint Király, Dániel Schlingloff, Victoria Lyakhova, Anna Velencei, Írisz Szabó, Márton I. Mayer, Zsofia Zelenak, Gábor Nyiri, and Balázs Hangya."
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