The winner of the fifth annual Charles T. and Judith A. Tart Student Incentive Award for Parapsychological Research is Elizabeth Roxburgh. Ms. Roxburgh is a second year post-graduate student at the University of Northampton. Her project is titled “Science and Séance: The Psychology and Phenomenology of Mediumship.” Based in the University’s Centre for the Study of Anomalous Processes in Psychology, she was awarded a full scholarship from the Parapsychological Association to attend the Rhine Research Center Summer Study Program in 2003. She is interested in: expanding on the psychology and phenomenology of mediumship to include cross-cultural research; distant mental influence and healing research; and the power of belief, and synchronicity. She has also contributed to The Paranormal Review, the magazine published by the Society of Psychical Research. The University of Northampton has provided Ms. Roxburgh with funds to complete her first study, the aims of which are both to investigate whether any personality variables are characteristic of mediums, and to determine whether mediumship is associated with positive or negative mental health. She intends to use the Tart Award to cover the travel expenses for herself and for participants in the second study which involves interviews with mediums conducted to map mediums’ own understanding of their experiences, how they began and developed; and to explore the process and nature of mediumship, especially to determine what its necessary conditions are perceived to be and on what basis someone is classified as a medium. In preparation for this research, Ms. Roxburgh is also observing mediumship demonstrations and participating in mediumship development and awareness courses at her own expense. She believes this will give her the opportunity to experience personally what becoming and practising as a medium involves.

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