By Louise Sundararajan

James R. Averill passed away in his sleep on the 19th of August. See obituary by his daughters.

Being privileged to be the last person he spoke to before he went to sleep from which he never awoke, I would like to share an account of Jim’s last day (the 18th), with the help of his daughter Laurie who gave the following details in her correspondence with me:

He spoke to his best friend of decades from UMASS, Icek Aizen, and they made plans to get together after his trip to Boston. He had a nice dinner at Rockridge and according to staff, he and a friend named Hank (I believe that's his name) had a spirited discussion in the dining room about the upcoming election. He went for a short walk after dinner with another friend, observing birds in the yard. Afterwards, they played a game of cribbage. I called my dad that evening shortly before 10 pm and we talked for about 30 minutes. He was in a good mood and we had a good discussion about the upcoming election and other topics. Then you talked with him later that evening. He was a night owl, and it appears he didn't go to bed until around 4 am. I suspect his kitty, Murphy, was curled up against him as he slept, as he often did.

I spoke with Jim on the phone at 11:00 pm. He told me about a NY Times article he just read (by Patti Davis, the daughter of Ronald Reagan), and how he was concerned about the epidemic of loneliness and drug addiction so vividly depicted by the author. As a counter-measure, Jim suggested that we co-author a book for the general public on relationship, creativity, and spirituality. Forty-five minutes into our discussion, his phone died. He left a message around 12:30 am to say that his phone was up and running again, and that he would call the next day to continue the conversation.

It strikes me that this is not the usual death-bed scenario. There were no signs of sagging intellectual energy, for one thing. In sharp contrast to the Asian ideal of detachment and renunciation as hallmarks of a good death (Permanadeli & Sundararajan, 2020), Averill was engaged with the world throughout and always eager and ready to make a contribution intellectually to improve the human condition. I believe that what I have witnessed is an art of dying which approximates the Western ideal of a life that drinks from its overflowing goblet with passion to the last drop. For an analysis of the differences between the Western notion of passion and its Chinese counterpart qing, see Averill and Sundararajan (2006).

Jim did not call the next day, but the conversation he initiated is likely to be continued by anyone, myself included, who has been inspired by his trail-blazing work on emotion, creativity, and spirituality, and especially by his insight into how all three can roll up into one.

References

• Averill, J. R., & Sundararajan, L. (2006). Passion and Qing: Intellectual histories of emotion, West and East. In K. Pawlik & G. d'Ydewalle (Eds.), Psychological concepts: An international historical perspective (pp. 101-139). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
• Permanadeli, R. & Sundararajan, L. (2020). Savoring in Bereavement: The Javanese Journey through Death. In A. Dueck (Ed.), Indigenous Psychology of Spirituality: In my beginning is my end (pp. 253-270). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

Belfast, July 17-20, 2024

The International Society for Research on Emotion is excited to announce the 2024ISREDissertation Award, which seeks to recognize excellence in early career emotion researchers. We are now calling for submissions for the 2024ISREDissertation Award.

AWARD

The recipient of this award will receive a monetary prize of 500 euros, as well as the opportunity to write a short summary of their dissertation for the Emotion Researcher newsletter, which is sent to allISREmembers. The award recipient, as well as 2 other outstanding nominees, will receive an accompanying certificate at the 2024ISRE Conferenceaward ceremony.

ELIGIBILITY

The dissertation award is open toISREmembers who received their PhD degree in 2022 or later, and who have not previously submitted their dissertation for theISRE Dissertation Award. Dissertations must be relevant to the field of emotion, broadly defined, and can come from all disciplines affiliated withISRE, includingaffective computing, anthropology, art and design, education, history, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology and sociology.

CRITERIA

Submissions will be evaluated based on four criteria given equal weight: scholarly excellence, degree of innovation, methodological soundness, andimplications(for theory, research, and/or society, as appropriate).

SUBMISSION

Submissions should include:

• a 1000-wordsummary of the thesis (.docx file preferred). Please do not send the dissertation in the initial submission. The summary should be an expanded version of the dissertation abstract, and should include a description of the overarching approach, findings, basic argumentation, and significance of the research. The summary must not include any information identifying the author, institution, or supervisor(s); please also ensure that the file name does not contain any identifiable information.
• a cover letter with contact information (email and mail address) of the applicant and supervisor(s)
• a letter from the supervisor certifying the acceptance date of the thesis

Submissions will be judged by a panel of award committee judges, consisting of emotion scholars with a wide range of expertise. Based on the summaries, the award committee will select 3 finalists. Each finalist will then be asked to submit their full dissertation for final evaluation.

Submissions should be sent to: ascarantino@gsu.eduby April 1, 2024 (any time zone on earth).

We are delighted to offer this opportunity and look forward to receiving your submissions.

On behalf of theISREBoard,

ISRE Emotion Express: One minute to inspire!
How would you introduce your research to the public in one minute?

The International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE) is pleased to invite YOU to take on a challenge: tell people about your research using language that is accessible to a general audience, or those who might not be familiar with emotion research and get them as excited about emotions as we are. Take this opportunity to challenge yourself, expand/put into practice your communication skills, and bridge the gap between our research community and your grandparents, friends and wider society.

Record your one-minute pitch and share with the world your passion.

ELIGIBILITY

The challenge is open to ALL ISRE members who have active memberships during the dates when ISRE2024 takes place.

PRIZES

The challenge awards two top prizes, each accompanied by two runner-up prizes. All prizes include certificates, and the two winners receive a cash prize of USD 200 each.

1. Emotion Express – Public's Choice Award: Voted by the public (online) before the ISRE24 conference. Votes will be counted based on trackable engagements on ISRE social media accounts.
2. Emotion Express – Peers’ Choice Award: Voted onsite by ISRE24 attendees during the conference in Belfast.

CRITERIA

After the deadline, submissions will first undergo pre-selection by judges comprising emotion scholars from diverse disciplines. Submissions will be evaluated based on levels of engagement, scientific accuracy, and creativity. While recording/filming techniques and a production value will be given less weight, submissions should be visually and audibly clear to ensure that audiences can fully engage and enjoy the presentation without any disruptions.

The pre-selection results will be announced at the beginning of June, coinciding with the start of the voting period for the Public's Choice Award.

Your video must be newly created specifically for this challenge, and you must be the primary contributor. In addition, by submitting your entry, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions outlined on the initiative page.

SUBMISSION

Please submit (or you could share a link) a one-minute (or shorter) video recording of your pitch, captured with your phone or camera, along with a photo for a thumbnail in the same dimensions to teerawat.monnor@unige.ch.

The video can only showcase the researcher speaking about their research/project. However, additional elements, such as video recordings of your experiment, animations, and stop-motion footage can be included to enhance the delivery. See the initiative page for examples and suggestions.

The submission deadline is May 4th, 2024 May 24th, 2024, 11:59 PM your local time.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. The video must be suitable for general audiences and narrated in English (or with English subtitle).
   • (required) Duration: 1 minute maximum
     
   • (required) Aspect Ratio: 9:16 (vertical format)
   • (recommended) Resolution: 1080 X 1920 (at minimum)
   • (recommended) File Format: MP4, MOV or AVI
2. A photo with the same aspect ratio must be provided for a cover thumbnail creation.
   • File format: PNG or JPEG
3. Your first name, last name, professional status (e.g. PhD candidate, postdoctoral fellow or professor) and affiliation(s).
4. A list of credits and contributors can be provided.
5. Optional! Feel free to provide a list of your social media accounts, such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X, so that you can be tagged when your video is posted on ISRE's social media accounts.

SUBMISSION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

By making a submission, you are indicating your agreement to adhere to these terms and conditions.

1. Declaration of contributions: The submitter has confirmed their role as a primary contributor to the video preparation and production.
2. Intellectual Property & Promotional Release: By participating, the submitter grants ISRE (The International Society for Research on Emotion) permission to use the submitted video, images, and any associated personal information for the competition and promotional purposes related to this competition and future activities hosted by ISRE. The submitter retains the right to request exclusion of their materials from promotional use.
3. Copyright Responsibility Disclaimer: The submitter acknowledges their responsibility to ensure that any third-party materials, including visual and audio content not primarily authored by them, are used lawfully with proper permissions. ISRE shall not assume liability for any copyright discrepancies.
4. Third-Party Consent Declaration: The submitter affirms that all identifiable individuals featured in their submission have provided consent to appear in the video. If any featured individuals are under 18 years old, the submitter confirms that they have obtained consent from a parent or legal guardian.
5. Location Verification Confirmation: The submitter confirms that the video and images were captured in permitted locations.
6. Submission Compliance Acknowledgment: By completing this submission, the submitter confirms that all provided information is accurate.

TIPS

Below are some personal suggestions from the organizing team. The software options and examples provided are taken from various sources and social media accounts, none of which are affiliated with ISRE or the ISRE2024 conference. The examples are not intended to dictate how your video should look; rather, they serve to demonstrate various ways in which a research project/idea can be presented. Please feel free to explore additional resources for inspiration.

General tips

• Record your video and take your photo in a well-lit and relatively quiet area.
• Begin with a well-crafted script, practice, and make a good recording of a one-minute video. From there, you can enhance your storytelling by incorporating additional elements, as time permits. However, while practicing, you could have some ideas you can incorporate to make your point come across better.
• Prioritize creativity over technique!
• The photo submitted should ideally complement your video footage, ensuring a seamless connection between the two. However, feel free to unleash your creativity and choose what you believe works best for your submission.

   

  Editing software

• Adobe creative cloud (paid service often recognized as the professional standard)
• Canva: https://www.canva.com/en_gb/ (a free usage option available, easy to use)
• Capcut: https://www.capcut.com(simple with a wide range of features)
• Davinci Resolve (with a free usage option)

   

  Additional resources for visual and audio elements

• Stop Motion: https://www.cateater.com/ (create a simple animation, find Stop Motion videos for exmples)
• AI-generated software/applications
  • Runway: https://runwayml.com/ai-tools/text-to-image/

   

  Audio improvement

• Adobe podcast (free and paid option)
• Audacity (a free option available)

   

  Video examples

• With a paper reference:
  • https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2SYZAtOSBX/?igsh=MXh6MWtpZGI4bnhuZQ%3D%3D
• With just you speaking:
  • https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3xgTYeiXf0/?igsh=MWg3YTM4eTFtNjh3Ng%3D%3D
• With an object:
  • https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3pkrI6soIs/?igsh=MXN3aXBsNWw5MGMzaQ%3D%3D
  • https://www.instagram.com/reel/C23y2ZeLlx1/?igsh=MTVkbHZzaXMwYWpidQ%3D%3D
• With some pictures from your experiment:
  • https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3k1ygNRhtL/?igsh=M3diZ3UzZ2xzendi
• With illustrations
  • https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3h-lAsLsr4/?igsh=N3ppdGFzMmJxMWRi
• With an animal, an animation, videos, …
  • https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2hrezkurZM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

We are inviting members of the International Society for Research on Emotion to submit nominations for the offices of:

President
The president supervises the affairs of the Society with the approval of the Board. 

Secretary
The Secretary keeps records of all meetings of the Society arranges procedural matters such as communication with the members or elections.

Treasurer
The Treasurer has custody of all funds and property of the Society, coordinates the collection of dues, etc. Nominees for Treasurer must reside in the United States.

Membership Secretary
The Membership Secretary reviews and decides upon all applications for membership.

Members of the Board 
Members at large will contribute to overseeing the Society’s operations.

We encourage all members to participate in the nomination process to help ensure that everyone can play a role in shaping the future of ISRE. We encourage self-nominations. Candidates for each position must be members of ISRE in good standing at the time of the election. 

Nominations must be received by April 7th. To submit nominations, please complete the nomination form.

After nominations have been received, the nomination committee (Arvid Kappas, Andrea Scarantino, Manuel F. Gonzalez, Ursula Hess, Agneta Fischer) will verify eligibility and availability. The nomination committee will prepare the ballot sheet for the election survey, which will take place online.

If you have questions regarding the election process, please don't hesitate to contact the nomination committee at ISRE2024.elections@gmx.org.

Emotion Researcher – Call for Editor(s)

The International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE) is seeking nominations (including self-nominations) to serve as the new editor for their regular newsletter, Emotion Researcher. ISRE is the international leader for bringing together scholars from different disciplines that share an interest in emotions, moods and other affective phenomena. This position ensures maximal visibility among emotion researchers, offers numerous networking opportunities, and allows the editor to shape the field by selecting topics to cover, senior emotion theorists and researchers to profile, and young researchers to spotlight. As a testament to the intellectual value of the publication, the emotionresearcher.com website gets about 4,000-5,000 visitors/reads per month. ISRE will also wave the registration fee of the editor for the biennial ISRE conference during the editor’s tenure.

The Emotion Researcher is typically released 3-4 times each year, with content including announcements from the ISRE President and Board, updates about upcoming meetings and conferences, information regarding the flagship journal Emotion Review, and brief articles and interviews by leaders in the study of emotion. Responsibilities of the editor include soliciting content from the ISRE Board, conference organizers, and potential contributors engaged in emotion-related research, as well as disseminating the final issue of Emotion Researcher to the ISRE listerv. We are particularly interested in ideas to streamline the formatting and dissemination of Emotion Researcher to maximize its reach and impact.