Personal Recollections Research Articles

The American Board of Pathology cytopathology board examination: Personal recollections of the first cytopathology board exam and a brief historical perspective.

The American Board of Pathology cytopathology board examination: Personal recollections of the first cytopathology board exam and a brief historical perspective.

It's not a lie … If you believe it: Narrative analysis of autobiographical memories reveals over-confidence disposition in patients who confabulate

Humans perceive their personal memories as fundamentally true, and although memory is prone to inaccuracies, flagrant memory errors are rare. Some patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) recall and act upon patently erroneous memories (spontaneous confabulations). Clinical observations suggest these memories carry a strong sense of confidence, a function ascribed to vmPFC in studies of memory and decision making. However, most studies of the underlying mechanisms of memory overconfidence do not directly probe personal recollections and resort instead to laboratory-based tasks and contrived rating scales. We analyzed naturalistic word use of patients with focal vmPFC damage (N = 18) and matched healthy controls (N = 23) while they recalled autobiographical memories using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) method. We found that patients with spontaneous confabulation (N = 7) tended to over-use words related to the categories of ‘certainty’ and of ‘swearwords’ compared to both non-confabulating vmPFC patients (N = 11) and control participants. Certainty related expressions among confabulating patients were at normal levels during erroneous memories and were over-expressed during accurate memories, contrary to our predictions. We found no elevation in expressions of affect (positive or negative), temporality or drive as would be predicted by some models of confabulation. Thus, erroneous memories may be associated with subjectively lower certainty, but still exceed patients' report criterion because of a global proclivity for overconfidence. This may be compounded by disinhibition reflected by elevated use of swearwords. These findings demonstrate that analysis of naturalistic expressions of memory content can illuminate global meta-mnemonic contributions to memory accuracy complementing indirect laboratory-based correlates of behavior. Memory accuracy is the result of complex interactions among multiple meta-mnemonic processes such as monitoring, report criteria, and control processes which may be shared across decision-making domains.

Sharing the Voices of Scholars

This paper highlights the role of editors and reviewers as mentors to future generations of scholars. The author shares personal recollections and experiences that document TCR’s long-standing commitment to promoting publication as a learning experience. Looking forward, the paper forecasts the impact of Teachers College Record initiatives in blending tradition and innovation to share the voices of scholars worldwide.

Teresa Wennberg, Pioneer Video and Computer Artist: Early Experiences in Video and Computer Art

Abstract The author, a Swedish artist, arrived in Paris in the 1970s as a painter. She then began working with electronic images and was one of the first artists to produce video in France. Following the evolution of the technology very closely, she continued to develop 2D and 3D computer art, often presented as multimedia installations. Eventually, she began working with virtual reality. In this article, she delivers a personal recollection of the beginning of her artistic meandering, current through the time of writing.

Professor James Albert Lock (1948–2023): A life of honor and work of excellence

In this obituary, the life and work of Professor James Albert Lock is summarized (if it is possible to summarize a life spanning more than seven decades and work presented in about 200 communications, including 160 refereed papers). The charming, peaceful and friendly personality of “Jim” (as he wished/liked to be called by his relatives, family and friends) is best described by personal recollections from the authors of this obituary. Personalities like Jim’s make us still go on believing in the chances of the human species, whatever would be the foolish agitation of the world.

OPW and de Ste. Croix: the Past and Present Views of a Pupil

Abstract This survey, by a pupil of Geoffrey de Ste. Croix and eventual successor in his Oxford job, combines personal recollections of de Ste. Croix’s horizons and intellectual range with a penetrating study of his Origins of the Peloponnesian War, its underlying debts and detailed contentions. It addresses his, and Thucydides’, engagement with origins and causes, his central contention about votes by the Spartans and their allies on whether to go to war, the roles of Corinth, Megara and the much-discussed Megarian decree. It also presents a close reading of an Athenian involvement in Macedon and the north and its relevance to de Ste. Croix’s views on Athenian imperialism. It then sets the book’s conclusions in a wider context, ranging from modern writings on the origins of war to its concluding echo of Lenin.

A pilot oral history of plant synthetic biology.

The whole field of synthetic biology (SynBio) is only about 20 years old, and plant SynBio is younger still. Nevertheless, within that short time, SynBio in general has drawn more scientific, philosophical, government, and private-sector interest than anything in biology since the recombinant DNA revolution. Plant SynBio, in particular, is now drawing more and more interest in relation to plants' potential to help solve planetary problems such as carbon capture and storage and replacing fossil fuels and feedstocks. As plant SynBio is so young and so fast-developing, we felt it was too soon to try to analyze its history. Instead, we set out to capture the essence of plant SynBio's origins and early development through interviews with 8 of the field's founders, representing 5 countries and 3 continents. We then distilled these founders' personal recollections and reflections into this review, centering the narrative on timelines for pivotal events, articles, funding programs, and quoting from interviews. We have archived the interview recordings and documented timeline entries. This work provides a resource for future historical scholarship.

85 ÉVES AZ ANGOL SZAKOS KÉPZÉS A DEBRECENI EGYETEMEN: IGAZGATÓI KEREKASZTAL-BESZÉLGETÉS

In 2023 the University of Debrecen's Institute of English and American Studies celebrates the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Department of English and thus the launching of an English studies degree program at the University of Debrecen. The history of the institute and the careers and achievements of its prominent figures have been the subject of a dedicated volume and a number of studies. The aim of the present roundtable is to explore, with the involvement of some of the former directors of the Institute, the less known aspects of its past that are of relevance for the history of the university as well, nuanced by personal recollections, linking the past with the present and the future. The discussion was initiated and moderated by Balázs Venkovits, the current director of the Institute, and involved four former directors, Zoltán Abádi Nagy, István Rácz, Péter Szaffkó and Zsolt Virágos.

On following and becoming a follower

This paper uses phenomenological analysis to consider the phenomenon of becoming a follower. The data includes my field notes from mediated encounters with three of the most-subscribed YouTube content creators, as well as my personal recollections about these experiences, which are interspersed as event memories throughout my notes. Analyzing my event memories of these encounters enables me to follow my affective relationship to these YouTubers and their content, to untangle some of these knobby multiplicities and map the possibilities of following as they emerge. As I follow following around, as a researcher and (perhaps) as a follower myself, I reflect on the role of algorithms shaping who, what, and how we follow online media. Lastly, the methodological ramifications of a researcher becoming a follower–how following and researching bleed into each other, and why this matters–are also explored in this paper.

Architect Nina Anatolievna Rumyantseva (10.12.1916 – 16.11.2007)

The article is devoted to the biography and creative work of the Soviet architect Nina Anatolievna Rumyantseva. Nina Anatolievna’s life and creative path are related to a significant geography of places – from Kazakhstan, Western and Eastern Siberia to the Far East and the capital of the country, which can be considered a vivid reflection of the specifics of the Soviet time. The years of her creative activity, particularly in Irkutsk, fell on the late 1940s – early 1970s and coincided with the period of intensive development of Eastern Siberia. For the first time the pages of N. A. Rumyantseva’s life and a detailed list of her works are presented in the most complete way. The material is based on documents from the archive of the Irkutsk regional organisation of the Union of Architects, on personal recollections of Nina Anatolievna and her colleagues.

Buddah Still Works— the Work on Oneself Never Ends: Essay on Grotowski

This essay uses the personal recollections of Italian director Gioacchino Palumbo, including the experience of viewing of Apocalypsis cum figuris as well as some personal encounters with Jerzy Grotowski, to present a subjective account of selected aspects of Grotowski’s theatrical and non-theatrical practices, with an emphasis on understanding theatre as a lifelong work on oneself. Palumbo highlights those aspects of Grotowski’s work and quotations from his statements and writings that have contributed to his own development as a theatre artist. Particularly interested in Grotowski’s attitude to diverse sources of inspiration, Palumbo extensively discusses Grotowski’s interview on Gurdjieff, considering it as a representative example of artist’s approach to cultural phenomena that influenced him. The essay is preceded by an introduction in which Giuseppe G. Condorelli presents the original theatrical work of Palumbo, who has been running his own theatre laboratory in Catania since 1981.

A formative journal for a formative career: a personal recollection of how JCPA has inspired and guided my research life.

A fateful decision as a 15-year-old high school student, and good advice from a distinguished professor of zoology, were the catalysts that not only decided my entire career but also led me to the Journal of Comparative Physiology A, and to the myriad biological wonders that were held within its covers. In my celebration of JCPA, I look back on the formative years of my career in Australia, and the crucial role that the journal played in shaping my emerging research interests, and ultimately my entire life.

If it happened, he was there

The Asian American Broadway musical continues to be a limited category in which many of its most commercially successful titles have histories mired in stereotype, mockery and erasure. Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Pacific Overtures, however, stands apart from most other Broadway musicals written about the Asian and Asian American experience. The positioning of an Asian narrative in a serious and legitimate manner, the effort to incorporate Japanese aesthetic authenticity and the resolve to cast all Asian American talent were central to the creation of Pacific Overtures and were historical firsts for the Broadway stage. Stamped with Sondheim’s incomparable quality seal, Pacific Overtures initiated a new and necessary step towards Asian American Broadway inclusivity. But the show’s original Broadway run in 1976 was unsuccessful, both critically and commercially, and closed after 193 regular performances. In 2004, a highly anticipated Broadway revival gave the New York theatre world a chance to revisit Pacific Overtures. The revival production also offered a company of Asian American actors, whose community had historically been sidelined on Broadway, the opportunity to deliver a high-profile show about the Asian experience that resisted clichéd gestures of Asian-ness. In this article, I share my personal recollections of my time with Pacific Overtures as a cast member of the 2004 Broadway revival and reflect upon the production as it pertains to a grander collective memory of the Asian American Broadway experience. Cautiously optimistic about the critical and commercial outcome of this new production, our 2004 Pacific Overtures cast took great comfort in an ever-present Sondheim, whose constant proximity and participation during the run of the show served as a reminder that even this lesser-known Sondheim piece is still a Sondheim masterpiece.

Bridging the Divide: Some Recollections of Undertaking Comparative Labour Law Research with Former European Socialist Countries

This paper offers some reflections on comparative scientific research in the field of labour law by reference to the former socialist countries of Europe prior to 1989. The focus is primarily upon approaches to collaborative research and techniques for comparative evaluation rather than any attempt to deliver a detailed elaboration of “socialist labour law”. The perspective is that of a British labour lawyer whose contemporaneous activities extended to publication, research and teaching projects in collaboration with a broad range of socialist academic experts of the time. This presentation sets out by noting the relative lack of attention paid to experiences in those socialist legal systems – in part as a result of difficulties in accessing and understanding scientific works published in the official languages of those countries, but also due to widespread scepticism on the parts of non-socialist researchers towards the value of work undertaken by the academic community in the socialist countries. The author points to the importance of studying experiences of these legal systems not only for the sake of historical reflection but also by virtue of insights that those experiences can offer to an appreciation of labour law as it has developed post-1989. The historical context provided by this work thus highlights the opportunity for reflection in relation to concrete national systems, as well as clearly illustrating the timeless importance of conducting comparative research on labour law. Emphasis is placed upon the need for an inclusive approach to the study of labour law in order to discern the totality of developments in that field, rather than limiting the focus to regionally oriented developments as scientific facts and the drawing of conclusions based on them. In the course of presenting this paper, the author also provides an insight into the career of Prof. Željko Potočnjak, whose position as a prominent scholar of labour law in Central and Eastern Europe is considered through the prism of personal recollections and illustrations of the significance accorded to his contributions in that area.

From Nazism to Pro‐Kurdish Activism: The International Society Kurdistan, Silvio van Rooy and the struggle against communism in the 1960s and 1970s

AbstractKurdish studies was born as a field of study in imperial Russia, and for much of the twentieth century, the Soviet Union remained the centre of ‘Kurdology’. With the foundation of the International Society Kurdistan (ISK) in Amsterdam in 1960, however, this centre started to move westwards. Officially established as a non‐party democratic action group helping the Kurdish nation in its struggle for democratic independence, the ISK’s unwritten aim was to support national struggles as a means to prevent communism, particularly the Soviet Union, from expanding its sphere of influence. Silvio van Rooy, who had been an active collaborator with the Nazi occupying forces in the Netherlands, devoted a decade of his life to what he considered an experiment in psychological warfare to influence the Kurdish intelligentsia, and for this he made every effort to establish a centre for Kurdish studies in the West that could develop a political programme around anti‐communist ethno‐nationalism. Yet Van Rooy’s involvement with the Kurds was intense, but also passing. In the second half of the 1970s his loyalty to anti‐communism took a new turn as he drew close to the Iraqi nationalist Ba’ath regime. The research data employed here has primarily been obtained through archival work. Based on an analysis of these primary documents and augmented by personal recollections, this study thus contextualises the work of the ISK through the political trajectory and views of Silvio van Rooy, the society’s founder and president.

Red Star over Seoul: Facts and the Myths of the Ninety-Day-Long Communist Rule over the South Korean Capital in 1950

During its long history, the city of Seoul has suffered three major sieges and occupations. The first happened in 1592, the second occupation of the capital was in 1636, and the third occasion when the city was besieged and occupied by an enemy army was during the first phase of the Korean War. The main goal of this study is to describe facts and myths about the ninety-day-long communist rule over the South Korean capital in 1950. During my research, I compared all available documentary sources with recollections and memoirs to ascertain how the city and its citizens survived that difficult period. I collected impressions about the North Korean invaders to examine everyday life in the occupied city. I also attempted to determine if there is any truth to the myth that the North Korean leader Kim Il Sung visited occupied Seoul. The main primary sources used here are the contemporary newspapers of the DPRK: the Rodong Sinmun, which published several news items about occupied Seoul, and the Haebang Ilbo (Liberation Daily), which was published in Seoul during the North Korean occupation. The documentation about the ninety-day-long occupation of Seoul began right after the liberation of the capital in fall 1950. The first book, which collected the experiences of some elite members of South Korean society, was published by the Soodo Munhwasa company, under the title Konan ŭi 90 il (90 days of suffering).1 The reminiscences of the authors—university professor Yu Chin-oh, poet Mo Yun-suk, lawyer-scholar Yi Geon-ho, and news reporter Ku Chul-hoi—were published in English soon after the Korean version. The Reds Take a City was the first non-Korean book that collected available pieces of infor- mation about the occupation.2 In the second year of the Korean War, another important collection titled Chok Hwa Sam Sak Kuinjip (赤禍三朔九人集, Three Months under the Reds) was published.3 The book contained nine recollections from those who experienced communist rule and were forced to collaborate with the North Koreans regarding minor matters. Its publisher was the anti-communist Podo yŏnmaeng (보도연맹, Podo League) organization, which was established before the Korean War to “erase” citizens’ leftist ideologies.4 Some other important sources of the ninety-day-long occupation of Seoul are the personal recollections, written by well-known South Korean intellectuals. Park Wan-suh’s popular novel Ku manhtŏn shinga nun nuga ta mŏgŏssŭlkka? (그 많던 싱아는 누가 다 먹었을까? Who Ate up all the Shinga?) and Kim Seong-chil’s famous diary, Yŏksa ap’ eso (역 사 앞에서 In Front of History), included important observations about that period. Kim Won-Il’s reminiscences, which are particularly meaningful because his father had been involved in the developments, also provide useful information.5 To add more North Korean elements to the puzzle of the ninety-day-long occupation, one important source is the novel 50 nyŏn yŏrŭm (50년 여름, Summer of the year 50), which contains details about Kim Il Sung’s alleged trip to Seoul at that time.6 In my capacity as the Ambassador for Hungary to the DPRK, I also studied the local publications available in Pyongyang. Often, Central and Eastern European sources proved to be most beneficial as the archives of these former communist states proved to be far more accessible than North Korean archives, which are very restricted. At that time, the party organs of the Soviet bloc countries published daily about the developments, and their journalists reported personally from the battlefield of Korea. These include archive diplomatic reports from the Hungarian legation in Pyongyang, which are available now in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Directory at the National Archives of Hungary.

Recollections about Jaroslav Smítal

Professor Jaroslav Smítal passed away at the age of 79 years on March 9th, 2022. He was the founder of Czech-Slovak school of discrete dynamical systems and we all will miss him not only as a great mathematician and an extraordinary member of the Czech mathematical community, but above all as a good friend, colleague and a very inspiring person. The Czech-Slovak Workshop on Discrete Dynamical Systems 2022 was devoted to his memory and to celebrate his life's work. This article consists of personal recollections composed by several different authors, Jaro's colleagues and friends.

Reflecting on Memory, Imagination and Place: Reading Janet Frame’s The Envoy from Mirror City Through a Cognitive Literary Lens

ABSTRACT Although Janet Frame’s oeuvre has attracted sustained critical attention, her autobiographical writing has sometimes been characterised as inferior to her ‘innovative, sophisticated, post-modern fiction’ (Bazin 2011, 1). Contrasting with such views, I explore the textured literary construction and potential cognitive impact of Frame's central metaphor of Mirror City in her third autobiographical volume, The Envoy from Mirror City (1984). This interdisciplinary discussion builds on, and extends the critical approaches of scholars such as Claire Bazin and Simon Petch, who examine the wide-ranging ‘hermeneutic’ capacities of Frame’s Autobiography (Bazin 2011, 4), and its ‘processes of transformation of fact into autobiographical truth’ (Petch 1991, 59). Focusing specifically on Mirror City's components of memory, imagination, and space, my bi-focal study of narrative representation and potential readerly impact strives to illuminate how Frame’s autobiographical writing facilitates the markedly interactive nature of exchange that characterises literary life writing. In analysing textual and cognitive interplays among narrative technique, memory, imagination, place, visual imagery, conceptual blending, and the default mode network, I demonstrate how Frame constructs her shimmering textual vision of Mirror City, and how this cognitive configuration encourages interactive readerly engagements with personal recollections, and/or active contemplations of the roles of imagination and place in experiential remembering.

Molecular Cytology of 'Little Animals': Personal Recollections of Escherichia coli (and Bacillus subtilis).

This article relates personal recollections and starts with the origin of electron microscopy in the sixties of the previous century at the University of Amsterdam. Novel fixation and embedding techniques marked the discovery of the internal bacterial structures not visible by light microscopy. A special status became reserved for the freeze-fracture technique. By freeze-fracturing chemically fixed cells, it proved possible to examine the morphological effects of fixation. From there on, the focus switched from bacterial structure as such to their cell cycle. This invoked bacterial physiology and steady-state growth combined with electron microscopy. Electron-microscopic autoradiography with pulses of [3H] Dap revealed that segregation of replicating DNA cannot proceed according to a model of zonal growth (with envelope-attached DNA). This stimulated us to further investigate the sacculus, the peptidoglycan macromolecule. In particular, we focused on the involvement of penicillin-binding proteins such as PBP2 and PBP3, and their role in division. Adding aztreonam (an inhibitor of PBP3) blocked ongoing divisions but not the initiation of new ones. A PBP3-independent peptidoglycan synthesis (PIPS) appeared to precede a PBP3-dependent step. The possible chemical nature of PIPS is discussed.

Francis Robinson: personal recollections

The three years that I spent at Royal Holloway, University of London between 1975 and 1978, as professor and head of the History Department, were among the happiest and most purposive of my entire academic life. This was due, in no small part, to my instant friendship with Francis Robinson. We soon realised that our interests converged to a remarkable degree, despite the gulf of almost two millennia between my own concern for the world of Late Antiquity and his with religion and politics in contemporary India and Pakistan.