Dr. Mustafa Demir

Dr. Mustafa Demir is an associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the City University of New York. He is particularly interested in law enforcement and police-community relations. He has twenty years of law enforcement experience as a police administrator, having worked for both the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Dr. Demir will present May 15th at noon SLT. He will talk about fears of terrorism, with emphasis on the effect of trust in government, laws, and policies. Most people seem to be more afraid of cyberterrorism than of other types of terrorism. Dr. Demir’s research shows that only trust in government can mediate these fears.

Dr. Manish Kumar Asthana

Dr. Manish Kumar Asthana is an associate professor of psychology at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in northern India. He is particularly interested in cognitive psychology, fear conditionings, and the emotions of stress and anxiety.

Conditioned fear is a type of learned reaction that associates a fearful reaction to a neutral stimulus, in the absence of the original reason for fear. Dr. Manish will explain how imagery-based interventions can lessen the effect of conditioned fears. His session begins May 15th at 7 a.m. SLT.

Ms. Maria Nieves

 

Ms. Maria Nieves is a practicing clinical psychologist in Brazil. She is a master’s student at the Catholic University of Pelotas in southern Brazil, where her degree will be in Behavior and Health. Her presentation topic is fear related to climate change.

Her session May 15th at 9:30 a.m. SLT is titled “Worry Related to Climate Change among Brazilian Adults.” She reminds us that it’s ok to worry about the world ending due to the climate crisis.

There is scientific consensus that global warming is happening, and anyone with access to information about climate change is potentially susceptible to experiencing an anxiety response. She explores whether those responses are pathological or just logical in the face of what's been going on.

Mr. Aman Kumar Prajapati

Mr. Aman Kumar Prajapati is an assistant professor of psychology at Invertis University Bareilly in northern India. His presentation May 15th at 8 a.m. SLT is titled “Near Death Experience and Transformation of Afterlife Belief.”

This psychological systematic review will explore how near-death experiences influence individuals’ fears and beliefs about the afterlife. It synthesizes findings across studies to reveal patterns of spiritual transformation, increased belief in life after death, and shifts in existential outlook following near-death experiences.