scale, a 20-item scale constructed in order to reassess the Greyson NDE-scale and to validate the new NDE-C scale. The authors found weaknesses in the original NDE-scale, but good psychometric properties for the new NDE-C scale. Greyson has also used mainstream psychological measurements in his research, for example The Dissociative Experiences Scale; a measure of dissociative symptoms, and The Threat Index; a measure of the threat implied by one's personal death. Near death studies community Research organizations and academic locations The field of near-death studies includes several communities that study the phenomenology of NDEs. One of the most influential is IANDS, an international organization based in Durham, North-Carolina, that promotes research and education on the phenomenon of near-death experiences. Among its publications we find the peer-reviewed Journal of Near-Death Studies,. The organization also maintains an archive of near-death case histories for research and study. Another research organization, the Louisiana-based Near Death Experience Research Foundation, was established by radiation oncologist Jeffrey Long in 1998. The foundation maintains a website and a database of near-death cases. A few academic locations have been associated with the activities of the field of near-death studies. Among these we find the University of Connecticut (US), Southampton University (UK), University of North Texas (US) and the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia (US). Conferences IANDS holds conferences, at regular intervals, on the topic of near-death experiences. The first meeting was a medical seminar at Yale University, New Haven (CT) in 1982. This was followed by the first clinical conference in Pembroke Pines (FL), and the first research conference in Farmington (CT) in 1984. Since then conferences have been held in major U.S. cities, almost annually. Many of the conferences have addressed a specific topic, defined in advance of the meeting. In 2004 participants gathered in Evanston (IL) under the headline:"Creativity from the light". A few of the conferences have been arranged at academic locations. In 2001 researchers and participants gathered at Seattle Pacific University. In 2006 the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center became the first medical institution to host the annual IANDS conference. The first international medical conference on near-death experiences was held in 2006. Approximately 1.500 delegates, including people who claim to have had NDEs, were attending the one-day conference in Martigues, France. Approximately 1.500 delegates, including Near-death experiencers, attended the one-day conference in Martigues, France. Among the researchers at the