To Serve Humanity From Early Beginnings
At primary school, Brian was placed with slow learner migrant groups because of his surname and impoverished grades. Actually, he is a fifth generation Australian of Irish settlers whose history was featured in the television screenfilm adapted from Mary Durack’s book, “Kings in Grass Castles” and its sequel, “Sons in the Saddle”.
Working as an un-skilled labourer in 1961, he was confused by lower socio-economic class race feelings. “How could our New Australian migrants with demonstrably sophisticated knowledge of opera, singing while they worked in factories and elsewhere, experience racism?” Paradoxically, while lecturing psychology in 1975, a class of indigenous Australian students was encountered similarly. In 1976 he attempted to understand inter-cultural communication while visiting the New Territories of China and Tokyo. For his elucidation it was explained to him succinctly that degrees of poverty were relative throughout the world. Maybe this unenviable plight was one of the causes of racism? Subsequently in 1978, although fluent but with broken speech in several languages, he learned more about this curious phenomena during his UN itinerary throughout Europe and continued travels until 2006.
During local and overseas visits Brian frequently saw many examples of humanity and benevolence at its best. Still however, he is confounded by questionable cross-cultural indifference to presumably, indelible race feelings, which he considers alienating and degenerative in ailing scientific humanitarian communication for peace loving people.
In 1979, Dr Costello was elected as Australian and Pacific Area Chairman of the International Council of Psychologists and later, ICP Director at Large, nominated to Who’s Who Professionals and Executives and in 1998 when expected to die from biopsy-proven esophageal adenocarcinoma nominated “Man of the Year” for Contributions to Humanity.
Scientific & Literary Publications
Publications may be accessed from various databases including the Australian National Library ISBN Division and Social Science Archives. Sundry articles may be downloaded from website databases including the Australian Institute of Criminology, APA PsychINFO; ERIC/CAPS clearinghouse; Professional Medical, Health Sciences, Careers & Education and Biofeedback libraries. Some detailed reference lists are available from the Australian National Library, Canberra but the majority of his publications were published in the US.