National identification and anti-immigrant prejudice: Individual and contextual effects of national definitions

In this study, we examined the relationship between national identification and anti-immigrant prejudice in a multilevel analysis of ISSP survey data from 37,030 individuals in 31 countries. We argue that this relationship depends on how national groups are defined by their members. Across the 31 national samples, the correlation between national identification and prejudice ranged from weakly negative (-.06) to moderately positive (.37). The relationship was significantly stronger in countries where people on average endorsed a definition of national belonging based on language, and weaker where people on average defined the nation in terms of citizenship. These effects occurred at a national rather than individual level, supporting an explanation in terms of the construction of nationality that prevails in a given context. Endorsement of the ancestry-based criteria for nationality was positively associated with prejudice, but only at the individual level.

When does national identification lead to the rejection of immigrants? Cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence for the role of essentialist in-group definitions

Two studies were carried out in England to investigate the role of essentialist national group definitions in determining the effect of national identification on prejudice towards immigrants, and asylum seekers in particular. It was expected that the relationship between national identification and prejudice would depend on the degree to which participants endorse an essentialist (`ethnic') definition of their nationality. Consistent with this, Study 1 (N=154) found that national identification is associated with negativity towards asylum seekers only among individuals who endorse an essentialist conception of the group, and shows no significant association with prejudice among those who reject such a conception. Study 2 (N=219) used a longitudinal design conducted over 6 weeks, allowing cross-lagged analysis of causality between essentialism, identification, and behavioural intentions towards asylum seekers. A causal effect of essentialism on willingness to support a group acting against asylum seekers was observed, with no significant causal effect in the reverse direction. The reverse causal direction was observed in the case of support for a group seeking to support asylum seekers, with intended behaviours determining essentialism. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of group definitions in the study of in-group affiliations and prejudice.

Molecular diagnostic cytopathology: definitions, scope and clinical utility

Molecular diagnosis is the application of molecular biology techniques and knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of disease to diagnosis, prognostication and treatment of diseases. Although it is not widely used in routine molecular cytological practice, some examples are presented here of the application of molecular techniques to the routine cytopathological diagnosis of solid tumours and lymphoreticular malignancies. The term 'molecular diagnostic cytopathology' is proposed to define the application of molecular diagnosis to cytopathology, and the challenges of the introduction of molecular diagnosis into routine diagnostic histopathology and cytopathology are discussed. Finally, the importance of a combined morphological, immunophenotypic and molecular approach to maintain the diagnostic pathologist at the heart of the clinical decision-making process is emphasized.

River definitions in Roman technical literature

Definitions of rivers and their use by Roman land surveyors and lawyers.

A comparison of self-report and health care provider data to assess surveillance definitions of influenza-like illness in outpatients

Objective: Several surveillance definitions of influenza-like illness (ILI) have been proposed, based on the presence of symptoms. Symptom data can be obtained from patients, medical records, or both. Past research has found that agreements between health record data and self-report are variable depending on the specific symptom. Therefore, we aimed to explore the implications of using data on influenza symptoms extracted from medical records, similar data collected prospectively from outpatients, and the combined data from both sources as predictors of laboratory-confirmed influenza. Methods: Using data from the Hutterite Influenza Prevention Study, we calculated: 1) the sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of individual symptoms within surveillance definitions; 2) how frequently surveillance definitions correlated to laboratory-confirmed influenza; and 3) the predictive value of surveillance definitions. Results: Of the 176 participants with reports from participants and medical records, 142 (81%) were tested for influenza and 37 (26%) were PCR positive for influenza. Fever (alone) and fever combined with cough and/or sore throat were highly correlated with being PCR positive for influenza for all data sources. ILI surveillance definitions, based on symptom data from medical records only or from both medical records and self-report, were better predictors of laboratory-confirmed influenza with higher odds ratios and positive predictive values. Discussion: The choice of data source to determine ILI will depend on the patient population, outcome of interest, availability of data source, and use for clinical decision making, research, or surveillance. © Canadian Public Health Association, 2012.

Exploring divergence between respondent and researcher definitions of the good in contingent valuation studies

In Contingent Valuation studies, researchers often base their definition of the environmental good on scientific/expert consensus. However, respondents may not hold this same commodity definition prior to the transaction. This raises questions as to the potential for staging a satisfactory transaction, based on Fischoff and Furby's (1988) criteria. Some unresolved issues regarding the provision of information to respondents to facilitate such a transaction are highlighted. In this paper, we apply content analysis to focus group discussions and develop a set of rules which take account of the non-independence of group data to explore whether researcher and respondents' prior definitions are in any way similar. We use the results to guide information provision in a subsequent questionnaire.