Individual and societal bases of national identity - A comparative multi-level analysis

In a previous study (Jones and Smith, 1999) we established that much the same core pattern of national identity characterizes many developed countries. Using the national identity module from the 1995 International Social Survey Programme, we identified two dimensions of national identity: an ascriptive dimension resembling the concept of ethnic identity described in the historical and theoretical literature, and a voluntarist dimension closer to the notion of civic identity. Some writers view these dimensions in terms of a historical sequence but we find that both constructs coexist in the minds of individual respondents in the nations we examine (we exclude Bulgaria and the Philippines from the present but not the earlier analysis). The dataset used for the multilevel analyses reported here consists of 28 589 respondents in the remaining 21 countries included in the national identity database for the 1995 round of surveys. The macrosociological literature on national identity does not offer well-defined predictions about what precise patterns of national identification we might expect to find among the masses of the developed countries. There are, however, recurring themes from which one can construct plausible hypotheses about how countries might differ according to their level of development, broadly conceived. Thus, we hypothesize that forces such as post-industrialism and globalization tend to favour the more open voluntaristic form of national identity over the more restrictive ascribed form. We develop different multi-level models in order to evaluate specific hypotheses pertaining to such issues, by simultaneously relating individual and societal characteristics to the relative strength of individual commitment to these different types of national identity.

Identity and security in Korea

The summit meeting between the two Korean heads of state, which took place in Pyongyang in June 2000, constitutes a major turning point in the peninsula's history. As the effects of the meeting are gradually unfolding, a period of detente no longer seems impossible. But major difficulties remain unsolved and Korea will continue to be one of the world's most volatile areas. The task of this essay is to identify and analyse some of the entrenched political patterns that will challenge policy-makers in the years ahead. To do so it is necessary to portray the conflict in Korea not only in conventional ideological and geopolitical terms, but also, and primarily, as a question of identity. From such a vantage-point two components are essential in the search for a more peaceful peninsula. Substantial progress has recently been made in the first realm, the need to approach security problems, no matter how volatile they seem. in a cooperative and dialogical, rather than merely a coercive manner. The second less accepted but perhaps more important factor, revolves around the necessity to recognize that dialogue has its limits, that the party on the other side of the DMZ cannot always be accommodated or subsumed into compromise. Needed is an ethics of difference: a willingness to accept that the other's sense of identity and politics may be inherently incompatible with one's own.

Developing students' critical literacy: Exploring identity construction in young adult fiction

The authors use a critical literacy stance to engage students in a discussion of young adult literature from Australia and America. They offer a framework teachers can use to initiate discussions based on critical literacy in their own classrooms.

International images and mass media: The effects of media coverage on Canadians' perceptions of ethnic and race relations in Australia

Recently, there has been much speculation about the impact of international media coverage of Australia's position on Indigenous people, migrants and asylum seekers on other nations' images of Australia. In this experiment we examined whether there was any basis for such concerns by considering the short-term impact of negative TV coverage of Australians on Canadian viewers. A questionnaire provided baseline data on Canadian students' perceptions of Australians and Australian race relations. Four months later, the students were assigned to one of three conditions that varied media contact with Australians. Students viewed one of two television programs (about right-wing political independent, Pauline Hanson, and her emotive criticisms of Aborigines and Asian immigrants or about an ethnically-mixed group of young Australians and their positive sense of cultural identity), or they viewed no program (no contact control). Results indicated that both positive and negative media coverage of Australians affected Canadians' views of Australia in the short-term. In particular, negative coverage (of Hanson) promoted less favourable views of Australians and Australian race relations over time and relative to the positive media and no media control conditions. The media's role in shaping international images is discussed.

Identity, difference, and the dilemmas of inter-Korean relations: Insights from northern defectors and the German precedent

Questions of identity have become increasingly central to the study of foreign policy and security, particularly in constructivist debates. But very few of the resulting insights have been applied to the Korean situation, where discussions about security and inter-Korean relations remain dominated by strategic and geopolitical issues. The main task of this article is to address this shortcoming by examining the experience of North Korean defectors in South Korea and the precedent of German unification. Both of these domains of inquiry reveal that identity differences between North and South persist far beyond the ideological and political structures that created them in the first place. Born out of death, fear, and longing for revenge, these identity patterns lie at the heart of Korea's security dilemmas. Unless taken seriously by scholars and decision makers, the respective tensions between identity and difference will continue to cause major political problems. (Key words: Inter-Korean relations, North Korean defectors, German unification)

Recommendations for animal DNA forensic and identity testing

Genetic analysis in animals has been used for many applications, such as kinship analysis, for determining the sire of an offspring when a female has been exposed to multiple males, determining parentage when an animal switches offspring with another dam, extended lineage reconstruction, estimating inbreeding, identification in breed registries, and speciation. It now also is being used increasingly to characterize animal materials in forensic cases. As such, it is important to operate under a set of minimum guidelines that assures that all service providers have a template to follow for quality practices. None have been delineated for animal genetic identity testing. Based on the model for human DNA forensic analyses, a basic discussion of the issues and guidelines is provided for animal testing to include analytical practices, data evaluation, nomenclature, allele designation, statistics, validation, proficiency testing, lineage markers, casework files, and reporting. These should provide a basis for professional societies and/or working groups to establish more formalized recommendations.

Diplomatic divergence in the antipodes: Globalisation, foreign policy and state identity in Australia and New Zealand

This article compares the constitutive relationship between foreign policy and globalisation in Australia and New Zealand. Drawing upon insights from constructivist international relations theory we argue that foreign policy instantiates a state's social identity, its self-understanding of its role and moral purpose by projecting a distinctive image onto the global stage. We explore the differences and the similarities between Australia and New Zealand by examining how each country views international order, global trade, global governance and human rights and international security. Although both countries appear to be transforming themselves into more 'globalised' states, there are significant differences in the way each seeks to balance the competing strategic and normative demands. This diplomatic divergence, we argue, stems from different conceptions of state identity.

International Union of Pharmacology. LXVI. Orphan nuclear receptors

Half of the members of the nuclear receptors superfamily are so-called orphan receptors because the identity of their ligand, if any, is unknown. Because of their important biological roles, the study of orphan receptors has attracted much attention recently and has resulted in rapid advances that have helped in the discovery of novel signaling pathways. In this review we present the main features of orphan receptors, discuss the structure of their ligand-binding domains and their biological functions. The paradoxical existence of a pharmacology of orphan receptors, a rapidly growing and innovative field, is highlighted.

Levinasian ethics and the representation of the other in international and cross-cultural management

In this paper, we seek to further the discussion, problematization and critique of west/east identity relations in ICM studies by considering the ethics of the relationship – an issue never far beneath the surface in discussions of Orientalism. In particular we seek to both examine and question the ethics of representation in relation to a critique of what has come to be known as international and cross-cultural management (ICM). To pursue such a discussion, we draw specifically on the ethical elaborations of Emmanuel Levinas as well as his chief interlocutors Jacques Derrida and Zygmunt Bauman. The value of this discussion, we propose, is that Levinas offers a philosophy that holds as its central concept the relationship between the self and Other as the primary ethical and pre-ontological relation. Levinas’ philosophy provides a means of extending the post-colonial critique of ICM, and ICM provides a context in which the Levinasian ethics can be brought to bear on a significant issue on contemporary business and management.