Bridging micro, meso, and macro processes in social psychology

In this chapter, we argue that a multilevel analysis of social psychological phenomena, which acknowledges cognition and behavior at macro, meso, and micro levels and the interrelations between them, is necessary. We propose a theoretical synthesis of Identity Process Theory and Social Representations Theory as one way of integrating the three prime levels of analysis and of providing an analysis that is social psychological in essence. We discuss how symbols interact with human identity in the context of the Islamic Veil and the Confederate Flag, and how human rights and duties are communicated and processed in societies. We argue that social representations, or cultural carriers, are continually being transformed, as individuals and groups compete to make their own meaning systems dominant in interpersonal, intergroup, and societal relationships

Use of mixed methods designs in substance research: a methodological necessity in Nigeria

The utility of mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) is becoming increasingly accepted in health sciences, but substance studies are yet to substantially benefit from such utilities. While there is a growing number of mixed methods alcohol articles concerning developed countries, developing nations are yet to embrace this method. In the Nigerian context, the importance of mixed methods research is yet to be acknowledged. This article therefore, draws on alcohol studies to argue that mixed methods designs will better equip scholars to understand, explore, describe and explain why alcohol consumption and its related problems are increasing in Nigeria. It argues that as motives for consuming alcohol in contemporary Nigeria are multiple, complex and evolving, mixed method approaches that provide multiple pathways for proffering solutions to problems should be embraced

Social representations and the politics of participation

Recent work has called for the integration of different perspectives into the field of political psychology (Haste, 2012). This chapter suggests that one possible direction that such efforts can take is studying the role that social representations theory (SRT) can play in understanding political participation and social change. Social representations are systems of common-sense knowledge and social practice; they provide the lens through which to view and create social and political realities, mediate people's relations with these sociopolitical worlds and defend cultural and political identities. Social representations are therefore key for conceptualising participation as the activity that locates individuals and social groups in their sociopolitical world. Political participation is generally seen as conditional to membership of sociopolitical groups and therefore is often linked to citizenship. To be a citizen of a society or a member of any social group one has to participate as such. Often political participation is defined as the ability to communicate one's views to the political elite or to the political establishment (Uhlaner, 2001), or simply explicit involvement in politics and electoral processes (Milbrath, 1965). However, following scholars on ideology (Eagleton, 1991; Thompson, 1990) and social knowledge (Jovchelovitch, 2007), we extend our understanding of political participation to all social relations and also develop a more agentic model where individuals and groups construct, develop and resist their own views, ideas and beliefs. We thus adopt a broader approach to participation in comparison to other political-psychological approaches, such as personality approaches (e.g. Mondak and Halperin, 2008) and cognitive approaches or, more recently, neuropsychological approaches (Hatemi and McDermott, 2012). We move away from a focus on the individual's political behaviour and its antecedents and outline an approach that focuses on the interaction between psychological and political phenomena (Deutsch and Kinnvall, 2002) through examining the politics of social knowledge

The radicalization of democracy: conflict, social movements and terrorism

The idea of democracy is being championed across the world, with some fifty new countries embracing this type of political system between 1974 and 2011 (Freedom House, 2016). Simultaneously, however, dissatisfaction has grown due to the perceived incapacity of democracy to deal with collective problems, hence the necessity to reconfigure it and redraw some of its principles. This paper links the analysis of the recent evolution of democratic systems with the trajectory of socio-political conflicts and the changing features of contemporary terrorism. It examines, therefore, two intertwined phenomena, namely the radicalization of democracy and the radicalization of the other. It concludes by stressing that encouraging dissent and heeding contentious claims made by social movements may be one way of mitigating both types of radicalization. Embedded in the tradition of critical criminology, this paper attempts to demonstrate that only by outflanking conventional categories of analysis can the criminological community aspire to grasp such thorny contemporary phenomena

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and mortality of HIV, 1980–2017, and forecasts to 2030, for 195 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017

Background Understanding the patterns of HIV/AIDS epidemics is crucial to tracking and monitoring the progress of prevention and control efforts in countries. We provide a comprehensive assessment of the levels and trends of HIV/AIDS incidence, prevalence, mortality, and coverage of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 1980–2017 and forecast these estimates to 2030 for 195 countries and territories. Methods We determined a modelling strategy for each country on the basis of the availability and quality of data. For countries and territories with data from population-based seroprevalence surveys or antenatal care clinics, we estimated prevalence and incidence using an open-source version of the Estimation and Projection Package—a natural history model originally developed by the UNAIDS Reference Group on Estimates, Modelling, and Projections. For countries with cause-specific vital registration data, we corrected data for garbage coding (ie, deaths coded to an intermediate, immediate, or poorly defined cause) and HIV misclassification. We developed a process of cohort incidence bias adjustment to use information on survival and deaths recorded in vital registration to back-calculate HIV incidence. For countries without any representative data on HIV, we produced incidence estimates by pulling information from observed bias in the geographical region. We used a re-coded version of the Spectrum model (a cohort component model that uses rates of disease progression and HIV mortality on and off ART) to produce age-sex-specific incidence, prevalence, and mortality, and treatment coverage results for all countries, and forecast these measures to 2030 using Spectrum with inputs that were extended on the basis of past trends in treatment scale-up and new infections. Findings Global HIV mortality peaked in 2006 with 1·95 million deaths (95% uncertainty interval 1·87–2·04) and has since decreased to 0·95 million deaths (0·91–1·01) in 2017. New cases of HIV globally peaked in 1999 (3·16 million, 2·79–3·67) and since then have gradually decreased to 1·94 million (1·63–2·29) in 2017. These trends, along with ART scale-up, have globally resulted in increased prevalence, with 36·8 million (34·8–39·2) people living with HIV in 2017. Prevalence of HIV was highest in southern sub-Saharan Africa in 2017, and countries in the region had ART coverage ranging from 65·7% in Lesotho to 85·7% in eSwatini. Our forecasts showed that 54 countries will meet the UNAIDS target of 81% ART coverage by 2020 and 12 countries are on track to meet 90% ART coverage by 2030. Forecasted results estimate that few countries will meet the UNAIDS 2020 and 2030 mortality and incidence targets. Interpretation Despite progress in reducing HIV-related mortality over the past decade, slow decreases in incidence, combined with the current context of stagnated funding for related interventions, mean that many countries are not on track to reach the 2020 and 2030 global targets for reduction in incidence and mortality. With a growing population of people living with HIV, it will continue to be a major threat to public health for years to come. The pace of progress needs to be hastened by continuing to expand access to ART and increasing investments in proven HIV prevention initiatives that can be scaled up to have population-level impact

promoting civic engagement and social inclusion interventions for minors involved with crimes

The juvenile justice system in Italy is aimed at avoiding detention, thanks to alternative measures and strategies for social inclusion. Nevertheless, for two groups of minors – those involved in organised crime and migrants – social inclusion and other alternative forms of punishment are not easily applied because these minors often lack social networks. Migrant minors are at risk of becoming offenders because they arrive in the host country without a real migration plan and without educational or work opportunities. Psychosocial literature about migrant minors has also examined the relationship between the difficulties migrants face and their possible involvement in deviant groups. This is a crucial topic that must be explored carefully and without stigmatising minors. Young migrants under criminal proceedings are vulnerable in two ways: because they are minors and unable to fulfil their needs and because they are non-citizens, a status which may marginalise them within the social context. Accordingly, in previous research, we implemented proactive interventions in four European countries (Italy, Romania, Germany, and Spain) to promote social inclusion and prevent minors from engaging in violent behaviour. In this chapter, we use interviews and focus groups to explore how justice system professionals and stakeholders in Italy describe the deviant career of young people at risk of radicalisation. We also provide evidence for the importance of social inclusion interventions as a means of preventing violent radicalisation. Finally, we argue for professional development training so that practitioners in the juvenile justice system can develop innovative ways of promoting social inclusion

Racism as a determinant of health: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Despite a growing body of epidemiological evidence in recent years documenting the health impacts of racism, the cumulative evidence base has yet to be synthesized in a comprehensive meta-analysis focused specifically on racism as a determinant of health. This meta-analysis reviewed the literature focusing on the relationship between reported racism and mental and physical health outcomes. Data from 293 studies reported in 333 articles published between 1983 and 2013, and conducted predominately in the U.S., were analysed using random effects models and mean weighted effect sizes. Racism was associated with poorer mental health (negative mental health: r = -.23, 95% CI [-.24,-.21], k = 227; positive mental health: r = -.13, 95% CI [-.16,-.10], k = 113), including depression, anxiety, psychological stress and various other outcomes. Racism was also associated with poorer general health (r = -.13 (95% CI [-.18,-.09], k = 30), and poorer physical health (r = -.09, 95% CI [-.12,-.06], k = 50). Moderation effects were found for some outcomes with regard to study and exposure characteristics. Effect sizes of racism on mental health were stronger in cross-sectional compared with longitudinal data and in non-representative samples compared with representative samples. Age, sex, birthplace and education level did not moderate the effects of racism on health. Ethnicity significantly moderated the effect of racism on negative mental health and physical health: the association between racism and negative mental health was significantly stronger for Asian American and Latino(a) American participants compared with African American participants, and the association between racism and physical health was significantly stronger for Latino(a) American participants compared with African American participants.<br /

The expression of thymidine phosphorylase correlates with angiogenesis and the efficacy of chemotherapy using fluorouracil derivatives in advanced gastric carcinoma

The expression of thymidine phosphorylase (TP) and the density of microvessel in advanced gastric carcinoma were examined by immunohistochemistry to evaluate the significance of TP. The expression of TP was negative in 72 cases, positive in 54. The microvessel density correlated with the expression of TP. In total cases, patients with TP-positive tumours survived longer than those with TP-negative tumours. In patients treated with fluorouracil derivatives (FUs), the expression of TP significantly correlated with favourable prognosis and with unfavourable prognosis in those not treated with FUs. The patients with TP-positive tumours, the prognosis of patients treated with FUs was significantly better than that of those not treated with FUs. In patients with TP-positive tumours, treatment with FUs and lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors according to the Cox proportional hazards model. Depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors in patients with TP-negative tumours. The determination of the expression of TP might be useful for predicting the efficacy of post-operative chemotherapy using FUs to prevent recurrence in advanced gastric carcinoma patients who undergo curative gastrectomy. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Modeling “psychosis” in vitro by inducing disordered neuronal network activity in cortical brain slices

# The Author(s) 2009. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Introduction Dysregulation of neuronal networks has been suggested to underlie the cognitive and perceptual abnor-malities observed schizophrenia. Discussions An in vitro model of psychosis is proposed based on the two different approaches to cause aberrant networ