Selective exposure to populist communication:How attitudinal congruence drives the effects of populist attributions of blame

Although it has been argued that populist communication only appeals to a specific audience, extant research has exclusively studied the effects of populist communication in forced-exposure media environments. Responding to this discrepancy, we conducted two experiments (N = 562 and N = 558) in which we manipulated the core idea of populist messages—attributing blame—in forced and selective exposure media environments. Our results demonstrate that citizens higher in relative deprivation are most likely to select populist messages. Irrespective of selective exposure, citizens’ populist attitudes are only positively affected if the populist message is congruent with their prior feelings of relative deprivation. These results provide important insights for the polarizing potential of media populism in a fragmented media environment

The role of candidate evaluations in the 2014 European Parliament elections: Towards the personalization of voting behaviour?

We study the personalization of voting behaviour in European Parliament elections. We argue that information from the media is crucial for providing linkages between candidates and voters. Moreover, we contend that candidates can serve as information short-cuts given the complexity of European Union politics. We use a four-wave Dutch panel survey and a media study that enable us to link evaluations of lead candidates, party preferences, and vote choice to exposure to news about these candidates. We show, firstly, that exposure to candidate news is a strong explanatory factor for candidate recognition. Secondly, we find that candidate evaluations positively affect party choice, albeit mainly for those voters who tend to be politically aware. Our research has implications for debates about the European Union’s accountability deficit

The Odontocete Ear Canal-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (ECALT) and Lymph Nodes: Morphological and Pathological Description with Immuno-Phenotypic Characterisation

A changing marine environment with emerging natural and anthropogenic stressors challenges the marine mammal immune system. The skin and adnexa form a first protective barrier in the immune response, although this is still relatively understudied in cetaceans. The cellular and tissue morphology of the nodular and diffuse lymphoid tissue are not fully charted and the physiological responses are not yet completely understood. The odontocete's external ear canal has a complex relationship with the external environment, with an artificial lumen rendering the inside of the canal a relatively secluded environment. In this work, we studied the odontocete ear canal-associated lymphoid tissue (ECALT) by histo- and immunohistochemistry (HC, IHC) with anti-CD3, anti-CD20, anti-Iba-1, anti-HLA-DR, and anti-vimentin antibodies. The ECALT cellular composition consists mainly of B-lymphocytes with the occasional presence of T-lymphocytes and the dispersed distribution of the macrophages. In cases of activation, the cellular reaction showed a similar pattern with the occasional presence of T-cells, plasma cells, and neutrophils. Nodular lymphoid tissue was generally in line with the description in other odontocetes, although with abundant erythrocytes throughout the entire organ. This study contributes to the understanding of the cellular composition of diffuse and nodular lymphoid tissue in several species of odontocetes, and in association with inflammation of the external ear canal