jQuery / Ajax - $.ajax() Passing Parameters to Callback - Good Pattern to Use?

Like this...

function doSomething(url, elem) {
  $.ajax({
     type: "GET",
     url: url,
     dataType: "xml",
     success: function(xml) {
       rssToTarget(xml, elem);
     }
  });
}

Answer to your comment: Does use of anonymous functions affect performance?

The pattern you'd like to use could work if you create a closure inside your rssToTarget function:

function rssToTarget(element) {
  return function (xmlData) {
    // work with element and the data returned from the server
  }
}

function doSomething(url, elem) {
    $.ajax({ type: "GET",
         url: url,
         dataType: "xml",
         success: rssToTarget(elem)
       });
}

When rssToTarget(elem) is executed, the element parameter is stored in the closure, and the callback function is returned, waiting to be executed.