Search

Internet research on search engine quality and validity of results demand much concern. Thus, the focus in our study has been to measure the impact of quotation marks usage on the internet search outputs in terms of Google search outcomes' distributions, through Benford Law. The current paper is focused on applying a Benford Law analysis on two related types of internet searches distinguished by the usage or absence of quotation marks. Both search results values are assumed as variables. We found that the first digit of outcomes does not follow the Benford Law first digit of numbers in the case of searching text without quotation marks. Unexpectedly, the Benford Law is obeyed when quotation marks are used, even if the variability of search outcomes is considerably reduced. By studying outputs demonstrating influences of (apparently at first) "details", in using a search engine, the authors are able to further warn the users concerning the validity of such outputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the integrity of financial statements within the Romanian gambling and betting industry, employing Benford's, Zipf’s and Universal Law and distribution distances tests. Data from the financial statements of active gambling and betting companies in 2013, classified under NACE code 9200, were analysed The primary focus was on the absolute values of declared gross profit or loss. Our analysis involved visual inspections, Chi-square tests, and the application of Zipf’s and Universal laws for distribution conformity. Results indicated that the empirical distributions of the first and second digits, as well as the combined first two digits of gross profit or loss, align with Benford's Law. Surprisingly, the distribution did not conform to the expected Zipf’s type but instead followed the specific pattern of the Universal law. Furthermore, while the Zipf’s model was not a fit, the Universal law effectively captured the distribution of the reported financial data, suggesting a power-law concentration of gross profit values in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]