Search

Search engines are important political news sources and should thus provide users with diverse political information – an important precondition of a well-informed citizenry. The search engines' algorithmic content selection strongly influences the diversity of the content received by the users – particularly since most users highly trust search engines and often click on only the first result. A widespread concern is that users are not informed diversely by search engines, but how far this concern applies has hardly been investigated. Our study is the first to investigate content diversity provided by five search engines on ten current political issues in Germany. The findings show that sometimes even the first result is highly diverse, but in most cases, more results must be considered to be informed diversely. This unreliability presents a serious challenge when using search engines as political news sources. Our findings call for media policy measures, for example in terms of algorithmic transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study addressed international publication trends in JABA authorship between 1970 and 1999. First, we analyzed authorship patterns to identify trends in the appearance of new first authors, unfamiliar authors, and frequent contributors. Second, articles were assigned to either a North American or an international category. The data show a decline in the number of articles by new authors and an increase in the publications of frequent contributors from North America. Trends are shown in comparison to those from the American Journal on Mental Retardation. DESCRIPTORS: Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, publication trends, geographical origin, authorship

At least three theories of man and social reality can be abstracted from the World Order Models Project (WOMP) literature. The leading concepts in what I call the Anti‐Political theory (von Weizsäcker) are Truth and Love. The Individual type needed to bring about and preserve a world order resonating these values is the Saint. The leading concepts in the Apolitical theory (Falk, Mazrui, Sakamoto) are Consensus and Enlightened Self‐Interest. The individual type needed to transform the world of the Apolitical theorist is the Reformer/ Educator. The guiding concepts in the Political theory (Lagos) are Power and Conflict. The ideal individual type for changing this world is the Activist. Each of these theories appears to be incomplete by itself when the role of the Transitional Type is not played by an individual of great inner strength and balance. Brute force and dominating institutions will turn weak saints into Quietists. Reformer/Educators unwilling to face up to the influence of power and the role of conflict in the world and who lack the constant renewal provided by an inner life will become Idealogues. Activists who sense no larger community of interest beyond their own cause and who see no need for self‐purification and self‐conquest will become Power Maniacs. On the other hand, the individual who aspires to be Saint, Reformer/Educator, and Activist all at once will need a more general theory of social reality and individual responsibility and potential than the three seemingly incompatible visions provide. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]