ALBERT

Notes: Summary Six schools of thought can be detected in the development of evolutionary theory in German paleontology between 1859 and World War II. Most paleontologists were hardly affected in their research by Darwin's Origin of Species. The traditionalists (School 1) accepted evolution within lower taxa (genera and families) but not for organisms in general. They also rejected Darwin's theory of selection. The early Darwinians (School 2) accepted Darwin's theory of transmutation and theory of selection as axioms and applied them fruitfully to the fossil record, thereby laying the foundation for the new research areas of phylogeny and paleo-biology. The enthusiasm of the early Darwinians faded when the fossil record and the problems of its interpretion became more widely known. The pluralists of the turn of the century (School 3) invented and adopted a wealth of hypothetical mechanisms in order to explain individual features of the fossil record. They failed, however, to provide one coherent theory. Dissatisfaction with this situation led to adoption of a dogmatic neo-Lamarckism (School 4), which was regarded as a coherent theory providing a fruitful research program. The rejection of the Lamarckian mechanism early in this century left paleontologists with only one kind of evolutionary mechanism: inner causes. Like many neo-Lamarckians several orthogeneticists (School 5) were highly interested in adaptation and did not see any contradiction between the inner causes of evolution and adaptation. The dominance of stratigraphical research programs in paleontology led in the 1930s and 1940s to a decrease in interest in adaptation. Stratigraphical records of taxa were accepted as meaningful in the context of evolutionary theory. Orthogenesis and the new concepts of saltation and cyclicism were amalgamated into one theory: typostrophism (School 6). This theory dominated German paleontology for decades after the war and only recently has the synthetic theory been seriously considered. Evolution was never very intensively discussed in German paleontology in the hundred years after Darwin's book. Most information used here comes from textbooks or from papers given on special occasions. It has been impossible to summarize how members of one school defended their views or discussed the ideas of competing schools.

Notes: Conclusion With the rejection of group selectionist derivations of ecological phenomena so incisively given by George Williams in 1966,43 Nicholson's long-ignored messages met with acceptance. Species benefit became, explicitly, incidental. But the reorientation was not just about a point of ecological theory. It was more fundamentally about theoretical style, the element shared by Wynne-Edwards' work and the newer, evolutionary ecology. That current approach is well expressed in an already classic paper by the British plant ecologist John Harper: Ultimately all the discoveries of descriptive, production or population ecology must find their meaning in evolutionary phenomena... Evolutionary thinking concentrates attention on the behaviour of the individual and his descendants. If nothing in biology has meaning except in the light of evolution and if evolution is about individuals and their descendants — i.e. fitness — we should not expect to reach any depth of understanding from studies that are based at the level of the superindividual... What we see as the organised behaviour of systems is the result of the fate of individuals.44 The emphasis in this passage is on style of thinking more than on study matter. What is so different from earlier ecologists is the rejection of the superorganism and its associated baggage of selfimposed constraints in an end-oriented process, such as balance of nature or species-level adaptation. The hallmark of post-1959 evolutionary ecology is the recognition, the making explicit of the question that the selective, genetical process of fitness (fates of genes) has to be separated from the observations of different levels of adaptiveness. An easy conflation of cause and result is no longer satisfying; now attempts to disentangle the complex strands tying population phenomena to the different levels of selection are providing the excitement of a new research program. In this program evolutionary theory is used to define the appropriate questions, as exemplified by the organization of the textbook Evolutionary Ecology.45 Our discussion of the invention of a new approach, with a characteristic style and set of interests, must also be about how the practitioners of ecology have perceived themselves. The early attempts of Poulton and Nicholson were not taken up by the vigorously growing science of ecology, which developed first - and intentionally — along a narrower, hierarchically restrained set of questions about population. The depth of Poulton's and Nicholson's submergence is indicated by the fact that even Wynne-Edwards did not argue in the manner of one rescuing a minor tradition. Rather, he thought he had a new approach, that of placing evolution in the foundations of ecology. Although this approach was not exactly original, we should be cautious in grouping all evolutionary concerns within ecology in one intellectual tradition. The particular style of selectionist deduction invigorated by Wynne-Edwards was successful only in the volatile situation of a rapidly growing discipline, full of self-critical examination and new rigor. Whereas in 1930 evolutionary concerns did not provide that rigor, by 1960 they could - and did.

Notes: Conclusion The distinction between taxonomic plant geography and ecological plant geography was never absolute: it would be historically inaccurate to portray them as totally divergent. Taxonomists occasionally borrowed ecological concepts, and ecologists never completely repudiated taxonomy. Indeed, some botanists pursued the two types of geographic study. The American taxonomist Henry Allan Gleason (1882–1975), for one, made noteworthy contributions to both. Most of Gleason's research appeared in short articles, however. He never published a major synthetic work comparable in scope or influence to the ecological texts of Clements, Schimper, and Warming. Despite exceptions such as Gleason, most plant geographers throughout the twentieth century have emphasized the distinction between ecological and taxonomic plant geographies. Why have these distinct traditions developed? In his book Geographical Ecology, Robert MacArthur has suggested a psychological explanation for the dichotomy: “Unraveling the history of a phenemenon has always appealed to some people and describing the machinery of the phenomenon to others... The ecologist and physical scientist tend to be machinery oriented, whereas paleontologists and most biogeographers tend to be history oriented.”46 Without necessarily rejecting MacArthur's explanation, my study suggests a more complex relationship between taxonomic and ecological plant geographies. At the turn of the century a group of botanists self-consciously defined a new area of botanical research. These ecologists defined their new discipline in opposition to what they believed was a moribund, nineteenth-century, natural-history tradition. They turned from historically oriented, descriptive, taxonomic plant geography to experimental physiology. The new ecological plant geography was to focus on communities rather than on species, on proximate environmental causes rather than on historical explanations, and on physiological experiments rather than on morphological descriptions. As we look back, much of the “revolt from morphology” was rhetorical. Ecologists never completely replaced species as units of distribution, nor did they set geography on an explicitly physiological basis. Indeed, much of early ecological research was, quite simply, descriptive. Plant communities were defined in terms of dominant species, representative life forms, or general physiognomy. The underlying physiological basis for community characteristics was more often assumed than demonstrated by experiments. Despite the fact that ecological plant geography was not a truly physiological specialty, it was significantly different from more traditional taxonomic plant geography. First, ecologists were less explicitly evolutionary in their approach than were taxonomists. Following Darwin, most taxonomic plant geographers viewed distribution in historical terms. In contrast, early ecologists tended to ignore the traditional geographic problems. Most ecologists were skeptical of historical explanations, emphasizing instead the proximate, environmental causes of distribution. While some nineteenth-century biogeographers had studied the correlation between climate and vegetation, twentieth-century ecologists focused much more sharply on the interactions between plant and environment. Plant ecologists did not place biogeography on a physiological basis, but by emphasizing physiology they laid the foundation for a more detailed understanding of adaption. This emphasis on physiology and environmental causation was a second distinguishing characteristic of ecological plant geography. Finally, the idea of the plant community, articulated by Eugenius Warming in 1895, provided ecologists with a unique perspective on the distribution of plants. For early ecologists, the community was more than an assemblage of species; it was an integrated unit. The distribution of these units became the major focus of ecological plant geography. Communities never completely replaced species as geographic units, and the distinction between flora and vegetation was often blurred. Nonetheless, ecologists were innovative in studying the distribution of structurally and functionally integrated groups of plants. In the twentieth century plant geography has occupied an anomalous position in biology. It has not developed into an autonomous discipline, nor has it been incorporated into the developing discipline of ecology. Ecologists and taxonomists have pursued fairly distinct styles of geographic research, with the result that two relatively independent approaches to the study of plant distribution have persisted.

Notes: Conclusion We should now be able to come to some general conclusions about the main lines of Cuvier's development as a naturalist after his departure from Normandy. We have seen that Cuvier arrived in Paris aware of the importance of physiology in classification, yet without a fully worked out idea of how such an approach could organize a whole natural order. He was freshly receptive to the ideas of the new physiology developed by Xavier Bichat. Cuvier arrived in a Paris also torn by many overlapping debates on the nature of classification, and in particular that between the natural and artificial systems. The very validity of the enterprise of classification was questioned in many quarters. Cuvier's achievement on his entry into the Parisian world of science was not simply to establish himself as a highly competent anatomist: far more important, he also began to use ideas from many different specialties to change completely the notion of what was involved in natural history.124 At the same time that he himself swung away from the guiding image of the field naturalist as the ideal of the specialty, he took ideas from the new physiology to answer questions about the order of the animal world, and from comparative anatomy to resurrect extinct creation — and to come to conclusions from that creation about the history of the forms of life and the manner of their succession. He showed himself able to alter the relationships between natural history and many other fields of study in a way that implied, rightly or wrongly, his own complete mastery over such a movement. Partly he was able to do this because the ideas he borrowed were not themselves logically articulated and thus could be easily adapted and refocused for many different specific purposes. The value of the heuristic possibilities inherent in the idea of life, for example, far outweighed its inability to generate full systems of classification. Cuvier also consistently refused to consider in science matters relating to the first causes of events. Freed from the consideration of first-order phenomena, he was able to use second-order explanations across a far wider field of applicability. Personal doubts about the validity of a theology that had used science in order to bolster its own claims were combined here with the strong influence of the Kantian critique of the limits of human reason.125 Cuvier's characteristic mode of procedure was that of intellectual appropriation and a bold capacity for altering the relationships between different fields of knowledge, rather than, with the exception of taxonomy, the technique of expanding their subject matter. His claims to originality came, first, from this reappropriation and reorientation and, second, from the sheer scope of his work, which aimed at nothing less than the cataloging and classification of all animate objects.126 They rested also on his acute use of his assertion of a certain relationship with the past of his subject. Very often he would present this history in such a way as to obscure his own intellectual genealogy, and often too he would give differing accounts of the priority of use of an idea in order to distract attention from the questionable exactitude of his own claims to originality. Cuvier came to Paris at precisely the time when society and institutions were most profitably malleable for a newcomer; it was also a time when many scientific disciplines had reached a stage advanced in terms of their factual content, yet relatively inadequate in conceptual organization. They were ripe for takeover by large-scale organizing ideas such as the animal economy and the subordination of characteristics. Paleontology is a particularly good example of a specialty in this particular form of underdevelopment in 1795. Cuvier paid a high price for his initial success. His electic applications of large-scale organizing ideas tended to mean that little of his own work had complete coherence at all levels. Ideas, as we have seen, that proved capable of providing a complete reform of the larger groups of the animal kingdom were incapable of producing its detailed working-out in the taxonomy of smaller groups, which had to be supplied from observed analogical correlations. Further, his physiological approach to classification involved the breakdown of strict correspondence between organs and functions, which left the way open for workers such as Geoffroy St. Hilaire gradually to tilt the balance away from the study of the correlations of hierarchies of functions, and toward morphology as the basis of the order of nature. Cuvier's brilliant appropriations from physiology from the beginning, therefore, contained the seeds of conflict with Geoffroy. Cuvier's eclectic approach made it very nearly impossible for him to present a clear idea of the ways in which the life sciences could be said to be lawful. In spite of his efforts to assimilate them to the position of the physical sciences in this respect, he was forced in the end to accord only an ambiguous status as “laws” to observational correlations. From this area of failure came much of the attempt to give his own two laws — the correlation of parts and the subordination of characteristics — predictive qualities, particularly in relation to paleontological research. It is not surprising that Cuvier's title as the “legislator” of natural history should represent more a claim than a reality. How, then, was he able to emerge as the leading French naturalist of his day? First of all must be adduced the sheer scale of his undertakings. Then comes his expertise as a practical anatomist, and the range of different topics toward which he turned his interest. His collaborators cannot be given credit for his output nor, as we have seen, for slavish adherence to his ideas. Cuvier was able to successfully claim to have dominated the underdeveloped specialties, such as paleontology, and turned them into a major heuristic input into both geology and comparative anatomy; but in other fields, such as physiology, he appropriated concepts and encouraged research but made little impact on the field himself. His attempts in 1812 to head off, or neutralize and absorb the growth of morphological studies landed him in a dangerously rigid position, which despite his encouragement of the new physiological research under the Restoration made further elaboration of his own conceptual underpinnings almost impossible. Cuvier's authority in the scientific world would in any case have been great because of his substantive achievement in taxonomy, but the rest of his work had enough ambiguities and dislocations for it to need the support of his political and social power. Cuvier's detractors seized on a vital fragment of the truth when they accused him of finding the political dimension all-important: it obscured the disjunctions in his theories and at the same time gave him the authority to make new claims for the status of the observational sciences - and for their relations of power with their surrounding specialties. Cuvier's science both thrived on and was halted by the power games of intellectual appropriation, manipulation of the past to confirm the present, and continual claims for hegemony.

Notes: Abstract The specialty of collagen research is tracked over a ten year period, 1970–1979, using the methodology of co-citation cluster strings. Independently obtained annual clusters are linked together over time by the percentage of highly cited documents countinuing from year to year. All inter-year links are clustered by single-linkage to form the strings, one of which corresponds to the collagen specialty. Maps of the individual year clusters within the string reveal an alternating pattern of expansion/innovation followed by contraction/consolidation. At the same time the subject focus of research gradually shifts. The institutional affiliation and funding sources for highly cited documents show a trend from early dominance by a few institutions and sources to a multiplicity and collaboration of centers and sources later on, due in part to the migration of researchers from an initially dominant institution.

Notes: Abstract Some bibliometric methods for the assessment of the publication activity of research units are discussed on the basis of impact factors and citations of papers. “Average subfield impact factor” of periodicals representing subfields in chemistry is suggested. This indicator characterizes the average citedness of a paper in a given subfield. Comparing the total sum of impact factors of corresponding periodicals divided by the number of papers published by a research team to the average subfield impact factor a “publication strategy” indicator can be derived. A new bibliometric indicator, “relative subfield impact”, is introduced which compares the number of citations received by papers of a research unit to the average subfield impact factor.

Notes: Abstract Scientific output in the Caribbean and Latin American countries was studied examining the publications indexed by the Institute for Scientific Information which conform the mainstream literature. The growth patterns of first-authors-publishing-scientific-papers coming from the five most productive countries of the region were determined. In addition, the scientific publications from each country of the region, as indexed in 1981, were classified per field. It was found that most of the research was done in the life sciences area. However, the small scientific output observed in all fields appears insufficient to assure a positive role of science for the best overall development of each individual society. This situation may reflect a lack of support for the progress of science in these countries and therefore political commitment towards this purpose is considered to be of particular importance.

Notes: Abstract Ranking of scientific periodicals by the method of citation counting provides valueable information about the degree of importance of the ranked periodicals. But such lists suffer from some inherent limitations. This paper discusses various pitfalls of traditional ranking lists and suggests, as a remedial measure, three new bibliometric parameters, namely, (1) scientific interest of a journal in relation to total number of articles published; (2) compactness of information content in a scientific periodical; and (3) scientific value of the papers in relation to compactness of presentation. It is believed that these new parameters, whenever applied to any traditional ranking list, will help to identify the accurate positions of different scientific journals of the parent list in order of their usefulness and importance. As a case study these parameters have been applied to the first ten core journals of biochemistry identified earlier and a revised reranked order of the titles presented and discussed.

Notes: Abstract A collection of 1316 articles authored by Cuban scientists and published in the period 1950 to 1983 was assembled. The 18 991 bibliographic references in these papers were examined to identify factors that might influence the sources cited by Cuban scientists over the entire period. Degree of collaboration, place of publication and subject matter were among the factors considered. The major objective was to study the effect that the change in political alignment of Cuba (from Western bloc to Eastern bloc influence) has had on the sources cited. It was found that citation to Eastern bloc countries has greatly increased in the period since Castro assumed power. However, no corresponding decline in citation to Western bloc countries can be discerned.

Notes: Abstract The problem addressed concerns the conditions that foster productivity among natural scientists in a large research laboratory. We take several variables identified as important in two major perspectives in the literature on productivity, and use these variables to construct a causal model. Using path analysis, we test the model by employing data from a sample of 295 scientists working at an atomic research facility in West Germany. In general, educational level of the scientists has an important, positive impact on productivity; years of service has a varying and more modest positive effect. Rank of the scientist has an intermediate positive impact on productivity; psychological factors have a negligible effect. Finally, the influence the scientist has on his research endeavors has a modest positive impact on productivity.

Notes: Abstract Using data collected for a sample of 69 Dutch physicists, the present study employs a multivariate approach in order to re-examine the Ortega hypothesis. Stated succinctly, the Ortega hypothesis maintains that, in large measure, science has progressed through the efforts of many quite average scientists. Based on a combined citation search of 2763 source and reference authors, eminent scientists are shown to cite other eminent scientists, although not to the extent reported among American physicists in earlier research by theColes. The tendency for eminent scientists to cite other eminent scientists is a rather recent occurrence in The Netherlands, and may signal a major trend in the differential allocation of facilities and resources which, in turn, impact on the development of science in that country. In addition to the citation rate of source author's year of article's publication and length of source author's professional experience, are also shown to be significantly related to the eminence of reference authors cited, thereby signaling caution concerning rejection of the Ortega hypothesis.

Notes: Abstract The following kinds of data were collected on three samples of cancer research literature representing three levels of quality: (1) collaboration as measured by the number of authors per paper, (2) quantitative productivity of countries, (3) diachronous citations covering the first five years of publication, (4) total self-citations, (5) proportions of self-citations made by first-named authors, and (6) the extent of dispersion of articles among journals. Analyses showed that as the number of authors per paper increases, the proportion of high quality papers also increases and the Collaborative Index can be used to measure quality in the aggregate. It was found that the quantity and quality of cancer research done in a country are positively related. All analyses of the citation data confirmed the hypotheses that highly rated papers are significantly more highly cited than average papers and the rates of uncitedness decline with quality. The proportion of self-citations to total citations decreases with increasing quality and, on average, first-named authors of quality papers cite them proportionally fewer times than first-named authors of run-of-the mill papers do. This study also shows that, as quality increases, the extent of literature scatter or dispersion increases.

Notes: Abstract The origin of information for 5 genetics journals was traced for the years 1975, 1978 and 1982. Maps of the interrelationships between cited journals indicate that the information for genetics journals originates with the biochemical journals and passes down to the genetics journals via the multidisciplinary science journals. The 5 genetics journals can be divided into 2 levels: Level 1 — those journals that never cite each other but cite level 2 journals; Level 2 — those journals that serve as a source of information for level 1 journals. The use of level 2 journals by level 1 journals declines from 1975 to 1982 because of a decline in citations by two of the level 1 journals.

Notes: Abstract Studies on the life-span of past scientists according to data of theChronicle of Major Events of Natural Sciences have found that the age of optimum peak value of scientific discovery is about half the peak value of their life-span. Achievements of those scientists who made a name before 25 years old are 44 percent more than average and their life efficiency is 1.7 times that of the average. Therefore it is an effective measure to train prococious scientists for a nation in her strive to catch up with or surpass world level in science.

Notes: Abstract This paper reports an investigation into the referencing pattern of Brazilian agricultural scientists. The study was based on the use of both quantitative data-citations appearing in a sizeable sample of articles published by these scientists—and qualitative data-interviews with a large number of scientists who authored the source, papers. The aim was to explore the extent to which citation counts may be taken as valid indicators of the quality, influence or impact of published scientific knowledge in the general context of a scientifically peripheral country. The findings presented confirm the view that in this context, citation patterns are significantly influenced by factors “external” to the scientific realm and, thus, reflect neither simply the quality, influence nor even the impact of the research work referred to.

Notes: Abstract This section ofScientometrics will carry fresh and reliable news of people, programs, recent and forthcoming meetings and publications etc. Its effectiveness depends greatly on your assistance. Items for inclusion should be submitted to the Coordinating Editor, Dr. J.Farkas.

Notes: Abstract Measurement of the effectiveness of science policies is analyzed as a multi-level problem. Journal-journal citations are discussed as a potential candidate for a domain beyond the control of policy-makers and authors or research groups and therefore may function as a relatively stable and easily accessible baseline for the ‘calibration’ of outputs and outcomes of science policy. A method is developed, usingSCPsJCRs which is then applied to the two cases of water pollution and humanisation of labor. This method can also be used as a simple indicator for the development of journal-journal citation patterns over time.

Notes: Abstract Brannigan andWanner argue that the empirical distribution of multiple grades can be more adequately explained in terms of a negative contagious poisson model. This alternative is based on a Zeitgeist theory which places emphasis on the role of communication in scientific discovery. Nonetheless, a detailed analysis indicates the following: (a) mathematically, the simple Poisson is the limiting case of the contagious Poisson when the contagion parameter approaches zero; (b) empirically, the mean and variance are so nearly equal (i. e., the contagion effect is very small) that predictions from the contagious Poisson are virtually equivalent to those of the simple Poisson; (c) in particular, both distributions predict that multiples are less common than singletons and even nulltons, the latter occurring with a probability of over one third (thereby implying that chance plays a much bigger part than Zeitgeist or maturational theories would suggest); (d) estimates from theSimonton, Merton, andOgburn-Thomas data sets all concur that the contagion effect is not only small, but positive besides, yielding a modest positive contagious Poisson that contradicts the principal tenet of the communication interpretation.

Notes: Abstract This section ofScientometrics will carry fresh and reliable news of people, progress, recent and forthcoming meetings and publications etc. Its effectiveness depends greatly on your assistance. Items for inclusion should be submitted to the Coordinating Editor, Dr. J.Farkas.

Notes: Abstract A schematic overview of the formal communication process is first presented. Emphasis is placed only on the specific functions and participants required to transfer article manuscripts from the author to the reader of scientific journals. For the description of this process a mathematical model based on generalized nets (GN) is then proposed. Some advantages of the GN as compared to other models are shown. Model application is not included since the programme package which realizes the GN is in a stage of preparation.

Notes: Abstract A new indicator, called thepublication potential, is proposed to measure scientific strength of different countries. The indicator is based onSCI author counts and publication frequency distributions. Not depending on national statistical reports, it avoids the ambiguities of statistical definitions and methods, thereby providing a solid ground for cross-national comparisons. Publication based and statistical survey data for 34 countries are compared and some of the most conspicuous discrepancies are pinpointed.

Notes: Abstract A longitudinal study of ten Mexican research areas was carried out in the late 1970s. In the study, research institutions were classified by a group of experts as primary and secondary, depending on the quality and quantity of research output. New institutions created during this time period were also classified as primary or secondary. Examination of the data shows a greater growth in the number of research personnel in primary institutions, evidence of uneven distribution of resources. Furthermore, due to the high turnover of qualified personnel observed in secondary institutions, they are at a disadvantage in forming mature, stable research groups, and are often precluded from becoming first rate research center. Since the national science and technology system does not facilitate the movement of institutions from secondary to primary positions, it is recommended that whenever a new institution is created, it should be provided with appropriate resources, both human and material, to make sure it will be considered as first rank from its inception. Also, in order to reduce the gap between primary and secondary institutions, long range strategies, including the provision of high quality researchers, should be developed to facilitate the upgrading of the secondary institutions.

Notes: Abstract This paper presents the results of a study of Britain's scientific performance in the fields of ocean currents and protein crystallography carried out for the Advisory Board for the Research Councils (ABRC). Using a range of publication and citation indicators, the study aimed to explore the potential value to science policy-making of low-cost scientometric approaches to research evaluation.

Notes: Abstract Cross-field comparison ofscientometric indicators 1 is severely hindered by the differences in publication and citation habits of science fields. However, relating publication and citation indicators to proper field-specific reference standards,relative indicators can be built, which may prove rather useful in the comparative assessment of scientists, groups, institutions or countries. The use ofrelational charts in displaying the indicators broadens the scope of such assessments. Relative indicators of chemistry research in 25 countries are presented as an illustrative example.

Notes: Abstract A method of using of commonly available online services for bibliometric studies is demonstrated. Distributions of papers by subfield, time, author and journal can be generated almost instantly and at very low cost. This article gives information on how to perform such studies.

Notes: Abstract A viewpoint is given, according to which, addivitity may be defined only at the intuition level and quantitative latent variables are “origin additive”. The proposed solution to the non-additivity problem consists in restricting quantitative indicator scales by the so-called “natural”, in particular, open scales.

Notes: Abstract The publications by the Spanish scientists recorded in eight international databases in the years 1978 and 1983 are retrieved. Science indicators able to give a perception of the scientific productivity, the institutions involved, the habits of publishing in foreign or domestic journals and co-authorship are presented. The changes observed in these indicators in the two analysed years are examined and the trend in the evolution of the Spanish science is shown. The time delay in recording items by the databases and coverage of the Spanish journals are also studied.

Notes: Abstract This paper presents an empirical study of the relations between scientific output and collaboration performed on two scales: (1) an individual scale, for members of a study model, and (2) a group scale, for three samples varying in the level of productivity. The rank approach was applied in the preparation of the study model resulting in the selection of a set of the most prolific authors. In the course of that process, multiple authorship problem was solved by a dual approach, consisting of “normal count” and “modified straight count” procedures. As shown by the analysis of collaborative patterns, either on individual or on group scales, scientific output is highly dependent on the frequency of collaboration among the same authors. Expressed as “the collaboration measure”, it might serve as an indicator in comparative analyses of scientific productivity in a given field of science.

Notes: Abstract The acceptance rate of articles which are collaboratively authored tends to be higher than that for single-authored papers, thereby suggesting a generally positive relationship between collaboration and quality. The analysis of ten-year citation rates of 270 randomly selected articles in three applied fields likewise shows a similar relationship, with somewhat higher citation frequencies for multi-authored papers than for single-authored ones. The relationships persist whether self-citations are included or excluded. However, these differences are not statistically significant for articles in clinical psychology or in educational measurement. Only multi-authored articles in management science show a statistically significant higher citation rate. Other aspects of the collaborative process and effects are discussed.

Notes: Abstract The communication behaviour of Belgian university scientists is investigated over the period of 1977–1979. For 5 broad scientific domains the general characteristics are given and the distribution of the scientists over groups with 1 to 20 communications per three year is discussed. For two domains, Arts and Basic Sciences, an analysis is given of constituent disciplines. The present investigation presents a background profile of the communication activities, enabling evaluation of extreme activity in the disciplines discussed.

Notes: Abstract Two major interpretations of multiples have been offered, the traditional one based on the scientific zeitgeist, the more recent one based on chance processes. To clarify the issues involved in any plausible explanation, six successive Monte Carlo simulations were developed. Though all models started with the same underlying probabilistic mechanism, several elaborations were introduced, including exhaustion, communication of both successes and failures, and variation in success probability. The models yield the same probability distribution for multiple grades, but they disagree on the frequency of nulltons. Additional Gedanken experiments dealt with the zeitgeist notions of a causal link between potential contributions.

Notes: Abstract This section ofScientometrics will carry fresh and reliable news of people, programs, recent and forthcoming meetings and publications, etc. Its effectiveness depends greatly on your assistance. Items for inclusion should be submitted to the Coordinating Editor, Dr.J. Farkas.

Notes: Abstract Patent information on 7392 inventors who received 9 or more U.S. Patents during 1975–84 was obtained. Analysis of the frequency distribution of patents per inventor reveals an approximately logarithmic decline from 9 to approximately 45 patents per inventor. The rate of decline decreases significantly for patent output above 45 patents per inventor. Patent citation analysis on 45 randomly selected inventors was performed. This sample included inventors who received from 9 to over 100 patents. The group received 1.79 citations per patent, 56.8% of the patents received at least 1 citation, and 2.7% of the patents received 10 or more citations. No statistically significant differences for these averages was found across the range of inventor patent output. No significant decline of patent quality with increased yearly patent output was observed.

Notes: Abstract 1460 items of literature in English on alcohol fuel, both technical and non-technical between 1901 and 1980 (only first quarter) collected and published as a bibliography by NAFIC, SERI (USA) were analysed. It was found that the growth pattern is befitting qualitatively with the epidemic growth model. Of the 1460 items, 828 are scattered in 288 journals. The pattern of scatter has been fitted in an empirical formula, a linear equation of the formR(r)=ar-b, whereR(r) is the Mean Relative Scatter (MRS) of the articles over a class of ranked journals in increasing productivity andr is the rank of the class,a andb are the arbitary constants. The formula, if deductively established, can serve as an effective alternative to Bradford's law.

Notes: Abstract This section ofScientometrics will carry fresh and reliable news or people, programs, recent and forthcoming meetings and publications, etc. Its effectiveness depends greatly on your assistance. Items for inclusion should be submitted to the Coordinating Editor, Dr.J. Farkas.

Notes: Abstract With a view toward a system of science indicators which is flexible, appropriate, and unambiguous, a brief discussion is given of the theory of classification. This is then applied to three situations arising in input indicators for science, and it is shown how the presently used formalism for such indicators could be improved and thus eliminate unnecessary disputes in the practical application of such indicators.

Notes: Abstract This section of Scientometrics will carry fresh and reliable news of people, progress, recent and forthcoming meetings and publications etc. Its effectiveness depends greatly on your assistance. Items for inclusion should be submitted to the Coordinating Editor, Dr. J.Farkas.

Notes: Abstract Scientific results of empirical research depend on the methods used. The selection of empirical methods by scientists is not solely determined by the subject of research or by theory. Social and historical (in our investigation national) conditions also affect the application of methods. This hypothesis has been corroborated with the help of journals in psychology, psychiatry, and sociology from different countries. The national impact on method preference varies among these disciplines. Conclusions are drawn concerning the generalizability of empirical results beyond disciplines and beyond countries.

Notes: Abstract This section ofScientometrics will carry fresh and reliable news on people, programs, recent and forthcoming meetings and publications, etc. Its effectiveness depends greatly on your assistance. Items for inclusion should be submitted to the Coordinating Editor, Dr. J.Farkas.

Notes: Abstract This paper analyses the phenomenon when a publication referring to the oeuvre of a research group (i.e. all the articles published by its members) cites several articles rather than one article from that oeuvre (multiple citations, MC). It is shown that significant differences exist between research groups with respect to the frequency at which MC to their respective oeuvres occur, and that these differences affect to some extent rankings of these groups based on citation counts. In order to find an explanation for our results, four factors are discussed: (1) the impact of a research group; (2) mutual multiple citing arrangements; (3) the size of a group's oeuvre and (4): the degree of common intellectual interest between the research activities in a group. No definite conclusions can be drawn yet on the extent to which these factors are responsible for the observed patterns in the MC frequency. We conclude however that attempts to identify ‘top’ or ‘sub-top’ groups in comparative evaluations based on citation analysis should be performed with the greatest care.

Notes: Abstract In a recent paper1 Burrell shows that libraries with lower average borrowings tend to require a larger proportion of their collections to account for 80% of the borrowings, than those with higher average borrowings. In that study, the underlying frequency distribution was a negative binomial. We are dealing with a case when the underlying distribution is of Lotka type. It is also shown that the “80/20-effect” is much stronger in this case.

Notes: Abstract This study is a quantitative survey of the emergence of organic chemistry in India during the first two decades covered byChemical Abstracts. Chemists that were conducting research in this country were separated in three distincts groups, on the basis of their cultural identity and of their educational background. Important disparities between these three groups have been stated, both in terms of research fields and in terms of publication outlets.

Notes: Abstract It is examined to what extent the corollaries of the earlier proposed solution to the non-additivity problem are urgent for modern quantitative science studies. The role of non-linear transformations of indicators and closed scales in these studies is discussed. The distribution statistics and the coefficients of interconnection are investigated for their additivity. The possibilities of empirical verification of the proposed conception of additivity are also considered.

Notes: Abstract The scientific output of major institutions in Thailand was examined from the number of international publications covered byScience Citation Index (SCI), publications inJournal of the Science Society of Thailand (J. Sci. Soc. Thailand) and abstracts presented at the annual symposium of the Science Society of Thailand. A good correlation (r=0.92) was observed between the number of publications covered bySCI and inJournal of the Science Society of Thailand, while a poorer correlation (r=0.73) was observed between the former and the number of symposium abstracts.

Notes: Abstract Patterns of migration among disciplines and specialties are examined using data from a large survey of U. S. Ph. D. s in a broad range of fields. Mappings of scholarly fields are derived from the migration patterns and these mappings are largely consistent with results from previous studies using citation flows and other measures of field similarities. Migration patterns suggest that there are two boundaries dividing the fields in this analysis, and that hierarchical relations among disciplines are weak or absent. In contrast, specialties within a discipline are more likely to exhibit structural hierarchies.

Notes: Abstract A scientometric method is developed for studying the intersectional communications at scientific conferences. As an example, a series of multisectional Heat and Mass Transfer Conferences held in Minsk, USSR, during the years 1961–1980 are considered. The clusters of the interplay between the sections are constructed on the basis of the data from the registration cards of the Conference participants. Teh matrix of the topical interrelation of sections enables one to calculate the coefficient of the information impact of a section. A comparison of this coefficient with the resource indicators of sections makes it possible to grade the scientific justification of planning a series of multisectional scientific conferences.

Notes: Abstract This paper is based on theSource Book in Astronomy and Astrophysics 1900–1975 which is considered representative of the pioneer research work in the field. The distribution of important scientific achievements over a certain period, their distribution by subject area and sources, single or multiple authorship and age of techniques relevant to these areas are quantitatively examined. In some cases results are obtained as known from the analysis of the overall output of the sciences (including astronomy). As regards, however, the frequency of published important papers and the role of the latest technique pioneer achievements differ significantly from the total of scientific publications.

Notes: Abstract The behaviour of information flows in multicomponent polymer systems over the 1979–1983 period is analyzed. It has been found that this field of science obeys general relationships valid for other established sciences. Its special features are a high concentration of information (only 9 journals) and a wide scatter of papers among a great number of peripheral journals. The doubling times for papers and journals as well as the doubling period for papers in a single journal have been determined, they are 3.2, 4.6 and 5.6 years respectively.

Notes: Abstract The publications produced in a medical research institute in a 16 year interval were classified into five categories (scientific papers in the journals covered byCurrent Contents orScience Citation Index, scientific papers in other journals, books and monographs, technical papers, congress and symposia communications) and counted for each year separately. The number of researchers and yearly budgets were also recorded. The data were analysed by contingency table, correlation and factor-analytical methods. It was shown that, upon introducing quantitative minimal criteria for job promotions, the proportion of scientific papers increased. Principal component analysis indicated that the data can be approximately represented as linear combinations of three mutually independent factors. The approach used is recommended for evaluating the production of scientific information in research institutions and for assessing the effects of the measures of scientific policy.

Notes: Abstract A study was performed to determine whether the quality of journal articles declines as one moves through successively less productive Bradford zones. Two measures of qualityrate of citation and expert judgement-were used. It was found that articles in the least productive zone were cited significantly less than those in the most productive zone. However, experts did not judge them to be of lesser quality.