George A. Barnett

Physical Distance and Language as Determinants of the International Telecommunications Network

The language of the inhabitants of an individual country and its physical location may be viewed as antecedent conditions which predict a nations position in the international telecommunications network. Survey data published in The Worlds Telephones are used to describe this network during the 1980s. The results of a network analysis suggest that the worlds communication network may be described as a star with a hub and three spokes, one for Latin America, one for Europe and a third for Asia and the Middle East. Language occupied an important position on each spoke, Spanish in Latin America, German in Europe and English in Asia. They further suggest that language has a major impact on international telecommunications accounting for nearly 28 percent of the networks structure; physical location explained over 17 percent of the structure. Together, these two factors accounted for 36.2 percent of the variance in the networks structure.

An examination of the international telecommunication network

(1996). An examination of the international telecommunication network. The Journal of International Communication: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 19-43.

A Mathematical Model of Academic Citation Age

Using citation data, this article examines the pattern of diffusion in the academic literatures of science, the social sciences, and the arts and humanities. An examination of the citations from a given year to the year in which the cited article was published shows that the initial level of citations starts out small and then increases, reaching a peak in less than two years. It then gradually decreases as articles age. A mathematical model is developed to describe this pattern, which is compared to a linear model. The model explains between 97.2% and 99.2% of the variance, depending on the data set, with the parameters for science and the social sciences being remarkably similar. Based on this model, we find that the age at which citation reaches a maximum is lowest for the arts and humanities, next for science, and last for the social sciences. The peak in the proportion of citations is greatest for science, followed by the social sciences and the arts and humanities. Problems in the model led to an examination of one source of historical change in citation practice. We find that the number of citations per article per year has increased systematically over time. Diffusion research is discussed in light of the utility of the citation model.

A multidimensional analysis of the 1976 presidential campaign

This article examines the 1976 presidential election campaign through the use of metric multidimensional scaling. Attitudes of a 20‐subject panel were measured weekly for a period of 12 weeks. A series of direct pair comparisons were made among the issues, political parties, candidates, candidate attributes, and the self. Results indicate that (1) voters attitudes toward the candidates, issues and parties stabilized after the election, (2) the first two debates were the most important events of the campaign, and (3) their greatest effects were felt with a lag of between one and two weeks after the events.

DECAYING INTEREST IN BURGLARY PREVENTION, RESIDENCE ON A BLOCK WITH AN ACTIVE BLOCK CLUB AND COMMUNICATION LINKAGE: A ROUTINE ACTIVITIES APPROACH

ABSTRACT Many burglary prevention programs have problems keeping participants actively involved, but the nature of this decay in interest and what leads up to it remain largely unknown. Longitudinal, aggregated data from a ratio-level multidimensional scaling show that such decay increases with the proportion of residents livmg on a block with an active block club and with the number of neighbors with whom residents discuss what is going on in the neighborhood. To curb decay, the analysis suggests programs should encourage residents to participate routinely in activities that stimulate continued interest in burglary prevention.