Multiple authorship is the listing of more than one person as author of an article in the scholarly literature. Editors, researchers, and others in science publishing have raised concerns about the increasing number of authors being listed per article, the practice of "honorary authorship" (listing as an author someone who made little or no contribution to the work being reported), and the danger of the dilution of responsibility when many authors are involved. The authors studied multiauthorship in the two most popular English-language journals on radiation oncology, examining 1,908 papers and letters published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics (IJROBP) and Radiotherapy and Oncology (RO) from 1983 through 1987. There was no increase in the number of authors per article during this period, when the median number for IJROBP was four and that for RO was three. The number of authors varied by type of article, by country (France had the largest median number, six for IJROBP and five for RO), and by the authors' institution. The first author's gender was unrelated to the number of subsequent authors for an article. The proportion of men first authors varied widely between countries and institutions. Possible explanations for these variations include the multidisciplinary nature and complexity of some forms of research, institutional policies concerning the use of authorship as a commodity of exchange, and social-cultural factors.

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A 51-year-old male with profound retardation and an 11-year history of rumination was treated using a simple intervention that included shaping, time-out, and stimulus control. An A-B-A-B design was used to evaluate treatment. Results indicated that the mean rate of rumination decreased from an average of 16.1 times per day during baseline to less than once per day at the conclusion of treatment. The potential prosocial effects of eliminating rumination and the implications of using less aversive interventions for serious and potentially life-threatening disorders in individuals with developmental disabilities are discussed. Correspondence may be addressed to the first author at P.O. Drawer GE, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA by e-mail at TSWQRa. MsState.Edu., or by phone at (601)325-3815.The authors wish to thank Dr. Chris Skinner for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Our appreciation is also extended to the hospital staff who assisted in data collection and treatment implementation.