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The gap between rich & poor countries is frequently viewed as increasing although no precise measurement of this gap has been effected. Here, the 'taxonomic distance' from an 'ideal country' is used as a composite index of relative development levels of particular countries. The difference between 2 X distances--1 for rich countries & 1 for poor ones--is applied as a composite measure of the developmental gaps between the 2 groups in a sample of 50 countries in 1955-1965. Countries were chosen on the basis of availability, estimability, & comparability of data; centrally planned economies had to be excluded, & "countries at the lowest development level are under-represented." The primary source of data was UN publications. The evolution of gap measures (standardized) is analyzed in 3 fields: (1) economic potential--per capita GNP & energy consumption, (2) mass media--radios, newspaper circulation, & TV sets per 1,000 population, & (3) high-level manpower potential--secondary & post-secondary student enrollments. The results show an acceleration in the rate of gap increases, & the underlying shifts in rank positions of particular countries in the years 1955, 1960, & 1965. Limitations of the results in terms of the validity & comparability of the original data are noted. 2 Tables, 5 Figures. Modified Author's Summary.

The data obtained from 3 successive polls taken during municipal elections in the ciy of Lodz show that the majority of voters were well informed about the municipal council's activities in the sphere of community life & held the municipal council responsible for bad living conditions. However there was little knowledge about, & presumably little interest in, pol'al aspects of the candidates or the method by which candidates were chosen. The preponderant majority declared their interest in the municipal council's activities. From the reasons given for interest or lack of interest, one can conclude that dissatisfaction with & negative attitude toward the council were accompanied by lack of interest ('passive negativism'), while only a very few people combined their negative attitude with a hostile interest in the council. The most important motivation for taking an interest in the council's activities was the hope of improvement in city living-conditions, accompanied by the feeling of dependence on the council's performance. The most common reason for the lack of such an interest was disillusionment about the prospects of improvement. Only a small number of R's thought of themselves as voters in terms of the theory of pol'al representation. AA-IPSA.