In describing his motivations for developing this more general model, Wilson (2005)
remarks that “curiously, the models presented in the 1981 paper, although frequently
cited, were not elaborated upon to any significant extent by other researchers”. This, to
my mind, illustrates a rather general problem in the development of theory in the
information sciences. Many researchers seem to prefer to develop their own models or
frameworks from scratch, rather than to test and develop established models. This
may reflect a humanistic, rather than scientific approach to the subject, or may simply
be a result of the number of possible external sources (psychology, ethnology,
communication theory, sociology, etc.) from which valid-seeming information models
may be drawn. Or, taking a cynical stance, it may simply be a measure of the extra
academic kudos to be gained from developing and publishing one’s own model, rather
than validating and improving someone else’s.