Abstract
In 1980, Brookes challenged information scientists to study the interactions between Poppenan Worlds 2 and 3, to describe and explain their interactions and thereby enhance the organi zation of knowledge rather than documents. Recent theoretical contributions to bibliometrics are seen, in part, as responding to this call. We study and classify such contributions, discuss their reasonableness, appropriateness and exactness, using the decision maker/end user-oriented focus. Because of similari ties in the application of mathematical abstractions to econom ics and to information science, we discuss the possible eco nomic implications of some recent contributions and the con straints on their application, and offer suggestions for their application particularly in the Third World where "it is cer tainly the case that information science has hardly ever been recognized".
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