mean information field

In diffusion, the field in which contacts can occur. It generally takes the form of a square grid of 25 cells, with each cell being assigned a probability of being contacted. The possibility of contact is very high in the central cells from which the diffusion takes place, becoming markedly less so with distance from the centre, that is, there is a distance decay effect. The probability values for the field may be based on observation, on a pre-existing theory, or arbitrarily. The model can then be used to simulate the diffusion of an innovation from a central point. To use the model, the MIF is placed with the centre over the source. A random number is then used to find the cell containing the destination of the innovation. From this receiving cell a random number is again used to find the receptor of the second generation of diffusion. This model can be run through a computer to foresee complicated diffusions, but the workings of the model are based on many assumptions which do not apply in the real world.