Controlling Variation: Institutions As Model Reproduction Nurseries

Depew & Weber (1996: 395):
Controlling what counts as phenomena is a real function of research traditions…
In the evolution of models, a specific model is selected every time it is used. One general means of influencing the selection of a model is the teaching of specific variants in institutions so that they are reproduced widely across a population and passed on to succeeding generations of model users. As semiotically organised social systems, institutions also differentially reward model users, depending on the model they use. By conferring social status and/or material wealth on the users of their favoured models, institutions make the use of the model more likely in the social domains under their control.