Browsing by Subject "Diffusion of innovations"
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Item Competencies, Importance, and Motivations for Agricultural Producers' Use of Online Communications(2013-05) Shaw, Kelsey E; Meyers, Courtney; Doerfert, David; Irlbeck, EricaFarmer demographics are drastically changing and it is essential that farmers and ranchers are taking the story of agriculture directly to the consumer. Online communication tools may serve as a tool for this farmer to consumer communication. The purpose of this study was to determine agriculturists’ use of online communication tools. The target population for this study was members of organizations targeting beginning farmers and ranchers in Texas, Illinois, and Georgia. An online survey was administered electronically to members of seven organizations, and 185 completed questionnaires were analyzed for this study. It was determined that agriculturists of all levels of experience are not currently utilizing online communication tools to their full potential, for either business or personal reasons. Additionally, several specific training needs were identified regarding these tools. A wide variety of motivations and barriers were identified that might encourage or discourage agriculturists from attending future training sessions.Item Diffusion process: a behavioral approach towards examining the speed of diffusion of an industrial innovation(Texas Tech University, 1982-08) Lund, Daulatram BalramdasNot availableItem Family and consumer sciences teachers' attitudes toward and stages of adoption of information technology(Texas Tech University, 2000-05) Williams, Robert LoydThe purpose of this study was to assess Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) teachers' attitudes toward five innovations of information technology (email. World Wide Web, multimedia, computers for professional productivity, and computers for classroom use) and determine what relationships, if any, existed between demographic and program variables and teachers' attitudes. The Diffusion of Innovations Theory was used to guide the study. Evidence of Texas FCS teachers' attitudes toward information technology or their adoption of information technology has been unreported in the literature. Texas FCS teachers' attitudes toward information technology were assessed, during the fall of 1999, using the researcher-modified Teachers' Attitude Toward Information Technology Questionnaire. Data were used to identify barriers to adoption and potential incentives to increase the rate of adoption, and to determine where FCS teachers in Texas perceived themselves with regard to the stages of adoption of information technology. Texas FCS teachers had favorable attitudes toward information technology Relationships between demographic variables and attitudes toward specific innovations of information technology were identified. The majority of respondents were in the advanced stages of adoption for each of the five innovations. Over half of the respondents used one or more of the innovations at home and in the classroom. The lack of time to use and learn technology, need for more training, and limited availability of computers were the most frequently reported barriers to adoption. The most frequently reported incentives to adoption included more time to use and learn, technology training, and increased availability of computers. The number of Texas FCS teachers who have adopted information technology has reached critical mass. Results of the study have implications for preservice and inservice FCS teachers, as well as other stakeholders in the field of Family and Consumer Sciences Education.Item Innovativeness and risk-taking characteristics of owners of earth-sheltered homes(Texas Tech University, 1986-05) Arledge, Patricia HarmonyNot availableItem The rationalities behind the adoption of cyberinfrastructure for e-science in the early 21st century U.S.A.(2010-08) Kee, Kerk Fong; Browning, Larry D.; Ballard, Dawna I.; Boisseau, John R.; Rice, Ronald E.; Stephens, Keri K.Based on grounded theory and thematic analysis of 70 in-depth interviews conducted over 32 months (from November 2007 to June 2010) with domain scientists, computational technologists, supercomputer center administrators, program officers at the National Science Foundation, social scientists, policy analysts, and industry experts, this dissertation explores the rationalities behind initial adoption of cyberinfrastructure for e-science in the early 21st century U.S. This dissertation begins with Research Question 1 (i.e., how does cyberinfrastructure's nature influence its adoption process in early 21st century U.S.?) and identifying four areas of challenging conditions to reveal a lack of trialability/observability (due to the participatory/bespoke nature), a lack of simplicity (due to the meta/complex characteristic), a lack of perceived compatibility (due to the disruptive/revolutionary quality), and a lack of full control (due to the community/network property). Then analysis for Research Question 2 (i.e., what are the rationalities that drive cyberinfrastructure adoption in early 21st century U.S.?) suggests that there are three primary driving rationalities behind adoption. First, the adoption of cyberinfrastructure as a meta-platform of interrelated technologies is driven by the perceived need for computational power, massive storage, multi-scale integration, and distributed collaboration. Second, the adoption of cyberinfrastructure as an organizational/behavioral practice is driven by its relative advantages to produce quantitative and/or qualitative benefits that increase the possibility of major publications and scientific reputations. Third, the adoption of cyberinfrastructure as a new approach to science is driven and maintained by shared visions held by scientists, technologists, professional networks, and scientific communities. Findings suggests that initial adoption by pioneering users was driven by the logic of quantitative and qualitative benefits derived from optimizing cyberinfrastructure resources to enable breakthrough science and the vision of what is possible for the entire scientific community. The logic was sufficient to drive initial adoption despite the challenging conditions that reveal the socio-technical barriers and risky time-investment. Findings also suggest that rationalization is a structuration process, which is sustained by micro individual actions and governed by macro community norms simultaneously. Based on Browning’s (1992) framework of organizational communication, I argue that cyberinfrastructure adoption in the early 21st century lies at the intersection of technical rationalities (i.e., perceived needs, relative advantages, and shared visions) and narrative rationalities (i.e., trialability, observability/communicability, simplicity, perceived compatibility, and full control).