Diffusion Of Innovation Framework Research Articles

Factors contributing to mature adult novices' computer skills learning: A case study in a community training program

AbstractInformation and communication technologies (ICT), such as computers, and the Internet have become increasingly vital tools in United States. People who lack the required skills to use these tools are at a growing disadvantage. Therefore, raising the information and communication technologies skill levels of information deprived people is a critical issue. Increasing the number of Americans using ICT is a fundamentally important national goal. The purpose of this study is to explore the adult novice computer learning. This study defines computer novices as people who have no knowledge or limited skills to perform basic computer functions, such as computer boot up, file opening, internet searching, and basic word processing. Over the last couple of years, community learning centers in Denton, Texas have provided free computer training sessions at public libraries to empower people left behind by the digital revolution. Researchers of this study participate as both lecturers and mentors in the training sessions. The major objective of this study is to identify themes in adult computer learning behavior. This research studies adult novice computer learning using Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory, Roger's (2003) diffusion of innovation framework, and Chatman's (1996) concepts on information impoverished people.

Use of Interdisciplinary Simulation to Understand Perceptions of Team Members' Roles

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary approach to learning in helping care providers understand their overlapping roles in the clinical management of asthma. In addition, the perceived usefulness of an interdisciplinary approach for students in the health-care disciplines of nursing, medicine, pharmacy, and respiratory therapy to learn about the clinical management of asthma was explored. The diffusion of innovation framework was used to guide the process of development of CD-ROMs. An interpretative approach was selected for this research because of the emphasis on how a phenomenon is perceived and how meaning is constructed in situations. This approach assumes that multiple ways of interpreting experiences are available through interaction. A convenience sample of health-care practitioners from two rural campuses was selected to participate in this study. The cohort of participants represented students from the population of a large midwestern moderate-sized university that has four geographically distinct campuses. Preliminary results indicate that the use of interdisciplinary learning helps clarify the roles of each discipline and that learning from one another is enhanced.

Everett Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory: Its Utility and Value in Public Health

One of the reasons that the Diffusion of Innovations is one of the most cited books in the social sciences is that Ev has been constantly reworking and expanding the framework moving his thinking in different directions. One direction has been in the application of the framework. He has taken diffusion of innovations concepts and profitably put them to work in international development with fertility and family planning as one of the more prominent areas where he and his thinking have made important contributions. More recently he has been working in the applied fields of nutrition education and substance abuse. But the diffusion of innovation framework has also evolved and expanded theoretically from early models of communication process that tended to be linear and ‘‘individual’’ to more interactive models of communication in which participants create and share information to arrive at mutual understandings of new values new concepts and new practices. (excerpt)

Clinical team functioning and IT innovation: a study of the diffusion of a point-of-care online evidence system.

To investigate the association between clinical team functioning and diffusion (awareness, use, and impact) of a 24-hour online evidence retrieval system. To examine the relationships between clinical team characteristics and the adoption of the online evidence system. 18 clinical teams, consisting of 180 clinicians from three Australian hospitals, were identified and studied. Teams were categorized as small (<or= 15 members) or large (> 15). Clinical team functioning was assessed using the Team Climate Inventory (TCI). Awareness, use, and impact of an online evidence retrieval system were measured using a self-administered questionnaire. The relationships between TCI scores and awareness, use, and impact were examined using t-tests and one-way ANOVAs. Chi square analyses were used to examine differences between small and large teams. RESULTS were interpreted within a diffusion of innovations framework. Clinical team functioning was not related to awareness or use of the online evidence retrieval system. However, clinical team functioning was significantly associated with the impact of online evidence in terms of reported experience of improved patient care following system use. Clinicians in small teams (<or= 15 members) had higher levels of system awareness compared to large (> 15) teams. Team functioning had the greatest impact on the fourth stage of innovation diffusion, the effective use of online evidence for clinical care. This supports Rogers' diffusion of innovation theory, to the effect that different types of communication about an innovation are important at different stages in the diffusion process. Members of small teams were more aware of the system than members of large teams. Team functioning is amenable to improvement through interventions. The findings suggest that the role of team climate in the diffusion of information systems is a promising area for future research.

Audio information services and the electronic media environment

Recent developments in technology have transformed the telephone from an exclusively interpersonal medium to an interactive electronic mass medium. The diffusion of innovations framework was applied to examine whether adoption of audiotext and 1–900 services is related to use of functionally similar entertainment media. Findings suggest that adoption of audio information services was more powerfully explained by media use patterns than demographics.

Adoption of cable amidst a multimedia environment

The diffusion of innovations framework was applied to examine whether cable subscribership is related to use of functionally similar media. Findings suggest that cable adoption is related to use of other entertainment media, but generally unrelated to use of interpersonal media.

Managerial style and health promotion programs

Organizational correlates of worksite health promotion programs were isolated and interpreted within a diffusion of innovation framework. A sample of managers from California (U.S.A.) 500 organizations were interviewed via telephone on their corporate management styles and health care strategies. Organizational management style was found to be related to prevalence of health promotion programs and future plans for health promotion programs. Specifically, this study found that organizations with democratic management styles are more likely to plan, adopt, and/or implement worksite health promotion programs when compared to organizations with authoritarian management styles. An additional contribution of this study was the development and validation of the Organizational Management Style (OMS) scale. These results have important theoretical and practical implications. For example, these findings explain why some organizations are more or less likely to adopt health promotion programs. Both diffusion of innovation and social control explanations are used to interpret the results.

End User Computing And Ofice Automation: A Diffusion Of Innovations Perspective

AbstractThis article proposes that a Diffusion of Innovations framework, popular in many disciplines, can be used as a theoretical basis for examining the underlying forces driving both End User Computing and OfBce Automation. It reviews how these two phenomena are currently being treated in the literature, and how, although they appear to be quite similar both in definition and application, they have quite different viewpoints of the users' acceptance of information technology. The article suggests that the difference in these viewpoints is more one of perception than substance. The diffusion of innovations framework is then reviewed and some modifications to one of the more popular models are suggested. Finally, the model is applied by examining the acceptance of personal work stations within organisations.

Speeding the diffusion of solar energy innovations

Solar energy innovations are likely to concern public and business policy makers in the decade ahead. Sooner or later, the focus of concern must move from the general to the specific, from the macro- to the micro-environment, from the national level to the regional and state levels. A diffusion of innovations framework is presented and discussed as an approach capable of explaining and increasing the market share of solar energy innovations. Solar domestic water heating systems serve as an illustrative example.

Exploring the Consumer Decision Process in the Adoption of Solar Energy Systems

This study examines residential solar energy systems within an adoption and diffusion of innovations framework. The findings indicate considerable differences between adopters and nonadopters on many measures. Multivariate nominal scale analysis is used to develop classification models based on both attribute perceptions of solar energy systems and demographic characteristics.