Diffusion of innovations

About: Diffusion of innovations is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2139 publications have been published within this topic receiving 191397 citations. The topic is also known as: diffusion of innovation & diffusion of innovations theory.

Exchanging Medical Information with Eastern Europe through the Internet

Abstract: The American International Health Alliance, a national not‐for‐profit healthcare organization initiated in 1992, uses Internet technologies to aid in the exchange of medical information between healthcare providers in the U.S. and their colleagues in Eastern Europe and the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union. A major role in the exchange is played by Information Coordinators—physicians, nurses, or administrators in the partnership institutions in the region. Through a questionnaire distributed during a training session in the U.S. and e‐mail exchanges, we interviewed these Information Coordinators to learn how Internet technologies are being introduced, disseminated, and adopted in their institutions. We then applied Everett Rogers's theory of the diffusion of innovations to help interpret their responses. Although now only in its preliminary stages, this study shows that technical communicators must be aware of the cultural influences—economic, political, ethnic, and institutional—that acco...

Analysis of Power Relations among Actors and Institutions in the Process of Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change and Variability from the Diffusion of Innovations Perspective

Abstract: One component of adaptation to climate change is the promotion of innovations. Who says innovation, also talks about innovation adoption, and thus ultimately taking a decision. Decision making in relation to innovation adoption is a social process, because the decision maker often involves the participation of other members of society, including sometimes the members of his or her own family group. The elements of the social system that need to be taken into account in an innovation diffusion process are the norms that reflect the established patterns of behaviour for members of the social system. Recognized leadership in opinions is a major way in which a person can informally influence the attitudes of others so that they make changes in a desired direction. Such a change agent is thus someone who is able to influence the innovation decisions of others, including in a direction that the change agent endorses.

U.S. Government Initiatives in Afghanistan: An Application of Diffusion of Innovations Theory

Abstract: : This work applies the diffusion of innovations theory in the analysis of the USG's governance and development efforts in Afghanistan to determine if the key elements of diffusion of innovations are present This study further examines if, when present, these elements correlate with the Afghans' increased adoption of the programs Where the positive elements of diffusion of innovations are found in USG governance and development efforts, those efforts should be more successful Diffusion of innovations is a multi-disciplinary theory conceptualized by Communication Professor, Everett Rogers Diffusion of innovations is widely accepted in academia In the past, scholars used the theory in Cultural Geography, Communication, Anthropology and Rural Sociology, among other disciplines This monograph employs a case study methodology examining USG programs in Afghanistan, their effects on the Afghan people and the Afghan people's use of these programs An important source for this analysis is the Afghanistan Survey 2010, which provides recent survey data of the Afghan's perceptions on a wide range of topics Evidence from the survey and other research suggests Afghans are not fully adopting USG initiatives and programs The findings of this study demonstrate that many of the reasons Afghans do not adopt these programs can be explained by the elements of diffusion of innovations It also demonstrates that the USG has made positive adjustments in doctrine and organization including the formation of Human Terrain Teams (HTTs), Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), and Agricultural Development Teams (ADTs)

Older Adults and Diffusion of Assistive Web-Base Technologies

Abstract: Recent surveys show that the number of people over the age of 65 is increasing worldwide and there is a considerable discussion about the scope of improving the older adults' autonomy and independence, using recent developments in information technology. One of such development is web services and it is rapidly becoming a major means of accessing healthcare in the community and many government services for the older adults. However several researchers argue that age-related cognitive impairments have a detrimental effect on use of such web services by older adults. However, little and systematic applied research has been conducted on how age related cognitive impairments might affect the usage of web services by older adults. Undoubtedly, understanding the relationship between the cognitive changes that accompany aging and their impact on older adults' usage of web services will be beneficial for designing web services for this group. The article demonstrates how such understanding has been employed to develop an assistive technology to improve older adults' interaction with online forms e.g. state benefit application form. However, the article acknowledges that this new assistive technology does not guarantee that people with age-related cognitive impairments accept it, as diffusion of innovation research shows that getting a new technology adopted, even when it has noticeable advantage, is often very difficult. Consequently, the article identifies critical factors that need to be considered when adopting this new assistive technology, drawing on Rogers's theory of Diffusion of Innovations.

The Logic of Imitative Processes: Imitation as Secondary Innovation – an Axiomatic Schumpeterian Analysis

Abstract: This paper offers an axiomatic analysis of the imitative activity of producers in a Schumpeterian process of innovative change. It argues that structural change in the economy is generated by leaders of radical innovation, whose actions trigger the diffusion of innovations, and whose strategies and innovations can be copied by imitators. As a consequence, these imitators become second-order innovators operating in a production system that is deprived of primary innovators. The paper demonstrates that increases in the number and variety of second-order innovators can intensify innovative changes throughout the production system. Furthermore, this logic can be reconstructed by reference to the research programme on modelling Schumpeterian innovative evolution within the Arrow-Debreu dynamic general equilibrium theory.