This basic qualitative research study focused on the internal constructions of ten early childhood education teachers who take new information acquired from workshops, coursework, or other educational venues and quickly incorporate it into their teaching. The participants were all women who work in a variety of classroom settings with two-through-six-year-olds in San Antonio, Texas. They were identified as teachers who are in the forefront in adopting new ideas in comparison to other early childhood teachers (Rogers, 2003). A wide range of experience and education levels were represented. Using the interpretive paradigm as well as the ideological framework of constructivism, a grounded theory was established in response to the research question. Of special interest were factors that can be addressed in pre-service and in-service instructional opportunities for early childhood students and professionals. There were three major findings. First, the participants expressed core moral values in relation to their jobs as early childhood teachers: they look upon their work as a moral endeavor; they have a spiritual connection to their work; and they care deeply about others. Second, they shared the character traits of a positive attitude, persistence, and flexibility. Third, they held two learning dispositions in common: they perceive and practice learning as a continual, on-going process; and they are highly reflective. Viewed together, these three findings form a continuous internal loop that impacts the external cycle of gaining new information and adopting it into classroom practice. The findings in this study parallel previous teacher knowledge research done with K-12 grade teachers in the United States and in other countries. It supports models of change that consider one's frame of reference in terms of individual belief systems and how this impacts the change process. The implication is that focusing on technical knowledge is not enough. Early childhood teacher educators must consistently employ specific strategies with their students that help illuminate and strengthen the tacit traits identified in this study.

With the advancement and development of technology and in response to an era of digital convergence and an environment of changing media, every advanced country in the world is eager to promote the digital industries. In order to get connected with the rest of the world, Taiwan has drawn a plan to retrieve all the analog channels in 2010, urging the TV systems in Taiwan to entirely enter the digital era. This research drawing on the perspective of the diffusion of innovations explores the character traits of the early adopters of the Chunghwa telecom MOD services. The researcher utilized demographic variables, individual innovativeness, media use and opinion leader tendencies to exam the character traits of Chunghwa telecom MOD early adopters. This research adopts the research method of questionnaire survey and collects 334 valid questionnaires. Through statistic analyses, the result shows a significant correlation between the early adopter character traits and education level, income, individual innovativeness, opinion leader tendencies and newspaper exposure. With the understanding of the character traits of Chunghwa telecom MOD early adopters, this study helps not only offer the system operators some suggestions on promotion but also expedite the diffusion of digital TV in Taiwan.

This basic qualitative research study focused on the internal constructions of ten early childhood education teachers who take new information acquired from workshops, coursework, or other educational venues and quickly incorporate it into their teaching. The participants were all women who work in a variety of classroom settings with two-through-six-year-olds in San Antonio, Texas. They were identified as teachers who are in the forefront in adopting new ideas in comparison to other early childhood teachers (Rogers, 2003). A wide range of experience and education levels were represented. Using the interpretive paradigm as well as the ideological framework of constructivism, a grounded theory was established in response to the research question. Of special interest were factors that can be addressed in pre-service and in-service instructional opportunities for early childhood students and professionals. There were three major findings. First, the participants expressed core moral values in relation to their jobs as early childhood teachers: they look upon their work as a moral endeavor; they have a spiritual connection to their work; and they care deeply about others. Second, they shared the character traits of a positive attitude, persistence, and flexibility. Third, they held two learning dispositions in common: they perceive and practice learning as a continual, on-going process; and they are highly reflective. Viewed together, these three findings form a continuous internal loop that impacts the external cycle of gaining new information and adopting it into classroom practice. The findings in this study parallel previous teacher knowledge research done with K-12 grade teachers in the United States and in other countries. It supports models of change that consider one's frame of reference in terms of individual belief systems and how this impacts the change process. The implication is that focusing on technical knowledge is not enough. Early childhood teacher educators must consistently employ specific strategies with their students that help illuminate and strengthen the tacit traits identified in this study.

The purpose of this thesis is to find out whether there is a significant opportunity for the use of innovator and early adopter segments in a marketing strategy, with particular emphasis on ambassador and crowdsourcing programs.Recent changes on the consumer market which lead to changing roles of both consumers and brands are described in the first chapter. This chapter also includes a description of both innovator and early adopter segments which is taken from segmentation based on innovation adoption.The second chapter includes information about the two segments obtained from other surveys available on the Czech market.Specific ways of using the two segments within a marketing strategy are described in the third chapter. The practical part of this thesis consists mainly of the analysis of data obtained by my own research. Special emphasis is put on behaviour of innovators and early adopters on social networks and their motivation to participate in ambassador and crowdsourcing programs. This part is followed by a proposal of a specific ambassador program for a technology brand.

Curriculum review projects ensure updated material that meets the needs of students and employers. Most projects report what was accomplished in terms of how the new curriculum will better meet these needs. Few studies have explored the curriculum change process from the faculty perspective. Few studies have explored the leadership of these projects, and very few studies have examined curriculum development processes in higher education from a faculty perspective. This case study allowed for in-depth exploration of the faculty experience of the curriculum development process, of the project's leadership, and of the perceptions of change held by faculty. Faculty members were interviewed about the project, and minutes from committee meetings as well as other departmental documents were used to triangulate faculty feedback to paint a comprehensive picture of the experience of these faculty development projects. First, the entire case study explores the range of responses faculty provided in their interviews. Themes that emerged included comments about the effectiveness of individual pieces of the program as well as extended discussion about the benefits of the opportunity to network among the committee about teaching and learning. Faculty reflected at length about the positive influence of the leaders and about their response to the amount of change required of them individually and of the department. Next, analytic induction of the interview data resulted in a match between the leadership data and transformational leadership. The leaders of this project used delegation to direct the energy of the committee, invited inclusive participation, and promoted a shared vision for the department. As successful change leaders, they were able to build on the existing relationships in the department to achieve more than they had originally planned. Finally, individual stories exemplify the experience of change for different faculty members. These exemplars demonstrate the full spectrum of response to change, from quick to join in to slow and even one faculty member who chose remove himself from the program. These individual cases explore the ways in which they have dealt with the innovation of curriculum change, changes in teaching and new ideas about assessment.

Adoption Proceedings Abstract This thesis deals with the current legal regulation of adoption proceedings. Adoption proceedings are one of the non-contentious proceedings which are initiated on basis of motion and in which court decides on the personal status of the adoptee and adopter. The thesis is divided into 5 parts in which the procedural and substantive regulation of adoption is discussed with the aim to provide an explanation of adoption proceedings as the legal regulation of this institute does not fully respect the division of the law into substantive and procedural. After a brief introduction, the first part is devoted to the historical excursion in which I describe the basics of the adoption as set by the ancient Roman law. In the longest chapter of first part I focus on the interpretation of the development of adoption after the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic and the change of the position of court in the process of adoption. The concept of adoption is defined in the second part of this thesis and after that I focus on international treaties and laws that govern adoption in the Czech legal order. In the third part I describe the prerequisites for adopting a minor as set by substantive law with an emphasis on regulation regarding consent to adoption and pre-adoption custody of the...

Establishment and revocation of adoption in our country and in other legal systems Abstract The diploma thesis is devoted to the establishment and revocation of the adoption of a minor child in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the Australian state of New South Wales. The thesis consists of an introduction, seven parts and a conclusion. In the first part the author deals with the historical development of the institute of adoption in the Czech territory, explaining the idea and conception of adoption according to Czech Civil Code and its division according to theoretical typology. The second part discusses the conditions of adoption. The author pays special attention to the position of the child and his / her best interest, as discussed by Czech law and international human rights conventions. Further explanation is focused on adopter and the position of child's parents. The third part of this thesis is focused on adoption service and adoption's procedurals in the court. In this section, the author describes how the child is adopted. It also deals with the legal position of persons involved in the proceedings, representation and proceedings obstacles. In the fourth part, attention is focused on the consequences of adoption decisions for the child and other persons. The author emphasizes the difference...

Adopting green energy initiatives is deemed significant in reducing the carbon footprint of the hotel industry. In general, energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies offer wide applications in the hotel industry. The adoption of these technologies improves energy performance and reduces dependence on fossil fuels. Hotel organizational commitment towards sustainability is highly inconsistent across the industry. Essentially, this industry represents a continuum of adopters; some hotels are leaders who proactively adopt innovative and state-of- the-art technologies, while others adopt only basic practices, such as reusing towels. There exist several challenges to shifting hotel organizations toward implementing green energy measures. Sharing best practices and learned lessons is essential to convince less committed hotel organizations to take action. Along with sharing information, it is important to identify similarities and differences in decision-making on green energy measures in both committed and less committed hotels. This study explores factors affecting decision-making on green energy measures in the hotel industry. In particular, it examines the business case for these measures and identifies challenges that prevent hotel managers from taking action. The study findings suggest that similarities and differences among best practice and other hotels are related to the approaches taken in decision-making by hotel managers in the adoption of green energy measures in terms of short/long term energy planning, resource intensity and views about sustainability. The study further highlights success factors contributing to increased use of green energy measures and areas that need to be addressed in order to encourage hotel managers to adopt green energy measures.

The purpose of this study was to determine factors influencing cotton producer adoption of Precision Agriculture in the cotton belt according to members of the American Cotton Producers of the National Cotton Council. The National Research Council’s Board on Agriculture defines Precision Agriculture (PA) as “a management strategy that uses information technologies to bring data from multiple sources to bear on decisions associated with crop production.” For the purpose of this study, Precision Agriculture technologies included yield monitors, global positioning units, variable rate applicators, and similar components. Many studies have found that adoption of Precision Agriculture can be profitable for agricultural producers. However, the fact that Precision Agriculture is relatively new and unproven hinders rapid adoption by agricultural producers. According to the National Research Council Board of Agriculture widespread adoption relies on economic gains outweighing the costs of the technology. This study attempted to find the factors associated with adoption of these technologies in the cotton belt. The sample population consisted of cotton producer representatives from the leading cotton-producing states. A Delphi approach was utilized to establish a consensus of cotton producer perceptions of the advantages of adopting Precision Agriculture technologies. Advantages included more accurate farming (i.e., row spacing, reduced overlap, and cultivation). Barriers to adoption were also documented, questioning employee capability to operate equipment, learning curve, technology complexity, and uncertain return on investment.

A survey of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) adopters in Texas was administered and the results are presented and discussed. A 40% response rate was achieved and 365 complete responses were received. In addition to demographics, the survey uncovered aspects related to the decision-making process, information search, financial attractiveness of PV, and post-installation experience. Peer-effects did not have a large influence on the adoption of residential PV in Texas, but the potential for increasing the number of communication/information channels to increase the adoption rate of PV exists. Adopters experienced little uncertainty at the time of PV installation because sufficient dependable information was available during the search process. Overall, they are satisfied with PV. Contextual factors, such as income and the ability to purchase a PV system rather than lease one, influence behavior. Those who decreased electricity consumption post-adoption were more motivated to adopt by environmental concern and a general interest in energy than those who increased electricity consumption post-adoption. Those who experienced behavior changes also experienced an increase in awareness of electricity use post-adoption, while those who did not experience a behavior change reported no change in awareness post-adoption. Change in awareness of electricity use is less dependent on the attitudinal and contextual factors, such as environmental concern, motivation for adoption, age, and income, that influence consumption change. The potential for further analysis of the survey results is great and will likely yield additional conclusions about the consequences of the adoption of PV. Coupling the survey results with historical electricity bill data will yield stronger conclusions about behavior change. Surveying geographical areas outside of Texas is recommended. / text