Bibliography: pages 235-252. / This investigation into adoption began in January 1986 in the Republic of South Africa. The aim was to understand adoption from the subjective viewpoint of adults who were adopted as infants or children. It was based on the working hypothesis that although adoption has universal qualities, there would also be regional, cultural and time-related differences affecting both the practice and experience of adoption. Appeals were made for respondents through three popular magazines, private welfare organisations, the Registrar of Adoption and by means of "snowball sampling". Questionnaires were subsequently posted country-wide between April and October 1986. The questionnaire contained 209 open- and closed-ended questions covering the period from adoption placement to adulthood. An eighty-eight percent response rate was obtained. The material was analysed with emphasis on the qualitative interpretation of the content of the data in the open-ended responses. The sample comprised eighty-two adult adoptees between the ages of eighteen and seventy, of whom seventy-one percent were female, twenty-nine percent male, 58,5 percent Afrikaans speaking and 41,5 percent English- speaking. Cultural differences were found in the responses of the two language groups. Variables that have been considered relevant or insufficiently explored in the literature on adoption were examined. These were: age of placement; attachment in the adoptive home; manner and timing of revelation of adoptive status and adoptee reactions to this; adoptee thoughts and fears concerning birth parents, the school experience; identity problems in adolescence and adulthood manifested as insecurity or behaviour problems; the adoptee's need to know more about his or her origins and the concomitant consequences. Notable findings were: the paucity of information given to these adoptees about their origins; thoughts and fears about birth parents that occurred as early as the pre-school period; childhood fears arising from the adoptive status; sensitivity about being adopted; peer group cruelty in pre-puberty and a seventeen percent parasuicide incidence among the members of this sample. Another finding related to the adult adoptee's need for a bio-genealogical history, especially in view of the high risk of certain genetic disorders, particularly among the Afrikaner population. The majority of the adoptees in this sample entertained the possibility of meeting birth parents one day; for many this began in pre-puberty. This was contingent on the quality of the relationship with their adoptive parents in only a minority of cases. Few adoptees could share their thoughts about adoption and birth parents with their adoptive parents. Adoptees who were 'searching' or who had 'found' birth parents were motivated more by a need to know who they were and why they had been given up for adoption, than by a need to replace the 'lost parent'. Where the relationship with the adoptive parents was warm and satisfying, the finding of birth parent(s) did not affect the adoptive relationship deleteriously. These findings point to a need for more research on adoption following changes in South African adoption laws allowing adult adoptees access to court records of their adoption. Adoptees and their parents need informed assistance from those who counsel them.

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The purpose of this research is to identify socio-economic factors which may influence the adoption of auto-steer technologies by row crop farmers in Mississippi. The variables of geographic location, size of farm, age of the farmer, and educational level of the farmer were analyzed using a binary logistic regression analysis to determine if those variables could be used as predictors in the farmer’s adoption of auto-steer. Analysis revealed that the size of the farm and the age of the farmer are both statistically significant predictors of the probability of a farmer adopting auto-steer in the state of Mississippi. Geographic location and level of education were both included in the model but failed to indicate significant predictive ability. Among farmers who adopted auto-steer respondents ranked the importance of saving time and profitability as the most important and second most important factor in their decision to adopt auto-steer. Future research involving precision agriculture technologies should also include advances in the fields of beef production, forestry, and aquaculture. These can provide helpful insight into the reasons why a producer would adopt a particular precision agriculture technology.

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Abstract Telemedicine (TM) is a term that describes the delivery of healthcare over distances. TM has evolved along with communication technology, creating a model of TM healthcare delivery that is constantly changing. The primary advantage of TM is that it gives physicians the ability to reach out to patients remotely, providing healthcare to remote or isolated locations, thus greatly reducing the need for patient travel. The physician is the primary stakeholder of TM, but to date there is a paucity of research related to TM utilization by physicians. Specifically, it is not known whether TM is an efficient healthcare tool that allows more patients to be seen by a physician than could normally be seen face to face (F2F), hence increasing the potential volume of patient care. This study describes the adoption and utilization characteristics within a “real” medical environment (the Ontario Ministry of Long-term Health Care) by analyzing established medical practices. Using OHIP data, this study shows TM utilization trends among physicians who were responsible for a large portion of TM patient activity within their respective specialties between 2011 and 2013. By understanding TM usage by physicians, the ministry can provide programs and incentives that may increase TM adoption, thus providing more efficient healthcare to underserviced populations in Ontario. The top three specialties from 2008-2013 using TM in Ontario were found to be General and Family (G&F) practice, Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, with G&F physicians using TM primarily to increase practice volumes for addiction medicine. Within the Internal Medicine specialty, TM appears to be a tool for healthcare delivery that helps offset some F2F events. Within the specialty of Psychiatry, many TM events seemed to have been performed by psychiatrists who have smaller volumes of F2F visits compared to their peers. Trends in TM show that for some specialties and types of clinical events, TM can be used to see more patients than physicians could normally see when restricted to F2F visits only, thus reducing the number of F2F visits within some practices. / Thesis / Master of Health Sciences (MSc)

This case study examines an asynchronous distance learning program to identify characteristics critical to the diffusion and adoption process necessary for effective implementation. These attributes extrapolated from the review of literature and case study examination are both insightful and timely, since many educational institutions are currently implementing distance learning programs without a formal plan or vision. The study specified how an asynchronous program dealt with the diffusion and adoption process by providing a thorough examination of secondary documentation and archival record review, coupled with program interviews. Media for communicating information has expanded from simple print, voice, and face-to-face communications to include fax, voice mail, computer-assisted instruction, email, video and other technologies. These technologies are central to the mission of education. Institutions have entered the distance learning arena with the intent of capturing and attracting nontraditional students, as defined by age, marital status or employment status, to the academic market. Adoption and diffusion mechanisms focus on societal and customer needs. At institutions of higher learning, students are the customers and their academic needs should come first. The corporate sector is indirectly shaping education by hiring students who have acquired the skills needed to compete in the information age. Distance education must have an integrated strategic plan that successfully aligns all vital programs to support academic, industry and societal needs. Students and faculty must have easy access to information resources, support services, policies and procedures for distance education. The information resulting from this examination may facilitate adoption and diffusion of asynchronous distance learning programs. Based upon identified characteristics, the ancillary product of this case study was a compiled list and discussion of lessons learned, composed from the review of literature and case study examination. Key recommendations from the study, and substantiated in the review of literature, follow: • The case study had an adaptable infrastructure that changed with the times. • The purchase and use of distance learning technology was consistent with the strategic plan. • Participants had easy access and training to distance learning technology. / Ph. D.

This dissertation is composed of three essays examining adoption and impact of agricultural technologies. The first two papers estimate adoption and impact of iron-biofortified bean varieties in Rwanda. These varieties are bred to have high iron content and high yields to improve the health and livelihoods of rural households. The third essay estimates the spillover effects of seed producer groups (SPGs) in Nepal on nearby non-SPG member households. These SPGs were established to produce and sell stress tolerant rice varieties (STRVs) and other improved rice varieties and were trained on a number of improved management practices for rice cultivation. The first essay, titled "Promoting rapid and sustained adoption of biofortified crops: What we learned from iron-biofortified bean delivery approaches in Rwanda" uses duration modeling to estimate how a number of delivery approaches designed to distribute iron-biofortified bean varieties to farmers have increased the speed of adoption, reduced the speed of disadoption, and increased the speed of readoption of iron-biofortified bean varieties. We find that these delivery approaches have been very effective at promoting adoption and reducing disadoption. Policy makers can learn lessons from this research regarding distribution of biofortified crops in Rwanda and elsewhere. The second essay, titled "The impact of iron-biofortified bean adoption on bean productivity, consumption, purchases and sales" examines the impact of adoption of the most popular iron-biofortified bean variety, RWR2245, on adopting households. We use a control function approach with instrumental variables related to iron-biofortified bean delivery approaches to control for selection bias of adoption. We find that adoption increases yield, household bean consumption from own-production, and bean sales while reducing bean purchases. This implies that iron-biofortified bean adoption has a strong potential to improve nutrition and food security of adopting households, as beans make up a large portion of the average Rwandan diet. The third and final essay, titled "The spillover effects of seed producer groups on non-member households in local communities in Nepal" examines the spillover benefits of SPGs onto non-member farmers in villages with an SPG or are adjacent to a village with an SPG. We find that SPGs have increased adoption of STRVs, improved the seed replacement rate, and increased use of some best management practices among non-members within SPG villages, and have increased adoption of the STRVs in at least one past seasons among non-members in adjacent villages. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation consists of three essays that examine adoption and impact of agricultural technologies that are designed to help rural households in developing countries improve their livelihoods. The first two papers focus on iron-biofortified bean varieties in Rwanda. These bean varieties have high iron content and are also high yielding. They are designed to combat iron-deficiency within the country. The government of Rwanda distributed the bean varieties to households using a number of different delivery approaches. We study the influence of these approaches and find that households who are closer to them adopt the varieties faster and disadopt the varieties more slowly, indicating that they have been successful in promoting adoption. The second paper of this dissertation studies the impact that one of the iron-biofortified bean varieties has had on adopting households. We find that adoption increases household bean yields and bean consumption from own-production, while reducing bean purchases and increasing the likelihood that a household sells beans. This provides evidence that iron-biofortification improves iron consumption for households that adopt the varieties, because they consume greater quantities of their iron-rich bean harvests, and improves household income through reductions in purchases and increased likelihood of sales. Finally, our third paper examines Seed Producer Groups (SPGs) in Nepal in which member farmers produce and sell rice varieties that are tolerant to drought. We find that for non-SPG members, living in or near a village with an SPG increases their likelihood of growing a drought-tolerant variety. Overall, this dissertation contributes to the literature on adoption and impacts of agricultural technologies and provides useful guidelines for policy makers wishing to promote these and other technologies. This can inform future funding allocation and maximize impacts of development projects.