Although many organizations strive to employ the latest technologies, the adoption and diffusion of these technologies might not happen as anticipated. The growth of small-to-medium businesses can have a detrimental impact on the efficiency of the employees in executing internal business processes. In many cases, particularly in this scenario, technology was called upon to remedy the situation. Through a canonical action research project, we investigated and analysed the technology adoption and diffusion issues that the professional construction management team of a small-to-medium-sized construction company was experiencing. During this action research project, literature suggested that technology adoption issues were confirmed. In addition new issues were identified and analysed. By means of a conceptualized figure, the changes in the understanding and relationships among mobile computing adoption and diffusion issues experienced in this construction company were illustrated. This study concludes by providing a theoretical framework that illustrates the mobile computing adoption and diffusion issues, as well as an explanation of significant issues that should be considered in the endeavour of successful mobile computing adoption and diffusion within a small-to-medium-sized construction company, based in Gauteng, South Africa. / Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Informatics / unrestricted

Smartphones are innovations that currently provide immense benefits and convenience to users in society. However, not all the users of society are accepting and using smart phones, more specifically, for this research study older adults (50+) are a demographic group displaying such an attitude. Currently, there is minimal knowledge of the reasons that older adults adopt and use smartphones. Bearing this in mind, this research study aimed to identify, examine and explain the adoption and usage of smartphones in the UK within the 50 years old and above population. For this purpose, a conceptual framework, a Model of Smartphone Adoption (MOSA) was formed drawing factors from the theories of Unified theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the Diffusion of Innovations theory (DoI) and Technology Acceptance Model 3 (TAM3). Seven variables from the theories were brought to consideration, which were Observability, Social influence, Compatibility, Effort expectancy, Facilitation conditions, Performance expectancy and Perceived enjoyment. For the research method, a quantitative approach was selected to examine and apply MOSA that involved the data collection method of an online questionnaire survey that resulted in 204 completed replies during the pilot phase of this research and 984 in the final phase. The collected data was analysed using SEM-PLS where the results found that six of the eight formed hypotheses were supported, and the factors of Compatibility, Effort expectancy, Facilitation condition, Performance expectancy and Perceived enjoyment were important for the adoption of smartphones. From these results, it was understood that older adults used smartphones because they have enough knowledge, time and money to use. They also think that smartphones are easy to use, provide benefits including enjoyment and are compatible with their lifestyles. In terms of usage, older adults frequently used the basic features of smartphones such as making a phone call, SMS, email, and browsing. Older adults are also likely to use their devices for seeking information about their health and for appointments with their doctors; however, from this research it was found that more than half of the 50 years old and above adults did not use smartphones for health and well-being purposes. The contributions of this research are viewed to be the identification and understanding of the factors that encourage or inhibit smartphones use within the older adult population. Secondly, this research can inform smartphone manufacturers and developers of factors pertinent for the design of computing devices and applications specific to silver surfers. Finally, this research can enlighten policy makers when forming decisions that encourage the adoption and use of smartphones within the older adult population. Regarding limitations, these existed in the form of finance and time. To overcome the limitations, this research recommends further studies that apply qualitative research and/or to provide a comparison between western and eastern countries.

Tornar o ensino centrado nos estudantes tem sido foco de atenções de grande parte da área de pesquisa e ensino de Ciências nos últimos 30 anos. Essa tendência tem origem nos resultados poucos positivos em relação à aprendizagem de conteúdos de Ciências, especialmente de Física, obtidos por meio das abordagens tradicionais. Neste contexto, ressignificar as atividades didáticas, especialmente os métodos de ensino utilizados pelos professores, torna-se, portanto, fundamental. A despeito dos esforços de professores e pesquisadores no desenvolvimento de novos métodos de ensino centrados nos estudantes, a abordagem tradicional ainda é onipresente na prática instrucional universitária, tanto no contexto internacional, quanto nacional. A não adoção de práticas inovadoras por parte dos professores, apesar dos resultados notoriamente positivos obtidos por meio delas, indica que existem muitas barreiras no processo de mudança da prática docente. Por conseguinte, compreender em profundidade o processo de difusão e mudança das práticas de ensino pode contribuir para que novos métodos sejam incorporados com sucesso, tendo sua adoção continuada. É nesse contexto que a presente tese se insere. Em linhas gerais, nossa pesquisa visa investigar, no contexto de duas universidades públicas brasileiras: a adoção de métodos de ensino inovadores centrados nos estudantes, em disciplinas de Física Geral; os fatores que influenciam a adoção e a difusão de tais métodos, em comparação com disciplinas equivalentes de universidades de outros países; os impactos na aprendizagem de conteúdos de Física e nas crenças e atitudes dos estudantes acerca dos métodos de ensino. Para isso, utilizando as orientações metodológicas para estudos de caso de Yin, e embasados pela Teoria de Difusão de Inovações de Rogers, realizamos três estudos de caso, dois exploratórios e um explanatório Os resultados do primeiro estudo evidenciam que o processo de mudança da prática docente foi influenciado pela percepção de uma vantagem relativa frente à prática instrucional anterior, pela compatibilidade entre as crenças de ensino e aprendizagem da professora e os pressupostos básicos dos métodos, pela observabilidade dos resultados obtidos na implementação e pela forma como esses métodos foram inseridos no contexto de ensino, isto é, com suporte de especialistas. Os resultados do segundo estudo apontam que a continuidade da prática inovadora dessa professora variou entre uma adaptação e uma reinvenção dos métodos de ensino centrados nos estudantes Ensino sob Medida (EsM) e Instrução pelos Colegas (IpC). As modificações feitas nos métodos foram balizadas pelas crenças da professora e pela dificuldade de cumprir o cronograma de conteúdos da disciplina. Em termos dos impactos na aprendizagem, nossa análise indica que o desempenho dos estudantes em um teste padronizado foi inferior ao apontado pela literatura. Por outro lado, os métodos contribuíram para um bom engajamento dos estudantes na disciplina, bem como para o desenvolvimento de atitudes positivas em relação ao IpC e ao EsM. O terceiro estudo, realizado em uma universidade diferente dos dois primeiros estudos, identificou que os docentes investigados fizeram uso de variações dos métodos Aprendizagem Baseada em Problemas (ABP), IpC e EsM As modificações nos métodos foram realizadas de acordo com as necessidades específicas dos docentes, pelos contextos de ensino em que se encontravam e pelas suas crenças e experiências anteriores. Ainda em relação à adoção dos métodos, o processo de tomada de decisão de modificar a estrutura da disciplina de Física I, por meio da adoção de uma variação do EsM, foi coletivo, tornando o método uma prática estabelecida após a primeira experiência de seu uso. Segundo os docentes, a adoção dos métodos centrados nos estudantes foi responsável por uma melhora no engajamento e na aprendizagem dos estudantes. Contudo, um resultado negativo apontado pelos docentes foi a cultura que os estudantes desenvolveram em copiar as respostas das denominadas pré-aulas. Inferimos que este resultado está atrelado ao fato de que tais atividades eram avaliadas por grau de correção, e não pelo engajamento dos estudantes. Entre os docentes investigados, a difusão das inovações didáticas se deu por meio de uma estrutura descentralizada, onde um dos professores pode ser compreendido como um inovador local que difundiu os métodos ativos entre seus pares. Compreendemos que o modelo de difusão averiguado foi eficiente, pois a taxa de adoção dos métodos ativos, ou variações deles, foi elevada. Contudo, ressaltamos que a presença de um especialista (agente da mudança) poderia ter evitado a descontinuidade da prática do EsM. / Making student-centered teaching has been the focus of a great number of researchers within the area of Science teaching and research over the past 30 years. This tendency has its origin in the few positive results in relation to the learning of Science contents, especially of Physics, obtained through traditional approaches. In this context, re-signifying the didactic activities, especially the teaching methods used by teachers, becomes, therefore, fundamental. Despite the efforts of teachers and researchers in developing new student-centered teaching methods, the traditional approach is still ubiquitous in university instructional practice, both internationally and nationally. The non-adoption of innovative practices by teachers, despite the notoriously positive results obtained through them, indicates that there are many barriers in the process of changing teaching practice. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the process of dissemination and change in teaching practices can contribute to the successful incorporation of new methods and their continued adoption. It is in this context that this thesis is inserted. In general terms, our research aims to investigate, in the context of two Brazilian public universities: the adoption of innovative student-centered teaching methods, in General Physics disciplines; the factors that influence the adoption and diffusion of such methods, in comparison with equivalent disciplines of universities in other countries; the impacts on the learning of Physics contents and the students' beliefs and attitudes about teaching methods. For this purpose, using Yin´s methodological guidelines for case studies, and based on Rogers' Theory of Diffusion of Innovations, we conducted three case studies, two exploratory and one explanatory The results of the first study show that the process of change in teaching practice was influenced by the perception of a relative advantage over the previous instructional practice, by the compatibility between the teaching and learning beliefs of the teacher and the basic assumptions of the methods, by the observability of the results obtained in the implementation and by the way these methods were inserted in the teaching context, that is, with the support of specialists. The results of the second study indicate that the continuity of this teacher's innovative practice varied between an adaptation and a reinvention of the student-centered teaching methods Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) and Peer Instruction (PI). The modifications made in the methods were defined by the beliefs of the teacher and by the difficulty of fulfilling the content schedule of the discipline. In terms of the impacts on the students´ learning, our analysis indicate that the students´ performance on a standardized test was lower than that reported in the literature. On the other hand, the methods contributed to a good students´ engagement with the discipline, as well as to the development of positive attitudes towards the PI and the JiTT. The third study, conducted in a university other than where the first two studies took place, identified that the teachers investigated made use of variations of the methods Problem-Based Learning (PBL), PI and JiTT. The modifications in the methods were made according to the specific needs of the teachers, the teaching contexts in which they were inserted and their previous beliefs and experiences Still, in relation to the adoption of the methods, the decision-making process to modify the structure of the discipline of Physics I, through the adoption of a variation of the JiTT, was collective, making the method an established practice after the first experience of its use. According to the teachers, the adoption of student-centered methods was responsible for an improvement in students' engagement and learning. However, a negative result pointed out by the teachers was the culture that the students developed in copying the answers provided in the so-called pre-classes. We infer that this result is linked to the fact that such activities were evaluated by degree of correction, and not by student engagement. Among the teachers investigated, the diffusion of didactic innovations occurred through a decentralized structure, where one of the teachers can be understood as a local innovator who diffused the active methods among his peers. We understand that the diffusion model verified was efficient, since the rate of adoption of the active methods, or variations of them, was high. However, we emphasize that the presence of a specialist (agent of change) could have avoided the discontinuity of the JiTT practice.

Georgia has invested millions of dollars for technology and teacher technology training in order to prepare students for a technological society (Brackett, Henry, & Weathersby, 1999; Hinton, 2003). While technology affects all teachers, language arts teachers are also challenged to teach multiple literacies (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack, 2004). This study investigated the extent that professional development programs impact the language arts teachers’ classroom practice (Bebell, Russell, & O’Dwyer, 2004; Young & Bush, 2004). This case study research explored three high school language arts teachers’ experiences with integrating technology after having participated in a state-mandated professional development course on technology. Rogers’ (1995) Adoption and Diffusion Model was used as a framework in order to understand the factors that influence adoption of innovations and to explore factors that act as barriers or enhance the adoption process. An emergent qualitative research design was used to investigate the following research questions: (1) In what ways do high school language arts teachers integrate technology into their curriculum after completion of said course? (2) To what extent are these practices representative of the experiences addressed in the professional development course? (3) What are teachers’ perceptions of technology integration in the language arts classroom? Data sources included formal interviews, video-taped lessons, observational field notes, teacher portfolios, and other written communications to supplement face to face interviews. A constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Lincoln & Guba, 1985) was used throughout the study by assigning each piece of data a code and category, which was revised and modified as new data were incorporated (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992). Rigor was established through member checks and triangulation of the data. Four themes emerged from the data: (a) technology was adopted as a tool, (b) TAFT resulted in engagement and enthusiasm for using technology, (c) restrictions on time impacted technology integration, and (d) available technology sat idle. Although technology was not used to its fullest potential, the discussion emphasizes that technology training led to technology implementation and impacted classroom practice. The teachers’ perceived attributes of the technologies, and their stance and perceptions of literacy and technology affected their technology integration and determined their adoption and adaptation of technologies.

Tornar o ensino centrado nos estudantes tem sido foco de atenções de grande parte da área de pesquisa e ensino de Ciências nos últimos 30 anos. Essa tendência tem origem nos resultados poucos positivos em relação à aprendizagem de conteúdos de Ciências, especialmente de Física, obtidos por meio das abordagens tradicionais. Neste contexto, ressignificar as atividades didáticas, especialmente os métodos de ensino utilizados pelos professores, torna-se, portanto, fundamental. A despeito dos esforços de professores e pesquisadores no desenvolvimento de novos métodos de ensino centrados nos estudantes, a abordagem tradicional ainda é onipresente na prática instrucional universitária, tanto no contexto internacional, quanto nacional. A não adoção de práticas inovadoras por parte dos professores, apesar dos resultados notoriamente positivos obtidos por meio delas, indica que existem muitas barreiras no processo de mudança da prática docente. Por conseguinte, compreender em profundidade o processo de difusão e mudança das práticas de ensino pode contribuir para que novos métodos sejam incorporados com sucesso, tendo sua adoção continuada. É nesse contexto que a presente tese se insere. Em linhas gerais, nossa pesquisa visa investigar, no contexto de duas universidades públicas brasileiras: a adoção de métodos de ensino inovadores centrados nos estudantes, em disciplinas de Física Geral; os fatores que influenciam a adoção e a difusão de tais métodos, em comparação com disciplinas equivalentes de universidades de outros países; os impactos na aprendizagem de conteúdos de Física e nas crenças e atitudes dos estudantes acerca dos métodos de ensino. Para isso, utilizando as orientações metodológicas para estudos de caso de Yin, e embasados pela Teoria de Difusão de Inovações de Rogers, realizamos três estudos de caso, dois exploratórios e um explanatório Os resultados do primeiro estudo evidenciam que o processo de mudança da prática docente foi influenciado pela percepção de uma vantagem relativa frente à prática instrucional anterior, pela compatibilidade entre as crenças de ensino e aprendizagem da professora e os pressupostos básicos dos métodos, pela observabilidade dos resultados obtidos na implementação e pela forma como esses métodos foram inseridos no contexto de ensino, isto é, com suporte de especialistas. Os resultados do segundo estudo apontam que a continuidade da prática inovadora dessa professora variou entre uma adaptação e uma reinvenção dos métodos de ensino centrados nos estudantes Ensino sob Medida (EsM) e Instrução pelos Colegas (IpC). As modificações feitas nos métodos foram balizadas pelas crenças da professora e pela dificuldade de cumprir o cronograma de conteúdos da disciplina. Em termos dos impactos na aprendizagem, nossa análise indica que o desempenho dos estudantes em um teste padronizado foi inferior ao apontado pela literatura. Por outro lado, os métodos contribuíram para um bom engajamento dos estudantes na disciplina, bem como para o desenvolvimento de atitudes positivas em relação ao IpC e ao EsM. O terceiro estudo, realizado em uma universidade diferente dos dois primeiros estudos, identificou que os docentes investigados fizeram uso de variações dos métodos Aprendizagem Baseada em Problemas (ABP), IpC e EsM As modificações nos métodos foram realizadas de acordo com as necessidades específicas dos docentes, pelos contextos de ensino em que se encontravam e pelas suas crenças e experiências anteriores. Ainda em relação à adoção dos métodos, o processo de tomada de decisão de modificar a estrutura da disciplina de Física I, por meio da adoção de uma variação do EsM, foi coletivo, tornando o método uma prática estabelecida após a primeira experiência de seu uso. Segundo os docentes, a adoção dos métodos centrados nos estudantes foi responsável por uma melhora no engajamento e na aprendizagem dos estudantes. Contudo, um resultado negativo apontado pelos docentes foi a cultura que os estudantes desenvolveram em copiar as respostas das denominadas pré-aulas. Inferimos que este resultado está atrelado ao fato de que tais atividades eram avaliadas por grau de correção, e não pelo engajamento dos estudantes. Entre os docentes investigados, a difusão das inovações didáticas se deu por meio de uma estrutura descentralizada, onde um dos professores pode ser compreendido como um inovador local que difundiu os métodos ativos entre seus pares. Compreendemos que o modelo de difusão averiguado foi eficiente, pois a taxa de adoção dos métodos ativos, ou variações deles, foi elevada. Contudo, ressaltamos que a presença de um especialista (agente da mudança) poderia ter evitado a descontinuidade da prática do EsM. / Making student-centered teaching has been the focus of a great number of researchers within the area of Science teaching and research over the past 30 years. This tendency has its origin in the few positive results in relation to the learning of Science contents, especially of Physics, obtained through traditional approaches. In this context, re-signifying the didactic activities, especially the teaching methods used by teachers, becomes, therefore, fundamental. Despite the efforts of teachers and researchers in developing new student-centered teaching methods, the traditional approach is still ubiquitous in university instructional practice, both internationally and nationally. The non-adoption of innovative practices by teachers, despite the notoriously positive results obtained through them, indicates that there are many barriers in the process of changing teaching practice. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the process of dissemination and change in teaching practices can contribute to the successful incorporation of new methods and their continued adoption. It is in this context that this thesis is inserted. In general terms, our research aims to investigate, in the context of two Brazilian public universities: the adoption of innovative student-centered teaching methods, in General Physics disciplines; the factors that influence the adoption and diffusion of such methods, in comparison with equivalent disciplines of universities in other countries; the impacts on the learning of Physics contents and the students' beliefs and attitudes about teaching methods. For this purpose, using Yin´s methodological guidelines for case studies, and based on Rogers' Theory of Diffusion of Innovations, we conducted three case studies, two exploratory and one explanatory The results of the first study show that the process of change in teaching practice was influenced by the perception of a relative advantage over the previous instructional practice, by the compatibility between the teaching and learning beliefs of the teacher and the basic assumptions of the methods, by the observability of the results obtained in the implementation and by the way these methods were inserted in the teaching context, that is, with the support of specialists. The results of the second study indicate that the continuity of this teacher's innovative practice varied between an adaptation and a reinvention of the student-centered teaching methods Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) and Peer Instruction (PI). The modifications made in the methods were defined by the beliefs of the teacher and by the difficulty of fulfilling the content schedule of the discipline. In terms of the impacts on the students´ learning, our analysis indicate that the students´ performance on a standardized test was lower than that reported in the literature. On the other hand, the methods contributed to a good students´ engagement with the discipline, as well as to the development of positive attitudes towards the PI and the JiTT. The third study, conducted in a university other than where the first two studies took place, identified that the teachers investigated made use of variations of the methods Problem-Based Learning (PBL), PI and JiTT. The modifications in the methods were made according to the specific needs of the teachers, the teaching contexts in which they were inserted and their previous beliefs and experiences Still, in relation to the adoption of the methods, the decision-making process to modify the structure of the discipline of Physics I, through the adoption of a variation of the JiTT, was collective, making the method an established practice after the first experience of its use. According to the teachers, the adoption of student-centered methods was responsible for an improvement in students' engagement and learning. However, a negative result pointed out by the teachers was the culture that the students developed in copying the answers provided in the so-called pre-classes. We infer that this result is linked to the fact that such activities were evaluated by degree of correction, and not by student engagement. Among the teachers investigated, the diffusion of didactic innovations occurred through a decentralized structure, where one of the teachers can be understood as a local innovator who diffused the active methods among his peers. We understand that the diffusion model verified was efficient, since the rate of adoption of the active methods, or variations of them, was high. However, we emphasize that the presence of a specialist (agent of change) could have avoided the discontinuity of the JiTT practice.

Tornar o ensino centrado nos estudantes tem sido foco de atenções de grande parte da área de pesquisa e ensino de Ciências nos últimos 30 anos. Essa tendência tem origem nos resultados poucos positivos em relação à aprendizagem de conteúdos de Ciências, especialmente de Física, obtidos por meio das abordagens tradicionais. Neste contexto, ressignificar as atividades didáticas, especialmente os métodos de ensino utilizados pelos professores, torna-se, portanto, fundamental. A despeito dos esforços de professores e pesquisadores no desenvolvimento de novos métodos de ensino centrados nos estudantes, a abordagem tradicional ainda é onipresente na prática instrucional universitária, tanto no contexto internacional, quanto nacional. A não adoção de práticas inovadoras por parte dos professores, apesar dos resultados notoriamente positivos obtidos por meio delas, indica que existem muitas barreiras no processo de mudança da prática docente. Por conseguinte, compreender em profundidade o processo de difusão e mudança das práticas de ensino pode contribuir para que novos métodos sejam incorporados com sucesso, tendo sua adoção continuada. É nesse contexto que a presente tese se insere. Em linhas gerais, nossa pesquisa visa investigar, no contexto de duas universidades públicas brasileiras: a adoção de métodos de ensino inovadores centrados nos estudantes, em disciplinas de Física Geral; os fatores que influenciam a adoção e a difusão de tais métodos, em comparação com disciplinas equivalentes de universidades de outros países; os impactos na aprendizagem de conteúdos de Física e nas crenças e atitudes dos estudantes acerca dos métodos de ensino. Para isso, utilizando as orientações metodológicas para estudos de caso de Yin, e embasados pela Teoria de Difusão de Inovações de Rogers, realizamos três estudos de caso, dois exploratórios e um explanatório Os resultados do primeiro estudo evidenciam que o processo de mudança da prática docente foi influenciado pela percepção de uma vantagem relativa frente à prática instrucional anterior, pela compatibilidade entre as crenças de ensino e aprendizagem da professora e os pressupostos básicos dos métodos, pela observabilidade dos resultados obtidos na implementação e pela forma como esses métodos foram inseridos no contexto de ensino, isto é, com suporte de especialistas. Os resultados do segundo estudo apontam que a continuidade da prática inovadora dessa professora variou entre uma adaptação e uma reinvenção dos métodos de ensino centrados nos estudantes Ensino sob Medida (EsM) e Instrução pelos Colegas (IpC). As modificações feitas nos métodos foram balizadas pelas crenças da professora e pela dificuldade de cumprir o cronograma de conteúdos da disciplina. Em termos dos impactos na aprendizagem, nossa análise indica que o desempenho dos estudantes em um teste padronizado foi inferior ao apontado pela literatura. Por outro lado, os métodos contribuíram para um bom engajamento dos estudantes na disciplina, bem como para o desenvolvimento de atitudes positivas em relação ao IpC e ao EsM. O terceiro estudo, realizado em uma universidade diferente dos dois primeiros estudos, identificou que os docentes investigados fizeram uso de variações dos métodos Aprendizagem Baseada em Problemas (ABP), IpC e EsM As modificações nos métodos foram realizadas de acordo com as necessidades específicas dos docentes, pelos contextos de ensino em que se encontravam e pelas suas crenças e experiências anteriores. Ainda em relação à adoção dos métodos, o processo de tomada de decisão de modificar a estrutura da disciplina de Física I, por meio da adoção de uma variação do EsM, foi coletivo, tornando o método uma prática estabelecida após a primeira experiência de seu uso. Segundo os docentes, a adoção dos métodos centrados nos estudantes foi responsável por uma melhora no engajamento e na aprendizagem dos estudantes. Contudo, um resultado negativo apontado pelos docentes foi a cultura que os estudantes desenvolveram em copiar as respostas das denominadas pré-aulas. Inferimos que este resultado está atrelado ao fato de que tais atividades eram avaliadas por grau de correção, e não pelo engajamento dos estudantes. Entre os docentes investigados, a difusão das inovações didáticas se deu por meio de uma estrutura descentralizada, onde um dos professores pode ser compreendido como um inovador local que difundiu os métodos ativos entre seus pares. Compreendemos que o modelo de difusão averiguado foi eficiente, pois a taxa de adoção dos métodos ativos, ou variações deles, foi elevada. Contudo, ressaltamos que a presença de um especialista (agente da mudança) poderia ter evitado a descontinuidade da prática do EsM. / Making student-centered teaching has been the focus of a great number of researchers within the area of Science teaching and research over the past 30 years. This tendency has its origin in the few positive results in relation to the learning of Science contents, especially of Physics, obtained through traditional approaches. In this context, re-signifying the didactic activities, especially the teaching methods used by teachers, becomes, therefore, fundamental. Despite the efforts of teachers and researchers in developing new student-centered teaching methods, the traditional approach is still ubiquitous in university instructional practice, both internationally and nationally. The non-adoption of innovative practices by teachers, despite the notoriously positive results obtained through them, indicates that there are many barriers in the process of changing teaching practice. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the process of dissemination and change in teaching practices can contribute to the successful incorporation of new methods and their continued adoption. It is in this context that this thesis is inserted. In general terms, our research aims to investigate, in the context of two Brazilian public universities: the adoption of innovative student-centered teaching methods, in General Physics disciplines; the factors that influence the adoption and diffusion of such methods, in comparison with equivalent disciplines of universities in other countries; the impacts on the learning of Physics contents and the students' beliefs and attitudes about teaching methods. For this purpose, using Yin´s methodological guidelines for case studies, and based on Rogers' Theory of Diffusion of Innovations, we conducted three case studies, two exploratory and one explanatory The results of the first study show that the process of change in teaching practice was influenced by the perception of a relative advantage over the previous instructional practice, by the compatibility between the teaching and learning beliefs of the teacher and the basic assumptions of the methods, by the observability of the results obtained in the implementation and by the way these methods were inserted in the teaching context, that is, with the support of specialists. The results of the second study indicate that the continuity of this teacher's innovative practice varied between an adaptation and a reinvention of the student-centered teaching methods Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) and Peer Instruction (PI). The modifications made in the methods were defined by the beliefs of the teacher and by the difficulty of fulfilling the content schedule of the discipline. In terms of the impacts on the students´ learning, our analysis indicate that the students´ performance on a standardized test was lower than that reported in the literature. On the other hand, the methods contributed to a good students´ engagement with the discipline, as well as to the development of positive attitudes towards the PI and the JiTT. The third study, conducted in a university other than where the first two studies took place, identified that the teachers investigated made use of variations of the methods Problem-Based Learning (PBL), PI and JiTT. The modifications in the methods were made according to the specific needs of the teachers, the teaching contexts in which they were inserted and their previous beliefs and experiences Still, in relation to the adoption of the methods, the decision-making process to modify the structure of the discipline of Physics I, through the adoption of a variation of the JiTT, was collective, making the method an established practice after the first experience of its use. According to the teachers, the adoption of student-centered methods was responsible for an improvement in students' engagement and learning. However, a negative result pointed out by the teachers was the culture that the students developed in copying the answers provided in the so-called pre-classes. We infer that this result is linked to the fact that such activities were evaluated by degree of correction, and not by student engagement. Among the teachers investigated, the diffusion of didactic innovations occurred through a decentralized structure, where one of the teachers can be understood as a local innovator who diffused the active methods among his peers. We understand that the diffusion model verified was efficient, since the rate of adoption of the active methods, or variations of them, was high. However, we emphasize that the presence of a specialist (agent of change) could have avoided the discontinuity of the JiTT practice.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第21747号 / 工博第4564号 / 新制||工||1711(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市社会工学専攻 / (主査)教授 山田 忠史, 准教授 SCHMOECKER Jan-Dirk, 教授 宇野 伸宏 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka framtidsutsikter och utmaningar för kontaktlös betalningsmetod som är NFC-baserad. Detta mynnade ut i frågor som undersökte kring varför enbart ett fåtal banker valt att satsa på kontaktlösa betalkort, vilka utmaningar som NFC-baserade betalningar står inför i den svenska marknaden och även vilka framtidsutsikter den kontaktlösa betalningsmetoden har i den svenska betalningsbranschen. För att svara på dessa frågor, tillämpades en kvalitativ fallstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Två respondenter från varsin bank som infört kontaktlös betalningsmetod i Sverige intervjuades, likaså en respondent från en bank som inte hade infört kontaktlös betalningsmetod i Sverige och ytterligare två respondenter från en annan bank som inte infört kontaktlösa betalningsmetoder i Sverige. Utöver detta, intervjuades även en forskare från Sveriges riksbank och en konsult som arbetar inom ett forum för kontaktlös betalningsmetod. Studien påvisade att anledningen till att ett fåtal banker erbjudit kontaktlös betalningsmetod till sina kunder var till följd av att Sverige varit relativt sena med att byta från magnetremsa som betalningsmetod till chip och PIN, vilket gjort att man ogärna investerade i kontaktlös betalningsmetod. Utmaningar som kontaktlös betalningsmetod står inför är att se till att infrastrukturen utökas i Sverige samt informera kunder om kontaktlös betalningsmetod. Framtidsutsikterna för kontaktlös betalningsmetod är positiva och tanken bland flera aktörer är att kontaktlös betalningsmetod ska vara väldigt utbrett i Sverige år 2020. / The purpose of this research was to investigate future prospects and challenges regarding contactless payment method which is based on NFC. These lead to the formulation of questions which researched why only a few banks had chosen to employ contactless payment cards, which challenges that NFC-based payments are facing in the Swedish market, and also which future prospects the contactless payment method has in the Swedish payment market. In order to answer these questions, a qualitative case study with semi-structured interviews was utilized. Interviews were conducted with two respondents from respective banks which had introduced contactless payment in Sweden while additional interviews were conducted with one respondent from a bank which had not introduced contactless payment in Sweden and two respondents from another bank which had not introduced contactless payment methods in Sweden. In addition to this, one respondent from the central bank of Sweden and one consultant working within a forum regarding contactless payment have been interviewed. The study showed that the reason to why few banks have offered contactless payment method to their customers was due to that Sweden had been relatively late in regards to changing from magnetic strip as a payment method to chip and PIN, which resulted in that the market participants did not wish to invest in the contactless payment method. Challenges which the contactless payment method is facing, is to make sure that the infrastructure will be increased in Sweden, and inform customers about the contactless payment method. The future prospects for the contactless payment methods are positive and the intention among several market participants is that the contactless payment method will be very widespread in Sweden 2020.

This research investigates the impact of the interaction between the consumer and mobile service provider on the adoption of advanced mobile commerce services by existing consumers of mobile technology. These factors include: 1) Perceived Relationship Quality (PRQ), which is the consumer’s evaluation of the quality of his/her relationship with the mobile service provider, and 2) Perceived Value of the Adoption Incentive (PVI), which is the consumer’s evaluation of the value of incentives that are offered by the service provider to entice him/her to adopt the mobile service. The influence of these factors on consumer attitudes and intentions towards adopting mobile commerce services is studied and compared with three other well-known adoption factors including perceived usefulness, ease of use and the subjective norm. / This study was undertaken in three parts. Firstly, a conceptual study was conducted to investigate and analyse the existing literature on consumer adoption of mobile commerce services. This phase started with a general review of the existing studies using a novel model: the Entities-Interactions Framework, EIF. The EIF explains adoption behaviour in terms of interactions between the consumer and the other entities including the mobile service, the service provider and the social system. This framework was used to analyse the extent to which important adoption factors have been covered by past research and therefore identify the research questions. The conceptual study resulted in the development of a research model and relevant hypotheses. / Secondly, a large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted to test the research model and the proposed hypotheses. This part of the research helped give a broad picture of the influence of consumer-service provider factors on consumer adoption of mobile commerce services. Thirdly, face-to-face interviews with mobile phones users were conducted in order to validate the survey results and provide an understanding of the mechanisms that control the impact of the investigated factors. The research found that PRQ and PVI have an important influence on the attitude and intention of existing mobile phone users towards accepting and using advanced mobile commerce services. Furthermore, the research found that these newly introduced factors are more influential on consumer adoption perceptions than other well-established factors. / The study enriches our understanding of technology adoption by individuals because it explains why an existing user of a technology, such as mobile technology, will or will not adopt advanced versions of that technology. The findings affirm that in the context of communication technologies, which are interactive by nature, understanding the interaction between consumers and service providers is a key to understanding the progressive adoption by consumers of advanced forms of these technologies. The thesis provides practitioners (particularly mobile service providers) with a better understanding of the impact and implication of their interaction with consumers on consumers’ acceptance and use of mobile services. The study emphasises the importance of incorporating this understanding throughout the mobile service provision process, starting from the conceptualisation of the service to the actual provision of the service to the market. The study also offers a novel comprehension of how to view each mobile service offer as a consequence of the previous offer and a precedent of the next in order to enhance consumer adoption of mobile service in the short and long runs.

The inquiry documented in this thesis is located at the nexus of technological innovation and traditional schooling. As we enter the second decade of a new century, few would argue against the increasingly urgent need to integrate digital literacies with traditional academic knowledge. Yet, despite substantial investments from governments and businesses, the adoption and diffusion of contemporary digital tools in formal schooling remain sluggish. To date, research on technology adoption in schools tends to take a deficit perspective of schools and teachers, with the lack of resources and teacher ‘technophobia’ most commonly cited as barriers to digital uptake. Corresponding interventions that focus on increasing funding and upskilling teachers, however, have made little difference to adoption trends in the last decade. Empirical evidence that explicates the cultural and pedagogical complexities of innovation diffusion within long-established conventions of mainstream schooling, particularly from the standpoint of students, is wanting. To address this knowledge gap, this thesis inquires into how students evaluate and account for the constraints and affordances of contemporary digital tools when they engage with them as part of their conventional schooling. It documents the attempted integration of a student-led Web 2.0 learning initiative, known as the Student Media Centre (SMC), into the schooling practices of a long-established, high-performing independent senior boys’ school in urban Australia. The study employed an ‘explanatory’ two-phase research design (Creswell, 2003) that combined complementary quantitative and qualitative methods to achieve both breadth of measurement and richness of characterisation. In the initial quantitative phase, a self-reported questionnaire was administered to the senior school student population to determine adoption trends and predictors of SMC usage (N=481). Measurement constructs included individual learning dispositions (learning and performance goals, cognitive playfulness and personal innovativeness), as well as social and technological variables (peer support, perceived usefulness and ease of use). Incremental predictive models of SMC usage were conducted using Classification and Regression Tree (CART) modelling: (i) individual-level predictors, (ii) individual and social predictors, and (iii) individual, social and technological predictors. Peer support emerged as the best predictor of SMC usage. Other salient predictors include perceived ease of use and usefulness, cognitive playfulness and learning goals. On the whole, an overwhelming proportion of students reported low usage levels, low perceived usefulness and a lack of peer support for engaging with the digital learning initiative. The small minority of frequent users reported having high levels of peer support and robust learning goal orientations, rather than being predominantly driven by performance goals. These findings indicate that tensions around social validation, digital learning and academic performance pressures influence students’ engagement with the Web 2.0 learning initiative. The qualitative phase that followed provided insights into these tensions by shifting the analytics from individual attitudes and behaviours to shared social and cultural reasoning practices that explain students’ engagement with the innovation. Six indepth focus groups, comprising 60 students with different levels of SMC usage, were conducted, audio-recorded and transcribed. Textual data were analysed using Membership Categorisation Analysis. Students’ accounts converged around a key proposition. The Web 2.0 learning initiative was useful-in-principle but useless-in-practice. While students endorsed the usefulness of the SMC for enhancing multimodal engagement, extending peer-topeer networks and acquiring real-world skills, they also called attention to a number of constraints that obfuscated the realisation of these design affordances in practice. These constraints were cast in terms of three binary formulations of social and cultural imperatives at play within the school: (i) ‘cool/uncool’, (ii) ‘dominant staff/compliant student’, and (iii) ‘digital learning/academic performance’. The first formulation foregrounds the social stigma of the SMC among peers and its resultant lack of positive network benefits. The second relates to students’ perception of the school culture as authoritarian and punitive with adverse effects on the very student agency required to drive the innovation. The third points to academic performance pressures in a crowded curriculum with tight timelines. Taken together, findings from both phases of the study provide the following key insights. First, students endorsed the learning affordances of contemporary digital tools such as the SMC for enhancing their current schooling practices. For the majority of students, however, these learning affordances were overshadowed by the performative demands of schooling, both social and academic. The student participants saw engagement with the SMC in-school as distinct from, even oppositional to, the conventional social and academic performance indicators of schooling, namely (i) being ‘cool’ (or at least ‘not uncool’), (ii) sufficiently ‘compliant’, and (iii) achieving good academic grades. Their reasoned response therefore, was simply to resist engagement with the digital learning innovation. Second, a small minority of students seemed dispositionally inclined to negotiate the learning affordances and performance constraints of digital learning and traditional schooling more effectively than others. These students were able to engage more frequently and meaningfully with the SMC in school. Their ability to adapt and traverse seemingly incommensurate social and institutional identities and norms is theorised as cultural agility – a dispositional construct that comprises personal innovativeness, cognitive playfulness and learning goals orientation. The logic then is ‘both and’ rather than ‘either or’ for these individuals with a capacity to accommodate both learning and performance in school, whether in terms of digital engagement and academic excellence, or successful brokerage across multiple social identities and institutional affiliations within the school. In sum, this study takes us beyond the familiar terrain of deficit discourses that tend to blame institutional conservatism, lack of resourcing and teacher resistance for low uptake of digital technologies in schools. It does so by providing an empirical base for the development of a ‘third way’ of theorising technological and pedagogical innovation in schools, one which is more informed by students as critical stakeholders and thus more relevant to the lived culture within the school, and its complex relationship to students’ lives outside of school. It is in this relationship that we find an explanation for how these individuals can, at the one time, be digital kids and analogue students.