Abstract Following the increase in living standard and manufacturing techniques and capacity in Taiwan in recent years, the production and the demands for special alloy materials are expanding from their industrial application into living uses. Among innovative merchandise of Titanium techniques application in daily life uses, the one with highest level of techniques and innovative value is aquatitan techniques. Modern technology and process techniques are renewing in extremely fast speed and the speed of developing new merchandise is much faster than the acceptance of consumers, however, many of the new products may be very creative, but not always meeting he needs of consumers and end up with supply of seemingly good products find no demand at all and failed the manufacturers¡¦ expectation of big sales. Further, with rapid change of market demand of new products, it resulted in greatly shortened life cycle of new products. Hence, when the needs of consumers is not understood properly and effectively, the market will wipe such product out mercilessly. If the factors affecting the willingness of consumer in purchasing aquatitan is clearly and correctly understood and incorporate the viewpoints of consumers into the process of research and development, there will certainly marketing strategies proposed effectively for the new products to increase the purchasing inclination of consumers. In the research, we have 2 motives: one is to find out factors affecting consumers¡¦ willingness in purchasing aquatitan products and the other one is to find out the difference among types of consumers adopting aquatitan products for making up effective marketing strategies to channel the aquatitan products effectively to the whole market. The purpose of this research is to find out the consumers characteristics of different product, the effect of new product attributes in the decision of consumers in purchasing aquatitan products, and in the meantime, finding out the difference of different consumer groups in consumers characteristics and new products attributed to provide assistance to companies in marketing practices and product research and development. This research takes aquatitan neck rings as the subject of practical research and 300 questionnaires were distributed among consumers who have purchased the products of subject company. It is found that each type of adopter and store-wise consumers are having different consumer characteristics, which may be provided for the reference of subject company in deciding their future marketing strategies. Key Words: Innovative Diffusion, Consumer Characteristics, New Product Attribute, Aquatitan, Marketing Strategy

In recently years, RFID system has been developed rapidly and it is one of the ten most important technologies in this century. Our government (Taiwan) and the manufacture industries both are actively and positively promoting RFID system to enhance immediate reactions of corporate distribution & logistic system, and further improving the corporate operation efficiency and corporate competitive competences. In this study, we use Everett M. Rogers¡¦s (1962) Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Theory as our framework, with individualized case study such as torpedo car system of steel plant discussing RFID system¡¦s five stages of its implementation process. The five stages are knowledge, persuasion, decision-making, implementation and confirmation. These are the consideration items and evaluation standards when implement RFID system. We research RFID system on its impact in organizational structure and culture, and further compare the impact of adoptive RFID system enterprises and existing resources. We summarized our research findings as following : 1. Large-scale and solid financial enterprises usually take the initiative to collect information and understanding the innovative technologies such as the RFID system. If the technology can be widely applied in the company and bring greater benefits, the employees within the company will propose recommended plans. Therefore, usually early adopters of such technology are big firm companies. 2. Enterprises whom are considering implementing this innovative technology like RFID system, the first focus is its future benefit, followed by the costs and the other factors; if the assessments revealed that can significantly enhance corporate performance, even in the absence of precedent for reference, the enterprises will still try to implement and use this technology. 3. Because the use of innovative technology companies usually lack of precedent and experience for reference, therefore before they adopted, they will survey related examples and will compare the current operation status to improve the efficiency of the forecast evaluation. In the initial stage of introduce innovative technology for a company, increasing corporate performance brought by technology usually remains in forecast period and hard to specify prediction.

Digital inequality, or the disparity in the access and use of information and communication technologies (ICT), is one of the most critical issues in the knowledge economy. This inequality prevents under-privileged people from exploring digital opportunities to enhance their life quality. Governments, business, and the public have devoted tremendous resources to address this issue, but the results are inconclusive. Theoretical understanding, complemented with theory-based empirical assessment of the phenomenon, is essential to inform effective policy-making and interventions. This dissertation explored the key factors that lead to the inequality in the access and use of ICT, particularly the high-speed Internet, between the privileged and under-privileged. I applied a belief-based perspective to understand how distinctive beliefs concerning ICT acceptance differentially influence under-privileged and privileged people¡¦s innovation decision and behavior at different stages of the implementation process. A theoretical model that drew upon the Theory of Planned Behavior, Motivation Theory, Social Learning Theory, Diffusion of Innovation, and Trust was developed to explain how cognitive, social, behavioral, and institutional factors inform digital inequality as a whole. The conceptual model and forwarded hypotheses in the dissertation were empirically tested using data collected from a large-scale field survey. The survey investigated the adoption and usage behavior of residents in the city of LaGrange, Georgia where the city government, aiming to address digital inequality, provided high-speed Internet connection and devices to residents at no cost. A complementary case study was subsequently conducted to examine a multi-stage process model in which various barriers and facilitators may prevent or promote the progress of individuals¡¦ ICT innovation. The results of this research reveal valuable insights into the differential patterns of ICT access and usage, and the key factors that cause them, for under-privileged and privileged people. The findings, in turn, suggest a segmentation and stepwise technology implementation strategy for people with different backgrounds and at different stages of their innovation processes. This dissertation makes several notable contributions for both researchers and practitioners. First, the dissertation contributes a holistic and theoretically grounded perspective that extends beyond the technology-centered view in most digital inequality studies. It also highlights the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon. As such, this research meets the challenge set forward by notable researchers to develop theoretical models capable of revealing the complexity embedded in this issue. Second, the dissertation presents a unifying theory reflected upon adoption and diffusion of innovation. Testing theories in the context of digital inequality extends and complements our existing knowledge about these related fields. Most importantly, the empirical findings derived from the rich data set identity powerful leverage points for stimulating the adoption and use of ICT among the under-privileged. With such insights, practitioners, particularly policy-makers and service providers, can formulate effective interventions to address the problem of digital inequality.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

The School-wide Positive Behavior Intervention Support model (SWPBIS) continues to gain widespread use across schools in the U.S. and abroad. However, despite its widespread use across schools and the large body of research demonstrating its utility, little research has examined the implementation process to see what factors contribute or inhibit its successful implementation. Informed by Rogers’ diffusion theory, this study examined factors that may influence the sustained implementation of the SWPBIS. These factors are relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialibility, and observability. Results of this study indicated that the relative advantage and observability of SWPBIS may explain school personnel’s willingness to continue with its implementation. These results led to some important implications for practitioners involved in the implementation of the SWPBIS. Limitations and recommendations for future research are also provided.

Many innovations fail on the market. Non-adoption and slow diffusion represent a high risk for companies in technology-intensive industries when looking to innovate, develop, market and launch a new technology. Its diffusion in the market is a major challenge for marketing. The consequence of a failed market introduction can be financial and reputational loss. Diffusion of innovation research shows a short-coming of researching barriers and challenges which prevent new technologies from being successful. This research sheds some light in the diversity, importance and existence of barriers for the diffusion of innovation. The originality of this investigation is a mixed-methods approach to explore barriers and challenges for the diffusion of innovation. An exploratory qualitative research is performed on the unique case of digital radio diffusion in Germany. Barriers evolve by this method in addition to barriers, which so far are described in a theoretical framework. These barriers are researched empirically via an international survey with close to one thousand participants representing experienced practitioners in marketing and sales positions from different industries. Various research findings are presented. The evolving barriers are researched and show circumstances of today, such as the dominance of internet, environmental awareness or the importance of inter-industrial collaboration. Additionally, diffusion barriers from a theoretical framework are tested with empirical data. Findings are presented as evidence for diffusion barriers and their importance for the specific example of digital radio is explained. Furthermore, barriers are also generalized for different technology-intensive industries. The existence of barriers is confirmed by empirical data and patterns of variations are outlined. Validity is achieved via triangulation of methodologies and supporting literature. The findings are presented to extend the theoretical framework and to close a gap in diffusion of innovation theory. The research contributes in very different ways to existing knowledge. Apart from the theoretical contributions, methodological and practical contributions are also made. With quantitative research, the sampling strategy for an online questionnaire considers the benefits of professional social networks on a global level to contribute empirical data to a theoretical framework. The practical contribution is directed to industry stakeholders and practitioners such as in marketing. The research findings result in a framework of barriers and supporting illustrations for technology-intensive industries. Practitioners can benefit from the illustrations for strategic decision-making in business development, product and general management, marketing and sales.

The primary focus of this dissertation was to explore students' perceptions of adopting Web 2.0 applications at the School of Basic Education (SBE) in Kuwait. Although Web 2.0 applications are becoming more popular among the digital generation, there is still no evidence of students' perceptions of adopting the innovation of Web 2.0 technologies in Kuwait. The problem this study addresses is that the current status of Web 2.0 technologies usage by academic students has remained educationally unknown in Kuwait. Therefore, there was a need to investigate the extent to which academic students in SBE are aware of and their usage of Web 2.0 technologies, as well as the factors and obstacles that affect using these technologies. Rogers' diffusion of innovation theory (DoI) is employed in this study to specify the factors that influence student perceptions of adopting Web 2.0 applications as learning tools. Data used in this dissertation was gathered via a survey instrument from 350 students at the SBE and was statistically analyzed to find out the answers of the research questions. This study identified the low rate of Web 2.0 awareness and adoption by the students. Descriptive statistical analysis, such as mean scores and standard deviation, were used to analyze and conclude the findings. In the rates of awareness and adoption of Web 2.0, this study also identified no statistically significant differences between the groups of all the demographic variables except the academic field. The statistically significant differences were identified between the academic variables before and after recoding the academic fields into 5 groups. A t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to determine the statistical significance. Several factors were examined in the study to identify their influence on the rate of adoption. The factors included the rate of awareness, Rogers' attributes of innovations, and the obstacles to adopt Web 2.0. The multiple linear regression technique was used to find out the percentage of variance that was explained by three groups of predictors. The overall research model explained 49% of the variance on the rate of adoption. The implications of the findings, in addition to adding empirical evidence to the body of knowledge, highlight areas for professional development, educational and institutional changes and possibility for future research.

This study aims to examine the possibilities and limitations ofresidual products from the Swedish food industry for new uses inpackaging design. The selection in the study is semi strategicallyrandom and through the selection four interviews were conductedvia e-mail, two interviews from RISE and two from the Swedishdesign agencies Snask and Bedow. The interviews are based on thestudy's question issues; What innovative packaging materials withproperties corresponding to plastics are available in the Swedishmarket? And How does a selection of Swedish design agenciesapproach the innovative packaging materials available on theSwedish market? Through results and analysis we have come tothe conclusion that there is a great awareness of design agencieswhen it comes to making environmentally conscious designdecisions and that it is highly relevant in today's society. Duringthe study, interesting packaging material was discovered. What hasalso emerged is that it is a matter of course to have to be climatefriendly as everything depends on demand from customers andconsumers. There are no direct regulations to relate to, but it is upto each individual how to relate to a more sustainabledevelopment. However, in order for a societal transformation totake place, collaboration between the various social sectors isrequired (Svenska vetenskapsrådet Formas, 2018).

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how educational research, specifically Research-Based Instructional Strategies (RBIS), is adopted by education practice, specifically within the engineering Statics classroom. Using a systematic approach, changes in classroom teaching practices were investigated from the instructors\' perspective. Both researchers and practitioners are included in the process, combining efforts to improve student learning, which is a critical goal for engineering education. The study is divided into 3 stages and each is discussed in an individual manuscript. Manuscript 1 provides an assessment of current teaching practices; Manuscript 2 explores RBIS use by Statics instructors and perceived barriers of adoption; and Manuscript 3 evaluates adoption using Fidelity of Implementation. <br /><br />A common set of concurrent mixed methods was used for each stage of this study. A quantitative national survey of Statics instructors (n =166) and 18 qualitative interviews were conducted to examine activities used in the Statics classroom and familiarity with nine RBIS. <br /><br />The results of this study show that lecturing is the most common activity throughout Statics classrooms, but is not the only activity. Other common activities included working examples and students working on problems individually and in groups. As discussed by the interview participants, each of Rogers\' characteristics influenced adoption for different reasons. For example, Complexity (level of difficulty with implementation of an RBIS) was most commonly identified as a barrier. His study also evaluated the Fidelity of Implementation for each RBIS and found it to be higher for RBIS that were less complex (in terms of the number of critical components). Many of the critical components (i.e. activities required for implementation, as described in the literature) were found to statistically distinguish RBIS users and non-users. <br /><br />This dissertation offers four contributions: (1) an understanding of current ractices in Statics; (2) the instructor perspective of the barriers to using RBIS in the classroom; (3) the use of Fidelity of Implementation as a unique evaluation of RBIS adoption, which can be used by future engineering education researchers; and (4) a systematic approach of exploring change in the classroom, which offers new perspectives and approaches to accelerate the adoption process.<br /> / Ph. D.

The use of educational technologies is a key component of education reform. In its current national technology plan, Future Ready Learning: Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education, the U.S. Department of Education asserts that educational technologies can transform student learning. Successful integration of educational technology could increase student achievement and transform the setting to bring about positive social change. The purpose of this study was to provide a group of expert panelists an opportunity to identify strategies and guidelines to create an effective educational technology plan. Data were gathered using a modified Delphi technique from 7 teachers, 8 administrators, and 7 policymakers. All had expertise in educational technologies and experience with past state technology implementations, and all used a Delphi instrument to rate statements from current research. Their recommendations confirmed the importance of each stage of Rogers' 5 stages of the innovation-decision process; the panelists also reached consensus about the role of the state and its responsibility to provide support and guidance to districts and schools when implementing educational technology plans. The results showed that an individualized approach to implementation of an educational technology innovation, rather than an organizational approach, may improve the rate of diffusion and adoption of educational technology innovations in this state's K-12 public schools. This shift in how implementations are managed could produce a more efficient and effective way to integrate educational technology innovations in U.S. K-12 schools.