The widespread use of smartphones and technological advances in near-field communication technologies are quickly transforming mobile payment systems. These technologies have made it possible for consumers to use their smartphones to pay for their purchases through various payments systems such as Apple’s iPay, MasterPass and V.me. These mobile payment systems, commonly referred to as mobile wallets, are designed to eliminate the need for consumers to carry multiple credit cards in their wallets, thereby making it more convenient for consumers to shop. Mobile wallets represent a major advance in mobile marketing because they are another major channel through which marketers can better reach and serve customers in a very personalized way. Realizing the potential benefits of mobile wallets for both marketers and consumers depends on the speed of adoption of this new technology. This study examines the factors that influence consumers’ decision to adopt mobile wallets. Drawing on the theoretical technology adoption and diffusion literatures, a model of the factors that influence mobile wallet adoption is proposed and tested with data collected from 530 respondents. The purpose of this study was to develop a new technology acceptance model by combining TAM with IDT and exploring the factors that affect people’s behavioral intentions to use Mobile Wallet. Based on our proposed model, we explored the relationships among three innovative characteristics with PU and PEU with subjective norm which affect individuals’ intention for using Mobile Wallet. The results of this study show that some factors significantly influenced people behavioral intention to use Mobile Wallet. The effect of the trialability on the perceived usefulness is supported in this study. Subjective norm and awareness are correlated with the users’ perceived ease of use in Mobile Wallet. The findings suggest extended model of TAM for the acceptance of the Mobile Wallet can help industry players who are looking to build public demand and increase usage of Mobile Wallet.

In recent years, there has been a global trend of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). In 2011, Canada joined this trend by implementing mandatory IFRS adoption for publicly traded firms. Proponents of IFRS adoption claim that it will benefit investors by improving comparability and transparency of firms. At the same time, research on family firms has seen increasing focus. Because of family ties to the firm, family firms can exhibit different motivations, behaviours and performance than do non-family firms. In this research, I attempt to gain insight on the effects of IFRS adoption for a unique set of firms, namely publicly traded family firms by examining the effect of IFRS adoption on earnings informativeness. Although previous literature examines the economic consequences of IFRS adoption, my study is the first to my knowledge that examines IFRS adoption effects on the unique set of family firms. I run a pooled regression to examine the effects of IFRS adoption on earnings informativeness. I find that IFRS adoption by Canadian family firms is associated with a statistically significant higher level of earnings informativeness. The findings of this research could have implications for standard setters, minority shareholders of family firms, and academic researchers.

The Defense Systems Management College (DSMC) is beginning a major transition from its traditional classroom training methods to technology-based education and training. Conventional classroom courses will be rewritten and restructured to a computer-based format and be delivered on-line. According to the Concerns-Based Adoption Model, the faculty will experience concerns during the process of adopting this innovation. Identification of these concerns can assist in selecting appropriate interventions to minimize problems and to ease the adoption process. This study had two purposes. The first was to identify the Stages of Concern of the DSMC faculty toward the use of technology-based education and training by measuring faculty responses to the Stages of Concern (SoC) Questionnaire. The second was to determine appropriate interventions to assist the faculty through the change process. The study accomplished both purposes. All teaching faculty (N=135) received the questionnaire about their concerns and issues with this innovation, and 126 responses were returned (93% response rate). A total of eighty-one respondents (64%) reported no experience with technology-based courses, and the composite faculty SoC profile correspondingly reflected the "nonuser" category. No significant differences in Stages of Concern were found between groups of faculty when divided by common demographic criteria such as years of teaching experience, civilian or military status, and experience with educational technology. Quantitative methods of analysis included SoC profile comparison, High Stage Score and Second High Stage Score analysis, analysis-of variance (ANOVA), and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Qualitative methods were also used to analyze responses to an open-ended question on the survey instrument. Results reflected a general lack of knowledge and awareness about the innovation from the faculty and strong personal concerns about what impact it will have on them. The faculty clearly displayed a negative attitude toward this innovation and seemed unconvinced that it was the optimal solution. Written responses to the open-ended question provided key insight into faculty attitudes. The majority of concerns identified were educational issues, particularly dealing with the effectiveness of a computer-based format when teaching highly-interactive management courses. Based on these results, recommended intervention strategies for DSMC were generated. These strategies focus on the need for better information dissemination about educational technology and for a realistic implementation plan. More importantly, interventions were recommended to provide incentives for faculty to increase proficiency with educational technology and the use of technology in their courses. / Ed. D.

Social networking applications (SNAs) have experienced a boom in popularity in recent years. Sites like Facebook and MySpace continuously draw new users, and are successful in organizing groups of users around topics of common interest. Among SNAs, Facebook has demonstrably outgrown its rivals growing an estimated 157 percent from 2008 to 2009. Facebook is now estimated to be the fourth largest Internet site in the world, trailing only Google, Microsoft and Yahoo (Schonfeld 2009). This dissertation posits and tests a theoretical model composed of key factors that contribute to post-adoptive use of social networking applications and the relationship of those factors to one another. This study also identifies and clarifies new constructs that were not previously used to measure usage, and further refines the constructs that were previously used so that they better fit social networking applications. The results of this dissertation show that the critical factors of social capital, hedonic enjoyment, perceived usefulness, social influence, satisfaction and attitude have a positive influence on a post-adoptive user's intention to continue using Facebook. The results of this study yielded a structural model for predicting the post-adoptive use of Facebook. This work also developed an instrument for measuring constructs relevant to social networking applications.

This thesis examines the role of exports and GMO regulations of the exporting country on the adoption of GM crops by its farmers. The analytic sample includes five major exporting countries including Argentina, Brazil, China, India, and Mexico. I focus only on the crop that is widely grown in each country. The crops are cotton, maize, and soybean. GMO regulations indices, which were constructed by Vigani et al, consists of four categories of different regulations related to import of GMO products. Relative impact of different aspects of GMO regulations on exports are assessed to get a better understanding of domestic production decisions of farmers in major exporting countries. The result for the approval process, risk assessment and international agreement suggested that, these regulations are not significant to influence the adoption rate of the GM crops. The exporting countries, especially the developing countries, usually reluctant to implement the GM regulations because of the high cost of completing the procedures.

Growing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions as well as electricity prices have led to more serious efforts by the state and federal government to provide promote renewable energy at affordable costs. I examine the effect of policies and incentives on added commercial solar PV capacity while controlling for pro-environmental preferences, energy prices, geographic controls, and demographic controls. I use county-level data that spans twelve northeastern states and the District of Columbia from 2005 through 2013. I utilize the Tobit estimator to account for a mass point of solar PV capacity at zero kilowatts. The results suggest that loans, performance-based incentives, rebates, sales tax waivers, and net metering standards increase the amount of added solar PV capacity. Solar Renewable Energy credits have a small impact on PV capacity growth, while interconnection standard and renewable portfolio standards are not statistically significant. If policy administrators aim to increase the amount of commercial solar PV, then they should consider loans, rebates, and performance-based incentives as the most effective policies.

The critical need for access to network technology resources supporting advanced tools of academics and research is evident across disciplines and locations around the world. As research conducted by and in partnership with higher education institutions continues to increase in demand, it is incumbent on institutions to ensure the resources for this work are available as standard features for their faculty and students. The purpose of this study was to identify opinions of end users on the challenges to adoption of research and education (R&E) network resources at their local higher education institutions. The intent is to inform the R&E community about these challenges and to consider them when planning for the life cycle of network design and deployment. Study participants represented Information Technology (IT) leadership at 23 higher education institutions located within a regional R&E network consortium. Q methodology was applied to an established technology adoption model, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh, Morris, G. Davis, F. Davis, 2003) and informed by Rogers’ (2003) theory on the diffusion of innovations. The UTAUT model was modified to address attitudes toward technology resources enabled through access to R&E networks. Statistical analysis of the Q-sort data and examination of additional qualitative data were completed on data collected in this study. The combined methods served to identify factors based on the most prominent characteristics of each group and interpreted in alignment to the study framework. Results demonstrated the diversity of institutions and locations represented. Salient viewpoints expressed by respondents implied themes related to the value of a collegial environment within which to develop and deploy new projects, the critical need for institutional capacity and support, and the challenges of accessing and use of network resources. Theory can benefit from these results as a resource for exploring further modification of the initial UTAUT model to include technologies and audiences not previously included. Practitioners will benefit through reference to the findings when planning for the human and technological infrastructure capacity needed to support research and academic at their institutions.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (MA Theol)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2014 / Practical Theology / unrestricted

The problem with which this research is dealing is the lack of any explanatory model which explains both the perception and the adoption of new products. One objective of this study is to advance a new conceptual framework concerning both the perception and the adoption of new products. The second objective of this study is to evaluate this new framework theoretically and empirically. Bunge's evaluative criteria are used to evaluate the new model theoretically while Hunter, Schmidt, and Jackson's meta-analysis technique is used to evaluate the model empirically. An extensive review of literature pertaining to the definition of innovation, the adoption process, and innovativeness is included in the second chapter. Chapter three covers research plan and methods. The new model and its assumptions are presented in chapter four. The results of both theoretical and empirical investigations of the new model are reported in chapter five. Finally, chapter six includes a discussion of the main findings and provides some suggestions for future research. An interpretive and postulational model is introduced in this study. The model is built on three main assumptions and contains thirty-one different theoretical constructs. Those constructs are bounded together by forty-six theoretical propositions. Those propositions are the postulates or the axioms which state the nature of the interrelationships among all constructs included in the model.

This descriptive study examines the status of the diffusion and adoption of computer-based technology in the 33 Appalachian College Association schools and universities. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase I a survey instrument was sent to six hundred randomly selected Appalachian College Association full-time faculty. This survey instrument was used to determine the frequency with which faculty use computer-based technology in the curriculum of the ACA liberal arts colleges and universities. The results of this survey were compared to those of the same survey administered to 59 full-time faculty at Milligan College. In Phase II, in-depth interviews were conducted with sixteen Milligan College faculty members to determine why computer-based technology is or is not being used, how often it is being used, and with what results. An analysis of the results of the study show that word processing software, e-mail, and WWW resources at school are the most frequently used computer-based technologies. Other technologies are occasionally used and, still others, rarely or never used. Faculty gave only anecdotal evidence that the use of computer-based technology in the classroom was effective, but they were able to describe instances where they felt computer-based technology was effective and instances where its use should be avoided. In addition, these interviews provided insight about faculty attitudes toward the use of computer-based technology in the teaching/learning process, support and resources that are available, faculty training and professional development preferences, and anticipated future uses of computer-based technology. The survey instrument and interview questions are included with the document. / Ph. D.