The cyber world is growing as more information is converted from analogue to digital form. While convenience has been the main driver for this change little effort has been made on securing the data. Data breaches are growing in number and each breach is growing in severity. Combined with regulatory pressure organizations are starting to realize the importance of security. The increased threat level is also driving the security market for more potent solutions and artificial intelligence (AI) have in recent years been implemented to enhance the capabilities of security technologies.  The thesis aims to investigate the adoption of AI enabled cybersecurity technologies within the financial industry which is often perceived as the market leader regarding security. Using a qualitative method through a multiple case study, valuable insights were gained regarding how firms are working with security and what needs they have. To identify factors that influence the rate of diffusion of AI enabled security technologies the diffusion of innovation theory combined with the TOE framework was used in this study.  The thesis has contributed to the field of innovation management by enriching an area within IT innovation management by bridging the gap between security innovation and AI innovation. The study revealed that environmental factors, such as regulations and threat landscape, are forcing organizations to take action and control both how organizations work with security but also what technological attributes are perceived as advantageous. Detection and automation are two technological attributes that the companies are looking for to fill their needs. AI solutions are already being implemented to increase detection and automation we believe that the rate of adoption for AI enabled security innovation will only continue to grow. The results and findings contribute to an expanded understanding on the factors that affect adoption of AI security innovations within the financial industry. / Den digitala världen fortsätter att växa eftersom mer information omvandlas från analog till digital form. Medan bekvämlighet har varit den viktigaste drivkraften för denna förändring, så har lite ansträngning gjorts för att säkra upp den data som företagen besitter. Dataintrången växer i antal, och varje ny incident får allvarligare konsekvenser än den förra. Detta faktum kombinerat med strängare regelverk har fått företagen att inse vikten av att säkra sin miljö. Den förstärkta hotbilden driver också säkerhetsmarknaden framåt med nya lösningar, och artificiell intelligens (AI) har under de senaste åren i allt större utsträckning implementerats i säkerhetslösningar för att förstärka skyddet. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka spridningen av AI-säkerhetsinnovationer inom finansbranschen, som ofta uppfattas som marknadsledande när det gäller säkerhet. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod genom en fallstudie på tre företag erhölls värdefulla insikter om hur företagen arbetar med säkerhet och vilka behov de har. För att identifiera faktorer som påverkar spridningshastigheten för AI-säkerhetslösningar användes ”diffusion of innovation”-teorin i kombination med TOE-ramverket i denna studie. Uppsatsen har bidragit till innovation management-området genom att berika ett område inom IT-innovation genom att brygga mellan säkerhetsinnovation och AI-innovation. Studien visade att miljöfaktorer, såsom regelverk och hotbild, kontrollerar både hur organisationer arbetar med säkerhet och vilka tekniska egenskaper som uppfattas som fördelaktiga. Detektion och automatisering är två tekniska egenskaper som företagen har stora behov av. AI-lösningar implementeras redan för att öka de egenskaperna. Vi argumenterar för att, utifrån de behoven som företagen har kombinerat med miljöfaktorerna, kommer spridningstakten att öka för AI-säkerhetsinnovation.

The paradigm of diffusion research can be traced back all the way to the 1940s when Ryan and Gross investigated the diffusion of hybrid seed among farmers in Iowa. Since the 1960s diffusion research has been applied in a wide variety of disciplines, for instance, to study the diffusion of the Internet and the non-diffusion of the Dvorak keyboard. Currently, the technologies that are on top of the Gartner Hype Cycle are all associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI), which shortly can be defined as learning devices that perceive their environment and take actions to maximize their success at some goal. Consequently, some people suggest that the current hype surrounding AI can be the end of the human kind, while others believe it will give way for millions of fresh jobs and cleverer decision-making. In recent years both media and political organizations have shown great interest in AI. In addition, the industry is captivated by the potential uses of AI. In the last years, AI-related companies in the US have raised billions of dollars in the stock market together with a large number of acquisitions. The large flow of capital into AI technology underpins the fast development of AI solutions. The purpose of this study is to investigate how groups approach AI. What can be concluded after reviewing different sectors is that organizations seem to share a common interest of AI. Furthermore, organizations share the opinion that eventually AI will be a more natural part of their processes. Organizations investing a larger share of their budget in R&D have a longer experience of using AI and are currently doing projects utilizing more advanced technologies within AI. In organizations from other sectors, the investments in AI depend on the people with the authority to invest money in projects and their view on AI. Organizations generally seem to approach AI in a similar way. Firstly, they evaluate what AI is. Secondly, they find areas to make small iterative PoC-projects utilizing AI, usually with machine learning. Finally, more money is invested if the PoC-projects were successful and the organization starts looking at how to acquire more competence within the area to fully exploit the value of AI. / Paradigmet för innovationsspridning kan spåras ända tillbaka till 1940-talet när Ryan och Gross undersökte spridningen av hybridfrön bland bönder i Iowa. Sedan 1960-talet har forskningen tillämpats inom en mängd olika discipliner, till exempel för att studera spridningen av Internet och icke-spridningen av Dvorak-tangentbordet. För närvarande är teknologierna som ligger på toppen av Gartner Hype-cykeln alla förknippade med artificiell intelligens (AI), som kan definieras som lärande enheter som uppfattar sin miljö och vidtar åtgärder för att maximera sin framgång gällande något mål. Hypen som nu finns kring AI har lett till att vissa människor tror att det kan innebära slutet för mänskligheten medan andra tror att det kommer att ge plats för miljoner nya jobb och smartare beslutsfattande. Under de senaste åren har både medier och politiska organisationer visat stort intresse för AI samt visat intresse för potentiella användningsområden av AI. AI-relaterade företag i USA har under de senaste åren har tagit in miljarder dollar i riskkapital. Ett stort antal förvärv och kapitalflödet till AI-teknik ökar den snabba utvecklingen av AI-lösningar. Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva spridningen av AI i organisationer från ett antal olika sektorer. Vad som kan sägas efter att ha studerat olika sektorer är att organisationer delar en gemensam nyfikenhet för AI och att de tror att AI kommer bli en allt mer naturlig del av sina processer. De företag som spenderar mycket pengar på FoU har längre erfarenhet av att använda AI och gör för närvarande projekt som använder mer avancerade tekniker. I andra organisationer är investeringarna inom AI beroende av de anställda som har rätt att investera pengar i projekt och deras syn på AI. Organisationer verkar allmänt närma sig AI på ett liknande sätt där de först utvärderar vad AI är. Därefter väljer de ett antal områden där de gör små iterativa projekt där de utnyttjar AI, vanligtvis via ML. Därefter investerades mer pengar om de små projekten lyckas och företaget börjar titta på hur man kan förvärva mer kompetens inom området.

This study examines the interconnectedness of social networks of the early adopter Family and Consumer Science Extension Agents (FCS Agents) of the Mental Healthiness and Aging Initiative (MHAI) pilot conducted in eleven (11) eastern Kentucky counties between October 2007 and April 2009 and compares the social network connections of the FCS Agents in the other six Extension Districts in Kentucky. This research used whole-network survey analysis applying the social network approach, a conceptual model for explaining the communication of new ideas and information within an organizational network. Organizational networks are important structural elements of organizational systems and key to understanding diffusion of new programs within institutional organizations, such as the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. Previous diffusion studies by Extension scholars have concentrated on the classic diffusion model of agricultural technology innovations with individual farmer adopters. Adoption of new programs and ideas is the process by which individuals in a social system decide to use the communicated new idea, program, and/or technology. This conceptual model describes the stages of diffusion through the attributes of the clientele adopters. The social network conceptual model describes diffusion through communication channels. Identified opinion leaders are matched with those who nominate them or closely identify with them in a diffusion network perspective to accelerate the diffusion process through an optimal pairing of network member with influencers. Data were collected from the FCS Extension Agent network in an online survey “FCS Health Information Communication Network Survey” from July 1, 2011 – July 30, 2011. Participants were asked to rate each of their co-workers in their own district, and in each of the other six districts, on how often they go to each person directly for health education information. Hypothesis testing supports the use of opinion leaders, bridges and communication structures within the social network structure of FCS agents for diffusing health programming within the Cooperative Extension Service.

<p>Farmers in the digital age require accurate, relevant farm-level data to make sound management decisions for their operations. Mobile applications, or apps, are emerging as a valuable management and decision-making tool for farm operators, but are still in their infancy as a technological innovation. Farmer adoption and use of mobile apps has received relatively little attention in the scholarly literature compared to more established farm management tools and communication media. The researcher examined Indiana farmers’ use and perceptions of mobile apps as tools for management and decision-making. A theoretical perspective was developed from the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model to guide the investigation. Data on attitudes, behaviors, and demographic characteristics were collected through interviews with 55 Indiana farmers in late 2018 and early 2019. Quantitative interview items were analyzed through descriptive statistics while open-ended items were coded for emergent themes.</p> <p>Study participants reported a median age of 41 years and an average of 26 years farming. Nearly all study participants (98.2%) considered mobile applications useful to farm operations. A smaller but significant majority (76.4%) of participants rated mobile apps as easy to use. In terms of content, the most common use of apps among study participants was for general purpose utilities such as banking and messaging, followed by weather and agriculture-related apps such as Granular and FieldNet. Ease of use and content of application were among attributes considered most important by study participants when considering adoption of new apps. About three-fourths (76.4%) of the study participants indicated intentions to adopt additional mobile applications in the future. </p> <p>A series of items addressed study participants’ awareness of open source technology. About three-fourths (72%) indicated not previously having heard of the terminology. When asked to share their thoughts on the term open source, a large majority (84%) of participants provided vague or seemingly unrelated responses ranging from cloud-related, to the capability of apps to exchange information, to software being open to all users. </p> <p>As part of the analysis, the researcher categorized study participants into one of three adopter categories – early adopters, early majority, or late majority – based on the length of time participants reported using mobile apps, attitudes toward the technology, and intention to adopt apps in the future. Cross-tabulation analysis revealed that early adopters of mobile app technology did not differ significantly at the .05 level from later adopters in terms of age, years farming, or size of operation.</p> <p>Finally, an empirical test was conducted to assess utility of the Technology Acceptance Model for conceptualizing behavioral intent to adopt mobile agricultural applications. As expected from theory, correlational analysis revealed positive and moderately strong relationships (p < .05) between perceived usefulness and attitude toward mobile applications, and between perceived ease of use and attitude toward mobile applications. The relationship between attitude and behavioral intention to adopt additional mobile applications was statistically non-significant at the .05 level, contrary to theory. The importance of exploring alternative theoretical perspectives in future research is discussed.</p> <p>Results from this research contribute to the growing literature on how farmers assess and use mobile applications as farm management and decision-making tools. Findings have implications for application developers, as well as those involved in education and marketing of mobile agricultural applications. </p>

Consensus is lacking on early diagnostic criteria and the exact symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). A new, in-office test may help physicians detect the early symptoms of AD, based upon new National Institute of Aging (NIA) criteria. However, a gap exists in knowledge regarding physicians' current use or intent to use the new protocols. Choreographing the descriptive AD terminology in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) is recommended. Thus, the purpose of this study was to understand possible contributing factors to physician's use or intent to use of the new NIA's diagnostic protocol. Data collected from 55 clinicians within 2 Northern California counties were analyzed using a bivariate test. The 2 dependent variables were physicians' use of, or intent to use, the NIA protocol; the 6 independent variables were number of years since graduating from medical school, area of specialty, percentage of patients over age 60 years, physician's gender, age, and knowledge about AD, as indicated by performance on the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale. The results of regression analyses indicated no statistical significant associations between the variables of interest (p = or greater than .05). This study is a first attempt at understanding physician attitudes toward, and usage patterns of, an important new in-office tool for early detection of AD. Further research using a larger sample size to increase power is needed. These findings have implications for positive social change by promoting an earlier detection of Alzheimer's disease, underscoring the need for additional training, and revising the terminology used in clinicians' desktop references.

Accurate temperature assessment is essential in neonatal patients and allows for prompt recognition of illness. Temperature can be measured by rectum, which is subject to injury, axillary, which is time-consuming, and temporal artery, which is safe and fast. The purpose of this evidence-based practice quality improvement project was to create an educational toolkit for nurses teaching temporal artery thermometers for routine temperature measurement on neonates, to establish the content validity of the toolkit, and to make recommendations for implementation of the toolkit. The format applied was the Kellogg Logic Model that proceeded from the assumption, to planned work, and results. The theoretical framework was Roger's Diffusion of Innovations, which identifies champions as the initial change agents, helps engage the staff, and facilitates the change. The project consisted of a two-phase process. Phase 1 was the development of the toolkit contents by integrating the evidence and applying the framework in the context of working nurses. Phase 2 was the validation of the toolkit by expert nurses and educators with Item-CVI ranging from 0.80 to 1.00 and the scale-CVI at 0.98. The Toolkit for Implementation of Temporal Artery Thermometers for Neonates with three short video presentations was validated. The toolkit is shared on multiple webpages and is available to the public. Adopting the temporal artery thermometer for routine temperature measurement could be a new standard for temperature monitoring that is accurate and fast. Improved family satisfaction would result from a quicker temperature process and a less invasive method resulting in a more comfortable experience for their infant.

The Bass model has been used extensively and globally to forecast the first purchases of new products. It has been named by INFORMS as one of the top 10 most influential papers published in the 50-year history of Management Science. Most models for the diffusion of innovation are deeply rooted in the work of Bass (1969). His work provides a framework to model the underlying process of innovation adaption among first-time customers. Potential customers may be connected to one another in some sort of network. Prior research has shown that the structure of a network affects adoption patterns (Dover et al. 2012; Hill et al. 2006; Katona and Sarvary 2008; Katona et al. 2011; Newman et al. 2006; Shaikh et al. 2010; Van den Bulte and Joshi 2007). One approach to addressing this issue is to incorporate network information into the original Bass model. The focus of this study is to explore how to incorporate network information and other micro-level data into the Bass model. First, I prove that the Bass Model assumes all potential customers are linked to all other customers. Through simulations of individual adoptions and connections among individuals using a Random Network , I show that the estimate of q in the Bass Model is biased downward in the original Bass model. I find that biases in the Bass Model depend on the structure of the network. I relax the assumption of the fully connected network by proposing a Network-Based Bass model (NBB), which incorporates the network structure into the traditional Bass model. Using the proposed model (NBB), I am able to recover the true parameters. To test the generalizability and to enhance the applicability of my NBB model, I tested my NBB model on the various network types with sampled data from the population network. I showed that my NBB model is robust across different types of networks, and it is efficient in terms of sample size. With a small fraction of data from the population, it accurately recovered the true parameters. Therefore, the NBB model can be used when we do not have complete network information. The last essay is the first attempt to incorporate heterogeneous peer influence into the NBB model, based on individuals' preference structures. Besides the significant extension of the NBB (Bass) Model, incorporating high-quality data on individual behavior into the model leads to new findings on individuals' adoption behaviors, and thus expands our knowledge of the diffusion process.

This dissertation investigated the bottom-up technology transmission process in a country with varied levels of technology diffusion, such as Chile. In particular, I explored how children act as technology brokers within their families by influencing their parents' adoption of and learning about digital media, so as to include older generations in the digital environment. In order to do this, I measured to what extent this process occurs, I proposed a typology of factors that intervene in the process and analyzed the outcomes variables related to the phenomenon. Methodologically, I used a mixed-methods research approach by combining in-depth interviews with a self-administered paper-and-pencil survey taken by dyads of one parent and one child. I analyzed 28 interviews involving one 12 to 18-year-old child and one parent or legal guardian (14 dyads) stratified by socioeconomic background, age, and gender. In addition, I conducted the parent-child survey among school-aged children and their parents in three schools, stratified by socioeconomic status. One class per cohort from 7th to 11th grades was randomly surveyed. In total, 381 students and 251 parents completed the surveys. The analyses showed that bottom-up technology transmission occurs at some degree for all the technologies investigated in this study. However, children's influence should not be overstated because they play only one part among a number of factors involved in the digital inclusion of older generations. It also established a typology of factors related to the process at different levels, including structural influences, family structure, strategies employed by youth, and psychological dispositions of parents. Specifically, the analyses consistently found that this process was more likely to occur among people from a lower socioeconomic status. Also, the transmission was associated with more fluid parent-child interactions and occurred among parents who perceived the technology to be useful. Regarding the outcome variables, it demonstrated that this phenomenon is linked, although weakly, to greater levels of perceived competence among parents and higher esteem among young people. Finally, it suggested that bottom-up technology transmission is associated with the reduction of some socioeconomic gaps in digital media use. / text

Det ökande behovet av nationella IT-stöd inom hälso- och sjukvård har lett till att en nationell IT-strategi för vård och omsorg har utarbetats och att flera projekt inom ramen för denna strategi har startats. Ett av dessa projekt är utvecklingen och det nationella införandet av det nya ordinationsverktyget Pascal vilket innefattar samtliga landsting och kommuner. Förutsättningarna för projektet och dess storlek medför att ledningen måste finna tillämpbara strategier för att hantera dess komplexa förhållanden. Det har konstaterats att ett stort antal projektmisslyckanden kan bero på att komplexa projekt leds genom icke tillämpbara strategier. Ledning av komplexa projekt försvåras av det faktum att linjära strategier inte är tillämpbara, strategierna bör istället situationsanpassas och väljas efter de olika problemen som måste bemötas under projektets gång. Denna fallstudie ämnar identifiera vilka komplexiteter projektet uppvisar samt hur de kan hanteras utifrån projektets förutsättningar. Fallstudien gjordes genom en kvalitativ metodansats där elva intervjuer utfördes med personer från projektledningen, en kommunikatör samt ansvariga för landsting och kommuner. Slutsatserna var bland annat att stöd, transparens, god dialog, kunskapsutbyte och anpassningsbarhet var centrala faktorer för projektets framgång. / The increasing need for national IT support in health care has led to the development of a national IT strategy for health care services and the initiation of several IT projects in health care. One of these projects is the development and national introduction of the new prescription tool Pascal which includes all counties and municipalities. The projects initial conditions and its size entail that the management must find suitable strategies to cope with its complexity. It has been found that a large number of project failures can be caused by the fact that complex projects sometimes are led by unsuitable strategies. Managing complex projects can be complicated due to the fact that linear approaches are not suitable. The strategy selection should be situation dependent and determined by the problems at hand. This case study intends to identify how a complex project for the introduction of an innovation in the Swedish health care can be managed to deal with its complexity. The case study was executed by a qualitative method in which 11 interviews were conducted with members of the project management, a communicator, and people responsible for the implementation in municipalities and counties. The conclusions were that support, transparency, good dialogue, the exchange of knowledge and adaptability were the key elements to project success.

本研究在探討醫師採用不同世代產品行為受到醫院背景、個人因素及病患之影響，以全民健康保險資料庫進行大樣本迴歸分析，分析自中央健康保險局納入給付後醫師採用心臟支架的情形，並對醫師首次採用時間早晚進行研究分析。本研究以兩世代產品採用差異發掘創新擴散各階段醫師採用心臟支架的影響變數，並分為醫院-醫師-病患三個層次來做整體考量。實證結果顯示，從醫療院所的層級或權屬看來，醫院層級對醫師採用早晚無顯著影響，而私立醫院的醫師較早採用第二代產品。另外，在醫師個人特質方面，年齡越大的醫師越早採用產品，資深醫師會較晚採用第一代產品，而女性醫師也會較晚採用第一代產品。從病患影響的角度來看，醫師所遇到的病人願意自付比例高者，採用時間越早。而兩世代採用時間早晚也具相關性，越早採用第一代產品，也會越早採用第二代產品。 / The purpose of this research is to investigate the decision determinants of physician’s innovation adoption of multi-generations products. Based on the National Health Insurance database, this study focuses on analyzing the physician’s adoption time on coronary stent to verify the hypothetical determinants from hospital - physician - patient levels. The empirical results show that the academic level is not associated with physician’s innovation adoption time. Physician in private hospital is likely to adopt the second generation product earlier. In addition, physician’s personal characteristics- age, work experience and gender also have significant impacts upon physician’s adoption time. Elder physician will be early adopters of innovation products, and senior or female physician will be the late adopters of first-generation products. As to the influence of patients, if the physician’s patients are more willing to pay, the physician will adopt product earlier. Besides, the two generations have positive correlation, the earlier adopter in first-generation products will also adopt second-generation product earlier.