This basic qualitative research study focused on the internal constructions of ten early childhood education teachers who take new information acquired from workshops, coursework, or other educational venues and quickly incorporate it into their teaching. The participants were all women who work in a variety of classroom settings with two-through-six-year-olds in San Antonio, Texas. They were identified as teachers who are in the forefront in adopting new ideas in comparison to other early childhood teachers (Rogers, 2003). A wide range of experience and education levels were represented. Using the interpretive paradigm as well as the ideological framework of constructivism, a grounded theory was established in response to the research question. Of special interest were factors that can be addressed in pre-service and in-service instructional opportunities for early childhood students and professionals. There were three major findings. First, the participants expressed core moral values in relation to their jobs as early childhood teachers: they look upon their work as a moral endeavor; they have a spiritual connection to their work; and they care deeply about others. Second, they shared the character traits of a positive attitude, persistence, and flexibility. Third, they held two learning dispositions in common: they perceive and practice learning as a continual, on-going process; and they are highly reflective. Viewed together, these three findings form a continuous internal loop that impacts the external cycle of gaining new information and adopting it into classroom practice. The findings in this study parallel previous teacher knowledge research done with K-12 grade teachers in the United States and in other countries. It supports models of change that consider one's frame of reference in terms of individual belief systems and how this impacts the change process. The implication is that focusing on technical knowledge is not enough. Early childhood teacher educators must consistently employ specific strategies with their students that help illuminate and strengthen the tacit traits identified in this study.

With the advancement and development of technology and in response to an era of digital convergence and an environment of changing media, every advanced country in the world is eager to promote the digital industries. In order to get connected with the rest of the world, Taiwan has drawn a plan to retrieve all the analog channels in 2010, urging the TV systems in Taiwan to entirely enter the digital era. This research drawing on the perspective of the diffusion of innovations explores the character traits of the early adopters of the Chunghwa telecom MOD services. The researcher utilized demographic variables, individual innovativeness, media use and opinion leader tendencies to exam the character traits of Chunghwa telecom MOD early adopters. This research adopts the research method of questionnaire survey and collects 334 valid questionnaires. Through statistic analyses, the result shows a significant correlation between the early adopter character traits and education level, income, individual innovativeness, opinion leader tendencies and newspaper exposure. With the understanding of the character traits of Chunghwa telecom MOD early adopters, this study helps not only offer the system operators some suggestions on promotion but also expedite the diffusion of digital TV in Taiwan.

This basic qualitative research study focused on the internal constructions of ten early childhood education teachers who take new information acquired from workshops, coursework, or other educational venues and quickly incorporate it into their teaching. The participants were all women who work in a variety of classroom settings with two-through-six-year-olds in San Antonio, Texas. They were identified as teachers who are in the forefront in adopting new ideas in comparison to other early childhood teachers (Rogers, 2003). A wide range of experience and education levels were represented. Using the interpretive paradigm as well as the ideological framework of constructivism, a grounded theory was established in response to the research question. Of special interest were factors that can be addressed in pre-service and in-service instructional opportunities for early childhood students and professionals. There were three major findings. First, the participants expressed core moral values in relation to their jobs as early childhood teachers: they look upon their work as a moral endeavor; they have a spiritual connection to their work; and they care deeply about others. Second, they shared the character traits of a positive attitude, persistence, and flexibility. Third, they held two learning dispositions in common: they perceive and practice learning as a continual, on-going process; and they are highly reflective. Viewed together, these three findings form a continuous internal loop that impacts the external cycle of gaining new information and adopting it into classroom practice. The findings in this study parallel previous teacher knowledge research done with K-12 grade teachers in the United States and in other countries. It supports models of change that consider one's frame of reference in terms of individual belief systems and how this impacts the change process. The implication is that focusing on technical knowledge is not enough. Early childhood teacher educators must consistently employ specific strategies with their students that help illuminate and strengthen the tacit traits identified in this study.

The purpose of this thesis is to find out whether there is a significant opportunity for the use of innovator and early adopter segments in a marketing strategy, with particular emphasis on ambassador and crowdsourcing programs.Recent changes on the consumer market which lead to changing roles of both consumers and brands are described in the first chapter. This chapter also includes a description of both innovator and early adopter segments which is taken from segmentation based on innovation adoption.The second chapter includes information about the two segments obtained from other surveys available on the Czech market.Specific ways of using the two segments within a marketing strategy are described in the third chapter. The practical part of this thesis consists mainly of the analysis of data obtained by my own research. Special emphasis is put on behaviour of innovators and early adopters on social networks and their motivation to participate in ambassador and crowdsourcing programs. This part is followed by a proposal of a specific ambassador program for a technology brand.

The purpose of this study was to determine factors influencing cotton producer adoption of Precision Agriculture in the cotton belt according to members of the American Cotton Producers of the National Cotton Council. The National Research Council’s Board on Agriculture defines Precision Agriculture (PA) as “a management strategy that uses information technologies to bring data from multiple sources to bear on decisions associated with crop production.” For the purpose of this study, Precision Agriculture technologies included yield monitors, global positioning units, variable rate applicators, and similar components. Many studies have found that adoption of Precision Agriculture can be profitable for agricultural producers. However, the fact that Precision Agriculture is relatively new and unproven hinders rapid adoption by agricultural producers. According to the National Research Council Board of Agriculture widespread adoption relies on economic gains outweighing the costs of the technology. This study attempted to find the factors associated with adoption of these technologies in the cotton belt. The sample population consisted of cotton producer representatives from the leading cotton-producing states. A Delphi approach was utilized to establish a consensus of cotton producer perceptions of the advantages of adopting Precision Agriculture technologies. Advantages included more accurate farming (i.e., row spacing, reduced overlap, and cultivation). Barriers to adoption were also documented, questioning employee capability to operate equipment, learning curve, technology complexity, and uncertain return on investment.

This study explores how smart home users act to keep their smart products safe. The sample was identified in the literature as early adopters. These were studied through a qualitative case study with semi-structured interviews. Data were then analysed with a thematic analysis, which resulted in four themes: Lack of concern, In the hands of the manufacturer, Safety outside the product and Safety measures. The informants had different reasons and motivations for their common lack of concern, their experience of being able to influence product security the measures they could evoke and the measures they actually took. The informants' lack of concern is linked to the theory of the impact of worryon actionand risk perception. The informants' problems in influencing security are supported by other literature. Their hypothetical measures are mainly outside the product. The actions they actually perform on the product are limited to basic security measures such as passwords, etc. Users find it difficult to influence the security of their products, unsafe products can easily fall victim to malicious individuals and influence others in their environment. / Denna studie undersöker hur användare av smarta hem kan agera för att hålla sina smarta produkter säkra.Urvalet identifierades i litteratur som early adopters. Dessa studerades genom en kvalitativ fallstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Data analyserades sedan med en tematisk analys, vilket resulterade i fyra teman: Avsaknad av oro, I händerna på tillverkaren, Säkerhet utanför produkten och Säkerhetsåtgärder. Informanterna hade olika anledningar och motivationer till sin gemensamma avsaknad av oro, deras upplevelse av att kunna påverka produkters säkerhet, de åtgärder som de kunde frammana och de åtgärder som de faktiskt gjorde. Informanternas avsaknad av oro länkas till teori om oros påverkan på agerande och upplevd risk. Informanternas problematik att påverka säkerheten stöds av annan litteratur. Deras hypotetiska åtgärder ligger i huvudsak utanför produkten. Det agerande de faktiskt utför på sina produkter är begränsat till grundläggande säkerhetsåtgärder som lösenord etc. Användarna har svårt att påverka säkerheten hos sina produkter, osäkra produkter kan enkelt falla offer för illvilliga individer och påverka andra i sin omgivning.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) could reduce CO2 emissions from the transport sector but their limited electric driving range diminishes their utility to users. The effect of the limited driving range can be reduced in multi-car households where users could choose between a BEV and a conventional car for long-distance travel. However, to what extent the driving patterns of different cars in a multi-car household’s suit the characteristics of a BEV needs further analysis. In this paper we analyse the probability of daily driving above a fixed threshold for conventional cars in current Swedish and German car driving data. We find second cars in multi-car households to require less adaptation and to be better suited for BEV adoption compared to first cars in multi-car households as well as to cars in single-car households. Specifically, the share of second cars that could fulfil all their driving is 20 percentage points higher compared to first cars and cars from single-car households. This result is stable against variation of driving range and of the tolerated number of days requiring adaptation. Furthermore, the range needed to cover all driving needs for about 70% of the vehicles is only 220 km for second cars compared to 390 km for the average car. We can further confirm that second cars have higher market viability from a total cost of ownership perspective. Here, the second cars achieve a 10 percentage points higher market share compared to first cars, and to cars in single-car households for Swedish economic conditions, while for Germany the corresponding figure is 2 percentage points. Our results are important for understanding the market viability of current and near-future BEVs.

To remain relevant, even the successful social networks need to evolve. Vertical Social Networks (VSN) are the response of this, satisfying people who are seeking more niched and personalized content. However, this is a highly competitive environment where taking advantage of the first mover advantages is crucial for the future success. This study concerns diffusion of innovations and segmentation according to the technology adoption lifecycle to investigate how a VSN can reach user growth by understanding their current users better. We have built this study upon an explorative case study of a case company operating in the VSN landscape providing their users with an application. Building on extensive literature research, theory, surveys and conducting interviews, differences in user characteristics were identified. Theoretical and empirical evidence was further analyzed based on user behavior and level of satisfaction. Our recommendations suggest that considerations for different phases of the diffusion journey has to be made by targeting the appropriate users as this is vital for satisfying the existing users, and for reaching new ones. / För att bibehålla relevans, måste även de mest framgångsrika sociala nätverken utvecklas. Vertikala Sociala Nätverk (VSN) är svaret på detta, genom att tillfredsställa människor som söker mer nischade och personifierat innehåll. Detta landskap är dock präglat av hög konkurrens där vikten av att vara först på marknaden är avgörande för framtida framgång. Denna studie belyser Innovationsspridning och segmentering enligt Technology Adoption Lifecycle för att undersöka hur ett VSN kan nå användartillväxt genom att förstå sina nuvarande användare bättre. Vi har genomfört en undersökande fallstudie av ett företag inom VSN branschen som bistår sina användare med en applikation. Baserat på tidigare forskning, teori, enkäter och intervjuer identifierades olikheter i karaktärsdrag hos deras användare. Teoretiska och empiriska bevis beträffande olikheter i karaktärsdrag analyserades och diskuterades vidare baserat på användarbeteende och nivå av tillfredsställelse. De föreslagna rekommendationerna innefattar att ett övervägande för olika faser av diffusionsresan måste göras för att tilltala lämpliga målgrupper, då detta är avgörande för att tillfredsställa befintliga användare, och för att nå nya.