Achieving the successful development, transfer and adoption of new agricultural technology is a popular issue in the innovation literature. Innovation diffusion and economic theory has informed this literature by emphasising the central role that technology attributes and economic rationality play in the adoption of new technology. In agricultural innovation context, research has traditionally taken a technological determinist perspective, assuming that technologies shape society and that all technological change is positive and progressive. As a result of limitations of the linear, determinist perspective of agricultural innovation to explain how new technologies are adopted and diffused, social constructivist approaches to agricultural innovation have emerged as a complement to this approach. However, a unifying framework of the social construction of new agricultural technologies has not been presented in the agricultural innovation literature. In this study Karl Weicks seven properties of sensemaking are used as the foundation for the development of a unifying conceptual framework for the examination of the social construction of agricultural technology. This thesis is a study of sensemaking in the context of agricultural innovation. It examines how participants in the Australian wool industry make sense of new technologies and how that sensemaking shapes their use of new technologies over time. The focal innovation initiative studied in this thesis is the development, transfer, adoption and abandonment of objective wool fibre testing technologies. This initiative commenced in the 1960s and has resulted in significant changes in the way that Australian wool is produced, marketed and processed. An interpretive research paradigm is adopted in this study. A theory-building case study approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis is used to capture the ongoing, iterative, enactive and social actions and interactions that occur throughout the agricultural innovation process. The case study is divided into three separate but interlocking empirical analyses which examine how industry participants' sensemaking shaped their use of wool testing technologies at the industry, technological system and individual farm level. The findings and implications of the three empirical studies in this thesis are discussed in relation to (1) the interpretation frameworks of agricultural industry participants and technology enactment, (2) the sensemaking process, (3) the social construction of shared technology frames, and (4) the social construction of industry belief systems. This study contributes to the debate on the social construction of agricultural technology and sensemaking in the innovation process by exploring the development, transfer, adoption and abandonment of new wool fibre testing technologies by industry participants over time. It builds on theoretical and empirical agricultural innovation and sensemaking research, and draws on a theoretical framework sensitive to the social construction of technology at the individual, group and industry levels. In doing so this study develops the concept of sensemaking in the agricultural innovation process as a way of deepening our understanding of how new agricultural technologies are transferred, adopted and diffused.

In this thesis I explore the relationship between the mobile phone and its user and argue that this relationship is crucial in merging the contexts of public and private, the physical and virtual, imagined and real, past and present, author and audience. I view this relationship as crucial to understanding the shift in the role of the audience from passive receivers of content to active producers ('Mobile Produsers'). Further, I argue that the diverse contexts of mobile content production and the definition of the content itself have become the central means by which mobile phone practices are emerging. I draw on anthropology, social science and media studies in order to explore the impact of mobile contexts, content, and use on identity. I propose that this approach allows for a new understanding of mobile practices as a form of spectacle, especially what I refer to as the spectacle of the self. Produsership theory informs an understanding of mobile practices, content production and performance, and the Bahktinian concept of carnival becomes a useful term in analysing the mobile as both performance and spectacle. Through an analysis of mobile content within cinematic culture, social interaction, and mixed media environments I consider the ways in which the mobile functions not only as a tool for positioning the individual, but also as performing an integral part in a multi-user process of mobile content production. In this sense, mobile content can be understood as a map, and the mobile as a compass used by the produser to navigate the mobile?s diverse contexts. Furthermore, I demonstrate that mobile content is collectively constructed while being individually absorbed. It is reflective of both the context and its user and open to constant questioning and interpretation, which is then shared with others. Finally, this thesis explores the notion of being t/here as mode of participating with the mobile in time and space, where one's identity is distributed across virtual and physical spaces, simultaneously locating the user as both here and there (t/here).

In this study, the rates of technological change in food processing sectors of U.S. and Mexico are compared through econometric estimation of both the unrestricted (long-run) and restricted (short-run) profit functions with first order autocorrelation correction. Then, the dual rate of productivity growth is computed and decomposed into its sources. The impact of environmental regulations on productivity growth is also analyzed through incorporation of a pollution abatement variable into empirical models. The hypothesis testing results on the existence of short-run equilibrium in capital markets indicated that the restricted profit function framework is the valid specification for the underlying production technologies of U.S. and Mexican food sectors during the sample period, and hence, our conclusions are based on restricted profit function models. Our results suggest that, in U.S., the average annual dual rate of technological change dropped from 0.76% during 1963-73 to 0.67% during 1974-88, increased to 0.72% between 1988-1990, and declined to 0.65% during 1990-93. In Mexico, the dual rate of technological change was sharply declining during most of the years of sample period, and the average annual rate dropped from 1.30% during 1971-74 to 0.01% between 1989-93. The dual rate of technological change was lower in U.S. than in Mexico during 1971-81 period, but the difference (dual technological change gap) was sharply declining. Starting from 1982, the dual rate of technological change became greater in U.S. than in Mexico and the difference was continuously increasing. Moreover, the decomposition of dual productivity growth into its sources reveals that technological change was the main source of productivity growth in both countries, although in Mexico, the effects of changes in output price on productivity growth outweighed the contributions of technological change during several years between 1982-94. The impact of capacity utilization had a minor impact on productivity growth in both countries. The estimated elasticities of input demand and output supply indicated that labor demand is price inelastic, while material demand and output supply are price elastic in both countries. The own price elasticity of material and output was higher in Mexico than in U.S. In both countries, input demands are affected most significantly by output prices, while output supply is most significantly affected by its own price. The estimates for elasticity of substitution between labor and material imply that labor and material are complement of each other in both countries, with the degree of substitution between them is higher in Mexico than in U.S. Finally, the estimated parameters corresponding to pollution abatement variable suggested that pollution abatement costs had no significant impact on the U.S. dual rate of technological change, and in turn, productivity growth rate, and this appears to be consistent with the fact that the share of pollution abatement costs is quite small in U.S. food processing sector. For the Mexico, the estimated parameters were individually significant, implying that one unit increase in pollution abatement variable reduced the dual rate of technological change by around 0.11% points during 1982-94 period. / Graduation date: 1999

This study analyzes the long-term evolution of the North American pulp and paper industry, and offers a new synthesis of the dynamic forces that spearheaded the expansion and transformation of this large manufacturing industry. The evolution of the North American pulp and paper industry between 1860 and 1960 was driven by successive waves of technological learning that spawned structural change. Such waves transformed and expanded the sulphite and sulphate pulp, envelope, paper container, paper bag, magazine and printing paper, coated paper, board, and many other pulp and paper industries between 1860 and 1960. These waves repeated a pattern of co-evolution of technology and industrial organization that enveloped dynamic forces of change, such as innovation, corporate strategies, industrial relocation, and policy. As distinct branches of the pulp and paper industry passed from the early nascent phase to full maturity, the sources of innovation, nature of technological change, strategy and structure of leading firms, and industrial organization underwent throughout transformation. As these waves of industrial change passed from a nascent phase to maturity, the reciprocal dynamics between organization, corporate strategy, policy, and technological learning co-evolved, and established the evolutionary path of the North American pulp and paper industry.

This study explores the use of wiki in supporting a science project undertaken in a Hong Kong secondary school through a mixed method approach involving triangulation of questionnaire survey, interviews, and analysis of students? wikis. The findings showed positive results on students? motivations, enjoyments, effort input, and perceived value. More important, the results highlighted the fact that satisfaction of students? perceived needs from teacher?s autonomy support improves their attributes, attitudes, and expectations of learning outcomes in general. The researcher identifies a discrepancy between students? expectations and their actual achievements of the learning outcomes. Specifically, students think in a higher order and construct knowledge at a wider level when comparing with what they have expected whereas their expectations of generic skills development significantly outweighed what they have actually achieved. To bridge this discrepancy, the researcher suggested that (a) flexibly balancing the structure and freedom of wiki, (b) carefully planning the project duration, (c) scaffolding in wiki project, (d) carefully choosing of the project topics, (e) explicitly emphasizing the learning outcomes, and (f) raising students? information literacy are all essential. The findings also indicated the exists of limitations in this small scale study and thus further investigations on the pedagogical challenges of integrating wiki in science project learning are required. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

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In this thesis I explore the relationship between the mobile phone and its user and argue that this relationship is crucial in merging the contexts of public and private, the physical and virtual, imagined and real, past and present, author and audience. I view this relationship as crucial to understanding the shift in the role of the audience from passive receivers of content to active producers ('Mobile Produsers'). Further, I argue that the diverse contexts of mobile content production and the definition of the content itself have become the central means by which mobile phone practices are emerging. I draw on anthropology, social science and media studies in order to explore the impact of mobile contexts, content, and use on identity. I propose that this approach allows for a new understanding of mobile practices as a form of spectacle, especially what I refer to as the spectacle of the self. Produsership theory informs an understanding of mobile practices, content production and performance, and the Bahktinian concept of carnival becomes a useful term in analysing the mobile as both performance and spectacle. Through an analysis of mobile content within cinematic culture, social interaction, and mixed media environments I consider the ways in which the mobile functions not only as a tool for positioning the individual, but also as performing an integral part in a multi-user process of mobile content production. In this sense, mobile content can be understood as a map, and the mobile as a compass used by the produser to navigate the mobile?s diverse contexts. Furthermore, I demonstrate that mobile content is collectively constructed while being individually absorbed. It is reflective of both the context and its user and open to constant questioning and interpretation, which is then shared with others. Finally, this thesis explores the notion of being t/here as mode of participating with the mobile in time and space, where one's identity is distributed across virtual and physical spaces, simultaneously locating the user as both here and there (t/here).

Thesis (MPhil (Journalism))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / This study examines the history, development and diversity of news agencies. It studies the major agencies and pinpoints how smaller wire services that sometimes purvey niche news seek to offer a more diverse global news-flow. The linkage between news agencies and technological developments, and how wire services have helped advance technology, is examined since the first agencies began in the 1800s, up to the current era of the Internet. The rise of television and the subsequent ascent of the Internet prompted new demands for more diverse news procurement. This accelerated the convergence of different media and has exposed challenges and opportunities to news agencies, large and small. Alongside the telegraph, news wire services expanded from supplying news and information locally to being global players, helping the world shrink. The mediahistoriographical approach engages a critical examination of literature sources regarding the development of the major wire services, and some of the smaller players. The literature, along with interviews with news agency experts, provides the material to examine wire services. The study shows how some original agencies leveraged opportunities offered by their standing in powerful nations to become dominant transnational players. The ascendancy of the mega-agencies compounded limited news-flows from developed to poorer nations, while an expansion of diversified news-flows has not matched technological progression. This study concludes by recommending greater recognition of the importance of news agencies and more scholarly examination of them, as studies on them appear scarce compared to those on other media branches, such as newspapers, the electronic media and the Internet. More studies into the development of both mainstream and alternative news agencies would pave the way for a better understanding of how they function and could provide clues as to how they might be able to better sustain themselves as more diverse entities for the benefit of the public discourse. Through the above, this dissertation seeks to contribute, in a small way, to rectifying a knowledge disparity regarding a key component of the mass media, namely the news agency.

Esta pesquisa trata da percepção da inovação por parte dos usuários e clientes no mercado rodoviário brasileiro de transporte de pessoas, mais especificamente das tecnologias e inovações presentes nos chassis de ônibus rodoviário. Recentemente, este setor sofreu forte transformação voltando-se à simplificação de ceículos e componentes e a uma consequentemente redução das inovações e tecnologias utilizadas nos veículos. O objetivo geral desta pesquisa foi identificar os aspectos ligados à percepção da inovação em chassis de ônibus rodoviários sob as óticas de clientes e usuários finais do sistema de transporte. Esta pesquisa tembém identificou quais fatores presentes nos ônibus rodoviários foram apontados como significativos sob a ótica dos usuários e quais inovações e tecnologias são conhecidas da maioria dos passageiros. Este trabalho também identificou quais fatores levam as empresas de transporte rodoviário adquirir determinados modelos de chassis em detrimento a outros mais especificados, com maior número de tecnologias e inovações embarcadas. Para a realização desta pesquisa foi adotado o procedimento de documentação direta de uma situação de mercado, com a coleta de dados realizada junto a 159 usuários - passageiros - de transporte rodoviário de passageiros, mais especificamente aqueles que utilizam a cidade de Curitiba como rota para seus itinerários de viagem. Também foram entrevistados 28 clientes pertencentes a 20 empresas do sistema de transporte, definidos nesta pesquisa como empresas de transporte rodoviário de pessoas e as empresas que fabricam a carroçaria dos ônibus rodoviários. Como resultado, a pesquisa disgnosticou a falta de percepção de inovação e a consequente indiferença por parte dos usuários no momento de escolher uma empresa ou veículo de transporte para viajar. Com relação às empresas de transporte de passageiros foi identificada uma forte tendência à aquisição de veículos que ofereçam tão somente um custo atrativo. Por mais que os clientes de chassis de ônibus identifiquem e reconheçam os benefícios de algumas inovações e tecnologias disponíveis no setor, o fator custo é determinante para a quisição da frota na maioria das empresas. Essa estratégia adotada pode, inclusive, ter sido responsável pelo recente aumento no número de acidentes envolvendo ônibus rodoviários nas estradas brasileiras. / This research becomes to the innovation perception of users - passengers - and clients - people transportation companies and bodybuilder companies - within Brazilian transportation market, specifically technologies an innovations applied in the coaches. Recently this field has suffered a hard change becoming to low end vehicles and components. As consequence this market presents a reduction of innovations and technologies applied in the coaches. The main research achievement was to identify by lens of clients and passengers of Brazilian transportation sytem the aspects relative to innovation perception at coach chassis. This research has identified which faactors or features embodied in the vehicles were appointed as strongly significant according to passenger vision and also which sort of innovations are recognized by them. The research also identified the factors that lead the transport companies to acquire some simplified chassis instead of other ones with technologies and innovations embarked. The research accomplishment required adopts a methodology based ondirect market documentation. Its data acquisition was done with 159 passengers of Brazilian road transporte system; specifically those are using the Curitiba city bus station as part of trip journey. Also were interviewed 28 clients from 20 companies of transportation system, which are defined as companies of passengers transport, as well as, body builder factories. As expected results the research showed the complete lack of awareness and insensibility regarding to users when they are choosing a bus or company to travel. However, result identified by passenger transportation companies shows a strong trend to acquire products based on low end attractiveness or appeal. No matter how much the coach clients have been identified and even recognized some innovations and technologies benefits available in this market, the cost issue is determining factor to fleet acquisition in the majority of the companies. Thiss strategy adopted by passenger transport companies could contribute for the recent raise of accidents involving coaches at Brazilizn roads. / 5000-11-25