An urban tree canopy assessment (UTCA) is a new technology that can inform management decisions to optimize the economic, social and environmental benefits provided by urban forests. A UTCA uses remote sensing to create a comprehensive spatial snapshot of a locality's land cover, classified at a very fine scale (1 meter or less). Over the past decade, UTCAs have been conducted for numerous localities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW) as part of a strategy to enhance urban tree canopy (UTC) and reduce stormwater runoff that pollutes the Chesapeake Bay. Our research examined how local governments employ these UTCAs and identified barriers to and drivers of UTCA use for urban forest planning and management. We conducted a web-based survey of all localities in the CBW with populations over 2,500 for which a UTCA existed as of May 2013. We found that 33% of respondents reported being unaware that a UTCA existed for their locality. Even so, survey results showed that localities aware of their UTCA were using it to establish UTC goals, create and implement strategies to achieve those goals, and monitoring progress towards UTC goals. Survey localities were segmented based on how they reported using their UTCA to provide insight on possible outreach and technical assistance strategies that might improve future UTCA use. Overall, we found that larger localities with more developed urban forestry programs use their UTCA more frequently. However, we found several exceptions, suggesting that UTCAs could be an important catalyst for expanding municipal urban forestry programs. / Master of Science

MathWorlds is a piece of educational software that allows students to explore a variety of topics related to the mathematics of change and proportionality, utilizing dynamic graphs and animated "worlds". SimCalc is the package of MathWorlds software plus curriculum and teacher professional development, and has a history of significant success in single classroom studies. According to Simonsen and Kensing (1998), "users will not change the way they work to adapt to a computer system if the benefits are not significant and obvious." While researchers know SimCalc has a significant impact on student outcomes, is this obvious to the teachers? One powerful source of information about this question is the corpus of extensive phone interviews that my colleagues and I conducted with teachers after they completed the SimCalc curriculum. Many of our teachers recognized SimCalc as something that could be beneficial for their students. Besides raising test scores, teachers using SimCalc introduce more complex mathematical ideas to their students, which have ordinarily been considered outside a normal 7th grade math lesson. This was reflected in the phone interviews when treatment teachers mentioned more complex mathematical ideas than the control teachers. However, some treatment teachers struggled with using SimCalc because it was so different from their current teaching methods. In this case, SimCalc was not compatible with their current teaching methods. Also, for some teachers, using technology such as MathWorlds is a complex process with many hurdles to overcome. Future research must investigate ways to bridge the gaps in teaching methods and encourage more support for teachers using technology. By doing this researchers can make SimCalc more compatible for teachers with different teaching methods and reduce the number of obstacles teachers face when using technology in the classroom. With continued effort, research and support, we can look forward to the diffusion of more educational innovations such as SimCalc. / Master of Science

This study evaluates the effectiveness and impacts of USAID's IPM IL vegetable technology transfer subproject in Bangladesh. The effectiveness of the technology transfer is evaluated in four ways: IPM adoption rates and determinants of IPM adoption, measuring the impact of IPM adoption on vegetable yields, pest management costs, and the number of pesticide applications used, estimation of the economic impacts of IPM adoption and the technology transfer, and analysis of the relative efficiency of the various technology transfer methods used to transfer the IPM practices to farmers. Adoption determinants were identified using traditional and ordered probit regression analysis. Difference-in-difference models were used to identify the impacts of IPM adoption on yields, pest management costs, and the number of pesticide applications applied. Economic impacts of IPM technology adoption were measured using economic surplus analysis. Finally, to compare the relative efficiency of different technology transfer methods, adoption rates were identified for each transfer method and combined with the training cost per farmer to identify the cost per farmer adopting IPM practices. The results from the adoption analysis suggest the number of years of agricultural experience of the household head, the number of IPM adopters known by the household, and learning agricultural information from media sources and/or farm training events such as field days significantly increase the likelihood of IPM adoption. The impacts of IPM adoption on vegetable yields, pest management costs, and the number of pesticide applications were non-significant for vegetable crops. Analysis of the cost efficiency of the different IPM technology transfer methods suggests that media sources such as television, radio, and newspapers have the lowest cost per farmer. / Master of Science

Innovative technologies for construction project management are constantly emerging in the construction industry's global landscape, yet the rate of failed projects within the Nigerian construction sector due to poor coordination of construction tasks is on the rise. An unanswered question in the literature remains as to why construction project managers in Nigeria remain slow to adopt new technologies for improving decision-making processes and project success rates. The purpose of this qualitative single case study with embedded units was to understand the perceptions of construction project managers in Nigeria regarding their barriers to technology adoption. This study was framed by 2 conceptual models: Usman and Said's model of factors contributing to information and communication technology adoption in Nigerian construction firms and Waziri, Mustapha, and Idris' model of factors influencing IT adoption in Nigerian construction organizations. Semistructured interviews involving 10 participants, reflective field notes, and archival data provided information regarding the barriers to technology adoption experience of construction project managers in Nigeria. Thematic analysis of the textual data and synthesis produced 5 conceptual categories for 14 identifiable themes from the study. The conceptual categories were (a) adoption of technology, (b) culture, (c) organizational performance, (d) innovative technology, and (e) interorganizational collaborations. The findings from this study may serve as a catalyst for positive social change by challenging existing technology-avoidance behavior in the Nigerian construction industry, and opening new opportunities for improved project delivery in the Nigerian national economy.

Battery Electric Vehicle as an environmental friendly transportation alternative has already emerged as well as fade out of the market twice. It has been reintroduced along with the increasing concern about the environment issue. This recent diffusion is surrounded by lots of dynamic changes and uncertainties. However, most current studies focus on political, financial as well as infrastructure factors but neglect factors like the technology especially how people perceived it. Therefore, this study mainly research into how the technology development impact on the diffusion of battery electric vehicle.To achieve this aim, a model based study was conducted targeting Swedish electric vehicle market. In the research, customers are considered to be the target objective because they are the one  who perceive the technology and make decision for adoption directly. In order to know the relationship between them, researches have been conducted through qualitative and quantitative approach. Empirical work including interviews and survey were conducted through tripartite aspect to investigate the customer needs and related technology. The investigation indicates the environmentally friendly performance is the key driving force perceived by the early adopters. Meanwhile, range issue, total cost of ownership and safety & technology reliability are identified as the top three critical concerns that  hold back customer purchasing decision. A modified classic model for the innovation diffusion has been proposed which is used to evaluate the technology’s perception based on historical data. Two BEV- related technologies were chosen as examples to prove and illustrate the relationship between technology development and electric vehicle diffusion.The results showed that the BEV-related technologies, which have potential ability to address critical customer demand, are able to impact on the customer adoption positively through valid perception by customer. Taking technology development and perception into consideration, the diffusion process should be accelerated to some extent. Technologies which can be more easily perceived tend to have more impact in the diffusion process. / Batteridrivna elektriska fordon(BEV) som ett miljövänligt transportalternativ redan har dykt upp, liksom försvunnit från marknaden två gånger. Det har återinförts tillsammans med den ökande oron för miljöfrågan. Denna nya diffusion är omgiven av dynamiska förändringar och osäkerheter. Men de flesta av dagens studier fokuserar på politiska, ekonomiska och infrastrukturella faktorer, men försummar faktorer relaterat till tekniken framför allt hur människor uppfattar det. Därför undersökte denna studie främst hur den tekniska utvecklingen påverkar spridningen av batteridrivna fordon.För att uppnå detta syfte, gjordes en modell baserad kring en studie av den svenska elbilsmarknaden. I forskningen anses kunderna vara målet målgruppen eftersom de är de som uppfattar tekniken och tar beslut om införandet direkt. För att veta förhållandet mellan dem, har kvalitativa och kvantitativa undersökningar genomförts. Empiriskt arbete inklusive intervjuer och undersökningen genomfördes genom tre olika aspekter för att undersöka kundernas behov och relaterad teknik. Undersökningen visar att miljövänlig prestanda är den viktigaste drivkraften som uppfattas av early adopters. Samtidigt har räckviddsproblematiken, totala ägandekostnaden och tillförlitlighet i säkerhet och teknologi identifierats som de tre kritiska problemen som tillbakahåller kunden från ett köpbeslut. En modifierad klassisk modell för innovationsspridning har föreslagits som används för att utvärdera teknikens uppfattning baserad på historiska data. Två BEV-relaterade teknologier valdes som exempel för att bevisa och illustrera förhållandet mellan teknikutveckling och elbilsdiffusion.Resultaten visade att BEV-relaterad teknologi, som har potential förmåga att ta itu med den kritiska efterfrågan från kunderna, kan påverka kundacceptans positivt genom giltig uppfattning av kunden. Om teknikutveckling och uppfattning beaktas, bör diffusionsprocessen påskyndas i viss utsträckning. Teknik som lättare kan uppfattas tenderar att ha mer genomslag i diffusionsprocessen.

I denna uppsats diskuteras hur relationsmarknadsföring kan användas av företag som utvecklar högteknologiska SaaS-lösningar för att bygga lönsamma relationer på en tidig marknad. För att svara på frågeställningen “Hur kan högteknologiska SaaS-leverantörer arbeta med relationsmarknadsföring för att attrahera kundgrupperna Innovators och Early adopters på den tidiga marknaden utifrån The Technology Adoption Life Cycle?” har en kvalitativ metod i form av en fallstudie använts. Semistrukturerade intervjuer med respondenter från en SaaS-leverantör och deras kunder nyttjas för insamling av empirin. Detta för att öka förståelsen för vad både leverantörer av SaaS och deras kunder värdesätter i en relation. Urvalet av teori bygger på hur segmenteringsverktyget The Technology Adoption Life Cycle och teorier kring relationsmarknadsföring kan kombineras för att öka förståelsen för hur olika kundrelationer kräver olika tillvägagångssätt på den tidiga marknaden. Genom analyser av den insamlade empirin har författarna av denna uppsats dragit slutsatsen att relationsmarknadsföring är ett brett område. Utöver produkten behöver SaaS-leverantörer fokusera på andra nyckelfaktorer där personal, teknologi, tid och kunskap ingår. Det är dessutom avgörande att SaaS-leverantörer lägger stor vikt på den interna marknadsföringen eftersom alla interaktioner och beröringspunkter med kunden påverkar relationen. Tillit till det andra företaget och engagemang i relationen är ytterligare aspekter som ligger till grund för att bygga långvariga relationer. Dessa relationer är avgörande för att SaaS-lösningen ska kunna nå den huvudsakliga marknaden där kapitalet finns och en prenumerationsmodell ger önskad avkastning.  Genom live-in marketing kan SaaS-leverantören ta del av viktiga insikter från sina kunder på den tidiga marknaden och möjliggöra en kundcentrerad utveckling av SaaS-lösningen. Undersökningen som denna uppsats bygger på har däremot visat att ett fokus på spridning genom word of mouth inte nödvändigtvis leder till ökad exponering och försäljning, samt att utträdesbarriärer inte är ett tillvägagångssätt för att skapa engagemang i relationen. / This undergraduate thesis explores the possibilities of high tech SaaS providers to apply relationship marketing in order to establish profitable relationships in the early market. A qualitative method in the form of a case study was used to answer the research question “How can high tech SaaS providers apply relationship marketing theory in order to attract customer groups in the early market based on The Technology Adoption Life Cycle?”. To collect the empirical material, semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents from one SaaS provider and two of their customers. This was done to increase the knowledge on what SaaS providers and their customers value in a relationship. The segmentation tool The Technology Adoption Life Cycle and relationship marketing theory was applied to increase the understanding of how various customer groups require different approaches in the early market. Through analysis of the collected empirical material, the authors of this thesis have drawn the conclusion that relationship marketing is a broad field. Beside the product itself, SaaS providers need to focus on other key factors such as personnel, technology, time and knowledge. Since all interactions with the customer will affect the relationship, internal marketing should be of paramount importance to the SaaS provider. Trust between partners as well as commitment to the relationship play a vital part in the longevity of relationships in the early market. These relationships are crucial in order for a SaaS to reach the mainstream market where a subscription model can show true value for the SaaS-provider. SaaS providers can use live-in marketing to gain important insights from its customers in the early market and develop their SaaS with a customer centric approach. The research that has been conducted in this thesis has shown that focusing on diffusion through word of mouth does not necessarily result in increased exposure and sales, but also that costs of leaving a relationship does not increase the customers commitment to the relationship.

Background: Over the past years, organisations have been facing an increasedthreat from cyber criminality. This amplifies the necessity for organisations to implement highly secure systems to protect sensitive information.Purpose: Explore and identify factors that influence organisations’ willingness toadopt information security. The TOE framework is utilised to analyse and presentthe findings from the study, a commonly used and well-adapted framework appliedin multiple previous studies of technology adoption.Method: A qualitative research approach is used since it favours the exploratorynature of gaining a deeper understanding of why organisations adopt informationsecurity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain a more profound understanding from the executive/top managers, IT managers, and others affected bysecurity adoption in the organisation.Results: The resulting factors are presented in the three contexts from the TOEframework. Technological context: tenability, relative advantage, return on investment, cost, complexity, and compatibility. Organisational context: willingness toadopt, organisational readiness, knowledge and expertise, external support, communication process, organisational awareness, and top management support. Environmental context: competitiveness, external pressure, geopolitics and external events,fear of exposure, experience and laws and regulations.Conclusions: The findings from this study clearly show factors that strongly impactorganisations to adopt information security. Top managers have a great responsibility to ensure the investment in security systems is sufficient to stay competitive andtrustworthy. The IT managers are expected to handle security concerns that theorganisation may be confronted by. The limited resources of expertise create significant challenges for the organisation to implement sufficient solutions. Leading toa high demand for external expertise to handle the security problems faced in theorganisation, creating an insufficient understanding and awareness of the problemsconcerning information security in the organisation. This thesis contributes withnuanced findings of why organisations adopt information security. The results alsocontribute to expanding previous findings in technology adoption adapting the TOEframework. / Bakgrund: Under de senaste åren har organisationer ställts inför en ökad hotbildfrån cyberkriminalitet, vilket kräver implementering av effektiva informationssystem.Men att investera i informationssäkerhet är inte helt oproblematiskt, säkra systemär avgörande för att skydda känslig information men det kommer med komplex ochavancerad teknik.Syfte: Identifiera vilka faktorer som påverkar organisationers vilja att adoptera informationssäkerhet. Detta görs genom att använda det väletablerade TOE-ramverketför att presentera och identifiera forskningsresultatet, ett vanligt använt och välutvecklat ramverk som tillämpats i flera tidigare studier inom området technologyadoption.Metod: En kvalitativ forskningsansats används eftersom den gynnar den utforskandekaraktären att bygga en djupare förståelse för varför organisationer investerar i informationssäkerhet. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes för att få en djupareförståelse från verkställande/toppchefer, IT-chefer och andra som påverkas av säkerhetsantagandet i organisationen.Resultat: Faktorerna separerades i TOE-ramverket. Teknologiska faktorer: hållbarhet, relativ fördel, avkastning på investeringen, kostnad, komplexitet samt kompatibilitet. Organisatoriska faktorer: vilja att adoptera, organisatorisk beredskap,kunskap och expertis, externt stöd, kommunikationsprocess, organisationsmedvetenhet samt toppledningsstöd. Externa faktorer: konkurrenskraft, extern press, geopolitik och externa händelser, rädsla för exponering, tidigare erfarenhet samt lagar ochregler.Slutsats: Resultaten från denna studie visar tydligt faktorer som starkt påverkarorganisationer att ta till sig informationssäkerhet. Toppchefer har ett stort ansvaratt säkerställa att investeringar i säkerhetssystem är tillräckliga för att förbli konkurrenskraftig och pålitliga gentemot sina kunder och leverantörer. IT-cheferna förväntas hantera säkerhetsproblem som organisationen kan ställas inför. Den begränsadekompetensen inom säkerhet skapar betydande utmaningar för organisationen attimplementera tillräckliga lösningar. Detta leder till en hög efterfrågan på externexpertis inom området, vilket skapar en bristande förståelse och medvetenhet kringproblematiken av informationssäkerhet i organisationen. Denna studie bidrar mednyanserade rön om varför organisationer använder informationssäkerhet. Resultatenbidrar också till att tillhandahålla nya fynd till tidigare studier inom området somapplicerat TOE-ramverket.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka faktorer som påverkar adoptionen av drönare för säkerhetsskäl på byggarbetsplatser, och att fastställa hur dessa faktorer påverkar adopteringen. Detta bidrar till att teknologiskt modernisera byggbranschen samt fylla en lucka i befintlig litteratur om adoptionen av drönare för säkerhetsskäl. För att undersöka detta genomfördes elva semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer som representerade åtta olika företag av varierande storlek, alla aktiva i byggindustrin. Resultaten indikerar att de primära faktorer som påverkar adopteringen är 1) Kännedom, 2) Organisation, 3) Arbetarna, 4) Genomförbarhet och 5) Extern miljö. Alla dessa faktorer kan påverka adoptionen såväl positivt som negativt. Hur dessa faktorer påverkar adoptionen av drönare har också modellerats i det framtagna ramverket Drone Adoption Model (DAM). Adoptionsprocessen inleds med att Intresset sprids inom företaget. När intresset är etablerat görs en Genomförbarhetsbedömning. Beroende på resultatet från genomförbarhetsbedömning pilottestas tekniken, vilket sedan lägger grunden för Diffusionen. De olika faktorerna påverkar adoptionen i olika faser. Kännedom påverkar primärt adoptionen i Intressefasen. Faktorerna genomförbarhet och organisation påverkar adoptionen primärt i genomförbarhetsbedömningen. Slutligen påverkar faktorerna Arbetarna och Extern miljö genom hela processen. / The aim of this study is to explore, understand and elucidate the factors that influence the adoption of drones for safety purposes on outdoor construction sites, as well as to determine how these factors influence adoption. This contributes to the role of modern technologies in the construction industry as well as fill a gap in existing literature of drone adoption for safety purposes. In order to investigate this, eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with people representing eight different companies of varying size, all active in the construction industry. The results indicate that the major factors influencing adoption are: 1) Awareness, 2) Organization, 3) Workers, 4) Feasibility and 5) External environment. All these factors could influence the adoption both positively and negatively. How the factors influence the adoption has been modelled in the proposed framework Drone Adoption Model (DAM). The adoption process starts with Interest being spread throughout the firm. Once an interest is established, a Feasibility assessment is conducted. Depending on the result from the feasibility assessment, the technology is Pilot tested, which then lays the foundation for the Diffusion. The different factors influence adoption in different phases. Awareness primarily influence adoption in the Interest phase, whereas the factors Feasibility and Organization influence adoption mainly in the Feasibility assessment. Lastly, the two factors external environment and workers influence the adoption throughout the whole process.

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This dissertation investigates videoconference technology adoption by aging-in-place organizations to facilitate the social engagement of older adults. It comprises three studies that examine the initiation and coordination of technology adoption by aging-in-place organizations and addresses the factors associated with successful adoption of relational videoconference technology by older adults. The first study is a systematic literature review exploring the role of aging-in-place organizations in social engagement of older adults through videoconference technology. The second study is a survey of adult relatives and friends of older adults regarding videoconference technology adoption by older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and their experience with facilitating resources. It applies technology adoption theory and a structural equation model to characterize the role of aging-in-place organizations. The third study is a pilot test of a new online platform called Circular that is designed to support social engagement of older adults. Through these studies, this research extends the existing body of knowledge regarding modes to facilitate adoption of relational technology by older adults and to empower senior centers and other aging-in-place organizations as they seek to socially engage the aging members of their communities.