he purpose of this study was to examine faculty perceptions about attributes and barriers impacting diffusion of Web-based distance education (WBDE) at the China Agricultural University (CAU). Random and stratified sampling was used and 273 faculty participated in the study. About 70% of participants stayed in early stages in the innovation-decision process related to WBDE (no knowledge, knowledge, or persuasion) and about 30% were in later stages (decision or implementation). Faculty members' stage differed significantly by professional area, level of education, teaching experience, and distance education experience. Gender, age, and academic rank had no significant influence on faculty members' stage. CAU faculty tended to agree with the existence of the five attributes of WBDE (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability). Professional area, gender, age, level of education, and academic rank had no significant influence on the five perceived attributes. Teaching experience had no significant influence on the five perceived attributes, except compatibility. Distance education experience had no significant influence on the five perceived attributes, except compatibility and observability. CAU faculty perceived ten factors (concerns about time, concerns about incentives, WBDE program credibility, financial concerns, planning issues, conflict with traditional education, fear of technology, technical expertise, administrative support, and infrastructure) as moderate barriers to diffusion of WBDE. Age, level of education, academic rank, and teaching experience had no significant influence on faculty perception about the ten barriers. Professional area and gender had no significant influence on faculty perception about the ten barriers, except concerns about time. Distance education experience had no significant influence on faculty perception about the ten barriers, except conflict with traditional education. Faculty members' stage in the innovation-decision process had no significant influence on faculty perceptions about relative advantage of WBDE and nine of the ten barriers. Faculty members' stage in the innovation-decision process, however, did have a significant impact on faculty perception about compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability of WBDE, and WBDE program credibility as a perceived barrier. Relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, and trialability were correlated with at least one of the ten barriers. Observability was not related with any of the barriers.

Magister Library and Information Studies - MLIS / The advent of the 21st century and its dynamic information environment have changed higher education considerably including the library spaces. Library patrons, namely undergraduates, postgraduates, and academics are placing heavy demands on academic libraries requiring support in research, teaching and learning. As a result, academic librarians globally have undertaken major re-evaluations of what they do and how they do it, to ensure relevance amongst their diverse user communities. The new information landscape is fraught with controversies that prompt opposing perspectives towards change acceptance amongst librarians. In Zimbabwe, academic libraries seemed to be lagging behind regarding changes presented by this information landscape. Given this context, the study sought to understand how librarians are adjusting to the 21st century environment against the expectations of the students and academics. The Diffusion of Innovation Theory crafted by Rogers (2003) and the McKinsey 7S model propounded by Waterman, Peters and Phillips (1982) were used as theoretical and conceptual frameworks. The research further applied a conceptual framework from the literature to determine the expectations of students and academics of the academic library in the 21st century. For data collection, the study adopted a case study design and a mixed methods approach using Web-based questionnaires, follow-up interviews and website content analysis. Data was collected from students, academics and librarians at three selected Zimbabwean universities. All data collecting tools were pre-tested amongst librarians, academics, postgraduate and undergraduate students prior to collecting data. Data collected using questionnaires was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel while interview data was analysed using thematic text analysis. Findings of this study revealed that the Midlands State University Library had to a larger extent embraced new trends which are in-line with the 21st century environment compared to the National University of Science and Technology and Lupane State University libraries. The Library and Information Science qualification remains important in service delivery among academic librarians. Inadequate funding, limited time due to multitasking, slow uptake of new concepts and limited knowledge and skills were barriers to keeping up with new trends amongst librarians. Academic librarians collaborated with academics in collection development, Information Literacy Skills (ILS) teaching and uploading theses and research papers into the Institution Repository (IR). / 2018-12-14

Within the commercial aviation industry, with its ever increasing global carbon footprint rising with consumer demand, the need for more sustainable forms of aviation has become more necessary than ever. With growing demands for emission reductions and better energy management practices across all industries in initiatives such as the Paris Agreement, there has never been a more pressing time to explore the existing and potential pathways towards more sustainable forms of aviation. While there are many new and innovative technologies aiming to reduce commercial aviation’s impact on the environment, there are other important aspects to consider, inherent to the commercial aviation industry. Key to the successful adoption and wide-spread usage of sustainable aviation technology is the consideration of passengers, their perspectives and perceptions of the industry in its current state, and their knowledge and opinions of these various new technologies. In order to contribute to this consideration of passengers and their importance, this thesis aims to investigate their perspectives on the industry and its sustainable transition, explore their perceptions of the environmental impact of air travel, as well as uncover how much passengers are willing to pay to support the incorporation of sustainable aviation fuels to reduce carbon emissions in the industry. To do this, a two-pronged approach was used, which combined a quantitative passenger survey along with qualitative interviews to collect data from a diverse group of respondents in Sweden. Applying Rogers’ theory on Diffusion of Innovation, this study investigates passenger perceptions, attitudes, levels of knowledge and trust, and willingness to pay to reduce their carbon emissions. The study also seeks to gain insights into and make sense of the different factors and barriers affecting the adoption rates of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) amongst passengers, and identify the characteristics of innovative passengers and early adopters. The results of this study showed that the current use of SAF, such as biofuels, amongst the population is still relatively early on in its adoption phase. However, the future looks bright for the future of sustainable aviation - at least from a passenger perspective. The actual amount passengers were willing to pay for reducing CO2 emissions was significant, and tools such as the Fly Green Fund can be of great help in providing a platform for passengers to minimize their carbon footprint when flying. / Inom den kommersiella flygindustrin med dess ständigt ökande globala koldioxidavtryck, som stiger med konsumenternas efterfrågan, har behovet av mer hållbara former av flygtransport blivit mer nödvändigt än någonsin tidigare. Med växande krav på utsläppsminskningar och bättre energihanteringsmetoder inom alla branscher, i initiativ såsom Parisavtalet, har det aldrig varit viktigare att utforska de befintliga och potentiella vägarna mot mer hållbara former av flygtransport. Samtidigt som det finns många nya och innovativa tekniker vars syfte är att minska kommersiell flygindustris påverkan på miljön finns det även andra aspekter, fundamentala för den kommersiella flygindustrin, att ta hänsyn till. En utbredd användning av hållbar flygteknik kräver hänsyn till passagerare, deras perspektiv och uppfattningar om branschen i dess nuvarande tillstånd, samt deras kunskap och åsikter om dessa olika nya teknologier. För att bidra till dessa övriga aspekter ämnar denna uppsats undersöka flygpassagerares perspektiv på branschen och dess hållbarhetstransformation, utforska deras uppfattningar om flygresors miljöpåverkan, samt även undersöka hur mycket passagerare är villiga att betala för att stödja införandet av hållbara flygbränslen för att minska koldioxidutsläppen i industrin. För att genomföra detta användes ett tvådelat tillvägagångssätt som kombinerade en kvantitativ passagerarundersökning baserat på en enkät, med kvalitativa intervjuer för att samla in data från en heterogen grupp av respondenter i Sverige. Passagerarenkäten distribuerades till både passagerare på väg till en flygplats, samt till studenter och anställda på Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan. Genom att med hjälp av Roger’s theory on Diffusion of Innovation analysera passagerarnas uppfattningar, attityder, kunskapsnivåer och förtroende, samt betalningsvilja, försöker denna studie skapa insikt och förståelse kring de olika faktorer och barriärer som påverkar graden av adoption av hållbara flygbränslen (Sustainable Aviation Fuels, SAF) bland passagerare, samt identifiera karaktäristika hos innovativa passagerare (innovators) och tidiga användare (early adopters). Denna studies resultat visade att den nuvarande användningen av SAF bland befolkningen fortfarande är i en relativt tidig fas av adopitonsprocessen. Framtiden ser dock ljus up för hållbarhet inom flygbranschen, åtminstone ur ett passagerar-perspektiv. Det faktiska beloppet som passagerare var villiga att betala för att minska CO2 utsläppen var betydande, och verktyg som Fly Green Fund kan vara till stor hjälp för passagerare genom att förse dem med en platform för att minimera sina koldioxidavtryck när de flyger.

Abstract   Hansson, C. (2015). Implementation of medical yoga as part of public health work . Bachelor thesis in Public Health science. Department of work- and public health science. The academy of health and working life. University of Gävle, Sweden.   Introduction This paper aimed to explore and describe the implementation of medical yoga in the health promotion sector in Sweden.   Method The method was of qualitative design, and telephone interviews were conducted with people working in public health promotion that was using medical yoga in their work with patients.   Result Results indicate that the implementation of medical yoga can be described by the theory Diffusion of innovation. The informants described high observability, simplicity (low complexity) and relative advantages and few obstacles and barriers with implementation of the innovation medical yoga. The channel that promotes medical yoga and the place where the innovation are implemented are the Swedish healthcare system. The people who work there seems to be the target group of the innovation. Medical yoga is spreading through the people who are practicing medical yoga in their work.   Conclusion Conclusions are that the five stages model and the key factors of Diffusion of innovations can be part of the explanation and identifying the cause of how and why the implementation of medical yoga has been made by the informants. The innovation is appreciated by the informants and has perceived health benefits and few barriers. / Sammanfattning   Denna uppsats undersöker och beskriver implementeringen av medicinsk yoga inom hälsosektorn i Sverige.   För att möta en ökad efterfrågan har Världshälsoorganisationen (WHO) gått ut med en rapport med uppmaning och strategier för införandet och kompletterande av konventionell medicin med traditionell- och/eller komplementärmedicin. De uppmuntrar till att göra kunskaperna och behandlingarna tillgängliga för fler. Med rapporten vill organisationen att traditionell medicin ska få större utrymme i hälso- och sjukvården. De uppmuntrar även till mer forskning inom ormrådet för att öka säkerheten kring och effektiviteten runt implementeringen.   Inom hälso- och sjukvården i Sverige eftersöks nya kostnadseffektiva, verksamma och säkra behandlingar som är vetenskapligt framtagna. Medicinsk yoga är en av metoderna i traditionell och komplementär medicin som är forskad på och bevisat kostnadseffektiv. Den används inom hälso- och sjukvården på 127 enheter som sjukhus, vårdcentraler och öppenvårdsmottagningar av personer utbildade via Mediyoga institutet som tillhandahåller utbildningen antingen på plats eller via lärare runt om i landet. Medicinsk yoga är utvecklad i Sverige och är en lugn och meditativ form av yoga. Den är utformad från kundaliniyoga och har rörelser som går att anpassas och utföras av friska och väldigt sjuka individer.   Undersökningens syfte var att beskriva implementeringen av medicinsk yoga utifrån två folkhälsoteorier för implementering av hälsokampanjer eller innovationer/ produkter. Teorierna som valdes ut var Social marketing och diffusion of innovation för att beskriva produkten, promotionen, spridningen och implementering av medicinsk yoga.   Undersökningen bygger på material inhämtat via telefonintervjuer med personer som arbetar inom hälsosektorn med medicinsk yoga.   Resultatet visar att informanterna upplevt och beskrivit implementeringen av medicinsk yoga som enkel, observerbar och med flera relativa fördelar och egenskaper. Endast ett fåtal hinder och barriärer beskrivs i samband med implementering. Med utgångspunkt i Diffusion of innovations är identifieringen av dessa nyckelfaktorer en förklaring till att implementeringen av innovationen lyckats. Promotion och spridning har skett inom hälso- och sjukvården till kollegor, chefer och patienter. Spridningen av innovationen sker genom personerna som arbetar med medicinsk yoga.   Slutsatsen är att femstegsmodellen och nyckelfaktorerna som beskrivs i teorin Diffusion of innovations kan ge förklaring till hur och varför implementeringen av medicinsk yoga skett inom hälso- och sjukvården genom informanterna. Medicinsk yoga tycks vara en uppskattad innovation, med flera upplevda hälsovinster och få hinder och barriärer.

Den digitala utvecklingen pågår i samhället i stort. Revisionsbranschen är en bransch som är i förändring till följd av digitaliseringen. Digitaliseringen tar bland annat uttryck i form av olika digitala verktyg som kan användas i revisionsprocessen. Syftet med digitala verktyg är att förenkla revisionsprocessen och effektivisera. Studiens syfte är att göra en jämförelse mellan hur stora och små byråer använder sig av digitala verktyg i revisionsprocessen. I syfte att göra en jämförelse valdes en kvalitativ metod. Studiens empiri samlades in genom intervjuer av revisorer från stora och små byråer. I samband med studien framfördes tidigare forskning, definition av viktiga begrepp samt den institutionella teorin, TOE ramverket och diffusion of innovation som tillsammans utgjorde studiens teoretiska referensram. Den teoretiska referensramen har använts för att analysera studiens empiri. Empirin pekar på att stora och små byråer använder digitala verktyg på liknande sätt i revisionsprocessen. De digitala verktygen används på liknande sätt och ofta i samma delar av revisionsprocessen. Granskningen är den delen där samtliga revisorer i studien har mest nytta av digitala verktyg. Digitala verktyg effektiviserar revisorns arbete och på så sätt kan revisorn fokusera på mer komplexa delar av revisionen. Skillnaden ligger i vilka digitala verktyg som används där små byråer tenderar att köpa in externa digitala verktyg medan stora byråer utvecklar egna. Det är också tydligt att digitala verktyg utgör en viktig del i revisorns dagliga arbete. / Digitalization affects society in an extensive manner and the audit profession is no exception. Auditing is changing as a result of digitalization. The digitalization in audit expresses itself through different digital tools that can be used in the audit process. Digital tools aim to simplify and make the audit process more efficient. The purpose of the study was to compare how large and small audit firms use digital tools in the audit process. A qualitative method was chosen in order to research the area. The empirical findings of the study was developed by interviewing auditors from large and small audit firms. Previous literature along with definitions of key concepts and theories such as institutional theory, TOE framework and diffusion of innovation were described in conjunction with the study in order to create a theoretical framework. The theoretical framework was used to analyze the empirical findings of the study. The digital tools are being used in a similar way and often in the same parts of the audit process. According to the study, digital tools are most useful in the reviewing phase of the audit process. Digital tools increase the efficiency of the audit and it allows the auditor to complex parts of the audit. The difference is in which digital tools are being used where small firms tend to buy external digital tools while large firms develop their own digital tools. It is also clear that digital tools are an important part of the auditor’s daily work.

We are currently in the year 2024, in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, where artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most revolutionary technologies characteristic of this era. The fifth industrial revolution is on the horizon, where AI will be further distinguished. Through a qualitative method with an inductive approach, semi-structured interviews have been conducted to investigate how AI has impacted the audit process and how far audit firms have come in this development. This is because auditing is a profession that, according to previous research, is relevant to investigate due to its rigid nature with strict laws and regulations. The handling of confidential information is a central part, and the work during the audit process should ultimately contribute to a quality-assured audit. Due to this technological development, this study, with the help of an analysis model consisting of diffusion of innovation (DOI), the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), the audit process, and the productivity paradox, has identified auditors acceptance and use of AI in the audit process. The study shows that AI has the potential to streamline the audit process by substituting repetitive tasks. Despite this, there are significant challenges that must be overcome for the full application of AI. Auditors have generally accepted AI, but there is uncertainty about how the technology can be used due to the handling of confidential information, existing regulations, and excessive reliance on the technology. These challenges have resulted in a low degree of usage and a relatively slow adoption rate. The productivity paradox is evident, as despite significant investments in AI and technological advancements, the actual productivity increase has been limited. The analysis shows that audit firms give the impression of faster development than what has actually occurred, while emphasizing that auditors analytical skills for a quality-assured audit are irreplaceable.

The advancement of Information Technology (IT) has changed the business landscape in many industries and especially the airline sector. Modern Information Communication Technologies (ICT) provide powerful tools for organizations and can significantly influence their operation, structure, and strategy. The emergence of mobile technologies has created a new innovation for airline companies by increasing the availability, frequency, and speed of communication between the company and their customers. This research aims to investigate the factors influencing the customers behavioural intention to adopt and utilize mobile services during their travel process. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) provide the theoretical basis for explaining how consumers perceive mobile services which they access and operate by their mobile handset. To achieve that, this research employed a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative approaches with a dominant quantitative method. A consumer web-based survey was conducted in the Saudi Arabia travel sector with respect to mobile services usage in airline sector , 307 valid questionnaires were received and analyzed by using SPSS (V.18), correlation, regression and factor analysis tests were conducted . The findings of this research revealed that, perceived usefulness, mobility and compatibility are loaded to be one predictor of behavioural intention to use mobile services in Saudi Arabia. The reason behind it may be interpreted as customers nowadays have seen mobility and compatibility as attributes of perceived usefulness. Further, social influence, perceived ease of use and personal innovativeness were found to significantly influence the behavioural intention .whereas, perceived risk was found not to be a predictor to the behavioural intention to use mobile services in Saudi Arabia. Finally, the model analysis and survey evaluation enable airline companies to make mobile commerce service provision decision, these findings contribute to a road map for airline companies to encourage their customers to adopt mobile services and keep them engaged during the overall travel life cycle.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to study business clients’ technology acceptance of e-commerce within business-to-business in the work wear sector. In specific, develop and test a framework in order to analyze the antecedents of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use behind business clients’ behavioral intention to the usage of e-commerce. Problem: There is not sufficient research regarding industries and companies that are categorized as laggards (Del Aguila-Obra & Padilla-Melendez, 2006), and furthermore regarding clients’ technology acceptance in a business-to-business context (Doherty & Ellis-Chadwick, 2010). Actors within the work wear sector conduct their businesses in the most traditional way, with physical stores (Ekberg, Fraenkel, Gustavsson, Hamsten & Hedin, 2014). The question is whether this traditional way remain due to skepticism among the business clients’ and their level of technology acceptance. Method: A proposed framework is developed by the authors, adapted from Technology Acceptance Model (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000) and Diffusion of Innovation Theory (Rogers, 1983). This framework is tested through quantitative research, and more specific a questionnaire. Subsequently, the empirical data gathering is assembled, analyzed and concluded into a final proposed framework.  Findings: The final proposed framework incorporates antecedents from the proposed framework, but also new influences that are identified in the empirical findings as relevant. These influences are Age, Gender, Experience and Compliance. Further, the antecedents presented in the final proposed framework are the following: Subjective norm/Opinion leaders, Job relevance/Compatibility, Output quality, Result demonstrability/Observability and Trialability.

Os Recursos Educacionais Abertos (REA) são materiais com finalidade educacional, principalmente em meio digital, publicados sob termos de propriedade intelectual que autorizam seu uso, modificação, revisão e compartilhamento sem restrições. Esses recursos, idealizados com o objetivo de democratizar o acesso à educação, a despeito de sua gratuidade, de estarem disponíveis em meio digital e de geralmente elaborados por universidades renomadas, têm sido menos utilizados do que o esperado em localidades-alvo: países em desenvolvimento, onde as desigualdades de acesso a oportunidades educacionais de qualidade são maiores. Com base na teoria de difusão de inovação e no conceito de abismo de inovação, foi levantada a hipótese de que os atributos da proposta de valor dos REA não correspondem às preferências de usuários em países em desenvolvimento. A técnica de Conjoint Analysis foi empregada para avaliar as preferências de usuários em potencial (adultos com acesso à internet e redes sociais, que podem decidir individualmente sobre o uso dos REA) sobre os atributos de um tipo de REA (cursos online, cuja observabilidade é maior do que os REA como componentes modulares utilizados na educação formal), cujos atributos foram selecionados a partir de uma revisão conceitual da literatura, elaborada de forma sistemática. Os resultados mostraram que a importância relativa dos dois atributos da proposta de valor dos REA mais utilizados como argumento de diferenciação (licença de propriedade e reputação da instituição) não se mostrou significante na avaliação da utilidade total percebida nas propostas de cursos online gratuitos. Em contrapartida, os atributos que são mais difíceis de adicionar aos REA (certificação, suporte e idioma) são os mais importantes para os respondentes. / Open Educational Resources (OER) are education-driven materials, mainly in digital formats, released under intellectual property licenses that allow their use, modification, revision and sharing with no restrictions. These resources were developed to democratize access to education. However, despite their free status, their digital availability and the reputation of the universities that release them, their use have been lower than expected in target locations: developing countries, where remain the greatest inequalities in access to quality educational opportunities. Based on the diffusion of innovation theory and on the concept of innovation chasm, we\'ve raised the hypothesis that the attributes of the value proposition of OER are not compatible to users\' preferences in developing countries. The Conjoint Analysis technique was used to evaluate the preferences of potential users (adults with internet access and access to social networks websites, who can decide on the use of OER by themselves) on the attributes of a type of OER (online courses, whose observability is higher than the OER as modular components used in formal education), whose attributes were selected based on a conceptual review of the literature, conducted in a systematic approach. The results showed that there was no evidence that the relative importance of the two main attributes of the OER\'s value proposition, most used as an argument for differentiation (intellectual property license and institutional reputation) is significant in the evaluation of the total utility perceived in the proposals of free online courses. In contrast, attributes that are harder to add to OER (certification, support, and language) are the most important attributes for respondents.

Significant literature on sustainable supply chain management exists but there is a lack of theory explaining diffusion of sustainability practices within the supplier base led by manufacturing firms. In particular diffusion theory is insufficiently developed to characterise the development of sustainability practices in suppliers. The purpose of this research is to establish the conditions for enhancing the diffusion of environmental and social sustainability practices across the supplier base from the buying firms’ perspective. The research design is based on a theory building strategy. The data analysis was carried out based on a triangulation of different sources of data (e.g. 30 interviews with directors or managers of four sustainability leading manufacturing firms from the beverage, cosmetic and textile sector, and an extensive array of documents) and cross-case analysis and application of diffusion of innovation theory (DoI). This research identified environmental and social practices diffused through supplier selection (implementation of requirements), performance assessment and development. This map of sustainability practices provides a unique perspective; hence it distinguishes practices diffused across different supply chain tiers, as well as the mechanism/initiatives employed to diffuse them. The findings suggested that more emphasis was given to environmental practices than social practices. In general, social practices were more related to compulsory level (e.g. human rights) and were evaluated (selection), monitored (performance) and diffused through development (especially educating initiatives) in both 1st tier and 2nd tier. Critical materials suppliers in the 2nd tier were more likely to be engaged by specific procurement teams through the selection, performance and development activities, especially with the aim of meeting compliance and improving performance. The findings also suggested that joint initiatives with critical industrial suppliers focused more on environmental practices. Diffusion of innovation theory was applied to consider different elements that have not been covered in the literature, for instance, emphasis on communication channels and social system elements. The rate of adoption of sustainability practices was directly affected by supporting suppliers in measuring and collaborating in implementing improvements plans, as well as intense educating initiatives. DoI provides a powerful lens to help explain the role of buying firms in the diffusion of sustainability practices. The research provided a more comprehensive view on how sustainability practices were diffused through the supplier selection, performance assessment and development. This work is the first instance of considering intra- and interorganisational factors in the same model for enhancing the diffusion of sustainability practices. Overall, this depicts patterns of the factors and points out the most critical variables influencing the implementation of sustainability practices across the supplier base. This research has the potential to serve as an analysis tool to uncover gaps in activity that could lead to greater adoption of sustainability practices by suppliers, as well as gathering good practice in a structured way.