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chapter 5: tech innovation Flashcards

1
Q

what is diffusion of innovations and what does it entail?

A

study of adoption and diffusion(adopted) of tech innovations in society or segments of society overtime

  • shows that technologies are a result of social, cultural, political, and historical factors
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2
Q

what is one reason for this rapid growth?

A

pervasiveness of tech in out society and its increasing impact on how we work, play, socialize and communicate

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3
Q

what is innovation?

A

“idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or another unit of adoption”

  • presents an individual or organization with a new alternative or alternatives, with new means of solving problems
  • spread of ideas and tools
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4
Q

“decision to start using innovation for a specific goal (individual basis or organizational level)”

A

adoption

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5
Q

what is diffusion?

A

process by which, over time, innovation becomes adopted in a social group

  • matter of tech superiority
  • models didnt capture complexity of diffusion and failed to take political, social and cultural factors in account
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6
Q

what does Jared Diamond argue in terms of how tech spreads?

A

argues that central to understanding social change in society is studying the origins of technological innovations

innovations rarely developed locally; most taken from other social groups = copying technology
- social groups wont develop new was of dealing with issues and go with existing solutions

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7
Q

what are the 2 key factors that affect whether innovations are to be invented locally or copied from other societies?

A

Ease of invention = the extent to which an innovation can be easily discovered based on existing knowledge
- some difficult to discover as they require complex knowledge in an area and combo of knowledge from distinct areas

Interconnectedness = extent to which social groups are geographically or socially connected to one another allowing for the flow of goods and the exchange of ideas, information, knowledge, and innovations
- high degree - allows for the easy transfer of technologies and technological know-how

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8
Q

how does geographical location play a role in adaptation of tech?

A

Isolated societies needed to rely on their own creativity - could not easily borrow ideas or inventions from other social groups

  • diffusion connected to need to retain power over rivals (depends on amount of military innovation countries can acquire)

centrally located - centres of innovation
non centrally located - not interconnected(takes while to get new tech)

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9
Q

“abandonment of new technologies” (eg. history of guns in japan)

A

technological regression

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10
Q

who developed the most influential model of diffusion and what were the 2 concepts that were central to his argument?

A

Everrett Rogers

concepts of: uncertainty and information

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11
Q

what does uncertainty entail?

A

adopters engage in risk because they do not know whether or not the new innovation will yield the expected outcomes

eg. adoption of new hardware/software

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12
Q

what does information entail?

A

reduces uncertainty and helps potential adopters make a decision about a particular technological innovation’s usefulness and efficiency

  • can be through the tech itself, peers, media and ind’s outside social group

eg. should i get the new apple phone or is it the same as the one i have now?

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13
Q

what are the 4 main elements of the diffusions of innovations by Rogers?

A
  1. The innovation
  2. Communication Channels
  3. Time
  4. Social System
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14
Q

what is innovation and the 5 characteristics?

A

“consist of new ideas, practices, or objects linked to technology”

  1. relative advg.
  2. compatibility
  3. complexity
  4. trialability
  5. observability
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15
Q

relative advg.?

A

assesses the merits of an innovation in relation to the idea, practice, or object it is to replace
- if added value - more likely to adopt

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16
Q

“the good fit of an innovation with the existing norms, values, and attitudes of a social group”

A

compatibility

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17
Q

complexity?

A

“level of skill needed to comprehend the workings of a technology and its ease of use”
- more likely to adopt when tech is transparent in function and benefits

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18
Q

“provides potential adopters with the possibility to reduce the uncertainty associated with the innovation, gather evidence about its value and potential risks through prior experience”

A

trialbility

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19
Q

observability?

A

visibility of the innovation itself and its benefits to other members of the social group

  • see how it works - leads to discussing it and get valuable info
20
Q

what were the 2 defs of self tracking and quantified self in the case study on self tracking?

A

Self-tracking: the practice of using digital tools to capture daily activities and measure physiological markers

Quantified self: the aggregation of numbers that are associated with the monitoring

21
Q

what are communication channels and what does it entail?

A

means by within the exchange of information occurs

  • Mass media - most common form of communication employed about an innovation but have significantly less influence than personal relationships
  • trust these accounts over interest of vendors (mass media)
22
Q

what does “time” entail”?

A
  • doesn’t merit much attention
  • central variable for examining when individuals first become aware of an innovation
  • explains innovations rate of adoption within certain social system (measured as number of adopters within given time period)
23
Q

what does social system entail?

A

“a set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal”

Examining the diffusion process within a social system - structure of the social system and its values, norms, and beliefs have a major impact

24
Q

how many generations of the apple watch are there?

25
what are the pros of apple watches?
- Ability to track things - fitness (exercise minutes, active calories, standing), sleep, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, and cycles - Connected to family and friends through shared activity/the ability to compete - Encourages activity - reminds users to stand and offer monthly fitness challenges - access to messages, weather, sunrise/sunset, time, compass
26
what are the cons?
- always checking - need to complete fitness goals can become and obsession - may feel the need to constantly compete with one another - Option to “cheat” fitness goals (starting workout without working out, waving arm to trigger “standing”) -encourages the development of a more expansive user base
27
what is the innovation decision process and what does it entail?
how do people decide when to accept and when to reject frequency of adoption graph - the rate of adoption formed an s-shaped curve ( S-shaped curve of adoption)
28
what were the 5 types of adopters in the innovation decision process?
1. innovators 2. early adopters 3. early majority 4. late majority 5. laggards - depends on social hierarchy and money u have
29
innovators?
constantly seek out new ideas and information leading them to expand their social circles (cosmopolitans) role - importing new ideas into their social groups from the boundaries
30
early adopters?
play the most central role in the diffusion of innovations process - well respected among their social network and serve as role models - seek newness and are gatekeepers
31
early majority?
step ahead of the average adopter serve as interconnectors = bridge between early and late adopters providing relevant information about the innovation to the late adopters - help late majority make their decision
32
"members of this group adopt only after the average adopter has started using the innovation" (make sure its worth getting)
late majority
33
laggards?
traditional and the last to adopt - not able to get the innovation (isolated) and by the time they adopt the technology a new technology is already out
34
what are the 5 stages of the innovation decision process?
1. knowledge 2.persuasion 3. decision 4. implementation 5. confirmation
35
what are the 3 types of knowledge that happens in the knowledge stage?
Awareness knowledge = aware of the existence of the technology and its potential adoption How-to knowledge = awareness of the innovation and explains how the innovation is used properly how it can be beneficial - what its advantages are Principle knowledge = understanding of the mechanisms that lie behind an innovation (deep understanding of the innovation)
36
what happens in the persuasion stage?
Potential adopters continue to seek out information about an innovation - not actively - seek more information to make your decision about whether or not you want to get it and use it
37
what happens in the decision stage?
the activities that lead toward adoption or rejection of an innovation Trial by others = when not possible to test the innovation themselves - seek the opinion of peers that have had first-hand experience with it Adopt, reject, or try it out
38
whats happens in the implementation stage?
- individual starts using the innovation often running into technical problems -information seeking continues to be central as the adopter troubleshoots the encountered obstacles to use if difficult to use - may reject the new technology and return what they are familiar with Start using it = any problems get troubleshooted Case study: Sir
39
what happens in the confirmation stage?
adopter continues to seek out information about the tool to confirm that they made the right decision in adoption Discontinuance = if info arises that contradicts the usefulness of the tool - may consider rejecting the innovation
40
what are the benefits of this model?
- Very structured - Allows you to analyze many different components - Communication that happens around the technology - Logical
41
what are the critiques of the model?
- does not address what characteristics of an innovation interact to affect its adoption within organizations - no discussion how the factors interact with one another - complex to test such theories in practice - little research to back up the model’s empirical validity - no one can study all of the factors of the model at the same time
42
what are the econ advgs of countries that are at the forefront of innovation?
- new job opportunities -lead to other innovations creating a hub of innovation - Innovations in governance can help cope with new challenges in transportation, health care, and education
43
what are the 3 key policies that the government of Canada has developed to promote innovation?
1. Skills, development and lifelong learning 2. Key policies that focus on supporting Canadian business innovators 3. Clean technology and the continuation of innovation in the areas of sustainable and renewable energy
44
what are 3 areas in which governments worldwide are moving?
Area 1: identity Area 2: Systems approaches and enablers Area 3: Inclusiveness and vulnerable populations
45
what does area 1 entail?
governments are moving toward the creation of digital identities that integrate all aspects of a citizen’s life and facilitate access and provision to services
46
what does area 2 entail?
developing information systems to improve how government services are accessed by and provided to citizens - transforming how governments operate and interact with citizens
47
what does area 3 entail?
improving the lives of vulnerable citizens to improve educational and job opportunities

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