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- All Subjects: Diffusion of Innovation
- Creators: Matera, Fran
- Creators: Beardsley, Audrey
- Resource Type: Text
DescriptionThe purpose of this study is to assess to what degree employees of the Commercial Service are knowledgeable about social media. It is also a means to learn about the perceptions of social media within the U.S. government and the Commercial Service and examine its innovation culture.
ContributorsSinclair, Torunn Kathryn (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Phillips, Robin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This study examines the The Disney College Program, a semester-long paid internship hosted by the Walt Disney Company employing more than 10,000 students each year. With over 120,000 alumni in the past 10 years, this program offers students housing and community building opportunities within the "Living" component, college credit courses within the "Learning" component, and on-the-job experience at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World theme parks through the "Earning" component. Specifically, the research focuses on Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The researcher conducted a 39-question online survey prompting 1,749 responses from Disney College Program alumni to help answer the following research questions: (1) Who are Disney College Program Cast Members, (2) What is their level of satisfaction with the program, and (3) Are they influencers? This study uses theoretical elements (e.g. levels of adoption, influencers and brand loyalty) to describe influence and psychological effects to describe satisfaction (e.g. indoctrination, human motivation and Stockholm Syndrome). With the findings showing discrepancies between the ratings of "Living," "Learning," and "Earning" and the average overall rating, some questions arise about the program's tendencies to form tightly cohesive groups approaching elements of Stockholm Syndrome and cult-like ethos. Focusing on the 1,490 of 1,749 respondents from Walt Disney World in the past 10 years, the study concludes that Walt Disney World College Program alumni are not influencers nor advocates, but rather evangelists (i.e., zealous advocate) and loyalists.
ContributorsMcgowan, Sloane Shea (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Archer, Ciara (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / College of Public Service and Community Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role a peer-driven technology acceptance model (PDTAM) in the form of a Community of Practice (CoP) played in assisting users in the acceptance of Trellis technologies at the University of Arizona. Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) technologies are becoming more common in higher education, helping to track interactions, streamline processes, and support customized experiences for students. Unfortunately, not all users are receptive to new technologies, and subsequent adoption can be slow. While the study of technology adoption literature provides insight into what motivates individuals to accept or reject new technologies, used herein was the most prevalent technology adoption theory – the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, 1986). I used TAM to explore technology acceptance more spec user’s Perceived Ease of Use (PEU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU). In this MMAR study, I used TAM (Davis, 1986) as well as Everett Roger’s (1983) Diffusion Innovation Theory (DOI) to evaluate the impact of the CoP mentioned above on user adoption. Additionally, I added Perceived Value (PV) as a third construct to the TAM. Using pre-and post-intervention surveys, observation, and interviews, to both collect and analyze data on the impacts of my CoP intervention, I determined that the CoPs did assist in more thoroughly diffusing knowledge share, which reportedly led to improved PEU, PU, and PV in the treatment group. Specifically, the peer-to-peer mentoring that occurred in the CoPs helped users feel empowered to use the capabilities. Additionally, while the CoPs reportedly improved PEU, PU, and PV, the peer-to-peer model and the Trellis technologies still have not matured enough to realize their total value to campus.
ContributorsHodge, Nikolas (Author) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Neumann, William (Committee member) / Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022