Summary / extract
+ keywords: |
What makes one new idea or new technology spread more quickly than another? That is the focus of the field called 'diffusion of innovations'. This activity provides a brief introduction to diffusion of innovations.
Students identify how receptive they are to new ideas. Then, they analyse how likely a new technology, such as the picture phone, might be adopted widely. This analysis is guided by a set of criteria -- relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, trialability, and observability.
This activity helps students to understand how different people react differently to novelty. It is also provides a useful introduction to the use of the social sciences in addressing science and technology.
In my experience, this activity has gone over well in business courses as well as in science courses. There is also a short reading available on the web on this topic, which students tend to like. The power of the concepts introduced here is useful to refer back to when addressing other topics.
|
| Time needed for activity: |
1 hour
|
| Sender department & institution: |
Science Communication Program, University of New South Wales
|
