Relative Advantage: Mobile Phones Vs Earlier ICT platforms for enabling information transfers from lab to land

Mobile phone is the new communication technology that I am familiar with and would like to discuss its adoption in agricultural extension systems for disseminating information from lab to land.

From the ages, agricultural extension has been recognized as an essential mechanism for enabling information and knowledge transfers from agricultural research labs to farmer fields. The research-farmer linkages mediated by the extension system played a crucial role in the advancement of food security during green revolution. Today, extension systems are in a state of decline in many countries. Many of the extension agents have come to believe extension has to escape from the narrow mindset of transferring technology packages while moving toward a constantly innovating knowledge transfer mode that supports decisions, innovation and personal growth among farmers and seed entrepreneurs.

Advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) provided enormous opportunities to explore web based knowledge sharing and extension functionaries in transferring technology packages from laboratory to farm to the broadest number of farmers, for example Agropedia, AgMark, Market Maker, eXtension etc. However many of these web based extension portals have limitations to establish the last mile connectivity.

The advent of mobile technology has addressed a greater array of earlier ICT platform last mile connectivity issues – infrastructure, connectivity, training needs, literacy issues etc.  It also further reduces the investments on capacity building activities.  As the farmer’s started owning mobile phones it is relatively advantageous to use mobile as a communication medium than the array of earlier ICT platforms (information kiosks, web, fixed phones etc.) for transferring information from lab to land. 

Based on its relative advantage, I believe the speed of adoption of the mobile phone technology in the future is higher than the array of earlier ICT platforms.  For example, in the year 2003 in Africa there were 6.1 mobile subscribers for every 100 persons as compared to 3.0 fixed line subscribers per 100 persons. In 2005, there were 52 million mobile subscribers compared to 25 million for fixed lines.  The commission for Africa estimates that the number of mobile subscribers in Africa will continue to expand at the rate of 35 per cent over the next few years.  

Hello,

My name is Colter.  I am a graduate student in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies program at ISU.  I have a Bachelor's of Science from the University of Minnesota.

My long term goal of mine is to earn my Phd in Human Computer Interaction from ISU and I hope to do well in this course so I will be admitted to that program. 

Introduction - Dileepkumar Guntuku

I am Dileepkumar Guntuku, graduate certificate student of Human Computer Interaction at Iowa State University.  I am an off-campus student. 

I have joined HCI program, when I was working at Iowa State University as a program specialist, to understand the finer nuances of Human Computer Interaction theories. I have resigned my job at ISU in December 2011 and accepted a position at an International Organization in India.  At present I live in India, but I continue my association with Iowa State University as a student and also a collaborator on few International development projects.
 
I have a PhD in Information and Communication Technologies.  I am interested in studying the applications of contemporary Information and Communication Technologies for promoting food security and socio-economic change in developing countries, especially in remote rural regions .  My research interests are development communication, Information and Communication Technologies for Development, Rural Resource Information Systems, Elearning, EGovernance etc.  I look forward to learn diffusion innovation theories and communication technologies for social change from this course. 

Introduction

Hello Everyone,
My name is Anand Tripathi and I was born in India, came to US for my undergrad. For my undergrad I went to Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. Currently I live in Chicago and have been working with many Chicagoland organizations as a Lead Quality Assurance Analyst in capacity of a consultant. The good part of being a consultant is that I move from client to client within the 2-3 years hence I get to learn new applications, meet new people and there is never a dull moment.
In my spare time I love to run, play tennis and cook. I have done a few half marathons and now contemplating on running a full one although the time and dedication that it will require deters me.
Currently I am a first year Off Campus student pursuing a degree in Human Computer Interaction from ISU. With a degree in HCI I want to transition more into UX and UI field as I think applications get utilized more if they are user friendly and easy to operate.

Post 2: Relative Advantage

Of the five innovation attributes discussed by Rogers in the our main text, relative advantage seems to be most important. Please choose a new communication technology that you are familiar with and discuss why it is (or it isn’t) superior than earlier technologies. Can you predict the speed of adoption of this technology in the future based on its relative advantage? 

Introduction - Joshua Jordan

Hello everyone! My name is Joshua Jordan and I am originally from Altoona, Iowa (minutes East of Des Moines), but I am currently residing in Earlham, Iowa (approx. 30 min. West of Des Moines) to look after my mother-in-law who just underwent two major back surgeries while the rest of the family is away in Alaska, on a fishing boat somewhere at the mouth of the Cook Inlet (south of Anchorage) pulling the last bit of Halibut their quotas will allow.  

I am currently a third-year graduate student in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies.  The sub-disciplines supporting my Master's degree that I selected include Anthropology, English, and Philosophy.  And, aside from the official disciplines that my program has required me to declare and, consequently, diligently follow, I have also spent a great amount of time cultivating an education that is truly interdisciplinary.  With that being said, I have spent a large amount of time, in addition to my program's core, studying graduate-level Psychology, particularly Counseling Psychology, as well as other graduate related disciplines such as Art History, Religious Studies, and Sociology.  Despite the fact that I would prefer to stay at Iowa State University and continue engaging in different and interesting subjects, my wallet compels me otherwise; therefore, I will be graduating in the fall of 2012.

I attribute much of my interest in crossing the boundaries erected by academic disciplines primarily to my undergraduate studies.  In 2009 and from Iowa State University, I was awarded a BA in Philosophy and a BA in Religious Studies - two degrees that emphasize from the beginning a deference for the crossing and exploring of academic boundaries.  Also in 2009, I finished two degrees at Des Moines Area Community College that I had started much earlier in my life - an AA in Criminal Justice and an AA in Liberal Arts - and, to top it off, I simultaneously managed to earn a Certificate of Emergency Medical Technician - Basic in the process.  Although I managed to stuff a lot of academic work into 2009, as I reflect back on the year, I believe it was probably the most pathetic year of my social life thus far; and, to anyone considering an attempt to get a lot accomplished academically in a very short period of time, please find a personally legitimate and honest answer to the question:  "What's the damn hurry?"

My specific motivation for taking this class is that it fits perfectly with my core studies and primary interests and just happens to be offered as a distance learning course.  I have strong interests in the philosophy of science and technology; epistemology; linguistics, language, and communication; the role of culture in a globalized world; and the dynamics of social change, particularly in those areas resistant to change.  I take great influence from many of the great modern Continental philosophers - e.g., Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Sartre, Camus, Zizek, etc. - and I am fascinated by the work of futurists like Ray Kurzweil and his academic progeny.  Given my interests and knowing the circumstances I was facing, while choosing Summer courses this last Spring I found myself inextricably drawn to Communication Technology and Social Change.

Intro - Henry Navarro

Hello, I started in the Online HCI Graduate Certificate Program last spring and expect to complete it this year.  I am a software engineer by profession, specializing in software user interfaces for web, desktop and mobile.  I am taking JLMC574 as part of the program's core courses.  Prior to joining the program, my academic background included physical sciences, engineering and business.
I approach the course with great interest, because of my expectation that it will provide learnings and insights on the adoption of technology at the social level.  My work with user interfaces has involved design considerations for the individual user, for the most part.  Each piece of work I implemented has so far mainly dealt with a specific persona, or type of user.  With this course, I am hopeful that my awareness will expand to include social considerations when designing or implementing software user interfaces.  By being aware of principles involved in society's adoption of new technology, my work will hopefully be more guided and more effective.

Introductions: Dan MacKenzie

Hello Everyone,

My name is Dan MacKenzie and I am a newly-enrolled master's student in mass communications. I was slated to begin classes this fall, but I decided that taking a few courses this summer would be a great way to get back into the rhythm of school without having to take on a full schedule. I have been in the professional world for the past couple of years working in the insurance industry. I am an off-campus student - I live in an apartment on the west side of Ames. I just moved to here in May and am enjoying getting to know the campus.

I finished my undergrad degree at the University of Iowa in 2009. I graduated with a degree in English, but my other academic interests were Arabic and Middle Eastern studies. So I decided to come back to school to pursue those. I will focus on journalism and supplement that with courses in political science. As of right now, I want to focus on American relations in North Africa in some capacity.

This summer I am taking one other class on campus and this course. I am excited to get a grasp on the theory involved in the spread of information, which fits in well with the recent political events in North Africa and the use of technologies like Twitter in spreading  new ideas.

Dan

Introduction - Stuart Davidson

Hello,

My name is Stuart Davidson. I am an on-campus student completing the MAcc program. I chose to attend ISU to obtain a master's degree in order to enhance my educational background. I will also be completing an internship with Crop Production Services this summer performing inventory audits. My interests include economics, horticulture, and upholstery. I'm looking forward to taking this class in order to gain a better perspective on how technology influences communication in the modern world.

Stuart

Introductions: Ben Lortz

Hello, my name is Ben and I am a graduate student in the accounting program.

This summer I am taking three online courses and one on campus. I am looking to get ahead with my course requirements so that I can graduate this December and then take my CPA exams next spring.

After I graduate and pass all of my CPA exams I will hopefully obtain a job with one of the Big 4 accounting firms. I love Iowa and the Midwest but I would also really enjoy the opportunity to begin my career somewhere else in the U.S. I am taking this course because I needed to take a communications course to fulfill a requirement and this course looks very interesting and beneficial. I am hoping that by the end of the summer I will have learned new skills that I will someday be able to use in my accounting career.

Intro - Norene Kelly

Hi All, I am finishing up a Masters in HCI as an on-campus student and live in the Des Moines area.  Besides this class this summer, I am working as an RA for Stephen Gilbert and also trying to make progress on my thesis so that I can run my experiment asap in the fall.  My interests are varied.  For example, my thesis is on the socio-affective consequences of haptic input.  My minor is in gerontology, so I will be interested to learn about the age variable in the diffusion of technology.  A lot of what I do could fit under the broad umbrella of “technical communication.”  I’ve worked on a number of grant proposals; one I worked on last semester was funded by DARPA and an article about it is on the front page of the Register today, as it turns out (“Keystrokes Yield ID Clues”).

I look forward to learning about everyone else’s interests and exchanging ideas as the class progresses.

Norene

Introductions: Clancy

Hello-My name is Alicia Clancy, and I will be entering my second year of the part-time MBA program at Iowa State University. I chose the ISU program as a way to enhance by business and accounting skill set. I must admit, I am delighted to take a break from quantitative methods/statistics to return to a journalism-based course over the next few weeks! I am an off-campus student.

I graduated from Iowa State's journalism school and have been with Renewable Energy Group (REGI.com), a newly publicly traded biodiesel company based in Ames, Iowa, for six years. Being in a quickly growing business (from 42 employees in 2006 to 275 today) I move between product marketing/communications, internal communications, investor relations and media relations. I am looking forward to this course as a way to help enhance those programs and focus my personal knowledge.

Post 1: Welcome

Welcome to our class blog! In your first posting, please introduce yourself and tell us where you are from and what brought you to Iowa State University. Are you and on-campus or off-campus student? What program are you in and what is your ultimate career goal?

We will use the Blogger system throughout the semester. Feel free to add a photo or other details to your profile. Please be aware though that the information you provide is public. Use appropriate language and professionalism in your exchanges with other students.

To respond to this post, please use the comments link below. Be sure to come back and read the posts of your classmates. You are expected to comment at least once on someone else’s blog post each week. Look forward to rich and thoughtful online discussions!

Post 10: Technology In Your Community

For this posting, think of an example of a communication technology that has been adopted in your community. Discuss some its unintended, negative consequences for the community as a whole. Were these negative effects addressed by the diffusion agent or by the adopters? If not, come up with suggestions how these consequences could be corrected in the future.

Post 9: FInal Paper Outline

For this posting, identify a topic you would like to focus on for your final paper. Provide the main research question(s) you are going to investigate. Outline the sections of the paper and explain which theory will guide your paper. Then, find two articles or books that seem relevant to your topic and give their complete citation.

A handout outlining the parameters of the final paper project will be distributed in class. Good luck!

Post 8: Blogs

On Monday we are going to be talking about blogs. Do you read blogs? If yes, why? What do you expect from a blog you would consider to be good or interesting? If no, find a blog on a topic that would be of interest to you. What did you like about the blog? Would you visit it again? Please justify your answer and link to at least one blog that you've visited.

Post 7: Distance Education

Please discuss your personal experience with distance education. Have you taken any online courses? If so, were you satisfied with the experience? If not, can you think of some possible benefits/drawbacks of online classes?

If you had a choice between an online or offline version of the same class, which one would you choose? Back up your choice with convincing arguments.

PLEASE NOTE: Bring your laptop to the next class for an in-class activity.

Post 6: John Atanasoff

For this posting you will research the background of John Vincent Atanasoff, “the forgotten father of the computer.” Some suggested areas include: his Childhood and Family; Student years; Student and Professor at Iowa State College; Invention of the Digital Computer, the ABC; Other inventions; Legal battle between ENIAC and ABC; Bulgarian ancestry. Please don’t forget to list your sources.

Post 5: Technology and Interpersonal Relationships

For this posting let’s continue our in-class discussion about the invasiveness of technology in everyday life. Please reflect on the impacts of technology (e.g., cell phones/texting, Facebook, Skype/MSN Messenger, blogs, etc.) on our interpersonal relationships with friends, family and significant others.

Keep in mind this reference to Baudrillard when writing your posting:

“We are more and more ‘wired’ to our interfaces. We react to simulations – to the television news rather than the world, to a computer program rather than social interaction, to email rather than vocal communication.” (Murphie & Potts, 2003, Chapter 1, pg. 16)

Post 4: Technology at Home

In this posting, list all the communication technologies you own. Then discuss (1) the purpose of each technology—i.e., what you use it for; (2) how much time you spend using each technology; (3) what are some of the intended and unintended consequences for you and your lifestyle.