Gardner, Ara Kay; PhD
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO, 1996
AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND WILDLIFE (0478); INFORMATION SCIENCE (0723);
AGRICULTURE, RANGE MANAGEMENT (0777)
It is becoming increasingly difficult for natural resource managers, to process,
sort out, and apply
pertinent information when an informed management decision is needed. Contemporary
ecosystem
management requires accessing and using large amounts of accumulated information
in a diversity of
disciplines. Computer software, specifically designed to aid in the natural
resource manager's
decision-making process, can enhance their ability to view the greatest range
of options and decide
among them with greater confidence and insight. These decision-aiding software
include simulation
models, databases, visualization systems, and expert systems. A major problem
in implementing these
tools is lack of understanding of why these software are not widely used by
intended users. The central
question addressed in this dissertation is: How significant are certain perceived
software characteristics in
affecting a potential user's intention to adopt decision-aiding software? Based
on theories of innovation
diffusion, reasoned action, and motivation, and pilot interviews with resource
managers, a software
adoption model was developed to help explain why some software are successfully
used and some are
not. Methods used included focus group interviews, one-on-one interviews, and
an individually
administered survey to test the model. Qualitative and quantitative data analyses
were used to identify
and examine adoption-influencing software characteristics. Initial interviews
suggested that several
factors were important to adoption: inclusion of end users in software design,
ease of use, an
improvement over existing tools, software introduction geared to the end user,
view of software as a
decision aid rather than a decision maker, understanding of the environment
in which end users make
their decisions, reliability of data on which the model is based, and goals
of software design centering on
usability rather than publications. These factors were used to develop a model,
SAM (Software Adoption
Model), that shows relationships among five factors (relative advantage, trialability,
compatibility,
complexity, and participatory design), three attitudinal variables, and intention
to adopt. Testing of this
model indicated that participatory design and compatibility had the greatest
influence on attitudes and
intention to adopt by resource managers. Both of these elements need to have
greater emphasis in
software design.
Social
Systems Simulation Group
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