Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Crossing the chasm'

Research on medical interpreters (MIs) in recent years has informed us of the visible and active participating roles that MIs play in the doctor-interpreter-patient triadic encounter. The use of multi-faceted, authentic data has also allowed both verbal and nonverbal nuances to be studied. However, while empirical studies have shown that physician empathy in medical communication is beneficial to the patient's healthcare outcomes, empathy in medical interpreting, especially the one that is expressed nonverbally, is rarely examined in medical interpreting research, even though MI is the key communication facilitator and in principle shares a communicative goal with the doctor. This study aims to acquire a deeper understanding of how an MI's empathy is constructed nonverbally and perceived by service users, and how it affects interlocutors and the communication process. This research argues that MI empathy in communication is desired and should be incorporated in the training, assessment, and most importantly, in the interpreting practice. Three sets of research questions are thus formed: 1) How do Mis communicate empathy, if any, for and to the patient? 2) How do the other medical interview participants (doctor and patient) and observers (video observers) perceive the empathic performance of the interpreters? Is there any discrepancy? Why? and 3) How do internal and external factors such as an MI's nonverbal sensitivity and personality traits influence empathic performance? The findings are expected to inform medical interpreting training and assessment and to enhance doctors' awareness of the roles of MIs so that a more patient-centred and empathic communication environment can be nurtured.

The 1990s is commonly referred as the Golden Age for High Technology and during this time the industry grew with a rapid speed. As a result, the consumers were presented with a various number of innovative products such as the Internet, computers and mobile phones. Within the High Tech frame, one of the fastest growing industries is the mobile phone handset industry. In 2006, 800,2 million mobile phones were sold worldwide and the market value was $104,3 billion. Forecasts about the mobile phone market predicts that the market will grow to 1,8 billion units in 2011 and have a value of $211,9 billion.

 

However, during this time, the researcher, Geoffrey Moore, identified a problem for the High Tech companies, i.e. the chasm. The chasm is a gap between the early market and the mainstream market that has arisen due to the characteristics of the high tech industry and the differences between these two groups. Due to the fact, that the early market only represents 10-15% of the total market it is vital for companies to cross the chasm and reach the mainstream market, in order to cover the high initial R&D costs.

 

Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to conduct a qualitative study within the Swedish mobile phone industry to understand how the manufacturers’ products are crossing the chasm.

 

The research has been carried out as a case study, and two of the largest mobile phone manufacturers were used as cases, Sony Ericsson and LG Electronics. The data collection was of qualitative nature and four respondents were chosen to be interviewed.

 

In the Swedish mobile phone industry, the researchers have identified two types of products; class products and innovation product, which have been identified, defined and named by the researchers themselves. Class products are defined as “mobile phones with no significant innovation value for the consumers”, whereas innovation products are defined as “mobile phones with high innovation value”. The main difference is that class products will never attract the interest of the early market and therefore they are usually launched directly to the mainstream market, ignoring the chasm. Factors such as incremental changes, development of IT, changes in how to market new technologies and overlapping groups in the life cycle has narrowed down the chasm in the industry for innovation products. The most important strategy in order to reach the mainstream market is partnerships and alliances and it is impossible for a manufacturer to survive on their own.

 

Significant savings in CO2 emissions can be won from fabric upgrades, and improved forms of heating. An increase in the number of building retrofits and installations of energy efficient plant such as biomass boilers or CCHPs must be the aim if the UK is serious in meeting its commitment to CO2 reduction at both the domestic and EU level. A way of achieving this increase, which will need to be significant, would be to tap into the vast funds under management by institutional investors who are required to invest those funds to optimise its monetary return, taking into account the level of risk. The aim of the research is to identify the enabling conditions that would need to exist to attract institutional investment in energy efficiency at scale. The UK Green Investment Bank has invested £50m into three energy efficiency funds, requiring each fund manager to match the amount by attracting investment from institutional investors. It is these funds that have been analysed as a single Green Investment Bank case study. Embedded units of analysis are on two levels with the individual funds being the first, and the institutional investors investing in those funds as the second. A hybrid deductive and inductive qualitative approach to the research was taken employing thematic analysis. The findings of the research reported here indicate that the emerging key enabling conditions that would make energy efficiency an attractive proposition are firstly, the way energy efficiency investments are classified in terms of an investment asset class, secondly the contractual structure of the individual transactions made by the funds, and finally, the experience and familiarity of the fund manager.

Social robots and artificial intelligence are radical innovations at the cutting edge of technology. Touted as the fourth industrial revolution, the future is looking bright for social robotics, and for the markets which can benefit from this technology. However, despite a wealth of research regarding technical functionality, there has been little research conducted into the future strategies required to ensure the successful diffusion of these innovations into society or effective methods of influencing rapid adoption rates in target markets.  The following research questions have been designed to identify potential solutions to existing and future problems facing the social robotics industry: What are the barriers to the early stages of the diffusion of innovation for social robotics start-ups? How can these innovative companies cross the chasm? In order to formulate the findings, primary research was conducted in the form of interviews within three categories: academics, practitioners and social robotics experts. Secondary research was undertaken to analyse and compare primary findings. The research is purely qualitative as quantitative data was purposefully disregarded due to limitations on time and scope.  In summary, social robotics start-ups face significant barriers to diffusion such as inherently expensive products and misaligned customer expectations. Attracting ‘pragmatists in pain’ is vital to be able to cross the chasm and a strong reference base is necessary for social robots to be adopted in the mainstream market. Start-ups need to meet the demands of the ‘expected product’ to attract the early majority (pragmatist) segment, providing a greater possibility of crossing the chasm and enabling rapid adoption. It is assumed that either a mass or niche strategy can be chosen, depending on the type of product in subject. An adaptation to the technology adoption life cycle has been made in the form of the ‘double-bell curve’ and the ‘V’ in the chasm has been identified within the process of successful diffusion. Methods of improving the rate of adoption have been applied in consideration of the ‘technology acceptance model’, with a heavy focus on increasing trialability and observability. There is a risk of potential ‘overadoption’ in the social robotics industry, however the changing shift in customer attitudes towards technology adoption lowers boundaries to diffusion.

This thesis investigated the higher education experiences of Christian Arab women from the north of Israel. For some, it is their first multicultural educational experience. Israel has a complex socio-political history, and a mixed race higher education policy is bold, as Arabs and Jews are mostly segregated educationally until age eighteen. There is scant research on Christian Arab women in Israel and this study focuses on their higher education experiences as related to socio-cultural, historical, political, and religious contexts. A feminist approach gives them a respectful and legitimate platform from which to speak and thematic analysis helps create a more comprehensive picture of their aspirations, and the practical realities and implications of the multi-dimensional perspective of higher education. Data was collected from twelve (student) participants using semi-structured interviews. The participants understood the academic experience as one expected by family and cultural group, and believed that financial and social empowerment would result. Arabic has relative unimportance in Israel, and this study finds that the participants' Hebrew literacy was not strong, constraining most effective studying practices. Recommendations include changing emphases within schools, society, and higher education to offer greater opportunities regarding language development and social interactions. Identity was affiliated to religion and Christianity had a defining role in the lives of participants. Higher education as part of a Jewish culture was perceived as developmentally liberating and using the experience to identify personal qualities and challenges was acknowledged. Its significance in the social and cultural fabric of Israel indicates the importance of optimising the experience for all students. An underrepresented and involuntary minority status did not affect participants' desire to use to their advantage a structure which offers capitals to augment lifestyle choices. A unified future was the only reasonable outcome for citizens of Israel in which the participants' saw themselves as significant actors.

Dramatic shifts in our economy, the nature of learning, and the demographics of students are placing increasing demands on US K-12 school systems to be more responsive to students and our rapidly changing society. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has played a catalytic role in funding an emerging movement of teachers and school and system leaders who are redesigning their learning environments to personalize learning for students. Early results in these pioneering schools are promising and there is growing interest in personalized learning across the education sector. During my residency, I was charged with co-leading a working group to design a strategy for investing in the early stage scaling of personalized learning. The personalized learning movement is not the first to aim at transforming how we “do school.” Drawing on innovation theory and research on the history of movements to innovate the pattern of schooling, I argue that these movements struggle to transform the US K-12 education system because foundations (and the education entrepreneurs they invest in) underestimate the perils of diffusion and do not capitalize on the early adoption phase to prepare for broader scale. I then describe my work to form and launch the working group and our collective efforts to define an investment strategy. From my analysis of our results and my actions I offer three key implications for BMGF and others who would influence transformations in the pattern of schooling through philanthropy or other “outside-in” reform avenues. First, successfully developing an instructional innovation for scale requires investing to codify dominant designs for instruction and organizational infrastructure and building the enabling conditions for wider adoption, including a social movement of education stakeholders to demand transformation. Second, foundations transitioning from incubating an innovation to investing in broader scale pass through a key period of integration that demands thoughtful change management as the organization develops new collective innovation and learning capabilities. Third, I offer reflections on effective education leadership in this era of rapid transition from the industrial era to the information age.

During the last two decades, innovations that contribute to sustainable development has received increasing attention in the markets and academia. The diffusion of sustainable innovations is a key element in society’s transformation toward a greener and more sustainable economy. Within industries that utilize industrial gases in their operations, there are thousands of fugitive emission sources that puts strain on the safety of the plant and the personnel. As most gases are combustible and hazardous to humans and the environment, these companies must have effective leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs. In recent years, a new gas detection technology called Optical Gas Imaging have emerged which can identify gas compounds safer and more efficient compared to older leak detection technologies. However, the rate of diffusion of the innovation has been slow and limited to oil and gas industries, even though many other industries such as steel, paper and pulp and chemical industries utilize gases as well. As such, this research has aimed to identify factors that influence the adoption of sustainable innovations within gas-utilizing industries. The qualitative data was gathered through semi structured interviews with gas-utilizing companies in Sweden and analyzed with interpretive methods. The results show that regulatory factors are a strong driver for the diffusion of sustainable innovations while characteristics of price, availability and type of innovationdecision works as barriers. The generated knowledge may contribute on how innovators of a sustainable innovations can overcome these barriers and improve the rate of adoption of sustainable innovations.
Under de senaste två decennierna har innovationer som bidrar till hållbar utveckling fått ökad uppmärksamhet på marknaden och inom forskningen. Diffusionen av hållbara innovationer är ett viktig del av samhällets omvandling mot ett mer hållbart samhälle. Inom branscher som använder industriella gaser i sin verksamhet finns det tusentals flyktiga utsläppskällor som belastar anläggningen och personalens säkerhet. Eftersom de flesta gaser är brännbara och farliga för människor och miljö, är det viktigt att dessa företag har effektiva läckedetekterings- och reparationsprogram (LDAR). Under de senaste åren har en ny gasdetekteringsteknologi, Optical Gas Imaging, kommit fram som kan identifiera gasföreningar säkrare och effektivare jämfört med äldre tekniker för läckedetektering. Däremot, har diffusionsgraden för innovationen varit långsam och begränsad till olje- och gasindustrin, även om många andra industrier så som stål, papper och massa, och kemiska industrier också använder gaser som energi. Därför har syftet med denna stuie varit att identifiera faktorer som påverkar diffusionen av hållbara innovationer inom industrier som använder gaser. Den kvalitativa datan samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med företag i Sverige som använder gaser, där datan analyserades med tolkningsmetoder. Resultatet visar att lagar och regler är en stark drivkraft för diffusionen av hållbara innovationer medan innovationsegenskaper såsom ”pris” och nyckelfaktorerna ”tillgänglighet” och ”innovationsbeslut” agerar som hinder. Den genererade kunskapen från denna studie kan bidra till hur en hållbar innovationskapare kan åtgärda dessa hinder och förbättra dess diffusion i marknaden.

碩士
國立中央大學
企業管理研究所
95
Because Apple’s iPod has influenced the digital audio player industry, online music industry and consumer electronics industry globally, whole world pay attention on iPod’s movements. However, from the existing magazines and research reports, we can only obtain the discussion and analysis fragmentally or by some specific angles. Therefore, in this research I classify the strategy principles of how high technology company market and promote their new technology products in Geoffrey A. Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm” according to the business model framework provided by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2004). Also, I develop an integrate reference strategy business model. Based on this integrate business model, find the magazine reports mentioned the related strategies of how Apple conducted iPod and iTunes in Business Week, The Economist, Fortune and Forbes. The research conclusions are as follows: According to the strategy principles of “Crossing the Chasm”, Apple had many great strategies at target the point of attack - focus on a specific niche market; assemble an invasion force - launch the whole product; and reposition - focus from the product value to the market value. Besides, Apple had many strategies which contradict to traditional wisdoms, such as the utilization of direct retail store, the standard competition strategy of DRM and iTunes, and the revenue model of iPod and iTMS. In this research, I develop these findings into propositions so that they can become the basis of empirical studies or the direction of future research.

This research inquiry asked, "How can the District of Mission involve leaders in private industry in creating strategies to develop the local workforce and economy?" An action research approach was used to engage local employers and employment service providers in an inquiry in the District of Mission. This study drew upon literature on entrepreneurial leadership, job creation, social capital, and knowledge transfer. Two qualitative methods, in-depth interviews and a conversation café, were used to uncover the essential factors and conditions that facilitate entrepreneurial leadership and workforce development on a regional basis. These findings were triangulated against the experiences of exemplar entrepreneurs. The findings revealed that effective leaders cultivate a culture of high performance and that systems integration and personal relationships are key to entrepreneurial leadership and workforce development. The recommendations enable people from diverse backgrounds to identify shared concerns and common interests to support community economic development.

abstract: The dawn of Internet of Things (IoT) has opened the opportunity for mainstream adoption of machine learning analytics. However, most research in machine learning has focused on discovery of new algorithms or fine-tuning the performance of existing algorithms. Little exists on the process of taking an algorithm from the lab-environment into the real-world, culminating in sustained value. Real-world applications are typically characterized by dynamic non-stationary systems with requirements around feasibility, stability and maintainability. Not much has been done to establish standards around the unique analytics demands of real-world scenarios. This research explores the problem of the why so few of the published algorithms enter production and furthermore, fewer end up generating sustained value. The dissertation proposes a ‘Design for Deployment’ (DFD) framework to successfully build machine learning analytics so they can be deployed to generate sustained value. The framework emphasizes and elaborates the often neglected but immensely important latter steps of an analytics process: ‘Evaluation’ and ‘Deployment’. A representative evaluation framework is proposed that incorporates the temporal-shifts and dynamism of real-world scenarios. Additionally, the recommended infrastructure allows analytics projects to pivot rapidly when a particular venture does not materialize. Deployment needs and apprehensions of the industry are identified and gaps addressed through a 4-step process for sustainable deployment. Lastly, the need for analytics as a functional area (like finance and IT) is identified to maximize the return on machine-learning deployment. The framework and process is demonstrated in semiconductor manufacturing – it is highly complex process involving hundreds of optical, electrical, chemical, mechanical, thermal, electrochemical and software processes which makes it a highly dynamic non-stationary system. Due to the 24/7 uptime requirements in manufacturing, high-reliability and fail-safe are a must. Moreover, the ever growing volumes mean that the system must be highly scalable. Lastly, due to the high cost of change, sustained value proposition is a must for any proposed changes. Hence the context is ideal to explore the issues involved. The enterprise use-cases are used to demonstrate the robustness of the framework in addressing challenges encountered in the end-to-end process of productizing machine learning analytics in dynamic read-world scenarios.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Computer Science 2016

碩士
國立交通大學
經營管理研究所
94
This paper discusses the mobile value-added services that develop in different countries. Under the trend of opening telecommunication markets, mobile service operators are challenged by new technology and new business models. Competition makes ARPU（average rate per user） decreases day by day. Mobile service operators need value-added services to support their corporate operation. This paper employs the technology adoption life cycle, path dependency, and network effects to analyze mobile value-added services of Japan, South Korea, China, Philippines, Taiwan and U.S.A. Using revenue of value-added service rate of total revenue minus SMS（short messaging services）revenue rate of total services revenue, we discover that six countries can be divided into three stages of technology life cycle. Japan and South Korea are in the early majority stage, China and Philippines are in the early adopter stage, and Taiwan and U.S.A are on the innovator stage. This paper discovers the two determinant factors of whether the mobile value-added services being successful：First, if the value chain of mobile value-added services works well. Second, initial condition includes the kind of technology being chosen at the early stage and initial experience of users using mobile value-added services. If the two factors can both work well, users can get value from using mobile value-added services. Users will go to the path of using mobile value-added services. Many users and relative corporate participate in network of the mobile value-added services. Then, the positive feedback of network effect will work. Finally, cross the chasm.