Conference Program 2015

New Worlds of Adoption Conference: Launching into Adulthoo

Adoption of managerial innovations: effect of adoption rationales on the adoption process

The aim of the research is to explore the complex phenomenon of the adoption of managerial innovations by organisations, with an attempt to identify relationships between various elements of this process. Four case studies were compiled using interview data from selected managers. The data provided a means of subjecting the rationales that Sturdy (2004) posited for the adoption of managerial innovations to empirical inquiry. The study also seeks to explore how the identified rationales may relate to two main characteristics of the subsequent adoption process, namely, the timing of adoption in the life cycle of the innovation and how long the adoption process takes. To our knowledge, this study represents the first empirical exploration of the adoption rationales posited by Sturdy and their subsequent impact on the adoption process. The findings of the study will be of value to academics interested studying the adoption of managerial innovations and also practising managers who must make adoption decisions and manage the adoption process. It is recognised that the study is exploratory in nature and suggestions for further research are proposed

A US strategy for IFRS adoption

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has conducted a public consultation on a â??roadmap" it proposed late last year to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards in America. This debate takes particular relevance as the crisis has highlighted the importance of accounting standards as an instrument of economic policymaking, with a high-profile controversy about â??mark-to-market" accounting. Nicolas Véron responds with suggestions about how the SEC should both support IFRS, and push for reforms of standard-setting governance and globally consistent enforcement.

Determinants and effect of adoption of small scale biogas technology by rural households: the case of Sodo Zuria district, Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia

The aim of this study was to assess determinants and effect of adoption of small scale biogas technology by rural households in Sodo Zuria district, Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia. The population in selected three sample Kebeles were stratified into two categories (biogas user and non-user). A total of 153 respondents were randomly selected and interviewed by using interviewed schedule. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics (chi-square and independent ttest) and binary logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Logit model was used to analyze the adoption decision of biogas technology. The model result indicated that adopters and non-adopters differed in 6 out of 12 explanatory variables expected to influence the adoption of Biogas technology in the study area. Variables such as sex, education of respondents, livestock ownership, occupation, and attending training of respondents with biogas development had significant and positive influence on the use of biogas technology. On the other hand, distance to water had significant negative effect on the use of biogas technology. High installation cost (55%), negative attitude of community towards biogas energy (8%), inadequate skilled technicians (25%), lack of adequate fund, lack of interest, and poor infrastructure (10%) were the main challenges of using biogas technology. Biogas technology gives high contribution for the users especially in reduction of expenditure on cooking energy, saving time in preparation and cooking of food, provision of organic bio slurry, reduction of smoke in the kitchen, and making cooking more convenient 79%, 70%, 88%, and 95%respectively. The study suggests government and non-governmental organizations to strengthen farmers’ capacity and make them to focus on construction of new biogas technology in order to expand its benefits in the study area

Putting Families First: How the Opioid Epidemic is Affecting Children and Families, and the Child Welfare Policy Options to Address It

Abstract: Opioids and Child Welfare Across the country, placements in foster care are rising. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 273,539 children in the U.S. entered foster care. In 34 percent of those cases, parental drug abuse was one of the factors leading to the child’s removal from their family. Additionally, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates that 400,000 births nationally are affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol and illicit drugs, which represents 10 percent of all live births. As the opioid epidemic continues, increasing numbers of children are at high risk for developmental and behavioral disorders because of their prenatal substance and alcohol exposure. In addition, children who remain at home may endure the challenges and trauma resulting from impaired caregiving due to parental substance use disorders (SUDs). This article explores the intersection of the opioid epidemic and child welfare, examining current research and publicly available data to discuss policy opportunities for better serving families affected by parental SUDs, including: ensuring health and safety for infants prenatally exposed to substances; appropriate identification, diagnosis, and treatment of developmental and behavioral needs; ensuring parents have access to outpatient treatment and services that can allow families to stay together when safe and appropriate; and ensuring sufficient access to inpatient treatment options that can serve parents and children together

Biopolitics of Adoption

From the 1930s through the 1970s, first eugenics and then the Cold War made “overpopulation” a key word in defining the nature and cause of “Third World” poverty, as well as what the form of its solution—development—would be. Defining fertility as the problem simultaneously decentered blame—it was not colonialism or extractive world economic systems that cause poverty in the Global South—and provided a very specific cause and site of intervention: irresponsible, careless mothers and their excessive children. We know this story well; many feminist scholars and activists have made the argument that this discourse, imagined in relationship to the social science unit of the national population, was crucial to the elaboration of twentieth-century biopolitical regimes of post/neo/colonial governance

Mapping factors influencing EAI adoption in the local government authorities on different phases of the adoption lifecycle

Several private and public organisations have adopted Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), however, its application in the Local Government Authorities (LGAs) is limited. Although, there exist few EAI adoption models, these models mainly focus on a number of different factors (e.g. benefits, barriers, cost) influencing the decision making process for EAI adoption. Moreover, these models do not illustrate which factor(s) influence the decision making process for EAI adoption on the adoption lifecycle phases. Literature indicates that the adoption process involves a sequence of phases an organisation passes through before taking the decision for adoption. This exemplifies that LGAs may also have to pass through several adoption phases before taking the decision to adopt EAI. However, due to the: (a) multiplicity of diverse EAI adoption factors and (b) not able to recognise which factor(s) influence EAI on adoption lifecycle phases, it may not be easy for LGAs to take decisions to adopt EAI by merely focusing on different factors. This may impede the decision making process for EAI adoption in LGAs. Notwithstanding, the implications of EAI have yet to be assessed, leaving scope for timeliness and novel research. Therefore, it is of high importance to investigate this area within LGAs and result in research that contributes towards successful EAI adoption. This paper makes a step forward as it: (a) investigates and proposes four adoption lifecycle phases, (b) validates the adoption lifecycle phases and (c) mapping the factors influencing EAI adoption on the adoption lifecycle phases, through a case study. Hence, it significantly contributes to the body of knowledge and practice. In doing so, providing sufficient support to the decision makers for speeding up the decision making process for EAI adoption in LGAs

Minimum Age Difference as a Requisite for Adoption

Recent incidents of abortive uses of adoption statutes have pointed up the possible need for a healthy change in our adoption laws: the inclusion of a required age difference between adopter and adoptee. The author urges that such a statutory requirement is necessary to more fully effectuate the idea that adoption imitates nature, a postulate of adoption law originating in Roman jurisprudence and, so the author contends, underlying adoption law in this country. The article raises interesting questions concerning the very nature of adoption, the function which it serves in our society, and the possible policy differences between minor and adult adoptions