DIFFUSION INNOVATION THEORY

Background

Diffusion research goes one step further than two-step flow theory. The original diffusion research was done in the early 1900s by the French sociologist Gabriel Tarde who plotted the original S-shaped diffusion curve. Tardes' 1903 S-shaped curve is of current importance because "most innovations have an S-shaped rate of adoption" (Rogers, 1995). Diffusion research deals with the conditions which increase or decrease the likelihood that a new idea, product, or practice will be adopted by members of a given culture. Diffusion of innovation theory predicts that media as well as interpersonal contacts provide information and influence opinion and judgment.

 E.M. Rogers (1995) posited that the theory consists of four stages: invention, diffusion (or communication) through the social system, time and consequences. The information flows through networks. The nature of networks and the roles opinion leaders play in them determine the likelihood that the innovation will be adopted. Innovation diffusion research has attempted to explain the variables that influence how and why users adopt a new information medium, such as the Internet.


Opinion leaders exert influence on audience behaviour through their personal contact, but additional intermediaries called change agents and gatekeepers are also included in the process of diffusion. Five adopter categories are: (1) innovators, (2) early adopters, (3) early majority, (4) late majority, and (5) laggards. These categories follow a standard deviation-curve, very little innovators adopt the innovation in the beginning (2,5%), early adopters making up for 13,5% a short time later, the early majority 34%, the late majority 34% and after some time finally the laggards make up for 16%.

Diffusion is the “process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over a period of time among the members of a social system”. An innovation is “an idea, practice, or object that is perceived to be new by an individual or other unit of adoption”. “Communication is a process in which participants create and share information with one another to reach a mutual understanding” (Rogers, 1995). Conceptual Model Some of the methods are network analysis, surveys, field experiments and ECCO analysis. ECCO, Episodic Communication Channels in Organization, analysis is a form of a data collection log-sheet. This method is specially designed to analyze and map communication networks and measure rates of flow, distortion of messages, and redundancy.


The ECCO is used to monitor the progress of a specific piece of information through the organization. Scope and Application Diffusion research has focused on five elements: (1) the characteristics of an innovation which may influence its adoption; (2) the decision-making process that occurs when individuals consider adopting a new idea, product or practice; (3) the characteristics of individuals that make them likely to adopt an innovation; (4) the consequences for individuals and society of adopting an innovation; and (5) communication channels used in the adoption process.


Limitations of Diffusion Innovation Theory

 Below are some limitations of Diffusion of Innovation:

 • Majority of the evidence for this theory, including the adopter categories, did not originate in public health and it was not developed to explicitly apply to adoption of new behaviours or health innovations.

 • It does not promote a participatory approach to adoption of a public health program.


 • It works better with adoption of behaviours rather than cessation or prevention of behaviours.

SOMALIA RAISES MINIMUM JOURNALIST AGE TO 40

Somalia, with a history of repressing journalism, has set the minimum age at 40 for anyone intending to practice as a journalist in the country.   

 Information minister Abdullahi Ilmoge Hirsi announced the decision today, made by a committee chaired by Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid. "We invited the 

Somalia media and journalists last February to a meeting, which the government asked them their ideas and views towards the new law that has been passed today by the cabinet ministers," said Mr Hirsi. "They (journalists) came up with their clues and ideas last May, then we included them, so this law is what they have suggested" The new law has angered Somali journalists. "

What the government have done is unacceptable and against freedom of speech," says Nur Hassan, a 25-year-old formerBBC journalist from Mogadishu, currently exiled in Nairobi after death threats from terror group Al Shabaab. "This law cannot improve the Somali media future," adds Hassan. "They are ruining my future and they are ruining the profession." 

Today's news is a further setback from the Somali press, which is already among the most endangered in the world. Last Sunday Liban Abdullahi Farah of the Somali Broadcasting Corporation became the fifth Somali journalist to be killed in 2013. In total 22 journalists have lost their lives in Somalia this year. Somalia's fledgling government has come under criticism for increasingly autocratic rule since its historic recognition by the US and International Monetary Fund last year. The prime minister has refused greater scrutiny of alleged corruption, while deadly incursions by Al Shabaab into the government's seat of Mogadishu has also weakened its standing.

Credit : The Africa Report

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT JOHN MAHAMA

Your Excellency! Thomas Jefferson once said, “when the people fear the government it is tyranny, but if the government fears the people, there is liberty”. Mr. President! I am sorry to say, the former is what many Ghanaians seem to feel is happening in the country today. Indeed you were candid in admitting that your first five months in office have been a baptism of fire in your interview with the BBC recently. I trouble you with my humble thoughts because I am very shocked about the staggering level of corruption which seems to have riddled GYEEDA, (NYEP) as highlighted in a series of exposes by Joy FM’s Manasseh Azure Awuni.

Mr. President! I do not understand why government should pay 500 Cedis to Zoomlion, whereas only 100 Cedis is actually paid to the workers. The remaining 400 Cedis is charged as management fees. But what are they “Managing”? Your Excellency! Should the widow with three children clearing the chocked gutters at the Agbogbloshie market earn only 100 Cedis after toiling for a month? Should this poor woman, unlike a minister, who can’t afford a surgery in the UK or South Africa, be deprived of the little she earns? 

 Mr. President! I thought we marked 56 years of the end of oppressors rule on March 6, so, are there new oppressors? The first question I asked when I heard the reports about GYEEDA was whether the Minister who signed that contract was a Ghanaian. I ask this Your Excellency, not because I’m unaware that one cannot become a Minister if he’s not a Ghanaian, but because this is certainly not the spirit with which our fore fathers toiled for. Can the Minister live on 100 Cedis a month even as an ordinary man? Why should a guinea fowl egg that costs 50 Pesewas be sold to the government at 2.50 Cedis-a price four times more than the original cost? 

Your Excellency, why should a programme aimed at reducing the unemployment rate, rather become a haven for staggering corruption? It is heart wrenching, when people use politics, which should be used as an opportunity to serve their people, rob the innocent poor of what they have. Mr. President, I’m sure by now, you or your aides may be wondering whether this lad writing this piece is a puppet of a political party, because even the price of kenkey is politicized in Ghana. 

But I assure you, your Excellency, my motivation for disturbing your peace this brief moment is because of the boy in Zabzugu who was mocked by his mates because I took a photograph of his tattered school uniform; the boy in Savelugu who wore half a shoe, not because he preferred it but because the shoe had worn away; the disabled girl at Diari who’s dream of becoming a medical doctor is uncertain and the boy at Winneba who was sold twice by his mother for less than 200 cedis due to poverty. 

Your Excellency! If there is anything I would remember you for, it would be your abhorrence to the politics of insults and your use of decent language, even when you were a member of parliament. But I wonder, Mr. President, if my unborn son would get to read about President John Mahama who fought corruption and reduced it to the barest minimum. As I end my conversation with you, Mr. President, I would like to quote the 7th US president, Andrew Jackson; “I weep for the liberty of my country, when I see at this early day of its successful experiment, that corruption has been ascribed to many public officials and the rights of the people have been battered for promises of office”. I rest my case!! God bless our homeland Ghana.

JOURNALISTS IN GHANA DESERVE BETTER • SINGLE SPINE AND EX-GRATIA FOR JOURNALISTS, NOW OR NEVER

“There can be no press freedom, if journalists live in conditions of poverty, fear and corruption.”-International Federation of Journalists It was for no mean that Edmund Burke referred the media as “The Fourth Estate of the Realm.” This goes a long way in buttressing the fact that the media is an indispensible tool in nation building, and yet nearly all journalists are most vulnerable, and treated with disdain when it comes to remuneration in this country. It is not gainsaying that the role of journalists in promoting good governance and accountability, is crucial to the success of any democratic government, and that is why it referred to as the fourth arm of government. Yet most journalists both in the state and private media earn lower wages than of secretaries of MPs, Ministers, MMDCEs, judges who in fact make up the three arms of government. Why has the fourth arm being marginalized? 

Undoubtedly, the media is an institution that should be active and not passive. Oscar Wilde once said “The public has an insatiable curiosity to know everything. Journalism conscious of this and having a trades man habit, supplies their demand.” So an essential virtue of the media is it being vocal and not silent. The media has the noble mandate of safeguarding the interest of society. Again, the media is a tool for education, emancipation, and mobilization as well as a means of giving the masses facts and ideas for proper governance. What’s more, it has the utmost duty of championing the cause of the average person from poverty, disease and opposing any form of exploitation, aggression and making known to the public the validity or the otherwise of government policies, to mention just a few. 

The Ghanaian media has strived tremendously in performing these functions since colonial days up to the current democratic dispensation. Hitherto, you have several journalists working, who are not paid. A report which was sponsored by the Ghana Trade Union Congress (TUC) confirmed that a sizeable number of the country’s journalists earn less than the national minimum wage of $2 a day. This is a breakdown of salaries received by journalists in mainly the state media as reported by the Ghana News Agency last year: “A journalist with a diploma certificate receives between GHc200 and GHc350. A reporter at GNA receives as gross salary, an amount between GHc230 and GHc250, whiles a journalist with the same qualification at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) receives between GHc300 and GHc330. At the Ghanaian Times, a journalist with diploma receives GHc350-420, whiles his colleague at the Graphic Communication's Group Limited (GCGL), is paid between GHc400 and GHc700. The situation is more pathetic in most private media houses as some journalists receive less than GHc100 while others receive no salary at all but are only provided with accreditation to enable them cover events”. 

If journalists live in such impoverish conditions, how then do we expect them to carry out their duties effectively. In spite of this, journalists in this country are still soldiering on for our dear nation. It is indubitable that the media was a major partner in the struggle for independence and the current democratic dispensation. Some media critics would justify the current unacceptable working conditions of journalists against the unprofessional conduct of some journalists. There is an old adage in Akan that says “There is a Mensah in every house,” literally, you find a person with a questionable character in every house. But let me ask, which profession is flawless in the world? Some patients die in hospitals due a doctor’s ineptitude, a student might fail his exams due to his teacher’s incompetence, a plaintiff or a defendant might lose a case in court due to a judge’s bias or a lawyer’s ineffectiveness. 

All these unfortunate incidents occur mostly due to someone’s inefficiency. So when some journalists conduct themselves in an unprofessional manner, it should not be generalized or used as a yardstick for treating journalists in general. Can you imagine what will happen, when we wake up one day, only to realize that journalists are on strike? There will be no newspapers to read, no radio station to listen to, no TV station to watch, and indeed no online news sites. I hope by now, you know what will happen. There will be a total “Black Out,” and that “Black Out” will be immense and cannot be compared to the unavoidable conspicuous rate at which ECG cuts off power in this country. I am not a prophet of doom, but that “Black Out,” would be tremendous than a nationwide black out by ECG and VRA. 

The sad aspect of the Ghanaian journalist’s dilemma is the fact that human rights activists, politicians as well as media professionals who advocate for press freedom, equally fail to advocate for better working conditions for journalists in this country. However, MPs, doctors, nurses, teachers, and indeed all workers use the media to advocate for better working conditions. People who call for professionalism in the media and fail to advocate for better remuneration for journalists’ lose sight, of the fact that it will be difficult if not impossible for journalists to carry out their functions effectively under poor working conditions. Don’t misunderstand me; I am not saying poverty should be an excuse for a journalist to conduct himself in an unprofessional manner. But I ask, how many of them will be able to perform creditably in the midst of such bad working conditions?

 It is a fact that ideally, we expect the media to perform its watchdog role effectively. But I ask again, if you refuse to feed your dog, do you expect it to protect your food when a thief offers to give it part of it. I leave that to you to decide. Apparently, how do you expect a journalist who earns a little over 100 Cedis to effectively hold the public officer who earns over 2000 Cedis monthly for his stewardship? Yet, amid all these daunting challenges, yearly you have journalists who are awarded by the GJA and other organizations, who are believed to have distinguished themselves in this profession. Now to the Journalist of the Year Award .What does he/she take home? Some “nokofio,” a laptop and a training programme abroad. You have Corporate organizations advertising in the media and donating cars and huge sums of monies to beauty pageants. So doesn’t the Journalist of the Year also deserve Agya Koo’s SUV, or a three bedroom house in Bongo or East Legon? 

 The Secretary – General for the International Federation of Journalists, Aidan White stated when he came to Ghana last year that “If your journalists are corrupt, then your democracy is flawed.” He hit the nail right on the head and I couldn’t have agreed with him any better. Don’t ask me why? Mrs. Adjoa Yeboah Afari, a former GJA president, once said, “The root cause of “soli” is due to low wages and poor remuneration of journalists.” Whether this statement is a fact or otherwise, I live that to you to judge. I believe that if we still want to be regarded as the beacon of democracy in Africa, and promote our democracy as well as build strong state institutions, the government, media owners, NMC, GJA, and civil society needs to start taking conscious efforts that would be geared towards the transformation of the working conditions of Journalists in Ghana now or prepare for the “Black Out.” I rest my case!! 

OUR TEACHERS DESERVE BETTER MR.PRESIDENT!

The role of teachers in nation building can never be underestimated. To say teachers have contributed immensely to the development of our dear nation will be an understatement. 

This is because they train the doctor, lawyer, engineer and all other workers in the formal sector and in fact the MP who takes home a whopping 800 hundred thousand Ghana Cedis at the end of every four years. A teacher in this country, can teach over 30 years, but will not earn even up to what our MPs are demanding for their monthly wage now, as his end of service benefit. What kind of nation are we building? 

Some public servants in Ghana are given free accommodation, official vehicles; huge end of service benefits (Ex-gratia), because these officials are deemed to be performing important state functions. 

Politicians always regard teachers as indispensable in nation building and yet none of these benefits stated above is being enjoyed by the teacher. Why then do we complain, when over fifty percent of our students fail their final exams? Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for equal salary for teachers with other public servants, but the disparity in teachers’ salaries as compared to other public sector workers is irrational, unfair and inhuman. It seems the quote “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” as portrayed in George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ is still been depicted in Ghana. How do you expect a trained teacher who earns 300 hundred cedis monthly to take good care of his son in the university, his daughter in SHS, his 13 year old son in JHS and also live on the rest of the salary if there will be any?

Gone are the days when people enrolled in teacher training colleges for the love of teaching. Most students now enroll in teacher training colleges as a last resort. Is this what we want to promote at age 54 as a country? I strongly believe that the teacher has been taken for granted for too long and is high time we re-examine how we treat our teachers if we really want to develop. 

Ex-President Kufuor will forever be remembered by medical workers especially nurses for the honour and dignity he brought to their profession by transforming their working conditions. President Mills let teachers yet to be born, recall one day, that it was a colleague teacher who transmuted their working conditions. I rest my case!

WEAKNESSES OF THE USES AND GRATIFICATION THEORY

The Uses and Gratification Theory of the media effects tradition, lays emphasis on consumers of media information rather than the media itself. It states that, the audiences under this theory are active users of media information and they use information from the media to satisfy their needs. That notwithstanding, this theory comes with some weaknesses.
To start with, one major weakness of the theory is that, it does not recognize the fact that the media has the power and influence of directing the audiences interest towards a particular direction and not the audiences main interest. The media disseminate information which they deem to be newsworthy and not what the public expects. These issues go a long way in informing the decisions, choice and preferences of the public.
Another defect of the Uses and Gratification theory is the fact that, it gives too much power to the mass in terms of satisfying their needs and wants with media messages. Dennis McQuail(1993) stated that, the mass cannot act by itself, rather it is always acted upon. The media in their process of manufacturing their news or programs do not consult the mass on what they want to hear or watch.

SHORTFALLS OF THE AGENDA SETTING THEORY

The Agenda Setting Theory,was propounded by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shawin in 1972,in their study of the role of the media in a presidential campaign. This theory asserts that, the media has a great influence over the masses,by the choice of what stories to consider newsworthy and how much prominence and space to give them. However this theory comes with some weaknesses.

To start with, the issues highlighted by the media under this theory are sometimes inaccurate and untrue. Eventhough, the media does not think about the issues for the audience, the public tend to think about and discuss some of these issues. After making their judgments on these issues, it sometimes turns out to be false. For instance, the ‘Ghanaian Lens’ newspaper in 2008 reported that, the government had sold, all Ghana’s gold reserves which later turned out not to be true. The ‘New Punch’ newspaper also carried a story that «President Mills was dead,”which also turned out to be false.When the media disseminate such information,they tend to mislead the pubic.

Another defect of the Agenda Setting Theory is the fact that,it gives prominence to certain socio-political isssues to the neglect of other important issues.The media under this theory gather their information from the public through their own discretion and turn these issues into salient ones,but to the neglect of other important issues.For instance,the media has turned the decision by the University of Ghana authorities, to turn the Common Wealth Hall into a mixed hall a salient one.This issue,has being in the media for more than two weeks to neglect of issues on health,good drinking water,and the current power outages.

THE TWO-STEP FLOW THEORY(MASS COMMUNICATION)

The Two-Step Flow Theory identifies some flaws and improves on the Hypodermic Needle theory.The proponents of this theory are Bernard Berelson,Hazel Gaudet and Paul Lazarfeld in The People's Choice,a 1944 study they conducted on the process of decision making during presidential elections.Lazarfeld C.S were looking out for empirical support for direct media message on voters.However they discovered that informal,personal contacts were mentioned far more frequently than exposure to radio.

This theory holds that,messages disseminated by the mass media moves in two stages.In the first stage,individuals(opinion leaders) who pay close attention to the mass media and its messages receives the information.After receiving these messages,the opinion leaders give their interpretations to the actual media content.The term 'personalinfluence' was used to indicate the process intervening between the media's direct message and the ultimate reaction of the public.For instance,the headline of 19th March,2010 edition of the Daily Graphic read"Government creates over a million jobs."The masses did not accept this story directly,but the further interpretation of this news item informed the stance of the audiences whether accepting it or disputing it.

Two authors,Elihu Katz and P.Lazarfeld stated that,people are not alone in their communities rather they are integrated in one or more groups,in which they usually have interpersonal relationships with other members.Furthermore,they discovered that,a major role within each group or community is played by an opinion leader.Opinion leaders acts as 'catalyst' meaning that messages delivered by the media don't hit receivers directly as stated by the Hypodermic Needle Theory,but are mitigated by opinion leaders.They receive and transfer media messages and in the process,they exert a certain power influence over others.

10 UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESS

Success is not something that only a few can achieve.Everyone can be successful in every area of his or her life.Success comes as a result of forming certain habits and continuing in them.To succeed,you need to be a certain type of person.Don't be discouraged if your not that type of person.The successful person thinks in a certain way and also does things in a certain way.Any one who continuously and consistently applies the following principles to any area of their life will experience success in that area of their life.Consistency is key!

1.Vision:
Vision means to have a clear picture of what exactly you want to become or achieve.Keep this picture on top of your mind at all times.Doing something you want to do,because you want to do it,will motivate you to succeed at it.Starting with the end in mind.

2.Believe:
Believe without a shadow of doubt that you can do it.believe that you will succeed.Believe in God who will help you to get what you want.Stay away from negative influences i.e people,books,attitudes etc which will make you doubt your ability to succeed.surround yourself with things that reminds you that you can succeed.

3.Responsibility:
Realize that you are responsible for your success and for your future.You are responsible for the outcome of your efforts.Don't blame anyone.Feel free to ask people for help if you need it.But remember the final decision is up to you.It"s your life after all.

4.Affirm:
Make it a habit of saying out loud what you hope to achieve.Though this may sound silly,it has been proven to be effective.Speak of it in the present tense e.g."I am fit and healthy" as opposed to "I will be fit and healthy".If you feel awkward speaking out loud to yourself,write down the affirmation,then repeat it several times in a day.This helps your mind stay focused and tuned to the goal,soon you will effortlessly make decisions,directed towards the goal.It also builds yourself believe and confidence.

5.Commitment:
Make a firm commitment to action.Decide to take whatever steps you need to take to help you achieve your goals.Then honor the commitment you have made to yourself.Too often we find it easy to keep our commitments to others,while neglecting our commitments to own selves.This is not a recipe or advocacy for selfishness,but we need find time to fulfill these commitments to ourselves as well,since those people we try to satisfy are more likely to end up hitting their targets with our help,than us.

6.Set a smart goal:
Now that you know what you want to achieve,you need to define it by making it a goal.Your goal has to be specific,measurable,(You will need to know when you have achieved it)motivational,attractive,attainable and realistic.

7.Plan and take action:
Work out a plan of action.Break it into baby steps,achievable a bit at a time.Take one step at a time,reminding yourself that each step is carrying you close to your goal.Perform each act to the best of your ability with faith,passion,determination,and a purpose to reach your goal.Be consistent!

8.Persistence:
Do not give up until you have achieved your desired objective.In the course of things,be willing to change part of your plans which turns out not to be working and try a new approach.Thomas Edison did not give up his quest to invent light bulb even though he "failed" 10,000 times.When asked later,he said"I did not fail 10,000 times,I found out 10,000 ways of not making a light bulb."That is persistence!See every failure as a stepping stone to success and as only a challenge and temporary set back.Learn from it and push towards your goal.

9.Gratitude:
Maintain an attitude of gratitude,knowing that all your dreams are about to become a reality.Refuse to grumble when circumstances look contrary and rather look for things to be grateful for.

10.Read wide/Learn:
Be in the know.Find out everything you can about anything and everything concerning your situation and your goals.Read books,watch documentaries,talk to experts.Do whatever it takes!this will help you to make wise decisions and keep you confident as you go along.


Credit:Dr.Kem Thompson

Refreshing break on Joy FM

For once,i was enthused when i tuned into a morning show on radio.The usual politics which is dominant on the air waves throughout the country was absent on Joy FM.Rather some pupils were reading on the super morning show hosted by Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.The first idea that struck me,i listened to these kids read was about what our motherland Ghana will be in the years to come,if all the stations departed from the everyday politics and discussed serious issues which will lead to the development of Ghana.

Many opinion leaders in this country have expressed worries about the over-emphasis on politics at the expense of other developmental issues.But little has been done to address this issue of national concern.Also,the rate at which students read this days has declined and this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

What will become of our dear nation,if this canker that is bedeviling our youth continue?The future of our young generation is dependent on education and reading is pivotal in this regard.In this era of falling educational standards,there is the need for teachers and parents to inculcate the habit of reading in the children of today.This is a period for us to make higher strides in education as a country and this depends on reading.

I was, therefore more than delighted,when Joy FM formed a reading club and introduced a reading segment on their morning show.More grease to their elbows for exihibitng a sense of nationalism and contributing their quota to the development of mother Ghana.Indeed they have proved beyond all reasonable doubts that they are the pacesetters in radio broadcasting in Ghana.