Diffusion of innovation exemplifies how and why a piece of information or innovation is accepted and adopted by a particular group within stipulated period (Rogers 13). According to Rossman, every innovation is affected by various forces that act either within the population adopting or outside the population taking the innovation. Since the innovation appears to be the one being affected by external and internal factors, then, innovation is the dependent variable; considering that factors such as the actors within the population, time, and the population itself directly affect the innovation (Rossman 4). The analysis targets the factors that determine how, where, and rate of adoption of innovation. The study employs a chain of innovations to determine what factors make an innovations diffusion path to follow an S-shaped or a concave shaped curve (Rossman 6).
In his view, Rossman identifies endogenous forces that affect innovation as those that emanate from with the population. An example is when the farmers want to try a new seed, and only one farmer decides to try and passes the knowledge of the productivity to other two farmers who in turn inform another two farmers each, a mouth to mouth contagion process. The same also applies to cascade models. For exogenous forces, Rossman uses the Zeno’s paradox regarding Achilles racing the tortoise where he gives the reptile a head start. The scenario is synonymous to doctors adopting tetracycline, during the first month, ten percent adopt the medication which represents 100 physicians, next month 90 adopt and next 81.the hazard remains constant at one tenth every month. The portion of the concerted risk pool is constant every month yielding a concave shed curve. The constant change is an indication of some forces forcing the actors to adopt to the innovation (Rossman 4).
According to the social images site, Rossman's analytic strategy regarding exogenous and endogenous forces is quite evident as seen in the social arena such as radios, movie centres, advertisements, popularity scales and popular culture. For baby names, exogenous factors such as movies shape the trend for instance in 2011, the name Jacob and Isabela featured top names according to the Census Bureau (Livingston).
According to name search on baby name wizard website, the name Amanda by popular culture means that the baby is to be loved. Most people commenting on the site relate using the name to the popular Amanda show and the literal meaning of the name (she who must be loved).
Work cited
Livingston, Jay. Charting the Climb: What Makes a Trend? 10 August 2012. Web. 9 June 2016.
Norman, Teresa. Baby Name Wizard. n.d. Web. 9 June 2016.
Rogers, Everett M. Diffusion of Innovations. 5. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003. Print
Rossman, Gabriel. "what radio airplay tells us about the diffusion of innovation." Rossman, Gabriel. Climbing the charts. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. 2-21. Print.
