Innovation Report Assignment Description
Studying the diffusion of innovations is an important part of understanding change. Your task is to search for an article about innovation and create a report about the innovation related to class content. The innovation CANNOT be an Apple, Uber, or GoPro product or anything related to drones, TikTok, Snapchat, ChatGPT, Doordash, Ubereats, and Zoom, etc. The innovation cannot be older than 5 years – example both Netflix and Amazon are more than 5 years old. The innovation must be something connected and impact agriculture, communications, leadership, or extension. The connection of the innovation to the tenets of the department must be clear. The paper must include a discussion of the paradigm shift, intended and unintended consequences, adapters, etc. THE ACTUAL TERMS MUST BE USED in the paper. DO NOT CITE INSTRUCTOR or LECTURE NOTES from previous instructors.
This assignment will be a minimum of 1000 words (approximately 4 pages) in length and not exceed 1200 words. The length of the paper does not include the reference page, in-text citations, or cover page. You must cite and reference at least seven referred and credible sources to support the information found within your paper. Not submitting by the due date will result in a zero for the assignment and negatively impact your potential to earn “W” credit.
Proposed structure of the paper:
Cover page
Briefly explain the innovation
Evaluate the innovation using the various aspects of Roger’s Diffusion of Innovations. (we would expect very detailed paragraphs about how the innovation you selected aligns with each of the five characteristics).
-relative advantage
-compatibility
-complexity
-trialability
-observability
Discuss how the innovation may impact you or other’s lives and its connection to either agriculture, education, leadership, or communications.
Conclusion
References
Guidelines for formal papers
Read chapters 8 and 10 of the APA 7th edition Chapter 10 offers examples of how to list your references in the reference list and parenthetical citations (in-text citations) for all types of sources.
Following the examples in Chapter 10, we will be reviewing your APA based primarily on these
Direct quotations are described in section 25 as well as when to use p. or pp. For this paper, there should not be many direct quotes.
I will accept the New York Times, USA Today, and other agricultural or communications magazines for this paper. I will not accept ANY social media nor websites that are not government-approved sites. I will deduct points if you use incorrect sources.
You must include a title page, and reference list, these sections do not count towards your overall word
You must use section headers as seen in the APA 7th
Use the correct font and margins as indicated on the syllabus (Times Roman 12 points and 1-inch margin)
Refrain from using a passive
Identify all new
Refrain from using conversational/informal tone or colloquialisms (example of a colloquialism “I tried to buy into the idea”, “It is important to get people on board”, etc.), your papers are stories and I should not be able to hear you talking to me as I read your paper. Read section 4 in the APA manual.
Do not use
· Do not use “I believe” or “I think.”
Use terms and concepts from the course example ” I needed to change my mindset” should say “I had to shift my paradigm”, anticipated outcomes, direct consequences, etc. I am looking for your ability to synthesize concepts in class and use them in your everyday vernacular.
