ABSTRACT
The general impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) has been a matter of some controversy, as has its relationship to productivity, profitability, and quality. Distance learning and associated information technologies have been seen as one of the major challenges to the contemporary university. Traditionally, communication research has distinguished between two basic types of channels: interpersonal, involving primarily face-to-face modalities and the mediated channels that have been historically associated with distance learning. This chapter suggests that the hard work of successful implementation of innovations depends on positive weightings of three distinct factors: framing, innovation environment, and innovation attributes. Researchers have focused on innovations in terms of their attributes, or perceived characteristics, based on respondents' subjective judgments, which play a significant role in the diffusion of innovation. Rogers developed the most commonly recognized scheme available for examining differing properties of innovations. He identified five perceived attributes of an innovation: relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, complexity, and observability.
