Diffusion (SL IB Geography)

Diffusion

• Diffusion is the spread of something from place to place
• This can include ideas, practices, technology and disease
• Distance decay means that higher diffusion rates occur closest to the point of origin. Lower rates occur further away 

Diffusion of innovation 

• Diffusion has different elements: 
  • Innovation - the first stage, where individuals or groups create a new idea/concept/object
  • Time - diffusion typically increases over time, as more people adopt the innovation
  • Social/Communication
    • Diffusion needs groups of people and stakeholders 
    • It requires communication (face-to-face, writing or media), to transfer information and ideas
• In 1962, Everett Rogers coined the Diffusion of Innovation Theory 
• There are 5 stages, showing different stakeholder groups

1. 1. Innovators - the first people to use an innovation (without testing)
   2. Early Adopters - innovation is improving, so more people begin to use it
   3. Early Majority - The product is well known, used by a large proportion of people
   4. Late Majority - cautious stakeholders, waiting for cheaper prices or improvements 
   5. Laggards - very reluctant, but eventually adopt the innovation 

• This information produces a Bell Curve 
• Combined with the Bell Curve information, the S Curve can show the adoption of innovation over time 

Bell Curve and S curve of the diffusion of innovation theory 

Diffuson of Agricultural Innovations 

• Agricultural innovation is the implementation of new ideas, processes, or products to increase productivity and efficiency and reduce risks within a system 
• It can involve new solutions to issues and improved methods of problem-solving
• Some examples of agricultural innovations include:
  • Genetically Modified Crops
  • Dam construction 
  • Precision agriculture
  • Vertical farming
  • Farm automation 
• Diffusion of agricultural innovations is the spread of these new processes, ideas and products between farming groups 
• There are 3 main types of agricultural innovation diffusion:
  • Adoption/acquisition
    • Becoming aware of/interested in an innovation
    • Creating or following a new agricultural innovation 
  • Expansion
    • Innovation gets stronger at the origin, whilst also spreading to new places
  • Relocation
    • Innovation moves away from the origin, reducing or eventually vanishing
    • Maybe a result of migration 
    • Caused by transport networks (network diffusion) 
• Diffusion of agricultural innovations is vital for the development of agriculture:
  • To improve food security
  • To increase and maintain resource sustainability
  • To increase economic development 

Role of geographic factors in the rate of agricultural innovation diffusion 

• The concept of diffusion also applies to disease
• Disease diffusion is the spread of disease around the world
• Diseases will begin at a source point and spread outwards
• With distance decay, higher incidences of disease will occur closer to the origin
• Globalisation has made disease diffusion a lot easier (transportation systems)
• There are 5 types of disease diffusion: 
  • Expansion
    • The spreading of disease from place to place
    • Disease spread is intense in the origin 
    • It becomes less severe in regions further away
    • A good example is the H1N1 flu, originating in Mexico
  • Relocation 
    • Spreading of disease, leaving fewer cases at the origin 
    • Good examples include disease carriers like HIV
    • A person may bring diseases into an area. In 2010, Nepalese aid workers entered Haiti after the earthquake, resulting in a large cholera outbreak 
  • Network
    • Diseases spread through transport networks and social networks
    • Globalisation increases transport routes around the world
    • COVID-19 spread rapidly through transport routes (late lockdowns and border closures)
    • HIV spread through social networks (sexually transmitted) 
  • Contagious
    • Spread through direct contact 
    • Distance decay is prominent here. Those closest to the source of the disease will be more likely to contract it than those further away 
  • Hierarchal 
    • Disease transmission through an order of different places or people e.g.
      • Urban areas to rural areas 
      • Higher to lower-income groups 

Role of geographic factors in the rate of disease diffusion