Use of Research Evidence: Social Services Portfolio

The William T. Grant Foundation intends that the emerging research evidence from its Use of Research Evidence (URE) portfolio be useful to those engaged in these (and other) diverse efforts. But broad and meaningful use of research evidence will require conversations that extend beyond researchers and expert forums. Indeed, URE findings suggest that policymakers and practitioners should not be viewed simply as "end users" of research evidence. To provide insight into how URE studies and the resulting evidence could be most relevant and useful to them, policymakers and practitioners at all levels in the social services system must have a voice in these conversations. This paper is intended to foster and inform dialogue among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners by reflecting on the Foundation's social services URE portfolio from the perspective of policy and practice and by identifying potential opportunities for the next generation of studies and considerations for those undertaking that work

4% of Online Americans Use Location-Based Services

Presents survey findings on the use of "geosocial," or location-based, services that allow users to share their location with friends, find others nearby, and leave comments by gender, race/ethnicity, age, wireless use, Internet activities, and location

Crop Farmers’ Use of Market Advisory Services

This study sought to examine the nature of farmers’ use of market advisory services based on the results of a survey of US crop producers. The survey revealed that market advisory service users tend to be significantly more risk seeking than non-users. Survey results indicated a large range in patterns of use of advisory services. Most farmers use advisory services to the greatest extent for marketing information, market analysis, and to keep up with markets. General guidelines (market strategies and price information) are utilized more than specific advice (e.g., specific pricing decisions, price forecasts). Only 11% of farmers reported that they closely follow the marketing recommendations provided by advisory services. Nonetheless, farmers report that the information provided by advisory services has a substantial impact on their marketing decisions. The implications of these results for advisory services, farmers, extension programs and research are discussed.Agricultural Finance,

Modeling Farmers' Use of Market Advisory Services

In an effort to improve marketing of their products, many farmers use market advisory services (MAS). To date, there is only fragmented anecdotal information about how farmers actually use the recommendations of market advisory services in their marketing plans, and how they choose among these services. Based on the literature on consulting services usage, a conceptual framework is developed in which perceived performance of the MAS regarding realized crop price and risk reduction, and the match between the MAS and the farmer's marketing philosophy drive MAS usage. To account for possible heterogeneity among farmers regarding to the use of MAS, we introduce a mixture-modeling framework that is able to identify unobserved heterogeneity. With this modeling framework we are able to simultaneously investigate the relationship between market advisory usage and the key components of our conceptual model for each unobservable segment in the population. A large scale interview of US farmers that contained several experiments revealed that farmers' use of MAS not only depends on the outcome of their services (price and risk reduction performance) but also on the way these services are delivered, i.e., the match of marketing philosophy between farmers and MAS. The influence of the factors in our conceptual model did not influenced farmers MAS usage equally across the whole sample. Using the generalized mixture model framework we found 5 segments that differed regarding the influence that these factors have on farmers MAS usage. The heterogeneity of the farmers appeared to be unobserved, in that it could not be traced back to observable variables such as age and region. It is the decision-making process itself, as reflected in our conceptual model, that caused the heterogeneity.Marketing,

H.E. Careers & Employability Services’ use of resources: Summary report

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Understanding the use value dimensions of outsourced maintenance services

Surviving in long-term outsourced maintenance contracts in current financial situation necessitates better understanding of what customers attribute as value and its dimensions. This paper reports on findings from research undertaken with a supplier of automation products and services and its customers. Structured interviewing technique has been conducted in four customer companies from different industrial sectors at different organizational levels. Value dimensions and their role in different decision making levels are identified