Creating a Vision for XYZ Research Corporation: A Case Study

A strategic analysis was developed for XYZ Research Corporation (the true company's name is disguised). The strategic analysis involved a series of visits to the company to conduct focus groups with its employees and management. Five focus groups were carried out at XYZ Research Corporation. This method proved to be effective and valuable when aiming to gather detailed information on the specifics of a firm's operation. Information and insights on the company and its business that would not become evident through any kind of meticulous financial or economic analysis of the company's and industry's numbers - which in fact were unavailable or scarce - was efficiently obtained by personal communication from the employees in the interviews. The focus group and interview method is recommended as a valid alternative to gathering detailed data and information when facing limited availability of reliable quantitative economic data on sales, size, and other information on the industry. The amount and quality of person-to-person information gathered in the interviews made the questionnaire a more powerful tool versus the alternative of simply mailing it. In the process of developing a strategic plan for XYZ, data and information used to write an undergraduate level teaching case study was gathered. The focus group method allowed for digging out intricate functional relationships within the company and between the company and the industry, which allowed for writing a more complete and educationally interesting case study.Focus Groups, Strategic Analysis, Food Safety, Outsourcing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, A22, C99, L21, M10,

Industry-Academic Partnerships The View from the Corner Office

Industry-academic partnerships are described and discussed from the perspective of industry. Eight types of partnerships are discussed, including internships, mentoring, site visits, faculty-directed research, student research, consulting, in-class visits, and industry advisory boards. The benefits, problems, costs, motivation to participate, and advice for managing industry-academic partnerships are presented.industry partnerships, industry collaboration, internship, mentor, field trip, consulting, advisory board, Industrial Organization, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, Q10, Q16,

Estimating Consumers' Willingness-To-Pay for Country-Of-Origin Labels in Fresh Apples and Tomatoes: A Double-Hurdle Probit Analysis of American Data Using Factor Scores

Data are collected from primary shoppers in Gainesville Florida, Atlanta Georgia and Lansing Michigan using a Vickrey (fifth-priced sealed bid) experimental auction and a survey questionnaire to provide a sample of 311 observations useable for analysis. The average willingness to pay (WTP) for country of origin labeling (COOL) "Grown in the U.S." in apples and tomatoes are calculated then tested for equivalence to assess if WTP is produce specific. A double-hurdle probit model is then estimated to ascertain the prominent determinants of WTP for COOL. Independent variables include demographics, food safety and factor scores derived from a factor analysis of food quality and food preference variables. Results show that on average consumers are willing to pay $0.49 and$0.48 for COOL in apples and tomatoes respectively with 79% of the consumers willing to pay more than $0.00 for apples labeled "Grown in the U.S." and 72% in the case of tomatoes. Premiums are found to be statistically equivalent suggesting that WTP for COOL is not produce specific. The double hurdle probit estimation finds most independent variables insignificant with the exception of the food quality factor scores and consumer trust levels for information they receive from U.S. government agencies. Location, age and income also turn out to be significant factors in the case of the truncated part of the estimation as do food quality and food safety concerns.Consumer/Household Economics,

COOL and Consumers' Willingness to Pay in the Fresh Produce Industry - Some Initial Impressions from the Field

The debate about Country-of-Origin labeling (COOL) has centered on the projected benefits and costs of its implementation. This study uses data from a Vickery auction (n=320) to estimate willingness to pay for COOL. Preliminary findings suggest, on average, consumers value COOL, are not homogenous, and prefer fresh produce grown in the U.S.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade,

COOL AND CONSUMERS' WILLINGNESS TO PAY IN THE FRESH PRODUCE INDUSTRY - SOME INITIAL IMPRESSIONS FROM THE FIELD

The debate about Country-of-Origin labeling (COOL) has centered on the projected benefits and costs of its implementation. This study uses data from a Vickery auction (n=200) to estimate willingness to pay for COOL. Preliminary findings suggest, on average, consumers value COOL, are not homogeneous, and prefer fresh produce grown in the U.S.Consumer/Household Economics,

Industry-Academic Partnerships – Benefit or Burden?

In an applied discipline such as agribusiness management, there are many opportunities for collaboration between academia and industry. This article highlights opportunities for industry-academic partnerships through research, sabbatical leaves, consulting, outreach, student enrichment activities, and industry advisory boards. The principal benefits and pitfalls associated with each type of collaboration are discussed along with tips for managing industry-academic partnerships.industry partnerships, industry collaboration, Industrial Organization, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, Q10,

How Agricultural Economists Increase the Value of Agribusiness Research

Historically, there has been declining cooperation between agribusiness firms and agricultural economists. In new product marketing research, firms' tend to conduct their own analyses, partially due to confidentiality, usually consisting of simple univariate or bivariate statistics such as chi-squared tests of independence. The primary objective of this paper is to demonstrate, through a case study, one way in which agricultural economists can add value to agribusiness firms research. Results from the econometric model offer a richer explanation of consumer behavior and may be more useful to agribusiness firms.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Optical design of a high power fiber optic coupler

Fiber optic beam delivery systems are replacing conventional mirror delivery systems for many reasons (e.g., system flexibility and redundancy, stability, and ease of alignment). Commercial products are available that use of fiber optic delivery for laser surgery and materials processing. Also, pump light of dye lasers can be delivered by optical fibers. Many laser wavelengths have been transported via optical fibers; high power delivery has been reported for argon, Nd:YAG, and excimer. We have been developing fiber optic beam delivery systems for copper vapor laser light; many of the fundamental properties of these systems are applicable to other high power delivery applications. A key element of fiber optic beam delivery systems is the coupling of laser light into the optical fiber. For our application this optical coupler must be robust to a range of operating parameters and laser characteristics. We have access to a high power copper vapor laser beam that is generated by a master oscillator/power amplifier (MOPA) chain comprised of three amplifiers. The light has a pulse width of 40--50 nsec with a repetition rate of about 4 kHz. The average power (nominal) to be injected into a fiber is 200 W. (We will refer to average power in this paper.) In practice, the laser beam's direction and collimation change with time. These characteristics plus other mechanical and operational constraints make it difficult for our coupler to be opto-mechanically referenced to the laser beam. We describe specifications, design, and operation of an optical system that couples a high-power copper vapor laser beam into a large core, multimode fiber. The approach used and observations reported are applicable to fiber optic delivery applications. 6 refs., 6 figs

The effects of the spontaneous presence of a spouse/partner and others on cardiovascular reactions to an acute psychological challenge

The presence of supportive others has been associated with attenuated cardiovascular reactivity in the laboratory. The effects of the presence of a spouse and others in a more naturalistic setting have received little attention. Blood pressure and heart rate reactions to mental stress were recorded at home in 1028 married/partnered individuals. For 112 participants, their spouse/partner was present; for 78, at least one other person was present. Women tested with a spouse/partner present showed lower magnitude systolic blood pressure and heart rate reactivity than those tested without. Individuals tested with at least one nonspousal other present also displayed attenuated reactivity. This extends the results of laboratory studies and indicates that the spontaneous presence of others is associated with a reduction in cardiovascular reactivity in an everyday environment; spouse/partner presence would appear to be especially effective for women.\ud \u

Management of major depression in outpatients attending a cancer centre: a preliminary evaluation of a multicomponent cancer nurse-delivered intervention

A novel nurse-delivered multicomponent intervention for major depressive disorder (MDD) in cancer outpatients was compared with usual care alone in a nonrandomised matched group design (n=30 per group). At the final 6-month outcome, 38.5% (95% CI, 5.4-57%) fewer patients in the intervention group still met the criteria for MDD