Part 1 of this paper describes the background to a pilot project conducted at a number of companies by Achmea Holding in The Netherlands. The aim of the study was to set up knowledge networks between circles of interest using a common infrastructure. Parts 2 and 3 respectively present and evaluate the results of the study. The pilot study results were meant to be used for introducing knowledge networks on a European scale and creating synergy between knowledge workers at Eureko an alliance of leading national insurance groups. The evaluation made use of GDSS (Group Decision Support System).
Three Dutch orchestras approached Intomart and SEO for a demand analysis regarding concerts of classical orchestral music in the Amsterdam area. The main object was to determine the attributes that constitute concerts of classical music, as well as the relative weights of these concert attributes. The problem has been approached by a hybrid mix of conjoint measurement and a strongly generalized own brand of logit analysis (ROA). Some 1100 respondents have been offered varying subsets of 32 vignettes of concert offers, most of them fictitious but not unrealistic. From the analysis it is possible to determine the change in demand for classical concerts as a consequence of a change in an attribute value, as well as the price compensation necessary in order keep the level of demand unchanged. According to our knowledge this is the first study on the demand for classical concerts making use of vignettes. Furthermore, it is one of the first applications where the collection of data by supplying vignettes is blended with fairly sophisticated econometric techniques for discrete choice analysis.
This paper deals with the design and some of the results of a feasibility study focused on the relationships between changes in the quality of the environment and human response to it. Although other relevant variables have also been included, only a part of the research i.e. the perception and evaluation of air quality will be discussed here. This paper clarifies the importance of co-operation between social researchers and scientists of other schools and shows that a better explanation is given by integrating personal and situational data. It also emphasizes the use and the utility of panels as an instrument for measuring changes in human perception and behavior.
The starting point for our discussion was the recognition that social change is proceeding faster than at any time in human history. Politicians, administrators, and those involved in the political process are therefore like managers of industrial and commercial establishments in this respect: their 'microcosm' of the world around them, being dependent on previous experience and earlier learning, risks loss of touch with the real world. The role of social researchers is to help those involved in the political process to improve the correspondence between the microcosm and reality. Social research can perform this role in two ways. The first, which is the approach mainly adopted in the papers of this seminar, is the description and analysis of social attitudes and behaviour, over time. The second, which received little attention, is the evaluation of public policy, of the actions of government, extending possibly to the evaluation of social experiments. The second role is perhaps more closely.