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The conviction that Howard Davis had for using knowledge as a tool is well known. Equally important was his interest in encouraging others who shared this conviction to study and apply knowledge in the human services areas. As one who participated in the active exchange of research and ideas, I realize increasingly the benefits from that encouragement. The research reported here, use of knowledge by mental health consultants, reflects his interest both in expanding our knowledge, and in using it. In his research on knowledge use, and in his teaching others the importance of using knowledge, Howard Davis made a lasting impact.

Major policy and funding shifts have stimulated a series of changes in local mental health agencies. Policy and operations responsibilities have shifted to state mental health authorities; funding has moved from categorical programs to block grants; and different client groups are increasingly using community services. Local mental health agencies are expanding in certain services in response to high-priority needs targeted by states. Decreases are occurring in other services. Changes and reductions in staff and funding have resulted in a net decrease in volume of service provided. Further, most centers have narrowed the scope of services to a more limited program. The majority of agencies have chosen to remain aligned with state and local funding sources and priorities.

Information is one of the factors contributing to decision making, along with political, socioeconomic, organizational, and temporal factors. Given the multiple variables and the interaction among them, there is no one outcome that exclusively qualifies as "use" and no one time that defines when the information must be "used." There is little doubt that different outcomes are apparent at different points. The present research studied information utilization in 39 local mental health agencies over an eight-month period. Patterns of information use and nonuse over time were investigated. Results indicate that many organizations still were in the process of making information use decisions eight months following presentation of the information. Furthermore, high rates of information use were likely to be associated with information that was relatively easy to implement. By contrast, reports of low information use generally involved information of greater scope and ideas that were more difficult to implement.

Federal, state and local governments have encouraged university‐industry cooperation in recent years through a number of different policies and programs. Industry has increasingly been looking to universities for new ideas, closer collaboration and more timely access to research results. Various levels of government have become increasingly involved in joint funding with industry in new university‐industry research centers and institutes. State and local governments spend considerable effort to attract high‐technology industry, using university‐industry collaborative programs as one incentive. Yet despite the theoretical and policy importance of this topic, it has received little systematic research attention.This contribution reports the results of a National Science Foundation‐funded study investigating technology transfer in microelectronics between Arizona State University located in the Phoenix metropolitan area and surrounding microelectronics firms. The results describe state and local initiatives influencing such technology transfer, how the initial technology transfer contact comes about, how research goals, topics and activities are decided upon, and how resources and funding support is secured. In addition satisfaction from, benefits and costs of, as well as attitudes bout technology transfer are reported.

A pair of consensus development conferences held in the United States and in Sweden presented an unusual opportunity for a cross-cultural study of technology transfer The two conferences were based on the same topic and the same set ofprocedures, providing a chance to test the replicability of the concept of the consensus development conference in different cultures with different health care systems. The purpose of the study was to compare the two experiences, addressing the following questions (I) Can the consensus development process operate across cultural differences and still yield similar results ? (2) Do differences in the health payment system effect the consensus development process ? The study concluded that the consensus development conference is an effective technology transfer procedure both in the United States and in Sweden. The process was effective regardless of differences in language, culture, and health care delivery systems Conclusions reached by consensus development panels regarding the safety and efficacy of the technology were similar Inclusion of issues of need and cost at the Swedish conference expanded the agenda beyond that of the U S conference, however the consensus development process remained the same

Everett M. Rogers/Judith K. Larson: Silicon Valley Fieber. Wolf Jobst Siedler Verlag, Berlin 1985, 288 Seiten, 39,80 DM