The results indicate that while some improvement is needed, CES clients on the whole view closed-circuit TV as a satisfactory way of receiving this kind of information. Data for a similar study were collected from the more than 500 clients enrolled in a 4-session course on swine breeding held in early 1983. The interdisciplinary effort, involving presentations by 11 staff members from 3 departments, focused on reproduction, housing, nutrition, and disease immunity. Clients who come are generally well-educated, successful people who are serious about seeking more information. Because of this, they're pushing the specialists to bring in new material, to treat topics succinctly, and to provide objective data in lieu of general advice.
Clients comment favorably when the special strengths of the medium are used well.
As the study of clients' reactions evolves, specialists are hoping to learn whether participants are actually making changes in their farm or livestock management practices based on information gained in the courses and whether the part-time farmer needs different kinds of information from the fulltime farmer. In general, evaluators are trying to learn more about the information-seeking behavior of the adults who make up their potential clientele. Specialists' Evaluation Even specialists who have taught clients for years in open county meetings are finding that teaching on TV puts new demands on them. While they about the relative lack of immediate audience reaction they have, getting responses from only those in the studio. Some feel that the question-asking is restrained and not as open, despite the audience members' statements on evaluations that they have enough time to ask questions.