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Researchers and organisational practitioners must become partners in the research effort; both parties must accept the other's knowledge as valid information. A process model is presented, based on applied research, for use in various disciplines of applied research where co‐operation between academic and practitioner is paramount, and where both become members of research steering groups. Recommendations are made on how such groups can become effective in operation and for further research.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss learning about service-user and carer involvement from an action research (AR) study into self-directed support implementation in one English mental health trust. The paper promotes appointing and supporting carers and people with experience as co-researchers to obtain authentic local perspectives when undertaking service implementation or redesign.

The researchers used an AR spiral method incorporating carers and people with mental health experience as co-researchers. The co-researchers worked alongside the lead researcher gathering data from focus groups, training sessions and other meetings over four years and attending collaborative steering group meetings alongside professional workers throughout the study.

The authors suggest that participation gave co-researchers a powerful and effective voice in this service redesign. This approach revealed more authentic research data and required professionals to be more accountable for their perceptions and to make explicit their understandings throughout the study, which enabled more effective working. Steering group participation was central to securing this participation.

The paper illustrates how carer and service-user co-researchers can be supported to benefit both mental health organisations undergoing change and to co-researchers themselves. It also identifies AR’s utility in uncovering learning as well as structuring change.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive and unified presentation of recent developments in skid-steer wheeled mobile robots (SSWMR) with regard to its control, guidance and navigation for the researchers who wish to study in this field.

Most of the contemporary unmanned ground robot’s locomotion is based upon the wheels. For wheeled mobile robots (WMRs), one of the prominent and widely used driving schemes is skid steering. Because of mechanical simplicity and high maneuverability particularly in outdoor applications, SSWMR has an advantage over its counterparts. Different prospects of SSWMR have been discussed including its design, application, locomotion, control, navigation and guidance. The challenges pertaining to SSWMR have been pointed out in detail, which will seek the attention of the readers, who are interested to explore this area.

Relying on the recent literature on SSWMR, research gaps are identified that should be analyzed for the development of autonomous skid-steer wheeled robots.

An attempt to present a comprehensive review of recent advancements in the field of WMRs and providing references to the most intriguing studies.

The purpose of this paper is to show how technical-economical cost modeling can help in steering research and development to target key production cost elements of new products based on emerging technologies.

The authors demonstrate the development and use of a technical-economic cost model (TCM) of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) in fuel cells to steer research to produce more economical and reliable products. A TCM is developed to depict how the production cost per unit varies depending on the different fabrication methods, production rate limitations, material selection, labor distribution, energy consumption, financial parameters and the target production volume. By using such an approach in the design, research time and resources can be saved by prioritizing R&D and production scale-up options at an early stage.

The results of this study show the importance of applying technical-economic cost model (TCM) techniques on early stage research projects to steer the development for resolving key problematic figures. As a case study, a cost analysis platform has been established to apply this technique by analyzing different manufacturing and R&D options for producing durable PEM fuel cells. The projected manufacturing cost of the PEM is found to be lower than previously estimated and the enhanced durability does not significantly impact this production cost.

Production is an important factor in informing NPD targets and R&D direction. And yet it is difficult to estimate scaled up production cost for prototype products and components in the R&D lab. Technical-economic cost models (TCM) are a tool to assist decision-making in technology portfolio management and NPD.

This article investigates the links between universities’ opportunities to shape their research profiles, the changing state interest concerning these profiles, and the impact of profile building on research at university and field levels. While the authority of the Dutch state over research profiles of Dutch universities has increased, university management has considerable operational authority over the inclusion of new research fields and removal of existing research fields. Since all universities have begun to follow the same external signals prescribing applied research, research that has easy access to external funding, and research in fields prioritised by the state, a ‘quasi-market failure’ may emerge, as is demonstrated for evolutionary developmental biology and Bose-Einstein condensation.

The article aims to identify areas of potential research support that none of the traditional supportive actors (libraries, IT units, information units) have concerned themselves with, arguing for new tasks and roles for the academic library, specifically the special librarian.

Areas of “overload” in the digital practice of contemporary researchers are identified and then connected to various personalized digital tools. The article explores the idea that attention to new aspects of researchers information needs creates a potential for developing personalized meta-services at academic libraries.

It is possible to identify a wealth of new services that can, if put into practice, substantially redefine the relationship between academic librarians and researchers. This entails a turn from service aimed at novice users to sophisticated end-users. Such ideas also carry implications for LIS education programs and the need to build on special librarians who uphold competence in distinct knowledge domains. Two forms of domain-specific meta-services are explored: as support for collaboration and support for presentation.

It is suggested that academic libraries systematically utilize the “full cost” model of project funding in order to exhibit concrete benefits of personalized meta-services. The article holds implications for both academic libraries and for LIS educational institutions.

Personalized meta-services constitute a relatively fresh topic and have previously not been explored in connection with academic libraries.

Changes in the freedoms of individual academics and universities have been gathering apace across the western world since World War II (e.g., Altbach, 2001; Karmel, 2003, p. 2). Such changes have compelled the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to alert the world community to the link between freedoms experienced in the university sector and those in wider democratic systems. In 1998, UNESCO held a World Conference on Higher Education with a specific focus on academic freedom and university autonomy. An international charter resulted, detailing mutual rights, obligations and monitoring mechanisms. The International Association of Universities (IAU), the group responsible for convening the UNESCO debate, emphasised that academic freedom and university autonomy were essential to be able to transmit and advance knowledge:For Universities to serve a world society requires that Academic Freedom and University Autonomy form the bedrock to a new Social Contract – a contract to uphold values common to Humanity and to meet the expectations of a world where frontiers are rapidly dissolving. (cited in Ginkel, 2002, p. 347)

This introductory chapter introduces standards and standardisation as concepts of outmost relevance to current educational practice and policy across the world, and frames them historically, empirically, as well as theoretically. Furthermore, it gives an overview of how the book is structured and how it can be seen to contribute to the wider field of research in education. The chapter starts by introducing the concepts before it provides the reader with a background description of the broad discursive landscape of policy developments, as painted by educational policy research. Subsequently it describes how standards and standardisation have been theorised within educational research, and concludes with a presentation of the different contributions.

This paper reports on action research which explored assertive outreach service users’ experiences of community participation and then fed this learning into a multi‐agency forum – where it was used in joint‐planning between mental health services and community partners, aiming to maximise social inclusion locally.

Action research methodology was chosen to examine the forum's work because it brings together different perspectives to reveal an issue in its entirety and effect change in practice. Service users’ experiences were explored using semi‐structured qualitative interviews.

Engagement in mainstream community‐based activities re‐connected service users with cherished life roles and developed feelings of self‐efficacy, belonging, and wellbeing. Effective inter‐sectoral working in the forum was based on a shared agenda and collective action planning.

Whilst every effort was made to ensure an authentic service user voice informed service development, it is unfortunate – in action research terms – that no service user interviewees were able to participate directly in the work of the forum. Community development work can build on micro‐level, person‐centred mental health care and extend outwards to collective community activity, aiming to harness social capital.

Assertive outreach – harnessing mainstream occupations through care‐planning – achieved outcomes that institutional rehab could not, and did so with a minimum of stigmatisation.

This inquiry highlights that social inclusion is the responsibility of the community as a whole.

This inquiry appreciated service users as evaluators of the services they used and aimed to bring that knowledge to bear on service development.