A microwave dielectric biosensor based on suspended distributed MEMS transmission lines

Design and characterization of a miniature microwave dielectric biosensor based on distributed microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) transmission lines (DMTL) is reported in this paper. The biosensor has been realized by bonding the DMTL device with an acrylic fluidic channel. In order to demonstrate the sensing mechanism, the sensor is used to detect the small variation of the concentration of aqueous glucose solutions by measuring the electromagnetic resonant frequency shift of the device. It is observed from the results that the second notch of the reflection coefficient (S-11) varies from 7.66 to 7.93 GHz and the third notch of the reflection coefficient varies from 15.81 to 15.24 GHz when the concentration of the glucose solution ranges from 0 to 347 mg/ml, which indicates that higher order notches have higher sensitivities if looking at the absolute change in frequency

UK Research Partnership Investment Fund : 2012-2015

"This document sets out the arrangements for an additional allocation of research capital funding for higher education institutions (HEIs) for 2012 to 2015. It invites HEIs to submit proposals for use of these capital grants" - front cover

Investigating an ‘institutional partnership’ collaborating to develop a funded project into a sustainable work-integration social enterprise (WISE)

This paper reports a research study that examined a partnership between a regional social enterprise development agency and a university as they collaborated to develop a work-integration social enterprise (WISE) in the UK. Participants were members of the board of directors, steering group and the programme delivery and administration staff. The research elicited participant perceptions of the development of the partnership and the WISE over a period of eighteen months. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants in three phases: ‘early’, ‘middle’ and ‘late’. Results revealed the problems experienced by the partnership, which ultimately inhibited the development of a sustainable WIS

Two steps forward, one step back: Achievements and limitations of university-community partnerships in addressing neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage

This article discusses a partnership initiative that involved a major Australian research university (University of Melbourne), a local government and a network of local community service organisations. The partnership projects aimed to promote public access to university infrastructure for poor and marginalised residents, enhance the local value of research and teaching activities, and create employment opportunities. The article draws on an evaluation of the partnership, which focused on four keynote projects. It found that the partnership appeared to achieve positive outcomes for residents but was limited by tensions associated with the university’s ambivalent commitment to the value of such partnerships. These tensions remained difficult to resolve because they signalled present contestation over the foundational values of contemporary public universities.Keywords: university-community partnerships, neoliberalism, neighbourhoods, community developmen

Leveraging University-School District Research Partnerships: Exploring the Longitudinal Effects of an Early Kindergarten Transition Program

With increasingly tight budgets, many public school districts lack research personnel to evaluate program efficacy or investigate best practices that raise student achievement. We highlight an example of a successful university-district partnership that offers district-driven research support while providing opportunities for practitioner-scholars to learn first-hand how to perform rigorous evaluation work. This article details the Early Kindergarten Transition program evaluation study conducted by a university-district partnership as well as testimony from district leadership on the utility of the research deliverables and long-term benefits of the research collaboration

Public-private partnerships in agricultural research: an analysis of challenges facing industry and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

"Public-private partnerships offer potentially important opportunities for pro-poor agricultural research in developing countries. Yet in the international agricultural research community-and with regard to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) itself-we see few examples of successful public-private partnerships, and fewer examples where such collaborations have contributed to food security, poverty reduction and economic growth. This study assesses the opportunities for, and challenges to, creating and sustaining public-private partnerships between the international agricultural research centers of the CGIAR and leading multinational, research-based agribusiness companies. The study hypothesizes that the willingness and ability of public agencies and private firms to enter into partnerships are constrained by fundamentally different incentive structures; by insufficient minimization of the costs and risks of collaboration; by an inability to overcome mutually negative perceptions; by limited use of creative organizational mechanisms that reduce competition over key assets and resources; and by insufficient access to information on successful partnership models. The study methodology is based on interviews and discussions with key stakeholders and a wide review of the literature on public-private partnership. Tentative findings suggest that while incentives and perceptions do differ between sectors, sufficient common space exists or can be created through incentive structuring to facilitate greater partnership. However, both public- and private-sector partners inadequately account for and minimize the costs and risks of partnership. Similarly, partners discount the need for brokers and third-party actors to manage research collaborations and reduce competition between sectors. Finally, partners are operating without sufficient information on existing partnership experiences, lessons, and models, potentially contributing to a persistent or widening gap between sectors.intellectual property, Agricultural biotechnology, Research and Development, Property rights, Multinational firms, Collaborative research, Public-private partnership,

Developing an inter-university partnership: The importance of relationally-connected leaders

We have been involved in an inter-university partnership that supports, contributes to, and influences our own and others’ thinking and actions. As we have collaborated on teaching, learning, and research in the field of educational leadership, we recognise that we have developed our own leadership practice and created opportunities for others to do so. The partnership in which academics and students from the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Waikato have been participating has evolved as a flexible and innovative endeavor over an eighteen month period. In this relatively brief time, we have discovered there are considerable possibilities for the partnership to be developed in a number of ways that will benefit academics, students, and our respective institutions. In this paper, we examine and discuss the findings generated by our initial inquiry as we seek to make sense of our inter university partnership in order to sustain and progress it. Our leadership during the initial phases of the partnership appears to have been a key element in its success. We have found that the presence of a relational connectedness has influenced and enhanced our own leadership practice and subsequently the quality of the partnership. It has enabled us to facilitate the growth of a community of practice and generate academic collaboration