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This paper takes a critical look at the progress of the commercialisation of service robots. For over 20 years researchers and developers have been trying to develop robots for service or household applications. So far the forecast market potential has not been achieved. Service robots through the nature of their target applications are highly price sensitive and up to now the cost of sensors and controllers has proved prohibitively expensive. The commitment of Siemens to the development of a general purpose controller for mobile robots may provide industry with a much needed standard platform on which to develop commercial systems, but these need to become more user than developer orientated.

Since 1984 the European Commission has funded research and technology development under a series of Framework Programmes which cover a four‐ to five‐year period and provide substantial opportunities for European collaboration for those subjects which fit current priorities. The mid‐point of Framework V has just been reached and with it a proposal has been put forward by the Commission for the next Framework Programme to cover the period 2002‐2006. This article provides a brief outline on the opportunities past, present and future, and concludes that perhaps many roboticists should lend their skills to the demands of managing CEC funded projects rather than to developing robots themselves, given that it would appear robots are no longer a priority research theme.

Industrial robots are not accurate enough to be used without heavy investment in fixtures and manual programming to correct for positional variations, but this situation could be corrected with the introduction of a new position determination system. PosEye¹ allows fixed and mobile robots to determine their absolute position and orientation. The author contends that without more active support from robot manufacturers in adopting such systems, current investment in full off‐line programming systems or digital plant technology will leave the automation industry with a costly “end of cable” problem.

The purpose of this paper is to show that a new size labelling system based on the data gathered by [TC]² in the Size USA, Let's Size up America survey would better serve the female population than the system currently in use.

Based on previous research conducted on [TC]² data and on pants measurements in the Canadian market, a new labelling system is proposed where size information is provided with three specific body measurements along with a female silhouette pictogram.

The paper demonstrates that a size label showing three pants measurements: pants waist, approximate hips, and inseam length, accompanied by a silhouette identifying where these measures were taken, is highly predictive of fit.

The study was limited to lower body (pants) for female.

A change to such a size‐labelling system would allow the apparel industry to move towards mass customisation at minimal costs. It would be more effective for the apparel order givers and retailers, enabling them to target whichever market they wish yet convey the necessary fit information in a generally accepted format. This system would also be more efficient as it would reduce the consumer time spent in fit identification and merchandise returns, in the case of internet or catalogue sales. As a corollary, it would increase both consumer shopping experience satisfaction and industry profitability.

The study proposes a new labelling system.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse differences in sociodemographic and sporting characteristics, health-behaviours, and food intake of athletes using and not using nutritional supplements (NS).

High-performance Portuguese athletes from 13 sports completed a NS usage questionnaire, assessing information on sociodemographic (sex, age, height, weight, athlete’s, and parental education level), health-related (smoking, daily time of sleeping, walking, and sitting), and sporting (type, number of international performances, weekly hours of training and weekly hours of gym) characteristics; and a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (86 items), regarding the previous 12 months.

From the 241 athletes (66 per cent males, 13-37 years), 64 per cent reported NS use. Supplement usage was associated with age 18 years (odds ratio (OR) 2.57, 95 per cent; confidence interval (CI) 1.17-5.65), performing individual sports (OR 5.45, 95 per cent; CI 2.49-11.93) and > 2 h gym/week (OR 2.42, 95 per cent; CI 1.15-5.11), a higher consumption of meat (OR 2.83, 95 per cent; CI 1.36-5.90), eggs (OR 2.53, 95 per cent; CI 1.07-5.96), and yogurt (OR 2.24, 95 per cent; CI 1.08-4.62), and a lower intake of processed meat (OR 0.32, 95 per cent; CI 0.15-0.72), vegetable oils (OR 0.35, 95 per cent; CI 0.17-0.74), margarine (OR 0.37, 95 per cent; CI 0.18-0.76), chips (OR 0.22, 95 per cent; CI 0.10-0.48), and fast food (OR 0.42, 95 per cent; CI 0.19-0.91).

Athletes using NS had different characteristics from non-users, and seemed to have healthier and more sports-oriented food choices. Our findings may help sport and health professionals to identify an alleged or future NS user, enabling the development of a timely and self-directed supplement scheme.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of social isolation of minors with a parent or grandparent suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to determine whether the psychological support offered by an Italian no-profit association helped them to manage stress.

Methodology: This study followed a qualitative research design. The participants responded to in-depth interviews that were processed with inductive thematic analysis.

Findings: Five themes emerged: feedback on the psychological intervention; learning and changes after the intervention; discourses on illness and death in the family; experiences and difficulties during the lockdown and suggestions for other peers who might face the same situation.

Social Implications: Psychological support is necessary for these minors, and it helped them to manage both the stress of living with ALS and the limitations of social relationships during the pandemic. It showed the importance of authentic and honest communication about illness and death that allowed minors to manage anxiety and fear. Positive reinterpretation of these experiences by transforming them into opportunities was also revealed.

Originality: Studies on families with ALS patients are numerous, but studies on children of these patients are still rare, and no study has investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these children. This research investigated a topic that has not been covered previously and it also provided the opportunity to know how these children, preadolescents and adolescents living in an already complex environment, have experienced lockdown and restrictions. The study also enriched the literature on this important issue.

In this article, I have traced the literature of marketing libraries and information services from 1970 to the present. This period immediately follows Kotler and Levy's introductory article in the Journal of Marketing (January 1969) which first suggested the idea of marketing nonprofit organizations. The use of the marketing concept for libraries and information services was an idea which did not appear until after that date. However, many articles on specific aspects of marketing, such as publicity and public relations, were published prior to 1970. These areas have been touched upon only briefly to show their connection with marketing.