"System in package technology" - design for manufacture challenges

Purpose – To present key challenges associated with the evolution of system-in-package technologies and present technical work in reliability modeling and embedded test that contributes to these challenges. Design/methodology/approach – Key challenges have been identified from the electronics and integrated MEMS industrial sectors. Solutions to optimising the reliability of a typical assembly process and reducing the cost of production test have been studied through simulation and modelling studies based on technology data released by NXP and in collaboration with EDA tool vendors Coventor and Flomerics. Findings – Characterised models that deliver special and material dependent reliability data that can be used to optimize robustness of SiP assemblies together with results that indicate relative contributions of various structural variables. An initial analytical model for solder ball reliability and a solution for embedding a low cost test for a capacitive RF-MEMS switch identified as an SiP component presenting a key test challenge. Research limitations/implications – Results will contribute to the further development of NXP wafer level system-in-package technology. Limitations are that feedback on the implementation of recommendations and the physical characterisation of the embedded test solution. Originality/value – Both the methodology and associated studies on the structural reliability of an industrial SiP technology are unique. The analytical model for solder ball life is new as is the embedded test solution for the RF-MEMS switch.

Segregation of bulk particulates through multiple process handling steps

Segregation or de-blending of bulk particulates is a problem that is encountered in many industrial sectors. The magnitude of segregation can often determine whether a complete production batch can be transferred for onward processing within the plant or released to market. It is a phenomenon that impacts directly upon the profitability of a process. Segregation can occur through a coincidence of a range of variables that relate to the process and bulk particulate properties, common mechanisms for this include; percolation, surface effect (rolling) and elutriation. The importance to industry of predicting the sensitivity of bulk particulates to segregation cannot be under-estimated, and to this end various test procedures have been developed. Within many industries striving to improve product quality and reduce wastage, the determination of variability in blend consistency caused by segregation is an increasing priority. This paper considers recent work undertaken to evaluate the effects of multiple handling operations on the degree of segregation that results. The bulk properties of segregability (and resulting flowability) can not only influence the product consistency, but can have great influence over the process (production) control and performance.

The coefficient of restitution of different representative types of granules

Gas fluidised beds have many applications in a wide range of industrial sectors and it is important to be able to predict their performance. This requires, for example, a deeper appreciation of the flow of the particles in such systems using both empirical and numerical methods. The coefficient of restitution is an important collisional parameter that is used in some granular flow models in order to predict the velocities and positions of the particles in fluidised beds. The current paper reports experimental data involving the coefficients of restitution of three different representative types of granule viz. melt, wet and binderless granules. They were measured at various impact velocities and the values were compared with those calculated from different theoretical models based on quasi-static contact mechanics. This required knowledge of the Young's moduli and yield stresses, which were measured quasi-statically using diametric compression. The results show that the current theoretical models for the coefficient of restitution explored here lead to either an over- or an under-estimation of the measured values. The melt granules exhibited the greatest values of the coefficient of restitution, Young's modulus and yield stress. The differences in these values were consistent with the nature of the interparticle bonding for each of the three granule types. A new model for the calculation of the coefficient of restitution of granular material was developed that takes account of the work hardening of the granules during impact. Generally, this model provides an improved prediction of the measured values. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Managing i-branding to create brand equity

Purpose: Given the emergent nature of i-branding as an academic field of study and a lack of applied research output, the aim of this paper is to explain how businesses manage i-branding to create brand equity.

Design/methodology/approach: Within a case-study approach, seven cases were developed from an initial sample of 20 food businesses. Additionally, utilising secondary data, the analysis of findings introduces relevant case examples from other industrial sectors.

Findings: Specific internet tools and their application are discussed within opportunities to create brand equity for products classified by experience, credence and search characteristics. An understanding of target customers will be critical in underpinning the selection and deployment of relevant i-branding tools. Tools facilitating interactivity – machine and personal – are particularly significant.

Research limitations/implications: Future research positioned within classification of goods constructs could provide further contributions that recognise potential moderating effects of product/service characteristics on the development of brand equity online. Future studies could also employ the i-branding conceptual framework to test its validity and develop it further as a means of explaining how i-branding can be managed to create brand equity.

Originality/value: While previous research has focused on specific aspects of i-branding, this paper utilises a conceptual framework to explain how diverse i-branding tools combine to create brand equity. The literature review integrates fragmented literature around a conceptual framework to produce a more coherent understanding of extant thinking. The location of this study within a classification of goods context proved critical to explaining how i-branding can be managed.

Does Affirmative Action Work? Evidence from the Operation of Fair Employment Legislation in Northern Ireland

An affirmative action programme, established by the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989, has been an important attempt to ensure ‘fair participation’ in employment for both Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland since 1990. The programme includes detailed monitoring of the community background of employees and requires employers to undertake remedial action where fair participation is not evident. Agreements were concluded between the regulatory agency and many employers specifying what affirmative action measures were required. Based on the annual monitoring returns submitted between 1990 and 2005, this article evaluates the effectiveness of the affirmative action programme in promoting fair employment participation using fixed effects models. The analysis shows that there has been a general shift towards workforce integration in Northern Ireland but the increase of under-represented groups in agreement concerns is greater than in concerns with no agreement. The success of agreements, however, is limited to certain industrial sectors and medium-sized enterprises.

Sustainable binders for concrete: a structured approach from waste screening to binder composition development

Worldwide, the building sector requires the production of 4 billion tonnes of cement annually, consuming more than 40% of global energy. Alkali activated “cementless” binders have recently emerged as a novel eco-friendly construction material with a promising potential to replace ordinary Portland cement. These binders consist of a class of inorganic polymer formed mainly by the reaction between an alkaline solution and an aluminosilicate source. Precursor materials for this reaction can be found in secondary material streams from different industrial sectors, from energy to agro-alimentary. However, the suitability of these materials in developing the polymerisation reaction must be assessed through a detailed chemical and physical characterisation, ensuring the availability of required chemical species in the appropriate quantity and physical state. Furthermore, the binder composition needs to be defined in terms of proper alkali activation dosages, water content in the mix, and curing conditions. The mix design must satisfy mechanical requirements and compliance to desired engineering properties (workability, setting time) for ensuring the suitability of the binder in replacing Portland cement in concrete applications. This paper offers a structured approach for the development of secondary material-based binders, from their identification to mix design and production procedure development. Essential features of precursor material can be determined through chemical and physical characterisation methods and advanced microscope techniques. Important mixing parameters and binder properties requirements are examined and some examples of developed binders are reported.

Lobbying by Trade Associations on EU Climate Policy

Climate change has been recognised as one of the greatest challenges of the 21st Century. Its impacts, and they way that we choose to deal with them will profoundly affect how business and society operates. This report focuses on European Union (EU) climate policy – the governance structures, rules and regulations that have been put in place at the EU level to attempt to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Specifically, it focuses on how trade associations representing industrial sectors or broader business interest have lobbied on EU climate policy, and the impact that they have had on the policymaking process. The report then goes on to discuss whether the impacts of this lobbying align with the stated policies of the companies that are members of these trade associations.

Intraday volatility

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Finance from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

On project finance and the first road concession in Portugal

In broad sense, Project Financing1 as a mean of financing large scale infrastructural projects worldwide has had a steady growth in popularity for the last 20 years. This growth has been relatively unscathed from most economic cycles. However in the wake of the 2007 systemic Financial Crisis, Project Financing was also in trouble. The liquidity freeze and credit crunch that ensued affected all parties involved. Traditional Lenders, of this type of financial instrument, locked-in long-term contractual obligations, were severely hit with scarcity of funding compounded by rapidly increasing cost of funding. All the while, Banks were “rescued” by the concerted actions of Central Banks and other Multi-Lateral Agencies around the world but at the same time “stressed” by upcoming regulatory effort (Basel Committee). This impact resulted in specific changes to this type of long-term financing. Changes such as Commercial Banks’ increased risk aversion; pricing increase and maturities decrease of credit facilities; enforcement of Market Disruption Event clauses; partial responsibility for project risk by Multilateral Agencies; and adoption of utility-like availability payments in other industrial sectors such as transportation and even social infrastructure. To the extent possible, this report is then divided in three parts. First, it begins with a more instructional part, touching academic literature (theory) and giving the Banks perspective (practice), but mostly as an overview of Project Finance for awareness’ sake. The renowned Harvard Business School professor – Benjamin Esty, states2 that Project Finance is a “relatively unexplored territory for both empirical and theoretical research” which means that academic research efforts are lagging the practice of Project Finance. Second, the report presents a practical case regarding the first Road Concession in Portugal in 1998 ending with the lessons learned 10 years after Financial Close. Lastly, the report concludes with the analysis of the current trends and changes to the industry post Financial Crisis of the late 2000’s. To achieve this I’ll reference relevant papers, books on the subject, online articles and my own experience in the Project Finance Department at a major Portuguese Investment Bank. Regarding the latter, with the signing of a confidentiality agreement, I’m duly omitting sensitive and proprietary bank information.

Les freins à l'adoption d'une approche d'éco-conception dans le processus de développement de produits: le cas des petites et moyennes entreprises

Scientifiques, gouvernements, entreprises et consommateurs s’entendent aujourd’hui pour dire que le système naturel est déréglé, que l’activité industrielle en est la cause principale. L’éco-conception est une manière de concevoir des biens ou des services en diminuant leurs impacts sur l’environnement et la société. De plus en plus présente dans les grandes entreprises où, associée à une gestion intégrée de l’environnement, elle procure des bénéfices non négligeables et une image de marque, l’éco-conception a beaucoup de difficultés à s’implanter dans les petites et moyennes entreprises. Dans ce travail, nous avons cherché à comprendre les raisons de ces difficultés. Deux approches ont été utilisées, l’une basée sur une analyse documentaire des rapports de RSE de dix entreprises, grandes et petites, de différents secteurs d’activité, qui nous a permis de fixer le cadre et le formalisme de la démarche de recherche, l’autre sur le principe d’entretiens semi-dirigés à partir de questions ciblées. Après une présentation générale de ce qu’est l’éco-conception et quelle en est la problématique appliquée aux PME (chapitre 2), nous précisons le cadre méthodologique de la recherche (chapitre 3) et exposons ses résultats (chapitre 4). Nous montrons que les freins à l’adoption de l’éco-conception dans les PME sont multiples et complexes, tant la diversité de ces entreprises est grande et difficile à synthétiser. En soulignant les freins, les leviers, les risques et les opportunités liés à l’intégration des principes de développement durable dans ces entreprises, nous faisons un portrait global de la situation actuelle et des difficultés rencontrées par ces PME pour adhérer à ces principes.

Protective Liberalization : the state and the Mexican petrochemical industry 1958-2000

This thesis follows and analyses the involvement of both social actors and the state in the industrial transformation of Mexico. While these actors have been key associates in the development of the Mexican economy for decades, with the 1982 debt crisis, and especially after the promotion of a structural reform in 1986, the patterns of their involvement changed. However, this change was more limited than expected, and the state did not abandon its participation in some key industrial sectors. This thesis will demonstrate that the role of the state remained important during the process of change towards an Export-Oriented developmental paradigm, although the state continued to participate in fashioning social relations, it did so in new ways that can be termed “protective liberalization.”

Production of Alkaline Protease by Free and Immobilised Cells of VIBRIO sp. Under Different Fermentation Systems and Its Application on Deproteinisation of Prawn Shell Waste for Chitin Recovery

This thesis presents a detailed account of a cost - effective approach towards enhanced production of alkaline protease at profitable levels using different fermentation designs employing cheap agro-industrial residues. It involves the optimisation of process parameters for the production of a thermostable alkaline protease by Vibrio sp. V26 under solid state, submerged and biphasic fermentations, production of the enzyme using cell immobilisation technology and the application of the crude enzyme on the deproteinisation of crustacean waste.The present investigation suggests an economic move towards Improved production of alkaline protease at gainful altitudes employing different fermentation designs utilising inexpensive agro-industrial residues. Moreover, the use of agro-industrial and other solid waste substrates for fermentation helps to provide a substitute in conserving the already dwindling global energy resources. Another alternative for accomplishing economically feasible production is by the use of immobilisation technique. This method avoids the wasteful expense of continually growing microorganisms. The high protease producing potential of the organism under study ascertains their exploitation in the utilisation and management of wastes. However, strain improvement studies for the production of high yielding variants using mutagens or by gene transfer are required before recommending them to Industries.Industries, all over the world, have made several attempts to exploit the microbial diversity of this planet. For sustainable development, it is essential to discover, develop and defend this natural prosperity. The Industrial development of any country is critically dependent on the intellectual and financial investment in this area. The need of the hour is to harness the beneficial uses of microbes for maximum utilisation of natural resources and technological yields. Owing to the multitude of applications in a variety of industrial sectors, there has always been an increasing demand for novel producers and resources of alkaline proteases as well as for innovative methods of production at a commercial altitude. This investigation forms a humble endeavour towards this perspective and bequeaths hope and inspiration for inventions to follow.

Descripción de los reportes de sostenibilidad de las empresas colombianas en función de los lineamientos del GRI y del Pacto Global

El propósito de este trabajo fue descubrir la situación actual de los reportes de Sostenibilidad de un grupo de 72 empresas, agrupadas en distintos sectores, evaluar qué tipo de información estaban incluyendo en sus reportes y observar la tendencia de los mismos. De acuerdo con el análisis de todas las matrices sectoriales propuestas, el comportamiento de la gran mayoría de las empresas tiende a enfocarse a reportar cifras de porcentajes de ahorros en el consumo de recursos naturales y prácticas laborales y se evidencia la falta de elaboración de un análisis/matriz de Materialidad. Esto deja al descubierto los retrasos en la falta de iniciativas y propuestas concretas sostenibles, a pesar de esto, también se evidencia el hecho de que hasta ahora las empresas nacionales están incursionando en este tipo de reportes utilizando las guías de GRI.

Principales actores en la formación de la política de modernización de transporte urbano de la Alcaldía de Maracaibo

La década de los noventa marcó el inicio de la modernización del transporte urbano en las principales ciudades de Venezuela, entre ellas en la ciudad de Maracaibo, segunda ciudad en importancia en el país, proceso que tuvo lugar formalmente desde la Alcaldía de Maracaibo, pero en el cual participaron numerosos actores nacionales e internacionales que dan cuenta de un proceso que se inserta en un modelo de transporte urbano de origen foráneo, vinculado a la necesidad de poner esta actividad a tono con los requerimientos de una economía de mercado. El propósito de este trabajo es identificar la política que en definitiva se formó, los distintos actores involucrados y el rol de cada uno. Se parte de la hipótesis que es escasa la participación local en este proceso, el cual se origina en los organismos multilaterales. Los resultados revelan: 1) Los principales actores involucrados en la formación de la política fueron: Banco Mundial, Consorcio Systra-Sofrrtu, Instituto Municipal de Transporte Colectivo Urbano de la ciudad de Maracaibo (IMTCUMA), Fondo Nacional de Transporte Urbano (FONTUR), Ministerio de Infraestructura (MINFRA), antiguo Ministerio de Transporte y Comunicaciones (MTC), La Universidad del Zulia, Comisión Presidencial del transporte para la ciudad de Maracaibo, Consejo Venezolano de transporte, Alcaldía de Maracaibo y Metro de Maracaibo; 2) La participación de estos organismos fue muy variada, correspondiéndole el rol de orientador al Banco Mundial y el resto en distintos niveles y en el rol de asesores y ejecutores; 3) La política estuvo dirigida a: reducir los tiempos de viaje de los trabajadores; incorporar empresas privadas en el sector transporte y dar prioridad en la prestación del servicio en los sectores comerciales e industriales. Se concluye que la política de transporte de la ciudad de Maracaibo ha tenido lugar con la participación de los organismos multilaterales y la escasa participación del gobierno local y los usuarios.-----The 1990s marked the start of the urban transport modernization in the main cities of Venezuela, including Maracaibo, the second city. It was formally managed from the Mayor’s Office of Maracaibo, but involved a number of national and international actors in a process that became embedded into an urban transport model of foreign origin, linked to the need of aligning this activity with the market economy requirements. The purpose of this paper is to identify the policy that resulted in the end, the different actors involved, and the role played by each of them. The basis assumption is the scarce local participation in this process, which arose from multilateral organizations. The results reveal that: 1) The main actors involved in the policy structuring were: World Bank, Systra-Sofrrtu Consortium, Maracaibo Urban Mass Transport Institute (Instituto Municipal de Transporte Colectivo Urbano de la ciudad de Maracaibo –IMTCUMA–), National Urban Transport Fund (Fondo Nacional de Transporte Urbano –FONTUR–), Ministry of Infrastructure (MINFRA), former Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC), La Universidad del Zulia, President’s Transport Commission for the city of Maracaibo, Venezuelan Transport Board, Mayor’s Office of Maracaibo, and Metro of Maracaibo; 2) The participation of these organizations was very varying, the World Bank playing the directing role, and the others in different levels as advisors and implementers; 3) The policy was addressed to: reducing workers commuting times; incorporating private companies into the transport sector; and giving priority to the service provision in commercial and industrial sectors. The conclusion is that the transport policy in the city of Maracaibo occurred with the participation of multilateral organizations and very little participation of the local government and users.

Caracterización de la exposición ocupacional a formaldehído en trabajadores del sector salud y educación en Colombia 2004-2013.

El Formaldehído es una sustancia química de amplio uso a nivel mundial con efectos documentados en personas expuestas entre los cuales se destacan irritación de la piel, mucosas, tracto respiratorio y ojos. Según la Agencia Internacional para la Investigación del Cáncer (IARC) el formaldehido se encuentra clasificado en el grupo 1 como agente cancerígeno con suficiente evidencia de producir neoplasias en humanos. Los sectores industriales en Colombia que utilizan de forma frecuente el formaldehído incluyen los fabricantes de maderas, los servicios funerarios, y los sectores de salud y educación. El presente estudio de corte transversal pretende, con base en mediciones históricas (2004-2013) construir un perfil de exposición a formaldehído en trabajadores vinculados al sector de salud y educación en Colombia, divididos y analizados según actividades de trabajo similares (Patólogos, Histotecnólogos, Auxiliares de laboratorio, Docentes y Estudiantes), con el fin de establecer una línea base de diagnóstico para la orientación acciones dirigidas al control del riesgo. Con base en los hallazgos y soportados en estimadores estadísticos aplicables a los grupos de exposición, en general existe un tendencia de no conformidad al comparar los resultados aplicables con valores de referencia de larga duración definidos para el agente por autoridades internacionales. De forma complementaria se encontraron brechas significativas respecto a la implementación de controles administrativos y técnicos que sugieren circunstancias de exposición no controladas en los colectivos de interés.