P. Ohlckers, B. Sundby Avset, A. Bjorneklett, L. Evensen, J. Gakkestad, A. Hanneborg, T. Hansen, A. Kjensmo, E. Kristiansen, H. Kristiansen, H. von der Lippe, M. Nese, E. Nygård, F. Serck‐Hanssen and O. Søråsen
The Center for Industrial Research (SI), the University of Oslo (UiO) and a group of Norwegian companies have collaborated between 1990 and 1992 in the research programme…
Abstract
The Center for Industrial Research (SI), the University of Oslo (UiO) and a group of Norwegian companies have collaborated between 1990 and 1992 in the research programme ‘Industrial Microelectronics’ with a total cost of 30 MNOK. The programme was sponsored by the Norwegian Scientific and Industrial Research Council (NTNF) as one of the twin programmes constituting a national research initiative in microelectronics. The motivation for the programme is the recognition of microelectronics as a key technology commanding the performance and market success of many of the electronics systems from the Norwegian electronics industry towards the year 2000. The main objective is to stimulate industrial innovation by developing, transferring and exploiting knowledge and methods based upon advanced microelectronics. Focused activities are silicon sensor technology, combined analogue/digital design of application‐specific integrated circuits, large scale instrumentation, sensor packaging and thermal management of electronic systems. SI is focusing on applied research, UiO on education, and collaborating Norwegian companies are using the results in their own R&D projects. It is anticipated that the research results will be fully industrialised within 3–5 years. The programme is co‐ordinated with other Norwegian government‐sponsored research activities as well as European research programmes based on microelectronics. The programme is organised in projects and monitored with a set of milestones strongly indicating the achievement of successful industrial innovation, research results of international standing and high‐quality education of key personnel for the industry. Several successful examples of the research results are highlighted: Design and process methodology for double‐sided microstrip silicon radiation sensors for detection of high energy elementary particles, silicon‐to‐silicon and silicon‐to‐thin film anodic bonding processes for sensor fabrication, combined analogue/digital application‐specific integrated circuits for front‐end instrumentation applications, packaging of radiation sensors and thermal management of electronic systems by evaporation cooling. It is concluded that the programme has successfully achieved results in harmony with the objective.
A. Bjorneklett, L. Halbo, H. Kristiansen, L.M. Nilsen, T. Storfossene and T. Tuhus
A new hybrid substrate technology for power electronic applications has been characterised by thermal resistance and mechanical stress measurements. The new substrate utilises…
Abstract
A new hybrid substrate technology for power electronic applications has been characterised by thermal resistance and mechanical stress measurements. The new substrate utilises thermal spray technology for deposition of dielectric layer and electrical conductors. The results are compared with the more established technology of alumina substrates with direct copper bonding (DCB) metallisation. Silicon test chips for thermal resistance and mechanical stress measurement were used for the characterisation. The experimental results were compared with finite element analysis and a reasonable agreement was found.
A. Bjomeklett and H. Kristiansen
A theory for the thermal resistance in adhesive joints between semiconductor dice and substrates has been developed. The theory takes into account the thermomechanical shear…
Abstract
A theory for the thermal resistance in adhesive joints between semiconductor dice and substrates has been developed. The theory takes into account the thermomechanical shear stress in the bond layer caused by differences in thermal expansion. The theoretical result indicates that only small reductions in thermal resistance can be obtained by increasing the bulk thermal conductivity of the adhesive by filling it with silver particles. Experiments were carried out in order to verify this effect. An epoxy resin was loaded with various amounts of silver particles and used to bond thermal test chips to copper substrates. There was a surprisingly small difference in thermal resistance between the various adhesives. The difference was considerably less than the difference in bulk thermal conductivity indicated, thus confirming the basic result of the theory.
Sergej Vasic and Jean Vasile Andrei
This research aims to examine how decision-makers’ demographic traits affect the integration of foreign workforce into Tirolean (Austria) companies. With continuous world…
Abstract
This research aims to examine how decision-makers’ demographic traits affect the integration of foreign workforce into Tirolean (Austria) companies. With continuous world migrations, Tirol experiences a great inflow of foreign workforce. While integrating into the workforce, the foreign workers interact with various decision-makers whose demographic traits (e.g., age, gender, nationality) potentially influence the success of the integration process. To gather data on the integration levels of a foreign workforce, the author conducted a questionnaire. Furthermore, several statistical analyses were run to determine if the relationship between demographic characteristics and integration success exists. The study reveals that demographic characteristics influence decision-makers’ acceptance of expatriates, as well as their recruitment, integration, and training and development outcomes. The empirical results indicate the strength of relationships identified through analyses. The study is limited to geographical, as well as the scope of the sample size, as the data are obtained from Tirol only. In addition, the results from the study serve as a basis for future discussions and research.
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Eline Aas, Tor Iversen and Oddvar Kaarboe
The Norwegian health care system is semi-decentralized. Primary care and long-term care (LTC) are the responsibilities of the municipalities. Specialist care is the responsibility…
Abstract
The Norwegian health care system is semi-decentralized. Primary care and long-term care (LTC) are the responsibilities of the municipalities. Specialist care is the responsibility of the central government and is organised through four Regional Health Authorities (RHA). Resource use, health outcomes and severity are the three main pillars for priority setting, regularly applied in reimbursement decisions for pharmaceuticals.
The sustainability of health care is challenged in Norway. The main factors are a growing elderly population with high need of complex, coordinated services, an increasing demand for newly approved drugs and advanced technology and a potential shortage of health care personnel.
We present recent trials and policy reforms in Norway aimed at improving care pathways combined with cost containment. Reforms in the pharmaceutical market, both with regard to market access and reimbursement (cost-effectiveness), and regulation of prices, have resulted in cost containment. The primary care sector awaits reform initiatives to recruit and retain physicians as general practitioners. No reform in the hospital sector has had cost containment as a main focus. The sector is characterized with low productivity growth, and expenditures that have increased more than the GDP growth. Waiting times are long, and coordination between sub-sectors of health care has been poor, although the Coordination reform of 2012 has alleviated some of the challenges related to intersectoral coordination. Still, the divided responsibility for health care between the central government and the municipalities creates tensions between national ambitions and local decisions in the financing and provision of health services.
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Kirsi Saarinen and Pekka Heino
Personal and portable electronic devices are becoming an important part of the everyday lives. Electronics miniaturization has been and continues to be the most important driver…
Abstract
Purpose
Personal and portable electronic devices are becoming an important part of the everyday lives. Electronics miniaturization has been and continues to be the most important driver in this development. The current level of miniaturization has made the use of solder joints challenging and new methods, such as adhesive attachments, have been developed. The applicability of these methods depends crucially on their long‐term reliability. Typical failures mechanisms in adhesive connection include cracking, open joints and delamination. Moisture is the principal cause of failures in adhesive attachments. The purpose of this paper is to examine the long‐term effects of moisture and extended temperature on non‐conductive adhesive (NCA) attachments.
Design/methodology/approach
Moisture and extended temperature on NCA attachments are examined by strength tests and by finite element models.
Findings
The increase in temperature and moisture induces stresses on the interface of the adhesive and the chip. In the experiments, it is found that the adhesion strength of the adhesive decreased as a function of the time for which the samples are in a humid environment. Failures due to delamination are seen to be the result of these two mechanisms.
Originality/value
Reduction of pitch causes manufacturing problems in direct solder attachments. This paper examines a promising technique to overcome this problem by using adhesive attachment. Instead of solder joints in flip chip attachment, the chips can be attached to the substrate, or components can be attached to a printed wiring board, with adhesives.
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Egil C. Østhus, Per‐Oddvar Osland and Lill Kristiansen
In many settings, the users are mobile (e.g. away from their desks) while high quality multimedia telephony equipment has fixed locations. This may result in unsuccessful…
Abstract
Purpose
In many settings, the users are mobile (e.g. away from their desks) while high quality multimedia telephony equipment has fixed locations. This may result in unsuccessful multimedia calls and motivates a context aware system which supports session mobility. This paper aims to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach is to utilize state‐of‐the‐art in‐context awareness and integrate this into a real time telecom system based on SIP. System requirements are formulated and the system is designed, implemented and (technically) tested.
Findings
The paper contains a thorough analysis of why baseline SIP and SIP REFER alone cannot solve our case and why a new SIP extension is introduced. The solution is evaluated and compared to solutions such as “virtual terminals”.
Research limitations/implications
It is pointed out that the context model does not directly support roaming between two different business domains. This issue is however of limited impact in an enterprise setting. The current prototype is thoroughly tested from a technical viewpoint, but user studies in real organizations are recommended as further work.
Practical implications
The paper shows that human issues and issues relating to computer mediated communication (CMC) are strongly linked to technical details in SIP. In practice this means that researchers in CMC and CSCW should look more into building prototypes where real time conversational features are supported together with dynamic change of media types.
Originality/value
The main value of the paper is a thorough described technical realization of the context aware multimedia application ENriched MEdia (ENME). The background material and the appendix should be of value to anyone interested in convergence between computing and communication.
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Helle Alrø and Poul Nørgård Dahl
The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to group coaching in the workplace that can enhance shared learning in groups and teams through dialogue as opposed to group…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to group coaching in the workplace that can enhance shared learning in groups and teams through dialogue as opposed to group members’ individual positioning through discussion and debate.
Design/methodology/approach
An action research project conducted throughout one year in collaboration between the management groups of the Elderly Care in a Danish municipality, two organizational consultants and two researchers from the Department of Communication and Psychology at Aalborg University. The dialogical approach to group coaching is developed in the interaction between dialogue theory and the performance and close analysis of 12 video-taped coaching sessions with four management groups. The development of the dialogic group coaching concept is further supported through common reflections between researchers and groups in initial meetings as well as during the coaching sessions and final interviews, reflections between researchers and groups in initial meetings as well as during the coaching sessions and final interviews.
Findings
The non-directive approach of dialogic group coaching is inspired by Transformative Mediation. This approach includes a focus on empowerment and recognition within the group in terms of promoting common reflection and learning. This also appears to diminish conflict talk and conflict-based relationships. Further, the dialogic approach emphasizes the importance of a coaching contract to create a common basis for reflection and action, which is found to reduce individual positioning.
Originality/value
The paper develops a dialogic concept of group coaching in theory and practice, while focusing on the learning processes and development of the participating management groups.
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Stephan Leixnering, Andrea Schikowitz, Gerhard Hammerschmid and Renate E. Meyer
Public sector reforms of recent decades in Europe have promoted managerialism and aimed at introducing private sector thinking and practices. However, with regard to public sector…
Abstract
Public sector reforms of recent decades in Europe have promoted managerialism and aimed at introducing private sector thinking and practices. However, with regard to public sector executives’ self-understanding, managerial role identities have not replaced bureaucratic ones; rather, components from both paradigms were combined. In this chapter, we introduce a bi-dimensional identity approach (attitudes and practices) that allows for different combinations and forms of hybridity. Empirically, we explore the role identities of public sector executives across Europe, building on survey data from over 7,000 top public officials in 19 countries (COCOPS survey). We identify country-level profiles, as well as patterns across countries, and find that administrative traditions can account for these profiles and patterns only to a limited extent. Rather, they have to be complemented by factors such as stability of the institutional environment (indicating lower shares of hybrid combinations) or extent of reform pressures (indicating higher shares of hybrid combinations).