H.K. Straschil, I. Kadija, J. Maisano and J.A. Abys
Electroplating of palladium‐nickel alloy is becoming widely used, mainly for interconnection applications in the electronics industry and for decorative purposes. Enhanced…
Abstract
Electroplating of palladium‐nickel alloy is becoming widely used, mainly for interconnection applications in the electronics industry and for decorative purposes. Enhanced hardness and brightness combined with superior wear properties compared with hard gold deposits make this alloy desirable in many applications. Like pure palladium, palladium‐nickel is frequently covered with a thin layer of hard gold to improve contact reliability; this results in a much less expensive and longer‐lasting contact material than hard gold on its own. In response to the growing demand, the authors have developed a palladium‐nickel alloy electroplating process that can plate alloys of varying composition (10–50 w % Ni) at current densities ranging from <5 mA/cm to >500 mA/cm. This process produces specular, hard and ductile deposits up to a thickness of ‐25 ?m. The new palladium‐nickel alloy electroplating process is described with regard to its chemistry, operating conditions, bath maintenance and regeneration, diagnostic measures, and properties of the electrodeposits.
Chonglun Fan, Joseph A. Abys and Alan Blair
Palladium surface finishes are utilized on leadframes, printed wiring boards and automobile sensors. Their superior functional performance and the considerable environmental…
Abstract
Palladium surface finishes are utilized on leadframes, printed wiring boards and automobile sensors. Their superior functional performance and the considerable environmental impact of plating lead‐free finishes for packaging processes have been increasingly recognized by the electronic industry. Wire bondable and solderable palladium finishes meet military and industrial standards at no extra cost in the overall assembly processes when compared to traditional packaging techniques. In addition to the development of palladium plating chemistries and technologies, the functional properties of the surface finishes including their wire bonding performance have also been investigated at Bell Laboratories. In this study, gold and aluminum wire bonding to palladium finishes was tested and the wire bond pull force and break position were examined in order to optimize the bonding processes. The results of the study are reported in this paper.
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Vitor da Mata Quintella, Antônio Francisco de Almeida da Silva Jr, Jose Ricardo Uchoa Cavalcanti Almeida and Marcelo Embiruçu
The purpose of this paper is to identify, measure and optimise financial risk and its effect on returns from innovation projects on an accrual basis and on a cash basis in a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify, measure and optimise financial risk and its effect on returns from innovation projects on an accrual basis and on a cash basis in a commodity industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A hypothetical case study, based on a real case, of a petrochemical commodity industry in Brazil was analysed with commodities pricing rules based on actual contracts. Earnings at risk (EaR) and cash flow at risk (CFaR) measures were applied, as well as a metric proposed in this paper called cash balance at risk (CBaR).
Findings
The paper demonstrates that financial risk measurement and optimisation are important issues in the decision-making process in the petrochemical industry. EaR, CFaR and CBaR measures are helpful when used alongside standard procedures of project evaluation. The findings also show that innovative technologies, in certain conditions, may act as “natural hedging”. It was found that the time delay between revenues and expenses leads to financial risk exposure to changes in prices and foreign exchange rates. Projects can use financing and hedging to boost their results.
Originality/value
An innovative project was compared with an expansion project in a petrochemical industry. A model for petrochemical commodities contract pricing was added in an analysis that included financing and hedging. The findings in this paper suggest that it is important to consider financial risk measures in project evaluation.
Objetivo
O objetivo deste trabalho é identificar, medir e otimizar o risco financeiro e seus efeitos sobre os resultados de projetos com inovação, tanto na perspectiva do regime contábil quanto do regime de caixa, em uma indústria de commodities.
Abordagem
Um estudo de caso hipotético, baseado em um caso real de uma indústria petroquímica brasileira, foi analisado com regras de precificação de commodities baseados em contratos reais. As métricas Earnings at Risk (EaR) e Cash Flow at Risk (CFaR) foram utilizadas, assim como uma métrica proposta neste trabalho, denominada Cash Balance at Risk (CBaR).
Resultados
Este artigo demonstrou que a mensuração e otimização do risco financeiro são questões importantes no processo de tomada de decisão em uma indústria petroquímica. As medidas EaR, CFaR e CBaR se apresentaram como contribuições ao processo padrão de avaliação de projetos. Os resultados também demonstraram que inovações tecnológicas, em certas condições, podem funcionar como um “hedge natural”. Foi verificado que descasamentos temporais entre recebimentos e despesas geram uma exposição financeira a oscilações em preços e em valores de moedas estrangeiras. Financiamento e hedge podem ser utilizados em conjunto para aprimorar resultados de projetos.
Originalidade/valor
Um projeto com inovação foi comparado com um projeto de expansão em uma indústria petroquímica. Foi realizada uma analise de risco que agrega ao financiamento e ao hedge o uso de contratos de precificação de commodities. Os resultados desse projeto demonstram que é importante considerar medidas de risco financeiro nas avaliações de projetos.
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Çağatay Özada, Merve Ünal, Eslem Kuzu Şahin, Hakkı Özer, Ali Riza Motorcu and Murat Yazıcı
This study produced epoxy-filled urea-formaldehyde (UF) microcapsules (MCs) and T-403 amine MCs using the in situ technique. The Taguchi method was used to determine the effects…
Abstract
Purpose
This study produced epoxy-filled urea-formaldehyde (UF) microcapsules (MCs) and T-403 amine MCs using the in situ technique. The Taguchi method was used to determine the effects of the control factors (temperature, stirring speed, core-shell ratio and surfactant concentration) affecting MCs’ core diameter and core content and optimizing their optimum levels with a single criterion. Optimum control factor levels, which simultaneously provide maximum core diameter and core content of MCs, were determined by the PROMETHEE-GAIA multi-criteria optimization method. In addition, the optimized MC yield was analyzed by thermal camera images and compression test.
Design/methodology/approach
Microcracks in materials used for aerospace vehicles and automotive parts cause serious problems, so research on self-healing in materials science becomes critical. The damages caused by micro-cracks need to heal themselves quickly. The study has three aims: (1) production of self-healing MCs, mechanical and chemical characterization of produced MCs, (2) single-criteria and multi-criteria optimization of parameters providing maximum MC core diameter and core content, (3) investigation of self-healing property of produced MCs and evaluation. Firstly, MCs were produced to achieve these goals.
Findings
The optimized micro cures are buried in the epoxy matrix at different concentrations. Thermal camera images after damage indicate the presence of healing. An epoxy-amine MC consisting of a 10% by weight filled aluminum sandwich panel was prepared and subjected to a quasi-static compression test. It was determined that there is a strong bond between the UF shell and the epoxy resin.
Originality/value
The optimization of production factors has been realized to produce the most efficient MCs that heal using less expensive and more accessible methods.
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This paper aims to explore the opportunities and challenges that immersive virtual reality (VR) technologies pose for archival theory and practice.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the opportunities and challenges that immersive virtual reality (VR) technologies pose for archival theory and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper reviews research on VR adoption in information institutions and the preservation challenges of VR to identify ways in which VR has the potential to disrupt existing archival theory and practice.
Findings
Existing archival approaches are found to be disrupted by the multi-layered structural characteristics of VR, the part–whole relationships between the technological elements of VR environments and the three-dimensional content they contain and the immersive, experiential nature of VR experiences. This paper argues that drawing on perspectives from phenomenology and digital materiality is helpful for addressing the preservation challenges of VR.
Research limitations/implications
The findings extend conceptualizations of preservation by identifying gaps in existing preservation approaches to VR and stressing the importance of “experience” as a central element of archival practice and by emphasizing the embodied dimensions of interpreting archival records and the multiple scales of materiality that archival researchers and practitioners should consider to preserve VR.
Practical implications
These findings provide guidance for digital curators and preservationists by outlining the current thinking on VR preservation and the impact of VR on digital preservation strategies.
Originality/value
This paper gives new insight into VR as an emerging area of concern to digital curation and preservation and expands archival thinking with new conceptualizations that disrupt existing paradigms.
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Nicolas Haber and Mario Fargnoli
Product-service systems (PSSs)’s popularity has expanded significantly throughout recent years. The purpose of this paper is to integrate products and services to achieve…
Abstract
Purpose
Product-service systems (PSSs)’s popularity has expanded significantly throughout recent years. The purpose of this paper is to integrate products and services to achieve functional results that augment the offering’s value. Nevertheless, the intangibility of services hinders the diffusion of PSSs: services are characterized by imprecisions and ambiguities that render the assessment and prioritization of customer requirements problematic. An inadequate evaluation of the latter leads to an inconsistent PSS design that results in the customer dissatisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
To address these concerns, the paper proposes an approach integrating the quality function deployment for product-service systems (QFDforPSS) method with Thurstone’s Law of Comparative Judgments. This approach was tested at a manufacturer in the medical sector seeking to improve his market stance through a PSS model.
Findings
Although the case study is based on a limited sample, the results achieved highlight the importance of the flow of information between the PSS provider and the customers (i.e. the PSS receivers) in the healthcare sector. The proposed approach can facilitate the company in collecting information even in the case of incomplete answers to surveys and questionnaires providing a practical method to handle the uncertainty due to incomplete data.
Originality/value
The study represents one of the first applications of the PSS approach in the healthcare sector, introducing a novel integration of easy-to-use management tools to augment the understanding of customer needs and expectations.
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Esther Adot, Anna Akhmedova, Helena Alvelos, Sofia Barbosa-Pereira, Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent, Sónia Cardoso, Pedro Domingues, Fiorenzo Franceschini, Dolors Gil-Doménech, Ricardo Machado, Domenico Augusto Maisano, Frederic Marimon, Marta Mas-Machuca, Luca Mastrogiacomo, Ana I. Melo, Vera Miguéis, Maria J. Rosa, Paulo Sampaio, Dani Torrents and Ana Raquel Xambre
The paper aims to define a dashboard of indicators to assess the quality performance of higher education institutions (HEI). The instrument is termed SMART-QUAL.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to define a dashboard of indicators to assess the quality performance of higher education institutions (HEI). The instrument is termed SMART-QUAL.
Design/methodology/approach
Two sources were used in order to explore potential indicators. In the first step, information disclosed in official websites or institutional documentation of 36 selected HEIs was analyzed. This first step also included in depth structured high managers’ interviews. A total of 223 indicators emerged. In a second step, recent specialized literature was revised searching for indicators, capturing additional 302 indicators.
Findings
Each one of the 525 total indicators was classified according to some attributes and distributed into 94 intermediate groups. These groups feed a debugging, prioritization and selection process, which ended up in the SMART-QUAL instrument: a set of 56 key performance indicators, which are grouped in 15 standards, and, in turn, classified into the 3 HEI missions. A basic model and an extended model are also proposed.
Originality/value
The paper provides a useful measure of quality performance of HEIs, showing a holistic view to monitor HEI quality from three fundamental missions. This instrument might assist HEI managers for both assessing and benchmarking purposes. The paper ends with recommendations for university managers and public administration authorities.
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Jan Svanberg, Tohid Ardeshiri, Isak Samsten, Peter Öhman, Presha E. Neidermeyer, Tarek Rana, Frank Maisano and Mats Danielson
The purpose of this study is to develop a method to assess social performance. Traditionally, environment, social and governance (ESG) rating providers use subjectively weighted…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop a method to assess social performance. Traditionally, environment, social and governance (ESG) rating providers use subjectively weighted arithmetic averages to combine a set of social performance (SP) indicators into one single rating. To overcome this problem, this study investigates the preconditions for a new methodology for rating the SP component of the ESG by applying machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) anchored to social controversies.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes the use of a data-driven rating methodology that derives the relative importance of SP features from their contribution to the prediction of social controversies. The authors use the proposed methodology to solve the weighting problem with overall ESG ratings and further investigate whether prediction is possible.
Findings
The authors find that ML models are able to predict controversies with high predictive performance and validity. The findings indicate that the weighting problem with the ESG ratings can be addressed with a data-driven approach. The decisive prerequisite, however, for the proposed rating methodology is that social controversies are predicted by a broad set of SP indicators. The results also suggest that predictively valid ratings can be developed with this ML-based AI method.
Practical implications
This study offers practical solutions to ESG rating problems that have implications for investors, ESG raters and socially responsible investments.
Social implications
The proposed ML-based AI method can help to achieve better ESG ratings, which will in turn help to improve SP, which has implications for organizations and societies through sustainable development.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is one of the first studies that offers a unique method to address the ESG rating problem and improve sustainability by focusing on SP indicators.
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G. Bombara, M. Cavallini and S. Maisano
Resistance to hydrogen embrittlement. Since cathodic protection is quite necessary and actually extensively applied for the electrochemical control of corrosion of immersed steel…
Abstract
Resistance to hydrogen embrittlement. Since cathodic protection is quite necessary and actually extensively applied for the electrochemical control of corrosion of immersed steel structures, adequate consideration must be given to the several deleterious effects of hydrogen (commonly included in the term ‘hydrogen embrittlement’) from overprotection.