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Hybrid manufacturers are uncertain as to whether laser‐drilled holes on 96% alumina are suitable for mixed‐bonded thick film conductor metallisation, or whether they require further treatment before metallisation if reliable circuitry is to be produced. Moreover, although the metallisation of holes on ceramic through the use of screen printed thick films is fairly common in the hybrid industry, this paper shows that published information on this topic is scant, at times contradictory, and, because of proprietary constraints, generally of little use. The authors report on an extensive study in which both as‐laser‐drilled holes and thermally‐treated laser‐drilled holes are metallised using a mixed bonded Pd‐Ag conductor paste. Both encapsulated and non‐encapsulated metallised holes are then subjected to various accelerated life tests, followed by ‘power‐up’ tests to the extreme of circuit destruction. An account is also given of a printing set‐up which allows volume production of printed through‐holes without the need for special skill or attention on the part of the printing operator.

Critical processing steps of COB manufacturing, as implemented at Epitek, are reported. They include testing of incoming boards, cleaning, bonding parameters, bonding defects and statistical process control.

A set of rules is presented for printing thick film resistors, whose implementation minimises losses due to resistors firing too high or too low, and also results in the shortest possible set‐up times. To the best of the authors' knowledge, some of the concepts and relations reported here are nowhere to be found spelled out in the published literature, let alone presented in quantitative form. One example is the relationship between sheet resistance vs resistor length curves and the mesh/emulsion of the screen used to obtain such curves. Another example is the relationship between the choice (or lack of it) of resistors used to set up thickness at the beginning of a print, and the spread in resistance values. Then there are better known relationships, like the dependence of thickness on resistor width or print direction—still no quantitative data are available and the potential relevance of these effects is generally not appreciated. Long set‐up times and yield losses need not exist, as they arise from non‐rigorous printing rules which call for a standard dry thickness (usually 25±3 µm) regardless of resistor dimensions, print direction and ink jar value, and which only call for a range of screen mesh/emulsion values, rather than for specific ones. In fact, for any given sheet resistance vs resistor length curve, only one choice of screen mesh/emulsion and resistor thickness is logically possible. Also reported are experimental data relating resistor thickness to resistor length as a function of screen mesh/emulsion, resistor width and print direction as well as data on sheet resistance as a function of resistor dry thickness. Finally, results from thirty‐eight production runs are reported and discussed.

The aim of this paper is to examine the early history of restaurants, as invented in Paris around 1766, deciding whether a market orientation ruled out genuine hospitality.

Contemporary accounts, such as Brillat‐Savarin's section “On Restaurateurs” in The Physiology of Taste in 1825, are considered against a definition of hospitality as a household's provision of care for non‐members.

The restaurateurs' innovation was selling individualized meals within the emerging consumer market. While Brillat‐Savarin recognized the commercial cynicism of even such brilliant exponents as Antoine Beauvilliers, their enterprises were hospitable to the extent that, emerging from domestic households, they were directed principally at meal‐making rather than money‐making. Highly “McDonaldized” corporations, whose primary purpose is profit, are a largely twentieth‐century development.

Defining hospitality as the provision of care by households to outsiders is a common sense approach that, nonetheless, provides an alternative to the usual characterizations of hospitality, based on ethics, personality, performance or industry.

Owner‐operated businesses are more likely to provide hospitality, certainly as traditionally understood, than corporations.

Since eighteenth‐century France, restaurants have only become more important, and the use of the household definition contributes to their better understanding, both historically and conceptually. The definition should have wide applicability.

This study examines the problem of unequal access to the Caribbean ICT industry on the part of women, and considers causes, consequences and possible solutions. The latter includes integrating gender perspectives in ICT policies and programmes to increase access for all to education and employment opportunities for national development.

Mixed Methods research techniques (questionnaire surveys, elite interviews and focus group discussions) were used to collect data from national stakeholders in Jamaica and St Lucia.

Despite policy commitments to gender equality and the deployment of ICTs to promote development, significant gaps persist between policy and practice. Results show that disadvantages in ICT access for women result in gender differences in sector involvement. Gender socialisation and the resulting discrimination in education and employment undermine commitments to inclusive development. Consequences include untapped opportunities for innovation, efficiency and business along the ICT value chain relating to development.

Case studies only represent Anglophone Caribbean and may not reflect all subregional contexts.

The paper demonstrates the value of collecting, analysing and using data disaggregated by sex to identify needs of vulnerable groups relating to inclusive development.

Equitable access to ICTs for women through training, community Internet-access-points, and support to establish/expand Micro Small and Medium-sized Enterprises will enable women to combine paid and unpaid family caregiving work and to participate in the ICT value chain.

There is a dearth of gender-based analysis of ICT policymaking in the Caribbean. The paper contributes theoretical, methodological and policy analysis geared towards understanding and promoting inclusive access and gender equality in ICTs for sustainable development in the Caribbean.

Given the now well‐recognised risk of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) for adults with Down's Syndrome (DS) as they reach middle age, services for people with learning disability (LD) need to meet this new challenge. Good practice guidance from the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities (Turk et al, 2001) recommended that every service for people with learning disability should set up a register of adults with DS, conduct a baseline assessment of cognitive and adaptive functioning before the age of 30 years, develop specialist skills in this area, offer training to other professionals, front‐line staff and carers, and seek high‐quality co‐ordination between agencies. This article reports the progress of one LD service in meeting these challenges, highlighting the successes and difficulties that may guide other teams considering such a development.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a computational approach to establish the effect of various flow drilling screw (FS) process and material parameters on the quality and the mechanical performance of the resulting FS joints.

Toward that end, a sequence of three distinct computational analyses is developed. These analyses include: (a) finite-element modeling and simulations of the FS process; (b) determination of the mechanical properties of the resulting FS joints through the use of three-dimensional, continuum finite-element-based numerical simulations of various mechanical tests performed on the FS joints; and (c) determination, parameterization and validation of the constitutive relations for the simplified FS connectors, using the results obtained in (b) and the available experimental results. The availability of such connectors is mandatory in large-scale computational analyses of whole-vehicle crash or even in simulations of vehicle component manufacturing, e.g. car-body electro-coat paint-baking process. In such simulations, explicit three-dimensional representation of all FS joints is associated with a prohibitive computational cost.

Virtual testing of the shell components fastened using the joint connectors validated the ability of these line elements to realistically account for the strength, ductility and toughness of the three-dimensional FS joints.

The approach developed in the present work can be used, within an engineering-optimization procedure, to adjust the FS process and material parameters (design variables) in order to obtain a desired combination of the FS-joint mechanical properties (objective function).

This article outlines the case for learning disability teams to provide routine screening of adults with Down's syndrome for early signs of dementia. It is illustrated by reference to practice in one such service where clinical and research developments have gone hand in hand, with tangible benefits to clients, carers and the multi‐disciplinary team. Although specifically designed to meet the challenge of the increasing number of people with Down's syndrome who develop dementia, it is applicable to the care of all people with learning disabilities.

The quality of haemodialysis process is a prime concern in renal care. This study, carried out at one of the leading Hospitals in Central India, providing kidney care and dialysis, aims to identify areas in the haemodialysis unit needing special attention, to improve process quality and ensure better patient welfare.

The failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) approach included: deciding haemodialysis process requirements, identifying potential causes of process failure and quantifying associated risk with every cause. Suitable actions were then implemented to reduce the occurrence and improving the controls, thereby reducing risk. The study used primary data generated and monitored over the period: July‐December 2008.

Adopting proper checklists for work monitoring, providing training to enhance patient and staff awareness; led to reduced process errors, mitigating overall risks, eventually resulting in effective patient care.

The quantification of risk associated with every likely failure is subjective.

The findings have a great significance in relation to kidney patients' welfare. The process areas which may get compromised are highlighted so that they get due attention. Error proofing makes the process “robust”, reducing its vulnerability.

This study provides a microscopic error proofing approach to haemodialysis process using a proven engineering tool, FMEA, ensuring quality improvement. This approach can also be extended to cover other hospital activities.

The housing construction industry is one of the most lucrative sectors for developed countries. However, homebuyers are often vulnerable when left with latent building defects in their new-build house. Many nations have thus implemented new home warranty schemes to protect consumers and stimulate residential production. These warranty programs vary excessively from state to state given the distinct nature of environments. Previous studies have attempted to compare one with another but did not apply a consistent comparative method when doing so. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics defining a new home warranty and to develop a standardised comparative framework.

After evaluating the characteristics outlined in multiple home warranty programs, a qualitative content analysis method was used to establish coding, categories and themes in order to create the framework. The methodology relied mostly on cross-referencing from academic papers, methodical reviews, government documents and professional consultant reports.

This paper reviewed warranty schemes from six countries: Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, France and Malaysia. The findings suggest that home warranty programs are defined by five main themes: political involvement; homeowner protection; financial sustainability; quality management; and dispute resolution. At the end, the research created a comparative framework of 101 codes that could be used to accurately measure the efficiency of a home warranty scheme.

Gathering all defining characteristics of new housing warranties into a unique comparative framework rectifies a gap in the literature. Such a flexible tool will aid future practitioners in the field to undertake comparative case study analysis through qualitative research methods.