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The purpose of this paper is to present a summary of development work made in technical centres and on the subsequent customer qualification of copper filled through holes and blind microvias.

Various copper deposition parameters were investigated in a small‐scale production line which was then extended to full‐scale production qualification in a horizontal conveyorised system. Samples of substrates with copper filled through holes were qualified at end‐user facilities.

The copper plating process may be used to replace an existing production process for printed circuit boards. The proposed system can give a more reliable result in terms of filling and technical capability for the produced substrate. Overall production cost savings are possible.

The technology is based on a copper plating electrolyte using a redox pair for copper replenishment. The results achieved depend on use of this system and on production equipment which can control the redox system and copper concentration within a tight range.

The paper shows how the use of a horizontal production system with redox copper replenishment can achieve filling of though holes and blind microvias with reduced surface plated copper thickness. Reduction in the use of copper saves both resources and also reduces production costs. The process is proposed as an alternative to existing paste plugging processes, which are both cost and labour intensive.

The purpose of this paper is to show production process developments and innovations that resolve many of the issues faced with certain process steps for printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing following “green” practices.

Several key PCB manufacturing processes have been developed or studied with respect to new environmental legislations and practises.

The introduction of new legislations designed to protect the environment require changes to laminate materials, solders, and PCB manufacturing techniques. The effect of new laminate materials on the desmearing and metallising processes have been assessed and recommendations given. The effect of increased thermal stress on plated copper has been assessed. Developments in adhesion enhancement for black oxide alternatives have been made and are presented with their suitability for the newer green laminate materials. The development of a new laminate manufacturing technique to reduce environmental impact is introduced. The capabilities of different surface finishes in relation to new lead‐free soldering techniques is investigated and presented.

This is a short paper covering several major PCB processing steps and covers experiences and development results.

The paper details how “green” PCB manufacturing affects some key processes, developments to improve results and environmentally friendlier innovations in laminate manufacturing techniques.

Purpose – To describe an LSTA‐funded project that digitized 88,000 black and white aerial photographs and 2,500 photomosaic indexes created for Florida by the US Department of Agriculture between 1938 and 1971. Technical specifications of digital capture, specialized programming, and project value are reviewed. Design/methodology/approach – The 9 × 9 inch aerial tiles were captured on flatbed scanners; the larger photomosaic indexes were captured using a large format camera. Three software tools were designed for the project: the first tracked each tile through the entire in‐house processing including receipt, assignment, scan completion, QC processing, FTPing to server, and archiving of images. The second automated image collection, from disparate scanning stations, performed basic image manipulation for quality control, and stored collected data in a database. The third tool performed routine image corrections, prepared and deployed web format images, and packed archival image formats preparatory to burning CDs. The tile layer of the GIS interface was created by georectifying the composite photomosaic indexes for each Florida county and linking tiles to appropriate points. Findings – Because aerial photographs are inherently spatial, the development team agreed that a GIS interface was the appropriate vehicle for web presentation. While this environment presents no difficulties for more sophisticated users, GIS functionality is not intuitive. A less complex interface is a top priority for future project refinements. Originality/value – The value of this project is documented in terms of site use and solicited user responses.

The purpose of this research is to determine what tests can be most useful in quality assurance and control when using fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing machines. The quality of the bond between layers is critical for the structural integrity of the fused filament fabricated parts.

Therefore, to determine the influence of process parameters on the quality of parts’ tensile, flexural, notched and un-notched impact, test specimens were fabricated in polylactic acid (PLA) using FFF with different layer thicknesses, fill densities, orientation and print speeds. The mechanical properties were then assessed along with the accuracy and mass of the samples.

It is concluded that a notched impact test gives a measure of interlayer bond strength which can be used across build styles to track machine performance, and that this, together with the mass and dimensions of the impact-test specimens, offers an appropriate set of tests capable of tracking the mechanical properties of parts produced using the FFF technique.

Therefore, this research finding will be of value in benchmarking FFF machines for quality parts fabrications.

Hoisting is an essential construction work package, but there is still a high incidence of accidents due to insufficient attention to coping strategies. This study aims to provide decision support to practitioners on safety protocols by developing a multi-stakeholder risk response model and a novel evaluation method.

Firstly, the study summarizes the hoisting risk response strategies system through a literature review and stakeholder theory. Secondly, the study constructed a quantitative theoretical model based on GLS-SEM and questionnaires. Third, the EWM-VA evaluation method was developed to determine the value coefficients of strategies.

The strategic interaction between government and consultants, consultants and builders, and government and builders are in the top three pronounced. Three coping strategies, “Increase funding for lifting equipment and safety devices,” “Improve the quality of safety education and training on lifting construction,” and “Conduct regular emergency rescue drills for lifting accidents,” have the optimal ratio of benefits to costs.

The hoisting risk strategy model from the perspective of multi-interested subjects proposed by the study is based on the global thinking of the project, which reduces the troubles such as the difficulty of pursuing responsibility and the irrational allocation of strategies that were brought by the previously related studies that only considered a single interested subject. In addition, the EWM-VA evaluation method developed in the study also provides new options for evaluating risk strategies and has the potential to be extended to other fields.

The aim of this paper is to discuss a unique and significant article about advertising that was published in Dublin in 1910.

The article, entitled “The advertising problem” (reproduced in its entirety in the Appendix) is analysed and contextualised.

It is demonstrated that at least some early Irish advertising practitioners had a reflexive understanding of the tools of marketing and advertising as used then in Ireland and abroad, and that their own use of such tools served not only manufacturers and other clients, but also the ideological project of an Irish-Ireland.

This analysis has a particular value in rebutting clearly any possible assumption that advertising and marketing practices in Ireland in the early twentieth century were simply “quaint”.

Using an international field study of 196 US executive expatriates from multiple industries on assignment in South Korea, Japan and the Netherlands, this study aimed to explore the relationship between three facets of cross‐cultural adjustment (work, interaction, and general) and expatriate attitudes (job satisfaction and non‐work satisfaction), and to examine the role of cross‐cultural adjustment in mediating the relationship between family adjustment and expatriate attitudes. The results demonstrate the influence of each facet of adjustment on expatriate attitudes, and provide evidence that the relationship between family adjustment and non‐work satisfaction is mediated by general adjustment. Future research directions and implications for practice are offered.