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The IBM ceramic quad flat pack (CQFP) is a high performance, low‐cost chip carrier for surface mount assembly. It is an extension of metallised ceramic (MC) and metallised ceramic with polyimide (MCP) product technologies. These finished modules conform to JEDEC I/O and footprint standards. They are available in 0.5 mm and 0.4 mm lead pitches with flexibility to address unique application requirements such as body sizes or lead pitches. Connection from integrated circuit (IC) to carrier is performed using flip‐chip (C4 ‐ Controlled Collapse Chip Connection) attach. Silicon die size and the quantity of C4 connections for flip‐chip joining have historically been constrained to reduce early life failures caused by solder fatigue wearout. This DNP (distance from neutral point of chip footprint) limitation has been overcome with increasing usage of epoxy encapsulation as a flip‐chip underfill. The encapsulant matches the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of C4 solder and minimises stresses on the interconnection. This enhancement provides a substantial reliability improvement in comparison with unencapsulated packages. Also, it enables larger die with smaller C4 solder bumps on finer pitches to be assembled on ceramic carriers. Recent product development and testing have extended flip‐chip on ceramic packaging technology even further than previously anticipated. Test die up to 20 mm in size with over 2,000 C4 joints have been successfully assembled, encapsulated, stress tested and qualified in CQEP modules. Flip‐chip assembly and encapsulation of C4 connections on very large die to CQFP components have been implemented into IBM manufacturing production. This large‐scale packaging enhancement continues to demonstrate that flip‐chip underfill eliminates the intrinsic failure mechanisms associated with fatigue wearout. This provides a significant technology extension to this low‐cost and high reliability product offering.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of voluntary disclosures in UK higher education institutions’ (HEIs) annual reports and examine whether internal governance structures influence disclosure in the period following major reform and funding constraints.

The authors adopt a modified version of Coy and Dixon’s (2004) public accountability index, referred to in this paper as a public accountability and transparency index (PATI), to measure the extent of voluntary disclosures in 130 UK HEIs’ annual reports. Informed by a multi-theoretical framework drawn from public accountability, legitimacy, resource dependence and stakeholder perspectives, the authors propose that the characteristics of governing and executive structures in UK universities influence the extent of their voluntary disclosures.

The authors find a large degree of variability in the level of voluntary disclosures by universities and an overall relatively low level of PATI (44 per cent), particularly with regards to the disclosure of teaching/research outcomes. The authors also find that audit committee quality, governing board diversity, governor independence and the presence of a governance committee are associated with the level of disclosure. Finally, the authors find that the interaction between executive team characteristics and governance variables enhances the level of voluntary disclosures, thereby providing support for the continued relevance of a “shared” leadership in the HEIs’ sector towards enhancing accountability and transparency in HEIs.

In spite of significant funding cuts, regulatory reforms and competitive challenges, the level of voluntary disclosure by UK HEIs remains low. Whilst the role of selected governance mechanisms and “shared leadership” in improving disclosure, is asserted, the varying level and selective basis of the disclosures across the surveyed HEIs suggest that the public accountability motive is weaker relative to the other motives underpinned by stakeholder, legitimacy and resource dependence perspectives.

This is the first study which explores the association between HEI governance structures, managerial characteristics and the level of disclosure in UK HEIs.

This article reviews the international literature of the last two decades on self‐injurious behaviour in prisons and jails and introduces the risk factors associated with this behaviour. Studies from a variety of countries investigated different samples (e.g. in jails or prisons; female or male inmates). We only chose those studies using a control group of inmates without self‐injurious behaviour. The findings on potential risk factors for self‐injurious behaviour are largely contradictory because of the differences in sample selection and dependent variables (deliberate self‐harm without suicidal intent vs. suicide attempts). We also discuss some methodological problems in predicting self‐injurious behaviour.

The electric discharge machining (EDM) involves electrons discharged from the electrode and machining progresses due to the removal of the material from the component. This a thermal-based machining process primarily used for hard to machine components with conventional methods. This process is used to make intricate cavities and contours. The fabricated part is the replica of the tool material with high surface finish and good dimensional accuracy. This study aims to evaluate the comprehensive effect of process parameters on electric discharge machining of maraging steel.

Multiple criteria Decision making (MCDM) techniques are used to select the best parameters by comparing several responses to achieve the desired goal. There are different MCDM techniques available for optimization of machining parameters. In the current investigation, multi-objective optimization by data envelopment analysis based ranking (DEAR) approach was used for machining Maraging C300 grade steel.

The Taguchi L9 runs were planned with process parameters such as current (Amp), Tool diameter (mm) and Dielectric pressure (MPa). The effect of process parameters on the responses, namely, material removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate (TWR) and surface roughness (SR) were evaluated. High MRR is found at 15 A current, 14 mm tool diameter and dielectric pressure of 0.2 MPa. Optimum process parameters experiment showed reduced crack density.

An effort was made successfully to enhance the responses using the DEAR method and establish the decision making of selecting the optimal parameters by comparing the results obtained by machining maraging steel C300 grade.

Research has shown that the discursive patterns students use in their email interactions with their teachers are not linguistically and socio-culturally appropriate. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to try to explore how socio-cultural conventions influence the Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ choices of discourse strategies in their email communications within an academic context. The study, then, investigates the impact of social distance and gender on the stylistic features of students’ email texts.

The email texts written by 180 university students majoring in Applied Linguistics were systematically analyzed based on such patterns as opening and closing moves, reduced forms, text connectives, symbolization and emoticons. Alternatively, three semi-structured interviews were conducted to gauge the participants’ motives underlying the selection of particular discourse features.

The findings revealed that students, despite many statements to the contrary, were aware of the socio-cultural conventions governing email writing style and could write status-appropriate email messages, which rightly reflected the etiquette of email communication within an academic context.

The findings may offer certain benefits to EFL teachers and students.

The paper highlights understanding of a specific social group in relation to their interaction with different status social groups in the context of a specific communication technology and to some extent the perceived effectiveness of such approaches by those invoking them.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether activity-based workspaces (ABWs) are able to solve the privacy-communication trade-off known from fixed-desk offices. In fixed-desk offices, employees work in private or open-plan offices (or in combi-offices) with fixed workstations, which support either privacy or communication, respectively. However, both dimensions are essential to effective employee performance, which creates the dilemma known as the privacy-communication trade-off. In activity-based workspaces, flexible workstations and the availability of different spaces may solve this dilemma, but clear empirical evidence on the matter is unavailable.

To address this knowledge gap, the authors surveyed knowledge workers (N = 363) at a medium-sized German company at three time points (T1–T3) over a one-year period during the company’s move from a fixed-desk combi-office (a combination of private and open-plan offices with fixed workplaces) to an ABW. Using a quantitative survey, the authors evaluated the employees’ perceived privacy and perceived communication in the old (T1) and the new work environments (T2 and T3).

The longitudinal study revealed a significant increase in employees’ perceived privacy and perceived communication in the ABW. These increases remained stable in the long term, which implies that ABWs have a lasting positive impact on employees.

As the privacy and communication dimensions were previously considered mutually exclusive in a single workplace, the results confirm that ABWs can balance privacy and communication, providing optimal conditions for enhanced employee performance.

Early research work confirms that the use of the new European currency, the euro, could create an effect of money illusion: expressed in euros, perceived prices seem lower and price elasticity diminished. But it also concludes on the complexity of the relationship between prices, currency unit and behavior as the money illusion effect can either increase or decrease demand for specific brands. Tests the assumption that the size of the money illusion could vary by country and is positively related to the level of the conversion rate. Applies the Gabor and Granger method to the price of an item of domestic equipment in two countries, one with a big conversion rate (Spain), and one with a small conversion rate (Germany). Observes a money illusion effect with an increase in intention to buy when the prices are expressed in euros in Germany but, as this effect is not observed in Spain, concludes that a positive relationship between money illusion and conversion rate cannot be accepted and proposes alternative hypotheses, such as the difficulty of the conversion.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest that there was a need for a psychometric measure to assess attitudes specifically towards offenders with mental health problems. The “Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill” scale (CAMI; Taylor and Dear, 1981) was adapted to create a new psychometric measure; the “Police and Community Attitudes towards Offenders with Mental Illness” scale (PACAMI-O).

A sample of police and community participants (n=178) completed this scale through the online surveying system, Psychdata. The new psychometric measure utilised the same 40 items featured in the CAMI; although, the wording was adapted.

The internal reliability for the combined sample was high (α=0.929), which implied very good internal reliability. An exploratory factor analysis identified four new factors: Self-Preservation, Societal Reservation, Mental Health Awareness and Treatment Ideology. A t-test revealed there was a significant difference between the scores of the police and community sample, with the effect size depicting a large magnitude between the means (t(176)=p=0.019, η2=0.16).

The PACAMI-O scale appears adequate for measuring attitudes towards its targeted sample and has shown utility with; a professional group (police officers and custody sergeants) who potentially face such offenders (primarily in the context of using Section 136 of the Mental Health Act). It therefore has practical implications in assessing attitudes with other groups within forensic mental health.

Assessing attitudes towards offenders with mental health problems would enable a better understanding of the formation of negative attitudes and stigmatisation and therefore, ways of tackling treatment, rehabilitation and also community reintegration.

This paper investigates whether building a nuclear power plant in a community would inherently bring local conflict phenomena such as “not in my back yard (NIMBY)”, focusing especially on the interactive effect between different types of local publics and their exposure to either a supportive or opposing message about a hypothetical local governmental plan to build a nuclear power plant on community participation intentions.

Applying the two theoretical frameworks (situational theory of publics and social exchange theory) to NIMBY, this study used a quantitative approach by using 471 participants in a 4 (publics: active, aware, aroused or inactive) × 2 (advocacy message type: supportive or opposing message) experimental design.

The results showed that regardless of message types, active publics were more likely to participate in community activities than any other public, but this group strongly opposed the harmful facility, while inactive publics continued to be inactive. However, aware and aroused publics were significantly influenced by messages.

The rationale and findings of this research are original, as they have not been published previously, and are not being simultaneously submitted elsewhere. This research should contribute to the broad body of knowledge and practices in community-based conflict issues in terms of risk management. It is believed that the discussion and implications of the findings should raise interesting areas for further research.

The development of undergraduate key skills programmes has been a major concern for some years now, recently given added impetus by the Dearing report. This paper discusses the development, implementation and evaluation of web based key skills materials at the University of North London. Take up of these was positively correlated with academic success, although misuse of online discussion fora was evident. Lecturers and students differed markedly in their perception and evaluation of the system. Many of the advantages trumpeted by academics were dismissed by students, who felt that material posted online gave them extera work; represented an abrogation of lecturers’ teaching duties and shifted printing costs from the institution to the student. Network and other access problems caused further disenchantment. The paper concludes that moree attention needs to be paid both to user needs and attitudes, and to the resource implications of running such a system.