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This paper aims to study the effects of varying laser trim patterns on several performance parameters of thin film resistors such as the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and target resistance value.

The benefits and limitations of basic trim patterns are taken into consideration, and the plunge cut, double plunge cut and the curved L-cut were selected to be modelled and tested experimentally. A computer simulation of the laser trim patterns has been developed for the modelling process of the resistors. The influence of the trim length and resistor dimensions on the TCR performance and resistance value of the resistors is investigated.

It is found that variation in trim length, within the range of 5 to 15 mm, can give significant increases in the TCR of the thin films. Thus, for the plunge cut, TCR can reach up to 11.51 ppm/oC, for the double plunge cut up to 14.34 ppm/oC and for the curved L-cut up to 5.11 ppm/oC.

Research on the effects of various laser trimming geometries on the TCR and target resistance accuracy is limited, especially for patterns such as the curved L-cut, which is investigated in this paper.

Information and communication technologies have transformed higher education providing e‐mechanisms to support the delivery of content, communication and interaction. One example is the widespread adoption of virtual learning environments (VLEs) by higher education institutions to provide a key interface among learners, the content and tutors. The aim of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of the design of educational systems for work based learning (WBL) from the learner's perspective. The study includes consideration of the use of technology to support the work based learning process for the learner.

Case studies from four postgraduate programmes and one undergraduate programme within the School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences (CEIS) at Northumbria University are presented. Key results from a survey of students on these programmes are discussed.

The results demonstrate that there are different motivations for this type of provision when compared with more conventional higher education programmes. In this digital age, technology should be a key enabling factor and students expect its adoption to support the learning process. However, academic institutions and staff are still not fully exploiting the possibilities of new media technologies through adapting their approaches to learning.

Traditionally the WBL concept has focused on two of the stakeholder contexts, namely the learner and the academic environment. Consideration of the other two important stakeholder contexts: the workplace and the external environment could significantly enrich the student experience and overall effectiveness of WBL delivery. The current study aims to address this deficit by considering all four stakeholders contexts in one model in order to evaluate the effectiveness of design of educational systems for WBL. This paper presents the first of these stakeholder contexts, the learner experience.