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Critical Dimension (critical + dimension)
Selected AbstractsEuropean Integration and the Transnational Restructuring of Social Relations: The Emergence of Labour as a Regional Actor?,JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 3 2005ANDREAS BIELER Informed by a neo-Gramscian perspective able to conceptualize transnational class formation, this article assesses whether European trade union organizations have developed into independent supranational actors, or whether they are merely secretariats in charge of organizing the co-operation of their national member associations. The first hypothesis is that those trade unions which organize workers in transnational production sectors, are likely to co-operate at the European level, because they have lost control over capital at the national level. Trade unions, organizing workers in domestic production sectors, may be more reluctant because their sectors still depend on national protection. The second hypothesis is that trade unions are more likely to co-operate at the European level if they perceive such an engagement as furthering their influence on policy-making in comparison with structural possibilities at the national level. Additionally, in line with the critical dimension of neo-Gramscian perspectives, it will be assessed whether European co-operation implies acceptance of neo-liberal economics, or whether unions continue to resist restructuring. [source] Monitoring roughness and edge shape on semiconductors through multiresolution and multivariate image analysisAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 5 2009Pierantonio Facco Abstract Photolithography is one of the most important processes in the production of integrated circuits. Usually, attentive inspections are required after this process, but are limited to the measurement of some physical parameters such as the critical dimension and the line edge roughness. In this paper, a novel multiresolution multivariate technique is presented to identify the abnormalities on the surface of a photolithographed device and the location of defects in a sensitive fashion by comparing it to a reference optimum, and generating fast, meaningful and reliable information. After analyzing the semiconductor surface image in different levels of resolutions via wavelet decomposition, the application of multivariate statistical monitoring tools allows the in-depth examination of the imprinted features of the product. A two level nested PCA model is used for surface roughness monitoring, while a new strategy based on "spatial moving window" PCA is proposed to analyze the shape of the patterned surface. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is tested in the case of semiconductor surface SEM images after the photolithography process. The approach is general and can be applied also to inspect a product through different types of images, different phases of the same production systems, or different processes. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009 [source] McDowell on Kant: Redrawing the Bounds of SenseMETAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 4 2000Christopher Norris John McDowell's Mind and World is a notable attempt to redirect the interest of analytic philosophers toward certain themes in Kantian and more recent continental thought. Only thus, he believes, can we move beyond the various failed attempts , by Quine, Davidson, Rorty, and others , to achieve a naturalised epistemology that casts off the various residual "dogmas" of old-style logical empiricism. In particular, McDowell suggests that we return to Kant's ideas of "spontaneity" and "receptivity" as the two jointly operative powers of mind which enable thought to transcend the otherwise unbridgeable gulf between sensuous intuitions and concepts of understanding. However, this project miscarries for several reasons. Chief among them is the highly problematical nature of Kant's claims, taken over by McDowell without reference to their later treatment at the hands of subjective and objective idealists. Hence he tends to fall back into different versions of the same mind/world dualism. I then question McDowell's idea that Kant can be "naturalised" by reinterpreting those claims from a more hermeneutic or communitarian standpoint with its sources in Hegel, Wittgenstein, and Gadamer. For the result is to deprive Kant's philosophy of its distinctively critical dimension not only with regard to epistemological issues but also in relation to matters of ethical and sociopolitical judgement. [source] Predictors of satisfaction among cognitively intact nursing home residents in Hong KongRESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH, Issue 5 2005Linda Y.K. Lee Abstract Resident satisfaction is widely recognized as a critical dimension in assessing quality of nursing home care. Although many factors are associated with satisfaction, little is known about the relative importance of these factors in predicting satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to identify the demographic, physiological, psychological, and social predictors of satisfaction in a convenience sample of 175 nursing home residents in Hong Kong. Seventeen resident variables were investigated. Variables that showed significant bivariate associations with satisfaction were entered into the stepwise regression model. Health-related quality of life (mental component), state self-esteem, and social support satisfaction, significantly accounted for 31% of the variance of satisfaction. These findings suggest approaches to tailor care plans to increase resident satisfaction. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 28: 376,387, 2005. [source] International medical graduates: Learning for practice in Alberta, CanadaTHE JOURNAL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS, Issue 3 2007Jocelyn Lockyer PhD Abstract Introduction: There is little known about the learning that is undertaken by physicians who graduate from a World Health Organization,listed medical school outside Canada and who migrate to Canada to practice. What do physicians learn and what resources do they access in adapting to practice in Alberta, a province of Canada? Methods: Telephone interviews with a theoretical sample of 19 IMG physicians were analyzed using a grounded theory constant comparative approach to develop categories, central themes, and a descriptive model. Results: The physicians described two types of learning: learning associated with studying for Canadian examinations required to remain and practice in the province and learning that was required to succeed at clinical work in a new setting. This second type of learning included regulations and systems, patient expectations, new disease profiles, new medications, new diagnostic procedures, and managing the referral process. The physicians "settled" into their new setting with the help of colleagues; the Internet, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and computers; reading; and continuing medical education programs. Patients both stimulated learning and were a resource for learning. Discussion: Settling into Alberta, Canada, physicians accommodated and adjusted to their settings with learning activities related to the clinical problems and situations that presented themselves. Collegial support in host communities appeared to be a critical dimension in how well physicians adjusted. The results suggest that mentoring programs may be a way of facilitating settlement. [source] Monitoring critical dimensions of bidimensional gratings by spectroscopic ellipsometry and Mueller polarimetryPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (A) APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, Issue 4 2008M. Foldyna Abstract In this work we characterized two bidimensional gratings consisting each of a square array of square holes etched in a photoresist layer deposited on silicon. Data were taken on both samples with a spectroscopic UV,VIS ellipsometer (SE) operated at 70° incidence and zero azimuth (with the incidence plane parallel to the lines of holes) and a VIS Mueller matrix polarimeter (MMP) at various incidence and azimuthal angles. The robustness of the parameters derived from the MMP data was evaluated from the stability of the values provided by regression the spectra taken at different angles. The optimal measurement geometries, featuring high sensitivity and low correlation of the fitting parameters, were determined theoretically, and validated experimentally with the sample featuring wider holes (500 × 500 nm), for which 45° incidence provided better results than the usual 70° value. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Presidential Attribution as an Agency of Prime Ministerial Critique in a Parliamentary Democracy: The Case of Tony BlairBRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2004Michael Foley The allusion to presidentialism in relation to the status, role and meaning of a prime minister's position is almost invariably skewed towards positive, purposive and expansive interpretations of strong executive authority. This study examines the negative and critical dimensions of the presidential attribution, and analyses the nature of its appeal as a device for organising and rationalising political dissent. The incidence and conditions of its usage in political argument during Tony Blair's premiership are reviewed. As a consequence, seven strands of usage are identified in the selection of presidentialism as a focus of opposition. In assessing the relative strengths and weaknesses of the presidential critique, the analysis not only shows its utility in drawing upon other sources of complaint, but also demonstrates its limitations in the delegitimation of executive authority. [source] Research into literacy and technology in primary classrooms: an exploration of understandings generated by recent studiesJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 1 2009Cathy Burnett While much has been written about the implications for ,literacy' of practices surrounding digital technologies, there has been surprisingly little research investigating new literacies in primary classrooms. This review examines the kinds of understandings that have been generated through studies of primary literacy and technology reported during the period 2000,2006. It uses Green's distinction between ,operational', ,cultural' and ,critical' dimensions of primary literacy to investigate the focus and methodology of 38 empirical studies. It explores ways in which research may be informed by assumptions and practices associated with print literacy, but also highlights the kinds of studies which are beginning to investigate the implications of digital texts for primary education. The paper concludes by arguing for further ethnographic and phenomenological studies of classroom literacy practices in order to explore the complex contexts which surround and are mediated by digital texts. [source] Counterurbanisation and rural gentrification: an exploration of the termsPOPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 6 2010Martin Phillips Abstract This paper examines the interrelationships between the concepts of counterurbanisation and rural gentrification, suggesting that four different positions can be identified. Firstly, these concepts are highly commensurable and could usefully be more closely aligned. Secondly, rural gentrification has a political/critical dimension that is missing from conceptualisations of counterurbanisation, and hence rural gentrification might usefully displace counterurbanisation as a focus of study. Thirdly, counterurbanisation is a less reductionist concept than rural gentrification, and therefore counterurbanisation researchers need to disentangle themselves from too great a focus on rural gentrification. Fourthly, both concepts share many problematic features and may both be viewed as chaotic concepts. The paper then discusses how counterurbanisation and gentrification researchers have responded to criticisms relating to their conceptual foci, suggesting that these can be characterised as legislative or interpretive. It is argued that whilst the former response has been predominant, there are signs that the latter approach is also being adopted. The concluding part of the paper draws on the notion of an interpretive approach to understanding counterurbanisation and rural gentrification, and their interrelationships. Use is made of Latour's notion of ,circulatory sociologies of translation' to consider how the two concepts are linked not only to their objects of study but also to social relationships with other academics, with governmental organisations and with public opinion and values. Attention is drawn to the differential relationships that counterurbanisation and rural gentrification are implicated in, and how this might account for the differential character of the two concepts. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||