New techniques for functional testing of microprocessor based systems

Electronic devices may be affected by failures, for example due to physical defects. These defects may be introduced during the manufacturing process, as well as during the normal operating life of the device due to aging. How to detect all these defects is not a trivial task, especially in complex systems such as processor cores. Nevertheless, safety-critical applications do not tolerate failures, this is the reason why testing such devices is needed so to guarantee a correct behavior at any time. Moreover, testing is a key parameter for assessing the quality of a manufactured product. Consolidated testing techniques are based on special Design for Testability (DfT) features added in the original design to facilitate test effectiveness. Design, integration, and usage of the available DfT for testing purposes are fully supported by commercial EDA tools, hence approaches based on DfT are the standard solutions adopted by silicon vendors for testing their devices. Tests exploiting the available DfT such as scan-chains manipulate the internal state of the system, differently to the normal functional mode, passing through unreachable configurations. Alternative solutions that do not violate such functional mode are defined as functional tests. In microprocessor based systems, functional testing techniques include software-based self-test (SBST), i.e., a piece of software (referred to as test program) which is uploaded in the system available memory and executed, with the purpose of exciting a specific part of the system and observing the effects of possible defects affecting it. SBST has been widely-studies by the research community for years, but its adoption by the industry is quite recent. My research activities have been mainly focused on the industrial perspective of SBST. The problem of providing an effective development flow and guidelines for integrating SBST in the available operating systems have been tackled and results have been provided on microprocessor based systems for the automotive domain. Remarkably, new algorithms have been also introduced with respect to state-of-the-art approaches, which can be systematically implemented to enrich SBST suites of test programs for modern microprocessor based systems. The proposed development flow and algorithms are being currently employed in real electronic control units for automotive products. Moreover, a special hardware infrastructure purposely embedded in modern devices for interconnecting the numerous on-board instruments has been interest of my research as well. This solution is known as reconfigurable scan networks (RSNs) and its practical adoption is growing fast as new standards have been created. Test and diagnosis methodologies have been proposed targeting specific RSN features, aimed at checking whether the reconfigurability of such networks has not been corrupted by defects and, in this case, at identifying the defective elements of the network. The contribution of my work in this field has also been included in the first suite of public-domain benchmark networks

The milk proteome and the acute phase response during bovine mastitis

The principal aims of the work presented in this thesis were to further investigate the pathophysiology of the acute phase proteins in bovine mastitis and to document the changes in the protein composition of milk during mastitis using modem proteomic methods. Mastitis is one of the most important diseases affecting cattle worldwide. It has adverse effects on the economics of milk production through reducing the quality and quantity of milk. Acute phase proteins (APPs) are valuable markers of inflammatory lesions and are widely used in the veterinary field for disease diagnosis. This study further investigated the presence of APPs, haptoglobin (Hp) 1 I and mammary- associated serum amyloid A3 (M-SAA3) in the milk of cows with mastitis and evaluated the possibility of using these proteins to detect mastitis. An Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed and validated for the measurement of milk Hp. A commercially available ELISA was used for the detection ofM-SAA3 in milk. Both Hp and M-SAA3 showed similar kinetics to somatic cell counts and can be considered as sensitive and reliable markers of mastitis. Advanced proteomic methods were developed and used to further characterise the changes taking place in the proteins expressed in normal and mastitic milk. The methodology for analysis of the bovine milk proteome was successfully established. This part of the work concluded that the patterns of protein expression of clinically mastitic milk showed clear differences from that of normal milk. Further analysis of milk samples from a mild subclinical model of Staphylococcus aureus mastitis showed that alterations to the milk p:oteome were only minimal. However this study was useful in identifying areas worthy of future research. Recent publications on APP research speculate upon the local production ofM-SAA3 in the bovine mammary gland. The final objective of this study was therefore to investigate the expression of MSAA3 in bovine mammary tissue. Our studies confirm the local production of M-SAA3 in the bovine mammary gland and its up-regulation during bovine mastitis. This finding may provide further information on a possible role for this protein. Overall the findings detailed in this thesis indicate that APPs in milk are valuable markers of mastitis and additionally that the ease of collection of milk by non-invasive methods suggest that milk has potential for the discovery of disease biomarkers

Pandemic Exposures

For people and governments around the world, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to place the preservation of human life at odds with the pursuit of economic and social life. Yet this simple alternative belies the complexity of the entanglements the crisis has created and revealed not just between health and wealth but also around morality, knowledge, governance, culture, and everyday subsistence. Didier Fassin and Marion Fourcade have assembled an eminent team of scholars from across the social sciences conducting research on six continents to reflect on the multiple ways the coronavirus has entered, reshaped, or exacerbated existing trends and structures in every part of the globe. The contributors show how the disruptions caused by the pandemic have both hastened the rise of new social divisions and hardened old inequalities and dilemmas. An indispensable volume, Pandemic Exposures provides an illuminating analysis of this watershed moment and its possible aftermath

Pandemic Exposures

For people and governments around the world, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to place the preservation of human life at odds with the pursuit of economic and social life. Yet this simple alternative belies the complexity of the entanglements the crisis has created and revealed not just between health and wealth but also around morality, knowledge, governance, culture, and everyday subsistence. Didier Fassin and Marion Fourcade have assembled an eminent team of scholars from across the social sciences conducting research on six continents to reflect on the multiple ways the coronavirus has entered, reshaped, or exacerbated existing trends and structures in every part of the globe. The contributors show how the disruptions caused by the pandemic have both hastened the rise of new social divisions and hardened old inequalities and dilemmas. An indispensable volume, Pandemic Exposures provides an illuminating analysis of this watershed moment and its possible aftermath

Cultures of performance and reward in UK employee-owned businesses

Employee ownership has the potential to reduce the growing wage disparity experienced in recent years, however research into employee ownership is limited. The purpose of this thesis is to explore organisational culture within for-profit employee owned businesses (EOBs) in the UK. Specifically, it looks to compare how different ownership types might influence the culture. Three types are researched: cooperative (enterprises where workers jointly own and control a co-operative business), directly owned (where shares are personally owned by employees) and trust ownership (where shares are owned on behalf of employees through a trust). Performance management and reward management were researched as conduits to expose the underlying culture. Insights into these two areas of management within employee ownership are also exposed. As a cross comparison of culture within ownership types, it has not been done before so this research provides a unique contribution to knowledge. This study has implications for those organisations considering the transfer into employee ownership as well as those who are already employee owned. A qualitative, inductive and interpretive approach was taken. The research was carried out in two phases. Firstly, semi-structured interviews were performed with senior managers or human resources representatives of EOBs representing all three ownership types across the UK. This was followed by a more in-depth ethnographic phase within an example of each type, consisting of planned and informal interviews as well as participant observations involving employees from all levels of the organisations; managing directors through to "shop floor" workers. The data was analysed using a general thematic approach. The main outputs from this research are models of organisational culture for each of the three ownership types, as well as what is common to all the types of employee ownership observed. A shared theme of a high commitment culture, based on trust, openness and fun was seen in all the types. The research also adds to the understanding of performance and reward to show how the ownership types influence them. From this, advice to HR personnel is suggested for working in each of the distinct types. The research was carried out during a period of economic growth (late 2013 to early 2014), hence the findings may be affected by more severe economic pressure and more time could have been spent within a greater number of organisations. Hybrid forms of ownership are acknowledged and further investigation into them would be beneficial