230 research outputs found
Romualdo Ardissone
Fil: Daus, Federico A..
Sociedad Argentina de Estudios GeogrĂĄfico
âCare-less whispersâ in the academy during COVID-19: A feminist collaborative autoethnography
This collaborative autoethnography (Bochner and Ellis, 2016) has created a space for three women academics from working-class heritage, navigating the liminal and temporal space of the COVID-19 pandemic within a post-1992 Higher Education Institution, to explore the social relations of one Higher Education Institution and confront their lived experiences. The stories shared in this paper are analysed through a âcare-lessâ (Rogers, 2017) lens, which asks the academy to recognise and confront the duplicity and self-glorification of policy and practice, that might be viewed as acts of normalising and supporting care-less cultures and behaviours. The paper raises questions about social justice, diversity and inclusion, the intersectionality of class and gender, and the inequity of the lived experiences from those who sit on the margins. The paper is the first collaborative writing project from a newly formed staff network of academics who come from working-class backgrounds, and we are intentional in our commitment to support each other as new researchers, giving agency in support of the other to find their voice
Improvement of contact resistance in flexible a-IGZO thin-film transistors by CF4/O2 plasma treatment
In this work, we analyze the effect of CF4/O2 plasma treatment on the contact interface between the amorphous Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide (a-IGZO) semiconductor and Titanium-Gold electrodes. First, the influence of CF4/O2 plasma treatment is evaluated using transmission line structures and compared to pure O2 and CF4 plasma, resulting in a reduction of the contact resistance RC by a factor of 24.2 compared to untreated interfaces. Subsequently, the CF4/O2 plasma treatment is integrated in the a-IGZO thin-film transistor (TFT) fabrication process flow. We achieve a reduction of the gate bias dependent RC by a factor up to 13.4, which results in an increased current drive capability. Combined with an associated channel length reduction, the effective linear field-effect mobility is increased by up to 74.6% for the CF4/O2 plasma treated TFTs compared to untreated reference devices
Development and initial testing of the selfâcare of chronic illness inventory
Aim
The aim was to develop and psychometrically test the selfâcare of chronic illness Inventory, a generic measure of selfâcare.
Background
Existing measures of selfâcare are diseaseâspecific or behaviourâspecific; no generic measure of selfâcare exists.
Design
Crossâsectional survey.
Methods
We developed a 20âitem selfâreport instrument based on the Middle Range Theory of SelfâCare of Chronic Illness, with three separate scales measuring SelfâCare Maintenance, SelfâCare Monitoring, and SelfâCare Management. Each of the three scales is scored separately and standardized 0â100 with higher scores indicating better selfâcare. After demonstrating content validity, psychometric testing was conducted in a convenience sample of 407 adults (enrolled from inpatient and outpatient settings at five sites in the United States and ResearchMatch.org). Dimensionality testing with confirmatory factor analysis preceded reliability testing.
Results
The SelfâCare Maintenance scale (eight items, two dimensions: illnessârelated and healthâpromoting behaviour) fit well when tested with a twoâfactor confirmatory model. The SelfâCare Monitoring scale (five items, single factor) fitted well. The SelfâCare Management scale (seven items, two factors: autonomous and consulting behaviour), when tested with a twoâfactor confirmatory model, fitted adequately. A simultaneous confirmatory factor analysis on the combined set of items supported the more general model.
Conclusion
The selfâcare of chronic illness inventory is adequate in reliability and validity. We suggest further testing in diverse populations of patients with chronic illnesses
Geometry-based tunability enhancement of flexible thin-film varactors
In this letter, flexible voltage-controlled capacitors (varactors) based on an amorphous IndiumâGalliumâZincâOxide (a-IGZO) semiconductor are presented. Two different varactor designs and their influence on the capacitance tuning characteristics are investigated. The first design consists of a top electrode finger structure which yields a maximum capacitance tunability of 6.9 at 10 kHz. Second, a novel interdigitated varactor structure results in a maximum tunability of 93.7 at 100 kHz. The design- and frequency-dependencies of the devices are evaluated through CâV measurements. Furthermore, we show bending stability of the devices down to a tensile radius of 6 mm without altering the performance. Finally, a varactor is combined with a thin-film resistor to demonstrate a tunable RC-circuit for impedance matching and low-pass filtering applications. The device fabrication flow and material stack are compatible with standard flexible thin-film transistor fabrication which enables parallel implementation of analog or logic circuitry and varactor devices
Charge trapping mechanism leading to sub-60-mV/decade-Swing FETs
In this work, we present a novel method to reduce the subthreshold swing of field-effect transistors below 60 mV/dec. Through modeling, we directly relate trap charge movement between the gate electrode and the gate dielectric to subthreshold swing reduction. We experimentally investigate the impact of charge exchange between a Cu gate electrode and a 5 nm thick amorphous Al2O3 gate dielectric in an InGaZnO4 thin-film transistor. Positive trap charges are generated inside the gate dielectric while the semiconductor is in accumulation. During the subsequent de-trapping, the subthreshold swing diminishes to a minimum value of 46 mV/dec at room temperature. Furthermore, we relate the charge trapping/de-trapping effects to a negative capacitance behavior of the Cu/Al2O3 metal-insulator structure
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