The Future of Communication Education in the Community College

This article discusses the future of communication education in community colleges in the U.S. Recently, business and political leaders have begun to take note of the important role of community colleges within higher education. Bill Gates, chairman of the Microsoft Corp., firmly stated that community colleges are becoming absolutely critical in the information age. He continued by adding, The more I\u27ve learned about the community-college system throughout the United States, the more I\u27ve been impressed. President Bill Clinton\u27s vision of expanding education for all Americans to include grades 13 and 14 moves the community college to a more visible location in the fabric of American education. Perhaps surprisingly to some, community colleges have become significant players in the educational arena. Over 9 million credit students are enrolled in our nation\u27s 1,130 community colleges. Almost half (46%) of all first-time college freshmen attend community colleges. The majority of all African American students (46%) and Hispanic students (55%) in higher education are found in community colleges. Historically, community colleges evolved from junior colleges, providing access to higher education for local populations, into a more eclectic mix of institutions continuing to provide access, but with a wider range of options. As a result, there is no universal agreement regarding the role of the community college. Regardless of in which corner a community college currently resides, the evolutionary process will continue to mold and reshape today\u27s community colleges

Improved measurement results for the Avogadro constant using a 28Si-enriched crystal

New results are reported from an ongoing international research effort to accurately determine the Avogadro constant by counting the atoms in an isotopically enriched silicon crystal. The surfaces of two 28Si-enriched spheres were decontaminated and reworked in order to produce an outer surface without metal contamination and improved sphericity. New measurements were then made on these two reconditioned spheres using improved methods and apparatuses. When combined with other recently refined parameter measurements, the Avogadro constant derived from these new results has a value of $N_A = 6.022 140 76(12) \times 10^{23}$ mol$^{-1}$. The X-ray crystal density method has thus achieved the target relative standard uncertainty of $2.0 \times 10^{-8}$ necessary for the realization of the definition of the new kilogram.Comment: postprint, 22 page, 3 figures, 14 table

Low cost flip chip bonding on FR-4 boards

Flip-chip technology used directly on printed wiring boards offers minimisation of geometric parameters on conventional low-cost substrates as well as reduction in interconnect distances and inductances, particularly in high frequency applications. This paper describes the investigations of alternative low-cost flip-chip mounting processes using Au and Ni-Au bumps on organic laminate substrates (FR-4). The wiring planes of the PWBs are made by copper plating. The contact pads are topped with an electroplated Sn/Pb-63/37 eutectic solder. Flip-chip mounting was performed with and without flux application. The fatigue life of solder joints, which is limited by the thermal expansion mismatch between chip and substrate, could be significantly increased by a compatible flip-chip encapsulation process. First reliability results of metallurgical analysis and mechanical and electrical behaviour of the different flip-chip joints after thermal cycling between -55 degrees C and +125 degrees C are presented