BTI aware thermal management for reliable DVFS designs

In this paper, we show that dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) designs, together with stress-induced BTI variability, exhibit high temperature-induced BTI variability, depending on their workload and operating modes. We show that the impact of temperature-induced variability on circuit lifetime can be higher than that due to stress and exceed 50% over the value estimated considering the circuit average temperature. In order to account for these variabilities in lifetime estimation at design time, we propose a simulation framework for the BTI degradation analysis of DVFS designs accounting for workload and actual temperature profiles. A profile is generated considering statistically probable workload and thermal management constraints by means of the HotSpot tool. Using the proposed framework we explore the expected lifetime of the ethernet circuit from the IWLS05 benchmark suite, synthesized with a 32nm CMOS technology library, for various thermal management constraints. We show that margin-based design can underestimate or overestimate lifetime of DVFS designs by up to 67.8% and 61.9%, respectively. Therefore, the proposed framework allows designers to select appropriately the dynamic thermal management constraints in order to tradeoff long-term reliability (lifetime) and performance with upto 35.8% and 26.3% higher accuracy, respectively, against a temperature-variability unaware BTI analysis

CUSTEQUITY scale: Measurement and validation in Indian banking sector

Purpose: This paper seeks to further the understanding of the domain of the customer equity construct, in developing country context. Building on their framework, a modified and extended construct (CUSTEQUITY), using systematic scale development procedure, is established with nomological evidence of its impact in Indian banking industry. Design/methodology/approach: The data are collected from 550 accountholders of five major national Indian banks–State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), Industrial Credit and Industrial Corporation (ICICI), and Jammu and Kashmir Bank (JKB). The respondents are contacted using purposive sampling from Jammu city of North India. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation model (SEM) are used to analyze the data. Findings: The study findings validate the extended customer equity scale comprising two additional dimensions namely relational equity and social equity, along with three established dimensions-brand equity, value equity and retention equity. Further, the nomological validity of the CUSTEQUITY scale is also established. The moderating role of age and gender in customer equity and customer loyalty relationship is also supported. Also, the role of relationship length as a nomological moderator is established. Research limitations/implications: The study focuses on scale development on customer equity in Indian banking sector. The scale validity and reliability across the globe need to be established to underpin customer equity framework