Simulation study of silicon carbide Clustered Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (CIGBT)

Power semiconductor devices are inevitable parts of a power electronic converter system, with nearly 50% of electricity used in the world controlled by them. Silicon power devices have been used in power systems ever since the vacuum tubes were replaced by them in the 1950s. The performance of devices in a circuit is decided by the switching strategies and the inherent device performance like its on-state voltage, turn-on and turn-off times and hence their losses. Due to their inherent material properties, the growing interest in wide band gap devices is in applications beyond the limits of Si or GaAs. SiC is a wide bandgap material with properties that make it an attractive alternative to Silicon for high power applications. Silicon Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) is the most favourable device in the industry today for medium/high power applications. Silicon Clustered Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (CIGBT) is experimentally proven to demonstrate better performance as compared to their IGBT counterparts. In this work, the theoretical limit of silicon CIGBT is studied in great detail and compared to previously predicted IGBT limit. Later part of this thesis would explain the design and optimization of CIGBT in 4H- SiC. An in-depth simulation study of the same device is performed for both static and dynamic characteristics. Both planar and trench gate CIGBT devices are discussed here along with possible fabrication process. Along with this, a comparison study between CIGBT with its equivalent IGBT in SiC is also performed through extensive 2D simulations in MEDICITM in terms of their static and dynamic characteristics. Finally, a comparative study of P channel and N channel SiC CIGBT devices is evaluated through simulations

Pathways from women's group-based programs to nutrition change in South Asia: a conceptual framework and literature review

Improving the nutritional status of women and children in South Asia remains a high public health and development priority. Women's groups are emerging as platforms for delivering health- and nutrition-oriented programs and addressing gender and livelihoods challenges. We propose a framework outlining pathways through which women's group participation may facilitate improvements in nutrition. Evidence is summarized from 36 studies reporting on 24 nutritional indicators across infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, intake/diet, and anthropometry. Our findings suggest that women's group-based programs explicitly triggering behavior change pathways are most successful in improving nutrition outcomes, with strongest evidence for IYCF practices. Future investigators should link process and impact evaluations to better understand the pathways from women's group participation to nutritional impact

Promoting transformative and impactful research on gender and social equity in the context of climate change : implemented in Argentina, Bangladesh, Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nepal, and Nigeria

The project was designed to build the capacity of IDRC staff and country research teams to develop and implement socially transformative research that contributes to effective and long-term climate action. The report summarizes the results of the project measured against four goals agreed upon for the project (described in Section 3) and concludes that the project goals were met. A set of five project activities implemented by the Gender at Work’s Gender Action Learning (GAL) methodology are described in Section 5, along with reflections on implementation challenges

Workshop on Academic Integrity

Workshop on Academic Integrity was held at the NIAS on 24 September 201

Prototype of consumption emotions and implications for service evaluation : the case of anger and anxiety in extended service transactions

Two studies, based on the prototype approach to emotions, examined individual level (appraisals, expressions/action readiness and coping) and interpersonal components (provider response to consumer emotions) of consumer anger and anxiety during air travel, and the impact of these components on service evaluation. It is proposed that the nature of provider response to the overall emotion experience determines consumer evaluation of the service.A survey of recalled experiences of these emotions (Study 1) found that, consistent with the hypotheses, anger experiences comprised appraisals of provider blame for the negative event, problem focused coping (e.g., confronting the provider), and support withholding provider response (i.e., not assisting the consumer through the negative experience). Anxiety experiences, as hypothesized, had greater appraisals of uncontrollable circumstances, but emotion-focused coping (i.e., attempts to manage the affective reaction) was only marginally more than problem-focused coping, and there was no difference in support providing (i.e., assisting the consumer though the negative event) and support withholding provider responses. The survey could not elicit details of the physical expressions accompanying either emotion. Analysis of structured questions show that while support withholding responses decrease evaluations, support providing responses can increase evaluations despite the negativity of the emotions.Study 2 sequentially manipulated emotions (anger, anxiety) and provider response---emotion support (reassuring consumers), instrumental support (attempting to resolve the problem), mixed support (doing both), and no support. Structured questions that followed the emotion manipulation measured coping and action readiness underlying expressions. Coping patterns replicated the results of Study 1. Expressions of anger conveyed action readiness modes of approach and antagonism while anxiety expressions conveyed approach and helplessness. Measures of consumer evaluation followed the provider response manipulation and confirmed that support providing responses lead to higher evaluations. The social support literature indicates that support strategies closely aligned with the components of consumer emotions will be the most effective. Results confirm, that this occurs at high levels of emotion intensity. Instrumental support that matched the well-defined problem oriented components of anger experiences tended to be more effective than emotion support. Instrumental support was also effective for anxious consumers, but a mixed support strategy that matched the occurrence of both emotion-focused and problem-focused coping in anxiety, tended to be more efficacious. Results are discussed in terms of the context specific nature of the components of emotion experience, and of the need to be cognizant of these components when designing provider response strategies

Dissonant subjects: Women in the Hindu nationalist movement in India

The Hindu nationalist movement in India is usually represented, and often represents itself, as a movement united in its efforts to purge the country of all Muslim and Christian influences and establish India as a Hindu nation. The movement legitimises its exclusionary rhetoric and violent actions by activating the image of a Hindu nation under siege from onslaughts of Muslims and Christians throughout history, and framing its agenda as redressing the politics of this history. However, not all in the movement, and certainly not all those it encounters, agree with its constructions of history or its exclusionary politics and rhetoric. This dissertation seeks to understand the myriad ways in which the Hindu nationalist movement reaches out to diverse audiences by examining how the Hindu nationalist women I worked with in New Delhi from January 1999 until January 2000 variously framed the movement to mobilize support for it amongst diverse audiences. These framing strategies include gendered constructions of history and memory to carve out a role for women in the movement, as well as to justify the violent politics and exclusionary rhetoric of the movement. Second, they include strategies that incorporate those marginalized by the state as citizens of the Hindu nation through providing services such as schools, health clinics, and vocational training sessions, thus constructing a benevolent face for the movement. And third, through the appropriation of Hindu rituals and traditions, they construct the movement as a religious one belonging in the realm of the sacred, rather than a political one belonging in the world of the profane. By presenting itself in these myriad ways the movement recruits members who have different agendas and beliefs that may challenge, and even contradict, those widely accepted by the movement. It is precisely its ability to absorb these different positions and encompass different agendas that has enabled the movement to dominate the socio-political landscape of India today