Yin-Yang representation of financial crisis: a Korean perspective

Although the concepts of Western-Eastern integration to optimise management strategies are well-established, investigations on the applicability of these concepts in real-life situations are lacking. This study investigates how integration of (Eastern) Yin-Yang principles of seeking balance into Western concepts benefitted Koreans in combatting financial crises repercussions. Through analysis of 519 South Korean economic magazine covers taken over the period 2007-2012, the study shows the mindset of Korean society during the 2008 financial crisis. The covers provide a balanced interpretation of crisis events as both disastrous and opportunistic. Traditional Yin-Yang values therefore appear to be preserved in Korean management philosophy, even though contemporary Korean business strategies are strongly influenced by Western principles. By comparing these findings with social attitudes during previous crises in Korea, the study provides a real-life example of possible benefits of integrating Eastern and Western philosophy in management strategies

Thriving through trials and tribulations: the impact of the ‘Grand Challenge’ on engineering student resilience skills

Resilience is considered of significant importance for student attainment and work-readiness. This study investigated the impact of Grand Challenge (GC) – an industry-based learning assessment for 1st and 2nd year Engineering students – on student resilience. Resilience scores and psychological distress were measured before and after the GC through questionnaires presented to students. Focus groups were conducted to assess GC’s effect on student resilience qualitatively. Resilience scores in the questionnaires decreased slightly after GC, possibly due to less students completing the post-GC questionnaire. Interestingly, when discussing GC in the focus groups, students did feel GC helped them develop their resilience and understood the impact of resilience on their future career. Overall, the findings help establish GC as a challenge-based learning (CBL) intervention and the extent to which such CBL assessments may affect student resilience skills. The study provides the groundwork for future resilience training and assessment in higher engineering education through CBL events

Are atrial fibrillation highest dominant frequency (HDF) areas the source of dominant excitation patterns? A left atrial panoramic view

Atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation success depends on the possibility to accurately determine areas on the atrial endocardium at which AF activation originates. One way to determine if major AF activation pathways originate at identified source is through causality analysis. This work assessed to what extent left atrial highest dominant frequency (HDF) areas can be identified as sources of activation pathways in 10 male subjects suffering from persistent AF. Virtual electrograms were collected from 64 endocardial locations for at least 5 minutes. Frequency and causality were analyzed on 4 s signal segments Causality was assessed using the directed transfer function (DTF) algorithm, and AF activation sources were identified as endocardial locations of which the VEGM signal had high influence on other VEGM signals. Co-localization of high influence and HDF areas was evaluated for different area overlap and spectral organisation (OI) thresholds. Results show that, on average, good overlap only existed in 64.6% (± 8.8%) over all subject using the lowest threshold settings. Good overlap rates reduced with more conservative thresholds. This indicates that HDF areas might not always identify origins of main AF activation pathways

THE EFFECT OF NEAR-INTERFACE NETWORK STRAIN ON THE MOBILITY OF PROTONS IN Si02

35-word abstract Our data suggest a correlation between near-interface strain in SiOz and the ratio of fixed vs. mobile positive charge generated at the interface during forming gas annealing. A model based on firstprinciples quantum mechanical calculations supports this correlation

A Nonvolatile MOSFET Memory Device Based on Mobile Protons in SiO(2) Thin Films

It is shown how mobile H{sup +} ions can be generated thermally inside the oxide layer of Si/SiO{sub 2}/Si structures. The technique involves only standard silicon processing steps: the nonvolatile field effect transistor (NVFET) is based on a standard MOSFET with thermally grown SiO{sub 2} capped with a poly-silicon layer. The capped thermal oxide receives an anneal at {approximately}1100 C that enables the incorporation of the mobile protons into the gate oxide. The introduction of the protons is achieved by a subsequent 500-800 C anneal in a hydrogen-containing ambient, such as forming gas (N{sub 2}:H{sub 2} 95:5). The mobile protons are stable and entrapped inside the oxide layer, and unlike alkali ions, their space-charge distribution can be controlled and rapidly rearranged at room temperature by an applied electric field. Using this principle, a standard MOS transistor can be converted into a nonvolatile memory transistor that can be switched between normally on and normally off. Switching speed, retention, endurance, and radiation tolerance data are presented showing that this non-volatile memory technology can be competitive with existing Si-based non-volatile memory technologies such as the floating gate technologies (e.g. Flash memory)

Growth of Comb-like ZnO Nanostructures for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells Applications

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated by using well-crystallized ZnO nanocombs directly grown onto the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) via noncatalytic thermal evaporation process. The thin films of as-grown ZnO nanocombs were used as photoanode materials to fabricate the DSSCs, which exhibited an overall light to electricity conversion efficiency of 0.68% with a fill factor of 34%, short-circuit current of 3.14 mA/cm2, and open-circuit voltage of 0.671 V. To the best of our knowledge, this is first report in which thin film of ZnO nanocombs was used as photoanode materials to fabricate the DSSCs

Nonvolatile Field Effect Transistors Based on Protons and Si/SiO{Sub 2}Si Structures

Recently, the authors have demonstrated that annealing Si/SiO{sub 2}/Si structures in a hydrogen containing ambient introduces mobile H{sup +} ions into the buried SiO{sub 2} layer. Changes in the H{sup +} spatial distribution within the SiO{sub 2} layer were electrically monitored by current-voltage (I-V) measurements. The ability to directly probe reversible protonic motion in Si/SiO{sub 2}/Si structures makes this an exemplar system to explore the physics and chemistry of hydrogen in the technologically relevant Si/SiO{sub 2} structure. In this work, they illustrate that this effect can be used as the basis for a programmable nonvolatile field effect transistor (NVFET) memory that may compete with other Si-based memory devices. The power of this novel device is its simplicity; it is based upon standard Si/SiO{sub 2}/Si technology and forming gas annealing, a common treatment used in integrated circuit processing. They also briefly discuss the effects of radiation on its retention properties

Broadband luminescence in defect-engineered electrochemically produced porous Si/ZnO nanostructures

The fabrication, by an all electrochemical process, of porous Si/ZnO nanostructures with engineered structural defects, leading to strong and broadband deep level emission from ZnO, is presented. Such nanostructures are fabricated by a combination of metal-assisted chemical etching of Si and direct current electrodeposition of ZnO. It makes the whole fabrication process low-cost, compatible with Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor technology, scalable and easily industrialised. The photoluminescence spectra of the porous Si/ZnO nanostructures reveal a correlation between the lineshape, as well as the strength of the emission, with the morphology of the underlying porous Si, that control the induced defects in the ZnO. Appropriate fabrication conditions of the porous Si lead to exceptionally bright Gaussian-type emission that covers almost the entire visible spectrum, indicating that porous Si/ZnO nanostructures could be a cornerstone material towards white-light-emitting devices