Laser-induced prenucleation of alumina for electroless plating

This paper deals with the deposition of palladium from decomposition of a thin palladium acetate layer on rough and porous alumina ceramic surfaces by irradiating it with a UV excimer laser. The palladium acetate layer was formed from a combination of propyl glycol methyl ether acetate solvent and photoresist, and the undecomposed material was removed with the photoresist remover. The discontinuous palladium cluster film formed by the technique was used as seed for electroless coatings. Different patterns were obtained using point focus as well as projection pattering method and subsequently plated with adhesive layers of electroless Ni-B coating

Fostering a European identity is unlikely to be a successful method for increasing citizens’ trust in the EU

The financial crisis has rekindled debates about the legitimacy of the European Union and, in particular, whether citizens trust the EU. Using Eurobarometer data, Eelco Harteveld analyses three possible sources for trust in the EU: rational evaluation, identity and projection. He proposes that as trust continues to decline in governments of all kinds, the strongest predictor of citizen trust in the EU is trust in national government

Die rekenarisering van die leksikografiese prosesse in die Buro van die WAT

Die Buro van die WA T het in Augustus 1987 sy leksikografiese prosesse begin rekenariseer. Hierdie artikeI beskryf die voordele van rekenarisering, die fases van die proses, die probleme daaraan verbonde en die resu1tate wat behaal is. In die eerste fase (1987-1989) is die rekenaar hoofsaaklik as woordverwerker vir die maak van manuskrip gebruik. Die woordeboekteks kon egter nie elektronies na die eksterne drukkery oorgedra word nie. Die tweede fase (1990 en verder) behels die aanpassing van programmatuur by die behoeftes van die person eel, die uitbreiding van die rekenaarstelsel en die skepping van 'n elektroniese taaldatabasis. Sowel onverwerkte taalmateriaal bestaande uit meer as drie miJjoen optekeninge in kaartvorm as verwerkte materiaal uit die reeds gepubliseerde dele van die WAT moet in hierdie databasis opgeneem word. Verder word 'n rekenaarveldstruktuur voorgestel waarvolgens inligting op skerm in die woordeboek in-geskryf word met die oog op die meerdoelige onttrekking daarvan aan die gevolglike teksdatabasis Regstreekse elektroniese oordrag van manuskripteks na die Bura se interne reprografiese afdeelings, asook interne bladuitleg en drukwerk is nou 'n werklikheid. Toekomstige rekenaaraanwedings ter bespoediging van die redaksionele prosesse word oak aangedui

Selective metallization of alumina by laser

Nickel has been selectively deposited on an alumina substrate without any pretreatment from a flow of a nickel acetate solution using the focused beam of an excimer laser. Nickel spots as well as nickel lines were drawn and subsequently plated with an electroless Ni-B coating. Excellent adhesion of the metallized layers was achieved, since with laser irradiation, both etching and deposition took place simultaneously

Does affective polarisation increase turnout? Evidence from Germany, The Netherlands and Spain

Polarisation is often seen as mainly negative for the functioning of democracies, but one of its saving graces could be that it raises the stakes of politics and encourages participation. This study explores the relationship between affective polarisation and turnout using three longitudinal designs. It makes use of three decades of repeated cross-sectional surveys in Germany, a two-wave panel study in Spain, and an eleven-wave panel study in the Netherlands. It tests whether affective polarisation increases turnout using varying operationalizations and specifications, and studies whether any boost in participation extends beyond the most politically sophisticated citizens. The findings suggest a sizeable independent effect of affective polarisation on turnout even when accounting for reverse causality and for the confounding impact of positive partisanship and ideological polarisation. Importantly, this effect might even be somewhat more pronounced among those who are least sophisticated. The concluding section discusses the normative and theoretical implications of these findings