Continued technology scaling together with the integration of disparate technologies in a single chip means that device performance continues to outstrip interconnect and packaging capabilities, and hence there exist many difficult engineering challenges, most notably in power management, noise isolation, and intra and inter-chip communication. Significant research effort spanning many decades has been expended on traditional VLSI integration technologies, encompassing process, circuit and architectural issues to tackle these problems. Recently however, three- dimensional (3-D) integration has emerged as a leading contender in the challenge to meet performance, heterogeneous integration, cost, and size demands through this decade and beyond. Through silicon via (TSV) based 3-D wafer-level integration is an emerging vertical interconnect methodology that is used to route the signal and power supply links through all chips in the stack vertically. Delay and signal integrity (SI) calculation for signal propagation through TSVs is a critical analysis step in the physical design of such systems. In order to reduce design time and mirror well established practices, it is desirable to carry this out in two stages, with the physical structures being modelled by parasitic parameters in equivalent circuits, and subsequent analysis of the equivalent circuits for the desired metric. This thesis addresses both these issues. Parasitic parameter extraction is carried out using a field solver to explore trends in typical technologies to gain an insight into the variation of resistive, capacitive and inductive parasitics including coupling effects. A set of novel closed-form equations are proposed for TSV parasitics in terms of physical dimensions and material properties, allowing the electrical modelling of TSV bundles without the need for computationally expensive field-solvers. Suitable equivalent circuits including capacitive and inductive coupling are derived, and comparisons with field solver provided values are used to show the accuracy of the proposed parasitic parameter models for the purpose of performance and SI analysis. The deep submicron era saw the interconnection delay rather than the gate delay become the major bottleneck in modern digital design. The nature of this problem in 3-D circuits is studied in detail in this thesis. The ubiquitous technique of repeater insertion for reducing propagation delay and signal degradation is examined for TSVs, and suitable strategies and analysis techniques are proposed. Further, a minimal power smart repeater suitable for global on-chip interconnects, which has the potential to reduce power consumption by as much as 20% with respect to a traditional inverter is proposed. A modeling and analysis methodology is also proposed, that makes the smart repeater easier to amalgamate in CAD flows at different levels of hierarchy from initial signal planning to detailed place and route when compared to alternatives proposed in the literature. Finally, the topic of system-level performance estimation for massively integrated systems is discussed. As designers are presented with an extra spatial dimension in 3-D integration, the complexity of the layout and the architectural trade-offs also increase. Therefore, to obtain a true improvement in performance, a very careful analysis using detailed models at different hierarchical levels is crucial. This thesis presents a cohesive analysis of the technological, cost, and performance trade-offs for digital and mixed-mode systems, outlining the choices available at different points in the design and their ramifications / QC 20100916

高科技產業是目前台灣繼紡織工業、機械工業後引領台灣近三十年來產業發展的主流產業，其中又以ICT（Information & Communications Technology）產業是台灣高科技產業的代表。但高科技產業特徵是快速的變化，並不斷經過創新技術的發展，加劇其變化的速度，要有能力在高科技產業中持續發展，對市場趨勢、核心能力的掌握、新技術發展、人才養成、垂直整合能力、水平產業整合能力等皆需具備，才有機會在高科技產業中生存及發展。因此如何掌握企業本身的核心能力、檢視整體供應鏈價值，並提出適合之企業經營與競合策略，便是能否在高科技產業中持續發展的關鍵因素了。 觸控面板產業自2007年Apple正式推出iPhone後，觸控面板有了急速成長的開端。其中台灣在觸控面板的供應鏈中佔有超過50%的產值，是台灣在全球的又一個世界第一，值得期待，而本研究的主題”捲揚式真空濺鍍產業”正是觸控面板業中的關鍵材料製造技術。但在台灣創造另一個第一的同時，細部去分析此類產品供應鏈的成本結構，獲利最高的並非台灣廠商而是日本廠商，那麼如何提高台灣廠商在觸控面板產業的價值，答案就在如何洞悉產業及如合運用創新與競合的經營策略了。 / A high-tech industry is a mainstream industry. In Taiwan, the machinery industry is second only to the textile industry as the leading industry over three decades of industrial development. Within the machinery industry, the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) industry is representative of Taiwan's high-tech industry. However, the high-tech industry is characterised by rapid change, which results in the continuous development of innovative technologies. These changes enable companies to sustain technological development, grasp market trends, enhance core competencies, develop talent, gain vertical integration capability, and improve their chances of survival and growth in the high-technology industry. Therefore, the key to sustainable development of the high-tech industry lies in mastering the core competencies of the enterprise itself, considering the value of the overall supply chain, and adopting a suitable competition and cooperation strategy for the business. Since 2007, there has been significant growth in the touch panel industry with the official launch of the Apple iPhone. This study on the“winch vacuum sputtering industry”focuses on the Taiwan based touch panel supply chain, which is a world leader and accounts for 50% of national output value,to assess the key materials in manufacturing technology. However, establishing another successful industry in Taiwan requires additional data to analyse the cost structure of the supply chain of such products and requires assessing Japanese manufacturers in addition to the most profitable Taiwanese companies. Hence, insights from the business strategies of innovating/competing industries is likely to improve the value of Taiwanese touch panel manufacturers.

<p>Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva, analysera och diskutera vilka organisatoriska och interorganisatoriska förhållanden som har betydelse för mellanchefers möjlighet att driva hållbar verksamhetsutveckling. Avsikten är att studera samspelet mellan organisatoriska och interorganisatoriska förhållanden kopplat till mellanchefers förändringskompetens. Forskningen har skett inom ramen för ett omfattande nationellt FoU-projekt inom vård och omsorg. Projektets syfte var att arbeta med ett hållbart utvecklingsarbete som byggde på en bred delaktighet bland anställda och chefer.</p><p>Studien är en kvalitativ studie med ett interaktivt förhållningssätt, vilket innebär en ambition att forska med de berörda inom ramen för en gemensam kunskapsbildning. Den interaktiva forskningen strävar efter att vara till praktisk nytta, men framförallt är syftet att bidra till</p><p>teoriutvecklingen. De datainsamlingsmetoder som använts är arbetsplatsbesök, intervjuer, ”critical incident”-metoden, reflektions-PM (inom ramen för två utbildningar), analysdialog- och reflektionsseminarier, informella samtal samt återföringsträffar. Ett antal gemensamma aktiviteter har anordnats inom ramen för det nationella projektet, vilka även har fungerat som datainsamling och gemensam analys, såsom nationella konferenser, styrgruppsmöten m.m.</p><p>Avhandlingens resultat visar att mellancheferna inom vård och omsorgssektorn kan ha en strategisk roll i verksamhetsutvecklingen. Avsikten med min forskning har inte varit att generalisera resultaten i traditionell mening, men att visa på mekanismer och förutsättningar för mellancheferna vid organisering av utvecklingsarbetet. De organisatoriska villkoren – i form av ekonomi, ansvar, befogenheter, professionalisering och företagskultur – påverkar starkt mellanchefernas förutsättningar att driva ett utvecklingsarbete. Min forskning visar på intressanta möjligheter för mellancheferna när det gäller att åstadkomma en vertikal och horisontell integrering av utvecklingsarbetet. Det finns exempel på hur mellanchefer kunnat påverka och utnyttja dessa förutsättningar för att skapa ett handlingsutrymme i organisationen för att driva ett utvecklingsarbete. De har använt sig av målstyrning, skapat utrymme för lärande och reflektion samt skapat en organisationskultur som stöder utveckling. De interorganisatoriska förutsättningarna – i form av externt nätverk, forskarstöd och partsamverkan – har varit viktiga för mellancheferna i deras utvecklingsarbete.</p> / <p>The aim of the dissertation is to describe, analyse and discuss those organisational and interorganisational conditions which are of importance for the enablement of middle managers to drive sustainable development in activity areas. The intention is to study the interplay between organisational and inter-organisational conditions coupled to the change competence of the middle managers. The research has been carried out within the framework of an extensive national R&D project within healthcare and caring. The aim of the project was to work with a sustainable development effort which had as its foundation a broad</p><p>participation between employees and management.</p><p>The study is a qualitative study with an interactive type of approach, which implies an ambition to carry out research with those affected within the framework of a joint knowledge gathering. The interactive research attempts to be of practical use, but the aim is primarily to contribute to theoretical development. The data collection methods which have been used are visits to the workplaces, interviews, “critical-incident” methods, reflective-PMs (within the framework of two education areas), analytical dialog and reflective seminars, informal conversations and feedback meetings. A number of common activities have been organised within the framework of the national project, which have also functioned as data collection and common analyses, as well as national conferences, steering group meetings etc.</p><p>The results of the dissertation show that middle managers within the healthcare and caring sector can have a strategic role in the development of this activity area. The intention of my research has not been to generalise the results in the traditional interpretation, but to reveal mechanisms and prerequisites for the middle managers in organising development efforts. The organisational conditions – in the form of economy, responsibility, authority, professionalisation and company culture – strongly affect the prerequisites of the middle manager for driving a development effort. My research demonstrates interesting opportunities for the middle managers concerning achieving a vertical and horizontal integration of the development effort. There are examples of how the middle managers have been able to influence and utilise these prerequisites in order to create room for action in the organisation for driving a development effort. They have availed themselves of goal orientation, created room for learning and reflection and have created an organisational culture that supports development. The inter-organisational prerequisitess – in the form of an external network, research support and collaboration of parties – has been important for the middle managers in their development efforts.</p>

Mi tesis utiliza la noción de contrato relacional para explicar pautas aparentemente contraintuitivas de organización vertical. El primer capitulo muestra que, cuando existen externalidades entre empresas, la integración vertical reduce la tentación de sus ejecutivos de bajar el esfuerzo, haciendo sus promisas de cooperar más creibles. El segundo capitulo muestra que, cuando una regulación europea prohibió los territorios exclusivos en la distribución de automóviles, los fabricantes impusieron estándares de servicio y precios maximos, estos últimos para reducir la tentación de los concesionarios de romper pactos informales para no competir. El tercer capitulo muestra que, pese a la asignación simétrica de derechos de decisión en sus contratos de franquicia, los fabricantes de coches dictan estándares a los concesionarios, remunerandolos con descuentos discrecionales. Eso sugiere que los fabricantes son delegados informalmente para tomar decisiones, y usan sus podéres contractuales como recurso extremo contra la tentación de los concesionarios de rechazarlas. / My thesis applies the notion of relational contracts to explain seemingly counterintuitive vertical arrangements. The first chapter shows that, in the presence of spillovers between an upstream and a downstream firm, vertical integration reduces the downstream manager's present gains from shirking, making her promise to cooperate with the upstream firm credible. The second chapter shows that, after a European regulation prohibited exclusive territories, car dealership contracts switched to a mix of service standards and price ceilings, and argues that price ceilings were introduced to reduce the dealers' short-run profits from reneging on an informal "no-compete" agreement. The third chapter shows that, despite the even allocation of decision rights in dealership contracts, car manufacturers dictate performance standards ex post, and reward dealers through discretionary discounts. This suggests manufacturers are informally delegated to set standards, and use formal decision rights as a last resort against the dealers' temptation to overturn their decisions.

Esta tesis se compone de dos partes separadas y sin relación entre ellas. El primer capítulo, coautorado con el Profesor Greg Barron, es un experimento en toma de decisiones individuales. Este capítulo se construye a partir de una literatura creciente, que enfatiza el siguiente punto: cuando aprendemos las probabilidades y los resultados de una lotería a través de la experiencia en vez de la descripción visual del problema -un prospecto- entonces tomamos decisiones como si estuviéramos devaluando eventos poco probables. Esto contrasta con el fenómeno bien conocido de que las probabilidades pequeñas suelen sobrevaluarse cuando se toman decisiones a partir de prospectos. Nuestro trabajo contribuye a la literatura dando fuerza al punto mencionado frente a algunas críticas. En particular, nosotros encontramos que la devaluación sobrevive la eliminación de un problema de muestreo que afectaba trabajos anteriores y está correcto en el nuestro. Encontramos tambi´en que hay devaluación de probabilidades pequeñas vii en toma de decisiones al mismo tiempo que sobrevaluación en juicio sobre las mismas probabilidades. Este útimo resultado no puede ser explicado. El segundo capítulo introduce una nueva teoría de integración vertical a partir del hecho de que aumentar el poder contractual de una empresa es citado muy a menudo como una razón para integrarse verticalmente con los proveedores. En mi modelo las empresas se integran para ganar poder contractual hacia proveedores no integrados en la cadena productiva. El coste de la integración es una pérdida de flexibilidad a la hora de escoger los proveedores más apropiados para un particular producto final. Muestro como las empresas que tienen inversiones más específicas en el proceso productivo tienen un ayor incentivo a integrarse. La teoría presentada permite explicar numerosos hechos estilizados como el efecto del desarrollo financiero sobre la estructura vertical de las empresas, la evolución que se observa de inversión extranjera directa a outsourcing en el comercio internacional, la conexi´on entre ciclo de vida del producto y la estructura vertical, etc. / This thesis is composed of two separate, unrelated chapters. Chapter I, coauthored with Greg Barron, is an experiment in individual decision making. It builds on a small and growing literature which makes the following point: whenever we learn the odds and outcomes of a binary choice problem through experience rather than from a visual description -a prospect- then we take decisions as if we were underweighting rare events. This is in contrast to the well known phenomenon of overweighting rare events in prospect based decisions. Our work contributes to the literature by strengthening this finding in the face of earlier criticism. In particular we find that the underweighting is robust to the elimination of sampling bias which affected previous studies and is absent from ours. We also find that underweighting in choice happens at the same time as overweighting in probability judgment. This remains unexplained. Chapter II introduces a new theory of vertical integration building on the fact that improving a company's bargaining position is often cited as a chief motivation to vertically integrate with suppliers. In my model firms integrate to gain bargaining power against other suppliers in the production process. The cost of integration is a loss of flexibility in choosing the most suitable suppliers for a particular final product. I show that the firms who make the most specific investments in the production process have the greatest incentive to integrate. The theory provides novel insights to the understanding of numerous stylized facts such as the effect of financial development on the vertical structure of firms, the observed pattern from FDI to outsourcing in international trade, the connection between product cycle and vertical structure, etc.

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world. Since the 1980s the role of tourism as a means of achieving the objectives of economic development has received prominence within the sustainable development paradigm. This dissertation examines the role of international tourism in achieving the objectives of economic development in terms of its impact on key social and economic variables, such as the balance of payments, inflation, employment and the social fabric of host communities. It also examines the constraints facing international tourism, such as the effect of perceptions on tourism flows and the powerful position of multinationals in influencing the tourist decision-making process. The success of the international tourism industry in selected countries is assessed and the relative position of the South African tourist offering is highlighted in an attempt to draw lessons for the future development of the industry in South Africa. / Economics / M. A. (Economics)

The evolution of supply chain management has made significant and continuous contributions to logistical processes. This is highly relevant to crude oil logistics in Nigeria, because both indigenous and multinational oil companies who distribute crude oil from Nigerian ports are yet to adopt an integrated export logistics operation. Besides, the study explores the philosophy of supply chain management applying theoretic frameworks of supply chain process management, demand variability, and vertical integration to encourage integrated export logistics for the distribution of crude oil from Nigeria to China. In addition, the research objectives are: to identify the components of crude oil exports; to review the principles of integrated supply chain management; to analyse crude oil demand in China; to evaluate the efficiency of oil distribution, and to propose strategies that will raise the efficiency of crude oil exports to China from Nigeria. A conceptual model was developed to identify relevant issues that guide the synergy of China’s requirement for energy security and Nigeria’s crude oil supply capability. Also, both a Delphi survey and an archival research method’s were adopted to elucidate on the characteristics of the research population, the shipment frequencies between the two countries, and the sources of competing crude oil exports to China. Measures of central tendency from respondent feedback and non-parametric tests support the study’s findings. Furthermore, recommendations for strategic, operational, and tactical organisation of resources were identified to raise integrated crude oil export efficiency from Nigeria to China directed by the theoretic framework. Moreover, their implications for sustainable logistics practice in the short, medium, and long-term are considered. Finally, it was found that adopting vertical integration in a crude oil supply chain will ensure responsiveness to support export efficiency, and enhance the geographic characteristics of Nigeria for increased export shipments to China.

O estudo se propõe a conhecer a percepção dos avicultores que operam em sistema de integração vertical agroindustrial no município de Mineiros (GO) quanto à qualidade de vida no trabalho (QVT) proporcionada aos seus empregados. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória e de campo, de caráter quantitativo e qualitativo. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de questionário, com questões fechadas, aplicado em uma amostra de 42 avicultores, e de entrevistas semiestruturadas aplicadas em uma subamostra de 12 produtores. O questionário identificou a amostra e aspectos relacionados à atividade e à relação do produtor integrado com a agroindústria integradora, capazes de impactar na QVT dos empregados rurais das granjas. Identifica, também, a percepção dos produtores integrados quanto à qualidade de vida no trabalho proporcionada aos seus funcionários. As entrevistas foram feitas para aprofundamento da percepção da QVT. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que os avicultores pesquisados têm percepção da satisfação de seus empregados com a qualidade de vida que desfrutam no trabalho. Especialmente os que produzem frango/chester reportam importante percepção de insatisfação de seus funcionários em relação à jornada de trabalho e previsibilidade de horários. Acredita-se que a presente pesquisa possa servir para subsidiar a implementação, por parte dos avicultores, de ações voltadas para a melhoria da qualidade de vida no trabalho de seus colaboradores, gerando desenvolvimento para o Município. / The study proposes to understand the perception of poultry farmers operating in agribusiness vertical integration system in the municipality of Mineiros-GO for the Quality of Life at Work - QLW proportionate to their employees. This is an exploratory research and field, quantitative and qualitative. The data collection was carried out by means of a questionnaire with closed questions applied to a sample of 42 farmers and semi-structured interviews applied in a subsample of 12 producers. The questionnaire identified the sample and aspects related to the activity and the relationship between the integrated producer with agribusiness integrator capable of impacting on QWL of rural workers of the farms, as well as identified the perception of integrated producers with respect to the Quality of Life at Work proportionate to their employees. The interviews were made for deepening of perception on the QWL. The results obtained demonstrate that the respondents perception of satisfaction of their employees with the quality of life at work that they enjoy. The respondents, especially those who produce chicken/chester, reply important perception of dissatisfaction of the changes in working day and your time of life. It is believed that the present research may serve to ensure that the respondents can implement actions directed to the improvement of the quality of life at work of its employees, generating development for the municipality.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Agricultural Economics)) --University of Limpopo, 2016. / Refer to document

The study was undertaken to establish the role that should be played by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to strengthen existing second-tier agricultural cooperatives in South Africa to ensure that they are able to provide support services to member cooperatives. Ten existing second-tier agricultural cooperatives in the Zululand district of the province of Kwazulu Natal took part in the study. The results indicate that although these cooperatives understand the services to provide, they lack capacity mainly due to lack of the necessary infrastructure, finance and skills. The study recommends that DAFF should recognise the significance of this tier of cooperatives and provide direct and focused support. DAFF should develop a Cooperative Development Strategy for the sector that clearly articulates how it is going to support this level of cooperatives. Among others DAFF should also provide initial infrastructure to these cooperatives and facilitate private-public-partnership initiatives. / Public Administration and Management / M. Tech. (Public Management)