The trend to high I/O density, performance and miniaturization at low cost is driving the industry towards shrinking interposer design rules, requiring a new set of packaging technologies. Low-CTE packages from silicon, glass and low-CTE organic substrates enable high interconnection density, high reliability and integration of system components. However, the large CTE mismatch between the package and the board presents reliability challenges for the board-level interconnections. Novel stress-relief structures that can meet reliability requirements along with electrical performance while meeting the cost constraints are needed to address these challenges. This thesis focuses on a comprehensive methodology starting with modeling, design, fabrication and characterization to validate such stress-relief structures. This study specifically explores SMT-compatible stress-relief microwire arrays in thin polymer carriers as a unique and low-cost solution for reliable board-level interconnections between large low-CTE packages and printed wiring boards. The microwire arrays are pre-fabricated in ultra-thin carriers using low-cost manufacturing processes such as laser vias and copper electroplating, which are then assembled in between the interposer and printed wiring board (PWB) as stress-relief interlayers. The microwire array results in dramatic reduction in solder stresses and strains, even with larger interposer sizes (20 mm × 20 mm), at finer pitch (400 microns), without the need for underfill. The parallel wire arrays result in low resistance and inductance, and therefore do not degrade the electrical performance. The scalability of the structures and the unique processes, from micro to nanowires, provides extendibility to finer pitch and larger package sizes. Finite element method (FEM) was used to study the reliability of the interconnections to provide guidelines for the test vehicle design. The models were built in 2.5D geometries to study the reliability of 400 µm-pitch interconnections with a 100 µm thick, 20 mm × 20 mm silicon package that was SMT-assembled onto an organic printed wiring board. The performance of the microwire array interconnection is compared to that of ball grid array (BGA) interconnections, in warpage, equivalent plastic strain and projected fatigue life. A unique set of materials and processes was used to demonstrate the low-cost fabrication of microwire arrays. Copper microwires with 12 µm diameter and 50 µm height were fabricated on both sides of a 50 µm thick, thermoplastic polymer carrier using dryfilm based photolithography and bottom-up electrolytic plating. The copper microwire interconnections were assembled between silicon interposer and FR-4 PWB through SMT-compatible process. Thermal mechanical reliability of the interconnections was characterized by thermal cycling test from -40°C to 125°C. The initial fatigue failure in the interconnections was identified at 700 cycles in the solder on the silicon package side, which is consistent with the modeling results. This study therefore demonstrated a highly-reliable and SMT-compatible solution for board-level interconnections between large low-CTE packages and printed wiring board.

The purpose of this study was to describe participation patterns at the district level of students enrolled in career academies and determine whether participation in career academies is a function of demographic and/or prior learning experience and prior performance variables. Ex-post facto data was used to determine six-year enrollment trends. In addition, both binary logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression methods were employed to determine the extent demographic along with prior learning experience and prior performance variables could be used to predict participation within career academies. Trend data results indicated slight increases in the proportions of students of color (including African American, Hispanic, and Multi-Racial) enrolling in career academies. However, Caucasian students continued to be overrepresented in career academies. Furthermore, female students, as well as students from economically advantaged families, enrolled to higher degrees in career academies. Moreover, students who enrolled in career academies were found to have taken more CTE coursework while enrolled in middle school and they demonstrated higher mean scores on the reading and mathematics portions of the state assessment during the school year prior to entering high school. The study is significant as it seeks to address a gap in the literature on career academy program participation, supporting the notion that the demographic (gender, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status) make up of career academies mirror the demographics of the schools, districts, and the communities in which they operate.

abstract: Career and technical education was founded on the common practice of apprenticeships integrated into the public schools at the beginning of the 20th century as manual arts, which continued to evolve into a culture and practice of its own as vocational education, and into what is now career and technical education,with an evolving focus on college and career readiness. This study sought to collect and compare the perceptions of superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and deans who were affiliated with ten Northeastern Arizona high schools, which were members of Northern Arizona Vocational Institute of Technology (NAVIT) to seven similar sized high schools in rural Arizona, which were not affiliated with NAVIT. The NAVIT schools were members of the Joint Technological Educational District. The member schools were required by intergovernmental agreement to operate their career and technical education programs by specific guidelines and curriculum.This study also compared the combined average academic achievement of the 2011 CTE concentrators of the NAVIT high schools, the non-NAVIT high schools, and all Arizona statewide CTE concentrators. Both NAVIT and non-NAVIT administrators were administered a survey, designed to measure perceptions of college/postsecondary preparation, career guidance and counseling,academic tracking, and curriculum. Results revealed that both NAVIT and non-NAVIT administrators were supportive of career and technical education, but for different reasons. The NAVIT administrators tended to view students in career and technical education programs as more mainstream, with college opportunities. The non-NAVIT administrators supported career and technical education as a system of programs that offered students opportunities for success, whether college bound or not. A significant number of NAVIT and non-NAVIT administrators opted for no opinion responses for several potentially controversial survey questions, which suggested discomfort with the topics. The academic achievement of the NAVIT, non-NAVIT, and statewide CTE concentrators as measured by the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards pass rates were marginal between groupings. The statewide average was highest, followed by NAVIT, and non-NAVIT. Recommendations for further research include conducting personal interviews of administrators to better assess leaders' perceptions of career and technical education and their influences on the academic and postsecondary career successes of students. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2012

Handel är en central del av världen i det rådande tillväxtparadigmet. För att underlätta handel mellan nationalstater skapades år 1948 GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). Detta avtal var så lyckat i att avskaffa handelshinder att övervakningsorganisationen WTO (World Trade Organization) skapades. WTO har sedan det bildades arbetat med att förenkla och effektivisera handeln och införlivat flera handelsrelaterade frågor till sin organisation. Då WTO bildades (1994) initierades samtidigt kommittén, CTE (Committee on Trade and Environment). Denna kommitté berör många frågor relaterade till handel och miljö, däribland klimatförändringsproblematiken. Dagens klimatdiskussion har ändrat perspektiv från klimatförändringens egentliga existerande till hur den på bästa sätt ska hanteras och förebyggas. I och med FN:s klimatkonvention (UNFCCC) och Kyoto-protokollet bands de industrialiserade länderna juridiskt till att sänka utsläppen av klimatpåverkande utsläpp. Arbetet med denna minskning fortgår idag inom flera av de länder som ratificerat protokollet och de internationella organisationer som de är medlemmar i. Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur aktörerna inom CTE i WTO behandlat klimatfrågan. Mer specifikt ska vi analysera hur diskussionerna förs/har förts vid behandlandet av klimatfrågan från dess att klimatfrågan första gången tas upp på CTE:s agenda 1995 och framåt. Uppsatsen kommer även att belysa vilka implicita intressen som drivit/driver medlemmar eller grupperingar till en viss strategi kring klimatfrågan. För att göra detta synligt använder uppsats de två textanalyserna korpusanalys och diskussionsanalys. Utifrån dessa metoder analyseras mötesrapporter från CTE. Inom CTE förs klimatdiskussionerna ur olika perspektiv, vissa länder talar endast om miljöåtgärder kopplat till dess påverkan på handel, medan andra länder försöker diskutera handels påverkan på miljö. Resultat och Analysdelen beskriver hur diskussionerna förs, här påvisas ett flertal olika mönster inom dessa diskussioner, det tydligaste mönstret som framträder är hur medlemmar i samband med klimatdiskussionerna argumenterar utifrån det egna landets ekonomiska vinning. Ett annat resultat som framkommit är att vissa av diskussionens deltagare angående om klimatfrågan skall hanteras inom CTE eller ej tycks växla sida med varandra. Avslutningsvis kommenterar slutsatserna diskussionen i uppsatsen och lyfter fram intressanta synvinklar.

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to examine factors influencing community college Career Technical Education (CTE) students in their field of study choice. The problem was twofold: (1) Community college CTE performance metrics include earnings goals, but there is little research to inform the performance metric (Harrington, Mbomeda, & Casillas, 2018; Roberts, Leufgen, & Booth, 2018); and (2) CTE students, who are disproportionately economically disadvantaged, pursue fields of study that do not lead to a living wage (Bahr, 2010; Booth & Bahr, 2012; Zhang & Oymak, 2018). For this within-stage mixed model design (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004), I created an instrument to examine quantitative and qualitative data for CTE field of study choice. The Choice of College Major Survey (CCMS) had three domains: 1) student characteristics, which consisted of the 27 Likert items; 2) sociodemographic, which consisted of the seven demographic items; and 3) six open-ended items, which were the qualitative part of the study. I tested variables within the student characteristics domain and the career integration variable. I found statistically significant (p I used the conceptual model of Hirschy, Bremer, and Castellano (2011) for community college CTE student success. Although I did not set out to propose a new conceptual model, my findings led to a proposed conceptual model for CTE field of study choice, based on the model by Hirschy et al. (2011). My findings indicated a distinction between influencers, which were included in the conceptual model by Hirschy et al. (2011), and purposeful process, which was not included. Because the conceptual model by Hirschy et al. (2011) was designed to explain student attainment of educational goals rather than field of study choice, purposeful process was not relevant in the original model. Further testing and validation of the CCMS and the proposed conceptual model would add to theory and practice. In this paper I make recommendations for policy and practice and suggest further research.

Educators must meet the demand to produce a workforce better educated with using 21st-century technology tools. The purpose of this case study was to explore the usefulness of Google Docs as one of those tools by examining 2 main questions. Those questions were how high school students perceive Google Docs could benefit them and how career and technical (CTE) teachers use it to support collaborative learning as a strong part of the learning process. The conceptual framework used included Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, which focuses on collaborative learning. Participants were 2 teachers and 8 students from 2 urban school districts in the Eastern part of the United States. Data sources were interviews with teachers and student focus group discussions. Data were coded using open coding, and themes and patterns were identified. Results indicated that Google Docs supports student learning by increasing opportunities for collaboration and helping students be more efficient while also preparing them for careers. Students indicated that they saw Google Docs as a learning tool and that they were more engaged while working collaboratively with their peers via the platform. Findings may help CTE teachers and students learn more about how to use web-based technologies to learn via collaboration and may assist students in becoming more successful in their CTE courses and careers.

In spite of the large overlap in the goals of CTE and STEM education, there is little evidence of the role(s) CTE delivery systems, programs, curricula, or pedagogical strategies can play in advancing STEM education. Because of their responsibilities, especially for organizational and instructional leadership, school district CTE directors could illuminate our understanding of linkages between CTE and STEM education. The purpose of this study was to analyze the experiences of school district CTE directors to better understand these linkages. The researcher used a qualitative research design to gain understanding of the local CTE directors' experiences. Data were collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 13 participants. The data were analyzed using a continuous process of coding, recoding, memo-writing and making comparisons across the transcripts. Among the results of the study were that definitions of STEM education were varied, but all had aspects of an integrated approach and using real world applications. The data revealed a number of contributions made by CTE to assist in STEM education implementation. They include context for learning, multiple pathways; platform for program delivery, and administrative leadership and framework. It was also found that strategies for increasing the visibility of CTE's contributions in the advancement of STEM education could include marketing CTE, demonstrating the value of CTE, enhancing curriculum and instruction, and rebranding CTE. Conclusions made in the study include, but not limited to, the fact that there are tremendous reciprocal benefits that CTE and STEM education can provide for one another, given there are strong, mutual, and intended linkage of the two; and that establishing a state-level STEM education coordinator position would result in providing much needed leadership at the local and state levels. Recommendations for practice that were made in the study include, but are not limited to, continuing to establish Virginia Governor's Academies throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia by aligning STEM education with CTE and continuing to support, at the highest level, intentional and mutual collaborative initiatives between STEM education and CTE. A recommendation for future research includes conducting a longitudinal study on the impact that Virginia Governor's Academies are having on student morale, growth, learning, and future endeavor. / Ph. D.

BACKGROUND: Sports-related head trauma has become a major public health concern with significant consequences including persistent post-concussion syndrome (pPCS) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). pPCS is a condition where symptoms of single concussion persist years beyond the initial injury. CTE has been characterized as a condition with insidious onset following a latent period after substantial exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHI). Timing of symptom onset usually distinguishes these conditions, however in certain clinical situations a definitive diagnosis is not always clear. For these situations, a measurable distinguishing variable is necessary. LITERATURE REVIEW: Concussions are the most common form of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are associated with a variety of neurological symptoms that usually resolve within weeks. Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) refers to cases where symptoms continue months beyond this window, and pPCS is defined as symptoms continuing over years. These conditions are temporally related single concussive events. CTE is the hallmark condition related to RHI and remains difficult to fully characterize as it currently can only be diagnosed post-mortem. Clinical features of CTE are similar to those of pPCS with notable behavioral/mood symptoms in its earliest stages, and progression to severe cognitive decline over time. Current research has shown executive dysfunction to be a common impairment among these conditions. The difference in level of dysfunction between them, if one exists, is yet to be measured. PROPOSED PROJECT: A cross-sectional analysis of executive function in four groups. A control without history of mTBI or football exposure (Non-Football – pPCS), a second control of asymptomatic subjects with football exposure (Football – pPCS), a group of pPCS patients with non-athletic mTBI history (Non-Football + pPCS), and a group of pPCS patients with football exposure (Football + pPCS). Executive functioning will be evaluated using the BRIEF-A assessment. Results will be compared to determine if significant differences in executive functioning exist between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: With previous studies showing a correlation between CTE pathological stage, worsening executive function, and increased RHI exposure, further investigation into using executive function as a distinguishing variable between early stage CTE and pPCS is warranted. SIGNIFICANCE: Results of this study, if significant, could be applied clinically to assess risk of early stage CTE in athletes with prolonged post-concussion symptoms. If results are not significant, they may still be utilized for a better understanding of the effects of isolated mTBIs and RHI on executive functioning, and provide valuable information for ongoing longitudinal studies.

A material’s Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) is a valuable physical property, particularly for structural fiber reinforced composites that are routinely used in satellite/aerospace applications. Satellite space structures are routinely designed with a high degree of dimensional and thermal stability. Designing and verifying for near zero CTE performance is a common design requirement. The CTE is routinely a physical property with known values for common materials. However, the strength, stiffness and CTE properties on a multi-ply graphite fiber reinforced laminate composite can be tailored to specific engineering requirements. Because of this, a method of verification (testing) is routinely performed to ensure these requirements are met.

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