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Thermomechanical and fatigue analysis of SiC power modules with a comparison of sintered silver and copper die attaches
Full text linkSintered silver is widely used for reliable interconnects in silicon carbide (SiC) power module packaging but is limited by high cost and significant ionic migration issues. Sintered copper offers a promising, cost-effective alternative. Despite its potential, comparative studies on the mechanisms behind the high reliability of sintered copper remain limited. This work develops finite element models of SiC power modules with sintered silver and sintered copper die attaches for comparative thermomechanical analysis and fatigue lifetime prediction, where the viscoplastic behavior is represented using the Anand model and fatigue lifetime is predicted based on the Engelmaier model. The results show significant stress concentration at the die attach interfacial corners near the substrates, with higher stresses in the sintered copper layer and larger equivalent viscoplastic strain in the sintered silver layer. The viscoplastic dissipation energy density in both die attach layers concentrates at the interfacial corners near the directionally bonded copper substrate, where fatigue cracks are more likely to initiate. Cracks initiate earlier in the sintered silver layer than in the sintered copper layer. Although the sintered copper layer experiences higher thermal stress, the higher yield strength of sintered copper and the lower coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatches between the sintered copper and the copper substrate result in less viscoplastic strain accumulation in the sintered copper layer, leading to less fatigue damage in the sintered copper layer than in the sintered silver. The fatigue lifetime of SiC power modules with sintered copper die attach is significantly longer than that with sintered silver, and the simulation results align with experimental observations
Plant-based diets among young women in Scotland : ‘Unless it's affordable, convenient, healthy, and familiar, it’s a no’
No full textMoving towards more plant-based diets is a win-win for both human and planetary health. However, for successful adoption, such diets must be realistic and convenient. This study explored the factors influencing food choices among young women in Scotland and examined how they interpret and use plant-based and convenience food in their daily lives. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 women aged 18-24 and generated six themes using reflexive thematic analysis within a critical realist framework. We found meat consumption to be socially and culturally embedded, reinforced by family, peers, and social media (Theme 1). Participants expressed a sense of safety with familiar meat-based dishes and fear towards unfamiliar plant-based dishes (Theme 2). ‘Plant-based’ was widely perceived as meat alternatives only, which were rejected across health, taste, cost, and identity considerations. Although cost was the biggest driver of food choice, meat was perceived as a necessary expense, further justified by health motivations (Theme 3). Environmental concerns were less important, with participants demonstrating limited awareness about the environmental impact of food (Theme 4). Convenience was important, though ready meals were rejected in favour of batch cooking and quick-prep meals (Theme 5). Meat reduction was perceived as an all-or-nothing identity shift, with negative vegan stereotypes deterring even small reductions in intake (Theme 6). These findings highlight the need to reposition plant-based foods as affordable, convenient, healthy, and familiar, likely requiring wider food system changes. Further, health benefits of increased plant-based wholefoods and reduced meat consumption should be emphasised in government and industry messaging
Scaffolding work-integrated learning through personalised portfolio pathways
No full textWork Integrated Learning (WIL) constitutes a fundamental component of university apprenticeship degree programmes, supporting the integration of academic knowledge with workplace practice and evidencing professional competence. Effective implementation of WIL is essential for the successful delivery of apprenticeship degree programmes. Whilst there are a variety of assessment approaches for WIL, the portfolio approach is commonly used. Portfolio assessment provides a flexible approach to documenting experience but requires suitable scaffolding to support apprentices throughout their learning journey. Apprentices can be employed in a wide range of contexts, and scaffolding must account for diverse workplace experiences, both in scale and domain of organisations, as well as varied roles and career trajectories. This paper presents a framework for personalised portfolio development that aims to address these challenges. The framework was iteratively designed and validated over five years through implementation in a software development apprenticeship degree programme. The framework comprises of three components: personal development planning, one-to-one support through a learning adviser, and formative assessments. The framework has been successfully used to support personalised learning pathways to over 100 graduates who have developed comprehensive portfolios which have supported not only their assessment, but also their career management and progression
Working with students as partners in a social justice-oriented law clinic : practice and legacy
Full text linkThe University of Strathclyde law clinic provides free legal assistance to people who are unable to get legal help by any other means. Founded in 2003, its driving purpose was to meet the needs of the community, and not directly the educational needs of students. Today, students of the law clinic continue to be recruited based on a demonstrable desire to give back to their communities and an awareness of societal issues facing the legal sector. This focus on community service, rather than education for its own sake, remains a defining and distinctive feature of this law clinic. It is one that results in an organic form of learning, whereby students and staff learn from each other while working in partnership to achieve a common goal. Students as Partners (“SaP”) is a pedagogy that reconceptualises students from passive consumers of education to agents of their own learning. It focuses on creating a collaborative and equitable learning environment where students actively participate in shaping their learning experience. This is a reciprocal process whereby all participants can contribute equally, although not necessarily in the same way, to the learning process. Although the law clinic was not originally conceived within the parameters of the SaP pedagogy, this is now where it sits. We set out why this is so below, before addressing three key aspects that often arise through working with SaP – power, emotions, and uncertainty – and how these are managed in the context of the clinic. We hope that the model may serve as a case study for other law teachers who are interested in working with students as partners in their own fields, particularly those involved in experiential or practice-based learning
Navigating Scotland’s Digital Health and Social Care Innovation Ecosystem : Mapping Support Structures from an Entrepreneurial Perspective
No full textThis report presents the first structured mapping of Scotland’s digital health and social care innovation support ecosystem from an entrepreneurial perspective. Using a mixed-methods approach combining ecosystem mapping based on desk review, readiness-level analysis, and engagement with key stakeholders and entrepreneurs, the study identifies 59 organisations supporting innovation across the Quadruple Helix domains of academia, industry, the public sector and the third sector. The analysis reveals a broad yet highly specialised ecosystem, in which support is primarily concentrated in the early stages of innovation — such as funding, mentoring and networking — while functions related to regulation, service integration and system adoption appear less visible and more fragmented. The findings suggest that the principal challenge for innovators is not the absence of support, but the difficulty of navigating and sequencing existing resources throughout the innovation journey. At the same time, the study highlights that, although a relatively established base of support exists for digital health innovation, support specifically directed towards digital social care innovation remains less visible, less clearly articulated and more difficult to identify
Unveiling the illusion : a critical examination of transformational tourism and the role of staging in tourist perceptions
No full textThis study critically examines the role of marketing and staging in the context of transformational tourism, exploring whether the experiences marketed by tourism operators genuinely lead to personal transformation or simply create an illusion of transformation. By analysing promotional material and customer reviews, the research identifies a gap between the experiences projected by tour operators and those perceived by tourists. Using frameworks such as Goffman’s performance theory and the concept of liminality, the study reveals how tour operators often construct narratives around transformation, leveraging the placebo effect to enhance customer satisfaction. The findings suggest that many transformation tourism offerings emphasise personal growth and self-discovery but often fail to deliver genuine transformation. Instead, they rely heavily on marketing techniques and commodified experiences to meet tourist expectations. The study also highlights the growing commodification of authentic experiences in transformational tourism, questioning the integrity of the industry and its capacity to provide lasting, meaningful change. It calls for a more nuanced approach to designing and delivering transformational tourism experiences that align marketing promises with actual outcomes, emphasising authenticity over performative staging
"Mate, you gone legit?" : Tension and loss in status and desistance
No full textThis article introduces the concept of status collapse - the symbolic and existential loss experienced by working-class men during desistance from crime. Drawing on collaborative autoethnography, the authors explore how status, as symbolic capital and embodied recognition, shapes both criminal persistence and the challenges of transitioning to prosocial life. While desistance theory has emphasised cognitive and relational change, this paper highlights the underexplored cost of losing criminalised identities that once conferred meaning, belonging, and social standing. The authors develop the concept of Desistance Habitus to describe how symbolic capital from street and carceral contexts can be reconfigured in prosocial terrains. They call for justice interventions that offer not just relational support but meaningful status reconstruction
Investigation of the robustness of Rayleigh optical activity for the assignment of absolute configurations of chiral molecules
Full text linkExperimental measurements of Rayleigh optical activity (RayOA) for liquid phase chiral molecules have been recently reported for the first time, nearly 50 years after it was theoretically formulated. Inspired by these experimental data, we computationally model the RayOA of several chiral molecules to assess the usefulness of this newly reported experimental method for assigning their absolute configurations. We consider the influence of factors that can often preclude the routine assignment of absolute configurations, including conformational flexibility, solute–solvent clusters, and dispersion interactions. We find that RayOA is not as sensitive to these factors as other commonly used chiroptical spectroscopies, namely, specific rotation, electronic circular dichroism, vibrational circular dichroism, and vibrational Raman optical activity, which suggests that RayOA may be best suited for routine absolute configuration assignment. Additionally, we report on a class of chiral propellers that could be tailored to have large magnitudes of RayOA. We also find that there can be preresonance RayOA enhancement when the wavelength of RayOA measurement approaches that of electronic transitions. Thus, RayOA may potentially find a strong foothold within the chemical community due to its potential robustness and ease of computational treatment for absolute configuration determinations
Why object to inequalities in health and wellbeing? A mixed-methods exploration of inequality aversion with members of the general public
Full text linkDistributional cost-effectiveness analyses (DCEAs) help decision-makers incorporate equity considerations in healthcare resource allocation. Public aversion to health inequalities is well documented, but underlying reasonings are rarely explored. Existing studies often elicit inequality aversion across socioeconomic groups, potentially conflating aversion to inequalities in health with inequalities in household finances or wellbeing. Additionally, online surveys systematically exclude people who do not use the internet, a disadvantaged group. To examine whether: i) reasoning for distributional preferences depend on the domain of inequality; ii) reasoning for distributional preferences are affected by cause of inequality; iii) participants provide and explain responses that violate 'monotonicity' (the welfare economics principle that, other things being equal, social welfare improves when at least one person is better-off); and iv) the above vary across the digital divide. We employed mixed-methods to collect qualitative and quantitative data, via online discussion groups with a survey (11 groups, n=53), and telephone interviews (n=15) with digital minority individuals. Participants considered scenarios comparing equal and unequal health and wellbeing outcomes for an imaginary island. Wellbeing was framed as 'equivalent income' (described to participants as household spending money, with other life aspects being good). Distributional preferences varied by domain and cause of inequality but not digital status. Health inequality caused by financial inequality was widely unaccepted. Some preferred equal distributions, even when violating 'monotonicity', citing fairness and social cohesion. Recruiting across the digital divide and using mixed-methods enriches inequality aversion research, enhancing the inclusivity and legitimacy of DCEA. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2026. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Optimizing interlayer thickness for enhanced performance and chemical durability in sandwich-structured PEM fuel cells
Full text linkPolymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells are a leading technology for clean energy conversion, but their widespread adoption is hindered by the trade-off between high performance and long-term chemical durability. Here, we report an engineered multilayer PEM that sandwiches a gas barrier interlayer between cast Nafion outer layers. A blend of poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(vinylsulfonic acid) (PVA/PVS) is used as the interlayer material, designed to suppress gas crossover and mitigate chemical attack without sacrificing ionic conductivity. The optimized membrane (designated PVA-100) has an interlayer loading of 100 μg/cm2and achieves power density equivalent to pristine Nafion at 0.6 V. Crucially, under accelerated stress testing, this membrane exhibits 1.8x higher chemical durability compared with a conventional membrane, maintaining superior voltage stability and superior power output retention at 0.6 V. These findings establish interlayer engineering as a scalable and effective strategy to overcome the durability–performance trade-off in PEM fuel cells
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