产品可靠性的重新下降？

不久前，我们的行业遇到了元件可靠性问题，大批量产品用户发现美国公司的存储器IC的故障率比日本同类产品高。通过努力，现在各类IC都很可靠，硬IC故障也很少。我们的其它元件．比如无源元件、印线电路板等，情况也大多是如此。     

芯片尺寸是否越大越好?

把更多的功能和更多的门电路集成在一块芯片上的能力——无论你将这块芯片称为SoC(单片系统)、ASIC(专用集成电路)还是称为一块大型集成电路——正在迅速提高。在亚微米设计和亚微米制造工艺的推动下,以及在更好的EDA工具和程序库的支持下,人们可以把数百万个子电路集成在一块硅片上。这种情况也许会有人认为,一种定制的、一块集成电路的体系结构——或许还能得到几个新奇而又     

Unintended consequences: institutional artefacts,closure mechanisms and the performance gap

ABSTRACT

Renewable technologies often feature in policies to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Designers introduce predicted energy values for specific technologies, but are surprised when the technologies fail to perform as expected. Three building projects are used to explore the effect of construction processes on the energy performance of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technology. In two cases BIPV failed to deliver expected energy generation, while in the third, dramatic changes in project processes and technical specifications were needed to achieve the specified output. A social construction of technology (SCOT) analysis documents how the energy generation of BIPV disappeared from view at certain points as actors focused on building features. A contribution is made to the theoretical development of SCOT by responding to two issues: privileging of cognitive closure mechanisms and the neglect of institutional analysis. The concept of inflection mechanisms is introduced as a second type of closure mechanism. More specifically, the role of institutional artefacts (e.g. planning requirements and schedules) in the construction process is found to contribute to the performance gap. To reduce the ‘performance gap’, practitioners need to focus on the distribution of design responsibility, sequencing of work and the location of expertise.     

Comparing the fit between BREEAM assessment and design processes

This paper explores the mapping of the environmental assessment process onto design and construction processes. A comparative case study method is used to identify and account for variations in the ‘fit’ between these two processes. The analysis compares eight BREEAM projects (although relevant to LEED, GreenStar, etc.) and distinguishes project-level characteristics and dynamics. Drawing on insights from literature on sustainable construction and assessment methods, an analytic framework is developed to examine the effect of clusters of project and assessment-level elements on different types of fit (tight, punctual and bolt-on). Key elements distinguishing between types include: prior working experience with project team members, individual commitment to sustainable construction, experience with sustainable construction, project continuity, project-level ownership of the assessment process, and the nature and continuity of assessor involvement. Professionals with ‘sustainable’ experience used BREEAM judiciously to support their designs (along with other frameworks), but less committed professionals tended to treat it purely as an assessment method. More attention needs to be paid to individual levels of engagement with, and understanding of, sustainability in general (rather than knowledge of technical solutions to individual credits), to ownership of the assessment process and to the potential effect of discontinuities at the project level on sustainable design.     

你能决定新产品是否应该上马吗?

在开发产品时, 你花了很多时间,也很辛苦,而你的竞争对手却比你更快推出更好或者更宜的产品,比你先进入市场,这时你一定十分恼火。     

开发人员要学会等待

我们生活在一种期求一时满足的文化氛围之中，无论你是一位想从网上获得信息或者想享受音乐或视频信息的消费者，还是一位希望看到自己最近编码工作成果的工程师，你都希望得到一时的满足，而且面在就希望得到。你对你最新IC设计的第一块硅片长达数月的等待似乎觉得漫长而无法接受；假如我们都面对很短的产品周期，则情况就是这样。     

另类传感器观念:汽车传感器

今天的轿车装满了传感器,用以提供性能和安全的关键数据.一开始,传感器是信号路径中的第一条链路,用来监视引擎和传动系统的各项参数,比如氧气、流体、温度、电压和电流,但它们的用途很快扩大到了来自各种致动器和电动机的反馈回路,其中包括防抱死系统和电动窗电动机.当然,传感器对于气囊部署系统的碰撞传感是至关重要的.     

激发情感 创造伟业

最近，我参加了Analog Devices公司四十周年庆祝活动。该公司是EDN的一家重要广告客户。毫无疑问，我带回的启示对于我们与行业中许多占主导地位的公司(无论它们的规模大小和创建时间长短)全都适用。     

我们正在失去创新的追求吗？

如果你关心业界工程师和各家公司的状态，就请去看看今年3月21日发行的《Business Week》，它可以注册后免费在线阅读或在当地图书馆借阅。本期的封面故事是“创新的外包”，其中包含了各种实例和很多我们已知与听到的东西：工程设计职能以及所有其它的功能都在离我们“远去”，而这些都是公司的精髓，我们正在加快它们的蒸发。