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This literature review examines several studies related to differences in gender communication, gender perception, and the impact of workplace discrimination. Experimental studies on gender have revealed that women’s communication style is seen as genteel and empathetic while men’s communication styles are viewed as noisy and aggressive. And yet, people view leadership qualities as inherently more masculine than feminine. These differences are also reflected in leadership styles between men and women. The question remains if women display capable communication skills and leadership, why do discriminatory practices pervade in the workplace? Through a qualitative analysis of each paper, we draw the relationship between gender perceptions and workplace discrimination, including the lack of women in executive positions. A comparison between review articles helped to illustrate the differences in approach and similarity in results of pair of studies. Social theories presented in articles help to explain social phenomenons that undermine women. Concepts such as counter-stereotypical characteristics of women are discussed and the need for institutional policy enforcements is emphasized.

We describe an approach to form stimuli-responsive pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) films that are activated by thermal energy. This approach is used to form films that do not adhere on contact to any non-adhesive substrates. However, upon activation using heat as a stimulus, the films change irreversibly into PSA coatings. In order to develop this system, a PSA polymer emulsion stabilized by a novel low-molecular-weight polymeric stabilizer was synthesized. This emulsion was dried at ambient conditions to form films with a well-defined morphology with the PSA encapsulated by a protective matrix of polymeric stabilizer. This morphology is not thermodynamically stable and is disrupted when the temperature is elevated above the glass transition temperature of the protective polymeric stabilizer. Thermodynamically-driven rearrangement of the phases leads to the PSA migrating to and occupying the air–film interface. The impact of the amount and composition of the stabilizer in the PSA emulsion on emulsion st...

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are used to dissipate thermal energy from a heat-generating device to a heat sink via conduction. The growing power density of the electronic device demands next-generation high thermal conductivity and/or low thermal resistance TIMs. This paper discusses the current state-of-art TIM solutions, particularly fusible particles for improved thermal conductivity. The paper will address the benefits and limitations of this approach, and describe a system with unique filler morphology. Thermal resistance and diffusivity/conductivity characterization techniques are also discussed.

Cyanate ester resin and its blends with epoxy resin demonstrate a lower viscosity build up when filled with thermally treated silica fillers than with untreated silica fillers. The reduced viscosity build up resulting from the use of the thermally treated materials results in faster capillary flow rates by a factor of 2 to 5 with respect to untreated silica particles. Surface properties of the filler materials are used to interpret the viscosity and flow rate data and guide design of filler surface properties. The flow rate performance improvement contributes to design of new capillary underfill materials for electronic materials applications.