Mechanisms of polymer degradation using an oxygen plasma generator

An RF oxygen plasma generator was used to produce polymer degradation which appears to be similar to that which has been observed in low Earth orbit. Mechanisms of this type of degradation were studied by collecting the reaction products in a cryogenic trap and identifying the molecular species using infrared, mass spectral, and X-ray diffraction techniques. No structurally dependent species were found from Kapton, Teflon, or Saran polymers. However, very reactive free radical entities are produced during the polymer degradation, as well as carbon dioxide and water. Reactions of the free radicals with the glass reaction vessel, with copper metal in the cold trap, and with a triphenyl phosphate scavenger in the cold trap, demonstrated the reactivity of the primary products

Devolution, Discretion, and Local Variation in TANF Sanctioning

No abstract

The Organization of Discipline: From Performance Management to Perversity and Punishment

Over the past few decades, poverty governance in the United States has been transformed by the convergence of two powerful reform movements. The first, often referred to as “paternalist,” has shifted poverty governance from an emphasis on rights and opportunities to a stance that is more directive and supervisory in promoting preferred behaviors among the poor. The second, often described as “neoliberal,” has shifted governance away from federal government control toward a system that emphasizes policy devolution, privatization, and performance competition. During this period, public officials have proved remarkably willing to hand policy control over to lower jurisdictions and private providers. They have been equally eager to use public policies in ways that overtly promote values, enforce obligations, and curtail deviance among the poor. In the era of neoliberal paternalism, poverty governance has become more dispersed in its organization, more muscular in its normative enforcement, and more firmly rooted in the logics of performance-based accountability and market competition

Distributing Discipline: Race, Politics, and Punishment at the Frontlines of Welfare Reform

Numerous studies have confirmed that race plays an important role in shaping public preferences toward both redistribution and punishment. Likewise, studies suggest that punitive policy tools tend to be adopted by state governments in a pattern that tracks with the racial composition of state populations. Such evidence testifies to the enduring power of race in American politics, yet it has limited value for understanding how disciplinary policies get applied to individuals in implementation settings. To illuminate the relationship between race and the application of punitive policy tools, we analyze sanction patterns in the TANF program. Drawing on a model of racial classification and policy choice, we test four hypotheses regarding client race and sanctioning. Our study does not support a simple story in which racial minorities are always more likely to be targeted for discipline. Rather, we find the impact of race to be contingent on local politics, administrative decentralization, and other client characteristics

ESPA Grande Qualification

ESPA is established launch infrastructure for small satellites on Atlas V, Falcon 9, and Delta IV. Auxiliary payloads* (APLs) mount to ESPA on Ø15-inch† ports subject to limits on spacecraft mass and center of gravity (CG). ESPA Grande has increased payload capacity compared to the original ESPA due to larger diameter (Ø24-inch) ports and having fasteners every 10° compared to 15° spacing on ESPA. The small satellite standard Ø15-inch port referred to as ESPA class,‡ which has become a standard interface for small satellites, was redefined in 2016 with a delta qualification (static load) test. New ESPA APL limits, including introduction of an alternate version of the interface, referred to as ESPA Heavy (with Ø5/16” instead of Ø1/4 fasteners), are the following: 1. ESPA class: 220 kg at 51 cm (485 lb at 20 in), an increase of 21% compared to heritage ESPA class, 2. ESPA Heavy class: 322 kg at 51 cm (710 lb at 20 in), a mass increase of 77%. These increased payload capabilities for ESPA were documented in a paper at the 2017 Small Satellite Conference.1 In 2018, ESPA Grande, with its more capable Ø24-inch ports, was tested for the first time despite having flight heritage based on analysis and similarity to the ESPA Ø15-inch port. Prior to testing, the advertised capability of the Ø24-inch port was 318 kg at 51 cm (700 lb at 20 in). This paper documents the results of ESPA Grande qualification testing, and it describes the use of the ESPA Mass Acceleration Curve (MAC) which was implemented for this test program. The ESPA MAC provides design load factors for the range of APL mass available with the new, tested capabilities for both ESPA and ESPA Grande

Already Hit Bottom: General Assistance, Welfare Retrenchment, and Single Male Migration

The claim is often made that welfare recipients move to states where benefits are more readily available in more generous amounts. To test that claim, this study uses data on state General Assistance (GA) programs, as well as data on single men from the Public Use Microdata Set of the 1990 U.S. Census. We find only slight evidence that men who lack access to GA seek it elsewhere, and overall we find that the availability of GA has no more than a marginal effect on the location decisions of the men we studied. It seems that poor people, like other people, are interested in more than government benefits (or other financial considerations) when they make such decisions. Among other things, they are likely to care about the quality of their social relations, including networks of family and friends that serve as critical sources of support

Race and the Local Politics of Punishment in the New World of Welfare

To illuminate how race affects the usage of punitive tools in policy implementation settings, we analyze sanctions imposed for noncompliant client behavior under welfare reform. Drawing on a model of racial classification and policy choice, we test four hypotheses regarding client race, local context, and sanctioning. Based on longitudinal and cross-sectional multilevel analyses of individual-level administrative data, we find that race plays a significant role in shaping sanction implementation. Its effects, however, are highly contingent on client characteristics, local political contexts, and the degree to which state governments devolve policy control to local officials

Devolution, Discretion, and the Effect of Local Political Values on TANF Sanctioning

One of welfare reform\u27s most significant consequences is the devolution of policy-making authority from the federal government and states to local governments and frontline workers. What is perhaps less often appreciated is that devolution of authority to state governments has been accompanied by a significant decentralization of policy-making authority within states. As a result, prior research has not given sufficient attention to local political context as a factor shaping program implementation. This article examines the effect of local political values on the use of sanctions to penalize welfare recipients. Analyzing administrative data from the Florida Department of Children and Families for over 60,000 welfare clients, we find that there is a statistically significant amount of local variation in sanctioning rates across the state of Florida, even after controlling welfare clients\u27 characteristics. Local sanctioning patterns are systematically related to selected characteristics of local communities, including their ideological orientations

Devolution, Discretion, and the Effect of Local Political Values on TANF Sanctioning

One of welfare reform\u27s most significant consequences is the devolution of policy-making authority from the federal government and states to local governments and frontline workers. What is perhaps less often appreciated is that devolution of authority to state governments has been accompanied by a significant decentralization of policy-making authority within states. As a result, prior research has not given sufficient attention to local political context as a factor shaping program implementation. This article examines the effect of local political values on the use of sanctions to penalize welfare recipients. Analyzing administrative data from the Florida Department of Children and Families for over 60,000 welfare clients, we find that there is a statistically significant amount of local variation in sanctioning rates across the state of Florida, even after controlling welfare clients\u27 characteristics. Local sanctioning patterns are systematically related to selected characteristics of local communities, including their ideological orientations