Design of Z-Pinch and Dense Plasma Focus Powered Vehicles

Z-pinch and Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) are two promising techniques for bringing fusion power to the field of in-space propulsion. A design team comprising of engineers and scientists from UAHuntsville, NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the University of Wisconsin developed concept vehicles for a crewed round trip mission to Mars and an interstellar precursor mission. Outlined in this paper are vehicle concepts, complete with conceptual analysis of the mission profile, operations, structural and thermal analysis and power/avionics design. Additionally engineering design of the thruster itself is included. The design efforts adds greatly to the fidelity of estimates for power density (alpha) and overall performance for these thruster concept

Social Work and Social Problems

This book describes how social work teams can respond to social problems in a way that both deals with immediate need and helps build community capacity. The authors recognise the need to respond appropriately to crisis where vulnerable children and adults are at risk, but argue that an inappropriate response can compound and perpetuate people's problems. They suggest that social care organisations need to go beyond operating as aid agencies focusing on the needs of individuals, and should increase their development capacity by working with other agencies and citizens to make communities more supportive and inclusive for vulnerable and excluded people