From Slavery to Civil Rights

The history of Louisiana from slavery until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 shows that unique influences within the state were responsible for a distinctive political and social culture. In New Orleans, the most populous city in the state, this was reflected in the conflict that arose on segregated streetcars that ran throughout the crescent city. This study chronologically surveys segregation on the streetcars from the antebellum period in which black stereotypes and justification for segregation were formed. It follows the political and social motivation for segregation through reconstruction to the integration of the streetcars and the white resistance in the 1950s while examining the changing political and social climate that evolved over the segregation era. It considers the shifting nature of white supremacy that took hold in New Orleans after the Civil War and how this came to be played out daily, in public, on the streetcars. The paternalistic nature of white supremacy is considered and how this was gradually replaced with an unassailable white supremacist atmosphere that often restricted the actions of whites, as well as blacks, and the effect that this had on urban transport. Streetcars became the 'theatres' for black resistance throughout the era and this survey considers the symbolic part they played in civil rights up to the present day

Australia's changing export pattern

Australia is frequently considered a farming country on the periphery of the world economy, whose exports are traditionally restricted to wheat, wool and dairy produce. However, this conception does not correspond anymore to the present shape of the Australian economy. After World War Il structural changes linked up the country with the world economy on a broader base, and Industrial products are becoming more and more Important to Australian exports. The following article deals with the determining factors of Australia's export oriented industrialisation and the future prospects for its progress from a farming country to an industrial nation

Uncertain Future Dwelling: Emergent Interiors of the Metaverse

Contemporarily, a flood of digital interior architectural imagery has emerged of spaces developed for the Metaverse, a forthcoming immersive 3D virtual world. These spaces are not bound by the conventions of architectural practice nor the demands of the physical world, providing an opportunity for design exploration and innovation in the future of interiors and positing challenges to core architectural concepts that have accompanied traditional practice. This research offers a visual analysis of aesthetic trends and new typologies present in the interior architectural spaces designed for the Metaverse. The analysis features a curated and collaged collection of works from ten creators of Metaverse spaces, categorised to examine the impact of digital architectural spaces that increasingly detach from the needs of physical dwellings. The research reveals commanding visual trends in Metaverse interior imagery that challenge traditional notions of interiority and dwelling and finds aesthetic signifiers of belonging in spaces that Augé (1995/2009) would neatly classified as an empirical ‘non-place.’ Positioned as a form of heterotopia in a realm where architecture is being designed for the purely visual, we posit that the less recognisable these spaces become, the more potential they hold for innovation in both the Metaverse and in dialogue with real-world interior architecture

Liquid Cooling of Fuel Cell Powered Aircraft:The Effect of Coolants on Thermal Management

Electric propulsors powered by Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) offer a net zero solution to aircraft propulsion. Heat generated by the PEMFCs can be transferred to atmospheric air via a liquid cooling system; however, the cooling system results in parasitic power and adds mass to the propulsion system, thereby affecting system specific power. The design of the cooling system is sensitive to the choice of liquid coolant and so informed coolant selection is required if associated parasitic power and mass are to be minimized.Two approaches to selection of coolants for PEMFC-powered aircraft are presented in this paper for operating temperatures in the range 80-200°C (this covers low, intermediate, and high temperature PEMFCs). The first approach uses a Figure of Merit (FoM) alongside minimum and maximum operating temperature requirements. The FoM supports the selection of coolants that minimize pumping power and mass while maximizing heat transfer rate. The second approach uses a cooling system model to select “Pareto efficient” coolants. A hybrid-electric aircraft using a PEMFC stack is used as a representative case study for the two approaches.Hydrocarbon-based coolants are shown to be favorable for the case study considered here (aromatics for PEMFCs operating at <130°C and aliphatics for PEMFCs operating at >130°C). As the PEMFC operating temperature increases, the parasitic power and mass of the Thermal Management System (TMS) decreases. Operating at elevated temperatures is therefore beneficial for liquid cooled PEMFC-powered aircraft. Nevertheless, there are diminishing performance gains at higher operating temperatures