The Reinvention of Tradition: Form, Meaning, and Local Identity in Modern Cologne Carnival

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record

Regionalism and its Diverse Framings in German-Speaking Europe across the Long Twentieth Century

This is the author accepted manuscript. the final version is available from Bloomsbury via the DOI in this recor

The Turn to Local Communities in Early Postwar West Germany: The Case of Hamburg, Lübeck, and Bremen, 1945-1965

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Routledge via the link in this recor

Effects of Exposure to Atmospheric Humidity on Breakdown Field Strength Measurements of Polymers

This study investigates the effects of absorbed water introduced via exposure to atmospheric humidity on electrostatic breakdown field strength measurements of polymers. Conducting breakdown tests under sample conditions appropriate for different applications is essential. If the breakdown field strength is overestimated for an application, an insulator may be used inappropriately in high electric fields where they are more likely to break down. Comparisons are made between: sets of pristine samples, samples that underwent a thorough vacuum bake out to remove absorbed water, and samples subject to subsequent incremental prolonged atmospheric exposure. These investigated the effects of absorbed water and determined how quickly samples reverted to an unbaked state. Specifically, we compared: changes in measured electrostatic breakdown field strength, pre-breakdown arcing (DC partial discharge) rate, rates of flashover signatures, and images of the arc damage sites. The polymeric dielectric materials chosen were hydrophobic low density polyethylene (LDPE), intermediate polyether-etherketone (PEEK), and more hydrophilic Nylon 66

Heimat as a Geography of Postwar Renewal: Life after Death and Local Democratic Identities in Cologne, 1945–1965

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Oxford University Press (OUP) via the DOI in this record.Through a case study on Cologne, this article examines an early postwar turn to local Heimat as a geography of renewal that offered visions of new postwar lives and new identities. A series of factors informed the local turn, including the decimation of home towns, loss of former local lives, elimination of the nation as a sovereign political actor and a need for local community in the face of social divisions and reconstruction. Heimat also came to the fore as a modifying force in ideas of nationhood. Rather than shedding national loyalties, the turn to Heimat involved a turn away from national struggle and towards local reconstruction to secure new civilian lives. By reformulating local historical memory and traditions, many Heimat enthusiasts argued for values of ‘Cologne democracy’, ‘openness to the world’ and ‘tolerance’ as important to democratization, European unification and outsider integration. These identifications remained proscriptive, existing alongside ongoing undemocratic and exclusionary practices, while aggravating failures to come to grips with the Nazi past. At the same time, they helped disband the notion that democracy and European unification were foreign entities. In showing how Heimat was crucial to early postwar culture, this study challenges notions of the concept as either taboo after 1945 or primarily about anti-Westernism, ruralism, repression of the past, regressive forms of environmental protection or self-victimization. It also contributes to research on West German democratization by pointing to often-overlooked popular attempts to forge identification with democracy in the early postwar years

Investigating the Color-Changing Properties of Poly-Phenyl Sulfide

Investigating the Color-Changing Properties of Poly-Phenyl Sulfide Dallen DeWaal, Megan Loveland DeWaal, Heather Allen, JR DennisonMaterials Physics Group, Physics Department, Utah State UniversityAbstractWhile preparing samples of FortronTM PPS (poly-phenyl sulfide) for spacecraft charging testing, it was discovered that the polymeric dielectric material exhibits color-changing properties from mechanical forces while shearing and bending. Given enough time, PPS reverts from blue-green back to its original tan color. PPS samples were characterized by the magnitude of color change and recovery time. PPS samples were subjected to multiple tests to discover which forms of energy input activate the color change, and which (if any) affect the recovery time constant. These tests evaluated mechanical energy by exerting pressure with an arbor press, thermal energy by heating in an oven, and electromagnetic energy through UV irradiation. Previous studies of similar polymers suggest that introducing mechanical energy to a ring-based polymer through pressure, bending, or pressing causes a reversible ring opening reaction, producing a change in color.Dallen DeWaal, Megan Loveland DeWaal, JR Dennison, Investigating the Color-Changing Properties of Poly-Phenyl Sulfide, USU Student Research Symposium, Logan, UT, December 8, 2022.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fsrs2022/1034/thumbnail.jp

The Effects of Absorbed Water on Electrostatic Breakdown Testing

A critical property of electrical insulators is the breakdown voltage. When exposed to a high enough voltage, the insulator will be permanently damaged and unable to block significant current flow which can lead to the compromise of important electrical equipment. This becomes a concern for applications like spacecraft missions, high voltage direct current power, and microelectronics, as well as many others. Recent preliminary tests suggested that water vapor on the surface of insulators may increase their breakdown voltage and influence phenomena observed during breakdown testing, such as partial discharges, partial breakdowns, and surface flashovers. In this study, thin film PEEK (polyether ether ketone) was exposed to a humid environment (35% to 60% humidity) for 60 hours. The electrostatic breakdown of these humidified samples was then compared to fully baked PEEK samples to determine the effects of the humidity

Effects of Exposure to Atmospheric Humidity on Breakdown Field Strength Measurements of Polymers

This study investigates the effects of absorbed water introduced via exposure to atmospheric humidity on electrostatic breakdown field strength measurements of polymers. Conducting breakdown tests under sample conditions appropriate for different applications is essential. If the breakdown field strength is overestimated for an application, an insulator may be used inappropriately in high electric fields where they are more likely to break down. Comparisons are made between: sets of pristine samples, samples that underwent a thorough vacuum bake out to evaporate absorbed water, and samples subject to subsequent incremental prolonged atmospheric exposure. These investigated the effects of absorbed water and determined how quickly samples reverted to an unbaked state. Specifically, we compared: changes in measured electrostatic breakdown field strength, pre-breakdown arcing (DC partial discharge) rate, rates of flashover signatures, and images of the arc damage sites. The polymeric dielectric materials chosen were hydrophobic low density polyethylene (LDPE), intermediate polyether-etherketone (PEEK), and more hydrophilic Nylon 66.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fsrs2022/1018/thumbnail.jp

Food Safety and Security: What Tragedy Teaches Us about Our 100-Year-Old Food Laws

The United States food safety system is antiquated and failing. The laws that form the foundation of our food protection and govern the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were enacted over 100 years ago. While some new powers were given to FDA with the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, funding has not kept pace. Safe Food International (SF), a coalition of consumer organizations from around the world, created a set of guidelines outlining an ideal national food safety program. The current system in the United States falls short of that goal. The outbreaks in 2006 and 2007 are simply the latest symptom of our outdated and failing food-safety system. We need to modernize our food laws and create a strong, science-based Food Safety Administration. The Safe Food Act of 2007, introduced by Senator Durbin and Representative DeLauro, requires the development of a single food-safety agency with the power to recall food, inspect foreign food plants, and work to prevent both intentional and unintentional contamination of the U.S. food supply