Great War Legacy: A Drum from the 20th Battalion

During the First World War the Canadian Expeditionary Force recruited a total of 260 battalions for overseas service. Yet the four Divisions of the Canadian Corps maintained only 48 battalions at the front. The vast majority of the battalions sent to England were either broken up to supply reinforcements for units already at the front or reconstituted for duties such as forestry or pioneer work. But all these battalions went through the process of recruiting, training, and working up in Canada before going overseas, thereby developing their own unit personality, traditions, and esprit de corps. These were all lost when the unit was broken up. The drum, of course, had been a long standing part of the military retinue, used for beating time on the march and the drum corps formed an important part of a unit’s musical ensemble. The drums bore the unit’s crest and, stacked on top of one another, occupied a prominent place on such special unit occasions as church parade and the presentations of the colours. Thus, the drums were an important component of a unit’s symbolism and sense of tradition. Any that survive from the disbanded battalions would constitute a tactile reminder of fervently developed, but ultimately lost, traditions and esprit de corps. In June the CWM took possession of a drum from one of these lost units, the 207th Battalion, which is interesting not only for what it represents in itself, but for the poignant story associated with the drummer who originally played it—William Garvin

A Tough Little Boat: The Pogo-HMCS Labrador’s Hydrographic Survey Launch

In the summer of 1995 the Canadian War Museum accepted delivery of the Pogo, the 36-foot aluminum sounding boat which had accompanied the voyages of HMCS Labrador, Canada’s first and last Arctic Patrol vessel. One of the considerations that led to its acquisition lies in the CWM’s mission statement, to document “Canada’s commitment to peacekeeping and maintenance of international security.” We have a tendency to speak of international security as a concept symptomatic of the Nuclear Age because, prior to the Second World War, countries could afford to take an isolationist stance and dismiss the tension between belligerents as “none of their business.” However, the long-range nuclear bomber and the subsequent introduction of the intercontinental ballistic missile made tensions everybody’s business. The early 1950s were the beginning of an era where Canada began to define its postwar image and the addition of this artifact to the National Collection is a physical reminder of Canada\u27s role in the achievement of Arctic sovereignty and the development of international security

“Treasures” from the Canadian War Museum’s Backlog

In the 1970s Canadian War Museum curatorial staff decided they needed to bolster the scope of the museum’s national military collection. Consequently, they placed ads in Legion magazine and enclosed flyers in veterans’ pension cheques inviting veterans to send in military or military related items they had in their possession that they thought would be of interest to the museum. The response was overwhelming. In the end, a grand total of 24,400 objects poured in; many more than was anticipated and much too large a number for the museum’s small staff to properly register and catalogue. The only option was to carry out a basic inventory and then pack the objects away in boxes (which occupied a total of 197 pallets) pending the day when sufficient resources would become available to process them adequately, so that they would become properly identified and usable museum artifacts

Earth conductivity structures and their effects on geomagnetic induction in pipelines

Anomalous, large pipe-to-soil potentials (PSP) have been observed along a natural gas pipeline in eastern Ontario, Canada, where there is a major geological contact between the highly resistive rocks of the Precambrian Shield to the west and the more conductive Paleozoic sediments to the east. This study tested the hypothesis that large variations of PSP are related to lateral changes of Earth conductivity under the pipeline. Concurrent and co-located PSP and magnetotelluric (MT) geophysical data were acquired in the study area. Results from the MT survey were used to model PSP variations based on distributed-source transmission line theory, using a spatially-variant surface geoelectric field. Different models were built to investigate the impact of different subsurface features. Good agreement between modelled and observed PSP was reached when impedance peaks related to major changes of subsurface geological conditions were included. The large PSP could therefore be attributed to the presence of resistive intrusive bodies in the upper crust and/or boundaries between tectonic terranes. This study demonstrated that combined PSP-MT investigations are a useful tool in the identification of potential hazards caused by geomagnetically induced currents in pipelines

Preventing university drop outs : early detection of university drop outs using machine learning

University drop out rates present a significant challenge for higher education institutions, leading to wasted resources and decreased graduation rates. This thesis explores the potential of machine learning to provide an early detection system for identifying students at risk of dropping out. Using academic data from SISU, a student information system used in Finland, various machine learning models were tested and optimized. Key steps included feature engineering, data balancing using SMOTE, and model evaluation to ensure reliable predictions. The results indicate that academic data alone is sufficient for creating a viable predictive system. The findings emphasize the importance of early intervention strategies and the potential for data-driven decision-making in university administration. This study demonstrates that machine learning can serve as a powerful tool for drop out prevention, enabling universities to take proactive steps toward student retention

ĐỔI MỚI DIY: TACTICAL RURALISM AND TANGIBLE MODELING IN THE MEKONG DELTA

In recent years, the integrity of the Mekong Delta has been put at risk by a combination of environmental and institutional factors. Understanding that the degradation of the Delta would have far-reaching socioeconomic implications for both Vietnam and the Indochinese Peninsula, The World Bank has responded to the situation by implementing initiatives for climate-smart planning tools and improved water management practices throughout the lower Mekong basin. Seeing the potential for tangible modeling as a participatory planning tool, the Bank has hired a team of consultants from Louisiana State University to introduce a methodology called Tangible Landscape to its climate resilience toolkit. This thesis aims to contribute to the consultancy by using literature review, interpretive case studies in a design approach called tactical ruralism, and geospatial analysis to inform the design and fabrication of a conceptual Tangible Landscape model for the Mekong Delta. The author identifies the environmental problems facing the delta, compiles an array of relevant design solutions that can be used to address those problems at the site scale, and creates a series of mappings that identify suitable sites to apply those solutions. He also develops a conceptual transect of rural livelihoods of the Mekong Delta which can be used to inform a forthcoming Tangible Landscape workshop to be held in Viet Nam as part of the World Bank Consultancy. Providing solutions at every scale and level of governance is of particular importance to this project, especially those considered to be “grassroots” or “bottom-up” interventions implemented by individual households, communes, wards, and districts

Artificial Intelligence in Landscape Architecture: A Survey of Theory, Culture, and Practice

This dissertation explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping the landscape architecture profession. It looks at how AI has evolved in the field, its current influence, and its potential to change research, teaching, and professional practice. The research includes a detailed review of existing literature to identify trends in AI applications and gaps in knowledge. It also examines landscape architects\u27 attitudes towards AI, revealing a mix of enthusiasm for its benefits and concerns about its impact on creativity and design processes, and proposes new ways of thinking about and working with AI. The work brings a unique perspective on AI in the field and gives valuable insights for future research and practice

Great War Legacy: A Drum from the 20th Battalion

During the First World War the Canadian Expeditionary Force recruited a total of 260 battalions for overseas service. Yet the four Divisions of the Canadian Corps maintained only 48 battalions at the front. The vast majority of the battalions sent to England were either broken up to supply reinforcements for units already at the front or reconstituted for duties such as forestry or pioneer work. But all these battalions went through the process of recruiting, training, and working up in Canada before going overseas, thereby developing their own unit personality, traditions, and esprit de corps. These were all lost when the unit was broken up. The drum, of course, had been a long standing part of the military retinue, used for beating time on the march and the drum corps formed an important part of a unit’s musical ensemble. The drums bore the unit’s crest and, stacked on top of one another, occupied a prominent place on such special unit occasions as church parade and the presentations of the colours. Thus, the drums were an important component of a unit’s symbolism and sense of tradition. Any that survive from the disbanded battalions would constitute a tactile reminder of fervently developed, but ultimately lost, traditions and esprit de corps. In June the CWM took possession of a drum from one of these lost units, the 207th Battalion, which is interesting not only for what it represents in itself, but for the poignant story associated with the drummer who originally played it—William Garvin

Analysis of radiation-induced cell death in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and rat liver maintained in microfluidic devices

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate how head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tissue biopsies maintained in a pseudo in vivo environment within a bespoke microfluidic device respond to radiation treatment. Study Design Feasibility study. Setting Tertiary referral center. Subjects and Methods Thirty-five patients with HNSCC were recruited, and liver tissue from 5 Wistar rats was obtained. A microfluidic device was used to maintain the tissue biopsy samples in a viable state. Rat liver was used to optimize the methodology. HNSCC was obtained from patients with T1-T3 laryngeal or oropharyngeal SCC; N1-N2 metastatic cervical lymph nodes were also obtained. Irradiation consisted of single doses of between 2 Gy and 40 Gy and a fractionated course of 5×2 Gy. Cell death was assessed in the tissue effluent using the soluble markers lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cytochrome c and in the tissue by immunohistochemical detection of cleaved cytokeratin18 (M30 antibody). Results A significant surge in LDH release was demonstrated in the rat liver after a single dose of 20 Gy; in HNSCC, it was seen after 40 Gy compared with the control. There was no significant difference in cytochrome c release after 5 Gy or 10 Gy. M30 demonstrated a dose-dependent increase in apoptotic index for a given increase in single-dose radiotherapy. There was a significant increase in apoptotic index between 1×2 Gy and 5×2 Gy. Conclusion M30 is a superior method compared with soluble markers in detecting low-dose radiation-induced cell death. This microfluidic technique can be used to assess radiation-induced cell death in HNSCC and therefore has the potential to be used to predict radiation response