Historical Pageantry and Progressive Pedagogy at Canada’s 1927 Diamond Jubilee Celebration

Historians have argued that Canada’s Diamond Jubilee of Confederation in 1927 represents one of the federal government’s most sustained and successful attempts at nation building in the interwar period. In this mass outpouring of patriotic celebration, schools in particular played an important role in producing commemorative events, but also in constructing an engaging and accessible historical narrative for public consumption. At the heart of these events was the staging of hundreds of historical pageants, including many performances produced by teachers and students. This article examines how progressive pedagogies, such as active and play-based learning, came to be aligned with nation-building initiatives in widely produced historical pageants. Furthermore, it examines two published historical pageant scripts performed in Ontario’s schools to reveal the dominant themes of the historical narratives being promoted in relation to Indigenous-settler relations, gender, and national identity.Les historiens conviennent généralement du fait que le Jubilé de diamants de la Confédération, en 1927, constitue, de la part du gouvernement fédéral, l’une des tentatives de l’entre-deux- guerres les plus durables et les plus fructueuses d’édification de la nation. Lors de cet important mouvement de célébration patriotique, les écoles, plus spécifiquement, ont joué un rôle déterminant non seulement dans la production d’événements commémoratifs, mais aussi dans l’élaboration d’un récit historique destiné au grand public. Au centre de ces événements se trouvaient notamment de fameuses reconstitutions historiques dont certaines mises en scène et produites par les enseignant.e.s et leurs élèves. Cet article étudie la façon dont, à travers ces reconstitutions historiques largement produites, ces pratiques pédagogiques innovantes se sont alignées sur les efforts de construction d’une nation alors déployés. En outre, il analyse deux publications de reconstitutions historiques scénarisées jouées dans les écoles de l’Ontario afin de mettre en lumière les thèmes dominants, reliés à la nature des relations entre Autochtones et colons, au genre et à l’identité nationale, des récits historiques alors mis de l’avant

Regulation of the IGK Locus and B Cell Development

Allelic exclusion coupled to lineage and stage specific regulation ensure the Igκ locus undergoes RAG mediated V-J recombination only at the small pre-BII stage of lymphocyte development. These mechanisms also ensure the final antigen receptor is monospecific and allow self-specific receptors to be recognised and altered at later stages of development. Allelic exclusion is controlled by mechanism involving either epigenetic based allele selection early in development or probabilistic activation of a single allele at the small pre-BII stage. Current models favour the probabilistic model based on an elegant GFP reporter system. We present a reappraisal of this models based on an absence of the originally detected probabilistic activation. We find the absence to be explained in part by an aberrant splice event generated by developmentally regulated Igκ germline promoter usage. The activity of the promoter was investigated using in-vitro models of critical events during the B cell development but their role remains elusive. Intense investigation for the last 20 years has determined that chromatic regulation underpins the stage and lineage specification of rearrangement. The protein factors responsible for this regulation remain unknown. Using transgene reporters of cis-acting sequences and in-vitro model systems of B cell development, we find an involvement for members of the zinc finger family of Ikaros transcription factors, IRF4 and LEF1. We determined a bipartite role for Ikaros whereby its activity could both suppress rearrangement prior to pre-BCR signalling and promote rearrangement thereafter, possibly through an IRF4 based mechanism. Finally we present evidence for a role for Ikaros protein in later stages of B cell development. We find modulation of Ikaros activity directly influences the ability of cells to differentiate to the plasma cell fate. We used a transgenic model to allow genome-wide mapping of the transcriptional events regulated by Ikaros and find multiple small modulations of factors and pathways

Two-stage reusable launch system utilizing a winged core vehicle and glideback boosters

A near-term technology launch system is described in which Space Shuttle main engines are used on a manned orbiter and also on twin strap-on unmanned boosters. The orbiter has a circular body and clipped delta wings. The twin strap-on boosters have a circular body and deployable oblique wings for a glideback recovery. The dry and gross weights of the system, capable of delivering 70klb of cargo to orbit, are compared with a similar system with hydrocarbon-fueled boosters and with the current Shuttle