Dam-Breach hydrology of the Johnstown flood of 1889–challenging the findings of the 1891 investigation report

AbstractIn 1891 a report was published by an ASCE committee to investigate the cause of the Johnstown flood of 1889. They concluded that changes made to the dam by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club did not cause the disaster because the embankment would have been overflowed and breached if the changes were not made. We dispute that conclusion based on hydraulic analyses of the dam as originally built, estimates of the time of concentration and time to peak for the South Fork drainage basin, and reported conditions at the dam and in the watershed.We present a LiDAR-based volume of Lake Conemaugh at the time of dam failure (1.455 × 107 m3) and hydrographs of flood discharge and lake stage decline. Our analytical approach incorporates the complex shape of this dam breach. More than 65 min would have been needed to drain most of the lake, not the 45 min cited by most sources. Peak flood discharges were likely in the range 7200 to 8970 m3 s−1. The original dam design, with a crest ∼0.9 m higher and the added capacity of an auxiliary spillway and five discharge pipes, had a discharge capacity at overtopping more than twice that of the reconstructed dam. A properly rebuilt dam would not have overtopped and would likely have survived the runoff event, thereby saving thousands of lives.We believe the ASCE report represented state-of-the-art for 1891. However, the report contains discrepancies and lapses in key observations, and relied on excessive reservoir inflow estimates. The confidence they expressed that dam failure was inevitable was inconsistent with information available to the committee. Hydrodynamic erosion was a likely culprit in the 1862 dam failure that seriously damaged the embankment. The Club’s substandard repair of this earlier breach sowed the seeds of its eventual destruction

“Take an Ounce of Suffolk Cheese”: Home Repair of Eighteenth Century Ceramics at Ferry Farm, George Washington’s Boyhood Home

The archaeological discovery at Ferry Farm of eighteenth century glue residues on tea and tablewares belonging to George Washington’s mother, Mary, raised a number of questions. Although recent research in the archaeological and decorative arts community on repaired ceramic and glasswares was helpful to some extent it primarily focused on professional repairs. At-home mending remained a mystery. Archaeologists at Ferry Farm responded by conducting extensive experimental archaeology on historic glues, replicating period glue recipes to determine the properties of these historic adhesives. Additionally, residue samples of suspected glue were analyzed by chemists from Eastern Michigan and Lourdes Universities utilizing Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) Mass Spectrometry. The resulting data have shed light on what these sociotechnic artifacts say about a woman in Mary Washington’s social and economic position while highlighting an extremely common yet archaeologically ephemeral activity

Reconnaissance surficial geology of The Forks [15-minute] quadrangle, Maine

Maine Geological Survey, Open-File Map 76-26.https://digitalmaine.com/mgs_maps/1557/thumbnail.jp

Reconnaissance surficial geology of the Bingham [15-minute] quadrangle, Maine

Maine Geological Survey, Open-File Map 76-25https://digitalmaine.com/mgs_maps/1556/thumbnail.jp

Reconnaissance surficial geology of the Greenville [15-minute] quadrangle, Maine

Maine Geological Survey, Open-File Map 86-31https://digitalmaine.com/mgs_maps/1616/thumbnail.jp

Who do you think you are? Profile of international students in a private HE provider pathway program : implications for international education

In recent decades, higher education (HE) in Australia has undergone enormous changes, not least of which is the composition of the student population, most markedly reflected in the large numbers of international students who avail themselves of pathway programs offered by private HE providers. The significance of the international student market in Australia, as elsewhere, means that research in this area is of great importance for educational institutions generally, and for private HE providers in particular, not only in economic terms, but also to understand their clientele (the students) in broader terms, in order to gain in-depth knowledge about what constitutes HE today. This case study examines the current profile of international students in a private HE provider pathway program in Sydney, Australia. What emerges is a profile of a young single adult, mainly of Asian descent, not entirely confident of the level of his/her English language but aware of the linguistic currency it represents and its impact on classroom dynamics. Such a student attaches great importance to the student–teacher relationship. Due to the restricted nature of the preliminary findings within a very specific location, at this stage inferences and conclusions can only be tentative.9 page(s

Australian universities' plagiarism policies : moral gatekeeping or academic initiation?

This paper provides an overview of plagiarism policies in Australian universities in the early 21st century. The plagiarism issue is addressed by universities in publicly available official policies and procedures, student handbooks, academic skills advice, and other associated peripheral documents. Whilst the extent of plagiarism issues being developed in such policies ranges from the perfunctory, minimalist and formulaic through to the extensive, detailed and in-depth, several particular aspects tend to be given prominence. These include: definitions of plagiarism; differentiated types of plagiarism; criteria assessing the "severity" of the plagiarism; ranges of penalties; and various other issues such as legalese, and cross-cultural concerns. An analysis of the register of the plagiarism policies focusing on the tenor of discourse complements this overview. In general, it appears that a particular academic gaze is operating throughout the discourse – one that is more punitive than educative, stereotyping students as cultural others. Nevertheless, some signs presage the emergence of a more pedagogical approach that supports greater inclusiveness.20 page(s

Appraising plagiarism policies of Australian universities

An investigation of plagiarism policies of Australian universities in the latter part of 2009 was undertaken to determine how such institutions construed the notion of plagiarism and how this was reflected in the language and expression of those policies. Various unexpected challenges emerged in using Martin and White's (2005) traditional APPRAISAL framework when analyzing attitudinal stance. The pronounced and widespread use of thingification and abstractions in the policies and the consequent ambiguity in identifying the appraised and/or the appraiser, presented challenges to Martin and White's distinction between Appreciation and Judgment (two subsystems of Attitude) and led to the adoption of Lee's (2007) double coding which seemed more aligned with the normative nature of the plagiarism policies. Overall, the findings suggest some movement away from the default punitive stance of plagiarism policies, to a more “educative” pedagogically based approach focused on the concept of student as apprentice researcher, already recognized as a valued member of the academic community.25 page(s

Reconnaissance surficial geology of The Forks quadrangle, Maine

Maine Geological Survey, Open-File Map 76-26.https://digitalmaine.com/mgs_maps/1557/thumbnail.jp

Reconnaissance surficial geology of the Seboomook Lake [15-minute] quadrangle, Maine

Maine Geological Survey, Open-File Map 76-16https://digitalmaine.com/mgs_maps/1555/thumbnail.jp