The Centenary of Confederation as a Milestone in the Evolution of Canadian National Consciousness

The centenary of the Canadian Confederation is regarded as one of the key moments in the evolution of Canadian nationhood. This paper focuses on those structural determinants by which Canadian national identity had been formed and articulated in the public discourse through large-scale celebratory activities. Analyzing temporal symbolism of major Centennial events, the paper examines how they treated the theme of Canadian past, present, and future. It is claimed that it was the past that drew most attention for those who saw the Centenary of Confederation as an opportunity to strengthen Canada’s unity and foster pan-Canadian national identity.Le centenaire de la Confédération Canadienne est considéré comme un des moments clés dans l’évolution de l’esprit national des Canadiens. Le présent article se focalise sur les déterminants structurels qui ont formé l’identité nationale canadienne et ont été exprimés dans les discours publics par la voie de grands événements festifs. En analysant le symbolisme temporel des événements majeurs du centenaire, cet article étudie comment ils ont traité le sujet du passé, du présent et du futur du Canada. Il est affirmé que c’est le passé qui a attiré le plus d’attention de ceux qui ont considéré le centenaire de la Confédération comme une occasion de renforcer de l’unité du Canada et du développement de l’identité nationale canadienne

Ecological and geochemical assessment of woody vegetation along the highways of Moscow

The accumulation of heavy metals (HM) in the leaves of woody plants has been studied on busy municipal highways in North-Eastern (NEAD) and South-Western (SWAD) administrative districts of Moscow. Background contents and their exceeding values for Fe, Sr, Ba, Cr, Cu, Mn, Zn, Bi, Ni, Pb were determined. The study showed that among the dominant deciduous tree species, hanging birch, Norway maple, and small-leaved linden have a high ability to accumulate heavy metals, which are characterized by the accumulation of such elements as Zn, Mn, Sr. According to content of HM in the leaves for the studied territories, an acceptable category of pollution and a greater contribution of the technogenic component is observed in SWAD in comparison with NEAD