A Forgotten Victory: Courcelette, 15 September 1916

The 2nd Canadian Division, which landed in France on 15 September 1915, had established an uncertain operational record by the summer of 1916. As part of the Canadian Corps, the division had spent virtually all of its time in or near Belgium’s notorious Ypres Salient, where it was embroiled in a grim campaign of trench warfare. Notable successes in trench raiding were offset by costly setbacks, such as the division’s failure to hold a series of mine craters at St. Eloi in April 1916. This was followed in June by the withdrawal of one of its brigades in the face of heavy enemy attacks at Hooge, which were part of the Germans’ ultimately unsuccessful effort to hold captured Canadian positions around Mount Sorrel. Major-General Richard Turner, the commander of 2nd Canadian Division, was himself under a cloud. His earlier performance as a brigade commander in 1st Canadian Division during the 2nd Battle of Ypres in 1915 was questionable at best, and his division’s inability to make sense of the bewildering topography at St. Eloi in 1916 raised serious questions about his suitability for high command. Turner retained command of the division largely through his personal connections with the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence, Sir Sam Hughes.1 Redemption for 2nd Canadian Division, and to some degree, for Turner himself, would finally come with the division’s successful storming of the French village of Courcelette on 15 September 1916. This operation, which was part of the larger Somme offensive, was 2nd Canadian Division’s first major victory of the First World War. Unfortunately, the glow of success would be obscured by heavy casualties and limited gains during the division’s frustrating second operational tour at the Somme in late September and early October. Nevertheless, the victory at Courcelette proved that the division could successfully organize and execute a major offensive operation. For Major-General Turner, the battle stood as a personal vindication, and, at least in his own mind, made up for past failures

Hydrology

When applied to wetlands, the science of hydrology is concerned with how the storage and movement of water into and out of a wetland affects the plants and animals, and the soils on which they grow. Most wetland scientists agree that the single most important factor determining both wetland type and function is hydrology. Consequently, changes in hydrology are the leading causes of wetland degradation or destruction. The two case studies in this chapter illustrate how water was returned to a previously drained lowland swamp and a peat bog and the effects on the vegetation communities. Both sites had been drained as further dry land was desired for farming and urban development, a common scenario throughout New Zealand

Editorial: The pre-history of Chaos—An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science

Published versio

A Stained Glass Ceiling? Mitt Romney and Mormonism

Did Mitt Romney’s religion—Mormonism—help or hurt him in his campaigns for the presidency? While Romney’s religious affiliation was generally viewed as an electoral liability, Americans’ ambivalence about Mormons presented the possibility that, depending on framing, it could be neutralized or could perhaps even become a political asset. Survey experiments during both Romney’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns suggest that although Romney’s religion was a detriment when he ran the first time, it had largely ceased to be an issue in 2012. Although Mormonism did not have much effect on Romney’s performance at the polls in the general election of 2012, however, Romney’s candidacy has had an effect on perceptions of Mormonism. In the wake of his campaign, attitudes toward Mormons have become politically polarized, with Republicans holding a far more positive view of them than Democrats, with Independents in the middle

Social and environmental narrative reporting : analysts' perceptions

An ACCA research report, Narrative Reporting: Analysts' Perceptions of its Value and Relevance was published in November 2008. The research considered analysts' views on five key elements of narrative reporting, including social and environmental disclosures. Due to the significant interests ACCA has in corporate transparency with regards to sustainability, this specific part of the research has been highlighted in this paper. The other parts of the research have been summarised only.Publisher PD

Dancing to the music of the till— John Goto’s Ukadia

Dancing to the music of the till— John Goto’s Ukadia explores the photographic montage work of Goto in relation to an analysis of contemporary cultures of consumption