Resilience and Memory in the Poetics of Africadia: Sylvia D. Hamilton's And I Alone Escaped To Tell You

Sylvia D. Hamilton’s collection of poems And I Alone Escaped To Tell You (2014) revolves around the vindication of the little remembered legacy of slavery of Africadians – George Elliott Clarke’s neologism to refer to African Canadians from the Maritime provinces – which acts as a metaphor of the silenced history of Black Canadians. To do so, Hamilton relies on memory work through the lens of resilience and, hence, participates in the recent post-trauma paradigm that is intent on highlighting resistance rather than victimhood. Thus, the resilient memory that emerges from the collection dismisses the position of victims for Africadians and, contrarily, focuses on the capacity to ‘bounce back’, to withstand historical adversities, to endure by being malleable and to adapt to conditions of crisis. Simply put, this resilient memory acts in the poems as the dignified exercise to keep on reinstating and vindicating the silenced history of Black Canada.

Border Crossing between the Russian Far East and Manchuria

This article addresses population movements across the Amur and the Ussuri River borders between Russia and China. It analyses the history of border crossing in this region from Russia’s acquisition of the Amur and Maritime provinces from the Qing Empire in 1860 to the present time, with a focus on the 1920s and 1930s. The article’s first part demonstrates that the movement of people (settlers, work migrants, refugees) across the two river borders went in both directions. The second part asks when the formerly porous river borders became sealed through strengthened military control. By analysing the mechanics of border crossing, such as the clandestine passages of Mennonites, a Russian–German Protestant sect, from Soviet territory into Chinese Manchuria over the Amur in 1929 and 1930, as well as the escape stories of other refugees from the Soviet Union, the article shows in its third part that the ‘sealed’ borders could nonetheless be transgressed.

Lachnellula willkommii (European larch canker).

The European larch canker pathogen, L. willkommii, is apparently native to Japan, but established in Europe, where it became well known due to its damage to plantations of exotic and native Larix species, beginning in the nineteenth century. It attacks and spreads among the various species of Larix once it has been introduced. It was detected as an invasive to North America on two occasions; once in the northeastern USA in the 1920s (Hahn and Ayres, 1936) and once in the eastern maritime provinces of Canada in the 1980s (Magasi and Pond, 1982). Efforts to prevent its introduction across natural barriers include regulation and restriction of trade and transport of susceptible species and bark-bearing products made from them. Control by destruction of infected plants or plant parts is often made difficult by the size of the trees concerned (Tegethoff, 1965). Local spread of the fungus between trees appears to depend on dissemination and survival of airborne ascospores. Climatic conditions of humidity and temperature appear to limit natural spread from regions of establishment (Ostaff, 1985).

Dramatic returns! Creating a return to work Medical Readers’ Theatre

Background Previous work on sickness absence has shown that conversations about return to work can be challenging. The perception of competing interests and multiple stakeholders in the return to work process may also complicate and erode trust, further impacting health and well-being. Aims This study aims to explore the themes arising from the experiences of physicians and patients on the impact of health and return to work. The goal was to use these results to develop a Medical Readers’ Theatre workshop focusing on negotiating challenging return to work scenarios to serve as an educational support for stakeholders. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 physicians and 15 patients from the Canadian Maritime Provinces on their experiences in return to work following an injury or illness. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Using the emergent themes, an educational workshop in the modality of Readers’ Theatre was developed. Results The findings confirm there are multiple stakeholders involved in the return to work process and the factors influencing successful return are not always medically related. Six recurring themes were identified for the patient group and five for the physicians’, allowing the development of storylines and four return to work scenarios. The scenarios have been used in teaching sessions. Conclusions The themes reinforced that challenges in return to work are not always medical in nature. This Readers’ Theatre adopts perspectives of patients, physicians and other stakeholders whilst focusing on return to work with the goal of providing engagement in reflective and purposeful discussion.

Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC) of Seaweed (Macroalgae) for Producing Hydrochar

Waste seaweed that is collected at coastal regions of maritime provinces in Canada is creating ecological problems as it promotes an anoxic event, which produces nearly zero dissolved oxygen in water along with hydrogen sulfide emission. The work done in this study attempts to address this issue by producing a coal-like solid hydrochar and nutritious liquid slurry (processed water) by employing a rather recent thermo-chemical process called hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) on the seaweed. The HTC was carried out in a batch reactor system for three different reaction temperatures, 180 °C, 200 °C, 220 °C, and three different reaction times, 30, 60, and 120 min. Each of the produced hydrochars was characterized by different analytical methods. The effects of the process conditions on the yield and the properties of the hydrochar and process water were examined. The hydrochar produced at 220 °C and 120 min showed the highest carbon content (48.5%) and heating value (18.93 MJ/kg). The energy density and carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio in the hydrochar increased significantly as compared to raw seaweed. Moreover, HTC reduced the ash yield and volatile compounds of the seaweed. Thus, hydrochar can be used as a fuel for direct combustion, in soil remediation, or in carbon sequestration applications.

“They’re Really Family!”: Discursive Dynamics of Municipal Twinnings Between Louisiana and Acadian Communities of the Maritime Provinces

Whether considered as a form of “diplomacy by cities,” as a strategy for small and mid-sized communities to assert their role amidst globalization, or as a means of territorial cooperation, twinnings between municipalities of different countries represent a common and oft celebrated facet of contemporary transnationalization. Sister cities in Louisiana and Canada’s Maritime Provinces play an important part in the transnational networks among populations of the Acadian diaspora, a people “scattered to the wind” in the eighteenth century after mass deportation by British authorities. There are currently 12 such twinnings, and partnerships with the French-speaking world figure prominently in external subnational relations across the Maritimes, especially in New Brunswick. This article examines emerging discourses of diasporic Acadian identity through municipal twinnings between Louisiana and l’Acadie des Maritimes. After a general profile of twinnings in the Maritimes, I analyze the evolution of language used in sister-city agreements before offering examples of sister cities’ unique contribution to a sense of diasporic belonging.

Occurrence of extended spectrum β-lactamase and AmpC-producing Escherichia coli in retail meat products from the Maritime Provinces, Canada

This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance to the extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESC) in Escherichia coli isolates recovered from retail meat products collected in the Maritime Provinces of Canada using both selective and traditional culture methods, and genotypically using multiplex polymerase chain reactions. ESC-R E. coli was detected in 33/559 (5.9%) samples using the traditional culture compared to 151/557 (27.1%) samples using the selective culture method. The recovery of ESC-R E. coli isolates was more common in poultry compared to beef and pork (P<0.001). Multi-drug resistance, ESBL, and AmpC phenotypes were more common in chicken-derived isolates than other retail meat products (P<0.001). From the 98 isolates selected, 76 (77.6%) isolates were positive for either ESBL and AmpC β-lactamases or both. Among the 76 isolates, blaCMY-2 (78.9%), blaCTXM (46.1%), blaTEM (21.1%), and blaSHV (1.3%) were detected. Among the blaCTXM-producing isolates; blaCTXM-1, blaCTXM-2, and blaCTXM-9 phylogenetic groups were detected. β-lactamase genes were detected more in chicken-derived isolates compared to other meat types (P<0.01). This study demonstrated the occurrence of ESBL and AmpC resistance genes in retail meat products in Maritime Provinces of Canada. Also, selective culture significantly improved the recovery of ESC-R E. coli isolates from retail meat samples.