A combined visual-geochemical approach to establishing provenance for pegmatite quartz artifacts

A technique for establishing source provenance for pegmatite quartz artifacts was developed using a quarry sample from the Churchill River basin of northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was used to quantify Ti, Ge, Th, and U trace element concentrations and Pb isotope ratios, coupled with qualitative visual characteristics to distinguish between pegmatite quartz from different archaeologically exploited sources in the Churchill River basin region. The technique was also applied to a small sample of quartz artifacts recovered from sites in and around the study area in a preliminary attempt to assign or rule out raw material provenance to characterized sources.     

Natural and unnatural complexities: flood control along Manitoba's Assiniboine River

Flooding and flood control long have been topics of concern for geographers and historians of North America, from Gilbert White's foundational work to attempts to understand the recent disaster in New Orleans. This paper considers the problem of flood control along the Assiniboine River in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The first section addresses the local landscape and the larger context, explaining changes in the relevant human and physical geography. The second section examines efforts to mitigate flooding, focusing on how the risk of inundation was shifted in location (not eliminated altogether) and compounded through time (not progressively resolved). The third focuses on a further source of complexity: the contested character of government jurisdiction. This final section also addresses major mid twentieth century changes in mitigation efforts: in the light of flooding on an unprecedented scale, governments became more open to compromise and more willing to undertake substantial projects. Gilbert White asserted that while floods are natural occurrences, flood damages are the responsibility of humanity. The question of responsibility might seem relatively clear in relation to flood mitigation, given that dykes are human constructions. The history of flood mitigation along the Assiniboine would suggest, however, that assigning responsibility for the failures and successes of flood mitigation is not so straightforward.     

MUNICIPAL WASTE RECYCLING IN BRANDON, MANITOBA: DETERMINANTS OF PARTICIPATORY BEHAVIOUR

The municipal waste disposal crisis has received considerable public attention in recent years, particularly as it has become increasingly difficult, both financially and politically, to dispose of the steadily growing volume of waste. With municipalities under pressure to find acceptable alternatives to the traditional forms of refuse disposal - landfilling and incineration - the recycling of household waste has been advocated by policy makers and some environmentalists as a possible solution. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing the collection and disposal of household recyclables, as well as the effectiveness of institutional strategies to induce residents' participation in such a program. The study area is the city of Brandon, Manitoba, a settlement of some 40 000 people, 210 kilometres west of Winnipeg. To obtain a representative overview of the recycling behaviour of the population, three groups totalling a sample of 490 respondents, were investigated. Two of these groups were made up of people who actively recycle, and the third constituted a control group made up of those who do not engage in recycling activities. An overview of the municipal initiatives in Brandon, and an analysis of the data collected in the study, as well as statistics available on recycling programs from other sources, indicate that the recently introduced services and facilities have contributed to make significant qualitative changes but with limited success in dealing with the real magnitude of the solid waste problem. It is suggested that the goals of the various strategies have been established, but there is currently little incentive -apart from personal satisfaction - for residents to participate. This would seem to explain the limited success, in quantitative terms, of the programs to date