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The political geography of the Caribbean no longer corresponds to that of the sixties. Insularity, different cultures, colonialism and balkanization of the West Indian World into 23 political territories have fragmented it. The failure of a federal solution in the British West Indies has been the principal cause behind this territorial pulverization. Spilling over into a strictly maritime domain, the political partitioning of the West Indian world, by the application of a 200 miles offshore economic zone limit, has fed the regionalization of the Caribbean. Actually, the French, American and Dutch West Indies appear to be united without a purpose. The Caricom common market, which encompasses the new young states born of the defunct British West Indies, is not living up to its hopes. Finally, in the absence of an integrating West Indianness, the Caribbean is and remains nothing else but a geographical name. It is a living contrast to the idea that « small is beautiful ».

Keywords: Géographie politique, fédéralisme, unitarisme, décolonisation, insularité, sécessionnisme, balkanisation, frontières maritimes, intégration économique, Antilles, Caraïbe, Political Geography, federalism, unitarism, decolonization, insularity, secessionism, balkanization, offshore boundaries, economic integration, West Indies, Caribbean

The article raises the question of the political management of the pressures generated by the dynamics of local development on the resources of the island territories of the Iroise Sea, the island of Ouessant, the Molène archipelago and the island of Sein. A field survey consisted in 55 semi-directive interviews with three audiences: activity promoters, elected officials and managers; 254 questionnaires, 116 of which were from inhabitants and 138 from tourists, provided quantitative information on the mobilization of territorial resources. For the most part, these come from the sea. They are of course fishery resources, but also landscape resources, and even more generally geographical resources, in the sense that island life, as a living environment, constitutes a factor of attractiveness, at least the driving force behind the creation of identity and, indeed, society. The resources required today in the context of local development are natural, social, spatial and financial resources. The pressures that are exerted on the territory are expressed in two main forms: the secondarization of the habitat and the availability of land in general, on the one hand; and competition over fishery resources, on the other. The key element identified on the territory concerning the political management of these resources is a difficulty of communalization, the organization of the actors with the aim of managing the resources collectively. The marine conservation organizations do not currently seem to be able to significantly influence the management of resources, but they represent a tool, possibly an under-exploited territorial resource, in favor of this process of communalization.

Keywords: insularité, ressources communes, aire marine protégée, cadre de vie, insularity, common resources, marine protected area, living environment

The management of the marine biodiversity présents social and political challenges which needs highlights from human sciences. The marine protected areas, tool used by France, concern the West Indies, through the implementation of a Marine Naturel Park in Martinique, a french island of Caribean. How human dimensions – small scale fisheries – are taken into account in the design model of the Marine Park ? within a postcolonial context marked by the history, what are existing social relationships between decision making actors and fishermen which affect the conservation design like Marine Park ? How combine global interestsand local specificites ? The sociological study conducted in 2017 with sixty fishermen, enriched by an analysis of the relationships between concerned actors, allow, first of all, to identify the particular legacy report between the fishermen and the marine biodiversity, and, in second, to understand how and why global and technocratic management of the marine biodiversity is facing local sociocultural representations and is integrating into unequal relationships between central (or global) and periphery (or local).

Keywords: Martinique, pêcheurs, dimensions humaines, participation, Parc naturel marin, Martinique, fishermen, social concern, involvement, Marine Park

ABSTRACTThe Rivière Boyer valley, located about 40 km downstream from Québec City, is filled with Quaternary deposits of Wisconsinan age and of the Goldthwait marine episode. The valley floor cut in bedrock during preglacial time is located between two major Appalachian ridges oriented in a SW-NE direction. Since the Goldthwait Sea reached an approximate altitude of 160 m around 12 500 BP and because the bottom of the filled valley is less than 80 m in altitude, the area has been submerged during a period of about 2000 years. The isostatic rebound of the south shore of the St. Lawrence having induced a progressive lowering of the marine level, the river has incised a narrowed valley into the Quaternary deposits in which it meanders today. In the downstream section (about 2 km long), a 8-10 m terrace has been eroded by the river. All exposures show at their base an erosion surface cut into the Goldthwait Sea clayey deposits (unit 1). This surface is overlayed by a fluvial gravel deposit (unit 2) containing tree truncks and other organic debris. This unit is covered by a stratified deposit of silt and fine sand (unit 3) implying a change of the base level. It is suggested from 14C data that the erosion surface was cut during a low sea level before 6000 BP. After that period, a 2000-2500 year period of fluvial deposition occurred which was followed by a marine transgression. The cuts described in the paper allow a reconstruction of the events. Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec

Management localization (entrusting management positions to Chinese executives, not to foreign expatriates) is an increasing trend in China-based multinationals. This research suggests that a complete localization is unlikely. Two approaches to localization are practiced: a local approach and a semi-local approach, depending on the priority given to the three categories of Chinese executives: local Chinese, overseas Chinese and Chinese returnees when there is a post vacancy. Based on the analysis of current practices and challenges, measures of improvement are put forward.

Keywords: localisation de l'encadrement, expatrié, Chine, cadres chinois, entreprises multinationales, localization of managerial positions, expats, China, Chinese managers, multinational firms, localización de puestos directivos, expatriado, China, directivos chinos, empresas multinacionales

Storm Xynthia (2010) was responsible for the death by drowning of 41 people along the French Atlantic coast. Review of the event highlighted how housing buildings increase human vulnerability. Consecutively, French government decided to demolish the most dangerous houses. Nevertheless, it was applied only on the Xynthia's most impacted areas. However, other vulnerable territories to coastal floods are identified along French coast. The assumption of this work is to provide a preventive diagnosis of vulnerability of housing building for people on Noirmoutier Island. This territory has similar features than those impacted by Storm Xynthia and was severally struck by coastal floods event in the past. Using V.I.E. index methodology, results show that the four towns of the island are not equally exposed to coastal flood. 46 % of housing buildings of the island could potentially be flooded but there are differences between towns from 28 % to 76 %. But towns which have the most important part of dangerous buildings are the one where urbanization is close to dikes. All in all, Noirmoutier Island is less vulnerable than La Faute-sur-Mer (29 deaths during Xynthia) but it confirms that closeness to dikes increase vulnerability. This diagnosis is a way to promote adaptation measures in order to prevent consequences of future coastal floods on the island.

Keywords: risques littoraux, submersion marine, Xynthia, vulnérabilité, bâti résidentiel, indice de vulnérabilité, côte atlantique française, coastal risks, coastal flood, storm Xynthia, vulnerability, residential buildings, vulnerability index, french atlantic coast

Geographical observations extracted from a diary of an Eskimo on Southamp-ton island written over a one year period, from September 1926 until October 1927. These observations are divided into two groups : those related to the winter (October-May) and those related to the summer season (June-September).