The Equality of Sub-Surface Minerals

Sub-surface minerals are in most cases considered to be the proprietary right of a country should those minerals be found within its borders. PRO169 (Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, International Labour Organization) has recorded instances where the private land of indigenous peoples has been pilfered by a government – often through the sale of a contract to a private company, and without the consent of the people living on that land. Other times, indigenous peoples, the government they find themselves living in, and the company that bought mining rights engage in consultation. But these practices are far from transparent, equitable, or fair as indigenous peoples are often unskilled in contractual law and do not have the same legal resources as the company or government does. This paper argues that the sub-surface minerals found within the territory of indigenous tribes should be legally allocated as theirs

Population biology and disturbance ecology of a native north American bamboo (Arundinaria gigantea)

This dissertation explores effects of windstorm and fire disturbances on the clonal and reproductive biology of cane (Arundinaria gigantea Muhl., Poaceae). In this collection of studies, multiple disturbances interact in complex ways, and some interactions appear only after a substantial lag. One implication of this research is that multiple, interacting disturbances might strongly influence the boundary between monodominant and species-rich plant communities. Cane is the only bamboo native to the United States, and once covered vast areas of bottomlands in the southeastern U.S. in monodominant stands called “canebrakes.” The study took place on the Buckhorn Wildlife Management Area in Tensas Parish of northeastern Louisiana, in the Mississippi alluvial valley. Here in 2000 a tornado blew down a large swath of bottomland hardwood forest. The four-year experimental study focused on the effects of windstorm and prescribed fire on cane ramet dynamics, reproduction and regeneration from seed. The effect on cane of a large windstorm-generated gap is accelerated new ramet production and increased ramet density. Cane spreads continually, albeit irregularly. This suggests that cane stands might shift location over time as small forest gaps open and close. The effects of fire on cane are complex, and some may be lasting. In the large wind-generated forest gap, populations of cane ramets grow faster for having been burned. Forest-grown ramet populations decline in the year of fires, but growth rates rebound the next year. Unburned populations decline during the study’s final year, but previously burned populations do not, suggesting that fire one year might impart resistance to shocks one or more years later. The dissertation proposes how a sequence of windstorm and fire disturbances might promote natural canebrake formation. The counterpoint is that without periodic disturbances, cane ramet populations decline. The dissertation explores cane reproductive ecology and regeneration, and discusses three critical stages: seed production, germination and seedling establishment. Cane seeds and seedlings appear to germinate and survive most frequently on sites receiving partial sunlight with a layer of leaf litter. The final chapter describes how these experimental results inform cane restoration, and suggests three pathways by which cane restoration might be achieved

Allométrie de l’affectation des sols urbains au Québec

La très forte croissance urbaine du Québec depuis la dernière guerre mondiale entraîne des phénomènes de concurrence dans l'utilisation des sols urbains. L'analyse sommaire des données recueillies lors d'un levé d'utilisation des sols urbains effectué en 1971 par l'O.P.D.Q. est présentée ici. Elle permet d'identifier les composantes principales de la concurrence pour l'espace parmi les activités économiques ; d'étudier l'impact de la taille des agglomérations sur cette concurrence ; et finalement, d'esquisser une méthodologie visant à prévoir les besoins futurs en espaces urbains.Pronounced urban growth brings about fierce competition for urban land in Québec. A first analysis of land use data collected by O.P.D.Q. in 1971 is presented here. The principal components of urban land use are identified. The impact of urban size on land use is investigated. And finally, a methodology for land use forecasting is discussed

Florian Crête, c.s.v., et le Musée éducatif de l’Institut des Sourds-Muets (1882-1970) : vers une nouvelle muséologie scientifique

Florian Crête, membre des Clercs de St-Viateur, fait partie de la première génération des muséologues des sciences natrualies que le XXème siècle a produit au Québec. Dirigeant le Musée de l’institution des Sourds-Muets à Montréal, it fut innovateur par la conception et l’application de nouveaux outils pédagogiques; sa réflexion a été partagée et reconnue par les muséologues Canadiens, Américans et Britanniques de l’époque.Les difficultés, qu’il a rencontréeetout au long de sa carrière, semblont typiques de réactions institutionnelles et contexturelles aux enjeux et stratégies mis en place par le mouvement de renoveau de la muséologie des sciences.Florian Crête, a member of the Clercs de St-Viateur, is a typical example of the first generation of natural sciences museologists in Quebec. While in charge of the Musée de l'Institution des Sourds-Muets in Montréal, he was innovative in his concepts and practices of new pedagogical tools; his thoughts were shared and accepted by Canadian, American and British museologists at that time.The difficulties he encountered all along his career, seem typical of institutional and contextual reactions to the stakes and strategies of a renewal movement in science museums

D’une revue d’affaires à une revue d’économique : 75 ans dans la vie de L’Actualité économique

Cet article propose un bilan des activités de la revue L’Actualité économique depuis ses débuts en 1925. Nous nous attardons surtout à l’évolution de l’orientation de la revue, à travers les différents organismes qui en ont assumé la responsabilité; à la provenance des auteurs et à l’évolution du contenu. À notre connaissance, un tel exercice n’a jamais été entrepris. Nous constatons, entre autres, que la revue fut dirigée par différents groupes au cours de son histoire : les licenciés de l’École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC), puis l’École des HEC elle-même et finalement la Société canadienne de science économique. Ces différentes administrations ont eu une influence certaine sur le contenu de la revue. En ce qui concerne les auteurs, nous remarquons, entre autres, un déclin de la participation des professeurs de l’École et un déclin de la participation des auteurs d’autres disciplines que l’économique au profit des économistes d’autres universités que l’École. Au niveau du contenu, il ressort surtout que certains sujets marquants des premières années de la revue, comme l’agriculture et les ressources naturelles, ont perdu beaucoup de leur importance, alors que l’approche méthodologique a été marquée par trois grandes périodes : 1) la domination du commentaire descriptif; 2) la coexistence entre le commentaire descriptif et les articles analytiques et 3) la domination des articles analytiques.This article presents the history of the academic journal L'Actualité économique since its beginnings in 1925. We investigate the evolution of the journal through its orientation, its authors and its content. To our knowledge, such an exercise has never been undertaken. Among other things, we note that the review has been managed by different groups through the years: Les licenciés de l'École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC), then the École des Hautes Études Commerciales and finally, la Société canadienne de science économique. These different groups have influenced the content of the journal. On the authors' side, there was an increase, through the years, in the contributions of economists out of HEC at the expense of the professors from HEC and of the non-economists. Concerning the content, we observe, in particular, that certain subjects very popular when the journal started, like agriculture and natural resources, lost their popularity later on, and that there were three phases in terms of methodological approach: 1) the dominance of the "descriptive comments"; 2) the coexistence of the descriptive comments and the analytical articles and 3) the dominance of the analytical articles