Research for Development. Mona Campus Research Fellowship Programme

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2 The Caribbean Integration Movement Professor Kenneth O. Hall The pursuit of research and analysis on the question of Caribbean integration and its prospects for the twentyfirst century is of vital importance to the Governments, peoples, policy makers and other individuals and stakeholders of the integration process because of its important bearing on the decisions made with respect to the contemporary status and future of the region. The Caribbean enters the twenty-first century at a time when it is necessary to utilise the lessons of the past in order to create the conditions that could lead to a future that is acceptable and meaningful to its peoples. The speeches and utterances of the leaders of the integration movement contain nuggets of wisdom and insight about the movement as voiced by men and women who gave their political lives in the service of the ideal. Their relevance to policy and the future of the development of the integration process is beyond question. These speeches have hitherto remained in the province of specialists. The book Integrate or Perish: Perspectives of Leaders of the Integration Movement, chronicles the ideas and thoughts of the leaders as they grappled with the integration of the Caribbean region, the attendant problems and the opportunities for the new millennium. Contending with Destiny: The Caribbean in the Twenty-First Century is the result of a Conference on the Caribbean in the Twenty-first Century which was held at the Mona Campus in It represents the deliberations of scholars, policy-makers, the private sector, NGOs as well as representatives of regional institutions on the options available in the region, bearing in mind the emergence of critical political and economic factors which have a bearing on the destiny of the English-speaking countries. The historical progress of the integration movement is presented in The Caribbean Community: Beyond Survival. The book addresses the critical issues facing the member states of CARICOM and analyses the problems of the region. It also deals comprehensively with the prospects for the future political and economic survival of the Community. Its companion, an essay entitled CARICOM: Unity in Adversity treats with the region s continuing desire for unity. 83

3 The Windward Islands' Banana Farmer: A Dying Breed? The Plight of the Banana Farmer Research Coordinator: Research Fellow: Professor Barry Chevannes Faculty of Social Sciences Dr. Patsy Lewis This completed research project examined the difficulties facing the Banana industry in the Windward Islands (Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada) in the context of changes in the international trading environment, which pose severe challenges for the industry s survival. These include a weakening and eventual phasing out of the preferential access to the United Kingdom market which provided the historical framework within which the industry was developed, as well as the introduction of a more competitive market requiring higher quality fruit sold at cheaper prices. The project located the banana industry and its farmers within broad debates on the implications of the current international trading regime for the survival of small regional states. It drew upon survey research amongst farmers in three of the four countries of the Windward Islands to establish an economic and social profile of these farmers, and to present their responses to attempts to put the industry on a more competitive footing as well as to suggest possible alternatives to banana production. Research findings were presented at a number of conferences. The study has also produced two publications on the issues related to the challenges facing the banana industry in the Windward Islands and the restructuring of the West Indian Banana Industry. 84

4 The Non-Profit Sector, Democracy and Development in Jamaica Mr. Louis G. Lindsay Department of Government The Non-Profit Sector is empirically identified and analysed in the context of its actual and potential role as an agent and catalyst for broad based democratisation and sustainable development. Chapter one examines the normative and philosophical foundations of philanthropy, voluntarism and the altruistic impulse. Chapter two charts the Historical Evolution and Contemporary Dynamics of Civil Society and the Non-Profit Sector in Jamaica. Other chapters examine the interactions between partisan political mobilization and Non-Governmental Organizations and conclude that they have primarily been marked by processes of clientism and co-optation in which the Non-Profit sector has emerged ambivalent and weakened. The study concludes with a detailed agenda for revitalizing the Non-Profit Sector, including concrete proposals for the establishment of a NGO Research Centre and Clearing House in Jamaica. 85

5 Westminster - Whitehall Democracy: The Jamaican Derivative Emeritus Professor Gladstone Mills Department of Government The ongoing study seeks, as its primary purpose, to identify the basic principles which underlie the system of government of Jamaica and its mode of operation, as a derivative of the United Kingdom s Westminster - Whitehall model of politics and public administration. In pursuit of this objective, the researchers are concerned particularly about the presence of deficiencies and weaknesses in the Jamaican derivative, which act as impediments to attaining the democratic ideal. The study should contribute ideas and suggestions for the improvement of governance in Jamaica. Two significant questions emerged in approaching the study. First, has the original British Parliamentary model been effectively transferred to this different Jamaican environment? The second: Would it be more appropriate to replace the parliamentary system by a more democratic presidential one? The study involved an examination of relevant bibliographical sources and interviews of appropriate individuals with the objective of clarifying the conceptual basis of the Home model and rethinking the intellectual source and basis of governance in Jamaica. It also included an examination of the presidential-congressional system with an emphasis on the United States of America. The study will also examine the various reform measures that could be employed to improve the functioning of the Westminster-Whitehall system in Jamaica, while at the same time strengthening and deepening the democratic process. 86

6 Psychological Correlates of Jamaican Youth Involved in Sport and Physical Activity Research Co-ordinator: Research Fellow: Dr. Brigitte K. Matthies Department of Sociology and Social Work Dr. Leapetswe Malete The Jamaican people are extremely sport-oriented. They are devoted to cricket, football (soccer), netball, track and field, and more recently to a variety of North American sports. Although Jamaican youth can be seen engaging in sports and other types of physical activity, the number of individuals exercising declines sharply with age, and many adult Jamaicans are overweight, unfit and suffer from health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Why is this so? Much of the existing research on the psychological factors that predict the involvement of youths in sport and physical activity has been done with American and Western-European middle class youth and children, so that little is known about other populations outside these contexts. The aim of the present study, which began in November 2000, is to examine the relationships among achievement goal orientation (how much do I want to play?), perceived competence (how good do I think I am?), nutritional status, social support, prevalence of behavioural problems, and the involvement of Jamaican youths in sport and physical activity. A questionnaire has been developed and data has been collected at over 30 urban and rural high schools from youths aged years. Youths involved directly (participation) or indirectly (interested/watch) in a competitive sport, or involved in some type of recreational physical activity, will be compared with youths that do not participate in sport and physical activity. Although the field of Sport Psychology is new in Jamaica, it can provide endless opportunities for growth and development. Many Jamaican youths show a high level of aggressive behavior both inside and outside the classroom. Some research studies done abroad suggest that participation in some types of sports, such as traditional martial arts training, can provide an outlet for aggressive impulses and lower the incidence of aggressive behavior. In contrast, other studies suggest that interest and/or participation in contact and competitive sports is actually related to less mature moral reasoning and increases the tendency to behave aggressively. The study is concerned with addressing the question of whether sports can be used to decrease the level of aggression in Jamaican youths. Findings from the study will enable an examination of the relationship between sports participation and aggressive behavior in Jamaican youths which may lead to the possibility of developing a school based programme utilizing sport as a vehicle for peace education or to address aggressive behavior. The study should also provide information on the predictors for participation in physical activity, which will guide the development of programmes on primary level health care for obesity and diabetes, thereby improving cardiovascular health related outcomes in the Jamaican people. 87

7 Development of a Desirability Model for Privately Promoted Infrastructural Projects Utilising the Analytical Hierarchy Process Dr. Hilton McDavid Department of Management Studies With funding from multilateral lending institutions, such as The World Bank, dwindling and pressing social needs, governments have been progressively giving up its role of planner, financier and manager, and assumed that of grantor (privatisation, concession agreements, management contracts) and regulator or overseer of the provision of services by the private sector. This is especially visible in the area of infrastructure privatisation. Investments in infrastructure are important, as there is a positive correlation between improvements in infrastructure and an increase in national output. Before an entity is privatised there are various factors that have to be taken into consideration, which can make the process quite complex. The construction of the Desirability Model using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was seen as a way of structuring and addressing the complex issues involved in the whole privatisation process to aid in decision-making. The AHP process was chosen because it is useful where one has choices to make amongst multiple alternatives and where there is more than one factor that has to be incorporated into the decision making process. The model that has been constructed is composed of three major attributes/goals with different levels or subobjectives forming hierarchies: Promoting Firm s Competency (PFC); Project Desirability (PD) and Construction and Maintenance Competency (CMC). The PFC model evaluates the capability of the private sector company team with its many parts to successfully develop and execute the infrastructure project. The PD model evaluates the strength and weaknesses of the project during its entire lifecycle from the conceptual phase to the transfer phase paying particular attention to the specific details of the engineering, construction, and financial designs and the capability to meet the requirements and demands of the society and welfare of the state. The CMC evaluates the ability of the firm to successfully execute the critical construction and maintenance phases of the project. The model will enable governments to better select promoting firms for the completion of the privately financed infrastructure projects. To derive the model, academics, professionals, and private and public sector experts were interviewed from Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States of America. Clearing land for the construction of a new road Privately financed water irrigation project 88

8 Social and Economic Implications of Tourism Development in the Caribbean: an Empirical and Theoretical Study Dr. Ian Boxill Department of Sociology and Social Work This study seeks to develop a body of research on Tourism in the Caribbean, which focuses on the empirical, theoretical and developmental aspects of tourism either as a single or as a component of a development strategy. It is expected that this research would make an important contribution to the development of theory and policy making. In order to achieve this goal, the research project has been implemented as a collaborative effort between the University of the West Indies and the University of Quintana Roo (UQROO), Mexico. Both universities have signed an agreement that will facilitate a greater level of institutional collaboration. The joint project is also expected to strengthen ties between these institutions. The area where there is controversy over the expansion of tourism The project is expected to: * Provide an evaluation of tourism as a development strategy. * Assess the impact of the sector from social, economic and cultural standpoints in Mexico, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados, Belize and Dominica. * Create a framework for assessing what types of tourism are most suitable for the region. * Create the institutional arrangements between UWI and UQROO in order to ensure continued systematic academic research on tourism. * Develop graduate student research on tourism. * Provide a framework for conceptualizing tourism as a development strategy. At the end of the first year of the project, data has been collected in Mexico, Antigua and Belize on the social impacts of tourism at the community level. The findings, so far, point to significant social impacts of tourism development in some communities in Mexico and Antigua. Technical papers were prepared addressing ways in which policy makers can mitigate negative impacts and develop a type of tourism industry that is beneficial to the communities. The dying mangroves of Antigua - partly the result of tourism development New hotel under construction in Antigua 89

9 Marcus Garvey s Assessment of Daily Life in Jamaica and the West Indies in the Early 1930s Professor Rupert Lewis Department of Government The aim of this study, which is to commence, is to select, thematise, annotate and edit Marcus Garvey s writings on concrete issues that faced West Indian peoples on the eve of the labour and political upheavals of the late 1930s. The centrality of the Garvey movement to the political awakening of West Indian people parallels his work in the United States and also parallels his contribution to anti-colonial consciousness in Africa. In this collection we have evidence of Marcus Garvey s speeches and writings about the Caribbean, the area he knew best, in pieces that are polemical, reflective and informative. This collection demonstrates the depth of Garvey s knowledge of the circumstances of West Indian life and his efforts to respond to a wide range of political, economic, cultural and environmental issues. The study seeks to provide unique autobiographical pieces gleaned from speeches, columns, and articles published in the Jamaican press. The published work will contain portraits of colonial governors, colonial secretaries, political representatives, journalists, preachers, activists, sports personalities as well as comments on murderers and thieves. This material will be of special interest to other researchers. Garvey research contributes to the positive identity and knowledge of the efforts of people of Africa and African descent to uplift themselves. Garvey research is significant in helping to build a scholarly tradition that goes beyond national heritage perspectives into global heritage perspectives. The global heritage perspective, however, does not float on clouds, but is rooted in concrete national realities. What is important is the interconnection between the diverse national heritages of which the Garvey movement was a part and the global tasks of racial upliftment and emancipation. In addition, the research will contribute to the documentation and study of the Caribbean intellectual tradition and its impact on the modern world. Marcus Garvey 90

10 Worldwide Reforms of Customs Operations: The Impacts on the Information Requirements for Effective Import and Export Logistics Dr. Michael A. Haughton Department of Management Studies The overarching goal of this research project is to provide a useful source of reference for understanding how the international trade community of importers/exporters and trade intermediaries (such as customs brokers and freight forwarders) might design the type of information infrastructure required for effective import/export logistics in the present era of trade liberalization. This is to be accomplished through an approach of analyzing a mix of primary and secondary data as a basis for determining and describing the key features of such information infrastructure. The background context for this research is that in any given nation today, Customs -the institution entrusted with direct operational responsibility for controlling the flow of goods across the nation s borders- is likely to be undergoing, or at least contemplating, radical reforms in its operations. Those reforms reflect an articulation of the concept of global trade liberalization, and in particular, of the philosophy that Customs can carry out its responsibility without unduly impeding the international flow of goods. For firms involved in international trade, these reforms are, in theory, beneficial in that they aim to reduce the frequency and severity of Customs-related disruptions in global logistics networks. A custom officer searches an incoming barrel at local port of entry In order to reap the proclaimed benefits, one of the crucial requirements that must be satisfied by the international trade community is the possession of management information infrastructures that are more robust than what would suffice in the absence of these radical customs reforms. In the existing literature on the management subdiscipline concerned with the logistics of international trade, issues concerning that requirement remain unexplored. Thus, information to be produced from the research will add to the present body of knowledge by providing some insights into the nature of the information infrastructure requirement and how it might be satisfied. The key data sources for the research will be governmental and other organizations that have been at the forefront of the development and implementation of these liberalization-oriented customs reforms across the world. The focus of the data analysis component of the research methodology will be on relevant official documents from these organizations. Among the planned data sources are international associations such as the World Customs Organization (WCO), and the International Federation of Customs Brokers Associations (IFCBA), as well as selected national organizations (e.g., country-specific customs administrations) that comprise these associations. 91

11 The Integration of the Accountancy Profession in the Commonwealth Caribbean Dr. Owolabi M Bakre Department of Management Studies In support of other Caribbean accounting commentators, the practices and profession in the Commonwealth Caribbean need to be re-shaped in order to respond positively to the economic requirements of the region. As the former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC) states the problem: There is no central direction or coordination for the accountancy profession in the Caribbean. The available accountancy training lacks focus and a professional emphasis; in fact, it is the only major profession for which no regional examinations are available. The training received by Caribbean accountants in the areas of tax, law and financial systems, are often irrelevant to their own local situation. Standards within the various territories are not uniform and the contents of financial statements in one country could mean something completely different in another. The scope of services that accountants in public practice have traditionally provided has come under attack, with suggestions that the accountants objectivity and independence have been compromised. It is therefore imperative that professionals in the region be able to assure the public of the quality of their services. (Emphasis added) President of ICAC, Reporting in the ICAC Annual Report, 1998, p.4. The research project, due to commence, will examine the regional and global conditions that have hindered the initiatives to promote the development and integration of the profession in the Commonwealth Caribbean. The research findings will provide information that can assist in the development of strategies for sustainable accounting practices in the region. The unique historical experiences of slavery and indentureship in the Commonwealth Caribbean provide a common socio-cultural basis for the region's identity. As we develop as a people, we must increasingly adjust our inherited institutional arrangements to reflect our Caribbean identity. In this context, the main benefit expected from this research is that it will make use of the past experiences from Regionalisation to suggest various ways to re-shape and achieve a long-lasting regional accountancy body and profession that is responsive to the socioeconomic, political and cultural conditions and environment of the region. This has already become a reality in the Medical and Legal professions; it is now long overdue in the noble profession of Accountancy, which touches on the everyday life of the Caribbean people. 92