Examining the Changing Roles of Fathers in the Context of Jamaican Family Life

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1 F A C U L T Y O F

2 Examining the Changing Roles of Fathers in the Context of Jamaican Family Life Researcher: Dr. Patricia Anderson Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work This research project seeks to survey and describe the current attitudes and behaviours of a cross section of men in Jamaica towards fatherhood. The findings would be compared to data collected from earlier studies on the contribution of Caribbean men to the family. This would enable an assessment of socio-historical or cultural changes associated with any changes in the attitudes and behaviours of Jamaican men to fatherhood. Hence, the study would entail a review of the literature on fatherhood, parenting and family life in the Caribbean over the last decade. The study also aims to determine the nature of the father-child relationship with respect to specific action variables. Information will be obtained on the impact of fathers involvement in their children s lives from the children s perspective. The research findings will be made available in varied forms to students, policy makers, parents, support workers, various interest groups and the general public. This should help to provoke discussion and debate and also in assist in the development of programmes and policies that support positive parenting, and particularly fathering, in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. Information coming out of the study should contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the attitudes and behaviours of Jamaican fathers. At a deeper level, it is hoped that this knowledge can play a significant part in the efforts to enhance the quality of relationships between fathers and their children. In this way, various measures can be identified and employed to lend support to fathers in their quest to be actively and positively involved in the lives of their children and other family members. 48

3 Locating Accounting and Auditing Techniques and Practices within Colonialism, Capitalism, Imperialism and Globalization: the Case of the Colonial and Post-Colonial Commonwealth Caribbean Economies Researcher: Dr. Owolabi M Bakre Department of Management Studies It is widely believed that accounting and auditing techniques and practices are neutral and enable interested parties to produce socially mediated accounts. However, the view was challenged by recent developments in financial markets across the world such as the 1992 worldwide collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), and the more recent collapse of many multinational companies, namely: Enron, Tyco, World Com and Xerox, as well as the alleged implications of major transnational accounting firms particularly PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Arthur Anderson & Co., and KPMG Peat Marwick in such collapses. The Commonwealth Caribbean was not immune to these developments given the implications of some of these transnational accounting firms in alleged money laundering activities coupled with the collapse of many financial entities such as the Century National Bank, Crown Eagle Group and the Horizon Group in Jamaica. Despite the evidence at our disposal, some accounting commentators, particularly from developed capitalist world and their minority collaborators from the Commonwealth Caribbean, still continue to portray accounting and auditing techniques and practices as neutral and rational calculations, enabling interested parties to produce socially mediated accounts. This study provides evidence that challenges the legitimacy and the claim of the accounting and auditing techniques and practices to neutrality and rationality in the colonial and post-colonial emerging economies in general, and pre- and post-colonial Commonwealth Caribbean economies in particular. The study posits that during the colonial era, the use of financial incentives by colonial officials in Commonwealth Caribbean countries had a negative impact on the fortunes of the indigenous people and those most vulnerable. Accounting laws and taxation were employed to extract surpluses from the labour of the already exploited and oppressed people of the region. This trend continued in the post-colonial era. Accounting and auditing techniques and practices, such as foreign exchange translations, investment decisions and unfair transfer pricing employed by transnational corporations operating in the region, have had the effect of contributing to problems of capital flight, cash flow and unfavourable balance of payment in many Commonwealth Caribbean economies, thereby perpetuating their economic dependency. Accounting and auditing techniques allow transnational businesses in the Commonwealth Caribbean to accumulate and allocate economic surpluses and safeguard the interests of international capital by watching over capital and performing global functions of capital. The study also argues that the introduction of new accounting rules, regulations and standards in American, British, Canadian and other developed countries in recent times have come about in response to financial irregularities, political developments and the efforts of lobby groups. However, the general application of these rules, regulations and standards in the Commonwealth Caribbean may not be appropriate, given significant differences in socio-political and economic environments. 49

4 Locating Accounting and Auditing Techniques and Practices within Colonialism, Capitalism, Imperialism and Globalization: the Case of the Colonial and Post-Colonial Commonwealth Caribbean Economies It was also found that there has been a growing awareness in the region about the limitations of Accounting as the perfect technology to produce rational calculations that enable the interested parties to produce socially mediated accounts. The Jamaican Minister of Finance in his 2002 Caribbean Conference on Taxation, Kingston, Jamaica, voiced his concerns to the Caribbean people: Jamaica s Finance Minister, Dr. Omar Davies, on Monday slammed auditing firms which help their clients to cheat the treasury and stockholders and argues that there was substantial work to be done to redeem the trust that officialdom has lost in auditors. The relationship between revenue agents and the tax system and the auditing community is not what it used to be. (Emphasis added, The Jamaican Sunday Observer, July 28, 2002, p.12) Information from the study was presented at the 2003 Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) Conference in Belize. Research findings were also documented in a technical paper that is currently under consideration for publication by The Accounting Historian Journal, an international refereed Journal. 50

5 Small State Diplomacy in a Globalized World: Barbados, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago Researcher: Dr. Jessica Byron Department of Government This research project seeks to examine the issues of globalization, adjustment strategies and small size in the Greater Caribbean area and in particular, the role of innovative foreign policies and diplomacy in this process. As small countries are even more dependent than others on international trade and capital flows, their external strategies and stances are therefore crucial. Hence, small Caribbean states have had to be more responsive to the challenges of strategic global repositioning (Bernal 2000) in light of the major structural changes that have taken place in the international political economy since the mid-1980s. Consequently, many Caribbean countries have adopted significant trade liberalization programmes and show substantially higher rates of integration into the global economy than they did previously (Gonzales, 2002). The focus of the research was on countries in the Caribbean that met the population size criteria associated with small countries as designated by Streeten (1993) and others. Four countries were selected from the English-speaking and Hispanic parts of the Caribbean region for more detailed study - the Dominican Republic (8.5 million), Costa Rica (3.5 million), Trinidad and Tobago (1.5 million) and Barbados (500,000). The case study approach was used as it would enable a better exploration of critical policy issues. Although these four countries vary in size and economic structure, they do have some similarities. They all underwent extensive programmes of structural adjustment in the latter 1980s or early 1990s and all succeeded in maintaining reasonable average rates of growth for the greater part of the last decade (the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica approximately 5% per annum, Trinidad and Tobago over 4% per annum, and Barbados 3% per annum). In each of these countries, there were significant changes in political and business leadership as well as the introduction of new foreign policy initiatives which were in response to domestic challenges and changes in the hemispheric and global landscapes. 51

6 Small State Diplomacy in a Globalized World: Barbados, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago Work was undertaken on tracing the linkages between diplomacy and domestic political and economic changes. There was an examination of the issues of leadership, institutional and administrative restructuring and also the use of various types of state and civil society coalitions for more effective policy-making and implementation. The research focused on the countries choices of multilateralism, regionalism or unilateral strategies in specific situations and their evolving relationships with key external actors such as the United States. The research findings should help to inform ongoing theoretical debates on small states in the global system. In addition, policymakers should benefit from the information on the many success stories and also from the analysis of Caribbean foreign policy in a globalized age. 52

7 Caribbean Economic Thought: Establishing a Firmer Foundation for the Field of Study Researcher: Mr. Mark Figueroa Department of Economics This project seeks to contribute to the consolidation of the history of Caribbean Economic Thought as an established field of study through the compilation of a critical mass of scholarly work (research and teaching material) in a collaborative venture across the four main Caribbean language sub-regions. The work contemplated relates closely to a number of recent initiatives that focus on UWI, Mona as a centre for the study of Caribbean culture and, more specifically, a centre for the study of Caribbean ideas. The researcher will complete a number of articles and edited collections on the history of Caribbean Thought while coordinating a broad team of Caribbean researchers engaged in similar activities. In doing so, new communication technologies will be used including an list and other web-based tools to build a network of scholars engaged in this field of research. The main research findings to date have provided further evidence that the Caribbean has a rich tradition of economic thinking, both academic and pre-academic. While there are many common aspects to Caribbean history, each language area and major territory within these areas has evolved in ways that are sometimes quite distinctive. Significant texts and individuals have been identified throughout the history of Caribbean thought that merit detailed study beyond what has been undertaken thus far. The material produced by this project will be used in the teaching of the history of Caribbean ideas across the Caribbean. By pursuing an approach that is truly pan- Caribbean in its focus this project should contribute to greater regional understanding and cooperation in the field of research and teaching in Economics, as well as to the understanding of how economic policy has developed in the past and what directions may be possible in the future. Sir Arthur Lewis A website has been established at acecet@uwimona.edu.jm where papers related to the project can be found. In addition, the researcher has completed three papers, one of which has been published: Thought and Freedom: Thirty-five Years After in Selwyn Ryan (ed) Independent Thought and Caribbean Freedom: Essays in Honour Lloyd Best, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, 2003 pp The other two papers have been submitted for publication and are available from the researcher. They are, Recovering the Caribbean Intellectual Tradition: the Case of Economic Thought and W. Arthur Lewis VS the Lewis Model: Agricultural or Industrial Development? 53

8 The Caribbean Integration Movement Researcher: Professor Kenneth O. Hall Office of the Principal A considerable amount of literature on Caribbean integration has evolved over the years. However, until recently, it existed mainly in private collections of papers, in archives and libraries of regional organizations, and in formats that did not readily support the decision-making needs of governments, policy makers, researchers and other stakeholders. This research has facilitated the compilation of papers and speeches, both historical and contemporary, on Caribbean integration with a view to presenting perspectives of scholars and practitioners on the issues and challenges facing the region. The fundamental purposes of Caribbean integration are to improve the quality of life of Caribbean peoples; expand output and employment; reduce the cost of services and avoid marginalization in the world. The efforts of the region and its people in achieving these objectives have been captured in a series of volumes that inter alia present situational analyses of the region in its global setting; examine the issues that have been addressed by the collective leadership of CARI- COM; and reproduce the speeches of the leaders of the integration movement at important fora in the region s history. Integrate or Perish: Perspectives of Leaders of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community and Commonwealth Caribbean , is a revised and updated edition of Integrate or Perish: Perspectives of Leaders of the Integration Movement The visions and aspirations of the men and women, who have served the integration movement from its inception and before are presented, along with profiles of the leaders. Governance in the Age of Globalisation: Caribbean Perspectives is a compilation of the presentations by distinguished Caribbean and international scholars at the 2002 Mona Academic Conference, The Governance Challenge: National, Regional and Global Dimensions. Re-inventing CARICOM: The Road to a New Integration traces the decisions made by the Conference of Heads of Government in the areas of economic integration, foreign policy coordination and functional cooperation, through the communiqués and declarations emanating from their meetings. The CARICOM System: Basic Instruments is a compilation of the instruments establishing the various regional organisations and institutions that comprise the Caribbean Community system. 54

9 Homicidal Violence In The Caribbean: A Comparative Study Researcher: Dr. Anthony Harriott Department of Government Criminal violence, particularly lethal violence is now recognized as an important regional problem and a major public policy concern for a number of countries of the Caribbean region. Despite the recognition of the importance of this issue, research in this area is quite limited. Much of the scholarly literature is characterized by a generalized treatment of crime, or a discussion of violent crime that encapsulates criminal homicide in the broader categories of social violence and/or political violence. There has been very little research on specific types of violent crime. This study attempts to fill this gap by carrying out a comparative analysis of recent patterns of criminal homicide in three Commonwealth Caribbean nations, namely: Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, over the period Work will be undertaken to map the basic patterns of criminal homicide in the three countries. Having described the hot spots in social relations, it will then attempt to identify and explain the variation in homicidal patterns during the period under review. Specifically, the paper seeks to analyze the differences in social structure and culture that accounts for the variation in the patterns of homicidal violence across these countries. In developing an explanation, the study will explore the relationship between the cross-national variation in homicide patterns and the interplay between structure and culture and the resulting variation in the adaptive responses to social disadvantage. In so doing, it will seek to isolate the combination of factors or convergent conditions which give rise to high homicide rates. The policy implications of this analysis for the control of lethal violence in the Caribbean setting will then be explored and broad directions for social policy sketched. By examining the interrelationships between structure and culture that contribute to high homicide rates, murder is seen as a window on society and its most violence-prone conflict points and relationships. The analysis is not primarily concerned with why individuals kill or commit murder, but focuses on why some societies tend to generate high murder rate, or what macro-social features account for high homicide rates. It is also concerned with why some societies are better able to control this problem, and why even after experiencing extraordinarily high homicide rates, some are able to successfully reverse this trend, while others are confronted with an even more intractable and volatile problem. Caribbean experiences are thus treated as cases of general interest with a special emphasis on the case of Jamaica. Four presentations and three articles have so far emanated from this project and work on a book, Understanding Crime in Jamaica: New Challenges for Public Policy (ed.) is underway. 55

10 Homicidal Violence In The Caribbean: A Comparative Study Presentations: Responding to Violent Youth crime in the Caribbean. Presented at Conference on Youth Violence in the Caribbean, Haiti, June 8-12, Firearm Violence in the Caribbean: A preliminary Explanation. Small Arms Review Conference. Geneva, Switzerland, April 10-12, Jamaica: A developing Culture of Violence? Paper presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, March 4-8, Boston, USA. The Jamaican Crime Problem: Taking a New Turn and Presenting New Challenges? Paper presented at REDES 2002, Defense and Security Challenges in the 21 st Century: Continuity or Change? Brasillia, Brazil, August 7-10, Articles: The Jamaican Crime Problem: Taking a New Turn and Presenting New challenges? IDEAZ Vol. 1 # 2. The Jamaican Crime Problem - New Developments and New Challenges for Public Policy. In Harriott (ed.) Understanding Crime in Jamaica: New challenges for public policy. (forthcoming) I like my Soup Cold : Social Identities and Retaliatory Violence. In Harriott (ed.) Understanding Crime in Jamaica: New Challenges for Public Policy. 56

11 Psychosocial Determinants of the Participation of Jamaican Youths in Sport and Physical Activity Research Co-ordinator: Dr. Brigitte K. Matthies Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work Research Fellow: Dr. Leapetswe Malete The aim of this research project was to study the factors that influence young people to participate in sport and physical activity. The study focused on the inter-relatedness of several factors, namely: the motivating factors, impact of the social environment, physical self perception and status, achievement goal orientations and the actual involvement of Jamaican youths. The study involved a stratified random sample of 1,176 Jamaican adolescents between 12 and 19 years of age from 22 urban and rural schools in 11 parishes who completed a series of questionnaires. Participants were separated into three groups depending on their reported level of physical activity and involvement in competitive sports, some type of recreational physical activity, and non-participants. Survey results showed that the most popular sports among Jamaican youths are Track and Field, Football and Netball. Young people are drawn to sporting endeavours mainly as a result of their desire to learn sport skills, to compete, to be with others and to have fun. Most of those involved in sports express a strong belief in their athletic abilities at their best sport. However, nearly 30% those surveyed reported their dropping out of a sport for various reasons such as health concerns, academic pressure, loss of interest, doubt in their abilities and negative experiences. Teachers/coaches are seen as the persons who give the most emotional support and show the most interest in the youths sporting activities even moreso than friends and parents. On the hand, mothers hold a special place in the youths support system as they are seen as having a positive influence, but fathers are seen negatively as the ones who mostly discourage any participation. The study revealed many differences in the profile of non-participants and participants in sport and physical activity. In sharp contrast to non-participants, youths involved in competitive and recreational sports see themselves as earning more respect from family members, friends, teachers and coaches (see Table 1). These sport participants also have higher task and ego goal orientations (see Table 2). Task goal orientation of Jamaican youths has been found to be positively correlated with enjoyment of sport and recreational physical activity and perceived sport ability. In addition, young sports participants feel better about themselves in terms of their athletic competence and physical conditions (see Table 3). Specifically, young people who enter into competitive types of sports tend to be driven by the urge to compete and to improve their skills and the desire to belong to a group. Intrinsic motivation also plays a role in the decision to engage in the sport. 57

12 Psychosocial Determinants of the Participation of Jamaican Youths in Sport and Physical Activity The study also highlighted the influential role of parents and suggested that parental encouragement would be quite useful in getting many youngsters to enter into sporting activities. The study also cited the strong influence of the school environment in the socialization of youths into sport. It recommended that educators should find ways to channel youth sport experiences into various activities to bring about the desired adaptive behaviors. This might be an important strategy in helping to reduce youth antisocial behaviors. Another important recommendation was that sport and physical activity programmes for youths should be designed in a manner that meets the diverse needs of youths. These programmes should serve the competitive and skill-aimed development needs of youths while at the same time, fulfilling the desires for personal improvement, fun, leisure, and social affiliation. By increasing their awareness about the way children are socialized into sport, administrators can better incorporate the various forms of sport and physical activity into the development of effective health and fitness and wellness programmes. At a higher level, other research findings could assist policymakers in their efforts to develop a Jamaican policy on youth s sport. Table 1. Mean Influence of Social Agents by Level of Involvement in Sport Competitive Recreational Non-Participant Variable M SD M SD M SD Parents Siblings Close Friends Teachers/coaches

13 Psychosocial Determinants of the Participation of Jamaican Youths in Sport and Physical Activity Table 2. Task and Ego Orientations by Level of Involvement Task Ego Group M SD M SD Competitive Recreational Non-participant Table 3. Mean Differences for Physical Self Perception by Level of Involvement Athletic Competence Body Attractiveness Body Condition Group M SD M SD M SD Competitive Recreational

14 Envisioning Caribbean Futures Researcher: Professor Brian Meeks Department of Government This research project aims to develop a strategic vision for the Caribbean region which focuses on the long-term goals for human and societal development. It has been suggested that in the first decade after independence, scholars in social political theory had begun to look at the long-term possibilities for the future of the region. However, less attention was given in the following decades to the issue of imagining various possibilities. It has been recognized that if the Caribbean, collectively as a region and individually as territories within its boundaries, is to successfully confront the challenges posed by globalization, then it is absolutely necessary that scholars look beyond the tactical moment and once again raise their horizons to envision Caribbean futures. This work will build upon the ideas expounded in the paper, Envisioning Caribbean Futures, presented at the Caribbean Studies Association Conference in Belize, May It is anticipated that the final product of this innovative research will be an extensive book. The research will involve a survey and critique of contemporary Philosophical approaches of understanding the Caribbean and its place in the post Cold War world. There will also be a critical exploration of the question as to whether or not there are epistemic foundations that undergird Caribbean social and political life and how these, if they exist, might help to inform the character of a new Caribbean politics. The study will also examine the issues surrounding Caribbean regionalism. Building on work by noted theorists, namely Best, Serbin, Benitez-Rojo and others, the study will focus on matters of Caribbean unity beyond the usual economic and utilitarian approaches. There will be an exploration of alternative political arrangements, building on the assumption that contemporary models of liberal democracy bring with them essential if limited rights, but offer an inadequate notion of democratic empowerment. The study will also seek to find answers to the question of what the Caribbean will produce in a qualitatively different set of social arrangements and how these clusters of manual and mental production might concur with a new enhanced democracy. Although the issue of the historical and contemporary nature of ownership has largely been relegated to the dustbin in the last two decades of neo-liberal ascendancy, the study will attempt to resuscitate it and proffer a number of possible alternatives. Finally, analysis will be carried out to anchor the study in contemporary reality, as an attempt will be made to suggest possible pathways towards a new Caribbean politics. 60