TABLE OF CONTENTS
HISTORY OF UTECH, JA 04
VISION & MISSION STATEMENT 05
FOREWORD 06
INTRODUCTION 07- 09
UTECH, JAMAICA’S RESEARCH MANAGEMENT ECOSYSTEM 10 - 15
A PIONEERING PAST AND A BRIGHT FUTURE 16 - 123 OF IMPACTFUL RESEARCH AND SCHOLARLY ACHIEVEMENTS
RESEARCH ETHICS 17 - 19
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT 20 - 31
BUSINESS, TOURISM & HOSPITALITY 32 - 43
)HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS HIV 44 - 50 OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES &
NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES 51 - 58 AND FOOD CONSUMPTION, AFFORDABILITY & SECURITY
PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACEUTICS 59 - 62
)CANNABIS SATIVA (MARIJUANA/GANJA 63 - 68
CANCER AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 69 - 72
ENGINEERING, ICT APPLICATIONS & INFORMATION SYSTEMS 73 - 86
ORAL AND PUBLIC HEATLH 87 - 89
,EDUCATION 90 - 104 HUMANITIES& SOCIAL SCIENCES
MARINE BIOLOGY 105 - 107
PUBLICATION OF UTECH, JAMAICA 108 - 123 RESEARCH OR SCHOLARLY WORK IN THE POPULAR PRESS
UTECH’S FLAGSHIP JOURNAL 124
CERDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 125 PAGE
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, JAMAICA The University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica) started in 1958, as the Jamaica Institute of Technology. In 1959 the name of the institution was changed to the College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST) Scheme of 1959. This was validated by an ACT of Parliament in 1964. In 1986, the CAST Scheme was revised in order to make the College a degree-granting institution, and the College became legally empowered to conduct affairs under a governing Council and Academic Board. The institution was formally accorded University status on September 1, 1995 as the University of Technology, Jamaica.
The history of the institution is intimately connected with the social and economic development of Jamaica. From just over 50 students and four programmes in 1958, UTech, Jamaica has grown to become Jamaica’s premier national institution for tertiary education with a student population of 13, 000. It now offers more than 130 programmes at the certificate, diploma, undergraduate, and graduate degree levels through its three colleges and five faculties. The University has further expanded access to its programme offerings to meet the demands of business and industry by establishing campuses and satellite locations in other locations in Kingston and also in Montego Bay, St. James. In addition, several programmes are franchised through links with community colleges, and most programmes are linked to national and international professional organizations.
Syllabuses are modeled on the English polytechnic system, with emphasis on flexibility of approach, work-based, experiential learning and professional linkages through cooperative work- based programmes. Flexibility in the University’s academic programmes is reflected in the various modes of course delivery, which include the establishment of a Semesterised mode of delivery introduced in academic year 1999/2000 and further adjusted and piloted in 2009-2010.
The University’s mandate is reflected in its mission to“stimulate positive change in Caribbean Society through the provision of high quality learning and research opportunities and service to our communities.” As such, the University’s three core pillars are Teaching, Research, and Service. PAGE
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OUR VISION The University of Technology, Jamaica will: Provide innovative and expanded access to learning
Offer innovative, transformational, profession-driven and leading-edge programmes
Have in place high quality staff who are professionally competent, innovative and leaders in their own field
Operate with high quality, relevant resources and facilities
Resulting in: Recognition for its leadership in entrepreneurship, research, technology innovation and exceptional customer care
The well-known and respected UTech, Ja. brand
Globally competent, versatile, innovative entrepreneurial graduates
A positive impact on society
OUR MISSION To Stimulate Positive Change in Caribbean Society through the Provision of High Quality Learning and Research Opportunities and Service to our Communities
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6 FOREWORD The University of Technology, Jamaica this year marks the 60th anniversary of the institution which started in 1958 as the Jamaica Institute of Technology. A year later the name was changed to the College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST).
In 1995, when the institution was officially granted university status by an Act of Parliament, research output was immediately elevated as an important pillar in the core mission of the University. This mission is “to stimulate positive change in Caribbean society through the provision of high quality learning and research opportunities and service to our communities.”
The University of Technology, Jamaica remains committed to this three- Prof. Stephen Vasciannie, CD President pronged mission of teaching, research and service to significantly impact Jamaica’s growth and development goals. As we seek to strengthen our capacity for the dissemination and creation of new knowledge in a global, knowledge-based economy, increased output of research and publications among members of faculty and staff is an imperative.
This publication titled “A Pioneering Past and a Bright Future of Impactful Research and Scholarly Achievements”, contains selected pieces of research that have been conducted by members of faculty, staff and students from our three colleges and five faculties, that have had particular impact on society.
It consists of 74 pieces of research work inclusive of peer-reviewed research papers and projects, a book summary and conference presentations that add to the stock of knowledge on important areas of local and regional development.
These include areas such as sustainable energy, business, tourism and hospitality, non-communicable diseases and food consumption, oral and public health, pharmacology and pharmaceutics, land management, urban development and the environment, cannabis research and legislation, ICT applications and issues in education and teaching.
The interdisciplinary collection offer’s a bird’s eye view of UTech, Jamaica’s expertise at work. It is our hope that it will provide a useful reference tool for researchers and members of the public in general.
We invite members of government, industry and academia to continue to partner with the University of Technology, Jamaica in the journey of advancing discovery and the sharing of new knowledge for the benefit of society. PAGE
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7 INTRODUCTION UTech, Jamaica & Vision 2030 The University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica), which is the publicly-funded national University, is committed to conducting high-impact, inter-disciplinary, and applied research in focal areas derived from the specialised disciplines within the university and relevant to economic and social problems of the society. This is ensured by aligning research focus areas with national goals and priorities for development as articulated in the country’s long-term development plan, Vision 2030 Jamaica. In other words, UTech, Jamaica has positioned itself to produce impactful research solutions to economic and social problems.
The “Objects” of UTech, Jamaica The University was established by Act of the Jamaican Parliament in 1999 as an upgrade from college to university of the College of Arts Science and Technology (CAST), which had been operating since 1958 as a polytechnic-type training institution. The “objects” of the new University, as set out in the Act, would be to:
• Advance education and development of technology through a variety of patterns, levels and modes of study and by a diversity of means by encouraging and developing learning and creativity for sustainable development for the benefit of the people of Jamaica, the Caribbean and elsewhere;
• Preserve, advance and disseminate knowledge and culture through teaching, scholarship and research;
• Make available the results of such research and service; and
• Promote wisdom and understanding by the example and influence of corporate life.”
The powers granted to the University of Technology, Jamaica included the power “to make provision for research and research training for the preservation and advancement of knowledge in such manner and through such media as the University may determine.” PAGE
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8 PURPOSE & ORGANIZATION OF THIS PUBLICATION The centrality of, and our commitment to, research are embedded in the University’s mission – “To Stimulate Positive Change in Caribbean Society through the Provision of High Quality Learning and Research Opportunities and Service to our Communities.” Against this background, the purpose of this publication is to highlight impactful, multi-disciplinary, and applied research, in specialized disciplines that are relevant to addressing social and economic problems faced by our society, that has been undertaken by staff and students.
However, to provide an understanding of how our University organizes itself to accomplish its research agenda, this publication also provides: 1. Information on UTech, Jamaica’s Research Policy, 2. A description of UTech, Jamaica’s research management ecosystem, 3. A list of key research-related institutional initiatives areas, 4. A widely accepted definition of research management and, 5. A list of key research management functions. These sections are followed by selected pieces of research and scholarly achievements by staff members and students from our three colleges and five faculties as well as from a number of our Administrative Units: • College of Business and Management • College of Health Sciences • Joint Colleges of Medicine, Oral Health and Veterinary Sciences • Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies • Faculty of Engineering and Computing • Faculty of Law • Faculty of Science and Sport • Faculty of the Built Environment • Administrative Units (e.g., School of Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship; Planning & Operations; Caribbean Sustainable Energy & Innovation Institute)
UTech, Jamaica’s Research Policy Research at UTech, Jamaica is guided by the University’s Research Policy, which provides the overall framework for conducting, supporting and rewarding research. The purpose of the Policy is:
To provide guidelines for ensuring the integrity of research activity in the university. To provide opportunities for staff and students to engage in research according to acceptable national and international standards To provide a mechanism for the administration of research grants and research consultancies To protect the intellectual property resulting from university-sponsored research To ensure the safety and well-being of research staff, human and animal subjects and experiments. To facilitate the development of teaching, and critical enquiry and the furtherance of knowledge through research and the provision of research infrastructure. PAGE
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UTech, Jamaica’s Research Policy Research at UTech, Jamaica is guided by the University’s Research Policy, which provides the overall framework for conducting, supporting and rewarding research. The purpose of the Policy is:
To provide guidelines for ensuring the integrity of research activity in the university.
To provide opportunities for staff and students to engage in research according to acceptable national and international standards
To provide a mechanism for the administration of research grants and research consultancies
To protect the intellectual property resulting from university-sponsored research
To ensure the safety and well-being of research staff, human and animal subjects and experiments.
To facilitate the development of teaching, and critical enquiry and the furtherance of knowledge through research and the provision of research infrastructure.
Key Institutional Research-Related Initiatives Directed by its mission to “Stimulate Positive Change in Caribbean Society through the Provision of High Quality Learning and Research Opportunities and Service to our Communities,” key institutional research-related initiatives are included in UTech, Jamaica’s Strategic Plan. These initiatives are:
Partner with other universities and tertiary institutions to develop new research opportunities;
Collaborate with research ‘strong’ units and organizations;
Promote benefits of publication to staff;
Track citations, copyright, and patents; PAGE
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10 UTECH, JAMAICA’S RESEARCH MANAGEMENT ECOSYSTEM
School of Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship (SGSRE)
The School of Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship (SGSRE), established in 2007, operates as UTech, Jamaica’s research and innovation management office.
The SGSRE is staffed by Research Management Technical Officers and Administrative Support personnel. The SGSRE “guides and supports research activities as directed by the research mandate of the university. The research mandate aims to promote applied and commissioned research that will provide solutions to societal needs.”
At UTech, Jamaica, the SGSRE has been designated “owner and driver” of the university’s strategic research-related initiatives, and is required to provide performance status reports on them at monthly meetings of the University’s Executive Management Committee. Supporting the work of the SGSRE are College/Faculty Graduate Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Coordinators (C/ FGSRECs) serving as the critical link between the SGSRE and the various academic units within the University.
Specific Roles and Responsibilities of the SGSRE
1. Provide linkages among Graduate Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship.
2. Vigorously promote industrial/professional graduate research degrees at both the master’s and doctoral levels.
3. Develop a formula for equitable allocation of returns from income-generating research and consultancy ventures.
4. Lead inter-disciplinarity for research and consultancy among Faculty Graduate Studies Research & Entrepreneurship Units (FGSREUs).
5. Organize a system of mentorship and pastoral care for graduate students.
6. Establish system for the protection of Intellectual Property Rights.
7. Develop benchmarking of FGSREUs research activities with respect to: research planning, staff participation in research, graduate students, research income, research outcome, and research impact. PAGE
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AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES RESEARCH & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
RESEARCH
ENTREPRENEURSHIP GRADUATE STUDIES SGSRE
INTELLECTUAL PUBLICATION PROPERTY PAGE
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College/Faculty Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship Coordinators Supporting the work of the SGSRE are College/Faculty Graduate Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Coordinators (C/FGSRECs), serving as the critical link and the principal operational arms of the SGSRE within the various academic units of the University. Coordinators have the following roles and responsibilities:
1. Monitor academic quality standards on behalf of the School of Graduate Studies graduate programme.
2. Provide development oversight and coordination of graduate programmes in the Faculty according to SGSRE specifications.
3. Coordinate the preparation of materials related to the promotion of graduate programmes and the recruitment of students, the advisement of graduate students, and the management of graduate education in the Faculty.
4. Oversee the registration of graduate students in the Faculty.
5. Coordinate the administrative functions for the preparation of theses by graduate students and the logistics of graduate programmes delivery in the Faculty.
6. Coordinate activities for the progression and welfare of graduate students.
7. Ensure that all logistics for the conduct of external examinations are in place.
8. Assist in securing funding for graduate programmes.
9. Provide administrative oversight of research in the Faculty.
10. Assist in the presentation of research results in various fora.
11. Assist in securing funding for graduate programmes.
12. Coordinate the work of the Faculty in the development of research foci, research teams and research portfolios, and provide assistance for the commercialization of research results.
13. Participate in identifying the following activities:
- funding for research;
- opportunities for commissioned applied research;
- creating opportunities for research training; and
- marketing expertise within the Faculty for providing consultancy services. PAGE
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14. Provide general guidance on the establishment and continuation of academic publications by the Faculty to SGSRE specifications.
15. Coordinate the publication of proceedings from Faculty Conferences, Symposia and similar activities.
16. Coordinate in the Faculty the implementation of SGSRE policy for academic publications and entrepreneurship, research and graduate education.
17. Coordinate the application on guidelines for bidding for and executing entrepreneurial projects.
18. Coordinate entrepreneurial projects, including the keeping of accounts.
19. Liaise with other Faculty Chairs for inter-faculty and inter-disciplinary activities in graduate studies, research, entrepreneurship and publication.
20. Maintain records on graduate education in the Faculty and research activities, including records of finances.
21. Prepare monthly reports on Faculty graduate studies, research activities, entrepreneurial projects and publications, and submit to the Dean of the Faculty.
22. Benchmark the following activities/programmes for the Faculties:
- research
- publication
- intellectual property rights
- citations
- grants
- matriculation of graduate students PAGE
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Definition of Research Management According to the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), “research management comprises a distinct suite of activities separate from the conduct of research itself.”
The literature also notes that “research management and administration have developed in line with the trends affecting research itself, which has seen growth in scale, complexity, and management burden.” Further underscoring the important role of research managers, the European Commission described the profession as a “critical enabler” of its research and innovation goals, which are directed at achieving growth, impact, and sustainability.
Because this is an important consideration that underscores the relevance and utility of research, the “pathways to impact” of the various research activities included in this publication have been highlighted.
Key Research Management Functions As set out in the Research Managers’ Notebook compiled by Research Africa, key research management functions include:
1. Shaping institutional research strategies (understanding the global research environment and developing systems to nurture the next generation of researchers in one’s institution);
2. Project development (scouting for funding opportunities and appropriate networks, be aware of funding do’s and don’ts, assist with funding applications, budgets and progress reports);
3. Project management (managing the legalities of contracts, setting up systems that support and streamline grant management, monitoring progress of projects, financial expenditure and reporting, protecting intellectual property);
4. Public engagement (highlighting the extent and nature of one’s institution’s research work, ensuring the effective dissemination of research findings);
5. Policy and governance (driving policies on research and processes around ethics);
6. Enhance research collaborations (be a hub of expertise on sound partnership practices; facilitating intellectual property management and appropriate technology transfer). PAGE
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Pathways to Research Impact Research Councils UK (2007) defines research impact as “the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy; research impact embraces all the diverse ways that research-related skills benefit individuals, organizations and nations.” In addition, Research Councils UK cites the following areas, referred to as “pathways to impact,” where evidence of the translation of research into impacts is usually manifested:
1. Human capital
2. Business and commercial
3. Policy, and
4. Quality of life. PAGE
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A PIONEERING PAST AND A BRIGHT FUTURE OF IMPACTFUL RESEARCH AND SCHOLARLY ACHIEVEMENTS PAGE
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RESEARCH ETHICS Culture-sensitive Factors in Research Ethics: Rewards in Research as Enticement or Benefit? Adelani F. Ogunrinade1 and Cynthia O. Onyefulu2 1Office of Graduate Studies & Research (now SGSRE) 2Faculty of Education & Liberal Studies
In an increasingly collaborative situation in the biomedical world, there is often a need for recognizing and dealing with culturally sensitive factors in research involving human subjects. However, issues of ethical relativism often becloud decision-making on research ethics, especially when researchers from developing world collaborate with researchers from the developing world in areas such as enlisting participants in field or clinical research and rewarding such participants appropriately.
In this paper, we define the cultural boundaries of ethical research within a traditional value system in Africa. Using seven case reports, we argue that, in spite of such culture-bound values, universal rights dictate incentives not be used as a means of coercion of participants and that Cynthia O. Onyefulu the benefits of participation in research be just, fair and appropriate, as cutting corners through inducements create bias, lead to unfulfilled expectations and are counter-productive in the long run.
Culture is a multidimensional phenomenon which applies at four distinct levels – the political and economic (supra), the national identity (macro), the professional and industrial norms (meso) and the organizational/family level (micro). Thus, the definition of culture varies from the behavioural, the professional, the religious, the judgmental, the moral, to the perceptional. Although, there are up to 164 definitions of culture, culture generally represents an order of life through which human beings construct meaning via the various dimensions of social life, based on a traditional of inherited knowledge. Because culture and moral values are so intricately woven, it is generally believed that ethical principles are relative and the issue of what are the right values, the normative standards of conduct and what is just, are also relative.
Consideration of ethics in research ensures good research and clinical practice. However, the western concept of universal ethics have been challenged on the grounds of relativity, especially against the backdrop of inequality of power relations and the unequal standards of international (collaborative)research between the Northern and Southern hemispheres. While international ethical guidelines define the duties of a researcher, culture and traditional rights and norms define inherent rights of individuals. PAGE
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The US National Bioethics Advisory Commission also recognized the culture-sensitive issues in collaborative research between US-based and developing country researchers and has issued some guidelines to cover such issues. Such culture-sensitive issues include appropriate ways: to disclose information, to obtain informed consent, to describe protocols and procedures, to explain the language of health and disease and show respect to individuals recruited into research protocols.
Conducting successful clinical research involves recruitment of subjects and ensuring that participation continues until the study is concluded. This sometimes involves ethical decisions on the appropriate inducement and rewards for research participants. However in poor communities, the risk of being swayed by material inducement into participation in highly risky research is great – due to poverty, the preponderance of vulnerable groups, the asymmetry of information and the myths, folklore and ignorance about western medical practices and general lack of access to modern services.
In such poor communities, the risk of exploitation is so great that ethical guidelines should include consideration of the approval process and consultation with local ethics committees, the evaluation of the extent of risk of exposure to new drugs (especially new HIV/AIDS vaccines and other drugs that may cause potential harm), the responsibility of researchers to the community even when the intervention is successful, the appropriate standard of care and treatment intervention, and the ability of developing countries to monitor and determine their own research agenda.
Above all, the question arises as to what is fair practice for inducing and rewarding participation in research, especially in developing countries.
The most controversial issue in recruitment in clinical and non-clinical research is payment. This form of inducement or reward has particular cultural dimensions on what to pay, how to pay or who to pay.
Editor’s Note: Presented at the 1st UWI Latin-America-Caribbean Ethics Conference, April 28-30, 2005. The full paper was published in the Journal of Arts, Science & Technology, Volume 2, 2005. PAGE
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19 An Analysis of the Research Ethics Policy at a Caribbean University Susan Muir Faculty of Engineering & Computing The paper presents an analysis of the research ethics policy at a Caribbean university. It examines each phase of policy making in this context, presents a Systems Framework, and evaluates the precision and plausibility of the policy. The Research Ethics policy formulation at University of Technology, Jamaica, is sound, based on a review of the policy documents in this case study. However, there are challenges in policy implementation and monitoring. The role of politics and the value of change agents – to respond to opportunities for marked improvements in policy implementation and monitoring – are considered. Lessons from this paper could be utilized to improve the protection of the health, safety and rights of human subjects in research projects in institutions Susan A. Muir across the Caribbean and other developing countries.
Globally, Research Ethics Committees (RECs) encounter challenges that prevent optimal operations. For example, scholars have noted multiple concerns with the functioning and capability of RECs in developing countries (Silverman and Sleem, 2014). Due to the growing number of research studies in the region, as much as 270 million residents of the Caribbean region are at risk due to ineffectual or inefficient oversight of clinical trials (U.S. National Institutes of Health Project Information, 2015).
This paper will outline opportunities to improve the system of ethical review at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica). I will analyze the current policy using a systems framework, discuss the precision and plausibility of the policy and the phases of research ethics policy-making, as well as evaluate the impact of interest groups on RE policy outcomes.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in the Journal of Arts, Science and Technology, Vol. 9, 2016. PAGE
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20 THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT Towards Property Tax Compliance: A Case Study of Attitudes Toward Paying Property Taxes in Jamaica Tina M. F. Beale, Rochelle A. Channer Miller, Amani Ishemo & Cadien A. Murray-Stuart Faculty of the Built Environment
Jamaica’s property tax compliance rate has consistently been described as “low,” “dismal,” and “inadequate.” Its performance is of utmost importance to the country since the tax is primarily used to fund local services including the provision of roads, road repairs, garbage collection, and the maintenance of streetlights.
This study investigates property tax compliance in Jamaica over the financial years 2010–2011 to 2015–2016 using data from a survey. The survey was designed to address two issues, specifically: 1. Jamaicans’ attitude toward property tax, and 2. The effect of fairness, deterrence, and public shame on self-reported willingness to comply with the Amani Ishemo property tax. As such, the survey instrument featured an attitude survey along with an experiment, testing the responses to the variables of fairness, deterrence and public shame.
The results of the survey were then merged with the actual property tax behaviour of respondents and analyzed spatially in a geographic information system (GIS). The results of the study suggest, inter alia, Jamaica’s property tax compliance rate may be higher than previously reported, survey respondents generally had a compliant attitude towards the property tax and highlights the need for an accounting system that can effectively monitor property tax collections and enforcement. It was also noted that penalties and interest charges were applied ultra vires the Property Tax Act 1903.
Our findings also entail a discussion on four property tax attitude- behaviour profiles of respondents and highlight the need fora common spatial data infrastructure across government departments. Finally, the study conveys the need to elicit potential latent trends of the investigated phenomenon.
Editor’s Note: The results of this landmark Case Study was presented at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, November 2015. PAGE
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21 Redefining Comprehensive Urban Management, in the Kingston Metropolitan Region, Jamaica Earl Bailey Faculty of the Built Environment Purpose – Comprehensive Urban Management (CUM), with specified philosophical and technical limits, can address the negative consequences of the interrelationship between increasing urban poor population, spatial expansion of squalor and informal settlement on marginalised urban lands, overburdened and old urban infrastructure and increase in frequency and intensity of natural hazards. The research places these four concerns within the urbanisation context of the Kingston Metropolitan Region (KMR) in Jamaica, where their expressions are related to the lack of effective urban management and planning. The research uses a mixture of secondary information, from a myriad of public and private institutions and field surveys in the forms of observations and questionnaires. The cause and effects Earl Bailey interrelationship between the factors are presented in a problem tree and analysed and discussed against known facts and theoretical posits. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach – The research draws from a litany of document analysis, qualitative research as well as pre-coded questionnaires, field research and expert interviews and discussions with urban managers. Information and data selected from state and quasi-state agencies also proved valuable. Additionally, other relevant materials were sourced from the published domain including publications, journal articles, newspapers, textbooks and internet (online professional group discussions), etc.
Findings – Increase in urban poor over the last ten years increase in squalor settlements on marginal urban lands. Urban infrastructure is old and overburdened. Natural hazards are on the increase and are associated with negative demographic and social dynamics. Development plan and planning is lacking in the KMR. Urban management roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined. There are gaps and overlaps in roles and legislations. CUM needs redefinition for it to be effective in solving this relationship. Limits can be set for defining comprehensive urban planning.
Research limitations/implications – Space to explore more the relationship and evidences of the factor under investigation to their fullest extent. PAGE
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Practical implications – Investments in urban infrastructure and other built environment and physical structures in important for urban resilience to hazards. Non-traditional countries and agencies are good source of financial and technical support for developing countries to improve their urban and national physical and social infrastructure. Urban land management and administration are crucial or urban spatial planning and land use.
Originality/value – The four factors under investigation, even though they are not novel in their individual treatment, are however original in the context of assessing their interrelationship and moreover their relationship with CUM. A redefinition of CUM is attempted to give stated criticisms of its past failures. The application to Jamaica and its potential application to other small island developing states are unique.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the Journal of Place Management and Development, 7 (1), 27-56, 2104. PAGE
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23 Inventory of Heritage Structures in Jamaica: A Pilot Study David Harrison Faculty of the Built Environment
The preservation of Heritage is a legal requirement in many of the territories of the Greater Caribbean Region, with the Dominican Republic becoming the first Caribbean government to start a National Inventory of Heritage Structures in 1918. In 1972, the International Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted at the fifth session of the UNESCO General Conference.
By January, 1994, the majority of the Greater Caribbean Region were “State parties to the Convention”. The Convention defines Cultural and Natural Heritage and mandates each state to identify the properties in its territories. By 1994, 36 of the 411 designated “World Heritage” properties then identified were within the Greater Caribbean Region. At present, Jamaica has no designated properties but has begun the process of submitting Spanish Town for consideration. The same process is due for Port Royal and New Seville.
Significant progress in the identification and preservation of the cultural and historic patrimony of the Greater Caribbean dates to the early 1980’s with the work of CARIMOS (Sites and Monuments of the Caribbean) based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and PI:C (Preservation Institute: Caribbean), located at the School of Architecture, University of Florida, Gainsville. Both organizations have been assisted by the OAS (Organisation of American States).
In Jamaica, preservation work is carried out by both Government and non-Government agencies. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) was created as an agency of the Government. Its mandate includes the declaration and protection of properties and sites of natural, historical archeological and architectural significance. The main Non-Government organizations involved in preservation are the Jamaica Historical Society, the Georgian Society of Jamaica, the Archaeological Society of Jamaica and JalCOMOS (The Jamaica National Committee of the International Council of Monuments and Sites).
In 1994, the research division of the Caribbean School of Architecture (CSA) and the University of Technology, Jamaica, was contracted by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust to develop and test a methodology for carrying out an Inventory of Heritage Structures throughout the island. This project was funded by the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica.
Editor’s Note: The full results of this Pilot Study were published in the Journal of Arts, Science & Technology, Volume 1, 1998. PAGE
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Envisioning a National Music Museum of Jamaica
Arch Jacquiann T. Lawton, Faculty of the Built Environment, UTech, Jamaica Arch Kamau Kambui, Urban Development Corporation
Since 2011, The Urban Development Corporation of Jamaica (UDC) has been successfully collaborating with of The Caribbean School of Architecture, Faculty of the Built Environment, The University of Technology, Jamaica by participation in the academic study of specific projects. Projects include explorations into the development of strategic sites and architectural programmes that promote an urban renewal of Downtown Kingston. The Tower Street revitalization, A National Music Museum (2013) and The Music Museum of Jamaica (2017) are examples of such.
In 2013, the architecture Design Studio 7 investigated the feasibility Arch Jacquiann T. Lawton of a Site annexing the Simon Bolivar Cultural Centre and The Ward Theatre at the heart of Kingston. A project program and concept were developed jointly and adapted to suit the Learning Objectives of the Studio. The Site was perfect for the creation of a Cultural Hub and Urban Centre. Student solutions successfully proposed connectivity of the urban realm and the creation of public space. The results assisted the Corporation’s decision on the feasibility of the Program and Site.
In 2016, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Kingston as a Creative City in Music. With renewed relevance for A National Music Museum of Jamaica, The Caribbean School of Architecture and the UDC working with the Creative Cities Initiative Committee and the Institute of Jamaica had identified a more feasible Site offering the Architectural project as Arch Kamau Kambui Gateway to Kingston utilizing the Kingston Ice Factory property. The Music Museum of Jamaica (2016) further developed the results of the 2013 study and proposed a new home for cultural activities and the living history of Jamaican Music.
The presentation discussed the strategies, strengths and limitations of the Sites and Programmes of use explored in the 2013 and 2016 studies. Further, an exhibition of student projects: A National Music Museum of Jamaica will visualize the possibilities for a Cultural Hub and Gateway into Kingston.
Editor’s Note: This presentation was made at the Imagining Kingston Conference, 2017 PAGE
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25 Ensuring the Safety of Schools from Disaster Vulnerabilities Garfield Young1, Nilza Aples2 & Laurence Neufville1 1Faculty of the Built Environment 2Faculty of Engineering & Computing
The Jamaica Safe Schools Project (JSSP) is part of the Jamaica Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (JM DVRP). The JSSP is funded by the World Bank in the sum of US$210,000. It involves the training of over 100 students from the Faculty of the Built Environment (FOBE) and the Faculty of Engineering and Computing (FENC) in the use of comprehensive templates developed by the World Bank, to carryout infrastructural inspections of all 971 public schools in Jamaica. These inspections provide critical information for building a database on Garfield Young the infrastructural elements of the schools to assess their disaster vulnerabilities.
The JSSP was launched in May 2017. Lecturers from both FOBE and FENCE were trained to train the selected students in the use of the templates for school inspections. Over 100 students were subsequent trained and a pilot study done of all schools in Kingston and 5 in St. Andrew. The pilot analysis informed adjustments to the templates and the school inspections proceeded with schools divided into three phases. Up to the end of January 2018, about 400 of the 971 schools have been inspected and the data uploaded to a secure database. The project is expected to end in the summer of 2018. This project forms a critical element in understanding the vulnerability risks of these key Nilza Aples public buildings, many of which are designated shelters in times of natural disasters. The comprehensive knowledge will help to inform strategies to improve the infrastructure of public schools in Jamaica.
Laurence Neufville
Editor’s Note: This project is directed jointly by: Dr. Garfield Young (Dean, Faculty of the Built Environment) and Prof. Nilza Aples (Dean, Faculty of Engineering & Computing) and is managed by Mr. Laurence Neufville, Head of School, School of Building and Land Management, Faculty of the Built Environment. PAGE
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26 Child Road Fatalities and Injury An Analysis of Jamaican Road Users’ Behaviour Patterns and the Impact on Child Safety Rachelle McFarlane Faculty of Education & Liberal Studies
The leading causal factors for road crashes in Jamaica are speeding, tailgating, and improper overtaking. These factors have resulted in considerable harm to perpetrators and victims – including children commuting to and from schools. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports have listed road traffic crashes as the leading cause of death among 15–19 year olds and the second ranked cause among ages 5–14. Since 2010, Jamaican authorities have reported that 243 children and youth have been killed and 2,799 seen in A/E for traffic- related injuries. Tis research investigated the behaviour patterns of the Jamaican road users and evaluated their impact on child safety and protection. Rachelle McFarlane Introduction: In September 2013, the community of Chudleigh, Manchester, Jamaica mourned the death of four Holmwood Technical High School students as a result of a bus crash in North East Manchester (Sutherland, 2013). Sutherland noted in her Jamaica Observer article that this was the third tragedy within that year affecting students in North East Manchester. In agreement with Sutherland, Lindo (2013) reported on an earlier traffic crash that resulted in 18 Holmwood students being injured on the Pen Hill main road. Other incidents cited by Sutherland included; 2011, four students died on the Bryce Hill Road after a speeding bus crashed and overturned; 2012, 44 people injured, with eventually one death, in a collision on Pen Hill main road. Hamilton (2012) indicated that reckless driving, overloading and total disregard for other road users are just some of the infractions of illegal taxis and buses across the island; which, of course, is made possible by members of the public engaging their services.
Purpose of the Study: This research seeks to investigate the behavioural patterns of Jamaican road users and evaluate their impact on child safety and protection. Although children are defined by the UNCRC as a person below the age of 18, this research will focus on students up to age 19 due to the prescribed duration of the Jamaican education system for children at the secondary level.
Objectives (a) To conduct a desk review of road safety trends and initiatives, international best practices and local accident data. (b) To survey the road users so as to determine their perspective on the various road safety initiatives and recently updated Road Traffic Act. PAGE
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Data collected from the Road User Behaviour Survey revealed that 71% of pedestrians indicated that they ‘step into the path of moving vehicles to indicate that they intend to cross’; it is recommended that road designers should raise the elevation of pedestrian crossings so as to also act as a speed reducer. This will prevent pedestrians being mowed down while using pedestrian crossings. Other variables indicated that 74% of passengers in public passenger vehicles request stops at any point along a route; while 66% of drivers proceed to overtake slower vehicles where there is an unbroken white line. These habits, and others, are significant contributory factors to the frequency and severity of road crashes. Road users’ negative behaviours need to be curtailed as we seek to lower road fatalities within this Decade of Road Safety.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in the Journal of Arts, Science & Technology, Volume 10, 2017. PAGE
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28
Vulnerability of Coastal Urban Settlements in Jamaica
Amani Ishemo Faculty of the Built Environment
This paper seeks to examine the issue of vulnerability of coastal urban settlements in Jamaica in the context of rapid urbanization, poverty and institutional incapacity. It also aims to provide a case study that demonstrates the precarious situation faced by the most vulnerable coastal urban communities in Jamaica.
A literature review preceded in-depth but informal interviews with the directors of planning of the cities of Kingston, Port Antonio and Port Maria on a variety of issues related to hazards in conjunction with their municipal operational capacities. Informal interviews were also carried out with a community leader and five more persons who have resided in the African Gardens community since its inception in the Amani Ishemo 1980s. Interviews were based on issues such as hazards, government involvement in the development of the site and demographic characteristics of the area. Archival information on the Hope River corridor was also utilized to enhance the understanding of the site- specific hazard issues in relation to the surrounding environment. The field verification, which was carried out in September 2008, updated the 1994 topographic map of the area at a scale of 1:5,000.
The results suggest that the conditions for the vulnerability of coastal towns in Jamaica are overwhelmingly man-made. The problems of vulnerability have been worsened by the incapacity of the central and local governments in terms of their limitations of financial and technical resources, and the lack of government sensitivity to tackle the issue in a sustainable approach. The matter of vulnerability of coastal urban settlements is a complex settlement problem of Jamaica’s entire landscape. The solution to this problem requires an integrated and long-term action programme regardless of the political party in power.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in: Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 20 (4):451 – 459. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14777. 830910963771. Full Article available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10. 1108/147778 30910963771?mobileUi=0. PAGE
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Concretizing Tacit Knowledge: Belize City Urban Study
Faculty of the Built Environment
The Belize City urban study drawings of Design Studio 8, The Caribbean School of Architecture, concretize a tacit knowing of the city.
The work includes stages of field notes, documentation and proposed interventions. The project’s epistemology examines boundaries in urban form and space making by unfolding experience as construed utterances of urban elements, historical data, development imperatives and topography. These enunciations present orthographic drawings as discursive statements.
The drawings probe aberrations of the figure ground plan in relation to the active measure of a human body, most visible in street sections, elevations and mixed use studies. Augmented reality projections question how space mapping can inform provisional modes of conceiving and perceiving an imagined city. The intervention projects are sited along the city’s natural edge. They explore responses to the current Mayor’s urban renewal vision to activate the coastline, through public spaces that connect with the urban fabric, and proposals that celebrate the cultural and entrepreneurial identity of Belize.
The Belize City Urban Study (2014) is a joint project between the Caribbean School of Architecture and the Board of The Association of Professional Architects of Belize, member of the Federation of Caribbean Associations of Architects.
Project Leaders: Arch. Jacquiann T. Lawton, Senior Lecturer, The Caribbean School of Architecture, UTech, Jamaica
Arch. Sue Courtenay, Association of Professional Architects of Belize Board Member.
Visiting Lecturer: Dr. Elizabeth Pigou‐Dennis ( ST second wk)
Design Studio 8 : J. Acham, K. Austin, K. Baker, A Bennett, C. Berkley, J. Cato, J. Chang, J. Channer, K. Cowan, A. Hall, A. Headley, A. Hill, S. Jackson, K. Johnson, L. Jones, O. Lewis, A. Louis, J. Neil, T. Pinnock, W. Quest, C. Ricketts, J. Riley, C. Robinson, T. Sealy, S. Serrett, J. Solo- mon, M. Spooner, M. St. Juste, M. Wade, S. Wellington, K. Witter. PAGE
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30 A Solid Waste Management Plan for Semi-Urban Communities of Kingston, Jamaica with a Special Focus on Composting Carol Archer 1 & Terese McLean 1 Faculty of the Built Environment
Wastes are a part of life. They are produced as by-products of agricultural, industrial, commercial and domestic activities. Uncontrolled dumping and improper waste handling causes a variety of problems, including contaminating water, attracting insects and rodents, and flooding due to blocked drainage canals of gullies. In addition, it may result in safety hazards or explosions. Improper waste management also increases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which contribute to climate change. Planning for and implementing a comprehensive programme for waste collection, transportation, and disposal – along with activities to prevent or reduce the amount of waste generated – can help to control these problems. Carol Archer In Jamaica, the management of all forms of waste poses a significant challenge and carries with it an variety of environmental problems. The island’s population at the end of 1999 was estimated at 2 590 400. Using this population estimate and the calculated annual generation rate of 0.365 tonnes per person, the islands total annual generated waste was estimated at approximately 945 496 tonnes. For Kingston and St. Andrew the waste generated was calculated at 259 588 tonnes (Demographic Report, STATIN 1999). It is estimated that as much as 70% of the solid waste generated is biodegradable and therefore is suitable for composting, (Handbook on Environmental Stewardship 2001, p. 91).
The study area, St. Andrew, is located in the hills to the northwest of the capital city of Kingston. Here the dominant land use is residential. The topography of St. Andrew is one of hilly undulating terrain. The residential pattern is mainly linear with several hillside communities. The continuing growth of Kingston on the coastal plains has resulted in the surrounding hills of Kingston becoming a prime location for low-density residential development. Increases in the development of residential units have also increased the need for proper waste management practices.
High levels of inaccessibility, resulting from the steep sloping undulating terrain, narrow winding roads, and road conditions, limit the level of collection done by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA). Many residents have developed alternatives for disposing of their waste, through illegal practices of dumping (done mainly in valleys, which directly affects watersheds and their diverse ecosystems); burning (done on sidewalks, vacant lots and in discarded PAGE
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31 metal drums which increases air pollution and reduces the aesthetics of a community); and by burying. The conventional method of solid waste disposal is to bury it in landfill sites, thus increasing the demand for land and the potential negative impact on the local environment. The other method has been the burning of the waste. This method significantly reduces the mass of the solid waste but it also releases enormous amounts of toxic gases into the atmosphere, thereby polluting the air, contributing to the greenhouse effect, and creating acid rain.
Editor’s Note: This research was presented at the 1st International Conference on Built Environment Issues in Small Island States, Aug. 2-6, 2005) PAGE
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BUSINESS, TOURISM & HOSPITALITY UTech, Jamaica GEM Report Presents Rich Data of Current Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
The University of Technology, Jamaica on Thursday, September 14, 2017 hosted a special launch ceremony and symposium to announce the findings of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Jamaica 2016/17 Report, undertaken by a team of researchers drawn from the University’s College of Business and Management (COBAM). – Team Lead Researcher, Dr. Girjanauth Boodraj, Associate Professor, COBAM, Mr. Michael Steele, Head, Joan Duncan School of Entrepreneurship, Ethics and Leadership (JDSEEL), Associate Professors, COBAM, Dr. Claudette Williams-Myers, Dr. Andrea Sutherland, Dr. Gaunette Sinclair-Maragh, Head, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM) and Mrs. Vanetta Skeete, Senior Lecturer, COBAM. Girjanauth Boodraj GEM is the largest study of entrepreneurship in the world. Through a consortium of universities in 100 countries, GEM data tracks the entrepreneurial attitudes, activities and motivation of entrepreneurs in the participating countries and monitors entrepreneurial framework conditions which promote or hinder the growth of entrepreneurship such as financial support, government policies, commercial and service infrastructure and physical infrastructure. GEM tracks rates of entrepreneurship across multiple phases of activity- potential entrepreneurs, nascent entrepreneurs, new business owners, established business owners and discontinued businesses. UTech, Jamaica has been involved in producing the GEM Jamaica country report since 2005.
Associate Vice President, Graduate Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Paul Ivey who delivered the welcome on behalf of President Prof. Stephen Vasciannie, in congratulating the research team, noted that “the University of Technology, Jamaica is committed to conducting high-impact, inter-disciplinary and applied research, like the GEM project that focuses on an area relevant to economic and social problems in our society.” He added that the University is happy to be playing its part in providing evidenced-based applied research in response to answering questions and providing rich data for Jamaica’s development.
Keynote speaker, Hon. Fayval Williams, MP, Minister of State, Ministry of Finance and the Public Service lauded the researchers and the high value of the GEM Report data in informing government policy and PAGE
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33 practice. Citing recommendations from the GEM 2013 Jamaica report, Minister Williams disclosed that “the recommendations from the report on research into business discontinuation is factored into the emphasis that is now placed on the long-term sustainability of start-ups, business growth and reducing business failure as an important component of enabling a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation.”
Members of the GEM research team presented the key findings of the study derived from an Adult Population Survey (APS) using a random sample of at least 2,020 adults between the ages of 18 and 64 and a National Experts Survey (NES) in which 36 business experts were interviewed. GEM collects data from participating countries using these two common data collection instruments. It harmonizes the data and compares results among countries categorized as factor-driven, efficiency-driven and innovation-driven. Jamaica is categorized as an efficiency-driven economy. In the measure of societal values of entrepreneurship, according to the Report, Jamaicans hold entrepreneurs in high regard, with 85% stating that starting a business is a desirable career choice. This compares to only 64% for residents of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The principal indicator of GEM is the Total Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) rate which measures the percentage of the adult population who are in the process of starting or have started a business. The researchers found that Jamaica’s TEA rate is 9.9% which is approximately 50% of that of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Among the other key findings are that Jamaicans positively perceive the possibility of operating a business (85%); slightly more females (50.6%) than males (49.4%) are involved in entrepreneurship; Jamaicans are driven to engage in entrepreneurship by opportunities that exist and do not fear failure; and small, easy to start-up businesses dominate the entrepreneurial landscape in Jamaica. The researchers also reported that 84% of Jamaicans believe that they have the required skill to start a business, while 38% expressed the intention to start a business over the next three years. It was noted however, that “the will, courage and confidence of most Jamaicans to undertake entrepreneurial activities above the micro-enterprise level are lacking.” The researchers recommended that factors that motivate entrepreneurial activity such as training, accessibility to financing, guidance and mentorship need to be maintained or strengthened.
Editor’s Note: This article was prepared by the Corporate Communications Unit, Division of Advancement, Office of the President PAGE
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Strategy and Technology in Telecoms: Digicel Withdraws IPO Paul Golding1 & Vanesa Tenant2 1College of Business & Management, UTech, Jamaica 2The University of the West Indies
Taking advantage of the deregulation in telecommunications sector in the Caribbean, Digicel entered the Jamaican market in 2001. Digicel quickly usurped the dominance of the incumbent, Cable and Wireless – in the mobile segment of the market – using a strategy of affordable phones and a user-friendly approach to mass marketing. This strategy was used to enter other small underdeveloped markets in the Caribbean and Central America and thus challenge the incumbent by competing aggressively on price.
In 2014, Digicel commenced a strategic change, with an evolution from a pure mobile services company to becoming a communications Paul Golding and entertainment provider. Price competition in its most lucrative segment (mobile) saw revenue plummet; the competition from non-traditional players and the existing competitor C&W strategic acquisition of a leading cable/internet provider forced the change in strategy. Digicel’s founder and chairman, Dennis O’Brien, raised equity by issuing an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
O’Brien surprised observers when he canceled the IPO days before the shares were to be listed on the NYSE. This created a strategic conundrum for O’Brien, which was exacerbated when it was announced that Liberty Global, had agreed to acquire Cable and Wireless Communications plc (CWC), the C&W parent company, for US$8.2B (The Gleaner: Liberty Global to Acquire CWC in a US$8.2b deal). O’Brien’s expansion strategy was now in jeopardy.
The market was evolving rapidly, the IPO that was required to fund the new strategy was aborted, and its main competitor was now awash with cash. Digicel needed to pivot quickly, but how?
Editor’s Note: The full case study was published in Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, November 2017, Volume 7, Issue 2, pp 122–131. PAGE
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35 Exploring Higher Education Financing Options Kofi K. Nkrumah-Young1 and Philip Powell2 1University of Technology, Jamaica 2University of London
Higher education can be financed privately, financed by governments, or shared. Given that the benefits of education accrue to the individual and the state, many governments opt for shared financing. This article examines the underpinnings of different options for financing higher education and develops a model to compare conditions to choices and outcomes. As an illustration, it then uses the Jamaican experience of the past four decades to demonstrate outcomes. This demonstrates that, for political reasons, there were adverse outcomes, including infrastructural neglect, enrolment decline, threats to programme quality and financial difficulties but also that many of these outcomes should have been foreseen. Kofi K. Nkrumah-Young Given the recent global financial crisis and substantial increases in government borrowing, many states have announced reductions in funding for higher education (HE). In parallel, some governments are also reassessing the balance of HE funding that is paid by the state and that from students. There are three broad options for financing higher education: private financing, state financing, and shared financing.
This article examines the nature of these options and explores their economic contexts and consequences. As an example, it then examines the funding of Jamaican HE from 1963 onwards. The article is structured as follows. First, it examines the options for higher education funding. It then derives a model of choice and the conditions that need to exist for each option to work successfully. This allows the development of a decision tree for financing options. Armed with these frameworks, the article then examines, as an example, the funding experience in Jamaica. The article then reflects on the outcomes via use of the frameworks and it discusses the implications.
The first stage of this research is to develop a model of financing options. Private funding of HE, typically based on charging students for courses, is argued to be appropriate predicated on notions of personal liberty, through the operation of markets (Barr 2004b), and involves economic efficiency, quality and equity (Sanyal 1998). Private financing delivers equity through acquired private benefits by way of higher income and social status, greater efficiency in consumption, better health, increased political efficacy and greater access to, and understanding of, culture, science and technology (Eicher and Chevaillier 2002). PAGE
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In contrast, others believe that equality is better achieved through state intervention as markets are inefficient and inequitable since knowledge, power and capital markets access are correlated with socio-economic status. Impure competition, incomplete markets, market failure and imperfect information justify state intervention through regulation, financing, production and income transfers (Barr 2004b). Inequity may result from fear of efficiency losses of high taxation; from the rich having more power; and from the poor favouring some inequality in the hope of benefiting if they too become rich (Barr 2004a). Harrison (1997), for example, identifies four bases for state financing:
Externalities: HE benefits society as knowledge transfers improve production techniques and increase outputs.
Social returns: Graduates pay higher taxes as a result of higher earnings. Equality of opportunity: Social justice demands that government ensures equal opportunities. State funding ensures that no one is excluded by an inability to pay.
Equity: Equality requires redistribution of income from rich to poor. By managing returns from labour the state is able to redirect resources to the poor.
Others argue that better educated societies produce more effectively and efficiently. Eicher and Chevailler (2002) identify that education is a ‘pure public good.’ But, as demand for HE increases and budget constraints have grown, egalitarian arguments diminish and universal support is felt unsustainable, and instead of engendering equality, it causes inequity. Vawda (2003) argues that public expenditure generally favours the more fortunate, while Gradstein (2003) shows that public spending on education is skewed towards the rich. The outcome of these opposing views tend, in most countries, to result in mixed financing of HE from private and public funds.
Editor’s Note: The full article was published in European Journal of Higher Education, pp 1-19 (2011). ISSN 2156-8235/2156-8243. PAGE
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Sector Rotation and Interest Rate Policy Phillip C. James1, Il-woon Kim2, John J. Cheh2 1College of Business & Management, University of Technology, Jamaica 2The University of Akron, USA
This paper investigates the efficiency of equity allocation strategy based on changes in the U.S. prime bank rate. A sector rotation strategy based on changes in interest rates is one of the ways investors can maximize their returns. The study used the U.S. monthly bank prime loan rate from January 31, 1949 to December 31, 2012 as the indicator variable for interest rate changes, and changes in the rate were labelled as either expansive or restrictive policy shifts. The study evaluates the monthly returns equally weighted (including distributions) of U.S. equity stocks listed in the CRSP data base. Betas were obtained by regressing the monthly equally weighted returns against the monthly Dow Jones industrial index. The results show that a sector rotation Phillip C. James strategy based on changes in monetary policy particularly interest rate adjustments can significantly improve the performance of an investor’s portfolio.
The underlying thinking in sector rotation strategy is that you invest in sectors that are generally expected to perform well given the existing state of the economy, given that sectors perform differently when the economy is growing as against when it is not. This was the general message advanced by Stovall (1996). Stovall (1996) saw the economic cycle as a four phase phenomenon namely: full recession, early recovery, late recovery, and early recession. It also involved indicating which stocks performed well at each stage of the cycle. It is the view that cyclical stocks should be acquired at the beginning of a recession as these are stocks that normally perform well when the economy is in a growth phase (expanding) and perform poorly when the economy is contracting.
The basic implementation of a sector rotation strategy requires that you allocate your investment by identifying the stages of the economic cycle and then selling those sectors that are expected to perform poorly, and then acquiring sectors that are expected to do well. Therefore, the idea that different sectors within the economy benefit differently from the phases of the economic cycle, and thus the understanding that the prices of some sector indices do move independently of others, is not new. The idea of systematic sector rotation is based on the general principle that sectors within the economy do not follow the same pattern over time, but move differently one from another (Stovall 1996). It is argued that there are two main reasons that seem to underpin this behavior. Advocates argue that the first is the presence of fundamentals. These are sectors that benefit relative to PAGE
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38 others during the growth phase of the economy (e.g. leisure and hotel).
The second reason appears to be psychological in nature and it reflects investors’ belief about a sector’s future performance relative to another or a momentarily fashion. Therefore at each point of the economic cycle there appears to be sectors that have more chances than others to generate extra returns (Tani and Sassetti 2003). Thus the aim of sector rotation is to switch portfolio regularly so as to earn some of the extra returns that different sectors experience relative to the rest of the market (Tani and Sassetti 2003). This study investigates the efficiency of equity allocation strategy based on changes in the U.S. prime bank rate. Based on the assessment of the literature, it is believed that there is a void regarding studies which investigate sector rotation strategies based on changes the prime bank rate. Studies done by Conover, Jensen, Johnson and Mercer (2005 & 2008) bear some resemblance to this current study, they examine sector rotation and monetary conditions with emphasis on the Federal Reserve monetary policy. Therefore, while the approach of this study will take a similar direction, this study looks at a more extended period from 1949 to 2012.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in the International Journal of Business and Social Research (IJBSR), 4 (5): 124-130, 2014. PAGE
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39 Should Tourists and their Pet Dogs be Allowed to Vacation Together in Jamaica? Nigel Cooper and Deanna Marchalleck College of Business & Management
The United States of America provides the largest number of tourists to Jamaica on an annual basis and is therefore our main market for tourists. Pet-Friendly hotels have been and continue to be a growing trend in most developed countries, including the United States. The growth in Pet- Friendly hotels is being driven by the humanization of animals as well as the high costs to board animals when pet owners take vacations.
Several countries in the Caribbean, including St. Lucia, Dominica, and The Cayman Islands, use a Pet Passport system, which allows dogs that meet the requisite conditions - such as having a microchip with evidence of relevant treatments - to be allowed into the country without any quarantine.
Jamaica is still enforcing the 1948 Animals (Diseases and Importation) Act whereby dogs can only be imported directly from Great Britain, Northern Ireland, or the Republic of Erie. The original intention of the 1948 law was to guard against rabies. Dogs from these rabies-free countries are allowed entry, but still have to be quarantined for a 14 day period.
Interviews and surveys were conducted with hoteliers and other members of the hospitality and tourism industry across Jamaica. There was no consensus among hoteliers from Negril, Montego Bay, and Ocho Rios. However, most were not opposed to the concept of a dog friendly hotel. As it related to their specific properties, many needed more details on the actual operations and its impact on other guest before they would fully commit to offering such services. Research was also conducted with the membership of the Jamaica Veterinary Association and 97 per cent of the respondents supported a Pet Passport model as used in St. Lucia to be implemented in Jamaica.
Hoteliers in St. Lucia, Dominica, and The Cayman Islands were surveyed and, although they have a modern Pet passport system, none of these countries were capitalizing on this system and have not positioned themselves as Pet-Friendly destinations.
Twenty two Pet-Friendly hotels were visited in Canada and discussions held with Senior Management of Canadian hotel chains. Based on the Canadian experience, two (2) to five (5) percent of hotel guests in the summer months travel with pets, primarily with a dog.
The Pet Passport system model used with other controls provides sufficient safe guards against importing a dog with rabies. Therefore, it is being recommended that Jamaica’s 1948 Animal (Diseases and Importation) Act be amended. The retention of this Act in its present form is a major impediment to establishing “Dog Friendly” hotels in Jamaica. Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture have indicated that the law is in the process of being amended. The Researchers were not privy as to what form the amendments would take. In addition, it is also being recommended that aspects of the Public Health Act be amended, to allow dogs under certain guidelines s in public spaces such as restaurants. Furthermore, a culture change would be needed by hotel staff to get them to appreciate the importance of caring for the dogs and not just the dogs’ owners. PAGE
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The Researchers are positing that if the applicable laws in Jamaica are amended, then Jamaica could over a five-year period realize a two (2) per cent increase in the number of tourists from the USA, thereby earning in excess of US 17 Million dollars. The Researchers are therefore calling for a multi-sector taskforce to be established for a three month period to look at all the issues and examine further the implementation of offering dog friendly hotels and other facilities. It is also being recommended that the activities for this taskforce be funded by the TEF.
From left: Dr. Carey Wallace, Executive Director, Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Mr Nigel Cooper and Mrs. Deanna Marchalleck, Programme Directors, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM) and Dr. Gaunette Sinclair-Maragh, Head of School, SHTM exchange ideas following the presentation of research findings of a feasibility study on “Allowing Tourists to be accompanied by their Pet Dogs while Vacationing in Jamaica” presented by researchers Mr Cooper and Mrs. Marchalleck held Friday, April 7, 2017 at Wexford Hotel in Montego Bay. PAGE
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41 Assessing Tourism Experiences: The Case of Heritage Attractions Gaunette Sinclair-Maragh College of Business & Management
This study aims to find out if heritage attractions are using the principles of experience economy to provide a fulfilling experience for visitors. The principles of the experience economy are having consistent theme, using positive cues, eliminating negative cues, offering memorabilia, and engaging the five senses. The survey method was used to collect data from three separate heritage attractions in Jamaica. Frequency distribution was used to determine the observations in the sample. Results of the study reveal that majority of visitors either agree or strongly agree that many of the elements comprising the principles of experience economy are in place. One similar drawback among the attractions is that they all use visual and aural messages which can Gaunette Sinclair-Maragh distract or contradict the theme and consequently visitors’ experience. A limitation of the study is that it did not take into consideration the relationship between visitors’ experience and their expectations as well as visitor satisfaction. This study will inform management of heritage attractions of the importance of having implementing the principles of experience economy so as to provide a fulfilling experience for visitors.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in: Marios Sotiriadis (Ed.). The Handbook of Managing and Marketing Tourism Experiences. pp.487–506. DOI:10.1108/978-1-78635-290-320161021. The full article is available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/ abs/10.1108/978-1-78635-290-320161021. PAGE
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Still a White Paradise? Photographic Representations of Jamaica as a Tourism Destination 1Nicole Hay Walters & Susanna Heldt Cassel 1College of Business & Management
Visual images, from travel brochures and television commercials to internet advertisements, represent a powerful element of tourist destination marketing. This article seeks to understand how destination marketing represents people and places through visual images while examining the role of tourism discourse in the construction of cultural meanings and identity. Using Jamaica as a case study, the researchers explore the issue of contemporary touristic images. A combination of content and discourse analysis was used to examine images included in printed marketing materials and on the DMO’s website drawing upon postcolonial theory as a critical and contextual perspective that provides an interpretation of the meanings that are conveyed by these representations. The main findings indicate that decades after the end of colonialism in Jamaica, marketers perpetuate the presentation of paradisal destination images using visual representations. It is argued that colonial tropes and practices of “Othering” remain fundamental to the meaning and rationale of seeing Jamaica and the travel experience. However, this study also identified strategies that could be further explored in an effort to counteract colonial discourse, as the use of culture and local folkways opens up avenues for the (re)evaluation and (re)representation of Jamaica and the holiday experience.
This research was published in: Tourism, Culture and Communication. 16 (1-2): 59-73. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3727/109830416X14655571061755. The full article is available at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/tcc/2016/00000016/F0020001/art00004. PAGE
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Jamaica’s Tourism: Sun, Sea and Sand to Cultural Heritage 1Copeland Stupart and Robert Shipley 1Faculty of the Build Environment
Traditionally, Jamaica has been seen and promoted as a sun, sea and sand, winter get-away with foreign-owned, multinational corporations (MNCs) having a controlling interest. Coupled with this, the policies adopted by the state to encourage tourism infrastructural development protected the interests of the MNCs and were seen by many Jamaicans as not being in the best interest of their country. As a result, high levels of resentment existed and at times boiled into open conflict between tourists and the Jamaican working class who viewed tourists as “confused white people.” While efforts were made to promote Jamaica’s tourism internationally, little was done to promote its benefits locally. Now, Jamaica’s tourism industry is at a Copeland Stupart watershed for even the innovative, largely indigenous and successful ”all-inclusive” concept has failed to market Jamaica other than as a sun, sea and sand destination. If Jamaica is to participate actively in global tourism and continue to make its presence felt in the tourism marketplace of the 21st century, indigenous and ‘authentic’ cultural heritage has to become a part of the tourism product. Also, the tourism industry has to continue to develop avenues through which the Jamaican working class can participate and derive meaningful benefits. Keywords: Jamaica, tourism, multinational corporation, all- inclusive, cultural Heritage.
This research was published in: The Journal of Tourism Insights: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 4. PAGE
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44 HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) & OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES The Prevalence of Other Sexually Transmitted Infections in Confirmed HIV Cases at a Referral Clinic in Jamaica Nellian Hutton-Rose; Charmaine Blithe, Chinedu Ogboona; and Donovan McGrowder College of Health Sciences
Jamaica has the second highest number of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases and deaths in the Caribbean and a significant number of (HIV) infected individuals have a concomitant sexually transmitted infection (STI). The study determined the prevalence of non-ulcerative and ulcerative STIs and their association with sexual risky behaviour in a sample of HIV seropositive men and women. This study was conducted at the Comprehensive Health Centre in Jamaica, a sexually transmitted infection referral centre. The sample comprised 138 men and 132 women age 15–49 years, of average 29.5 years. The study was retrospective, from 2000 to 2002, and sample collection was randomized. The sexual behaviours of the subjects were assessed Nellian Hutton-Rose from the case records. In the 270 HIV diagnosed cases examined, the prevalence of STIs was 51.1% in men and 48.9% in women, with 85.4% having one or more STIs with an average of four STIs per patient. There was a total occurrence of 744 STIs with non-gonococcal urethritis (19.4%), gonorrhoea (17.2%), candidiasis (13.4%), trichomonas (12.4%), genital ulcer (10.4%) and syphilis (7.3%) the most common in HIV infected men and women. The presence of STI was associated with continued practice of risky sexual behaviour. The age group most implicated was the 30–34 year old, and 73.1% of the HIV infected patients had multiple sexual partners with only 16.4% reporting frequent condom use. The study demonstrates that there is a high prevalence of non-ulcerative and to a lesser extent ulcerative STIs in HIV infected patients in Jamaica. There are significant associations between STIs and continued high risk sexual practices in HIV infected men and women. The findings support the need for implementation of effective diagnosis and treatment strategies coupled with education about safe-sex practices in HIV prevention and STI control programmes.
This research was published in: The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 128 (5): 242-247. The full article is available at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1466424008092799.
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45 Large-Scale Integration of Bioinformatics is Necessary for Strengthening HIV Prevention Efforts in Jamaica Aneisha Collins-Fairclough Faculty of Science & Sport
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a debilitating virus that infects 35 million people worldwide. To date Jamaica’s HIV response has heavily utilized behavioral, clinical and social observations in creative ways to inform and guide prevention and treatment efforts. With the emergence of new threats to successful HIV management in the island, treatment and prevention would benefit from increased insights from HIV genetic sequences. To validate this assessment, a meta-analysis was con-ducted on studies that have reported bioinformatics analyses of HIV genetic sequences from Jamaica. is meta-analysis revealed that nucleotide sequence is available for no more than 1% of the approximately 32,000 persons living with HIV in Jamaica. is situation Aneisha Collins-Fairclough exists despite the generation of crucial insights from the few HIV genetic studies conducted in the island; further it emerged that only 52% of nucleotide sequence data is shared by scientists who report HIV nucleotide sequences in Jamaica, even after publication of their study. Together, the data suggest that increasing utilization of HIV sequencing and bioinformatics will be highly beneficial to supporting HIV prevention and treatment in Jamaica, as well as protecting prior successes gained in Jamaica’s HIV response.
This research was published in: The Journal of Arts Science and Technology, 7: 12-20. PAGE
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46
Collaboration in HIV and AIDS Policy and Practice: Awareness and Training in Caribbean and African Communities Through the Global Development Learning Network Jeanette Bartley-Bryan and Nancy George Office of Open & Distance Learning and Curriculum Development
Between 2003 and 2005, The University of Technology, Jamaica hosted a series of global development dialogues on issues related to HIV and AIDS among African and Caribbean countries including Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, St. Lucia, Barbados and Jamaica. These dialogues were facilitated through interactive videoconferencing using the World Bank’s Global Development Learning Network (GDLN). In discrete development dialogues, participants shared country perspectives on issues ranging as widely as national strategies for HIV education, gender and HIV, policy development, stigma and discrimination, and strategies for caring for AIDS orphans. This case study will explore the lessons learnt in facilitating these global videoconferencing Jeanette Bartley-Bryan dialogues, celebrate the successes and identify the challenges of the experiences of participants and presenters shared across the various cultures. Since the phenomenon of using development dialogues for sharing knowledge and experience across cultures for teaching and learning, peer mentoring, consultation, advice and guidance, feedback and facilitating communities of practice in relation to HIV and AIDS, the recommendations in this presentation will be of interest to future organizers and facilitators of HIV and AIDS development dialogues. Beyond the process issues, the paper will highlight the outcomes and better practices adopted.
Editor’s Note: This paper was presented at the PanCommonwealth Forum 5: London published by the Commonwealth of Learning, BC: Canada. And the full article is available online at http://wikieducator.org/images/f/f4/PID_521.pdf. PAGE
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47 The Mean Levels of Adherence and Factors Contributing to Non-adherence in Patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy M. Williams; T. Clarke; P. Williams; and E.N. Barton College of Health Sciences and Faculty of Science & Sport
The objective of this study was to determine the mean level of adherence and factors contributing to non-adherence in patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). Methods: An observational study was done on 101 HIV/AIDS patients attending the Centre for HIV/AIDS Research, Education and Services (CHARES) – University Hospital of the West Indies, between May 2006 and August 2006. A questionnaire was administered asking questions re: prescribed and actual dosing frequency and number of antiretroviral tablets for the previous week, reasons for nonadherence, duration of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, age, employment status and level of education. Mean levels of adherence were calculated using self and social worker/ nurse reported dosing frequency and number of tablets. Good adherence was defined as 95% or greater. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine factors impacting on adherence. Results: Ninety-six patients were included for final analysis. Mean levels of adherence were as follows: 87.66% – self-report for tablets; 88.70% – self-report for dosing frequency; 87.02% – social worker/nurse report for tablets; 88.10% – social worker/nurse report for dosing frequency. There were significant positive correlations between self and social worker/nurse reports using dosing frequency (Spearman Rho correlation coefficient 0.943, p = 0.01) or number of tablets (Spearman Rho correlation coefficient 0.955, p = 0.01). Adherence to self-reported number of tablets and dosing frequency were 58.4% and 56.4% respectively. Duration of HAART was found to have a significant negative correlation with the level of self-reported adherence to tablets (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Adherence to HAART is sub-optimum in patients at the CHARES. This must be urgently addressed to prevent the development of resistant HIV strains and treatment failure.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the West Indian Medical Journal, 56 (3): 270 – 274. PAGE
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48 An Epidemiological Study of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Jamaica Subsequent to an Outbreak of Human Cases of Eosinophilic meningitis in 2000. Waugh, C.A., Lindo, J. F., Lorenzo-Morales, J. and Robinson, R. D.
The infection status of angiostrongylosis in Jamaica was assessed in wild rats and molluscs in the 5 years following the major outbreak of eosinophilic meningitis (EM) in 2000. Parasitological analyses of 297 Rattus rattus and 140 Rattus norvegicus, and 777 terrestrial molluscs from all 14 Parishes on the island revealed Angiostrongylus cantonensis in 32·0% of the rats and in 12·5% of the molluscs. Multivariate analyses confirmed that A. cantonensis occurred significantly more frequently in R. rattus (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1·76), while mean infection intensity in R. rattus was also significantly higher (16·8) than R. norvegicus (11·3) (Mann-Whitney U-test: P = 0·01). Third-stage larvae of A. cantonensis were detected in 29% of 86 Pleurodonte spp.; in 20% of five Poteria spp.; in 18·7% of 369 Thelidomus asper; in 11% of 18 Sagda spp.; and in 6% of 24 veronicellid slugs. Most rodent infections occurred in Northeastern Jamaica (OR = 11·66), a region where infected molluscs were also abundant. Given the prevalence of A. cantonensis infection in rats has significantly increased since the 2000 outbreak, and that a survey of human infections revealed at least ten autochthonous cases in the last 15 years, angiostrongylosis persists as an important zoonosis in Jamaica.
This research was published in : Parasitology, 143 (9): 1211-7. The full article is available at: DOI: 10.1017/S0031182016000640 www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27350332. PAGE
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49 Molecular Analysis and Implications of Neurovirulent Circulating Vaccine- Derived Poliovirus in Jamaica: A Case Report and Review of Literature S.T. Jackson1; A.M. Mullings2; T.F. Booth3; L. MacDonald3; S.O. Henry4; C.A. Khan1; P.D. McLaughlin5 1Departments of Microbiology, The University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies 2Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Child Health, The University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica 3National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Canada 4Bustamante Hospital for Children, Kingston 5, Jamaica 5Biochemistry Department, University of Technology, Kingston 6, Jamaica
Since the last reported indigenous wild polio virus (WPV) case reported by the Caribbean Epidemiology Research Centre (CAREC) in 1982, Jamaica has continued collaborative surveillance with the World Health Organization (WHO) in its goal to achieve the global eradication of Polio. Some countries including Jamaica have achieved Polio eradication status but have experienced delays in the WHO recommended transition from the use of Sabin Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV). This delayed transition has resulted in the continued use of the OPV which has occasionally been associated with the isolation of vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPV’s) from asymptomatic children. The circulation of VDPV will continue as long as oral polio vaccine (OPV) is in use.
One of the critical factors defined by the WHO in the global eradication of Polio is the need to stop all Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) use once wild polioviruses (WPVs) have been era-dicated. If surveillance emphasis does not greatly enhance the observation of cVDPV, detection of emerging neurovirulent cVDPV associated with non-paralytic and paralytic polio cases may be overlooked, thus prolonging the goal of global eradication and creating hidden reservoirs of potential mutant strains.
This report describes a case of symptomatic VDPV infection in a child presenting with meningitis, reviews the significance of molecular analysis of this isolate and discusses the need to stop all OPV once wild poliovirus has been eradicated.
Case Report: A three-year-old male was admitted to hospital with an abrupt onset of a two-day history of headache, photophobia and fever and a one-day history of nausea and vomiting. There was no history of similar illness in any other family members and the child lived in a lower income home with modern sanitary facilities. The child’s immunization status was incomplete as indicated by hospital records and a history from the mother. The last immunization (including OPV) had been given when the child was one year of age. On examination, the child was febrile and irritable. No abnormality was detected in the cardiovascular, respiratory or gastrointestinal system. There were signs of neck stiffness, although the Brudzinski’s sign was negative. No evidence of focal neurological involvement, papilleodema or motor weakness was detected. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood, throat and rectal swabs were taken for laboratory investigations where standard virologic procedures were followed. A provisional diagnosis of meningitis was made and the child was placed on empirical intravenous penicillin and chloramphenicol. Having received results that all bacterial laboratory investigations were negative, the diagnosis was subsequently changed to that of aseptic meningitis.
Haematological results for CSF showed an elevated white blood cell (WBC) count of 48/mm3 but no differential was done. Other results included a normal CSF/blood sugar ratio of 0.6 (3.7 PAGE
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50 mmol, CSF/6.1mmol blood glucose) and a CSF protein value of 0.1g/L. The whole blood WBC count was elevated at 17 900/mm3 with a differential of 62% neutrophils, 24.5% lymphocytes, 10.9% monocytes and 1% basophils. Viral cultures were positive for enterovirus in the CSF, throat and rectal swab. The isolates were initially identified by an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) by Chemicon International®. Further typing by IFA confirmed the isolate as Polio type 2 virus. The isolate was subsequently characterized by molecular analysis as a derivative of the Sabin OPV vaccine. The child remained in hospital for seven days and recovered completely without complications at the time of discharge. Follow-up of this case, however, was not completed as a result of non-attendance to clinic appointments.
Jamaica immunization coverage for polio was 84% as reported by the WHO in 2005. Prior immunization survey results in 1985 showed seropositive coverage of 81.4%, 94.7% and 72.3% for Polio types 1, 2 and 3 respectively in Jamaican children. Studies have confirmed the role of environmental surveillance of sewage from populations with high (>95%) immunity and have identified evolutionary clusters of VDPVs. These findings indicate the need to incorporate environmental surveillance in the overall polio surveillance system, particularly in countries in which the OPV vaccine is still in use.
The tropical climate of Jamaica, deficiencies in the hygiene/sanitation environment, the continued use of the OPV and immunization coverage to polio less than 95% are critical risk factors for the evolution and circulation of cVDPV. The significance of the circulation of neuro-virulent cVDPVs in Jamaica must be addressed urgently. The finding of cVDPV as documented is indicative of possible gaps in the immunization coverage. Continued assessment of immunization coverage and immunization campaigns are essential if a goal of 95% polio vaccine coverage is to be achieved. Health Policy makers must aim to replace the OPV vaccine with the use of inactivated polio vaccine. Necessary economic and health budget adjustments need to be reviewed to ensure availability and accessibility of the IPV vaccine. Environmental surveillance for possible reservoirs of cVDPV need to be identified and continued community education, encouragement and rewards for compliance with health regulations may create a favourable working community response. Polio developed into a pandemic over a period of four hundred years, reaching its peak in the 1950s. Paralysis was the most significant feature of this pandemic, although it is known that paralytic poliomyelitis occurs in 0.1 – 2% of infected persons. Asymptomatic and non-paralytic poliomyelitis must have contributed significantly to the perpetuation of this disease. Achievement of the global eradication of Polio will necessitate increased consideration of risks associated with the potential transmission of non-paralytic neurovirulent cVDPV and the surveillance of such viruses in Jamaica and worldwide.
Editor’s Note: This case study was published in the West Indian Medical Journal, Vol.57, No.5, Nov. 2008. PAGE
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51 NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AND FOOD CONSUMPTION, AFFORDABILITY & SECURITY Cost of Care of Chronic Non‑Communicable Diseases in Jamaican Patients: The Role of Obesity Christine M. Fray-Aiken*; Rainford J. Wilks; Abdullahi O. Abdulkadri; & Affette M. McCaw-Binns College of Health Sciences
Abstract: The objective of this study was to estimate the economic cost of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs) and the portion attributable to obesity among patients in Jamaica. The cost-of-illness approach was used to estimate the cost of care in a hospital setting in Jamaica for type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, breast cancer, colon cancer, osteoarthritis, and high cholesterol. Cost and service utilization data were collected from the hospital records of all patients with these diseases who visited the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) during 2006. Patients were included in the study if they were between15 and 74 years of age and if female, were not pregnant during Christine M. Fray-Aiken that year. Costs were categorized as direct or indirect. Direct costs included costs for prescription drugs, consultation visits (emergency and clinic visits), hospitalizations, allied health services, diagnostic and treatment procedures. Indirect costs included costs attributed to premature mortality, disability (permanent and temporary), and absenteeism. Indirect costs were discounted at 3% rate. The sample consisted of 554 patients (40%) males (60%) females. The economic burden of the nine diseases was estimated at US$ 5,672,618 (males 37%; females 63%) and the portion attributable to obesity amounted to US$ 1,157,173 (males 23%; females 77%). Total direct cost was estimated at US$ 3,740,377 with female patients accounting for 69.9% of this cost. Total indirect cost was estimated at US$ 1,932,241 with female patients accounting for 50.6% of this cost. The greater cost among women was not found to be statistically significant. Overall, on a per capita basis, males and females accrued similar costs-of-illness (US$ 9,451.75 vs. US$ 10,758.18). In a country with per capita GDP of less than US$ 5,300, a per capita annual cost of illness of US$ 10,239 for CNCDs is excessive and has detrimental implications for the health and development of Jamaica.
This research was pub;ished in: Farmeconomia: Health Economics and Therapeutic Pathways, 17 (2): 81-95. Full Article available at: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7175/fe.v17i2.1232.
*Lead author is from the College of Health Sciences PAGE
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52 Scientific Symposium on “Fiscal Measures to Prevent Obesity/NCDs in Jamaica: Focus on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages” Corporate Communications Unit Advancement Division University of Technology, Jamaica
The University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja.) through its College of Health Sciences, on Thursday, January 11, 2018, hosted a Scientific Symposium on “Fiscal Measures to Prevent Obesity/ NCDs in Jamaica: Focus on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages” at the Spanish Court Hotel, Kingston.
The Scientific Symposium presented the research and evidence-based rationale for a fiscal approach to healthy eating in Jamaica and identified the challenges and opportunities for introducing a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Dr. the Honourable Christopher Tufton, MP, Minister of Health addressed measures being implemented by the Ministry of Health to stem the increase of obesity and NCDs among Jamaicans. Hon. Audley Shaw, CD, MP, Minister of Finance and the Public Service addressed the use of fiscal measures as a strategy to address diet-related diseases to encourage the consumption of healthier food options among the Jamaican population.
The Symposium comprised four sessions with presentations by local and international researchers, health practitioners, and economists who examined issues such as obesity and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention, the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages in Mexico – the rationale and the impact on prices, household purchases and employment. The discussions also focussed on consumption trends of sugary drinks in Jamaica, proposals for the implementation of a fiscal policy on sugar-sweetened beverages to enhance public health, and the potential impact of a sugar tax on the local beverage manufacturing industry, imports, and the potential impact of a sugar tax on the poor and on consumption and revenues in Jamaica.
Symposium presenters included: Prof. Fitzroy Henry, Symposium Chair and Professor of Public Health Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, UTech, Jamaica; Prof. Barry Popkin, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Nutrition and Economics, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, USA; Dr. Arantxa Colchero, Associate Professor of Health Economics, National Institute of Public Health, Mexico; Prof. Rainford Wilks, CalHR, University of The West Indies, Mona campus; Dr. Michelle Harris, NCD Advisor, Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO); Prof. Alafia Samuels, Director, George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre, CALHR, UWI, Cave Hill, Barbados
Editor’s Note: As noted in the introduction to this booklet, one of the pathways that research has impact is through public policy. The potential impact of this research on public policy is obvious. Not surprisingly, the symposium generated a lot of commentary from various interest groups, including sugar-sweetened beverage manufacturers, journalists, and educators. The Gleaner newspaper carried an Editorial on the symposium. PAGE
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53 Alcohol-induced Hypoglycaemia in Patients Suffering from Diabetes Mellitus Eugenie Brown Myrie College of Health Sciences
Alcohol has harmful effects on the body. One such effect is the ability to cause hypoglycaemia or low sugar levels in the blood. Symptoms of hypoglycaemia manifest as hunger, excessive sweating, anxiety tiredness and speech problems. Alcohol-induced hypoglycaemia is a serious and well known clinical problem in patients who suffer from diabetes. These diabetics, by virtue of their condition may have co-morbid conditions such as chronic kidney disease which impairs the disposition of medications and other substances from the body, thereby increasing the hypoglycaemic effect of alcohol. Additionally, several anti-diabetic medicines produce hypoglycaemia as a pharmacodynamic effect of the drug. This occurrence compounds Eugenie Brown Myrie the unwanted effect in diabetes patients and places them at serious risk.
Alcohol consumption in large quantities places additional stress on the liver, the organ responsible for the metabolism of many drugs as well as the production of glucose. As the liver works to break down alcohol, its processes of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis are impaired and hypoglycaemia is the consequence.
Although the evidence for alcohol-induced hypoglycaemia is strong, a few studies have looked at the influence of genetics on the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase and the association between alcohol consumption and diabetes risk. This paper will also review the literature in order to present a balanced view of the effects of alcohol consumption and its association with diabetes. Patients who suffer from diabetes need to be aware of the effects of alcohol on their condition. They should also be educated about the role of dietary and other lifestyle measures in the management of alcohol-induced hypoglycaemia.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the West Indian Medical Journal 60(1):43, 2011. PAGE
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54
Promoting Caribbean Agriculture to Promote Health: Beyond Dietary Guidelines Henry, Fitzroy J; Deonne Caines; and Sherene Eyre
This study was conducted to determine which food items have the best nutrition value for money in securing a healthy diet to combat non-communicable diseases. Several studies have evaluated whether healthier foods or diets cost more but a full range of health criteria has rarely been explored. Rather than merely comparing high and low energy dense foods, this study also included type of fat, vitamin, mineral and fibre content of foods in classifying them as healthy and less healthy. Commonly consumed foods were ranked according to their nutritional value and potential positive or negative contribution to the development of major health problems in Jamaica such as obesity and chronic diseases. The costs of 158 Fitzroy J. Henry food items were averaged from supermarkets, municipal markets and wholesale outlets in six parishes across Jamaica. The cost of foods was then compared according to their nutritional value. The study found that some of the commonly consumed foods were cheap with low nutritional value. Other items were low ranked but costly. The results highlighted those traditional Caribbean food crops which were highly ranked yet less costly. Caribbean agriculture policy should reposition their strategy to ensure that many of the traditional nutritious foods can be easily accessible. In so doing the burden of the main health problem-non-communicable diseases, can be substantially reduced via an agriculture policy.
This research was published in: Nutrition and Food Technology: Open Access, 2 (1). And the full article available at:http://dx.doi. org/10.16966/2470-6086.111. PAGE
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55
Healthy Eating in Jamaica: The Cost Factor Fitzroy J. Henry; Deonne Caines; and Sheerin Eyre
This study was conducted to determine the importance of food cost in securing a healthy diet to combat non-communicable diseases. Several studies have evaluated whether healthier foods or diets cost more but a full range of health criteria has rarely been explored. Rather than merely comparing high and low energy dense foods, this study also included type of fat, vitamin, mineral and fibre content of foods in classifying them as healthy and less healthy. Both ‘commonly consumed’ and ‘all available’ foods were ranked according to their nutritional value and potential positive or negative contribution to the development of major health problems in Jamaica such as obesity and chronic diseases. The costs of 158 food items were averaged from supermarkets, municipal markets and wholesale outlets in six parishes across Jamaica. Cost differentials were then assessed in comparing healthy and less healthy foods. The study found that among the commonly consumed foods in Jamaica, healthy options cost J$88 (US$0.78) more than less healthy ones. However, when all the available food items were considered, the less healthy options cost more. The cheapest daily cost of a nutritionally balanced diet in Jamaica varied considerably by parish but was on average J$269 (US$2.40) per person. For a family of three, this translates approximately to the total minimum wage per week. Conclusion: Eating healthy in Jamaica can be achieved at low cost if appropriate information on nutrient content/value for money is provided to consumers. Effective promotions by public and private sector agencies are essential for consumer choice to be optimal.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in: West Indian Medical Journal, 64. (3):181-185. DOI: 10.7727/wimj.2015.116. The full article available at: https://www.mona.uwi.edu/fms/wimj/article/2237. PAGE
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56 Food Security and Health in the Caribbean Imperatives for Policy Implementation Lawrence Ballayram1 and Fitzroy Henry2 1International Consultant, Loxahatchee, Florida 2College of Health Sciences, UTech, Jamaica
This article discusses the food and nutrition security situation in CARICOM countries through the lens of a conceptual model that links food, nutrition and health. Based upon a review of relevant literature and judicious use of country-level official data, the authors make the case for policy makers to take a more proactive approach to the implementation of their respective national food and nutrition security policies. This recommendation is made in light of the increasing acuity of key food and nutrition security problems that continue to plague these countries, including high food import-dependence, and the prevalence of obesity and overweight, which are risk factors in the increasing prevalence of chronic, non-communicable diseases, the main public health problems in the region. These, and related food and nutrition security problems, continue to exist despite progress made by CARICOM countries at the policy level with the formulation of regional and national food and nutrition security policies, and associated action plans. Within these policies and action plans, food and nutrition security is conceptualized in terms of food availability, access, nutritional adequacy and the stability of these three components. Moreover, they stipulated food, nutrition and health goals for the agricultural and the entire food systems. Despite these achievements, the implementation of food and nutrition security policies and action plans in the region has not proceeded with the same urgency that motivated their formulation, namely to address the pressing food and nutrition problems in the countries of this region.
Editor’s Note: The Journal of Food Security, 3(6): 137-144. DOI: 10.12691/jfs-3-6-1. The full Article available at: http://pubs.sciepub. com/jfs/3/6/1. PAGE
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UTech, Jamaica Receives $14.6M NHF Funding to Conduct First National Food Consumption Study
The College of Health Sciences, University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja.) has received grant funding of $14.6 M from The National Health Fund to conduct the First National Food Consumption Study. The grant was formally presented at a special ceremony held on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at the Technology Innovation Centre, UTech, Jamaica Papine campus.
Dr. Ellen Campbell-Grizzle, Dean, College of Health Sciences in her welcome, told the gathering that the multi-disciplinary research will take on many faces and will involve all disciplines in the College with the engagement of members of faculty, staff and students. She thanked the National Health Fund for the confidence placed in UTech, Jamaica to take on such a profound role in research that will be fundamental in solving some of the issues that are affecting the health of Jamaicans. The Dean pointed out that the results of the research will also be used to strengthen UTech, Jamaica’s Wellness Centre to incubate solutions that can improve Jamaican’s nutritional status. The findings will further inform the establishment of one urban and one rural wellness centre using the UTech, Jamaica Wellness Model.
Mr. Everton Anderson, CEO of the National Health Fund in his address, congratulated the College of Health Sciences on their proposal to conduct the survey, noting that the Fund supports research that can be used to develop comprehensive, integrated and effective interventions in health care in Jamaica. Noting that health promotion is a major thrust of the NHF, Mr. Anderson added that “in the planning of health promotion programmes and campaigns, the use of research is critical.”
Mrs. Ava Simpson, Programme Director, Dietetics & Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, provided an overview of the research. She explained that it was being done in the context of the need for Jamaica to develop evidence-based knowledge about the food consumption patterns of the population and factors that drive these eating patterns. She noted that the goal of the research is “to positively impact Jamaica’s response to the burgeoning obesity problem through research of the food consumption patterns of the adult population and the derivation evidence based on wellness solutions.” She pointed to the need for dietitians, nutritionists, the Ministry of Health and other government agencies to understand what Jamaicans are eating, why they are making these food choices and how this links to their nutritional practice and clinical picture.
The research will target Jamaicans between the ages of 18 and 60 and aims to provide estimates of both acute and usual consumption patterns of the Jamaican population at the individual level. UTech, Jamaica researchers will use tools such as the food frequency questionnaire to assess the long-term nutritional exposure of each individual in the study and a 24- hour recall which collects dietary information on current intake. Blood or urine samples will be collected and examined to determine the nutrient status for the selected sub groups.
The data will be evaluated by the Food Classification System which will allow for the food consumption data to be comparable at the food level. The Caribbean Food Grouping System will be used as a minimum level of comparability. Researchers will also include in this method of evaluation, the use of household and other relevant measurements to enable the conversion of foods as consumed to determine nutrient level. PAGE
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Public Education: The results coming out of this landmark national research will enable UTech, Jamaica to influence and inform health and wellness programmes by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and the food manufacturing industry.
In support of the College’s public education thrust facilitated through its active Research Translation Unit, efforts will be made to publish information from the study on healthy eating and wellness on relevant websites, social media, in brochures and other appropriate forms of printed material to assist Jamaicans in making healthier food choices. Dr. Campbell-Grizzle emphasized that the College “strongly believes in ensuring that the public understands what we are doing, which is the object of education – to share knowledge in a way that is understandable to influence behavior and consumer change
Editor’s Note: This article was prepared by the Corporate Communications Unit, Division of Advancement, Office of the President PAGE
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59 PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACEUTICS Extemporaneous Compounding of Captopril for Managing Cardiac Conditions in Children at a Major Paediatric Hospital in Jamaica Tieca Harris; Sarafadeen Adebayo; Deon Bennett; O. Olugbuyi; & C. Scott Pediatric patients diagnosed with heart disease, specifically heart failure, are currently being managed with drug products developed for adult population rather than products based on evidence from clinical trials conducted in the population of interest. However, medicines used in the management of children may not be available in forms suitable for use in children. As such, drugs are used in an “off label” and unlicensed manner, requiring pharmacists (both in community and hospital) preparing “in house” or “extemporaneous” formulations mainly as solutions and suspensions to provide age-appropriate dosage forms for children using tablets and capsules as the source of the active ingredient. The inherent variability in quality of starting material and the compounding process suggest the need for evaluation of the extent of the practice and quality assessment of the products. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of extemporaneous compounding and evaluate the quality and stability of select compounded products at a major children’s hospital in Jamaica using extemporaneous oral liquid - Captopril 3 mg/5mL as model formulation. Captopril had approximately 80 % of its doses manipulated before dispensing with dosing variations ranging from 0.5 to 15 mg.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in The Caribbean Association of Pharmacist Magazine (CAP). DOI: 10.13140/2.1.3345.8248. Full Article available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269991644. PAGE
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In Vitro Antioxidant Activity of Bixa orellana (Annatto) Seed Extract Abayomi Modupeola; Deon Bennett; Roy Porter; Janet Campbell-Shelly; and Sarafadeen Adebayo
The seeds of Bixa orellana (Annatto, family Bixaceae), have been used in food coloring for over 50 years. With the aim of introducing its extracts as pharmaceutical colorant, there is the need to investigate the biological and pharmacological activities of the extract. This study was designed to develop extraction protocols for annatto coloring fraction with potential for pharmaceutical application and evaluate the antioxidant activity of the extracts in vitro. Powdered seed material was extracted using acid-base protocols and the crystals obtained were washed with deionized water, oven-dried for about 12 hours at 45 °C and stored in air-tight containers. The in vitro antioxidant activity was tested via 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and iron (III) oxide reducing power using ascorbic acid (vitamin C) as a reference standard. The free radical scavenging activity of annatto extract ranged from 5.5 % to 48.9 % relative to ascorbic acid (2.9 % to 41.5 %) at respective concentrations between 0.25 and 2.5 μg/ml. Similarly, iron (III) oxide reducing power shows good linear concentration-dependent relation (R2 = 0.9986) comparable with ascorbic acid (R2 = 0.9934). Results generally indicated that Bixa orellana seed extract is a potential source of antioxidants of natural origin.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science, 4 (2): 101-106. DOI: 10.7324/ JAPS.2014.40216 . ISSN 2231-3354. PAGE
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61 Physico-chemical Properties of Blighia sapida (ackee) Oil Extract and its Potential Application as Emulsion Base Naomi Anderson-Foster, Sarafadeen Adebayo and Nilza Justiz-Smith
Oil extracted from the ripe ackee (Blighia sapida L) aril was characterized by the classical titrimetric and gravimetric analyses following the British Pharmacopoeia (BP) procedures. Dynamic and kinematic viscosities as well as the true density of the lipid were determined. The sample was subjected to instrumental polarimetric and gas chromatographic analyses. In each test, arachis oil (BP) and/or oleic acid was used as reference. The extraction and purification method produced 37.0 ± 4.9%, on dry weight basis, of bright-yellow oil with characteristic roasted ackee scent. Acid, ester, hydroxyl and saponification values were 1.83 (±0.01), 64.52 (±0.18), 28.01 (±0.04) and 743 (±0.19) respectively. Its specific gravity was 0.905 (±0.008) while the optical rotation was 1.453. The gas chromatography showed several well-defined peaks with two peaks at elution times of 15.41min (n-hexane) and 17.44 min (oleics acid). The sample has comparable specific gravity, viscosities and true density values as arachis oil BP. On the other hand, it contains higher levels of saponifiable matters, free acid and hydrolysable matters than arachis oil. The characteristic properties of ackee oil suggest potential for its application as pharmaceutical base and may satisfy some of the deficiencies of arachis and, possibly, some other vegetable oils.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the West African Journal of Pharmacy, 6 (3): 200 – 210. PAGE
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62 From Food to Drug Delivery Systems: Application of Starches in Pediatric Parcetamol Formulations Cliff Riley1; Andrew Wheatley2; Safafadeen Adebayo1; Helen and Asemota2 1College of Health Science, University of Technology, Jamaica 2The University of the West Indies, Mona Starches are widely used as excipients in tablet, granule and capsule formulations where they may be used as bulking agent, disintegrants, glidants or lubricants in powder form, or binder in the mucilagous (paste) form. Excipients are usually inert/non-reactive ingredients used in solid dosages as drug carriers, tablet disintegrants or bulking agent. Corn (Zea Mays) and potato (Solanum spp) starches are the most widely used starches in pharmaceutical products; however previous studies on yam and sweet potato starches have shown promising results (Riley et al, 2004, 2006). Yam tubers are primarily cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions as a primary source of carbohydrate. The tuber is of high nutritional value containing up to 85 % starch, 3-8 % protein, 2-5 % fiber, Cliff Riley and 0.2-0.7 % fat on a dry weight basis. This study was designed to assess the binder properties of Jamaican yam starches and their impact on the dissolution of paracetamol from paediatric granules for reconstitution. Dissolution studies on paracetamol granules formulated with 2.5 % and 10 % yam starch as binder showed significant differences in the rate of drug dissolution (p<0.05). The type of binder used was found to have significant influences on the rate of paracetamol release/dissolution. Reconstituted paracetamol granules formulated with starches from Chinese yam and Bitter yam had the fastest dissolution rate (2.2 and 2.6 T80/min respectively) while those formulated with Round leaf yellow yam, Negro yam and the conventional Corn starch had the slowest rates (4.5, 4.3 and 4.55 T80/min respectively). The rate of drug dissolution was also found to be directly dependent on the binder concentration, as granules Andrew Wheatley formulated with 2.5 % starch as binder had a faster T80 than that with 10 % starch as binder. It was also observed that at 2.5 % binder concentration all the yam starches studied had faster dissolution rates than those formulated with corn starch; however this was not the case when the binder concentration was increased to 10 %, as only Chinese yam and Bitter (yam had faster dissolution rates 3.5 and 4 T80/ min) than the formulations with corn starch (5.3 T80/min). These results shows that yam starches are more efficient in the releasing the active pharmaceutical ingredient (paracetamol) thanthe traditionally used corn starch. This implies that in pharmaceutical formulations such as tablets, capsules and reconstituted suspensions containing yam starches would result in a faster effect or relief than those with corn starch. This may imply faster relief for patients on pharmaceutical tablets, capsules and reconstituted suspensions containing yam starches as formulation adjuvants relative to those containing corn starch.
Editor’s Note: This research was presented at the 23rd Caribbean Academy of Science (CAS) Conference, St. Johns, Antigua and Barbuda, 2010. PAGE
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63 CANNABIS SATIVA (MARIJUANA/GANJA) UTech, Jamaica Receives Renewed Licence for Medical Marijuana Research The University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica) reached another significant milestone in its thrust as a national partner in developing a sustainable marijuana industry, with the receipt of a renewed medical marijuana research licence from the Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, MP. The Minister presented the renewed licence to the University’s Acting President, Prof. Colin Gyles during the 2nd Medical Marijuana Integration Day hosted by the College of Health Sciences on Friday, May 13, 2016 at the UTech, Jamaica Papine campus. UTech, Jamaica received its first medical marijuana research licence on May 13, 2015 from then Minister Hon. Phillip Paulwell during the University’s inaugural Marijuana Integration Day.
The 2nd Marijuana Integration Day dubbed “Cannabis Reclaimed II” celebrated the gains and the impact made by the University in the area of marijuana research and community partnership. The day’s proceedings attracted a large gathering of academics, private and public sector partners and interest groups, students and members of the Rastafarian and Maroon communities and included research presentations, exhibits and demonstrations, product display booths and a plant clinic for testing of cannabis sativa samples.
In his address to the capacity gathering, Minister Wheatley referenced the case of a two-year old boy overseas who has Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy which forces him to constantly wear a helmet owing to incidences of up to 20 seizures a day. He noted that the seizures have significantly been reduced since the child began medical marijuana treatment a year ago. Minister Wheatley noted that these are the encouraging stories that “motivate us as a Government to find solutions for the people of Jamaica and the wider international community,” adding that this “gives credence to the work of medical scientists and researchers.” He commended UTech, Jamaica for the research work being undertaken in this regard and for its role as a “reservoir of knowledge” needed to revolutionise the industry.
In the area of nutraceuticals, the Minister also pointed to the enormous economic potential for Jamaica which he noted has over 80 of the 160 existing medicinal plants with scientifically validated medical benefits. “In other words, we have here in Jamaica, 50% of the plants in the world that have been declared to have medicinal properties,” he reinforced, adding that “the total estimated value of nutraceuticals exported from Jamaica in 2014 was over US$12 M. Minister Wheatley told the gathering that his Government is “taking the necessary steps to implementing the necessary legislations and policies so that this industry can soar.” Among the measures being taken, he noted, are steps to enhance the role of the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) including consultancy to recommend discrete components of the regulations; creation of licensing regimes to include five license types and 11 categories, and security and enforcement monitoring mechanisms.
Acting President, Prof. Colin Gyles in his welcome, noting the historic significance of the day said that UTech, Jamaica as the only national university takes its mandate seriously to “align our pursuit of knowledge, research and scholarship with national development goals.” He noted that a University-wide multidisciplinary research group led by Dr. Ellen Campbell-Grizzle, Dean, College PAGE
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64 of Health Sciences has continued to make steady progress in research on medical marijuana. He highlighted that among the significant progress made was a 25 year lease with the Government Chemist Department to provide additional laboratory space for the University’s researchers who are focusing on the development of pharmaceutical products, as well as the establishment of a specialized laboratory and high-tech indoor and outdoor greenhouse marijuana growing facility on the UTech, Jamaica Papine campus. Prof. Gyles emphasized that the University’s main interest will continue to be the medical and scientific aspects of marijuana research, rather than the recreational and sacramental use.
The Acting President also noted that in keeping with the UTech, Jamaica community-based approach to development, the University has led extensive engagement with community-based farmers, individual growers and the pharmaceutical community. “We want to ensure that all communities that we engage in the research process will be empowered to sustain the gains made by the involvement of their citizens,” he said.
Dr. Ellen Campbell-Grizzle, in her overview, provided an update on the community-based approach to development of medical marijuana research at the University. The Dean told the gathering that in considering the national agenda on the development of a lucrative marijuana industry, consideration was given to the University’s strengths and the gaps to be filled in offering solutions, even within the context of resource constraints. “We decided to use an integrated pathway, which incorporates the knowledge of academia and the wisdom of community,” she noted, adding that “in working with the communities we ensure that whatever they are producing is of the best quality and their potential for giving us standardized products is likely to be achieved.” Dr. Campbell- Grizzle also disclosed that the University was successful in its bid to receive a US $500,000 grant award from Seeding Labs, USA which has been used to purchase some of the equipment to expand its marijuana plant testing.
Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, MP, Minister of Science, Energy and Technology presents the renewed medical marijuana research licence to Prof. Colin Gyles, Acting President, University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica) at the opening ceremony for the 2nd Medical Marijuana Integration Day hosted by the College of Health Sciences on Friday, May 13, 2016 at the UTech, Jamaica Papine campus.
Editor’s Note: This article was prepared by the Corporate Communication Unit, Division of Advancement, Office of the President. PAGE
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Prevalence of Marijuana Usage and its Effect on Academic Performance Among Local University Students Sonia Richards- Malcolm This study examines the prevalence of marijuana usage among the student population and its effect on the academic performance of the students. Among the respondents it was determined that marijuana usage had a negative effect on the academic performance of the students. From the study conducted it was noted that the majority of non-users maintained a good GPA (2.7-3.6). However, an overall decrease was seen in Grade Point Average (GPA), among marijuana users. The GPA from 23 (74.2%) respondents fell within 2.7-3.6 in first year, 18 (58.1%), 1.7-2.6 in second year and a further decrease to 14 (45.2%) in the third year, although the GPA range was similar to the second year. The results suggest that the use marijuana affects the Sonia Richards- Malcolm ability and thought process of students to study. The age distribution of marijuana users were between 17-41 years, however, majority of marijuana users fell within the 17-26 years old age range. In addition, more males use the substance that females and heavy marijuana users were noted to be the most affected, 50%, in terms of their ability to study.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the Journal of Arts Science and Technology Vol. 4 (Suppl. 1):16 PAGE
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The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition in Jamaica Tameka Nelson
Decriminalization of marijuana has received substantial attention over the last several decades as countries worldwide have moved towards decriminalization. An important issue in this debate is the budgetary implications of marijuana prohibition. This paper examines the effects of marijuana prohibition on government expenditure in Jamaica - savings that would be had if there were no enforcement costs, as well as income that could be earned if marijuana was regulated and taxed like other goods. This paper estimates that in 2007 decriminalising marijuana in Jamaica would save approximately J$5.54 billion per year in government expenditure; between J$263 million-J$363 million annually if marijuana were taxed like Tameka Nelson normal goods and between J$877 million-J$1.3 billion if marijuana were taxed at rates similar to those on cigarettes and alcohol. An additional J$15billion could be earned if companies were allowed to export marijuana and then were taxed. The paper also discusses the implications for both future academic research and public policy.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the Journal of Arts, Science, and Technology, Vol. 5. 2012 PAGE
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Mining Medicines from Cannabis in Jamaica: The Devil and the Details Ellen Campbell Grizzle & Rasheed Perry (Graduate Student) College of Health Sciences
In April 2015, the Government of Jamaica amended the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) to decriminalize the use of Cannabis and to permit the sacramental use of the drug. This incremental move in Jamaican legislation represented, at that time, the most permissive reform on Cannabis legislation passed by a Jamaican government, short of legalizing the use of ganja in Jamaica. As a signatory to the United Nation’s Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, Jamaica is bound to the terms of that Convention. According to the Single Convention, Cannabis is placed in Schedule 1 as a substance with no medicinal use. In 2015, Jamaica joined countries like Canada, Uruguay, Israel and several states in the United States that had passed legislation to Ellen Campbell Grizzle allow the use of Cannabis for medicinal purposes thus testing the UN stance on the issue and nudging the global entity to reconsider its position.
In consort with the DDA amendment, Universities and other research entities were granted special orders by the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology to engage in Cannabis cultivation, research and development for the advancement of science and medicinal purposes. This order permitted a narrow scope of operations that provided an opportunity for the University of Technology, Jamaica to engage in further research in the ganja plant and to work with interested parties to identify new cultivars and chemovars, test, formulate products, conduct clinical trials and engage in other innovations. Such activities will push the assertion that Cannabis has medical purposes.
However, this decision to foster research and development from Cannabis was not universally accepted. The United States of America held to its the position expressed in the Single Convention on Narcotics, 1961, that Cannabis was Schedule 1, having no medicinal purpose. The opinions of Jamaicans toward the new legislation are ambivalent. The country has a ganja prevalence rate of 16% (NCDA, 2016). There are those who are disappointed that the substance was not legalized while there are others who, for various reasons, believe that the potential for medical use of ganja is real. According to Anderson (2013), findings of a national Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior and Practice (KABP) that he conducted revealed that 56 per cent of those interviewed saw good prospects for the use of ganja for medicinal purposes, while 15 per cent were more interested in the economic gains from expanded use. There are still a few professionals who hold to the view that “Ganja will make you mad.” (DeLaHaye, PAGE
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2015) based on the numbers of young persons seeking psychiatric care based on their ganja use.
However, there is a plethora of scientific papers attesting to the medicinal potential of Cannabis The work of Raphael Mechoulam in the 1970’s identified the endogenous endocannabinoid system (ecs) and identified associated neurotransmitters and mechanisms of action. This pioneering work established the scientific basis on which Cannabis woks in the body. More recently there are randomized control studies that have investigated Cannabis for the treatment of neuropathic pain (Andreae, 2015), headache disorders (Lochte, 2016) and diabetic neuropathy (Wallace, 2015), among others.
In the Jamaican context, Cannabis has been described as endemic (Rubin & Comitas,1975). Its use is traced back to the arrival of the Indians in 1845. The first clinical investigations began with the work of Professor Manley West in the 1960s. Professor West along with Dr. Lockart developed and manufactured Canasol drops (for glaucoma in the 1980s’) and Asmasol (for Asthma in the 1990s). Dr. West used plants seized from police raids of illegal farms with special permission from the Ministry of National Security to do his research and product development. Criticism is made of this source for the raw material used in his products and the challenges posed to standardization. However, these products have been sold on the Jamaican market for over 2 decades.
Current research and technological advancement have allowed deeper investigation into the Cannabis plant and greater understanding of its many and varied cultivars and chemovars. An important question that remains to be answered is which of the many varieties of Cannabis should be made available for medicinal use. Unravelling the many cultivars and chemovars will go a far way in providing fundamental solutions to standardization of Cannabis varieties for medicinal purposes. This is one of the aims of research on Cannabis at the University of Technology, Jamaica. PAGE
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69 CANCER AND MEDICINAL PLANTS Anti-Cancer Activity of Three Jamaican Macroalgae Against Prostate, Pancreatic, and Skin Cancers Andrew Lamm1; Denise Daley2; Henry I. C. Lowe; Charah Watson; Shelly-Ann Powell, Kenneth N. N. Ayeah; Ngeh J. Toyang; & Joseph Bryant
1Faculty of Science & Sport 2College of Health Sciences
Cancer is one of the leading chronic diseases that may lead to death. The search for new therapeutic, medicinal and nutraceutical compounds from folkloric plants including the marine flora are globally important objectives. Therefore the biological assessment of macroalgae is critical. Three macroalgae, Galaxaura oblongata, Dictyota cervicornis and Halimeda incrassata were collected from the southern coast of Jamaica and assessed for their anticancer activity against prostate, pancreatic and skin (melanoma) cancers using PC-3, MiaPaca-2 and A375 cell lines respectively. The crude hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts were prepared and bio-assayed using the WST-1 cell proliferation assay. The results indicated that the crude Andrew Lamm ethyl acetate extract for three of the macroalgae;Galaxaura oblongata, Dictyota cervicornis and Halimeda incrassata; had significant activity against A375 cell line with IC50 values of 8.432, 7.48, 6.691 µg/ml respectively. No significant effect was observed against melanoma cells for neither the crude hexane nor the methanol extracts, as well as there were no significant effect on the prostate or pancreatic cell lines for all crude extracts. These results indicate the potency and product potential of the edible marinemacroalgae as a functional food and nutraceutical. This report represents the first scientific bioassay of the Jamaican species of these algae.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the European Journal of Medicinal Plants. 13(2): 1-5. DOI: 10.9734/EJMP/2016/23662. The full article available at: http://sciencedomain.org/issue/1699 PAGE
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Significant Inhibitory Impact of Dibenzyl Trisulfide and Extracts of Petiveria alliacea on the Activities of Major Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes in vitro: An Assessment of the Potential for Medicinal Plant-Drug Interactions J. Murray, D. Picking, Andrew Lamm1, J. McKenzie, S. Hartley, C. Watson, L. Williams, H. Lowe, R. Delgoda. 1Faculty of Science & Sport, University of Technology, Jamaica Dibenzyl trisulfide (DTS) is the major active ingredient expressed in Petiveria alliacea L., a shrub widely used for a range of conditions, such as, arthritis, asthma and cancer. Given its use alone and concomitantly with prescription medicines, we undertook to investigate its impact on the activities of important drug metabolizing enzymes, the cytochromes P450 (CYP), a key family of enzymes involved in many adverse drug reactions. DTS and seven standardized extracts from the plant were assessed for their impact on the activities of CYPs 1A2, 2C19, 2C9, 2D6 and 3A4 on a fluorometric assay. DTS revealed significant impact against the activities of CYPs 1A2, 2C19 and 3A4 with IC50 values of 1.9, 4.0 and 3.2μM, respectively, which are equivalent to known standard inhibitors of these enzymes (furafylline, and tranylcypromine), and the most potent interaction with CYP1A2 displayed irreversible enzyme kinetics. The root extract, drawn with 96% ethanol (containing 2.4% DTS), displayed IC50 values of 5.6, 3.9 and 4.2μg/mL respectively, against the same isoforms, CYPs 1A2, 2C19 and 3A4. These investigations identify DTS as a valuable CYP inhibitor and P. alliacea as a candidate plant worthy of clinical trials to confirm the conclusions that extracts yielding high DTS may lead to clinically relevant drug interactions, whilst extracts yielding low levels of DTS, such as aqueous extracts, are unlikely to cause adverse herb-drug interactions.”
Editor’s Note: This research was published in Fitoterapia. 111:138–46 2016. The full article is available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/27105957. PAGE
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71 Phytochemical Investigation of Jamaican Capparis ferruginea Andrew Lamm1 & Paul B. Reese2 1Facutly of Science & Sport, University of Technology, Jamaica 2Faculty of Science & Technology, The University of the West Indies, Mona This paper reports the first phytochemical investigation of the previously unstudied Jamaican plant Capparis ferruginea. Analysis revealed the presence of linolenic acid (1), lupeol (2) trans-β-carotene (3), and β-sitosterol. Chemical structures were elucidated via the comparison of NMR spectroscopic and other data with those reported in the literature. The presence of several glucosides of polyglycerides was inferred from spectral data however the compounds proved inseparable.
Plants have been the source of food and medicinal compounds for many millennia and continue to supply some of mankind’s most Andrew Lamm basic needs. The phytochemical investigation of plants has yielded medicinal compounds ranging from analgesics to narcotics. Capparis ferruginea is a common shrub that grows to approximately 3–4 m and is found at altitudes of 0–150 m. The plant is frequently found in tropical dry forests and limestone rich areas of Jamaica. Capparis ferruginea, is locally known as “mustard shrub” or “mustard wood ” and produces small white flowers.
The fact that there has been no full phytochemical analysis of C. ferruginea has prompted this investigation. This is also a part of our ongoing investigation of the natural products isolated from Jamaican plant populations. Additionally, we continue to seek new sources of interesting compound for biotransformation experiments. Although no folk medicinal uses of this plant have been reported, members of the Capparaceae family are known to produce various secondary metabolites including terpenes and flavonoids.
The genus Capparis is no exception and produces some interesting compounds. To date over 150 publications have reported work on the genus, but most are primarily centered on nutritive value, toxicity, weed control and genetic aspects of the plants. Only a few have described the isolation of terpenoids, such as long chain polyisoprenoid alcohols and β-carotene. Mature fruits of C. spinosa gave three (6S)-hydroxy- 3-oxoa-ionol glucosides and a prenyl glucoside. Flavonoids were discovered chiefly as their (glucosyl or rhamnoglucosyl) glycosides. Compounds found in C. spinosa and C. decidua were sterols, such as β-sitosterol and its glycosides, and stigmasterol, as well as betulin-28- acetate.
Many alcoholic and aromatic glucosinolates have been identified from C. baducca, C. hastate, C. masaikai, C. odoratissima, C. grandis, PAGE
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C. flexuosa, C. salicifolica, C. angulata and C. ferruginea. Several alkaloids including stachydrine, three alkylhydroxyoxindoles, 1H-indole-3-acetonitrile glycoside, spermidine and its analogues, as well as the antihepatotoxic compound p-methoxybenzoic acid were isolated from C. decidua and C. tomentosa.
Compounds identified in this study of Jamaican C. ferruginea were linolenic acid, lupeol, trans-β- carotene and β-sitosterol. These metabolites help to shed some additional light on the range of biochemical pathways within the genus Capparis.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the Journal of Arts, Science and Technology, Volume 8, 2015. PAGE
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73 ENGINEERING, ICT APPLICATIONS & INFORMATION SYSTEMS Can a Computer Model Tell us Today Whether Jamaica Will Meet Its Renewable Energy Targets?
Editor’s Note: Jamaica is highly energy insecure country. It is dependent on imported petroleum products to meet close to 90% of its energy needs. Targets to diversify the energy mix with renewable sources have been set out in the country’s Energy Policy. But will these targets be met? This is the question UTech researchers, led by Dr. Therese Chambers, in collaboration with other colleagues in other institutions, sought to answer using sophisticated modeling tools. The question is answered in the article below.
Jamaica’s Energy Future: Meeting 2030 Target? T.V.Chambers1, J. Luukanen2, D.O.Reid1, N. Brown1, A. Abdulkahdri3, A. Evans’, S. Mckenzie’, M. Korkeakoski 2, W.Moore4, L. Vazquez Seisdedos5, Y. Majanne6, L. Alleyne4
1School of Engineering, University of Technology, Jamaica 2Finland Futures Research Centre, University of Turku, Finland ‘Department of Economics, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica 4Department of Economics, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Bridgetown, Barbados ’Faculty of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, University of Oriente, Santiago, Cuba 6Tampere University of Technology, Finland Jamaica is the largest English speaking nation in the Caribbean and has a population of just over 2.7million residents. It is approximately 145 kilometers south of Cuba and 190 kilometers west of Haiti. Industry in Jamaica is mainly comprised of bauxite plants, sugar factories, food and drink manufacturing and tourism. With the demand for energy growing in the island, the Government of Jamaica in 2009 released Jamaica’s National Energy Policy 2009-2030. This document charts the plan for Jamaica fulfilling its energy needs up to 2030. As stated in the document, the vision of Jamaica’s energy sector is “a modern, efficient, diversified and environmentally sustainable energy sector providing affordable and accessible energy supplies with long-term energy security and supported Therese Chambers by informed public behaviour on energy issues and an appropriate policy, regulatory and institutional framework’.
The vision has seven clear goals that address: (1) energy conservation, (2) modernization of the energy infrastructure (3) development of renewable energy sources, (4) energy security and environmental sustainability, (5) regulatory framework for the energy sector (6) energy conservation in government agencies and (7) eco-efficiency of Jamaican industry.
Regarding energy from renewable sources, the expectation is that by 2030, no less than 20 per cent of Jamaica’s energy supply should come from renewable sources. In late 2015, the State Minister for Science, PAGE
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Technology, Energy, and Mining, Hon. Julian Robinson, stated that the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) wanted to extend the renewable energy fraction to 30% of Jamaica’s energy supply.
The sectors that have been identified in the National Energy Policy 2009-2030 as the main areas for the establishment of linkages to support the realization of the vision include agriculture, transportation, construction, bauxite and finance. However, the main consumers of petroleum have been identified as: transportation (road, rail, shipping and aviation), electricity generation, bauxite and others (including manufacturing, cooking and lighting).
The work presented in this paper, focuses on the use of the LINDA (Long-range Integrated Development Analysis) energy model in the scenario planning process for Jamaica up to 2030. The model looks at how the future could develop based on historical data and established future plans. Assumptions regarding annual growth rates were made, hence the outcomes of the model from 2015 up to 2030 are ‘what if scenarios. These may not occur, however, if all inputs to the model were actualized then these would be the expected outcomes. Inputs to the model include economic data regarding sectoral growth rates and electrical energy expansion and decommissioning plans. As the 20% fraction of renewable energy was the initial target, the analyses of the results of the model uses this target.
The LINDA energy model is a scenario building calculation system for integrating different aspects of future development in one tool. Future scenarios regarding energy use for the economy in different sectors are determined based on inputs including historical economic growth rates, energy use, trends and plans.
The Jamaica LINDA model projects that up to 2030 based on the projected economic growth and existing expansion plans, the amount of installed capacity should be able to adequately supply the demand. By 2030, the maximum electrical power demand should be 1213MW and the installed capacity 1443MW; this leaves an excess capacity of just 230MW.
The generated energy at 2030 would be approximately 880GWh more than the demand. This demonstrates that unless there is very little change in sectoral growth rates, the electrical energy demand would be adequately supplied if there are no major plant failures.
Of note however, by 2030, over 25% of power plant capacity will be renewable energy plants. The intermittency issues can adversely affect the energy available to the consumer. The 20% target of renewable energy in the Jamaican energy mix should be achieved by 2020. The retirement of early wind turbines in 2024 will result in the renewable fraction dropping to 19% (-20MW) but by 2025, the fraction increases to 21% due to the installation of 40MW of wind turbines. The renewable fraction continues to increase up to 2030 due to the increase in hydro and wind energy plants and the retirement of fuel oil and diesel plants.
Editor’s Note: Paper presented at the 46th Annual Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference, Santiago, Cuba, 2016. PAGE
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A Study of Roughening the Surface of Sugar Cane Mill Roll Shells as Practiced in Jamaica Gosset D. Oliver1 & B. Wilson2
1Faculty of Engineering & Computing, University of Technology, Jamaica 2The Sugar Industry Research Institute of Jamaica This study examined the arcing process as practiced in all eight sugar cane mills in Jamaica. The findings show that the process is applied more as an “art”, rather than from a sound technical base. Hence, there exists a wide variation among and within mills of how the process parameters are applied. There was no general standardization of the electrode, Voltage, current, angle, speed, polarity, condition (wet or dry). Mill roll shells are generally purchased without specification of the material composition. Suggestions of best technical practice for the process parameters are made compared to that found to be practiced in the industry.
The process used to extract juice from sugar cane involves squeezing Gosset D. Oliver shredded cane between large rotating rollers. The roll shells are a composite assembly of an annular cast iron shell shrink fitted on to a forged steel shaft. The surface of the cast iron is roughened by an arc hard-facing process known as roll arcing, which produces discrete globules of hard metal on the apex and halfway on the flank of the teeth profile as shown in the exploded view of figure 1. This is done in order to improve the efficiency of juice extraction and maintain throughput by having the surface sufficiently rough to prevent slippage of the shredded cane as it is pulled into the nip region between the counter rotating mill rollers.
The main objective of this study was to bring into focus the best practice for the arcing process in order to increase juice extraction with minimum wear at the lowest cost.
This study has shown that far more needs to be done to enhance the life and efficiency of mill rollers. Specifications and standard practices do not exist to maintain high standards, reduce costs and improve efficiency. Where excessive wear or smooth mill roller surface exist; juice extraction and throughput can be greatly enhanced if the arcing process is standardized. The obvious benefits to be derived from better extraction are improved Factory Recovery Index and lower bagasse moisture with sustainable throughput. The water present in bagasse absorbs sugar, is of no calorific value and utilises heat in being vaporised during combustion.
An improvement in the dryness of bagasse will increase its calorific value and consequently improved boiler efficiency. This will have a positive PAGE
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76 impact on energy costs. Some factories are struggling well below their throughput rating. The grip caused by the roughening will increase throughput. From a manpower’s standpoint, the arcing process to a given standard and analysis needs “welders” that are highly trained, so as to at least understand the effects of the welding parameters on the quality of the area arced. The investigation revealed that the welders used for the arcing process had no formal training in “welding” and lacked the basic educational requirements at the entry level for such training.
Recommendations: Best practice for arcing mill roll shells requires that the Phosphorous level be kept below 0.07% and multiple layers be used in order to obtain the desired result. The standardization of the grey cast iron mill roll shells to the ASTM Type A Size 3 is recommended. Courses designed specifically to train welders for mill arching should be pursued.
Further Work: Because the milling efficiency (juice extraction/bagasse moisture content) isa function of the roughness of the roller shell. The determination of the degree of roughness would be beneficial to the industry. This can be established with equipment already available for this purpose. These will be procured so that measurements will be determined as we continue to evaluate this process.
Editor’s Note: This research was presented at Jamaica Association of Sugar Technologists Conference November 7-8, 2002, Renaissance Jamaica Grande Resort – Ocho Rios, Jamaica. PAGE
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The Comparative Effect of Sugarcane Juice on the Abrasion-Corrosion Behavior of Fe-Cr-B Electric Arc Sprayed and Fe-Cr-C Weld Coatings Vernon Buchanan Faculty of Engineering & Computing Abrasion-corrosion tests were conducted on two commonly Fe-Cr-C shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) hard-facings used in the sugar industry and an arc sprayed Fe-Cr-based coating. The tests were performed on a modified block-on-ring tester with the coatings sliding against compressed sugarcane fiber in the presence of abrasive slurry. The findings showed that, in the presence of sugarcane juice and sand slurry, the SMAW coatings had similar wear performance while the abrasive wear of the arc-sprayed coating was superior to the SMAW coatings. In the presence of a neutral solution, the material loss from the arc-sprayed coating was similar to that obtained in the sugarcane juice while the SMAW coatings showed a marked decrease; Vernon Buchanan this demonstrated that the arc-sprayed coating was more desirable in an abrasive-corrosion environment. The study also showed that the resistance to material does not follow the expected trend, in which wear resistance increases with increasing hardness.
Editor’s Note: This research is published in full in the Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance. 21 (2):231-239, 2012. ISSN: 1059-9495. PAGE
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Using Computer-Based Technology to Help Stroke Victims!
Editor’s Note: Stroke can be a debilitating disease. In this piece of research, UTech ICT Specialist, Associate Professor Felix Akinladejo, integrates computer technology for therapeutic rehabilitation of stroke victims. The article below describes the results of this innovative research.
Technotherapy Induced Gain after a Stroke: A Case Study on Post-Acute Patients Felix Akinladejo Faculty of Engineering & Computing This research presents the outcome of using computer technology for functional gains after a stroke assault. Patients with stroke typically suffer dysfunctions that impair many body complex set of motions one of which is walking. Developing economies are faced with limited amount of therapy and resources offered by their health care systems to provide the frequency and intensity of training needed for functional recovery of the walking skills in patients following stroke assaults.
This research investigated a non-traditional intervention technique using computer technology (called technotherapy) as an alternative method capable of providing the frequency and intensity needed for Felix Akinladejo improving the walking skills in post-acute stroke patients. The research work was able to show the usefulness of computer technology in therapeutic rehabilitation directed towards lower-extremity controls, i.e., functional recovery or improvements of the lower limbs in post- acute stroke patients. The results obtained showed deficiencies in the patients’ cadence and gait speed prior to the Technotherapy intervention and significant improvements towards published normal vales after the intervention, which was physically observed in them walking better.
The study shows some promising results which can contribute to the current effort to provide wider access to therapeutic intervention techniques for post-acute stroke patients. Researchers and professionals in the fields of rehabilitation engineering, physical therapy, physiology, and other fields concerned with the study of human movement, could find the outcome of this work useful in improving their professional practice.
Stroke or Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) has been cited as the third PAGE
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79 leading cause of death in the developed countries (O’Sullivan & Schmitz, 2001), and that in the United States (US), it is recorded as the third leading cause of death, exceeded only by coronary heart disease and cancer. According to O’Sullivan (2001), stroke kills someone every 3 minutes in the US and that about 3 million women and 2.5 million men in that country die yearly from stroke complications.
The Stroke Association, UK reported that in 1995, stroke accounted for almost 60,000 deaths in England and Wales, representing 10% of all deaths - 8 % for males and 13% for females. In Jamaica, about 200 people died of stroke in 2002. Hypertension, a major risk factor for stroke, is present in 3 out of 10 Jamaicans over the age of 30.
Patients who survived stroke assaults often suffer minor to severe impairments, exhibited in form of deficits in motor control resulting in, among others, inability to speak or walk or both. They typically suffer dysfunctions that impair the complex set of motions involved in walking. Walking has been recorded as one of the main problems for stroke patients in the post-acute phase. Impairments in walking, according to Curtis (1998) and Kaye (2000) make it difficult for these individuals to form relationships and carry out economic function, and can result in feelings of isolation due to the constraint of being a full functioning member of the society. It is a worthwhile effort then to pursue any research that can offer solution when walking skill is impaired.
Walking, according to Perry (1992) and O’Sullivan & Schmitz (2001), is a complex set of neurological and mechanical processes that inform postures and movement. Molner (2002) showed that the brain is actively involved in the signals that help with balance, coordination, and orientation necessary for walking.
Recovery from stroke and its attendant incapacitation such as walking is said to be based largely on the capacity of the brain for reorganization and adaptation and that for a meaningful outcome, solution must involve practice which is highly attended, repeated, rewarded, and carried out over time.
This research attempts at offering an alternative intervention technique using computer technology which is capable of providing the frequency, intensity, time, and reward needed to improve the walking skills in patients with stroke assaults, especially those in the post-abuse stage.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in the Journal of Arts, Science & Technology, Volume 4, 2011. PAGE
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Software Developed by UTech for Teaching English Language to Deaf Students Wins International Award!
Editor’s Note: In Jamaica, the hearing impaired communities learn Jamaican Sign Language (JSL) as their first language, which is different form, but is heavily influenced by American Sign Language (ASL). As a result, most learn English as their second language. Research has indicated that, over time, the average hearing impaired student demonstrates an escalating gap in vocabulary growth, complete sentence comprehension and construction, and in concept formation as compared to students with normal hearing. A contributing factor is that hearing impaired students’ prospects for language exposure and experience through listening is limited by their physical constraint. To address the challenge outlined above, a project was developed by a team of UTech researchers (Dr. Paul Golding [Lead Researcher] and Dr. Vanessa Tennant). The objective of this project is two-fold: (1) To create interactive software, with an emphasis on text and video to teach and prepare hearing impaired at the secondary level (high school) for the English Language CSEC. The software will be piloted with students at the Lister Mair-Gilby School who are preparing for CXC English Language. (2) A research component examining both technological and pedagogical issues involving researchers both from the Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies and the Faculty of Engineering and Computing. The project is jointly funded by UTech’s Research Development Fund and the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ). Details about the award this innovative software won are provided in the article below.
U-Touch-2 Receives International Award The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) won an Institutional Award for 2017 for their funding of the U-Touch-2 project from the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP).
ADFIAP is the focal point of all development banks and other financial institutions engaged in the financing of development in the Asia-Pacific region. Its mission is to advance sustainable development through its members. Founded in 1976, ADFIAP has currently 131 member- institutions in 45 countries. The Asian Development Bank is a Special Member of the Association. ADFIAP is also a founding member of the World Federation of Development Financing Institutions composed of regional associations in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. ADFIAP is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in consultative status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council.
The ADFIAP “Outstanding Development Project Awards” recognize and honour member-banks which have undertaken and/or assisted projects that have created a development impact in their respective countries. Awards are given to members, which in the judgment of the ADFIAP Awards Board, have implemented or enhanced outstanding and innovative development projects during the immediate past year. There are nine (9) categories all in all. These are: human resource development, environmental development, SME development, infrastructure development, technology development, trade development, local economic development, development finance – led poverty reduction, and corporate governance.
U-Touch-2 won in Category 5 Technology Development, for the advancement of the technological base, know-how, and innovation in the country. This ground-breaking project encompasses the development and testing of multimedia software using both Jamaican Sign Language (JSL) and Sign English (SE) to teach deaf students the use of prepositions. Deaf persons are among the most PAGE
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marginalized in Jamaica with reports indicating that youth unemployment is approximately 80% and this is due in part to deaf students not understanding English. Administrators and teachers have indicated that a major problem that the community has in acquiring English literacy is the absence of the use of prepositions. U-Touch-2 was developed to address this problem.
In addition to the development and testing of the software the project included upgrading the network infrastructure for Lister Mair Gilby (LMG) School for the Deaf to provide wireless access across the entire campus and the allocation of tablets to all students and academic staff. There is an ongoing impact assessment on the use of ICT at the school and as a consequence of this project The College of Business and Management (COBAM) has matriculated the first profoundly deaf student into the University in 2016. PAGE
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82 Increasing the Accessibility to Big Data Systems Via a Common Services API Rohan Malcolm1, Cherrelle Morrison1, Tyrone Grandison2, Sean Thorpe1, Kimron Christie1, Akim Wallace1, Damian Green1, Julian Jarrett1, Arnett Campbell1
1University of Technology, Jamaica 2Proficiency Labs International, USA
Despite the plethora of polls, surveys, and reports stating that most companies are embracing Big Data, there is slow adoption of Big Data technologies, like Hadoop, in enterprises. One of the primary reasons for this is that companies have significant investments in legacy languages and systems and the process of migrating to newer (Big Data) technologies would represent a substantial commitment of time and money, while threatening their short-term service quality and revenue goals. In this paper, we propose a possible solution that enables existing infrastructure to access Big Data systems via a services application programming interface (API); minimizing the migration drag and (possibly negative) business repercussions. Sean Thorpe Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, and Google have set the standard for the current and emerging era in computing. Their core business is built on collecting, analyzing and monetizing large quantities of data. The magnitude of data and the processing required (within user expectations of response time) precludes the use of traditional data management technologies and has ushered in the age of Big Data.
Midsized and large organizations recognize the benefits of investing in Big Data systems; but have been slow in their adoption due to varying reasons. They range from lack of necessary skills as data scientist to the financial uncertainty on how one qualifies the tradeoffs onthe return on investment (ROI) in the short run as opposed to the log run outlook of a business. Other concerns surround effort, value decay, service degradation and disruption from porting current systems to newer infrastructures and technologies. We purport that the latter rationale can be partially mitigated by technology.
In this paper, we propose a mechanism for methodically converting the current legacy enterprise application stack to one that leverages the latest and greatest Big Data technologies; while lessening the effort required and the possible disruption to the firm’s value proposition and quality of service agreements.
We begin by presenting the fundamentals: What is Big Data? (Section II); and what is a typical Big Data stack and how it works (section III). In PAGE
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83 section IV, we present our proposal and discuss possible use cases (section V). Section VI presents related work, followed by future work (section VII) and conclusion (section VIII).
In the most basic of terms, Big Data refers to the collection, processing and analysis of extremely large data sets usually at scale of petabyte limits and beyond, especially for large scale University laboratory environments like ours. The magnitude and complexity of these data sets are very significant by way of volume that it becomes extremely difficult to process using contemporary database management tools or traditional data processing applications. For Big Data systems, there are normally challenges relating to capture, curation, storage, search transfer analysis and visualization of these data sets.
The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that data volume is growing 40% per year, and will grow 44 times larger between 2009 and 2020. The rise in prominence of Big Data stems from the value that can be extracted – correlations that can spot consumer and or business trends, insight that can be used to help with disease prevention, crime abatement, traffic routing, security breach detection, product enhancement, supply chain optimization, among others.
Formally, there is no official consensus on the scientific definition of Big Data. Gartner, and the rest of the computing industry, formally use the “3Vs” model as the basis for describing Big Data [5]. In 2012, Gartner presented its updated definition, which the industry’s de facto standard and states that “Big Data are high volume, high velocity, and/or high variety information assets that require new forms of processing to enable enhanced decision making, insight discovery and process optimization” [6]. In recent times, the dimensions of value and veracity have been added to the list of important characteristics of Big Data. Thus, the “5Vs” model is currently the acceptable standard for Big Data.
Editor’s Note: This paper was published in full in the Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Big Data (Big Data), 2014. PAGE
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84 Alternative Use of Natural Fibres in Jamaica Nilza Smith1 & Benajmin McCalla2 1University of Technology, Jamaica 2University of Brunel, UK The use of natural fibres has been part of human activities since time immemorial. In recent years, composite materials incorporating plant fibres have been increasingly used in the automotive, petroleum and medical industry. They have been introduced into the market as construction material and as an alternative to plastics and metals. Several reasons have been adduced for the increasing use of plant fibres in composite materials. These include the increasing need for more natural materials as a result of global environmental concerns, the need to reduce the cost of raw materials in the construction industry, and the need for high quality insulation or tensile materials.
Nilza Smith The high industrial cost of production, the need to replace equipment, and the consequent outlay in capital expenditure has led to constant research into alternatives to plastics and metals. This constitutes a new challenge for scientists looking for alternatives to satisfy the economic needs of industries and to reduce industrial pollution levels through the use of natural fibres.
In a survey on the waste produced in the agricultural sector in Jamaica, three natural fibres were selected and characterized. The evaluation of several of their composite properties will enhance their potential for the design of composite materials to be used in the construction industry.
The natural fibres selected were banana (trunk), sugar cane (bagasse), and coconut (husk). Those waste fibres are generated during a primary product service life (disposed of as waste material in most cases, in some cases they constitute a by-product in other sectors, such as in the generation of energy and as organic material.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in the Journal of Arts, Science & Technology, Volume 1, 2004. PAGE
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85 The Use of ICT Multimedia Tools to Enhance Literacy at the Elementary Level Lushane Jones & Sherrene Bogle School of Computing and Information Technology Introduction: The traditional method of teaching is common among educators. Rather than being student-centred, it caters more to the methodology of the teacher, without the context of the subject, leading to a decrease in the mental interest of the students. However, rising trends are more focused on innovative activities and knowledge acquisition. In other words, students need a creative way to acquire knowledge. Traditional teaching methods have limitations as it related to providing practical insight for students. As it pertains to the traditional teaching method, power and responsibility are held by the teacher and they play the role of instructor (in the form of lectures) and decision maker (in regards to curriculum content and specific outcomes). Students are regarded as having ‘knowledge holes’ that need to be filled with information. In short, the traditional teacher view is that the teacher causes learning to occur.
Problem Statement: Since 2013, the E-Learning Jamaica Programme has outfitted over 700 Jamaican primary schools with ICT equipment. This technological support could improve teaching methodologies, especially in numeracy, where urgent support is needed. Despite the advancement of ICT tools as effective strategies for improving student educational output in numeracy, there has been a lack of wide scale implementation of ICT tools in enhancing literacy at the primary level. Low literacy rates among primary school is a cause for concern among educators in Jamaica as literacy plays a vital role in overall educational development which is directly linked to overall growth as a nation. Since the launch of the Tablet in Schools Pilot Programme, the Government of Jamaica has spent $114 million for the provision of electronic content on the tablet computers. Content is available for the subject areas of Mathematics, English Language, and the Sciences from the lower primary to the secondary level.
Purpose of Study: This study will investigate the motivation factors of ICT tools, on young children’s cognitive development and academic performance. It uses a hybrid of two conceptual frameworks to determine learning outcomes and compares the traditional method of teaching to that of an ICT aided method. It also receives feedback from both parents and teachers. Furthermore, this knowledge can be used by key stakeholders that benefit from the early education sector by the integration of websites, games and mobile applications to augment literacy syllabi.
Significance of Study: Although multiple studies have been conducted on theories and models of motivation, little research has been done on applications of those models in different cultures and environments. In the same way, with the rapid development of technology, the methods of communication and speed of communication are rapidly changing.
Research Questions: The following research questions were used to guide the data collection and data analysis: • What is the significant difference in levels of literacy attainment when the traditional teaching method is compared with computer/multimedia assisted learning? • To what extent does interactive gaming impact students’ literacy attainment? • What is the correlation between motivation and exposure to computer/multimedia assisted learning? PAGE
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Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in SCIREA Journal of Education, July 2017 PAGE
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87 ORAL & PUBLIC HEALTH Interlink of Two Syndromes - Demarquay-van der Woude and Popliteal Pterygium in One Family Group. Su Yin Htun1, Kurt, W Büto, Hanlie Engelbrecht & Engela Honey 1College of Oral Health Sciences University of Technology, Jamaica Demarquay-van der Woude (DVWS) and Popliteal Pterygium (PPS) syndromes are distinct autosomal dominant conditions generally presenting with a cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Both syndromes are genetically associated with mutations of the gene coding for Interferon Regulatory Factor 6 (IRF6) and grouped together as the IRF6-Related Disorder.
In addition to a cleft, DVWS characteristically includes generally two labial pits on the lower lip. The pits may be symmetrical or asymmetrical, with saliva draining from them, or may also be abnormally flabby or conical-shaped mucosal elevations without distinct pitting. Su Yin Htun In PPS, the cleft patient commonly presents with an extensive single lower lip pit with salivary drainage, as well as popliteal webs/pterygia of the lower limb/limbs. Additional defects may include intraoral synechial web, syndactyly and genito-urinary malformations.
Methods: One case (infant) with two family members presented with overlapping deformities associated with DVWS, as well as PPS. Sequencing of the IRF6- gene was performed on one of the members. Results: The surgical records of 4182 patients of a major cleft lip and palate clinic recorded 71 (1.70%) patients diagnosed with DVWS, 12 (0.29%) with PPS and one infant (0.02%) as an interlinked DVWS-PPS.
In the family of the baby presented in this paper, all three affected individuals are females and each the third child in the family, who have lip pits typically associated with DVWS that are both bilateral and symmetrical. The grandmother and grandchild, but not the mother, has underdeveloped or minor unilateral popliteal webs. All three have syndactyly of their feet with hypoplastic toenails (involving one to three phalanges) and pyramidal-shaped (or redundant) skin above the hallux nail of the main phalanges.
Conclusion: The infant and two family members are identified as interlinked DVWS-PPS.”
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Medicine and Dental Science, 4 (1). The full article is available at: dx.doi.org/10.4172/2376-032x.1000188. 2016. PAGE
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88 Why Socio-economic Status, Violence and Parenting Play an Important Role in Chronic Disease Epidemiology: A Jamaican Perspective Susan A. Muir College of Health Sciences The paper elucidates how common socio-behavioural factors directly affect chronic disease epidemiology; the purpose of the paper is to describe why socio-economic status (SES), violence and parenting are determinants of non-communicable diseases. As such, the relationship between chronic disease and both individual and neighbourhood socio-economic status is explored, by reviewing pertinent scientific literature. Moreover, there is a clear exposition of how violence and poor parenting independently and collectively adversely affect the growth of chronic diseases, in poor and rich countries alike. Many examples are taken from Jamaican settings.
Susan A. Muir Socioeconomic status (SES) refers to the position of an individual within a hierarchical social structure; it involves a combination of variables, including income, wealth, occupation, education, and place of residence. A challenge in conducting a review is that socioeconomic status is defined differently in various studies; as such, we should use the results about the relationship between SES and health outcomes cautiously. Researchers have studied individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) in predicting health outcomes (Lordan et al, 2012; Bartley 2010; Monsivais, Aggarwal, and Drewnowski, 2010; Bird et al, 2010; Dubowitz et al, 2008; Lagnase et al, 2004).
In Jamaica, like many other countries, there is compelling evidence that indicates that there is a clear demarcation between various socioeconomic groups. For example, distinct privileges are available to children of the higher socioeconomic status (SES), such as safer communities and access to wealth, which leads to a greater probability of experiencing more wholesome life styles than children in the lower socioeconomic bracket (Bartley 2010). There is ample evidence that negative health outcomes are associated with exposure to adverse social conditions. It is noteworthy that the relationship between individual socio-economic status (SES) and psychological well-being has been well documented (Bartley 2010; Lordan et al, 2012).
Childhood socioeconomic status helps predict adult cardiovascular morbidity, cardiovascular mortality, all-cause mortality and mortality due to a range of specific causes (Cohen et al, 2010). For example, there is evidence that lower childhood socioeconomic conditions place individuals at modest risk for adult cardiovascular disease and mortality, independent of adult SES (Politt et al, 2005, cited in Cohen et al, 2010). Research by Drakopoulos et al (2011) indicates that for “each PAGE
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89 additional unit of the childhood deprivation index, the index of the mobility status and physical health status in later adulthood decrease by 0.19 and 0.28, respectively.” In a recent study to analyze the relationship between SES and health in Fiji, the authors concluded that a 1% increase in wealth (measured by principal component analysis of permanent income) leads to a 15% decrease in the probability of an incapacitating illness occurring within the household (Lordan et al, 2012). Cohen et al (2010) hypothesizes that childhood and adolescence SES influences adult health through psychosocial, behavioral and physiological processes. They present a model that addresses how physical exposures due to childhood SES are related to adult physical health outcomes.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in the Journal of Arts, Science and Technology, Volume 5, 2012. PAGE
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90 EDUCATION, HUMANITIES& SOCIAL SCIENCES “Under Examination”: An Analysis of Students’ Writing Errors at UTech, Jamaica and Implications for the Teaching of English Daidrah Smith & Michelle Stewart-McKoy Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies
This research examined errors that students who sit the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja) Proficiency Test in English (PTE) committed in their writing. It comes out of a larger study that investigates students’ overall performance on the PTE, a project driven by the continuous poor performance of students on English Language courses. The study used a corpus of 86 essays chosen using the random stratified sampling method. The corpus was analyzed within an Error Analysis (EA) framework using an EA taxonomy, which allowed us to identify errors and classify them into four large groups – lexical, grammatical, discourse, and ambiguous. The results of the study showed that the majority of errors committed by students Daidrah Smith belonged to the grammatical category (55.1%), followed by those in the lexical category (31.8%). Ambiguous errors contributed 8.2% of the total, while the remaining 4.9% were discourse errors.
The most common grammatical errors belong to the singular/plural, clausal, verb tense, subject/verb agreement, run-on and pronoun sub-categories. In terms of lexical errors, distortions (spelling errors) constitute the largest sub-category. Other frequently occurring lexical errors belong to the collocation, confusion of sense relations and the malapropism sub-categories. These results shed light on the specific language areas that posed the most challenge to students. This has implications for creating effective curricula to address these areas, Michelle Stewart-McKoy and also reinforced the need to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) throughout the education system, as the errors committed by these students were consistent with those committed by other second language learners of English across the globe
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the Journal of Arts, Science and Technology, Vol. 10, 2017. PAGE
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Investigating the Transferability of English Language Skills from the Secondary to the Tertiary Level Clover Jones-McKenzie & Judith Orogun Faculty of Education & Liberal Studies This study was inspired by an observation that approximately 60 percent of first year students attending the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica), demonstrated low levels of proficiency in the use of Standard Jamaican English. The researchers attempted to discover possible reasons why these secondary school graduates who were able to matriculate to a tertiary institution were performing so poorly in English Language. Teachers operating at selected secondary schools and 480 UTech, Jamaica students were the participants in this investigation, which aimed to capture the nature of some of the students’ experiences in learning English Language within the secondary system. Data were collected via structured and semi- Clover Jones-McKenzie structured interviews, direct observation of classes and document analysis. The findings suggest that factors related to students, teachers, the school, and the wider environment mitigate against the development of effective English Language skills for efficient performance at the tertiary level. Recommendations were made for ameliorating the problem by interventions at both the secondary and tertiary levels of the education system.
Editor’s Note: The research which was conducted between 2009 and 2010 received much media attention with an article written in the Jamaica Gleaner in December 2010 highlighting the current issues with English language proficiency among students within the context of the study. Dr Jones McKenzie and co-researcher, Dr Judith Orugun were also interviewed about their research on the program “Independent Talk” with host Ronnie Thwaites on Power 106 Radio Station, and the program “Beyond the Headlines,” on Radio Jamaica, with Dionne Jackson Miller, in that same month. PAGE
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92 Education, Economic Growth and Economic Development in Post-Independence Jamaica Anetheo Jackson Faculty of the Built Environment The relationship between education and economic development is believed to be significant and positive. This suggests that one potent strategy for economic development is to pursue educational development. In the case of Jamaica, annually, a relatively sizable proportion of gross domestic product is reinvested in educational development but the returns in output growth remain, as measured by GDP growth, is modest.
In this study the relationship between education, economic growth and economic development in Jamaica is explored since Independence in 1962. A mixed method was used in the study. Anetheo Jackson Qualitative data on education sector plans, programmes, policies and reports were reviewed in conjunction with economic development plans. In addition to this, quantitative data on select indicators of education and economic growth were used.
The findings suggest that whereas economic growth has produced developments in education, educational development has not resulted in sustained economic growth which is essential for economic development. The data was presented using graphs and tables to allow the researcher to identify trends and patterns in the variables employed in the study. Also, a timeline of educational development was traced and considered against the background of output and productivity growths over the decades. These findings prompt to further questions on the quality and type of developments that have taken place in the education system and the level of complementarity between the economic and social development goals in post-independence Jamaica.
Access to education is generally considered to be critical indicator of economic development (Todaro & Smith 2009). As such, one can deduce that policies that promote educational development invariably promote economic growth and economic development. Todaro & Smith (2009) presents various perspectives on economic development. However, for the purpose of this study development refers to stable economic growth resulting in improved living standards which includes higher incomes and access to social services such as better education.
With regards to educational development it involves the development of a system, whereby the talents and skills of the individuals within PAGE
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93 a country are enabled to make maximum contribution to the country’s economic progress. The main objective of this paper is to explore the relationship, if any, that exists between education, economic growth and economic development in post-independence Jamaica. To this end, the general relationship is explored and an overview of education and the education system in Jamaica was undertaken to identify the structure of the education system and to draw inferences on its role in economic growth. In addition to this, the country’s economic performance over the study period was considered.
A mixed method approach was taken in this study. Education sector plans, programmes and reports as well as economic development plans and reports were collated and reviewed. Quantitative data on indicators of educational and economic growth were also used. Emphasis was placed on the secondary and tertiary levels of the education system as one of the main aims at these levels is to provide the type and quality of labour to support production. The findings from the qualitative review and the quantitative data were then analyzed to identify trends in growth and any discernible pattern of relationship between the variables over the study period.
The study reveals that while access to education is essential for improvement in the nation’s human capital investment, educational development is not sufficient to realize the sustained economic growth that is required for economic development.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in the Journal of Arts, Science, and Technology (JAST), Vol.8, 2015. PAGE
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94 Toward Capacity Building for a Sustainable Energy Sector in the Caribbean: Training Needs of Students at the University of Technology, Jamaica Margarene Spence1, Paul Ivey2, Ruth Potopsingh1 1Caribbean Sustainable Energy & Innovation Institute 2School of Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship University of Technology, Jamaica Dependence on imported petroleum to meet their energy needs makes it imperative that Jamaica and other countries in the Caribbean region diversify their energy mix with renewable sources such as solar, wind, biomass, hydro, and geothermal. Having the right mix of relevant skills available among personnel working in the energy sector is a key requirement in achieving this objective.
Margarene Spence This paper reports the results of a needs analysis survey conducted using a mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) approach among final year students at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja.) to ascertain their knowledge of energy innovation, entrepreneurship, and related thematic areas. The respondents reported high levels of unawareness of most of the key energy innovation, entrepreneurship, and related thematic areas, such as knowledge and technology transfer; intellectual property (IP) rights; IP evaluation (evaluating research results for innovation value); IP commercialization; IP and business strategy; research and development contracts; innovation management; and use of patent databases. These results provide a strong evidentiary basis for targetted curricula and other interventions to address the identified knowledge gaps, so that graduates of the University will Paul Ivey have the capacity for effective knowledge transfer and the capability to develop and apply innovative solutions and modern technologies to diversify the energy mix of Jamaica and other Caribbean countries.
Ruth Potopsingh
Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in the Journal of Arts Science & Technology. Volume 8, 98:112, 2015. PAGE
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95 Fear and Enmity: The Case of Post 9/11 America Rosemary Ann Frey Faculty of Education & Liberal Studies Drawing on psychoanalytic, political and social psychological approaches, this paper sets out to explore the psychology of enmity and fear and the complex interaction between them. This work is divided into three sections: Part 1 will explore the effect of fear on an individual and his/her predisposition toward enmity. Part 2 will focus on the group dynamics of fear and enmity and their role in the creation of the enemy; and Part 3 concludes by examining how the manipulation of these complex forces may shape the future of the USA and the world at large.
Armed peace, as it now exists in all countries, is the absence of peace of mind. One trusts neither oneself nor one’s neighbor, and half from hatred, half from fear, does not lay down arms. Rather perish than hate and fear, and twice rather perish than make oneself hated and feared – this must someday be the highest maxim for every single commonwealth too.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
The 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks in the USA calls to mind the power of fear and enmity, not only by the acts of 19 men who took the lives of 3000 others for what they believed was a just cause, but in their effect on the mindset of a nation and its consequences. The events of that day blew away not only lives and buildings, but the myth that technology and power provided security. In their stead grew a rising sense of anxiety and fear of the unknown, a fear which has translated into paranoia - paranoia with far-reaching consequences.
In order to understand this paranoia and its consequences, one must begin to unravel the psychology behind it. We begin first with the psychology of enmity. The importance of the study of enmity lies in the belief that “arms don’t kill people, heads kill people” (Robinson, 1980). In other words, before the first shot is fired, we first ‘think’ others to death. Thus, as the UNESCO Charter (1945) states: “Since war begins in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that we have to erect the ramparts of peace.”
The enmity felt towards others can have its source in our deepest fears (see Keen, 1986; Huddy, 2004). It follows therefore that in order to realize the goal of peace, a systematic understanding of the psychology of enmity and the fear which underlies it, is first required. Recognising that the behaviour in individuals and groups is always multifactorial, this paper is not meant to offer one explanation for complex social outcomes, but rather to explore some of the factors involved. It is written in the hope that we can become more aware of the psychological forces at work in our hates and fears.
As Keen (1986) writes: “It is unlikely that we will have considerable success in controlling warfare unless we come to understand the logic of political paranoia and the process of creating propaganda that justifies our hostility” (p. 11). Drawing on psychoanalytic, political and social psychological approaches, the aim was to explore the psychology of enmity and fear and the complex interaction between them. This paper is divided into three sections: Part 1 explores the effect of fear on an individual and his/her predisposition toward enmity. Part 2 focuses on the group dynamics of fear and enmity and their role in the creation of the enemy; Part 3 concludes by examining how the manipulation of these complex forces may shape the future. PAGE
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Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in the Journal of Arts Science & Technology. Vol. 3, 2006 PAGE
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97 Humanizing the Technological Curriculum: Overcoming Internal Colonisation Sheila Coulson and Mairette Newman Faculty of Education & Liberal Studies
The importance of the humanities has been well documented; however, in today’s technologically-driven society its relevance is increasingly being questioned. This paper focuses on the role of the humanities in education as an integral part of the curriculum at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica). It suggests that educating a whole human being depends on integrating the humanities across the curriculum rather than simply adding it on to the curriculum. The authors argue that although UTech, Jamaica has recognized the need for the Humanities and has responded by expanding its curriculum to include liberal studies courses, there still exist structures and practices that result in internal colonization. The paper closes by recommending Sheila Coulson ways in which UTech, Jamaica can move towards a more meaningfully integrated curriculum, thus decolonizing the Humanities.
A fundamental feature of the University of Technology, Jamaica’s Strategic Plan 2000-2004 is a commitment to “fostering a culture that provides for the intellectual, moral, ethical and emotional needs of our students” (p.11). It also highlights the importance of “developing and sustaining the interconnectedness between technology and culture” (p.12). Guided by this philosophy, the Department of Liberal Studies (DOLS), the unit responsible for the design and delivery of Humanities courses, set out to “enable graduates to better apply their technical expertise, and to understand themselves, their environment and their society” (DOLS Mission Statement). Inherent in these statements is a commitment to humanizing the technological curriculum. However, UTech, Jamaica, and specifically DOLS, cannot be said to have adequately fulfilled this goal.
Drawing on the theory of internal colonization to analyze the challenges associated with humanizing a technological curriculum, this paper argues that decolonization is one means of repositioning DOLS in order to produce a technically competent and humane graduate.
The first part of the paper begins by providing a brief overview of the literature that supports Humanities education. It then describes in the second part how the Humanities are understood and positioned at UTech, Jamaica. The third part of the paper focuses on the constructs underlying internal colonization to explain why DOLS has met with only moderate success. The paper concludes by positing decolonization as a powerful concept for understanding how to overcome political, structural and practical constraints that are impacting on the process of humanizing the curriculum at UTech, Jamaica. PAGE
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Editor’s Note: This paper was first presented at the 1st Annual Symposium of the Department of Liberal Studies, University of Technology, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica, April 18, 2005, and later published in full in the Journal of Arts Science & Technology, Vol. 3, 2006. PAGE
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Teaching a First-level Programming Course: Strategies for Improving Students’ Performance Sophia McNamarah & Richard Pryce School of Computing and Information Technology
The School of Technical and Vocational Education at the University of Technology, Jamaica, offers a programme in Computing with Accounting. Graduates should be able to teach Accounting and Computing at the CXC, CAPE, GCE O’ Level and A’ Levels. The programme has several Computing courses, Accounting courses, Educational Theory, Mathematics and General Education courses.
The Computing courses in the programme are taught by lecturers from the School of Computing and Information Technology (SCIT), and the Accounting and Education courses are taught by lecturers from the School of Technical and Vocational Education (SOTAVE).
For many years the students of the programme have performed poorly in the course Programming Using C. An analysis of the pass rate shows a low percentage of passes each year, usually below 50 per cent. The School has recognized that there are problems with this area. Initiatives to address the problem include:
• providing more lab time for students. In the early days students were not allocated lab time but were expected to use the lab on their own initiative as the course required. At present each student is allocated three hours of lab each week.
• lecturers supervising the labs. Labs were at first monitored by technicians. All labs for this course are now supervised for one hour by a lecturer.
• changing the lecturer. The groups have been taught by different lecturers from the SCIT.
• Pooling the lecture group for standardized delivery. Initially this group had separate lectures. Recently they were pooled with the other Computing students, in an effort to standardize the lectures and to have more student-to-students interaction.
Although we have made these changes the performance level of the students on the course has not really improved. If these student teachers are to teach Programming well in the high schools then they must have a good appreciation of the content area. They should have a good programming experience and want to pass on their knowledge to their students.
In an effort to further assess the factors contributing to the students’ performance anaction research team was formed. The team took on the mandate of gathering information from the course participants and implementing changes to address relevant areas. What follows is a report of the team’s activities and the students’ responses.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in the Journal of Arts, Science and Technology, Volume 1, 2004. PAGE
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Activating Faculty Interest in Online Teaching: A Jamaican Perspective
Christine Fray-Aiken and Ellen Campbell-Grizzle College of Health Science The adoption of distance learning modalities has been a challenging and a markedly incremental process within the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica). In furtherance of this goal, the university adopted the use of Distance Learning Liaisons in each faculty/college as change agents to spur the process. Distance learning at UTech, Jamaica is centrally coordinated through the Office of Distance Learning (ODL). UTech, Jamaica consists of five faculties and three colleges.
In 2010, Distance Learning (DL) Liaison Officers were appointed in each faculty/college by their respective Deans. Persons were chosen from those who had embraced distance learning and were considered ‘distance learning champions’ within their respective faculties/colleges. These officers were given the responsibility of bridging the gap between their respective faculties/colleges, the ODL and any other distance learning-related activity. In the College of Health Sciences (COHS), the key issues that were encountered by the COHS Liaison Officer during a three-year process were levels of staff interest in developing modules online, concerns about intellectual property, and technical and attitudinal challenges encountered in establishing one blended online degree.
Across the university, DL Liaison Officers were met with fierce resistance in the initial two years. Over time, there was improvement to varying degrees throughout the university. In aiding the process, strategies and support structures were developed and implemented to encourage staff involvement in online/blended modalities, thereby improving the capacity of the COHS to operate and compete in a globalised tertiary environment and enhancing its prospects for improved financial returns. UTech, Jamaica determined that online/blended modalities were the most feasible way to expand the reach of the University and expand its student numbers.
The physical space of the university’s campus is constrained and recruiting students for face-to- face instruction therefore had limitations. Failure to build a culture accepting of online/blended modalities would stymie the university’s plans for expansion with profitability.
This paper describes the experience of the DL Liaison Officer for the College of Health Sciences at UTech, Jamaica. It gives an account of some of the challenges of implementing online learning and the lessons learnt, in the context of a developing country. More importantly, it describes strategies developed and piloted over a three-year period (2010-2013) that led to modest achievements. The findings should be instructive for emerging universities in small developing states.
Editor’s Note: This research was published in ISEA • Volume 43, Number 3, 2015 PAGE
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Not Many Persons know that Marcus Mosiah Garvey was an Adult Educator!
Editor’s Note: A little-known or recognized aspect of the legacy Garvey bequeathed to the world is that, in implementing his vision, he expertly used adult education (andragogical) strategies. In this paper, which was published in full in the Journal of Arts, Science and Technology (Volume 7, 2014), UTech’s Associate Professor Paul Ivey uses historical analysis and evaluation to situate Garvey’s legacy within an adult education framework.
Illuminating the Andragogical Dimensions of the Legacy of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jamaica’s First National Hero Paul W. Ivey School of Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship (SGSRE) University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jamaica’s first national hero, has earned international acclaim as a world-class philosopher and symbol of self- empowerment for formerly enslaved persons of African descent and Africans everywhere in the Diaspora.
However, a little-known or recognized facet of the colossal intellectual legacy Garvey bequeathed to the world is that, in implementing his vision, he expertly deployed andragogical strategies. In this paper, historical analysis and evaluation are used to situate Garvey’s legacy within an andragogical framework and illuminate it from a similar perspective. Paul W. Ivey But, to facilitate a better understanding of what stirred Garvey into action, this paper starts by briefly recounting aspects of chattel slavery and the realities of early post-emancipation Jamaica. Illustrative narrative examples are used herein to show that, in implementing his vision of self-empowerment, Garvey’s strategies and methods are rooted in the andragogical model of learning, which refers to the art of helping adults learn. This paper also posits Garvey’s direct involvement in politics as the zenith of his effective andragogy, aimed at ensuring the sustainability of his efforts. It is concluded that ‘Garvey’s Andragogy’ represents a template that may be adopted or adapted by an individual, a community or a nation aiming for transformation and empowerment. Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jamaica’s first national hero, was born on August 17, 1887, 53 years after the abolition of chattel slavery in Jamaica. He has earned international acclaim as a world-class philosopher and symbol of self-empowerment for formerly enslaved persons of PAGE
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African descent, as well as Africans everywhere in the Diaspora. In 2003, Ian Adams, honorary fellow of the University of Durham, and his co-author R. W. Dyson, director of the Centre for the History of Political Thought, jointly published 50 Major Political Thinkers. This publication listed Garvey among giant thinkers and well-known philosophers over a 2,000-year period, beginning with Plato, Aristotle, and including others such as St. Thomas Aquinas, Nicholas Machiavelli, and Karl Marx. But, what is not widely-known or recognized are the andragogical dimensions of the colossal intellectual legacy Garvey bequeathed to the world.
To better understand the contextual background against which Garvey emerged and was stirred into action, a brief recounting of aspects of the institution of chattel slavery and its aftermath in early post-emancipation Jamaican society is necessary. This author thinks this ‘point of departure’ effectively reveals the depth of Garvey’s genius showing as it does his intuitive recognition that tourniquets needed to be applied to the abused psyche of his people, to arrest the hemorrhaging of their self-esteem inflicted by the indignities of slavery and its aftermath.
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103 Classroom Assessment Practices of Teachers in Selected Schools in Jamaica Cynthia Onyefulu Faculty of Education & Liberal Studies The purpose of this study was to investigate the classroom assessment practices of teachers in primary and high schools across the six Ministry of Education regions.
A total of 108 (male = 30; female = 78) teachers in both primary schools and secondary high schools in Jamaica volunteered to participate in the study. A cross-sectional survey research design was used to answer the three research questions.
Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire which had 34 close-ended items on test preparation, tips, administration, scoring, Cynthia Onyefulu feedback, item analysis, and test statistics. The calculated coefficient of reliability for the questionnaire was 0.805. Content validity was achieved by ensuring that the items in the questionnaires were related to the research questions; and by seeking expert feedback on the nature and quality of the items.
Data were analyzed by using Independent Samples t-test, at the significance level of 0.05.
The results of the independent t-test did not show any difference between (a) assessment practices of male and female teachers (t= -.423, df = 92, p =.673); (b) on types of assessment methods used by less experienced and more experienced teachers (t= .629, df = 90, & p= .571); and (c) teachers who have teaching diploma and degree with regard to test/exam preparation (t= .415, df = 91, p=.679). The findings also showed that less than eight percent of the teachers agreed that they “Almost Always” used table of specifications for test/exam preparation; multiple choice items and short answer items were mostly used by the teachers surveyed; and the most popular assessment methods used were closed book test (70.4%), and portfolio assessment (44.4%).
Based on the findings, recommendations were made on how teachers could improve their assessment practices (1) by using table of specifications for preparing their assessments, (2) by using a variety of assessment methods to meet the learning and assessment needs of their students, and (3) by ensuring that assessments principles were maintained.
Editor’s Note: This research was presented at the Business, Hospitality and Tourism Management Conference in Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa, Montego Bay, Jamaica, October 2012. PAGE
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104 A New Philosophical Perspective on all of Reality Martin J. Schade Faculty of Education & Liberal Studies Western dualism is an illusion. Reality is a dialectical unity of incarnate love. Incarnation is a “legitimate pantheism” with similarities to the Aum, the Tao, Rastafari and the “New Physics.” It offers an understanding of the Self with ethical and cultural applications. Dr. Martin J. Schade’s recent book, Incarnation: The Harmony of One Love in the Totality of Reality is clearly an innovation that could have an impact in the world because it offers a new philosophical perspective on all of reality. Reviews indicate its innovation and possible impact.
“In this wide-ranging and fascinating essay in philosophical theology, Dr. Martin Schade proposes a new metaphysical/theological view that he names ‘Dialectical Incarnation.’ More than a metaphysical theory, dialectical incarnation is also a philosophical anthropology, a meta-ethics, and a normative ethics of love. The great strength of Schade’s view is its panoptic scope and the measure of Schade’s philosophical talent.” - Professor Robert “Rex” Welshon, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
“This is a book that will challenge many scholars and established orthodoxies within the various related disciplines in its unique way of showing how it is possible to see the unity of all facets of reality. This rather engaging peculiarity uses the traditions of theological scholars enmeshed within the ambits of philosophy to argue the novel thesis that the totality of reality is suffused with an incarnate beingness.” - Professor John Ayotunde (Tunde) Isola Bewaji, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica
“The book is well organized and the thesis carefully and subtly argued. The ease with which Schade expresses the ideas is a reflection of his good grounding in both philosophical scholarship and intellectual tradition. Schade transcends the narrow conception of incarnation and argues for a broad conception that is all-inclusive. Schade’s book is rewarding and refreshingly novel.”- Professor Frederick Ochieng’-Odhiambo, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados
“Dr. Schade has taken the less-travelled road of using post-Hegelian thought to illuminate the traditional doctrine of God incarnate. Readers will find him a deeply thoughtful--at times even thrillingly adventurous—guide.”- Ronald K. Tacelli, SJ, Boston College
“Incarnation reveals a new dialectical relationship between human beings and God, God needs humans to be God; humans need God to be human.” - Dr. Lawrence Bamikole, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
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MARINE BIOLOGY Are Dolphins Fish Thieves? Investigating the Impact of Dolphins on Fishing in Jamaica Christine O’Sullivan Faculty of Science & Sport Depredation from artisanal Antillean fish traps by dolphins has been reported by fishers in Jamaica since at least 2000 with only one study, largely based on questionnaires, conducted to examine the issue.
Dolphins have been reported to interfere with fishing by either tearing fishing nets or overturning fish traps, causing fish to escape. Inan attempt to document depredation by dolphins, and thus be able to recommend remedial actions, a research project was developed by UTech’s Faculty of Science and Sport, in collaboration with the University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom.
Christine O’Sullivan The researchers are Ms. Christine O’Sullivan (Lead Researcher), Dr. Debbie-Ann Gordon-Smith, and Dr. Ricardo Antunes (St. Andrews University). The research proposal was funded by the University’s Research Development Fund, with co-funding from the Society for Marine Mammalogy.
Two field seasons were conducted in Jamaica with data collection in Montego Bay, St. James, and Bluefields, Westmoreland in May 2015 and Bluefields, Westmoreland, in December 2015. During the field seasons, high definition video cameras were deployed daily adjacent to fish traps to record any potential depredation. Video was recorded at 30 frames per second, with either 1920x720 or 1920x1080 pixel resolution on a 128 Gb card for a period of 24 hours.
In addition to the deployment of the video cameras, photo-identification surveys were conducted for the establishment of Jamaica’s first dolphin photo-identification catalogue.
During the first season of field research, no depredation events were recorded in Montego Bay; however, nine separate depredation events by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were recorded in Bluefields. An additional two depredation events were recorded during the second season of field research.
The depredation events showed single dolphins either turning fish traps into an upright position and extracting and eating the fish caught or attempting to extract fish from traps that had already been turned. The photo-identification surveys allowed for the addition of PAGE
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106 four dolphins to Jamaica’s photo-identification catalogue. In terms of dissemination to the wider scientific community, the were presented, as a poster, at the Network of Aquatic Marine Mammal Specialists of Central America and the Caribbean’s workshop at the 21st Biennial Marine Mammal Conference in San Francisco, California.
The results were also presented at the 4th Faculty of Science & Sport Scientific Conference. In addition, a manuscript on the results of the project is currently being prepared, and the research team is currently seeking funding for the mitigation phase of the project. PAGE
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Submarine Groundwater Discharge and Associated Nutrient Fluxes to Discovery Bay, Jamaica Debbie-Ann Gordon-Smith Faculty of Science & Sport Recent studies have suggested that submarine groundwater discharge can be a significant source of terrestrially-derived nutrients to coastal waters as groundwater fluxes may be comparable to surface fluxes, especially where river flow is small or non-existent, and more attention is now being paid to the contribution of groundwater discharge to biogeochemical processes within the coastal zone. Due to the high temporal and spatial variability of groundwater discharge, quantification may be difficult and various methods have been used to estimate fluxes.
The submarine groundwater discharge and associated nutrient fluxes to Discovery Bay, a small tropical embayment on the island of Jamaica, were investigated. Fluxes via submarine springs and seepage through bottom sediments were determined from direct flow measurements and chemical analysis of groundwater and coastal waters. The total groundwater discharge into the bay ranged from 13 to 67 x 103 m3 d-1.
Discharge from submarine springs accounted for 70% of the total discharge during dry periods and was not affected by seasonal (rainfall-related) changes. After periods of heavy rainfall, seepage rates increased ten-fold and accounted for about 80% of the total discharge. Subterranean mixing of freshwater and marine water resulted in brackish (salinity ≥ 11) spring and seepage water.
The nitrogen and phosphorus originating in the groundwater diluted conservatively within the bay and the average groundwater nutrient concentrations, predicted from dilution curves, were 97(±39) μM N and 0.76(±0.55) μM P. The highest nutrient fluxes to the bay (1200 mol N d-1 and 29 mol P d-1) occurred following heavy rainfall in the watershed.
An extension of the study utilizing the naturally-occurring tracers Rn and Ra, to verify the groundwater discharge estimates, and the results of preliminary 222Rn surveys within the bay are also discussed
Editor’s Note: This research was presented at the American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting, 2013 PAGE
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108 PUBLICATION OF UTECH, JAMAICA RESEARCH OR SCHOLARLY WORK IN THE POPULAR PRESS 2000 Persons Get Access to Potable Water!
Editor’s Note: A team of researchers from UTech’s Energy Unit in the Faculty of Engineering & Computing researched, designed, installed, tested, and commissioned a solar water pumping system that benefitted an entire rural community! The project was featured in this Gleaner story. This is an example of research having a positive impact of peoples’ quality of life.
Caribbean’s First Solar Water Pumping System Brings Water To St Mary Residents Published: Gleaner, Tuesday | July 12, 2011 “Farmers and residents of the Carron Hall Community in St Mary, who have lived without potable water, are now receiving the commodity as a result of the Caribbean’s first solar water pumping system. Agriculture minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for West St Mary, Robert Montague, handed over the solar water pumping system on Friday.
The system, which is valued at $3 million, consists of a submerged solar pumping station. It is also being stored at the Carron Hall Primary School for distribution. The University of Technology’s energy unit designed, installed, tested and commissioned the pumping station. It is capable of delivering some 6,000 gallons of water, operating for six hours per day.
In addition, the system reputed will make 3,000 gallons of water available to residents of the community. The project is a joint venture among the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ); Minister Robert Montague; St Mary Charities; the University of Technology’s Energy Unit, Faculty of Engineering and Computing; the National Water Commission, Port Maria branch; the St. Mary Parish Council; and the Social Development Commission (SDC).
Carron Hall, a rural district, in Western St. Mary has a population of approximately 2,000 residents, who have been receiving water from a spring approximately 160 feet below the road surface.”
Editor’s Note: In November 2011, a project proposal submitted by UTech, Jamaica as the Project Leader to the European Union/ ACP Secretariat was approved for funding in the amount of €421, 000, representing 85% of the full project cost of €495, 000. The project titled “The Application of Solar-Powered Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Electrolysers for the Sustainable Production of Hydrogen Gas as Fuel for Domestic Cooking” had the ambitious goals of “bottling hydrogen gas as fuel for cooking”! Project partners included: Brunel University (United Kingdom); The University of the West Indies, Bureau of Standards, Jamaica; and the then Ministry of Energy & Mining. The project was officially launched in October 2012, and was featured in The Sunday Gleaner story below. Having regard to Jamaica’s energy problem, this is a project that has tremendous relevance. The project has since been successfully completed. PAGE
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The Faculty of Engineering & Computing wishes to congratulate Dr. Noel Brown, Dr. Michael Case, Dr. Earle Wilson and Mr. Noel Sinclair, on the design, installation and successful commissioning of a Solar- Powered Water Pumping System project for the community of Carron Hall in St. Mary. The design is the only of its kind in Jamaica and possibly the Caribbean that uses a submersible pump without the need for a battery storage system. This engineering solution now brings potable drinking water to a community that was without running water. The community is understandably extremely happy and expressed their joy in tributes and songs at the handing over ceremony last Thursday, July 7th at the Carron Hall Primary School. PAGE
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110 New Project Bottles Hydrogen As Cooking Gas Steven Jackson, Gleaner Writer October 21, 2012 The University of Technology Jamaica (UTech) is leading an ambitious project that harnesses energy from water and sunlight to slash the US$30-million (J$2.7b) import bill for cooking gas. It’s the largest project of its kind in Jamaica worth €495,000 (J$58.4 m) - mostly funded by the European Union (EU).
“This is the first of its nature in Jamaica,” said energy minister Philip Paulwell who addressed experts at the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston yesterday at the project launch. “We can see immediately that it could contribute to significantly reducing the import bill.”
The project unofficially started in August but had its official launch on Thursday.
The aim is to substitute traditional gas with hydrogen in homes. Essentially, a solar powered device will separate hydrogen from water. The separated gas would be stored and bottled in cylinders for sale to consumers. The technical process - which also reflects the project title - involves “the application of solar-powered polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysers for the sustainable production of hydrogen gas as fuel for domestic cooking”.
Currently four-fifths of Jamaican households utilise liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking, according to the Population and Housing Census 2011 published by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica this week.
The hydrogen project team comprises engineers and scientists from UTech; Brunel University in UK; University of West Indies; Bureau of Standards Jamaica; and the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining.
The project which will run for three years aims to carry the science to commercial viability. The lead investigator, Dr Earle Wilson, also attached to the Faculty of Engineering and Computing, UTech, told Sunday Gleaner that it was too early to estimate the cost savings to consumers.
Currently, the primary focus is on safety, he said. As such, the team will add colour and odour to the invisible hydrogen flame; devise a gas flame blow-back prevention to counter leakage; and produce a modern gas-storage devise.
After his presentation he told Sunday Gleaner that at worst, the planned storage device would not explode but rather shred like a tyre.
Some 85 per cent of the project will be financed by the European Union (EU) grant.
“There are some areas which need to be perfected like reducing the energy cost of splitting the atoms in the water to produce the hydrogen, hence the use of optimised solar panels,” stated Ruth Potopsingh, project manager, also attached to the School of Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship at UTech. PAGE
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The project brief indicates that hydrogen would be produced without creating harmful carbon dioxide which usually emanates utilising the most common method - steam reforming natural gas.
“The research initiative has strong potential for commercialisation of the results. As a key strategy for reducing unemployment and stimulating economic growth,” she concluded. PAGE
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Research-Based Design: The Story of the Multi-Purpose Bed
Editor’s Note: Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies Lecturer, Mr. Dean Reid guided his students on an innovative project which entailed designing a two-in-one multi-purpose student bed. The project was conceptualized by a group of Industrial Technology students in fulfillment of the requirements for their science and technology seminars. Because of the potential positive impacts of this project – quality of life and commercial - it was featured in an article in the Jamaica Observer Newspaper, which is reproduced below.
A Break for University Students By Ingrid Brown, Associate Editor - Special Assignment Jamaica Observer, Saturday, March 07, 2015
Dean Reid (left), UTech Lecturer in the Industrial Technology Department, and his students (from second left) Jevonne Simpson, Marlo McIntosh, Montel Thaxter, Starate Cameron, and Kevin Beckford.
A lecturer and his students at the University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica in St Andrew believe they have found the perfect solution to address crammed living spaces in the university community through the invention of a multi-purpose bed which also doubles as a table and display area.
The team is currently looking at ways to add a chest of drawers to the design which would see students not requiring to have anything else in their dorms or small rented rooms. Dean Reid, lecturer in the Industrial Technology Department, said the invention has great commercial potential.
“We believe we have created the solution that can help boarders -- and this is an idea that can be published all over in every university environment -- and so it has great commercial potential,” Reid said as he gave the Jamaica Observer a preview of the item which will be on display at the university’s Research and Technology Day. According to Reid, the idea for the multi-purpose bed was conceptualised by the students in their science and technology seminars which required them to come up with solutions for problems existing in the society.
He noted that while he gave them basic guidance, they were the ones who did most of the work. “They went out and looked in the university community in Papine and its environs where several persons have boarding accommodations which are not very large. Most of them are themselves part of some boarding accommodation one way or the other, so they looked at the situations that exist and they decided they would come up with a solution, and that’s how the idea of the multi-purpose bed was born,” Reid told a special sitting of the Observer Press Club at UTech last Wednesday.
He explained that the project also included a research component as this was what informed the design.
“We looked into the university (UTech) dormitory. We looked into all the communities around Papine and we had samples of houses that were selected and we went and looked at the amount PAGE
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113 of space that was allocated. What we found was that in these places you have two and three students in one room with limited amount of space and a lot of stuff to fit into this space,” he said. He further explained that their research also revealed that a lot of students were forced to study lying on their bed as there was not enough space to accommodate a desk or table in the room. This, according to their findings, often resulted in students falling asleep without getting much studies done.
Reid said the idea does have some similarity to that of a Murphy bed or folding beds as they are commonly called. But outside of the ability to fold away when not in use, Reid said that is as far as the similarity goes.
Student Starate Cameron, in demonstrating how the bed works, said like a lot of other students he found himself living with three people in a room when he left his Westmoreland home to pursue studies in Kingston.
“There is no space there for tables, and the limited amount of time we have sitting on the bed to study we fall asleep. So we came up with this idea, where we can have the same three beds in the room, but with space to study and do other things,” he said.
Cameron explained that the bed is built into a housing which is pulled out at nights and put away when not in use. A table, which can seat up to three people, is concealed in another part of the housing and this folds out when the bed is not in use.
The top of the housing can be used as a television stand or a bookshelf, while clothes can be hung on the sides of the housing. According to Reid, their checks have revealed that the multi-purpose bed would cost students at least 30 per cent less than what they would spend acquiring the items individually.
“We looked at what it would cost for the persons who are renting to have beds and tables and what our one project could bring to that confined space and the cost at which we could bring in our project,” he said, adding, landlords could make the rent a bit cheaper because it would not so expensive to furnish the room.
Currently, Reid said, they are still toying with the idea of the type of material that might be best suited and think they might be settling on aluminium.
“We are thinking that other material types (other than wood) could be used in order to make the project lightweight so that females would not have any problems lifting it in place, and we are also looking at the durability of the material to ensure longevity,” he explained.
In creating the prototype, Reid said they also ensured that the structure will be very safe. He said it is a research project that is continuing and so they are always looking to see how else it can be improved. He explained that they are currently in the process of creating an animation for unveiling at the university’s Research and Technology Day. PAGE
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“When we have the animation done we are able to do a little more playing around and see what can actually fit into the package. So what we want is a compact thing, but we want to fit other things in there to make the living space more comfortable,” Reid said.
He said while the design can accommodate beds up to a king size, the focus, for now, is on dormitories and small rooms.
“We were particularly looking at what was happening in the university environment. Because when we went into some of these homes and we saw what was there and the limited space we wanted to create something that would help persons to have more space, because if you have a little more space it’s good for learning,” Reid said. “We are always on the lookout to see how particular projects can add value and also what kind of income potential they will have for the university and the persons involved,” he said. PAGE
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Do University Students Have Mastery of the English Language?
Editor’s Note: Students’ performance in English Language and the importance of effective communication skills in everyday life and in the world of work, underscore the relevance of the research on this topic conducted by UTech’s researchers. Unsurprisingly, the Gleaner carried an article (reproduced below) highlighting the findings.
English Tests Trip Up University Students Published: Monday | December 6, 2010 | Gleaner Philip Hamilton, Gleaner Writer
“A study conducted by researchers from the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), has found that 40 per cent of students enrolled at the institution fail English-based communication courses, with the majority of the other 60 per cent barely managing a passing grade each year.
The study, which was undertaken by UTech’s Department of Liberal Studies using data collected between 2000 and 2010, also found a 40 per cent failure rate among students sitting the university’s English language proficiency test. The proficiency test, which measures the reading and writing skills of all new students accepted to pursue UTech courses, was introduced in 2008. It determines whether students proceed directly to the first-year Academic Writing One course based on their test performance, or take a developmental English programme, which prepares them for the course.
A sample conducted of 430 first-year students also showed the majority of those struggling to pass communication courses previously attended traditional high schools. The study also examined factors contributing to the students’ failure in communication courses, including their inability to comprehend effectively, unfamiliarity with words and phrases, poor student attitude to language, as well as weak language skills and overcrowding at the primary-school level.
Clover Jones-McKenzie, who heads UTech’s Communication Division at the Department of Liberal Studies, presented the findings at a workshop in Kingston last Friday examining the transferability of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) skills to tertiary institutions. Jones-McKenzie said the situation, in addition to causing high levels of frustration among UTech lecturers, had also raised concern among employers who have observed an increase in the number of tertiary-level graduates using SMS text-messaging language in formal documents.
The UTech lecturer said while the students had fulfilled the university’s CSEC English and math matriculation requirements, deficiencies in reading and comprehension posed challenges when it came to employing critical thinking skills.
“We don’t want to give the wrong impression; it’s not right across the board,” Dr Judith Orogun, another of the researchers involved in the study, told The Gleaner in an interview following the release of the findings. PAGE
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According to Orogun, some students in the College of Health Sciences, mostly pharmacy students with Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination level one English, appeared to be doing better than their grade one CSEC English counterparts.
“Students with a grade one in CSEC were exempted from the proficiency test, which is why we see the problems way down because we had sent them straight to Academic Writing One. When they start the course, they cannot function,” Orogun said.
Both Oregun and Jones-McKenzie said some students also had negative attitudes towards the English proficiency test, as they did not see the rationale for doing it when they had enrolled for technical or vocational courses.
“The problem is so big and so deep that we’re going to approach it from every angle,” said Orogun, noting that the institution would be targeting the Ministry of Education, English language teachers and school principals to identify solutions.” PAGE
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Can Wealth be Extracted from the Cockpit Country?
Editor’s Note: Following the presentation by Dr. Andrew Lamm at UTech’s Research & Technology Day in 2014 of results of his research on plants from the Cockpit Country, the Gleaner carried this article highlighting the significance of his research that has potential quality of life and commercial impacts.
Cockpit Country Could Drive Technology and Research Development Published: Gleaner, Friday | March 21, 2014 Sheldon Williams, Gleaner Writer
A researcher from the University of Technology (UTech) has identified the Cockpit Country as having the necessary resources and potential to propel research and technology for the development and growth of Jamaica.
Dr Andrew Lamm from the Faculty of Science and Sport at UTech is embarking on research that could see properties extracted from organisms in the Cockpit Country being used to develop nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals.
He said the region is habitat to unique plants and organisms that have beneficial properties that can be manifested through research.
“There is nowhere else on the planet like the Cockpit Country. It has plants and microorganisms found nowhere else in the world that can be used to make new foods, new chemicals, new medicines and nutraceuticals,” he said.
“With that kind of research we can diverge some of our findings into nutraceuticals, into pharmaceuticals, into agro-chemicals, into pesticides, fertilizers and food stock,” Dr. Lamm remarked.
He was reluctant to readily identify the organisms he is researching, for fear of intellectual property and or research infringement.
The researcher further highlighted what the benefits of the findings could mean. “Say something as simple as marijuana - if you can extract components from it that can be used to make other things, then you will have added value from it and, therefore, your profits from it will be much greater.” PAGE
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Editor’s Note: Putting GIS Technology to use, UTech Lecturer Mr. Alvin Clarke makes this very important recommendation based on his research, the results of which were published in the Gleaner story below. This is yet another example of the practical relevant of research conducted by the University of Technology, Jamaica.
Study Shows Corporate Area Needs Additional Fire Station Published: The Gleaner, Saturday | March 14, 2015 Kingston and St Andrew need an additional fire station. This is one of the key recommendations of a study conducted by University of Technology (UTech) lecturer in the Faculty of the Built Environment, Alvin Clarke. The study utilised Geographical Information System (GIS) technology to analyse emergency responses by the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) during 2010. In explaining the findings to The Gleaner, Clarke outlined that demographic changes and widespread fire incidences indicate that an additional fire station is needed in Kingston and St Andrew.
“If you check the data to see when the last station was built in Kingston and St Andrew compared to how the population has grown, even in areas like Liguanea, the golden triangle area, where you have one-acre lots occupied by single family, say 30 years ago, it’s now an apartment complex with about 30 families,” he said.
He went on to explain that the increased population puts pressure on the Half-Way Tree station, which responds to most of the fire calls.
“The Half-Way Tree station tops the list for the most calls received and responded to. If one station is under increased pressure to respond, you can just imagine what would happen to the personnel working there.”
The Stony Hill station was the last fire station built in Kingston and St Andrew. It was built in 1979. According to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, the population of the parish at the end of 1977 was 643,800. At the end of 2012, the population of the parish was 666,041. PAGE
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Editor’s Note: As the “Ganja debate” continued in the Jamaica, Mr. Alfred McPherson of UTech, Jamaica’s Faculty of Law weighed in on it in the article below which was published in The Sunday Gleaner, on May 15, 2015.
Deciphering Decriminalisation of Weed Published: The Gleaner, Saturday | March 14, 2015
It appears to be fair comment from a legal, and I dare say, from the social and economic perspectives, that the decriminalisation of ganja in Jamaica has been long in coming. The cultivation, selling and consumption of cannabis (ganja), as well as other drugs, have been illegal in Jamaica since 1913.
Despite this illegality, a 2001 study by the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) on the use of ganja in Jamaica disclosed that more than half the population had tried this prohibited substance in one form or the other. It is very likely that a current study/survey might disclose that this number has increased appreciably rather than diminished. The decriminalisation of ganja is not a new agenda item that has eventually culminated in the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, 2015.
As far back as 1977, the government of the day established a joint select committee commissioned with the mandate to “consider the criminality, legislation, uses and abuses, and possible medical properties of ganja and to make appropriate recommendations. Whereas this committee overwhelmingly rejected the notion of legalising ganja, their position mainly might have been as a result of the terms of the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, to which Jamaica is a signatory.
Despite the 1977 joint committee’s recognition of the constraints in terms of adherence by Jamaica to the specific Articles of the Convention, this group was bold enough to recommend some 38 years ago that ganja should be decriminalised in the following circumstances:
• Personal, private use by adults. • Use as sacrament for religious purposes. • Possession of up to 2 ounces for personal consumption in a private setting. • Use for medical purposes. PAGE
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One cannot help but observe that these recommendations are the very genesis of the amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act which have recently been passed into law in April 2015.
The entire question of the decriminalisation of ganja has been on the tracing board of successive administrations. Possibly, the lengthy incubation period before taking the bold initiative to lead the charge in effecting the recommendations for decriminalisation was as a direct consequence of the fear of condemnation by external forces, particularly from the United States of America (which coincidentally have effected several initiatives in decriminalising marijuana use in several states).
Amendments to our laws have now been passed and it is therefore trite to focus on the sphere of the US influence in dictating our course as it relates to decriminalisation, bearing inmind, particularly, that the ambit of the amendments are not quite as far-reaching as it may at first glance appear!
Certainly, the amendments are nowhere close to the 1998 recommendations of the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights, which presented a case for removing ganja from the schedule of dangerous drugs altogether. The council, in fact, recommended that “every individual should be able to cultivate, possess, sell, smoke and use ganja, that Rastafarians should not need any special permit to use it for their religious purposes, and that the court should have the power to treat addiction as a medical problem”.
Once the amendments heralding the decriminalisation of ganja are clearly understood and appreciated by the public at large, it will bring into stark focus the fact that this bold step of the legislators does not nearly amount to a blanket ‘legalise it’, but the amendments attempt to “fly the gate” only so far as to the beach front of our coastlines, and certainly not over and beyond our shores to traverse the ocean corridors of the world.
From a strictly legal perspective, deciphering the amendments will result from the interplay between the judges and lawyers in legal proceedings which may ensue and necessitate statutory interpretations and judicial rulings on the meaning and import of aspects of the amended legislation. Aside from those provisions that may lend to varying interpretations, the aspects of the legislation that are considered literal and straightforward should not need to be deciphered, but rather should be strictly adhered to.
Additionally, there are several aspects of the new law that cannot be effected until companion regulations have been promulgated in order to bring clarity and understanding to the rules, regulations and procedures which will provide efficacy to the new law. In the most general terms, the new provisions seek to cover the possession and smoking of ganja of the public at large, the use in particular by persons of the Rastafarian faith, and even more persuasive and poignant from a socio-economic perspective, the use of ganja for medical, therapeutic and scientific purposes.
One of the amendments that appear to be of major interest to the public, generally, is the fact that possession of two ounces or less of ganja will no longer be a criminal offence, which will result in a PAGE
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121 criminal record. Possession of this quantity however, MAY be ticketable. It would therefore seem that the police officer has discretion whether or not to issue the ticket.
It may appear trifling and/or amusing to this audience – but the question has been asked – will all police officers now be armed with state-of-the-art scales? How is two ounces to be determined with certainty other than with a measuring device? Will the ticketing system be treated by the public with as much contempt as the traffic ticketing system? These are but a few of the concerns expressed by the man in the street.
The determination of adherence to the Rastafarian faith is yet another burning issue. What exactly is the process of determination? Appearance? Attending religious meetings? My non-attendance at church services does not make me any less an Anglican or a Christian, for that matter. Arguably, it may make me a bad Anglican or bad Christian (if the latter is possible), but no less an Anglican by religious affiliation. The determination of adherence to the faith should be interesting, if not challenging and bereft with subjectivity.
The legislators will have to attempt to clarify terms such as ‘religious purposes’, ‘sacrament’, etc. Also, there ought to be clear guidance as to the quantum that is deemed permissible for such designated purposes.
The cultivation by householders of five ganja plant or more ought to meet with some innovative spins over time and the justice system may be clogged with indictments for over-cropping!
Some questions that could arise – does my live-in domestic helper not constitute a separate household? Is she not therefore entitled to her independent five plants? Are my adult sons who just occupy certain rooms under a common roof not regarded as a separate household? Are they not entitled to their five plants? What about the so-called ‘tenement yards’? Are not all the separate households contained therein entitled to their five plants? Further, who exactly will be charged with the responsibility to monitor cultivations in individual households? In practical terms, therefore, will this limitation be adhered to? The truth be told, over several decades the experience with the Dangerous Drugs Act as it pertains specifically to ganja created a large burden for law-enforcement agencies, the prison system and the courts prior to the recent amendments.
With this in mind, it is only fair to give this bold and interesting bit of legislation an opportunity to mature and evolve rather than condemn same to certain failure coupled with resultant tyranny for scarce benefits and spoils to be derived from a plant that can garner tremendous benefits for socioeconomic growth and prosperity, if managed in a fair and unbiased manner.
Due adherence to the amended legislation could, no doubt, have positive results. As with all things new, an ageing process is necessary in order to really test the veracity of the subject. The legislators should be applauded for bringing to fruition this bold and long overdue initiative, and with the development of accompanying regulations, the passage of the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, 2015 has the potential to herald a new and positive dimension in our developing legal system. PAGE
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To Tax or Not to Tax? That is the Question!
Editor’s Note: The Gleaner Editorial that is reproduced below followed the hosting by UTech, Jamaica, on January 11, 2018, of a symposium on “Fiscal Measures to Prevent Obesity/NCDs in Jamaica: Focus on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages.” The symposium generated a lot of commentary from various interest groups, including sugar-sweetened beverage manufacturers, journalists, and educators. This is an example of research impacting public policy! The Gleaner newspaper carried the Editorial below on the symposium.
Bring Clarity To Sugary Drink Policy Gleaner Editorial, January 21, 2018
“There is need for clarity from the Holness administration on where it is going with its policy to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks whether by taxing the products or by voluntary restraint by manufacturers. Most countries that have tackled the issue opted for the former approach. In the Caribbean, for instance, Barbados imposed a 10 per cent tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in 2015, the same rate as Mexico, where a similar tax was imposed a year earlier.
In April, a sugar tax, announced nearly two years ago, will also come into force in Britain at a rate of £0.18 per litre on drinks that have five grams of sugar or more per 100 millilitres but will rise to £0.24 per litre if the drink has eight grams of sugar or more per 100ml. The Irish are also introducing such a tax, which they say will be roughly analogous to the UK rates. On the face of it, these taxes on soft drinks should be good for government coffers. But they are not primarily aimed at covering fiscal gaps and creating budget surpluses. Rather, they aim to combat a bulging public-health crisis: obesity. And there are few regions in the world where the problem is worse, or growing as rapidly, than the Caribbean, including Jamaica.
For instance, Fitzroy Henry, a professor in public-health nutrition at Jamaica’s University of Technology (UTech), who heads a government multi-sectoral task force on food, estimated last year that 20,000 Jamaicans become overweight, or obese, annually. Moreover, at the start of the millennium, an estimated 45 per cent of adults were deemed obese. That figure is now around 60 per cent but higher for women. “Being overweight is the most important leading cause of death in Jamaica,” said Henry at the launch of his task force eight months ago. What Professor Henry and his team, which includes food and beverage manufacturers, advised Health Minister Christopher Tufton to do has not been made public.
But in addressing this regional public-health epidemic at the Caribbean Community summit in Grenada last July, Prime Minister Holness indicated that his Government was leaning towards the tax on sugary drinks. Dr Tufton seemed inclined to that policy posture. In the meantime, sugary drinks have been removed from state-provided school lunches and the health ministry has been running campaigns warning people against their sugar intake and promoting physical activity.
But more than a week ago, the finance minister, Audley Shaw, strongly suggested that the Government would only go the route of taxing sweet drinks if manufacturers didn’t voluntarily pull back the amount of sugar in their products. PAGE
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“You can either respond voluntarily, or we, as Government, can respond to the needs of the country through appropriate policy prescriptions,” Mr Shaw said at a UTech scientific symposium. “... Set the example. Don’t wait for the tax axe to force you to do it.”
Noticeably, Dr Tufton, who spoke at the same function and who pointed to a 40 per cent increase in soft drink sales in Jamaica in each of the past two years, didn’t offer his desired approach. This newspaper, however, would prefer a clear and enforceable policy from the Government, that is to say, the application of a tax.
While we know and respect the virtues of private enterprise, sugar content in products and the enforcement thereof, which is emerging as the public-health issue of our time - with a profound impact on children - shouldn’t be left to individual whim or an honour system. Taxation, especially if the cost is passed on to consumers, is the best tool to influence consumption. The Government must urgently publish a Green Paper on the matter as a basis for deeper discussion.” PAGE
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UTECH JAMAICA’S FLAGSHIP JOURNAL
In addition to various other international journals, a significant number of the papers that are listed in this publication were published in the Journal of Arts Science and Technology (JAST).
The Journal of Arts, Science, and Technology (JAST) is an international, multi-disciplinary, peer- reviewed journal aiming to promote and enhance research and technology in diverse fields of knowledge, including architecture, arts, business management, computing, education, engineering, finance, health, hospitality, law, liberal studies, marketing, pharmacy, sports, and urban planning.
JAST is published by the University of Technology, Jamaica, and is intended for readers in the scholarly community and for professionals in industry. Besides research papers, the journal welcomes scholarly book reviews, conference papers, and commentaries.
JAST is published annually. Each issue will include the following sections: editorial, research papers, book reviews, conference reports, and industry viewpoints. PAGE
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RTID 2018 PRODUCTION CREDITS
Compiled by: Paul W. Ivey Associate Vice President School of Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship Grace-Ann Black Administrative Support School of Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship
Edited by: Martin Henry Manager of Projects & Operations School of Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship Michelle Beckford Manager Corporate Communications
Design & Layout: Dwayne T. Brown Freelance Graphic Designer
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The production/editorial teams thank all members of the UTech, Jamaica community who contributed to this publication, in particular the researchers whose work represents its main content, the Calvin McKain Library and Marketing Department for photographs, and other departments that provided logistical and material support. A production of the School of Graduate Studies, Research & Entrepreneurship and Corporate Communications Unit University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica) 237 Old Hope Road, Kingston, Jamaica Telephone: (876) 927-1680-8, Toll Free: 1-888-991-5130, Fax: (876) 970-2225 Website: www.utech.edu.jm